Chapter 48

“But it was after I told him about my mother that he started keeping his distance. Can it really be just a coincidence?”

Daphne tapped her lips with her finger as she asked, her large green eyes blinking rapidly with anxiety. Marianne gently lowered Daphne’s hand, stopping her gesture.

“Don’t think too deeply on your own. Just give Sir Knight a little more time.”

“…….”

“If you really can’t wait, maybe you should just ask him directly. Ask if it’s your mother that’s bothering him.”

“But just a moment ago, you said that pressuring him would backfire.”

Daphne looked puzzled at Marianne’s contradictory advice. Marianne simply shrugged her shoulders.

“There’s nothing you can do. If this keeps up, I think you’ll get sick first.”

* * *

The day after her conversation with Marianne.

After spending the night worrying about what to do, Daphne finally dragged Ryan outside, asking him to take a walk with her. Marianne, who realized this was Daphne’s ploy to create some private time together, smiled with satisfaction. From behind, she gave Daphne a secret thumbs-up, hiding it from Ryan.

The weather was especially good that day.

Bright sunlight shone overhead, and with almost no wind, the warmth on their skin felt gentle. A yellow dirt path lined with tall trees on both sides. White wild garlic flowers bloomed everywhere, announcing the arrival of spring.

It was a peaceful and beautiful scene, enough to lift anyone’s spirits just by looking.

But the one who had suggested the walk, Daphne, didn’t pay attention to any of it. She kept her head down, fiddling nervously with her skirt.

Even when Ryan, sensing something was off, asked if she was okay, she only replied with mismatched answers like “It’s nice” or “It’s pretty.”

They walked in silence for some time.

“Ryan.”

After a long stretch, Daphne stopped and called his name.

“How long do you plan to stay here?”

“Sorry?”

“You. How long do you plan to stay in Hillsboro?”

Ryan looked confused at Daphne’s question. Was she hiding something? He hesitated, searching for a clearer answer, before finally responding.

“Well… I suppose I should stay at least until the problem that brought me here is resolved.”

“By ‘problem,’ do you mean the issue of the thieves appearing in town?”

Daphne asked quietly.

“I don’t think that’s a concern anymore. Things have been quiet lately. No more news about it.”

“…….”

“Ryan, if you want…”

Daphne paused. Her eyes darted restlessly. She gripped her wrist tightly and took a deep breath.

“If you want, I can talk to Uncle.”

“Talk to him? About what?”

“About your contract. About you staying here as my personal knight.”

Daphne swallowed dryly, doing her best to speak clearly.

“I can ask if we can terminate your contract, and if so, how soon.”

“Terminate…?”

Ryan’s expression hardened as he listened. His eyes turned cold as ice.

“What are you saying? Are you asking the Count to fire me?”

“Not fire you—set you free. You’re stuck here because of the contract.”

Ryan’s voice was angry. The sudden chill in his tone made Daphne hastily clarify.

“Honestly, you probably don’t want to stay in a small town like this for long. You’re only here because of the contract with Uncle.”

“I’m not stuck here against my will.”

Ryan cut off Daphne’s explanation sharply.

“I’m staying here entirely by choice.”

“…I really don’t understand. The pay can’t be that good.”

Daphne bit her lip, tucking her upper lip inward.

“With your abilities, you could work in a bigger city, get better treatment.”

“Miss Sinclair.”

“Yes?”

“Are you hoping I’ll leave your side as soon as possible?”

“…….”

“Is that why you’re asking me this?”

His voice was lower than usual. Quiet and calm, but not gentle.

Daphne raised her head to meet his gaze. His eyes were cold, like a frozen lake in winter, staring right at her.

A look filled with disappointment. No, with reproach.

“…Of course not.”

Daphne shook her head slowly, her voice barely a whisper.

Her face was downcast, her shoulders drooping. How could she explain these complicated feelings, which she herself didn’t fully understand?

Unable to find the right words, she let out a long sigh.

“Ryan, I’m scared.”

Daphne whispered, as if confessing.

“You’re a really good person. From the day I first met you in Roxanne until now. The more I get to know you, the more I like you. So…”

She paused, then continued.

“So I don’t want to see the look in your eyes turn to disappointment because of me.”

“……!”

“The more you get to know me, the more you might come to dislike me. I don’t want to watch that happen.”

“Why… do you think that?”

Ryan asked, his face tense.

“Why would I come to dislike you, Miss Sinclair?”

His eyes trembled faintly with anxiety. He seemed shocked by her honesty.

“Thanks to Father’s stubbornness, I was officially registered with the Sinclair family, but as I said before, my mother was originally a maid.”

Daphne said with a troubled look.

“On paper, Lily and I are members of the Sinclair family, but there are those who value bloodlines who will object. Grandfather didn’t try to hide my mother’s existence for no reason.”

“…….”

“I’ve heard that knights are proud people. When choosing whom to serve, or which family to join, they’re very selective and have strict standards.”

Daphne took a slow, deep breath.

‘If you really can’t wait, maybe you should just ask him directly…’

Marianne’s sincere advice echoed in her ears.

Ask if it’s her mother that’s bothering him.

There was nowhere left to retreat. Steeling her heart, Daphne clenched her fists and spoke.

“I’ve felt a strange distance from you. Ever since I told you about my mother.”

“……!”

“Maybe it’s just my imagination. Maybe it’s a coincidence. But even if I try to dismiss it, I keep worrying. I keep watching you, trying to find the reason.”

“…….”

“Maybe working for me is a burden. Being the knight for a half-blooded noble lady—most knights wouldn’t want that job. And when you accepted Uncle’s offer, you didn’t know any of this.”

A bitter smile spread across Daphne’s face.

“I can’t say I’m not disappointed, but I understand.”

She didn’t hate him. She didn’t resent him.

Just as she had her own position, he had his. It wasn’t something to judge easily without standing in his shoes.

Daphne’s throat moved. She looked up and met his eyes.

“So Ryan, if that’s really the case—”

“I’ve made you worry by hesitating.”

He looked at her thoughtfully and spoke.

“No matter your bloodline or background. Daphne Sinclair, to me, you are simply yourself. The thought that I might come to dislike you because of such trivial details… That’s impossible.”

Ryan stepped closer to Daphne. She flinched, startled.

“You don’t know.”

He gently stroked her hair, leaned in, and very carefully kissed the end of it.

“The more I get to know you, the more I find myself drawn to you.”

He looked up and met Daphne’s eyes. His gaze was both captivating and strangely intimate, leaving Daphne speechless.

“That… almost sounds like a confession.”

Daphne, dazed, swallowed hard and muttered.

“If someone heard you, they’d think you were confessing your love to me.”

“You were the one who said your feelings for me were growing first, not me.”

Ryan laughed softly, answering her words. He did it so naturally that Daphne didn’t even realize it was the first time he’d called her by her name and not her family name.