If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 157

The red hair she had seen countless times in her dreams, the reddish-brown eyes, the beloved facial features, and the parting lips.

“I have truly missed you all this time.”

Kisa looked up blankly at the tall man standing before her.

‘What?’

Perhaps because the situation felt so unreal, her thoughts weren’t connecting as they normally would.

It took some time for her to mentally process the scene that had entered her field of vision.

Seyard was here now.

Right before her eyes, with an utterly composed expression.

In other words, not only had she been caught hiding here, but she had even opened the door for him with her own hands.

But even after understanding this, there was considerable mental resistance to accepting it emotionally.

‘Why was I discovered? No, why is Seyard here in the first place?’

Was the story about being injured while hunting a lie after all?

But even so, would the Duke of Hillan, a person who attracts public attention, secretly come to a foreign country?

If there was even the slightest chance that he had come to Octava or that his absence had become known, wouldn’t Gale have told Kisa about it?

And the various questions swirling chaotically in her mind soon converged into one desperate reality.

Everything was over. Her efforts had vanished in an instant like ephemeral bubbles.

She had tried so hard. Even when the things she had left behind were vivid before her eyes, even when the new things she encountered were strange and frightening, she had just endured it all.

Everything had been nothing but a momentary, useless struggle.

Because she could never escape from this man’s palm, then or now.

At that moment, an indescribable sense of despair spread throughout Kisa’s entire body.

Kisa couldn’t even think of the reckless option of turning around and running away now, and just stood still, breathing heavily.

“Kisa?”

Seyard narrowed his eyes and called her name, but she didn’t have the capacity to pay attention to such things.

It was then that Kisa felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

She involuntarily let out a groan of “Ugh” and leaned against the wall.

“Kisa!”

Then Seyard, with alarmed eyes, stepped into the room and approached Kisa closely.

But in the next moment, Kisa reflexively swatted away his hand that was reaching toward her shoulder.

“…….”

“…….”

Both people simultaneously froze their bodies and faces.

Though it was her own action, Kisa was suddenly seized with fear and watched Seyard’s reaction.

Until just moments ago, her head had been filled only with the fact that she had been caught by him, but the abdominal pain had made her realize something new.

The child in this belly. His child.

Kisa’s belly, now well over three months into her pregnancy, was quite swollen.

Moreover, due to the recently rising temperatures, her clothing had become thinner.

Even someone obtuse about such matters would likely notice nine times out of ten that she was not alone in her body when looking at her current state.

How much more so for Seyard, who had a ghostly keen perception.

His missing this fact was purely Kisa’s wishful thinking and nearly impossible.

And as if to prove that assumption correct, Seyard’s gaze was fixed on her swollen belly.

Kisa felt sweat forming on her palms as she had to endure that gaze that felt emotionless, or more accurately, chillingly cold.

She desperately wanted to at least turn her head away, but somehow she couldn’t move a muscle.

She was afraid of what consequences would follow if she rashly rejected him.

“Kisa, are you feeling very unwell?”

But for some reason, the voice that reached her ears was only calm, unlike his gaze.

Seyard only moved his lips without approaching Kisa any further.

“Shall we go to the hospital together? I’ll escort you by carriage. There’s also the option of calling a doctor here if it’s difficult for you to move.”

What kind of miracle was this? As if their relationship had been nothing but good in the past, Seyard worried about her with an affectionate attitude.

Feeling bewildered, Kisa shook her head and obediently answered his question.

“I’m fine. It hurt a little earlier, but I’m perfectly fine now.”

In fact, the pain had been brief, and since then she had been so distracted by his presence that she hadn’t had time to dwell on why her belly had hurt.

“Then that’s fortunate. But just in case, I recommend having a doctor examine you.”

“……No. I don’t want to go.”

It was something she said by mustering what courage she had, but he backed down surprisingly easily.

“I understand. But please promise me this one thing. If you hurt again, you’ll go to the hospital immediately.”

Kisa said she understood, as if she were under some spell.

“For now, it would be better for you to rest comfortably. Would you like to lie down on that bed over there?”

“I, I’m fine with the chair.”

No matter how differently the situation was unfolding from her expectations, lying down peacefully in front of him was absurd.

Kisa glanced at him sideways as she approached the chair by the table and sat down.

Then Seyard very naturally took the other chair, as if he had been here many times before.

It was originally the chair Gale used, and she never dreamed that someone else would sit in that spot.

Kisa carefully observed his mood.

She had imagined countless times being discovered in her hiding place and dragged back to Sorbi, but among those scenarios, there had never been such a peaceful and calm picture.

In her worried nightmares, Seyard had always worn a frightening expression while denouncing the lover who had betrayed him.

But the real him she faced in reality acted normally, as if he had reasonable circumstances for not seeing her for a long time and had finally met his lover.

“Have you been well during this time? You seem to have gotten thinner since I last saw you.”

Even at his affectionate question, Kisa’s mouth felt parched for some reason.

She even began to wish that he would scold and curse her instead.

“……Please stop pretending nothing happened.”

“Pardon?”

“You have something else to say to me besides that.”

Kisa took the initiative before he could speak.

“I abandoned you and left. I wasn’t kidnapped; I left with these two feet.”

The next words came after a slight pause.

“Because I didn’t want to marry you.”

I’ve done it. That was the first thought that arose in Kisa’s mind after finishing her words.

She waited for Seyard’s response with the heart of a child about to be beaten.

Would he become terrifyingly angry? Or perhaps he would sneer or ignore her completely.

Over the years, that had been the reaction of Count Vansfelt or Daniel when Kisa had expressed opinions that directly opposed theirs.

But it was strange. No matter how long she waited, Seyard’s angry voice never came.

“I didn’t know you disliked me so much.”

Instead, he spoke quietly with a somewhat dejected expression.

“From now on, I will make an effort. So that you will feel like taking my hand again.”

Kisa was confused and kept her mouth open for a moment before asking haltingly.

“Wh, what are you saying?”

“Marriage doesn’t have to happen immediately, but I think I put too much pressure on you during this time. I postponed the ceremony before coming, so it’s fine now.”

“Wait, Seyard. Do you still want to marry me?”

“Yes, of course.”

It was Kisa who was left speechless by his answer without the slightest hesitation.

She had never anticipated such a situation.

‘I thought it was possible that Seyard wouldn’t give up on me, but…….’

The current him seemed to regard Kisa’s flight as a conflict that naturally occurs between lovers.

Even though the wedding he had put so much effort into was ruined, leading to nationwide gossip and becoming a laughingstock.

Looking at Seyard’s peaceful eyes gazing at her, even Kisa felt as if what she had done was nothing significant.

Suddenly, an impulse arose in Kisa’s heart to throw everything away and bury herself in this man’s embrace.

To completely forget the difficult and frightening things and entrust herself entirely to this man.

But knowing better than anyone that she shouldn’t do that, Kisa parted her heavy lips.

“If I said I didn’t want to, what would you do?”

“…….”

“If I said I didn’t want marriage, didn’t want to start over from the beginning, and wanted Seyard to go back and forget me forever.”

Although any expression worthy of the name immediately disappeared from Seyard’s face, Kisa didn’t stop speaking.

“What would you do?”

After her words ended, only the tick-tock sound of clock hands moving remained in the room.

It was the sound coming from the alarm clock that Gale had recently given Kisa as a gift.

When the small hand moving busily had made one full circle, the man finally opened his mouth.

“Kisa, I—”

Knock knock knock. It was something neither Kisa nor Seyard had expected.

Who would have thought that another visitor would appear not long after he had arrived here?

Moreover, the knocking sound had a familiar rhythm.

The signal that Gale and Kisa had established together. In other words, the person outside the door now was Gale.

Kisa’s heart sank as she looked at the complexion of the person beside her.

If Seyard had easily entered here by mimicking that signal, he would naturally already know about Gale’s existence.

A man who was with the escaped Kisa and frequented her lodgings.

As she imagined how Seyard would perceive Gale, ominous thoughts crossed her mind.

“…….”

Kisa hoped that it was just her imagination that Seyard’s eyes, staring toward the door, seemed particularly dark.

‘Gale, please just go back.’

But contrary to Kisa’s hopes, a low voice was heard from beyond the door.

“Miss. It’s me, Gale. I came because I have something to tell you regarding what happened yesterday.”

Gale asked in a cautious manner.

“Are you inside? May I come in?”