“Hatan.”

Not long after his command had been given, Lisha stepped into his office. Her face was as expressionless as ever, yet faint traces of gloom lingered upon it.

“Come here.”

Without protest, Lisha moved toward him. Rising from his seat, Hatan looked down at her as she stood before him, her head bowed as if weighed with shame.

“Raise your head.”

“……”

Her gaze remained lowered, but she lifted her head as told. When Hatan reached out and swept her black hair over her shoulder, the pale line of her neck was revealed. The sight carried a certain provocation, edged with an almost sensual allure.

“……”

His eyes traced along her newly bared nape, and at the sudden cold touch of his fingers, Lisha flinched involuntarily. Watching her reaction without comment, Hatan lowered his hand with a murmur, as if realizing something.

“I see… that could be it.”

Leaning back against the desk with his arms crossed, he let his eyes travel calmly over her entire form. Under the weight of that gaze, sharp as if it were a blade, Lisha’s body instinctively recoiled. Yet Hatan paid no heed to her unease, continuing his silent scrutiny.

“Come closer.”

At his beckoning hand, she hesitated, then obeyed. In a sudden motion, Hatan pulled her into his arms, enclosing her as though locking her within his embrace.

“Not a bad feeling.”

This time, his hand rose again, brushing gently over her head.

“At least the care given to your hair shows.”

Even her skin carried the faintest fragrance, a subtle scent rising around her. The preparation was flawless. Hatan stroked his own cheek with his fingers as his gaze lingered on her.

“So, perhaps it means I’ll need to try holding you once.”

And yet—how should he bring about that once? He sank into thought again, weighing the method.

The silence stretched. Lisha, stiff in his arms, slowly lifted her face to meet his eyes. Her gaze, widened slightly, brimmed with emotions he could not yet name.

Hatan paused, halting his thoughts, and asked in a low voice:

“Why?”

Lisha hesitated, lips pressing together before she finally asked in a timid, shrinking voice.

“…You won’t cast me out?”

The hand that had been stroking her fine hair paused for a moment. Tilting his head forward, Hatan let out a faint, amused laugh.

“Would you like me to?”

Though his words dripped with mischief, she seemed not to notice. With a troubled look, Lisha shook her head quickly.

“Then?”

Even though he already understood the answer, Hatan insisted on hearing it from her own mouth.

“I want to stay by your side, Hatan.”

“Why?”

“……”

At his teasing question, Lisha blinked slowly, lost in thought. It was a question she had never considered before. She had never once reflected on the reasons behind the feelings that stirred faintly within her. For Lisha, such contemplation was nothing short of an indulgence far beyond her reach.

“Why?”

Hatan pressed again, digging insistently into the silence of her heart.

“…Because I feel good being near you.”

“And why does it feel good?”

Her gaze drifted into the distance as she repeated the question inwardly.

‘Why… does it feel good?’

Had she ever liked anything in her life?

No. There had never been such a thing. Which was why she could not give a clear answer to why it felt good to remain at his side.

So she chose to think simply. To search for what was different now, what had changed since she had met Hatan.

‘Food.’

The first thought, of course, was the warm meals and the soft bed where she could sleep undisturbed.

‘Warm blankets.’

That single thought opened the floodgates—hot water for bathing, a life free of beatings, clothing that shielded her properly from the sun. One after another, they rose to the surface.

“Ah.”

Realization flickered across her face as she gave a faint nod. The meaning was simple.

Comfort. Safety.

The comfort of never fearing the next meal.
The safety of no longer dreading tomorrow.

Only now did she understand. By Hatan’s side, she had been feeling a peace she had never known before in her life.

‘So that’s why…’

Suddenly, she thought of Aman, whom she had met earlier that day. Along with this thought came the image of her savior standing before her.

He watched her quietly as she sighed and nodded to herself. Tilting his head slightly, he offered her a faint, amused smile. He did not avert his gaze, nor did he seem displeased.

“Ah…”

Once she understood the state of her emotions, her recent actions began to make sense.

‘So that’s why I acted that way.’

The realization struck her as strangely wondrous. It had been barely a month. In that brief time, she had tasted comfort. Yet of all the long years steeped in scorn and contempt, what she ought to have been accustomed to—what should have been second nature—was the latter.

And yet, before Aman, she had shrunk back as though she had never once suffered disdain in her life.

‘Strange.’

Lisha tilted her head, unable to understand herself.

She did not realize it at the time, but such a reaction was natural. That is the nature of sweetness in the heart. Until one experiences it, its absence means nothing; life goes on as it always has. But once you have tasted it — just the smallest amount — it becomes something you cannot help but crave, as if it were the very foundation of your existence.

Lisha, tasting such sweetness for the first time, did not yet realize this.

“Answer.”

At last, Hatan, reaching the limits of his patience, cut sharply into her thoughts.

“Just…”

It was a conclusion she could not possibly form here and now. So Lisha muttered the first words that came to her, skirting the truth.

“Because I feel at peace when I’m by your side, Hatan.”

“What?”

The unexpected reply drew a sharp laugh from him.

“At peace?”

When she nodded, Hatan loosened his grip on her waist and turned her face more fully toward him.

“Me?”

He sounded almost incredulous, yet when she blinked her wide eyes and nodded again, it was the only answer she could give. It was, after all, the truest expression of her heart.

“Hah.”

The breathy laugh he let out was somewhere between disbelief and amusement as he gazed down at her.

“And why is that?”

Never in his life had Hatan imagined a woman would one day look at him and say he made her feel at peace.

Even if his dead mother were to rise from her grave, she would never have dared utter such words upon seeing the man he was now.

“Because you’re a good person, Hatan.”

“…A good person?”

He froze for a moment before letting out a low, rough laugh. He covered his eyes with one hand and chuckled. Even if you dragged a hundred men off the street, not one of them would call him that. Not a single soul.

Unable to understand what he found so amusing, Lisha simply stared at him, confused.

“I won’t throw you away just because you failed once. Don’t worry about that.”

Her lips curved ever so slightly, and she nodded. It was the faintest of smiles, like spring sunlight captured in a momentary flash.

It stopped Hatan in his tracks.

He stood there, momentarily dazed, until he finally managed to regain his composure. His voice was low and his expression grave as he warned her.

“Don’t smile like that in front of anyone else.”

“…Pardon?”

Her wide eyes blinked at him, bewildered by the sudden command.

“A smile like the one you just showed—keep it for me alone. It’ll be troublesome otherwise.”

The truth was, Lisha hadn’t even realized she’d smiled. She had no idea which expression he meant. But she nodded anyway, as if that would suffice.

Only then did Hatan relax his features, releasing her waist.

“You can go now.”

Lisha stepped toward the door. But before reaching it, she suddenly paused and turned back.

“Will I be with you again tonight, Hatan?”

“…Who knows.”

“…All right.”

Her tone carried a faint trace of disappointment, and Hatan feigned ignorance.

“You’d like to see me again tonight?”

She nodded, openly admitting she wanted his company.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Yes.”

Her shoulders seemed to droop as she gave the lackluster reply, slipping out of the room.

As the door closed behind her, Hatan let the laugh he had been holding back finally escape.

“Amusing.”

To draw such reactions out of even him—there was no doubt she would make an excellent spy.

Amusing, yes, but more than that, he found himself satisfied. Whatever this strange sensation was—this tickling warmth rising up through his chest to brush against his heart—he decided he would enjoy it.

✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦❘༻༺❘✦ ✦❘

“Hatan, the Lord is asking for you.”

At the servant’s words, Hatan paused what he was doing. Ever since Lisha had left, the desk had remained buried beneath unfinished documents. He had been working through them even at the cost of sleep, so the summons brought not relief but irritation.

“What is it?”

“Someone has come from the Chantresha family.”

The moment his name was mentioned, Hatan’s expression darkened sharply.

He had always drawn attention. With his tall, commanding build and long, sharply slanted eyes, he bore the appearance of a predator — an odd yet compelling combination that led onlookers to describe him as ‘beautiful’. However, his severe and cold temperament meant that once he came of age and could do as he pleased, the swarm of women who had once thrown themselves at him dwindled away.

But, as always, there were exceptions.

“They really are relentless.”

And among those exceptions, none was more troublesome than Zakia Chantresha, the only daughter of the Chantresha house.

By blood she was a distant relative of the Emperor himself. She had tried to pressure the Emperor into arranging a marriage with Hatan, but when that failed to gain any ground, she resorted to ever more reckless extremes—going so far as to throw herself into the path of a galloping horse simply to catch his attention.

Had Hatan not reacted swiftly, she would have died. And with her death, the rising Mutran family would likely have been erased from the imperial register of nobility as well.

“Let’s go.”

With his face twisted in open annoyance, Hatan finally rose to his feet. Zakia was not someone who could be avoided. It was better to meet her head-on and be done with it quickly.