If You Wish to Have Me - Chapter 161

Since she had always traveled with only the bare minimum of belongings whenever she moved from place to place, there wasn’t much luggage to pack from the lodging.

Kisa packed the bag she had brought when she first left Count Vansfelt’s estate, along with the pregnancy guidebook Mana had given her before leaving, and Gale’s gift of an alarm clock, then put on her coat.

“Let me take that.”

Seyard extended his hand as if to carry her luggage, but Kisa shook her head.

“I can carry it myself.”

He didn’t insist further and instead wrapped his arm around Kisa’s waist.

“Shall we go then? This area is too conspicuous, so I’ve placed the carriage a little distance away. We’ll need to walk a bit.”

Kisa could sense a subtle yet confident victor’s joy in the smile that played on his lips.

It was befitting of someone who had lived a life of nothing but victories.

Unlike someone else.

“……That’s fine. Let’s go quickly.”

At Kisa’s response, Seyard escorted her out of the room.

Before the door closed, Kisa took one last look around the space where she had spent the past few days.

She ended up leaving behind the remaining food ingredients and books that had originally belonged to Gale, but even so, the room felt hollow and empty.

As she looked around carefully in all directions, her gaze fixed on a letter sitting alone on the dining table.

To think she was saying goodbye to him with just a single letter, after all the help she had received.

Moreover, the contents were absurd – claiming that she had coincidentally run into her fiancé and that their conflicts had been amicably resolved, so she was returning to him.

She could picture in her mind how dejected Gale would be upon seeing it, and how Manoa would feel when she received the report from Gale.

Wasn’t this rendering all their goodwill and efforts completely meaningless, after she had desperately begged for help and they had graciously provided it?

But this was the best solution Kisa could think of.

It was much better than having the two of them learn the truth – that she had chosen him under pressure after Seyard had tracked down her whereabouts.

Both of them were good people, so they would surely be heartbroken for Kisa’s sake.

And if it was Gale, who harbored no small feelings toward Kisa, he might not give up even then.

‘Yes, this is right.’

Last night, Kisa had written on the letter paper with as bright and cheerful a tone as possible, as if she were delighted.

All that remained was to hope that Gale would believe the contents at face value.

That he would think of her as a tactless and ungrateful woman.

So that he would quickly shake off his futile feelings and find another good partner.

Someone as responsible and kind as him deserved that.

“Kisa.”

At the call that came then, Kisa turned her gaze away from the letter and looked at the man beside her.

Seyard didn’t rush her. There was no need to rush.

A sigh-like whisper escaped from Kisa’s lips first.

“I’m ready now.”

It was time for the dream-like life of escape to come to an end.

The place Seyard took her to was Matera’s famous luxury hotel.

Arriving at the place whose name even Kisa knew, he seemed to have made arrangements in advance as they entered the building through the back door, away from people’s eyes.

Soon, a magnificently decorated suite welcomed the two of them.

In that place where everything was luxurious, Kisa had to taste a somewhat alienating feeling.

The outdoor clothes she wore were common enough to be seen countless times on the street, and while they weren’t high-quality clothes, she could be confident that she had dressed neatly.

But being in this place, she somehow looked shabby and unmistakably appeared as if she had found the wrong room.

‘So that was where I was supposed to be after all?’

As Kisa was recalling that room filled with old furniture and poor soundproofing, Seyard approached her with a clothes hanger in one hand.

“You must be uncomfortable, so please change into this.”

What hung on the hanger was indoor clothing made of soft material, and like the clothes he had given her as gifts before, it was loose-fitting.

Naturally, it was incomparably more sophisticated than the clothes she was currently wearing.

Kisa hesitated for a moment, then accepted the clothes he offered.

Honestly speaking, she didn’t particularly want to wear them, but that too was pointless rebellion anyway.

Since she had yielded to him on the most important matter, she didn’t want to do other things according to his wishes either.

But Seyard wouldn’t mind.

He would probably let Kisa do whatever she wanted with trivial matters.

Thinking this way, Kisa, feeling deflated, decided to just wear clothes that suited the place.

“Thank you.”

After saying that, she casually placed the clothes on the sofa, and Seyard gazed at her quietly for a while.

“Do you have something more you want to say?”

He answered without delay.

“I missed you. I really missed you.”

Kisa didn’t give any particular response and looked toward the window.

Unlike the small, token window in the previous room, this was an elegant terrace-style one.

Even though Kisa wasn’t looking at him, Seyard continued speaking.

“Thank you for trusting me once again. I will definitely prove that your choice was not wrong.”

“……Can this really be called trust?”

“It’s alright, Kisa. There may be distance between us still, but time will resolve that. I’ll try to make you as comfortable as possible.”

Seyard said that his room was elsewhere, as if his words weren’t entirely empty.

Though she didn’t show it, Kisa felt relieved.

The thought of suddenly having to live in the same room with him made her feel overwhelmed.

“I’m using the room across the hall, so please come find me anytime you need anything.”

“I don’t know about that. I think I’ll be rather uncomfortable, so please let me know in advance when you plan to visit.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“But is this really okay?”

Kisa asked him about something she had been curious about.

“This place seems like somewhere many people who know both you and me would stay. Is it really okay for someone who was too sick to attend the wedding and a duke who’s supposedly bedridden after falling from a horse to be staying perfectly fine in a place like this?”

What would others think?

But contrary to Kisa’s concerns, Seyard readily answered.

“It’s fine. Since we’re both sick, we’ll say we’re recuperating together abroad. If we say our health improved thanks to the rest, who would complain about that?”

Seyard was more shameless than she had thought.

In any case, since he said it was fine, there was no reason for her to worry, so Kisa roughly accepted it.

“Understood.”

Also, for some reason, Seyard didn’t seem to have any intention of returning to Sorbi immediately.

In any case, that’s how the two people’s peculiar neighborly life began.