Invitation of the Crescent Moon - Chapter 51-60

51

Ashika felt wronged that she had no retort, so she chewed her lips irritably.

“This isn’t about conditions. Have you forgotten? You are Duke Talion and I am Igraine. You’re the one who said you would reject Igraine even if all the women in the world disappeared. Why are you acting like this toward me now?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Those were certainly the words he had spoken. However, Drushia’s expression suggested, “So what?”

“That was just what I thought before sleeping with you. Who could have known we would be such a good match?”

“Ha. You call that an explanation…”

Ashika was dumbfounded by Drushia’s brazen attitude.

“Aren’t you embarrassed to flip your stance so easily?”

“I’m a pragmatist. When needs and conditions change, why should I be constrained by mere words? I’m just a healthy man who desires a woman.”

And before him lay a tempting prey. Like game offered whole to a predator, someone he could seize just by reaching out. And a woman he absolutely wanted.

“You know how much Talion’s knights and vassals hate me, yet you still say such things?”

“You know they don’t hate you. They just need someone to direct their anger toward.”

“That’s the same thing.”

“That’s exactly why I’m saying this.”

Drushia’s expression cooled. Keeping his gaze fixed on Ashika, who wondered what he meant, he continued.

“For the sake of the future, I think it’s time to end this antagonism. Perhaps it could start with the two of us.”

Drushia’s expression was serious, suggesting this wasn’t a sudden thought.

Ashika’s eyes widened. She had thought he was only intent on tormenting her, never imagining he harbored such thoughts.

“The two families have long desired a marital alliance. It suited both sides’ needs.”

“You must also remember how that ended.”

The marriage of Ashika’s grandfather Weive and Drushia’s great-aunt Vanne. Because of it, Weive’s lover and child died, and Vanne also lost her life. It was a marriage that ended in tragedy, leaving many questions unanswered.

“Lady Igraine, do you perhaps have a hidden lover or child?”

“What nonsense are you talking about?”

“Yes, of course not.”

Drushia nodded at Ashika’s horrified face.

“I don’t have any either. As you know, I have only a healthy body and the considerable position of Duke.”

“Is this proposal truly for the sake of your family? Not personal desire?”

“Either way, what difference does it make?”

Drushia genuinely seemed to think it didn’t matter. Now Ashika began to feel confused.

Talion, the Empire’s foremost sword and shield. And Drushia, the current Duke dedicated to his family. Just as Ashika had constantly sacrificed herself and trained since childhood for the sake of her family, she thought he had done the same.

‘But what is this attitude?’

“Why are you looking at me like that? Did you just realize what kind of man I am?”

He didn’t care what others thought. Drushia was unconcerned even if people cursed him as a selfish man who only cared about himself.

In his childhood, having lost his parents and left alone, his only blood relative, Neoren, never returned from the war with the foreign tribes, and the abandoned young boy was thrown into a den of beasts.

Collateral bloodlines who approached under the pretext of caring for the heir, yet only watched for opportunities to devour him. He had endured those precarious times alone, like walking on the edge of a blade to avoid being eaten.

No matter how important the family was, whose family was it for? Except for his grandfather Neoren, all his blood relatives were dead. So what meaning did the family have for a child left alone?

Power was more important to Drushia than family, and the knights who devoted themselves to him were more important than vassals who watched for opportunities.

Therefore, the eyes of others were never a consideration, and his own desires were more important. Of course, this included the power and authority that would firmly support his position.

That was why. Drushia had long recognized that gaining possession of Igraine would bring tremendous benefit, rather than opposing her. The only problems were emotional issues unrelated to practical benefit; the calculations were already completed.

“Ah-ha, ha”

Ashika genuinely came to admire Drushia. She knew he was calculating by nature, but she hadn’t realized he was this thorough.

“So, what’s your answer?”

His gaze urging an answer was subtle. A secretive and deep desire imprinted by just two nights. And a strange heat that surpassed that desire.

‘How did things turn out like this?’

She certainly didn’t dislike it. No, even if Drushia’s displayed emotion was merely desire, she liked it. Ashika’s heart had already been helplessly swaying.

Whenever she confirmed that Drushia had a fiancée, it was painful as if her heart had been stolen. Without knowing why she felt that way.

A sweet temptation extended to Ashika.

She wanted to meet Drushia. To see him up close, call him by a pet name, and whisper tender love. She wanted to confirm the nature of these feelings. But an inexplicable ominous premonition blocked her path.

‘I thought we would never be close like in the dream.’

But now it was no longer a dream. Though the process differed, the two had become entangled like this. If so, could the other dreams also have some meaning that couldn’t be ignored?

Ashika squeezed her eyes shut. To gather her helplessly drifting heart, she took deep breaths and harshly regained her composure.

Drushia silently observed Ashika’s changing face. Her face was so honest that her conflicted feelings were plainly visible.

‘What is she pondering? After boldly seducing me first?’

He couldn’t understand Ashika’s hesitation now.

‘What answer is she going to give?’

When Ashika finally organized her thoughts and opened her mouth, Drushia forgot to breathe due to tension.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear your proposal. You and I are not compatible. And we shouldn’t be.”

Drushia’s face froze coldly as his energy drained. Ashika felt her heart shrink under his glare that seemed ready to devour her.

“I…”

The man’s face, not even moving slightly, was terrifying. Effectively pressuring the other party with silence.

‘He… seems angry.’

But she couldn’t take back words already spoken. Ashika barely managed to voice words amidst the oppressive silence.

“I don’t intend to retract my answer. I’ll return the clothes and accessories you gave me as soon as I return home.”

Ashika finished her statement. Though her heart overflowed with muddled emotions, not a drop should leak out. Thinking thus, she gathered her resolve.

Tok, tok, tok.

Drushia’s long, outstretched fingers slowly drummed on the table.

Once Ashika closed her mouth, she never opened it again. Though their time together had been brief, Drushia had carefully analyzed Ashika’s character. A woman who, while having soft spots, could be ruthless when decisive.

‘This won’t be solved by pushing.’

Drushia knew when to retreat. So he changed the subject.

“By the way, what nightmares do you have so severely? Does it happen often?”

The blood drained from Ashika’s face. Drushia was surprised by how she froze with her eyes wide open. Whether aware of his surprise or not, Ashika didn’t even blink.

After some time, her frozen black pupils shook violently. Though her bleached white face showed not the slightest emotion, her eyes trembled as if in an earthquake.

“I’m not prying, it’s just that you looked so…”

Flustered, Drushia stammered his words.

At the end of his gaze, her stiffly frozen small lips opened as if forcibly torn apart. Even after her mouth opened, it took time for her voice to emerge. Each movement seemed forced, as if borrowing someone else’s body rather than her own.

“I have no reason to stay here any longer, do I? I’ll take the liberty of borrowing a carriage just to the city.”

Ashika bowed her head and slowly rose from her seat.

She had frozen so completely that not even a needle tip could enter. She had returned to being the proud and resolute Lady Igraine who allowed no gaps, not the woman who had been flustered, irritated, and swayed by him just moments ago.

Everything is back to square one.

The large hand gripping the table corner tightened. So much that the knuckles turned white. But Drushia’s blue eyes burned sharply and hotly like those of a predator.

****

The windowless room was cold and dark. There was only one lamp on the wall, and half the room was blocked by bars.

The man beyond them moved uneasily. He flinched, trying to distance himself from the gaze that glared at him while clutching his side stabbed by a sword.

“W-who are you?”

“You know where you recklessly jumped into. So who do you think I am?”

From outside the bars, Aegonite glared at the man with a terrifying gaze, arms crossed.

“What are you talking about…?”

“Stop playing dumb. Who else would dare invade the Duke’s residence and cause a commotion?”

“Th-the Duke’s residence?”

“Ha, look at this guy!”

The man, with his gaunt face, avoided Aegonite’s gaze.

“Your comrades have already gone to the other world after being poisoned. No one will help you even if you hold out.”

“Poison? Why would my comrades…?”

“Three were captured, but only you remain. Someone poisoned the food and they went all at once. Before we could even investigate the mastermind. You should understand by now, right? Your life hangs by a thread. Your only chance to live is to confess quickly and seek His Grace’s mercy.”

The man’s face darkened at the news that his comrades had been killed.

“Who hired you? How great a person sent you to fearlessly invade this place? The Duke Talion’s residence, no less.”

“I-I didn’t know! Really!”

Realizing he was cornered, the man prostrated himself. The pain from his torn side was no longer the issue. Aegonite’s face wrinkled at the unexpected attitude.

“What do you mean you didn’t know?”

“We just received a minor request. The client asked us to accompany them to secretly enter someone’s house. They said no one would get hurt, so we followed.”

They weren’t told whose house it was or what was to be done. They were transported in a large cargo wagon and passed through what seemed like a secret passage.

Only after entering the mansion did he realize with shock that this was Duke Talion’s residence. But by then, knights were already rushing at them with swords. Thus, the man and his comrades became unwitting scapegoats.

The man continued to bow his head repeatedly while prostrated. He was so frightened that his hands on the floor trembled too much to lift.

“The physician worked hard to save you, and yet…”

Aegonite let out a disbelieving laugh. He knew they would be useless, but he hadn’t expected they wouldn’t even know where they had infiltrated.

For two more full days, he interrogated the man, but discovered nothing. Though there was no torture or threat to his life, the man had to tremble in anxiety throughout his confinement.

He had dared to infiltrate the main house of the ducal family. He hadn’t even known such a thing was possible against Talion.

On the third day, after continuously anxious waiting, the man was moved from the basement of the mansion to a small building on the ground. Aegonite, who had been interrogating him all along, no longer visited. It seemed he had been pushed aside from everyone’s attention for being completely useless.

The man carefully watched for an opportunity. The dilapidated warehouse seemed unused, with everything worn out. On the second day after being moved to the warehouse, the man who had been holding his breath quietly searched the interior.

‘A door!’

Finding a hidden back door behind piled junk was unexpected good fortune.

In the deep night without a moon, the man waited for a quiet time around the warehouse. Passing through a side door barely wide enough for one person, he headed to a corner of the garden far from the main building.

‘It was somewhere around here.’

A place with weathered statues, garden trees surrounding like a fence, and red-tinted flagstones on the ground.

‘Found it!’

He found the outermost flagstone hidden by bushes and lifted it with difficulty. Beneath was a hole just large enough for one person, and iron handles were embedded in layers on the wall of the pit.

The man successfully escaped from the mansion using the same passage he had entered through.

 

52

“Open the door, quickly!”

The man shook the doorknob while keeping his voice as low as possible. In the old cabin, the sound resonated quite loudly. People who had been deeply asleep barely woke up from the sound of the rattling door.

“What’s the matter so early in the morning? Oh my, who is this?”

“Get in, hurry up and get in!”

As soon as the door opened, the man pushed the other person inside and followed.

There were signs of people waking up here and there, and someone lit an oil lamp. About ten people had been sleeping with their backs against each other and were just waking up.

The man scanned the now brightened interior.

“Where did everyone go? The guys who went with me?”

“You went with them, so you should know. How would we know?”

“They didn’t return? Has anyone brought any news?”

The man asked again with a pale face. By now, everyone in the cabin was awake and watching him. Their faces showed they had no idea what was happening.

“You left with them a week ago. We’ve all been wondering why there’s been no news.”

The man, completely deflated, collapsed to the floor.

“So it was true.”

The captured comrades had died from poison, and the comrades who escaped from the mansion that day had clearly been dealt with by the client. Of the seven people mobilized for this job, only this man had returned alive.

“Such cruel people…”

The man sat down and wept profusely.

“Come now, what’s wrong?”

“What happened?”

Alarmed people gathered around. Despite their urging, the man couldn’t speak and just continued crying. But his sorrow didn’t last long.

Bang, crash.

The door opened with a loud noise. The old lock had fallen off helplessly with just one rough kick.

“Gasp.”

“W-who are you?!”

The startled people froze in place. The man who had been crying also jumped up from his spot and backed away.

“What is this place?”

“Th-that person!”

The man pointed at Aegonite with a pale face. He couldn’t fail to recognize the person who had interrogated him throughout his time at Talion Mansion.

However, Aegonite’s face showed even more surprise than the frightened man’s.

This was in an outlying area far from the center, where abandoned buildings were clustered. He had never imagined people would be living here. It was a hideout where even the light from oil lamps couldn’t escape outside, as all the window gaps had been blocked with cloth.

“Aegonite, what’s the situation inside?”

A voice from outside brought Aegonite back to his senses.

“There appears to be no danger.”

As Aegonite moved aside by the door, another person entered.

“What is this…”

Drushia, who had stepped inside, was also at a loss for words, just like Aegonite.

When they couldn’t get useful information from the prisoner, Drushia had chosen to release him rather than punish him. It was because the captured man seemed naive. He judged it would be better to follow him and find connections.

But the place the man had fled to was beyond imagination. The people who were terrified, and the place that was too old and shabby to be called a villain’s hideout.

“This place is surrounded by Talion’s knights. It would be best not to think about escaping. Now, who will explain the current situation?”

At the mention of Talion, the people’s eyes widened.

“Talion ducal family?”

“Could it be…”

“Your Grace? Aren’t you Duke Talion?”

A young man from the farthest corner rushed forward.

“That’s right. Look everyone, it’s Duke Talion!”

The situation was becoming increasingly incomprehensible. Drushia deeply furrowed his brow, and Aegonite lowered his hand that had been about to grasp his sword.

“You know me?”

“I saw you from a distance when you visited the Grand Duke’s territory a few years ago.”

With his tall stature, bright blonde hair, and handsome features, Drushia was particularly noticeable even among knights.

“The Grand Duke’s territory? Are you saying you’re from there?”

“Not just me. Everyone here is from the Grand Duke’s territory.”

Drushia’s eyes widened at the response. The young man prostrated himself flat on the floor and pleaded.

“Your Grace, please spare us. We all left the Grand Duke’s territory for various reasons and ended up stranded here.”

“Explain.”

Drushia quietly looked down at him, waiting for his next words. The hesitant young man glanced briefly at his terrified companions and then, as if having made up his mind, began to speak.

“In the Grand Duke’s territory, there has long been a rare disease not seen in other areas. Since no cure could be found, those afflicted lived separately.”

That was information Drushia already knew. The people who had escaped from the poorhouse while receiving treatment were from that village.

“Originally, this disease was known not to be contagious. The number of patients didn’t increase. But recently, the disease began to spread.”

“Are you saying it’s becoming contagious?”

“Not exactly, but patients are increasing around specific areas.”

Drushia’s expression grew increasingly stern. The young man, perhaps thinking this was his last chance, desperately continued.

“The disease is definitely spreading. Recently, I saw a foreigner who wasn’t from the Grand Duke’s territory receiving treatment for the same disease at the poorhouse.”

“You, were you also at the poorhouse?”

The young man cautiously raised his head to check Drushia’s expression and then prostrated himself again.

“Actually… half the people here escaped from the poorhouse.”

“Ah.”

“I’m sorry. We know we’ve committed a crime, but we needed a way to survive.”

“This isn’t just any crime; you’ve violated an imperial edict.”

At the cold tone, the young man couldn’t even respond.

No matter what they did to survive, violating an imperial edict was a serious offense. The people who were now only waiting for their punishment gradually backed into corners. Drushia’s expression was extremely complicated as he watched them.

“And so? Where was this foreigner with the same disease from?”

“He didn’t say, but…”

“Then how did you know he was a foreigner?”

“His accent was different. And despite his shabby clothes, he didn’t look like a commoner. Everyone was puzzled to see him mingling so easily with the people at the poorhouse.”

Aegonite had a flicker of recognition at the young man’s description.

“What did he look like?”

“Ah, yes. He was a young man in his early 20s, with gray hair and grayish-blue eyes…”

“That bastard, he was one who escaped from the poorhouse?”

The young man flinched at Aegonite’s sudden shout.

“Sir, do you know who he is?”

“Ha, so it was him.”

A strange man had inexplicably attached himself to Ashika, whose movements were predictable. Aegonite had always found it odd, and now there was a connection. The man who had fled in Igraine’s carriage during the poorhouse fire incident. The shameless man called Nile.

‘No wonder he avoided the topic whenever it came up.’

He had been suspicious all along, but now he turned out to be even more suspicious.

‘That woman must be out of her mind. Why would she associate with such a person?’

The young man continued speaking while observing Drushia and Aegonite’s reactions.

“The Grand Duke’s territory has been suffering from drought for years and is becoming increasingly barren. As the number of patients increased, the public became uneasy, and people who couldn’t endure it any longer left the territory and scattered to nearby small cities. And those suffering from the disease came here after hearing about a healer from the capital.”

That’s how people who left the Grand Duke’s territory gathered one by one to form a group. Among them, those who were nimble and knew how to handle a sword had been doing various odd jobs.

And recently, they had accepted a mysterious request for quite a substantial reward. That’s how they had infiltrated Talion’s mansion.

People no one knew existed because they were hiding secretly. Someone had sent these people into Talion’s mansion and quickly disposed of those who managed to escape, erasing all traces. It was a crime committed with the knowledge that no one would be able to inquire.

Drushia silently looked down at the young man.

He knew the situation in the Grand Duke’s territory was getting worse, but he hadn’t realized it was this bad. The personnel dispatched from both families was limited, and they couldn’t manage the entire vast territory.

Especially, they couldn’t monitor the inner villages of the Grand Duke’s territory. Proper support would only be possible once the blockade was lifted, but that was currently unimaginable.

“You have violated the imperial edict and left the Grand Duke’s territory. Do you know how serious that crime is?”

At the severe tone, everyone in the room bowed their heads.

Defying an imperial edict was a crime comparable to treason. Regarding the Grand Duke’s territory, the imperial family punished crimes even more harshly.

A long sigh escaped from Drushia’s lips. With a hardened face, he reached his conclusion.

“I will arrange for a carriage right now. Return to the Grand Duke’s territory under the escort of the knights.”

“What?”

“Your Grace, we…”

“If anyone attempts to escape again, they will be immediately sent to the Security Force. Keep that in mind.”

Everyone fell silent after hearing the additional warning. Drushia left the building with just those words.

“Aegonite.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

“Strengthen the security both inside and outside until the secret passage to the mansion is completely sealed.”

The secret passage that the man had used to enter the mansion was a place that had been discontinued more than several decades ago. They had brazenly ransacked the mansion using a location that even Talion’s people had forgotten about.

‘Whoever orchestrated this incident knows Talion well.’

Perhaps there was someone who had been watching Talion for longer than expected.

‘What could the purpose have been?’

No clear clue was visible no matter how much he pondered.

“And you personally escort them and make sure every single one returns to the Grand Duke’s territory.”

The last escapee caught by Talion’s knight had also been sent to the Grand Duke’s territory. It was obvious that sending them to the Security Force would result in them being neglected without proper treatment. It was the same this time.

“Me personally?”

“Yes. And assign a few knights to start investigating from the problematic village. Consider it as atonement for the punishment you’ve been postponing.”

Recalling his wrongdoing against Ashika, Aegonite agreed.

It was a blatant violation of the imperial edict. All the escapees should have been handed over to the Security Force and processed according to the law, but Drushia couldn’t bring himself to do so. They were people driven into a corner, abandoned with the charge of treason and deprived of care.

‘An imperial edict that drives normal people to danger, and punishes those who just want to live.’

His heart grew unbearably heavy. Drushia sighed as he gazed at the dawn sky.

“Isn’t forty years too long?”

It was too much time to punish someone, or somewhere, in the name of treason.

 

53

Even the shade beneath the towering garden trees couldn’t escape the sweltering heat of summer. Though all the mansion’s windows were open, not a breeze stirred, leaving no escape from the heat.

Despite the scorching sunlight raising her temperature, Ashika wouldn’t move away from the window. Lost in thought, she had forgotten even the feeling of heat.

It had been a week since she left Talion mansion. Though she thought she should put it behind her by now, the intense sensations that remained stubbornly disturbed her mind.

At first, she tried to dismiss it as merely an accident that happened while caught in a hallucination, but now even those efforts were futile. The man who had impressed his powerful presence upon her and overwhelmingly driven her to distraction now completely occupied her thoughts.

‘I’m troubled…’

Every night, even in her dreams, Drushia’s voice called to her again and again. Why did she feel such intense longing whenever she heard that voice? Waking up drenched in tears near dawn was no longer unusual.

‘I miss him.’

Emotions that threatened to burst into tears—whether they were her own or a delusion from her dreams—were now indistinguishable. All she could think of was one thing:

‘I want to see him.’

Ashika buried her face in the curtain, trying to erase these impossible thoughts. But the more she thought, the more her emotions swelled and grew.

‘What might Rushia be doing now? I rejected him so coldly when I left, so his pride must be hurt.’

Was he the kind of man who would be rejected by women elsewhere? Perhaps his long-standing resentment had added to his anger.

‘If only I had left some room by saying I would think about it…’

But Ashika immediately shook her head.

‘That’s absurd. If Grandfather found out, the household would be turned upside down.’

In truth, she feared her grandfather Weive more than the opposition of the vassals. No one knew better than Ashika how much Weive despised the Talions.

‘He won’t even allow Talion’s name to be mentioned.’

If there was anyone who would oppose this relationship more fiercely than Talion’s knights or the vassals of both families, it would be Weive.

While she might ignore others’ opposition, she couldn’t go against Weive’s wishes. He was Duke Igraine, Ashika’s only remaining blood relative and the one who held complete authority over her life.

Whether her feelings for Drushia were an illusion or a temporary temptation, she had to set them aside. Every time she dwelled on this fact, a heavy, dull pain struck her heart.

Her seemingly endless contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the office door. Ashika quickly composed herself and sat in a summer chair woven from vines.

“My lady, it’s me.”

“Come in.”

“Here are the documents with the detailed items as you requested.”

Ashika received the documents from Julma with her usual calm expression. Suddenly, as she examined the papers, she tilted her head.

“Are these really the items they requested?”

“Yes. They said it would be fine if you allocated within 10% of the volume we currently distribute. I’m surprised they gave this much choice.”

“Wheat, salt, oil, wine… they’ve left out high-value items like spices, silk, and jewels. These are mostly daily necessities.”

Ashika had intended to share which items could be included in the stake she promised to Iben, and to negotiate. But their demands were less than she’d expected.

“Luxury items have limited distribution regions, while necessities enter throughout the empire. Looking at the long term, that might be advantageous. Or perhaps they have less funding than expected.”

Luxury items did carry more risk compared to their cost. Still, it wasn’t immediately understandable.

“From the high-priced items in the art shop alone, they didn’t seem short on money.”

“By the way, my lady.”

“Yes?”

“How do you know the Viscountess Siclaire?”

“Viscountess? Are you saying Iben was married?”

Ashika lowered the documents with a surprised expression.

“You didn’t know? She married at a young age about 20 years ago, but her husband died shortly after.”

“20 years? Then how old is Iben?”

“Probably in her mid-thirties. I heard she had no children, so the title passed to a relative, and she was practically driven out of her hometown.”

Iben’s past was more ordinary than expected. So ordinary that it seemed somehow unsuitable for her character.

‘Driven from her hometown 20 years ago.’

It was long enough for anything to have happened.

‘Yes, that woman must have her own story.’

Though there were still unclear aspects, Ashika accepted this explanation.

“By the way, Julma, where do you get all this information?”

“The people you deal with aren’t just nobles, my lady. It’s also part of my job to verify information as quickly as possible to avoid problems.”

Before meeting Iben, Julma had confirmed her name in the noble genealogy and gathered minimal information by seeking related persons in the capital.

“That’s true, but it seems my assistant’s talents are exceptional.”

A slight smile formed on Ashika’s lips as she returned her gaze to the documents.

“Well then, my lady, if you appreciate my abilities, I have a request…”

“No.”

“How did you know what I was going to say?”

“You want me to get rid of Nile, right?”

Ashika answered without even looking up. Julma struggled to manage his expression to avoid showing his displeasure.

“You know why I’m asking this. That guy… I mean, Nile is completely useless for my work. He knows nothing, not even basic paperwork.”

“I’ve told you before. The reason you’re keeping Nile is because he needs an official position for appearances. Don’t actually make him work. Who knows what trouble he might cause.”

“So you acknowledge he’s likely to cause trouble?”

“Well, more like…”

He was simply so wayward that he was unpredictable. Though she kept him around out of necessity, he wasn’t the type she could control.

“He can be cooperative if you handle him well. If you look, you’ll find something useful about him.”

Julma’s face showed complete incomprehension.

‘She’s not someone who acts without a plan…’

Ashika chose to gently push this problematic issue onto her assistant and look away. Before the conversation could continue, a maid came to the office.

“My lady, the carriage is ready.”

“Ah, yes.”

Ashika quickly rose from her seat and received a thin hooded cape from the maid.

“The sun will set soon. Isn’t it too late to go out?”

“I’m just going to Grande Gêne briefly. It won’t take long.”

It was her first outing in exactly a week. She deliberately chose sunset to avoid being noticed by people.

As Julma watched Ashika walk away, a puzzled expression remained on his face.

****

The open-sided carriage had three sides exposed, allowing the street noise to carry through clearly. Ashika pushed herself deep into the inside of the carriage, under the long awning.

Jeanne, sitting opposite her, maintained a statue-like posture despite the carriage’s vibrations. Ashika felt uncomfortable with her loyal knight’s continuously stern expression.

“How long are you going to stay angry?”

“Angry? I’m merely a knight obeying my master’s will.”

“I’ve already apologized for leaving home without saying anything.”

Jeanne quietly looked at Ashika.

“Do you know how worried I was?”

In Jeanne’s eyes, Ashika was like a greenhouse flower—a noble lady who had been protected from even the slightest danger since birth.

Ashika had also taken this for granted and hadn’t strayed from her prescribed boundaries. But recently, those once-solid boundaries were breaking down, by none other than Ashika herself. The change was sudden and extreme enough to feel dangerous.

Ashika let out a heavy sigh.

“I know. I know you care about me as much as Lion and Lea. I’m sorry for worrying you.”

Lion and Lea were Jeanne’s two children. Being compared to a six-year-old and a four-year-old seemed unfair, but it meant that she cared for Ashika deeply.

“Nile is an uncontrollable man. No matter how talented he is, a tool that the master cannot handle is useless.”

Jeanne judged coldly. Ashika had already moved several times with just Nile, dismissing the family knights. It was clearly dangerous for Ashika to keep Nile closer than her guard knights.

“His identity is confirmed, isn’t it? Julma verified it.”

“You should bring him under the captain’s command instead. That would be better.”

“Jeanne, who has the authority to command the knights of the family?”

Understanding what she meant, Jeanne closed her mouth.

“I don’t have the authority to command the knights. If Nile joins Sir Coltern’s command, he’ll be under grandfather’s control. That’s why I specifically placed him with Julma.”

Only a few personal guard knights like Jeanne and Libron took orders directly from Ashika. Even within a family, the positions of Duke and heir were worlds apart.

In such circumstances, it wasn’t strange for Ashika to want to build her own connections. The problem was that her chosen associate was quite unreliable and willful.

Of course, Ashika and Nile were not in a master-servant or hierarchical relationship. If anything, they were cooperating because their interests aligned.

Jeanne recognized that Ashika had no intention of backing down on this issue. So she had to accept Ashika’s gentle refusal.

“Then please tell me where you went. If something were to happen, it would be troublesome if I didn’t know your movements.”

“I can’t share everything with you or Julma. That’s why I need Nile.”

Julma knew but didn’t pry. He prioritized hierarchy over personal connections, while Jeanne was the opposite. At Ashika’s cautious attitude, Jeanne also took a step back.

“Are you doing something dangerous?”

“No. Nothing like that. You know how timid I am.”

That’s why learning to ride had been so difficult. She couldn’t bring herself to say she disliked it, so she would often freeze up on horseback, pale with fear. But she didn’t reveal that she now had a desperation that overcame all those fears.

Ashika smiled gently, alleviating Jeanne’s concerns.

“Just promise me one thing.”

Jeanne continued with a somewhat relaxed expression.

“Always prioritize yourself, my lady. Avoid danger when you see it, and if you can’t avoid it, hide. Under no circumstances should you try to fight. Do you understand?”

“I’ll do that.”

Even as she answered, she didn’t quite understand Jeanne’s words. Ashika wasn’t a knight. What situations would there be where she would need to fight against danger?

Looking at Ashika’s innocent face, Jeanne sighed. It seemed she wasn’t doing anything too dangerous after all.

‘That’s right. What major secrets could a noble lady have? Unless it’s a secret romance or something… Hmm?’

Suddenly, Jeanne’s eyes narrowed. She scrutinized Ashika with a hawk-like gaze, lost in thought. When she spoke again, her words were unexpected.

“Do you know who the most dangerous person is, when you thought they were the safest?”

“Hmm?”

“A man who gets a woman pregnant and runs away.”

“Guhp…”

She inhaled sharply and choked.

“What… cough Why suddenly…”

Ashika’s face flushed red. She covered her mouth with a handkerchief as she coughed and fanned herself.

“Whew….What a thing to… Even if such a thing happened, it wouldn’t be just one person’s responsibility, would it?”

“Of course not, but innocent women are easily manipulated. The worse the man, the quicker he spots an innocent woman. That’s why it’s not good to go without dating for too long. You need to meet many men to learn how to weed out the bad ones.”

“I… I suppose so.”

Ashika barely managed to answer as she turned her embarrassed face away. Jeanne’s gaze was so sharp that she could hardly meet her eyes.

‘Jeanne has experienced love and had children…’

It must be advice born from experience. While carefully avoiding the piercing gaze, she wiped the sweat from her forehead.

‘I did call Rushia a bad man quite a lot.’

At the negotiation table, didn’t he dump almost all the costs on Ashika and frequently cleaned her out?

Of course, from the Igraine perspective, it was such a minor burden that they chose to accept rather than fight. But what about in romantic relationships?

‘He was a tender man.’

The Drushia she saw in her dreams was a strong man who whispered love sweetly like no other in the world.

“Ah…”

A tingling pain struck her heart.

“Are you unwell somewhere?”

“No, no. It’s nothing.”

The signals her body sent whenever she thought of Drushia were unfamiliar. Ashika rubbed around her chest area and vaguely brushed it off.

Today, Jeanne’s gaze felt particularly piercing, making even the open carriage feel uncomfortable. When they finally reached their destination, Ashika rose from her seat before Jeanne and stepped out of the carriage.

 

54

The Grande Gêne street was a place where nobles mainly gathered, filled with high-end shops and major trading company buildings. Ashika visited several trading company buildings on Grande Gêne street and came back outside.

It wasn’t an outing with any particular purpose. She just wanted to refresh herself because she felt stifled.

Even though the sun had set, the midday heat lingered in the streets. Moreover, there were many people on the street today, so Jeanne took the lead to clear the way.

“Ah!”

“Oh my, I’m sorry, miss.”

As a large man brushed past, Ashika’s hairnet caught on his shoulder ornament and tore.

“What are you doing? You should be more careful in such a crowded place.”

“Jeanne.”

Ashika stopped Jeanne who was becoming stern. It happened because the street was congested.

“Oh dear, what a shame. Your hair ornament is damaged. Perhaps I could compensate you…”

“No, it’s fine.”

Using compensation as an excuse, the man moved closer. Jeanne immediately stepped forward to block him.

“The lady says it’s fine. You seem busy, so you should hurry on your way.”

At Jeanne’s polite but firm refusal, the man left reluctantly.

Ashika felt the tattered hair ornament with her hand and then removed it completely. Her black hair cascaded over her shoulders.

“My lady.”

Despite Jeanne’s surprised look, Ashika didn’t mind. She gathered up her flowing hair and took out a handkerchief from her pocket, folding it and tying it around her hair. Seeing how skillfully she arranged her hair with just a handkerchief, Jeanne’s expression became peculiar.

“Where did you learn to tie your hair like that?”

“Hmm?”

It was a method typically used by poor commoner girls who couldn’t afford proper accessories. Ashika froze for a moment. Her momentary panic soon passed, and she composed herself before answering.

“I observed the maids doing it. It looked easy.”

‘You wouldn’t have had any reason to pay attention to such things.’

Though Jeanne found it strange, she didn’t question further. Meanwhile, Ashika, who had answered so naturally, felt odd and tried to recall her memories.

‘I’ve never seen it before.’

A small habit she had somehow remembered unconsciously. Recently, there had been many such changes in her.

‘I’ve changed.’

She clearly felt it now. Something in her was changing because of the memories she had thought were merely nightmares or hallucinations. And those changes were still ongoing.

When Ashika’s face grew serious, Jeanne interpreted it differently.

“It seems we picked a bad day to go out.”

“Indeed, there are unusually many people today.”

“I heard there’s a summer flower festival at the Rodian Garden starting today. That must be why.”

“Rodian? You mean the park with the botanical garden?”

“Yes. It has lots of plants and many secluded spots, so it’s popular with couples on dates. Haven’t you been there?”

“Have you been there, Jeanne?”

“Yes, of course.”

As one of the famous spots for couples, Rodian Garden was a place most people visited at least once or twice before marriage.

“Shall we stop by for a bit?”

“To see the flowers?”

The garden at the Duke’s mansion was also beautiful, if not as large as the public garden. The gardener Buzri took such great care that flowers bloomed throughout the garden with each season.

“It will be different from the Duke’s garden.”

Noticing Ashika’s doubt, Jeanne added softly.

Come to think of it, there had been a subtle fragrance of flowers in the air. The source of the fragrance must be Rodian Garden. Since she had come out to refresh herself, she thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea.

“Please lead the way.”

“Shall I call for a carriage?”

“No. I prefer to walk.”

Perhaps it was due to the shock of not being able to walk properly in her nightmares, but Ashika tried as much as possible to move on her own and do things herself. It was one of the changes she hadn’t been conscious of.

“They only allow entry to those who are properly dressed, so shabby vagrants can’t enter. It’s mainly frequented by nobles and the wealthy, so the security is excellent.”

As Jeanne said, attendants at the entrance to Rodian Garden checked visitors’ attire and identity. Despite the growing darkness, there were still many people trying to enter. Beyond the high iron fence, closely placed street lamps brightly illuminated the path.

When the attendant confirmed Ashika’s identity, his eyes widened, causing Jeanne to frown. The attendant quickly closed his mouth at Jeanne’s silent gesture to keep quiet and her fierce demeanor.

Starting from a golden circular flower symbolizing the sun at the center, flowerbeds spread outward like a fan over a wide area. Several buildings near the northern fence were botanical gardens.

“The botanical gardens close at night, so unfortunately we won’t be able to see them today.”

“Why do they close the botanical gardens? What’s in there?”

“There are many imported cacti. Since the interior is dark, there’s a risk of injury, so they close early.”

“Cacti?”

Ashika’s brow furrowed slightly. She seemed to have difficulty understanding why cacti required special management.

“When the rugged cacti bloom, they’re incredibly splendid. More colorful and charming than any precious flower. When the cacti bloom, people queue for hours to enter the botanical garden.”

“Hmm.”

Having never seen it, she couldn’t imagine it.

Jeanne smiled slightly and continued her explanation.

“The path spirals, so if we follow the flowerbeds, we’ll end up on the outer edge of the garden. Past the garden trees that encircle the outermost area like a boundary, there are benches and pergolas scattered about. The trees are dense, creating deep shade and many secluded spaces.”

“Why do you know so much about it?”

“It’s a public park. Everyone comes here.”

Especially couples. Looking at Ashika who had come accompanied by a guard knight, Jeanne’s eyes grew even more sympathetic than before.

“Well, I can tell it’s big. But…”

“Lady Igraine.”

Ashika’s response was cut off by a voice that suddenly interjected.

For a moment, she thought she had misheard. Seeing Ashika freeze in surprise, the person called her name once more.

“Lady Igraine, we meet again here.”

A rich, deep voice that was particularly pleasing to the ear. Only then did Ashika realize this wasn’t a dream but reality, and she turned around.

“Rush…, Duke Talion?”

There stood the man who had not left her thoughts for the entire week.

He wore neither vest nor coat. His unadorned shirt and trousers suggested someone who had rushed out in the middle of work in his office. Despite the evening coolness, Drushia wiped the sweat from his face and loosened his collar.

Ashika was too surprised to continue speaking.

‘Is it coincidence? Or…’

It was her first outing in a week. She had wondered if he might remember their encounter at the poorhouse last time. No, it was more of a hope. The hope that Drushia might follow her.

‘Yes, he was always persistent.’

She felt relieved that he hadn’t given up on her despite her harsh rejection. Despite knowing it was wrong, she felt a shallow selfishness, wanting to be drawn in while pretending reluctance.

Seeing her eyes, dark as night, grow round and wide, the corner of Drushia’s mouth curved up slightly.

“A date at the flower festival with a guard knight. I’m not sure whether to call it austere or romantic.”

“Better than someone who came to see flowers alone, wouldn’t you say?”

Drushia’s tone was no different than usual. Responding to his habitually sarcastic attitude, Ashika didn’t back down.

“Jeanne, didn’t you say one needs to be properly dressed to be allowed in here?”

“Yes, that’s certainly true, but…”

Jeanne answered with a sour face. Doesn’t status precede dress code?

“Dress code? Who cares about that for entering a park?”

Drushia chided her as if it were nonsense. He was a Talion, one of the four ducal families of the Empire. Who would dare stand in his way?

‘Status is such a bully.’

Jeanne clicked her tongue imperceptibly.

“What brings you here alone without any company, Duke?”

“Before that.”

Brushing aside Ashika’s question, Drushia looked at Jeanne.

“I have something to discuss with Lady Igraine. I’d appreciate it if the guard knight would step aside for a moment.”

Jeanne’s expression hardened. Though she didn’t dare intervene, she showed her displeasure openly, hoping as usual that her mistress would rebuke the rude counterpart.

However, the instruction that flowed from Ashika’s lips was the opposite of what she expected.

“Jeanne, wait for me at the entrance.”

“My lady, that’s out of the question!”

A startled voice burst out. She hadn’t expected Ashika would actually send her away. To such a Jeanne, Drushia casually said:

“I’ll take responsibility for escorting her back. Surely you don’t distrust me?”

“Well, that’s…”

Distrust was putting it mildly. She was about to say it was absolutely not allowed. But Jeanne couldn’t voice her thoughts.

“It’s fine, Jeanne.”

Despite her calm voice, Ashika’s face was slightly flushed.

‘What’s going on?’

The subtle atmosphere that could only be sensed by feeling and the tense air between the two. It had always been there, but today the direction was different.

‘Could it be?’

“Jeanne.”

Ashika urged Jeanne to answer. To hide her confusion, Jeanne quickly lowered her gaze.

“I’ll wait here.”

Knowing she could no longer interfere, Jeanne stepped back.

Drushia took the lead and looked back at Ashika, silently urging her to follow.

Ashika moved, maintaining her distance from him. The gap of about five steps was a bit too far to be considered walking together.

‘To think I’d see Talion and Igraine walking side by side.’

Jeanne watched the retreating figures of the two with a somewhat bewildered expression.

 

55

Not only Jeanne was bewildered by the current situation. Ashika had been trying hard not to show her rapidly beating heart.

The two people who usually bickered, growled at each other, fought, or engaged in tense power struggles, were now walking peacefully in the same direction for the first time in their lives. And they were doing so in the middle of a flower garden filled with couples whispering words of love.

‘Why is it so quiet? This is awkward.’

His usual mischievous attitude seemed to have disappeared completely. Since the man who always picked fights first was staying silent, she couldn’t think of what to say first.

“Have you been well lately?”

Ashika’s eyes widened at his politely asked question.

‘Did this man eat something wrong?’

Seeing her expression that transparently revealed her thoughts, Drushia’s brows furrowed.

“Is it that surprising that I’m asking how you are? No matter how bad-tempered I am, I’m not rude enough to mistreat someone who saved my life.”

“Ah, right.”

Life-saver. Words that should have made her happy instead pierced her heart like thorns. It felt like air was rapidly escaping from her previously inflated chest.

Even Talion, who despised Igraine the most, would have to put aside his grudges and welcome someone who had done him such a great favor. Especially since she hadn’t asked for any compensation.

‘What was I expecting?’

As her excited feelings subsided, disappointment turned into sharp sarcasm.

“How did you know I was here? Did you plant a spy in my house?”

“You’re one to talk. Do you think I don’t know about the eyes and ears in my house? Sister, was it?”

“Ah!”

“I didn’t send her away. Just moved her from the main house to the annex.”

His deep blue eyes pierced through her clearly. Eyes that seemed to say, ‘I know everything you’re doing.’

Ashika’s gaze subtly avoided his. It was true that they had been continuously monitoring and investigating each other.

Ashika found it difficult to speak up. She didn’t ask why he had come looking for her. She felt that once she knew the reason, their time together would be that much shorter. For some reason, Drushia also didn’t readily bring it up.

As a result, the two were awkwardly walking in silence. After an excruciatingly slow stroll, Ashika and Drushia had reached the outer edge of the circular garden.

Under brightly lit street lamps, a unique color caught their eye along the perimeter of the circular garden. Purple-blue flower clusters nodded gently on stems that had risen without a single leaf.

“It looks like a type of lily, but with an unusual color,” Ashika said, breaking the awkward silence.

“I heard it’s a flower bred by a famous gardener in the capital. The color is so unique that they make boutonnieres modeled after this flower to give as gifts.”

“The color is rather cool for a flower.”

The mysterious blue-purple hue seemed familiar somehow. As Ashika tilted her head, Drushia spoke first.

“That familiar color… Ah, that jewel.”

“What?”

“Are you still wearing it? That broken jewel pendant.”

Drushia shifted his gaze to the area around her neck. A thin platinum chain followed her white neckline, hidden in the front of her chest.

“That necklace, could I see it once more?”

“Why?”

When his gaze moved to her cleavage, Ashika instinctively raised her hand to cover her chest. Drushia’s gaze intensified at her reflexive action.

“You know, acting so defensively makes things even more strange.”

“What do you mean?”

The modest curves of her chest, covered by her white hands, were visible. Due to the summer dress with a deep neckline, her beautifully stretched collarbones and the white skin below were fully exposed. Just a little lower would be the soft breast flesh that once filled his hand.

“That…”

Damn it, he cursed silently. Drushia swallowed hard and barely managed to turn his gaze away.

“I’ve seen it before. The jewel in that necklace.”

“Really? Where?”

Her previously cautious attitude disappeared instantly. Ashika opened her eyes wide and took a step closer to him.

“Is that important to Lady Igraine?”

“Don’t keep me in suspense. Where did you see it? Is it among your possessions? Can you show it to me?”

She had searched all the jewelers in the capital trying to find the same jewel. But she couldn’t find even a similar raw stone.

Seeing her eager face, Drushia’s eyes sparkled.

“It seems important. It’s also quite important to me, so I’m reluctant to share freely.”

Though he couldn’t be certain without seeing the actual object, he had definitely seen it in his dream. If the dream was accurate, that jewel would be in Talion’s portrait somewhere in the imperial palace.

“Why? Is it in a dangerous place? Will someone get hurt if I know? Or…”

“If I give you the answer you want, what can Lady Igraine give me in return?”

“What…”

Ashika closed her mouth when she saw the smile on Drushia’s lips.

‘Again! He never makes anything easy!’

He was a man who always sought to maximize his own benefit at every moment. Despite knowing she shouldn’t let her guard down, her heart had melted the moment she saw Drushia’s face.

Drushia found such an Ashika fascinating.

‘She’s definitely become more careless.’

The attitude of wrapping herself up tightly and meticulously building walls had long disappeared.

‘She’s changed. Or rather, this must be her true self.’

His gaze toward Ashika grew tender. He smiled at her honest responses that came moment by moment. However, the better Drushia’s mood became, the worse Ashika’s plummeted.

“You called me your life-saver. How can you treat me so poorly?”

“I’ll repay the favor slowly over time. But this is a separate matter, isn’t it?”

“Oh, really.”

Every word he spoke was so irritating. Ashika bit her lip and glared at him.

“Then why did you chase me here? If you have something to say, say it without dragging it out.”

“Ah, well.”

Being so glad to see her, Drushia had forgotten why he had come to meet Ashika.

“You see, it’s not simple.”

“What’s not simple?”

Despite Ashika’s urging, Drushia couldn’t readily open his mouth. He had worried about it all week but couldn’t ask anyone.

‘Should I talk about this?’

Now that he was facing Ashika, it became even harder to speak. Drushia’s lips moved but ultimately failed to produce words.

‘I can hear your voice.’

Anyone who heard would think he was crazy. But it wasn’t a joke or metaphor—he truly remembered her voice that he had never heard before.

[Rushia, I love you.]

A familiar voice and an affectionate whisper that tickled his senses. He had suddenly woken up from sleep. The shock made his heart sink, and he couldn’t move for a while. After this absurd dream, only one person came to mind.

Drushia quietly gazed at Ashika’s clear face. With the same face and voice, she had spoken words that this woman could never possibly say.

“Just one thing…”

He began to speak but closed his mouth again. Even asking seemed nonsensical. They had only spent two nights together.

‘If I asked if she loves me, she would think I’m crazy.’

It might even blow away any hint of affection she showed him.

“That alchemist who made the medicine, are they trustworthy?”

That was the only thing he could doubt. His body had certainly recovered, but something in his mind seemed strange.

He had followed Nile when he left the Talion mansion, but lost him in less than an hour. He had heard that the man was so cunning even the knights were impressed.

“Why? Are there side effects? Are you in pain?”

The sharp look in her eyes softened. Concern filled Ashika’s face with worry.

“No, I’m not in pain, but I’m asking because I don’t know who the apothecary is.”

“If there are any strange symptoms, tell me right away. Even if the person who made the medicine is trustworthy, rare medicines can cause problems.”

She didn’t trust Iben. But she couldn’t honestly tell Drushia, so she gave a vague answer.

“So how is the investigation going? Have you found out who did it?”

“No, not yet.”

There were suspicious individuals, but motives and methods remained unclear. It wasn’t something he could speak freely about.

“By the way, some of the intruders who broke into the mansion were from the Grand Duke’s territory.”

“What?”

“They claim they didn’t know what they were doing, and it doesn’t seem like they’re lying. Has Duke Igraine mentioned anything about this issue to you?”

“Ah.”

Ashika shook her head. Regarding the Grand Duke’s territory, Weive didn’t tell Ashika anything beyond the authority granted to her. It was frustrating even for Drushia, who knew the approximate situation.

“We need a proper investigation into the Grand Duke’s territory. So I was thinking…”

Suddenly, they felt gazes focused on them.

Their awkwardly distanced posture and somewhat serious faces. The atmosphere didn’t match the lovers in the park, and passersby kept glancing at them.

Ashika belatedly realized that they were in the middle of a public park.

“This doesn’t seem like the place to talk about this.”

“It’s hard to make another appointment since you’ve repeatedly rejected my invitations.”

Ashika quickly surveyed the surroundings.

“Over there…”

“What?”

“Let’s go that way…”

From the middle of the park, it wasn’t clear where she wanted to go. Drushia couldn’t immediately understand her uncharacteristically hesitant attitude.

Ashika closed her eyes tightly, then opened them and approached Drushia with light steps. Her gently extended hand tugged at his rolled-up sleeve.

“I said let’s go over there.”

Drushia’s eyes widened. The hand dangling from his sleeve tapped and pulled with determination. Though the force was slight, it conveyed a clear intention.

He covered his mouth with his other hand to hide his emerging smile.

As Drushia took a big step forward, Ashika held the end of his sleeve and slowly led the way. Glancing around stealthily, they headed to the back of the botanical garden building.

“You’re not suggesting we go in there?”

“I heard no one visits in the evening because they close the doors.”

“Hmm.”

In front of the botanical garden was just a warning sign not to enter after sunset and a bolt on the door.

Although Ashika attracted less attention due to her small stature, Drushia stood out wherever he went because of his tall height, build, and striking appearance.

‘This is better, I suppose. She has an unexpectedly reckless side.’

Thinking this, Drushia casually lifted the bolt on the door.

 

56

As they entered the greenhouse, the scent of dry soil hit them strongly. The only light in the space came from the faint street lamps and moonlight filtering in.

The cacti here were extraordinary in size, having grown for many years. Each had its own distinct shape—some had thick stems clustered densely together, while others had plump leaves with threatening thorns, sprawling beyond the flower bed.

To break the awkward atmosphere, Ashika spoke first.

“They say cactus flowers are quite magnificent when they bloom, don’t they?”

“Is this your first time at the Rodian Garden?”

“I’ve had no reason to come here before.”

At her casual response, a curious smile played on Drushia’s lips.

“You’ve never been in love, have you?”

“It’s not exactly necessary, is it?”

I’ll end up in an arranged marriage anyway. Though her reply was matter-of-fact, there was a hint of bitterness on her face.

“It might not be necessary, but it would be a shame to miss out on it in life.”

Somehow, they had drawn much closer to each other.

Inside the greenhouse, the cacti occupied so much space that the pathways for people were quite narrow. Plus, it was a space completely sheltered from outside views.

The man’s shadowed figure felt larger and more solid than she had expected. Strangely, Ashika wasn’t afraid of this presence that was much larger than herself.

“Well, I don’t think it’s something to regret missing.”

“I wasn’t the one who suggested coming in here.”

“What? Well….”

The distance of three steps between them was closed in an instant. Until his large hand approached, Ashika didn’t understand what was happening.

The moment she was pulled in by the hand cupping the back of her head, hot breath engulfed her lips.

“Hmmph.”

Their teeth briefly collided as their lips urgently pressed together. But Drushia boldly pushed his tongue in. Sticky wet lips clung together and his aggressive tongue stirred inside her mouth.

A dizzying scent enveloped her. It was the man’s fragrance, intensified by heat. Her breath became rapid and her head spun. The heat rising from her stomach made her body’s reactions more intense.

Her small tongue chased his, wrapping around it and rubbing flesh against flesh passionately. When his lips, which had been sucking intensely, tried to pull away, Ashika’s slender arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“Hmm….”

Drushia was drawn back to Ashika and their lips collided again. Even while gasping for breath, the arms wrapped around him tightened further.

The wet lips slid from her cheek down to her neck. He thoroughly licked the delicate neck that had been tempting him, continuing lower and lower.

“If you do this… I’ll, ah….”

“Mmm, ah….”

His large hands had already lifted the hem of her thin dress. Even as her white legs were exposed up to her thighs in the darkness, Ashika showed no intention of retreating.

She pressed her excited body against his, craving more stimulation. Through the thin fabric, their body heat and excitement intertwined.

Just before reason completely flew away, Drushia felt something scratchy brush his cheek and came to his senses. A cactus more than twice a person’s height had drooped its thick, wide leaves over the flower bed onto the floor.

“Haa, haa….”

Drushia barely pulled his lips away and raised his head. Ashika’s neck and chest area were glistening, completely wet with his saliva. Drushia looked down at Ashika, barely holding onto his reason.

“Really? Here?”

Threatening cacti with spines surrounded them on all sides. The only place to lean against was the internal pillar supporting the building. Ashika, though breathing heavily with excitement, didn’t take her eyes off him.

“Wasn’t it you who suggested it?”

Drushia swore he hadn’t intended this. In such a place, not even a bedroom, with none other than Ashika. His hesitation didn’t last long.

Drushia read the desire in her dark eyes. An emotion so honest it felt pure, raw and unfiltered.

“I can’t back down now.”

With that brief response, his lips descended on hers again. Ashika sucked in his thick tongue as it roughly invaded, rubbing it against her own.

“Mmm….”

Drushia pushed Ashika against the pillar.

“Ah!”

Rough hands with calluses stroked the delicate skin of her inner thighs. At the sudden sensation penetrating below, their entangled lips separated, letting out a moan. His lips swallowed her urgent, gasping breath once more.

Drushia’s patience vanished in an instant. When he roughly pulled at her underwear, which barely accommodated a few fingers, there was a tearing sound. Ashika, in her excitement, had no mind to question what he was doing.

Everything became a jumble of hot body temperature, dull pain that rushed in instantly, and the sensation of cumbersome clothing.

Even trying not to be hasty, his thrusting instinctively quickened. As if not wanting to create even the slightest gap, he firmly embraced her head and lower back. The delicate female body shook with his fierce movements.

“Whew…..This is driving me crazy.”

It felt good. This woman felt incredibly good. If he could, he wanted to hide her in his pocket and secretly take her to his room to lock her away.

Even in this situation, the way she thoroughly swallowed her moans impressed him. Drushia pressed his fingertip against her bitten lip, forcing it open.

“Hah… You’ll hurt your lip. Bite my hand instead.”

Simultaneously, a strong force thrust into her lower body.

“Mmph.”

Ashika reflexively bit his hand hard. That pain turned into pleasure, making Drushia’s thrusts even more intense.

As Ashika’s body shook, her feet lifted off the ground. Completely trapped in his embrace, their bodies became one, moving up and down. Her loosened black hair cascaded down, rippling with the movement.

“Ah, Ashika.”

“Mmm….”

It felt as if hot heat was consuming her entire body. The sensation of him fiercely stirring her below, completely wet, heated her entire body as if it would devour her.

Her throat felt like it was burning from the heat she couldn’t release. Even as she exhaled, the heat boiling throughout her body intensified, pushing her consciousness into a daze.

At the moment when her vision turned pale and the heat that had risen to the top of her head exploded, Ashika bit Drushia’s hand until it bled.

“Ungh.”

Their overlapping bodies stiffened. The arm around her waist lost its strength, and rapid breaths poured over her head.

“Whew, it feels so good. Am I the only one feeling this way?”

Drushia asked while still buried inside her. He didn’t want to leave just yet, wanting to prolong the moment a little more.

“Hmm? Is that so?”

Instead of answering, Ashika removed her lips from his hand and stuck out her tongue. She lightly licked the red teeth marks on his hand and planted a gentle kiss before pulling away.

“Ah, this is….”

This small display of affection, expressed through actions rather than words, touched something in his heart.

Ashika buried her face in Drushia’s broad chest. The sound of his rapidly vibrating heart and rough breathing. Despite sweat seeping from their entire bodies, she enjoyed this moment with their body temperatures touching.

A night breeze blew in from the windows open wide near the ceiling. It was a wind that cooled their heated bodies.

As Drushia separated their overlapping bodies, she felt something trickling down from below. Drushia took out a handkerchief and brought it to her lower region.

“No, wait….”

“Stay still. If you leave like this, you’ll drip with every step.”

She knew what that “something” was without him saying it. Ashika’s face turned bright red like a boiled lobster.

“I have my own handkerchief.”

“I said stay still.”

With one hand, he held her dress up, and with the other, he wiped her below.

Even after the excitement had ebbed like a tide, warmth still remained. The careful sensation of wiping her stinging lower area. Ashika bit her lip to suppress her moans at this different kind of stimulation. Each small act was excessively intimate and embarrassing, leaving her restless, not knowing what to do.

“Now I understand a bit better.”

Having finished cleaning up thoroughly, Drushia put the handkerchief in his pocket. Too embarrassed to even imagine how he would dispose of it, Ashika turned her gaze away.

“Clumsy and reckless. That’s who you are.”

“Somehow that sounds like a compliment?”

“Of course. And I like this too.”

Drushia smiled slightly and fixed her disheveled dress. He adjusted the dress that had slipped off one shoulder and pulled the creased fabric taut.

While Ashika barely stood with her strength drained, Drushia’s hands were busy fixing her appearance.

“Ah, this won’t do.”

Drushia’s face became troubled as he examined her back. The dress fabric was so thin that rough marks were left on her back where it had rubbed against the pillar.

“I can cover it with the cloak.”

The hooded cloak lay on the floor, having been removed at some point. Drushia picked up the cloak, dusted it off, and placed it on Ashika’s shoulders.

“What will you say if someone asks why only your back is injured?”

“Who would… ask that? And even if they ask, I can just not answer.”

“They’ll think it’s strange, though.”

His face smiling as if hoping for that reaction was unfamiliar.

“Are you teasing me now?”

“Of course not. So, was this your physical response to the proposal I made last time?”

“I’ll need to think about that some more.”

Drushia’s cheerful face momentarily froze. But it soon relaxed again.

“If this is part of your deliberation process, well, I like this too.”

“How did the conversation turn this way?”

The annoying man interpreted even Ashika’s uncompromising attitude to his liking. It annoyed her, but she let it slide despite wanting to push back.

“You said you’re thinking about it? Keep thinking, and build up some more stamina in the meantime.”

Though his tone was casual as usual, the gentle hand caressing her cheek was affectionate.

Her black eyes gazed at him quietly. Eyes so black their depths were unfathomable, yet emotions seemed to spring forth from them, making them even more mysterious.

It was an irresistible force pulling him in. His lips descended carefully, swallowing her still-warm breath. His tongue gently penetrated past her softly yielding lips, exploring her mouth where saliva had pooled.

Heat rose again before the afterglow of their lovemaking had faded. Their closely pressed bodies were desperate to hold each other.

As their languidly overlapping lips separated, a deep, settled voice emerged.

“Whew…. Tonight.”

Drushia’s hand stroked her thigh through the dress and pulled her close. He held Ashika in his arms and breathed a yearning sigh into her nape.

“Can’t we be together?”

“Ha…, of course.”

Ashika grabbed his hand that was fondling her lower area and pushed it away.

“We can’t.”

What they were doing now was crazy enough. She hadn’t intended to take things this far, but in her excitement, she felt nothing else mattered.

No matter what feelings they harbored, they couldn’t promise each other tomorrow. The thought that this moment might be all they had swept away all her concerns.

Sensing Ashika’s inner thoughts, Drushia’s expression gradually cooled. The gentle smile he had been wearing disappeared, and his kind blue eyes sank.

Seeing his emotions change so dramatically, Ashika felt her heart sink.

“No, that’s not what I—”

Suddenly, Drushia pulled Ashika into his arms and raised his head.

“Shh.”

While she was wondering what was happening, urgent footsteps sounded from outside the building. It was not one or two people but a group.

 

57

“Do we really have to do this now?”

“Do it right away. If this is still here by tomorrow, we’ll all be in big trouble.”

Grumpy voices were followed by dull thumping sounds. It was the sound of digging up the ground.

“What kind of job is this, interrupting our night shift?”

“Exactly. I shouldn’t have transferred to this post. With the palace constantly being turned upside down, how can anyone live with their heart racing like this?”

“I heard Her Majesty the Empress Dowager was furious? They say she ordered the arrest of the traitor who insulted the Imperial family, and the gardener ran away with his tail between his legs.”

“Sigh, what did the flowers do wrong?”

“But why are they making such a fuss about removing all these flowers?”

One of the group stopped digging and asked. A soldier beside him lowered his voice and answered.

“This color, this blue-purple, was once the symbol of the Grand Duke’s family.”

“Good grief, that was ages ago… But wasn’t the Empress Dowager the last bloodline of the Grand Duke’s family? Instead of missing it, why does she hate the sight of it so much?”

“How would we know what’s in her mind? Don’t even breathe a word about this near Empress Dowager’s palace, or we’ll be in serious trouble.”

The soldiers stopped talking and concentrated on digging up the flowers, roots and all. The sound gradually faded away as they seemed to be removing every flower of the same kind in the park.

After confirming the sound had faded, Drushia pulled Ashika’s hand. The two walked out into the park deep in the night.

“What was that about?”

“It seems it’s true that Her Majesty the Empress Dowager detests any mention of the Grand Duke’s family.”

“But why specifically blue-purple?”

Drushia unbuttoned one more button of his sweat-soaked shirt. Suppressing the heat that hadn’t cooled even in the night breeze, he turned to Ashika.

“Families connected to the founding myth have inherited characteristics that pass down to their direct bloodline. The imperial family was born with golden eyes, while the Grand Duke Arkpella’s family had blue-purple eyes.”

“Ah.”

She had heard about the imperial family, but there was very little information about the Grand Duke Arkpella’s family. Most records had been destroyed after they were annihilated for treason.

“There was a legend that children born with their family’s characteristics could receive the power from the founding myth.”

“Where did you hear that? I’ve never seen such information in books.”

A strong feeling came over her that this was a clue hidden in undisclosed information—something that shouldn’t be missed.

“Of course. This is a story passed down only within families connected to the founding myth.”

“Then you must know more detailed information? Is there a book? Could I borrow it, even briefly?”

Ashika grabbed Drushia’s arm to stop him. At her earnest gaze, Drushia looked down at her calmly.

“Rushia.”

“Pardon?”

“Call me Rushia.”

“Why suddenly…”

“It’s the nickname you made for me. At least when we’re alone, I want you to call me by my name.”

A man speaking of a future they hadn’t promised. Ashika stared at him blankly.

“No…”

She tried to say that wasn’t right. But Drushia didn’t wait for her answer and pulled her hand. In truth, afraid to hear her answer, he decided not to give her a chance to refuse at all.

Ashika had to move her feet quickly to keep up with the man’s large strides.

“How can you just decide things on your own?”

“After everything we’ve done, I won’t allow you to back out now. We’ll talk later. First, let’s ease the worry of that knight who’s desperately looking for you.”

In the direction he pointed, Jeanne was rushing over, out of breath. Time had passed, and the park was now almost empty of people.

Drushia stepped back, giving Ashika a gentle push.

“I’ll send a carriage. If you want information, don’t even think about refusing. Better yet, bring your answer to my proposal.”

“Wait a moment!”

“Tell your knight. I kept my promise.”

Drushia didn’t give her a chance to speak. Confirming that Jeanne was approaching, he ran toward the outer edge of the park.

Ashika watched Drushia’s retreating figure with a bewildered face. It was a pleasant, breezy summer night.

****

The next day, Ashika thoroughly searched every corner of the annex where the archives were kept. But despite pressing the archive keeper and searching diligently herself, all that remained in her hands was black dust.

“How is this possible?”

“I… I don’t understand why you’re so upset…”

The archive keeper, innocent of any wrongdoing, bowed his head before Ashika.

“Even if documents were discarded by imperial decree, Igraine is the main force managing the Grand Duke’s territory. How can there not be a single record?”

“Of course, management records remain, but they’re separately managed in the Duke’s office.”

“Not those. Something, anything that isn’t an official record…”

Ashika stopped speaking, looking at the troubled keeper. There was no point in pressing further for materials that didn’t exist.

Igraine was an ancient ducal family. She had expected to find some records in a dusty corner somewhere beyond imperial reach. But there was truly nothing. As if someone had deliberately removed everything. Just when she had finally found a clue, there was no information to be found.

The archive keeper, watching Ashika’s expression, spoke again.

“Perhaps you could send someone to the bookshop on Palmred Street?”

“Bookshop?”

A question shadowed Ashika’s face.

“Would such things remain in a place that’s not even a private library?”

“The place I’m referring to is not a bookstore selling books, but a place specializing in manuscript copying. Because it’s not a place high-ranking people would take interest in, some books that have been preserved for hundreds of years might be there.”

Light flashed in her previously dimmed black eyes.

“There’s such a place on Palmred Street?”

“Yes, but…”

“My lady, are you here again?”

“Ah, Julma.”

Ashika rose from the pile of books she had been rummaging through. Julma’s face grew troubled seeing Ashika covered in fine dust.

“What is it?”

“A letter has arrived from the Talion mansion.”

“Huh?”

It hadn’t even been a full day since she’d returned from doing something outrageous in the Rodian Garden. And he couldn’t wait even one day before sending another letter.

When she opened the received letter, familiar and elegant handwriting caught her eye.

– [Tomorrow at 10 AM.]

One concise memo line. Yet in the time difference between yesterday, today, and tomorrow, she could read his impatience.

‘He’s crazy.’

What on earth was he trying to do? This impulsive Drushia, pushing forward as if old emotions were no obstacle, was not the man she knew.

“How should I respond?”

“No, the response…later. I’ll think about it later.”

Though thinking she should refuse, the words of refusal wouldn’t come. She couldn’t gauge how Drushia would react if she did.

“More importantly, Julma. We need to go out.”

“Where to? I’ll prepare the carriage.”

“Palmred Street. It is said there’s a shop specializing in manuscript copying? I have materials to find.”

Julma’s eyes widened. As his gaze shifted to the archive keeper, the equally troubled keeper sighed. His expression suggested that he couldn’t dissuade her from whatever she was thinking.

****

A street mixed with roughly built wooden structures and single-story buildings made of yellow-brown bricks. After passing through the commercial street and going a bit further in, they came to a quiet street with few people passing by.

“I heard you’ve been coming to Palmred Street often lately.”

In Julma’s casually dropped words was a question he’d been wondering about.

“Somehow it turned out that way.”

Ashika nimbly evaded answering as she rose from the stopped carriage. Before Julma could guide her, Ashika was already getting out of the carriage.

“This is not a place suitable for you, my lady. If you tell me what you’re looking for, I can go myself.”

“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come this far.”

Julma’s attempt to dissuade her failed. As expected. Seeing Ashika becoming increasingly stubborn, Julma swallowed an escaping sigh.

“You used to come here too, Julma. It’s just a bookshop, what’s the problem?”

Books were luxury items, and commoners who couldn’t afford them either copied them themselves or commissioned scribes to do so at a price cheaper than buying books.

“Well…”

Julma shook his head. Experiencing it directly would be better than a hundred explanations. With that mindset, he led the way.

As they crossed the narrow alley, the gazes of passing people occasionally lingered on Ashika. Despite her simple attire, her graceful steps stood out.

Following without much thought, Ashika’s expression gradually hardened. Finally, when Julma stopped in front of a blackened wooden building, Ashika couldn’t help but ask.

“Didn’t you say it was a bookshop?”

Since books were expensive items, most shops dealing with them were located in central areas—not in such dilapidated buildings about to collapse.

“Being old, it has the largest collection of books in the capital. It’s famous among academy students.”

Saying this, Julma opened the shop door without hesitation. As they entered, a stuffy smell of dust and strong ink hit their nostrils.

“My goodness…”

Ashika covered her mouth as an exclamation escaped.

The interior was filled with densely packed bookshelves. At a table set up on one side, more than a dozen people were busy moving their pens with a scratching sound. Despite having visitors, no one looked up.

Julma, holding his breath, skillfully found his way through the labyrinth-like arrangement of bookshelves.

“This section contains the oldest books that people don’t look for.”

His voice was so quiet that one had to lean close to hear.

Ashika looked at Julma, who spoke with a distant expression, and then checked the bookshelf section he was pointing to.

Strictly speaking, it was a place where books that wouldn’t fit on shelves were stacked. Towers of books piled layer upon layer, reaching the ceiling. It was a tower so high it was miraculous it didn’t collapse.

“You’re saying… I should find a book there?”

Would that even be possible? Setting aside the fine dust, wouldn’t one be crushed to death if it collapsed?

“You can’t do it alone. You need help. If you insist on searching by yourself, perhaps going to the temple library would be better?”

“Ah, right. The temple has a library too!”

“But at the temple, you need to show identification.”

A familiar voice came from an unexpected place.

“Rushia?”

Ashika and Julma turned around in surprise.

 

58

Somehow this man’s face seemed even more radiant than yesterday. Perhaps it was due to his bright golden hair. He seemed to glow even in the dim interior.

Drushia quickly scanned the densely packed bookshelf before continuing.

“Besides, the temple library isn’t freely open to individuals. You need approval each time you want to view something. Do you plan to broadcast what you’re looking for to everyone?”

“How did you get here…”

“Greetings, Duke Talion.”

“Depending on the circumstances, it could be a good greeting, or not.”

Drushia responded to Julma’s cold greeting with a sarcastic tone.

Ashika sighed, touching her heating forehead. Why did this man become so agitated whenever he saw people around her?

Seeing Julma’s expression crumple, Ashika quietly gestured. It meant she wanted him to leave.

After hesitating briefly, Julma nodded slightly and withdrew.

Due to the narrow passage, Drushia’s sturdy frame seemed to completely block the way forward. Julma barely managed to slip past him sideways and disappeared from view.

“How amusing. A young duchess of the Empire wandering around a dusty bookstore district.”

“How long have you been watching me?”

“Perhaps from the beginning?”

“So now you’re openly following me.”

“Isn’t that why you rejected my letter? You’re not that oblivious.”

“No, who…”

She hadn’t exactly rejected it. She had sent the messenger away empty-handed rather than providing a reply.

Drushia took a large step toward Ashika. Though people were just a few bookshelves away, those few shelves formed a solid wall. The dusty bookstore suddenly transformed into an intimate space.

Ashika started to step back but stopped, remembering that behind her was a tower of books that might collapse at any moment.

Even though they were already quite close, Drushia reduced the distance further. At just a handspan apart, he bent down and whispered in a low voice.

“Why choose the difficult path when there’s an easy one?”

His deep voice, resonating with his breath, touched her ear. Ashika unknowingly squeezed her eyes shut.

“I need time to think…”

“If I give you time to think, you’ll try to run away again. Don’t I know you well enough?”

It was clear she was looking for ways to escape. That’s why he had followed her here, to not give her any opportunity.

“What you’re looking for is very ancient information dating back to the founding of the empire, and there are only three families in the empire related to the founding myth. One is the imperial family, one is the extinct House of Arkpella, and the other is Talion. Do you really think you can find such information in a place like this?”

He couldn’t understand why she hesitated when he was so openly offering himself as a resource. Meanwhile, he was unaware of how persistently he was pushing her.

“I…”

When she opened her eyes, his deep blue eyes were right in front of her.

“What would happen if I kissed you here?”

As he watched Ashika’s eyes grow round with surprise, Drushia slowly tilted his head.

With a soft touch, his moist lips lightly pressed against hers before pulling away. Thump, thump. Ashika’s heart began to pound heavily.

Once again, his lips adhered with a touch, lingering longer than before before withdrawing. Or rather, the tip of his tongue slowly licked her lips as they seemed to part.

A heated breath escaped. His tongue teasing the edge of her lips was sweet yet unsatisfying. Ashika’s shoulders rose and fell slightly with her quickening breath.

Just a little more, if he would come just a little closer.

But Drushia didn’t press any further. Unlike yesterday when he had been ravenous, he only traced her lips with the tip of his tongue and placed light kisses.

“…And yet you do this.”

While you can’t firmly reject or clearly refuse. While in fact you want this too. His voice, now lower than before, whispered.

Ashika opened her eyes that she had unconsciously closed. Her gaze fell on his lips that had just teased her before moving away.

“Is there really more to think about? Will you answer me now?”

An answer. The answer he wanted. The answer Drushia was persistently urging.

The thought that she should refuse kept spinning in her head. Thoughts of founding myths and grand duchies had long since flown from Ashika’s mind. Her mouth went dry, and anxious breaths escaped her lips.

It was Drushia. Someone she missed just by thinking about him, someone whose name she wanted to call out loud. Whatever the starting point had been, whatever the reason, her feelings were ongoing. So how could she refuse? It had been a meaningless worry from the beginning.

“…Keep your promise.”

Her voice, barely audible, trembled faintly. What it contained was not fear but tense excitement. And anticipation.

A small laugh flowed into Ashika’s ear. His warm lips touched her ear with a soft brush before pulling away. As if he could hardly contain his delight, yet still trying to suppress his overflowing emotions.

Drushia finally stepped back from Ashika and stated firmly.

“Tomorrow, 10 AM. I’ll send a carriage.”

He was a man who always got what he wanted in the end. Drushia forced himself to turn away, glancing back at Ashika once more.

Even after he had finally disappeared from sight, Ashika remained motionless for some time. It felt as if she could hear her own heartbeat.

Her racing heart made her feverish. It was a pleasant warmth that heated her heart and made her body feel buoyant.

****

The forest rustled in the wind, making a refreshing sound. A place so secluded it was hard to believe it was in the capital. Even the white curtains fluttering in the breeze seemed peaceful, creating a drowsy atmosphere.

Drushia held Ashika captive in his arms and kissed her struggling neck.

“You’re always trying to run away as soon as it’s over. If you keep doing this, I might have to torment you twice as much.”

“I’m soaked with sweat. I want to wash up.”

Their damp skin stuck together uncomfortably. Even in this breezy mountain lodge, it was still summer.

“Just a little longer.”

“Do you remember how long you’ve been saying ‘just a little longer’?”

Despite her tired reproach, the man’s body remained firmly attached to her buttocks.

“Rushia.”

“Mmm.”

Drushia still only responded with a murmur.

“Really… what time is it now?”

They had arrived around noon, but already the red sunset light was seeping in.

In truth, she couldn’t properly remember what state of mind had brought her here. From early morning, while preparing herself and during the carriage ride, she couldn’t think straight due to nervousness and excitement.

A relationship beginning with her own will, not an accidental occurrence.

Her nervous feelings disappeared the moment she arrived at the villa and met Drushia. It was because he didn’t give her any time to think. From the moment they faced each other, their indulgence in each other began and continued endlessly. Only when she saw the setting sun after rolling around like animals driven by instinct did she come to her senses.

Ashika struggled to escape from Drushia’s embrace. When he wouldn’t budge, she slapped the solid arm wrapped around her chest.

“Ah, how cold of you.”

Drushia clicked his tongue in disappointment as he watched Ashika finally push him away and rise from the bed.

Unlike her hurry, Drushia remained sprawled naked on the bed with no intention of getting up. He was entranced by the beautiful sight of Ashika’s white naked body bathed in the red sunset light.

Feeling his intense gaze, Ashika quickly covered herself with a sheet and gathered her scattered clothes one by one.

Her undergarments dropped beside the bed, her slip thrown onto the sofa, her dress pitifully strewn on the floor. But she couldn’t put them on right away.

“Those documents, where are they?”

“Since you won’t run off, why not wash up and have dinner first?”

“The documents come first. I’ll wash up and come out, so please have them ready.”

Ashika firmly stated her intention and walked into the bathroom.

“Really cold-hearted.”

His center, which she had left behind, was still not quiet. When he ran his hand down it, slick fluid coated his fingers.

“Haa… Being dedicated to her purpose isn’t bad. Not bad at all.”

Not long ago, Ashika had rejected his proposed meeting. She had rejected him so coldly that he thought she would never look back. But somehow they had ended up entangled again and vaguely made their way here.

Even Drushia, who considered himself level-headed, lost his mind during their soul-draining, intense lovemaking. Even his meticulously calculating and questioning manner completely disappeared before Ashika.

“It might be good to wait a bit longer and see.”

Following their desires while avoiding trouble between their houses. They could continue these secret meetings and propose marriage when necessary.

If it didn’t work out, they could end the relationship then. If that time came, Ashika would cut him off cleanly without looking back.

Though it was a perfectly satisfactory calculation, Drushia’s face twisted. It felt like being pierced by a sharp ice shard after being immersed in languid satisfaction. Even his heated heart grew cold.

The strange feeling of his head and heart colliding with different wills. The more he regained his composure, the more unpleasant Drushia’s mood became.

****

The materials brought from the Talion mansion’s archives were not few. Books and documents carried by two knights occupied half the table in the room.

‘When did the knights arrive?’

Ashika was more concerned about the knights than the documents. When they arrived at the lodge, she had only seen the caretaker and a few maids. She didn’t know how long the knights had been there.

“Aren’t they Talion knights?”

“They’re not from my territory and they’re tight-lipped fellows. Not all Talion knights hate the Igraines.”

Knowing what she was worried about, he had specially selected the personnel coming here.

“Aren’t you more worried about your guard knight?”

“Jeanne isn’t from my territory either. She studied at the academy and joined the duke’s household through Sir Coltern’s introduction.”

That’s why Jeanne didn’t have hostility toward Talion. She just disliked them because she had so many troubles from conflicts between knights when she was deputy commander.

After the knights moved the materials, the lodge caretaker brought some light refreshments.

“This will take a while, so eat something.”

“This isn’t something I can look through in just an hour or two.” Ashika sat in a chair at the table and started examining the stacked materials. So focused on the documents, she didn’t even glance at the plate Drushia pushed toward her.

“I thought it would be books or something, but this is…”

“Talion is not a family of scholars, but a family of knights. It’s fortunate that this much documentation remains. Besides, the first head of the house didn’t leave many records as he spent his time on battlefields.”

What Drushia had brought was not books but parts of the family records that had been passed down since the first generation. They weren’t organized into a single document, so the contents varied. There were genealogies, battlefield records, personal diaries of family heads, and letters.

Even for Ashika, who dealt with all sorts of documents, these scattered papers felt overwhelming. She let out a deep sigh.

“How long would it take to go through all this here?”

“My job was just to bring them to you. Finding the information is your task.”

“I don’t suppose I could borrow these?”

“You’re asking the obvious? You can only see these while you’re here with me.”

These were records handed down through generations of the family. Though not strictly confidential, they were materials not shared outside the family. Showing them at all was already a significant gesture.

Ashika touched the documents with a troubled face and turned to Drushia.

“The story you told me last time, could you at least tell me which document contains it? That would be faster.”

“That’s a story I heard from my grandfather. It should be in the records somewhere, but even I don’t know where.”

Drushia shrugged. Whether he truly didn’t know or was pretending not to know was uncertain.

“But why are you suddenly trying to verify information about the founding myth?”

 

59

I had been curious for a while. Why was Drushia getting so involved in something that wasn’t directly related to Igraine and wasn’t immediately useful?

“Why, is it difficult to talk about?”

“Can’t we discuss this later? It seems we won’t have time to look at this document today. Thanks to someone.”

Her sideways glance at him was less than kind. Drushia must have anticipated this situation but still stubbornly refused to let Ashika go.

“Show me this again next time. It’s a promise. Instead, tell me more about what you know today.”

At the words “next time,” Drushia’s expression softened. His face became so satisfied that it seemed like this had been his calculation all along.

“What are you curious about?”

“I know there are three families in the founding mythology of the empire. The Imperial family, Talion, and Arkpella. The Imperial family has golden eyes, the Grand Duke Arkpella family has indigo blue eyes, but what about Talion?”

Not much was known about Talion. Even the fact they had such a characteristic was unknown to most people.

“Because it doesn’t show. Even if you knew, it would be difficult to distinguish.”

“What do you mean?”

Drushia leaned back in his chair, stroking his chin with his hand. With a contemplative face, he looked at Ashika, seeming somewhat hesitant.

‘Should I tell her?’

With her straightforward and honest character, she would keep a secret if asked.

‘Sharing my secret with this woman, huh.’

Though it was nothing significant, the trivial act felt meaningful, like something that would narrow the distance between them.

Drushia kept his gaze fixed on Ashika as he spoke.

“This is a secret only my grandfather knows, but do you still want to know?”

His voice was subtle.

Talion’s secret and Drushia’s secret. Learning it would bring them one step closer. That’s what Drushia was asking – if she would take that step.

Ashika didn’t avert her gaze as she swallowed dryly.

“I want to know.”

“No backing out.”

Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Drushia smiled gently. He rose from his seat, approached her, leaned down and brought his face close to hers. Ashika was flustered by the suddenly narrowed distance.

“What are you doing?”

“Look carefully.”

“At what?”

“My eyes.”

She wondered what he meant. Drushia met her questioning gaze silently.

His deep-sea dark blue eyes. Those eyes that once seemed cold had been harboring heat for some time now. Like a hunter’s eyes pursuing prey, they were persistent and filled with desire.

The direct gaze was overwhelming, and Ashika’s face flushed with heat.

“I don’t see what you want me to… Oh!”

“Can you see the difference?”

She had thought it was an optical illusion caused by the large, dark blue iris making the color appear to spread.

“The whites of your eyes aren’t white! My goodness!”

The faint blue edge became gradually lighter toward the outer part of the sclera.

Fascinated, Ashika reached out and carefully touched around his eyes. The muscles around his eyes twitched in surprise. But Drushia didn’t pull away.

“Unlike the Imperial family or Arkpella, it’s barely noticeable. Even knowing about it, it’s not easy to distinguish.”

“I’ve heard that the reason golden eyes are no longer born in the Imperial family is because the power passed down through bloodlines has disappeared. But there’s nothing known about what that power actually was.”

“It’s not that nothing is known, but that they erased the records. They say the power has disappeared to avoid damaging the Imperial authority. Even though it’s just a legend anyway.”

Drushia pulled a chair right next to Ashika and sat down. They were close enough that he could embrace her if he reached out.

“In the empire’s history, there are records of two miracles. Have you heard the legend that more than half of the current imperial territory was once desert and wasteland?”

Ashika quietly nodded. Conscious of the suddenly close distance, she shifted slightly backward.

In response, Drushia pulled his chair even closer, narrowing the gap. His long leg subtly brushed against the outside of Ashika’s thigh.

“When the kingdom was first established, they say that with divine blessing, water sprang from the desert and wasteland, and trees began to grow. That’s the current imperial capital, Trellyn, and its surrounding areas. And about 300 years later, the same miracle was performed once more, transforming twice as much wasteland into grassland. After that, the lineage of golden eyes in the Imperial family was suddenly cut off.”

“So it’s a power that gets depleted?”

“That part isn’t clear. Originally, it’s said that there was a divine artifact received along with the divine blessing. But the Imperial family’s artifact disappeared around that time.”

Ashika’s brow furrowed at the puzzling answer. A finger gently approached and poked her forehead.

“You’ll wrinkle that pretty forehead.”

“Could you please focus?”

His subtle attempt to get closer was firmly rejected. Drushia withdrew his hand, muttering quietly, “That didn’t work.”

“The divine artifact and the bloodline power – which is it? Since Talion was also a founding contributor, don’t they know?”

“According to family stories, it’s said that the bloodline blessed by the divine can also wield the power of the divine artifact. Those born with family characteristics, like me, fall into that category. But our family’s artifact was practically seized by the Imperial family before I was born, so I’ve never seen it.”

There was a subtle tension between Talion and the Imperial family, resulting in an uncomfortable past. The previous emperor had been hostile not only to the Grand Duke Arkpella family.

The difference was that Talion was a typical warrior family with no political ambitions, while Arkpella had strong independent power, enough to be called a grand duchy. Compared to the Imperial family that had lost its artifact and no longer produced golden-eyed children, Arkpella’s power had remained strong for a long time. That was the biggest reason they fell out of the emperor’s favor.

About 40 years ago, Talion was almost swept up in the Grand Duke Arkpella family’s treason. The emperor presented absurd evidence and demanded Talion surrender their divine artifact if they wanted to avoid punishment. The Duke of Talion at the time handed over the artifact without resistance.

However, the artifact that went to the emperor apparently had no power. That’s why Talion had given it up without much regret.

The emperor was furious but couldn’t question Talion about it. Afterward, it was rumored that the seized artifact was tossed away somewhere in the Imperial storage.

Ashika tilted her head.

“Don’t you even know what it is?”

“I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard about it.”

Ashika waited for what would come next. Enjoying her curious, shining dark eyes, Drushia deliberately dragged out the moment.

“They say it’s a gemstone. Close to an indigo blue raw stone.”

“Indigo blue?”

Ashika’s face froze. Seeing her change in expression, Drushia’s face filled with question.

“But indigo blue stones are common anyway. Your necklace is indigo blue too. Most of that kind are more like pretty raw stones than jewels.”

Drushia spoke casually. But Ashika couldn’t agree. She had searched every jeweler in the capital and couldn’t find a similar stone, yet Drushia spoke as if he had seen it easily.

Suddenly, Ashika noticed something strange.

“You said you’ve never seen Talion’s divine artifact. How do you know it resembles mine?”

“Ah.”

It was something Drushia had said previously. He had said he saw it in a dream, but telling the truth now would destroy the credibility of everything he had just told her.

‘If I say I saw it in a dream, and then mentioned a trade based on that, she would be horrified.’

Since he hadn’t actually seen it, nothing was certain. Thinking about it again, there was no way Talion’s divine artifact and Ashika’s necklace could be the same stone.

‘Well, they could be the same. The divine artifact might have been just an ordinary stone.’

Legends tend to be exaggerated. Thinking this way would explain why the past Duke of Talion readily gave the artifact to the Imperial family, and why Neoren doesn’t mention it.

Drushia didn’t believe in mystical powers that bordered on delusion. He also had little interest in family heritage that had no practical value.

“Well, anyway, I know. It’s like it’s surrounded by some kind of membrane.”

It was a subtle difference that showed minimally depending on the direction of light. Whether Drushia knew from being told or from seeing records, his description wasn’t wrong.

Ashika lowered her unsteadily shifting gaze.

The only information about a similar stone was Talion’s divine artifact that Drushia had mentioned. She couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth – that not all indigo blue stones are the same, and that hers was a type that couldn’t be found anywhere else.

“Which families possessed these divine artifacts?”

“Naturally, the founding families. The Imperial family, Talion, and the last one was in the Grand Duchy of Arkpella, which was exterminated.”

Ashika’s face became blank, as if she’d been struck on the head.

“Then… what happened to the artifact from the Grand Duchy?”

“That’s a bit ambiguous. Seeing how the previous emperor seized Talion’s artifact, he probably took the one from the Grand Duchy too. After all, the previous emperor led the army. But there was no mention of him obtaining it. Perhaps it was also useless and tossed into the Imperial storage.”

The final divine artifact from an exterminated family, with whereabouts unknown. Ashika was so shocked she even forgot to breathe.

There were three direct descendants in the Grand Duke Arkpella family at that time. The eldest daughter from the first wife, and siblings from the second wife. The second daughter became empress, and the third child, a son, was designated as heir but died in an accident. Only the eldest daughter from the first wife remained.

On the day the Grand Duchy became ruins, she was also reported to have died there. But what if that wasn’t true?

‘What was the timing again?’

Struggling to gather her scattered thoughts, Ashika raced through calculations in her mind.

The Grand Duchy fell 40 years ago, and Ashika’s father was born the year after that chaos, she had heard.

‘My father’s younger brother…, my young uncle was killed along with my grandmother a few years later.’

Ashika’s father, Lanche, who survived alone, was formally adopted into the Igraine family. She remembered him telling her that he was registered as two years older than his actual age, which is why he was often told he was small for his age when he was young.

She never asked why his age was falsely recorded. Ashika was young and didn’t understand what it meant.

Weive had forbidden Lanche from ever mentioning his mother. Lanche would often embrace Ashika and long for his mother, with whom he couldn’t share memories with anyone.

[This is my mother’s keepsake. When she gave this to me, she told me never to show it to anyone. She said I shouldn’t tell even my father.]

It felt as if her heart dropped to the floor with a thud. The sound seemed to pound like a drum, making her whole body vibrate.

Ashika’s hand unconsciously moved to her chest, afraid that Drushia might see the necklace hidden under her clothes again.

What if he noticed? Her agitation, and who the real owner of this necklace was. Fear washed over her so intensely that her vision blurred.

But try as she might to hide it, it wouldn’t be hidden. Ashika was revealing the shock with her entire body.

A face drained of blood, unable to breathe, frozen, with her shoulders trembling as her heart pounded.

“Ashika.”

She needed to answer, needed to pretend nothing was wrong, but though her lips moved, no voice came out.

“Ashika, what’s wrong? What’s the matter?”

Drushia sensed something was off and studied her face. But his voice, though right next to her, seemed distant to Ashika.

Weive’s lover with no identity records. Ashika’s grandmother who gave birth to her father as an illegitimate child. The keepsake that grandmother left to her father, telling him never to show it to anyone.

A truth too overwhelming to accept struck Ashika’s mind.

‘I might be the descendant of a traitor.’

 

60

I understood now—why Weive had personally chosen a virtually orphaned woman as his son’s spouse. Perhaps Weive knew this fact and wanted to thoroughly prevent any outside family interference.

I wonder when Drushia will realize this truth.

If he asks about the origin of the necklace, what should I answer?

One fortunate thing was that no one except Ashika herself knew why the necklace was in her possession. The original owner had kept it hidden even from Weive, who was close to her.

As these thoughts settled, my frantically beating heart began to calm.

When I finally regained my composure, deep blue eyes were right in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed when Drushia’s hands had begun cradling my face. I startled at the breath touching my skin.

“What’s wrong with you? Hmm?”

As Ashika tried to pull away in surprise, Drushia’s hands held her more firmly.

Eyes filled with genuine concern. When had his cold gaze changed like this? Why had this man’s face transformed this way? After they’d only shared their bodies a few times.

Fear suddenly gripped her. It felt as though the man’s attitude—something she thought impossible in reality—was increasingly resembling her dream. She was afraid it might even come to resemble her terrible nightmare.

Yet at the same time, she felt a desperate desire to feel his living heartbeat and share his body heat.

Ashika bit her lip.

Would it be better to ask him not to tell anyone about the necklace? Or should she just ignore it and move on? Would bringing it up only invite suspicion?

“Ashika?”

She couldn’t organize her thoughts. Couldn’t reach a conclusion. Ashika wrapped her arms around Drushia’s neck and pulled him close.

“Whatever you say…mmh.”

A small tongue pushed between their pressed lips. Though startled, Drushia didn’t push Ashika away. Even while knowing she was clearly trying to avoid answering, he found her softly entwining tongue endearing.

“Mmm… this is… nice.”

Their entangled tongues and her soft body pressing against him awakened his senses again. It felt like all his bodily sensations were being pulled into a swamp—a swamp of intensely powerful pleasure. Was it even possible to stop this?

Drushia embraced Ashika’s back, pressing their bodies together. A tingling sensation ran down his spine as they messily intertwined their tongues. Surrendering to the fading pleasure, Drushia cast aside his brief contemplation.

Nothing else mattered in this moment. He wanted this woman, and Ashika wanted him too. That passionate indulgence was all they wanted from each other. He thought that was enough.

****

Ashika glared at the black eyes she saw in the mirror. No matter how carefully she examined them, there was no trace of anything unusual in her glossy black eyes.

‘Not everyone in the imperial family or the Talions shows physical characteristics despite being family members.’

So there was no way to judge based on appearance alone.

Ever since hearing about the divine objects from Drushia, Ashika hadn’t been able to sleep. That was natural. This wasn’t just any issue—it concerned a noble family destroyed for treason.

‘I might be mistaken.’

Logically, it made no sense. Connecting her birth to an annihilated grand duke’s family based on just one necklace seemed like an excessive leap.

‘Grandfather would know.’

The fastest way to confirm the truth would be to ask Weive directly.

‘But would he really tell me the truth?’

If he asked how she found out, she’d have to mention the necklace, and she couldn’t predict his reaction. Wherever the truth lay, Weive would not tolerate Ashika digging into such matters.

‘I can’t tell. I absolutely must not tell.’

If Weive decided to take action, Ashika’s movements would be restricted. The situation could get worse than it already was.

Even though she wanted to dismiss it as a misunderstanding or an excessive leap, she couldn’t. The hallucinations she experienced weren’t simple nightmares, and the presence of the necklace was becoming more distinct as time passed.

It was similar to how a foggy consciousness gradually becomes clearer upon waking. No, it was even more intense, like her senses were heightened as if she’d taken a stimulant. It felt like it was sticking to her like a magnet, pushing her increasingly toward a state of heightened awareness.

Ashika took out the pendant hidden inside her clothes and held it in her hand.

In the sunlight, the jewel in the crude pendant emitted a mysterious blue-purple light. The two jewels covered in cracks, looking as if they might crumble at any moment, remained intact, while the remaining three jewels showed something like a cold silver-gray film.

Ashika gently rubbed the jewel with her fingertip. The slippery feeling was strange.

‘It’s like sliding over water.’

Not only did it reflect light uniquely, but the tactile sensation was also different.

‘It looks like a jewel, but it’s not a jewel.’

It felt like light captured and made into a solid form. Only after hearing about divine objects from Drushia did she realize this item was special. And that the three hallucinations she had experienced probably had some meaning.

But she couldn’t understand how its power worked. Ashika nervously tapped the window frame while examining the pendant over and over.

‘The first was at the imperial palace banquet, the second dream was on Palmred Street. And the third was outside the capital.’

They were exactly one month apart.

‘Is there a timing pattern?’

Although more than a month had passed since the third hallucination, no new ones had occurred.

‘There must be some condition.’

In the first and third hallucinations, she was with Drushia. In the second on Palmred Street, she hadn’t met him, but later confirmed he had been there.

‘It’s definitely connected to Rushia. And, ah…’

She forgot to ask what form the Talion divine object took. Perhaps the strange frame she had found in the palace was a divine object.

‘It’s unlikely to be the imperial family’s divine object that disappeared, more likely the Talion divine object that the emperor supposedly seized.’

If so, were the divine objects connected to each other? Did they have the same power because they were made of the same jewel? Or did they have the same function because they were connected to the same person?

Her chain of questions was interrupted by a knock.

“My lady, I’ve brought the curtains for replacement. May I come in now?”

At Ashika’s invitation, the door opened and five maids rushed in. Behind them, laundry servants were holding layers of new curtains.

“Is this the color you wanted, my lady?”

“That’s right. Have the furniture repairmen arrived too?”

“Yes, my lady. I instructed them to use part of the backyard as well because there wasn’t enough space in the carpentry workshop.”

“Good, well done.”

The entire household had been bustling yesterday and today. This was because the troubled Ashika had summoned the head maid and butler with unexpected instructions.

She had ordered furniture repairs, normally done once every year or two, along with curtain and sofa cleaning typically done twice a year in spring and autumn, all at once. The servants were suffering, working in the midsummer heat.

“I’ll be in the garden. Send someone when it’s done.”

“Yes, my lady. We’ll hang them beautifully.”

A young maid answered with a bright smile. As Ashika left the room, Julma, who had been waiting outside, approached.

“My lady, I’ve hired additional staff as you instructed.”

“Are you sure they’re trustworthy people?”

“They are vouched for by myself and Sir Berth.”

“Prioritize placing servants who have worked under my grandfather for a long time, especially those who might cross paths with me, in the annex.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Julma answered without asking for a reason.

Recently, Ashika had been doing things she’d never done before. Many of these shouldn’t reach her grandfather Weive’s ears. The most problematic was her relationship with Drushia.

So she created an excuse to hire people by turning the mansion upside down, using the opportunity to reassign the servants.

‘I never thought I’d be doing such things behind Grandfather’s back.’

She had always been an obedient granddaughter and heir who complied with Weive’s wishes. Because of this, Weive never interfered with Ashika’s personal life.

‘Or maybe he just wasn’t interested.’

Even Ashika didn’t know what Weive was thinking. He was an infinitely difficult person whose inner thoughts were hard to discern.

‘I have a lot to do from now on. I need to avoid Grandfather’s eyes as much as possible.’

A relationship where trust is difficult even among family. Ashika’s face turned bitter as she thought of Weive.

Servants were busily coming and going in the direction of the backyard. The spacious backyard was bustling as all the curtains, cushions, and even sofas from the entire mansion were taken out and spread.

“Won’t the Duke find this strange?”

“Well, I’ve been acting odd ever since I broke off my engagement. He’ll understand this in the same context. What can he do if I say I want to change the house atmosphere because I’m upset?”

“It’s just that so many people are involved because the mansion is so large.” Ashika replied calmly, looking at the busy backyard.

Suddenly, she noticed someone moving quickly beyond the piles of laundry and furniture. In the moment she thought “Oh,” the person disappeared from view.

“Aaaaah!”

It was in the direction the maid had just run. Startled servants stopped their work and looked up.

“What was that sound?”

“It’s coming from the laundry room, isn’t it?”

Loud noises were rare in the mansion. Ashika ran toward the sound along with the servants.

In the laundry room, there was a large wooden tub that could fit ten people. From there, filled with water, bubbles, and laundry, a woman was being lifted out like a limp piece of washing. Her collar was gripped in a man’s hand.