“No, I’m not upset. So, do you work with Lian?”

“Oh yes. I see…”

“I see. I suppose it just made me realise that I don’t know as much about Lian as I thought. It’s a bit upsetting, but there isn’t really any reason for me to be.”

Hailla mumbled, lowering her gaze. Only then did Miar notice that the girl’s cheeks were slightly flushed. Why? If it had been her, Miar would have been overjoyed and glowing, but Hailla seemed a little different.

“I was just surprised. You seem to know Lian pretty well…”

“…”

“He doesn’t talk to me much about work. Or even his family. Now that I think about it, I barely know anything personal about him. I didn’t even know he had a wealthy colleague who would lend out a room like this so easily. I suppose he thought there was no need to explain it to me.”

“……”

“And about the money… I suppose it was hard for him to open up to someone like me. The world is tough, and there are a lot of people trying to scam others. Maybe he was wary of me, too. But since you work with him, he probably trusts you more.”

‘Ah, I see. It’s not that she dislikes rich men.’

It was only then that Miar realised what emotion Hailla was experiencing. It was like finding a lighthouse in an endless, fog-covered sea.

“Are you… jealous, by any chance?”

A soft, playful laugh bubbled out. The blush that had appeared on Hailla’s cheeks spread down to her neck. She shook her head desperately, then gave up.

“Don’t worry. I’m just a business partner. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the money, we’d probably never see each other. I’m sure he feels the same way.”

“…”

“And just look how much Lian cherishes you. What are you worried about? Aren’t the two of you lovers?’

Miar gently brushed her hair back and sighed softly, like a seductive goddess. Hailla’s face turned even redder.

“We’re just friends.”

‘Ah, that was unexpected. So the reports about their relationship not being serious were true.’

This made Miar even more bewildered. How could you be so obsessed with someone and yet never sleep with them? She began to wonder if Lian might be impotent. Given his looks, that would be a national tragedy.

“From what I can see, I’d say you like him quite a bit.”

Jealousy, too. With that, Hailla’s blush deepened further.

“I do like him, but I can’t be in a relationship right now. I have my sister. She comes first. I like Lian, but he can’t be my number one.”

This innocent girl confessed her true feelings the moment she was nudged. Perhaps because she had never had anyone to talk to before, she opened up without hesitation. There was something almost liberating about it.

“Ah, so you really love your sister, huh?”

The tone was teasing, but Hailla only gave a bitter smile and nodded. Miar decided it was time to press her a little further.

“Well, love between men and women is always like that, isn’t it?’ Understandable one moment and completely baffling the next. But are you really going to be OK?”

“With what?”

“Someday, Lian might marry another woman and have children.”

“…”

“Sleep with her, whisper words of love to her… all those things. There are quite a few women who admire him, you know.”

The voice Miar whispered into Hailla’s ear was both gentle and cruel. The low murmur, delivered so close to her ear, sent shivers down her spine.

She found herself imagining a future she had never really considered before. Miar’s words sounded all too plausible. Lian was beautiful, highly capable and endlessly kind once he opened up. He was showing his affection to her now, of course, but one day he would shower someone else with the same warmth. He would smile with soft eyes, brush back her hair, and kiss her.

“Yes, I suppose that’ll happen eventually.”

Hailla pressed her lips together. For some reason, she felt ashamed of the surge of emotion inside her. Although she had been the one to reject him, the thought of Lian being with someone else was unbearable. The realisation of her own hypocrisy sent a shiver through her.

“That’s right. If the two of you part ways, that’s exactly what will happen. He might even forget you. entirely.”

It was pitiful to watch her swallow hard. Miar frowned, clicked her tongue, and pretended to be sympathetic. She took Hailla’s hand in hers and gently stroked the back of it.

“A man never forgets his first woman.”

The phrase ‘first woman’ echoed across Hailla’s innocent face, which was so pure that Miar felt a faint twinge of guilt. Still, there was no reason to stop.

“Lian hasn’t thought of anyone but you since he came of age a few years ago. He’s never been with another woman, has he? And neither have you, right?”

“No.”

Miar knew all too well how Lian had behaved when he lived at the ducal estate. But now was not the time for honesty. She needed to twist the truth subtly, like a snake slithering up a leg.

“If it were me, even if we broke up, I’d make sure I wasn’t forgotten…”

Just as she spoke, the door burst open. No one in the temple would dare open Miar’s door so rudely. A sense of dread washed over her as she slowly turned her head.

Hailla murmured faintly from beside her.

“… Lian.”

Lian Huriet — who was supposed to be at the Imperial Palace — stood there like a ghost.

* * *

“Are you all right, ma’am?”

Even after being forced out of the room and walking down the temple corridor, Miar remained silent. Her close aide asked again, clearly concerned by her dazed expression.

Nobody had expected Lian to suddenly turn his carriage around and return to the temple. According to the coachman, the moment he heard that Miar had entered Hailla’s room, Lian ordered him to turn the carriage around immediately. When a court attendant from the palace voiced concern, Lian reportedly slit his throat on the spot. Even when Verdian cried out in alarm beside him, Lian refused to retract the order.

He was so angry that he felt relieved when he released Miar without saying a word.

“For now, I think it would be best to increase your security detail and avoid leaving the temple…”

“Hmph.”

Miar gave only a faint grunt as she entered her room. Without changing, she collapsed onto the bed. Despite the worried murmurs around her, her mind was consumed by something else. She spread her long hair across the white sheets and let out a soft laugh.

“My sister comes first. I like Lian, but he can’t be my number one.”

The words that Hailla had spoken with such sorrow flashed through her mind. Miar rolled onto her side and rested her chin in her hand.

“She’s not such a good girl after all.”

She was a liar.

Like a child who had found a new and amusing toy, Miar let out another giggle.

When Lian stormed into the room, she didn’t look at his face, but at Hailla’s instead. She couldn’t help it. Her eyes were drawn to Hailla. The reaction was that intense.

The girl who hadn’t even spared a glance for beautiful jewels, shimmering silks or rare ornaments now had her eyes wide open and sparkling with awe as she looked at him. Her face sparkled in a way that Miar had never seen before.

She had seen desert sands glittering in the sun, gems said to shine brighter than any others in the world, and treasures said to be gifts from the gods. But none of those lights could compare to the light in Hailla’s eyes as she looked at Lian. It was stunning and shocking.

‘How could you look at a man like that and still claim he’s not your first love? That’s cheating.’

Miar thought they both seemed like fools: Lian, worrying that Hailla might leave him, and Hailla, preparing to let him go. Neither of them made sense.

Ultimately, they would never be able to let each other go. If Hailla abandoned anyone, it wouldn’t be Lian; it would be her sister. Miar strode off with confidence, grinning to herself.

At her core, Hailla was obedient. But for her, obedience had always been a survival tactic.

When she was young, her violent and greedy parents would unleash near-abusive violence if their children did not comply. Watching her sister get slapped while trembling in fear had become routine. Only if she begged with tears in her eyes and pressed her hands together would their parents stop hitting Rethe.

If Hailla smiled sweetly and didn’t complain about mouldy bread at mealtimes, their parents would smile in satisfaction in return. Although Rethe scolded her for such behaviour, the girl who feared beatings ignored her sister’s protests.

If you wanted to avoid beatings and hunger, submission was the only option. When she was younger, Hailla thought her sister was foolish. Still, she never stopped crying and pleading whenever Rethe was beaten. Seeing her sister in pain hurt Hailla just as much.

So, obedience kept her alive. It is likely that their parents’ decision to favour Hailla over Rethe was influenced by Hailla’s submissive nature. It wasn’t entirely wrong. Hailla had lived her entire life this way, and even after Rethe killed their parents, she submitted to her sister, vowing to devote her life to her from that moment on.

Ultimately, Hailla never had many opportunities to make her own choices. She had grown so accustomed to doing what she was told that having only one option always seemed natural to her, and she never became angry about it. She simply accepted things as they were.

This was one of the very few moments when Hailla had chosen something for herself.

“Spread your legs.”

Looking up at the man with trembling eyes, Hailla awkwardly obeyed, moving clumsily. Her entire body was flushed red, and though her hesitant movements might have seemed pitiful, Lian showed no emotion. His face remained expressionless as he gave the cold instruction.