39
* * *
Right after the Former Grand Duke left the room.
Only Kaiden and Marion remained in the room, but the only sound was the ticking of the clock’s second hand.
Several minutes passed. Kaiden couldn’t keep wasting time like this.
“Marion.”
“Your Grace.”
Their words overlapped. Kaiden and Marion widened their eyes.
“You speak first.”
“Please, go ahead.”
Those words overlapped too.
They exchanged awkward glances before subtly looking away. The atmosphere was strange.
It was all because the Former Grand Duke had thrown a weird wink and said unnecessary things.
“Ahem. You go first.”
When Kaiden conceded, Marion quickly took the opportunity.
“Your Grace, go to your room and rest comfortably.”
At that, Kaiden thought briefly and shook his head.
“No. If I go up to my room, Grandfather might worry that something’s wrong with our relationship.”
“Oh, come on, no way.”
“It’s entirely possible. Think about my behavior after proposing to you.”
Kaiden spoke with a serious expression, and Marion fell into deep thought.
Over the years, Kaiden had treated Marion the way he saw his father treat his mother. That behavior would be familiar to the Former Grand Duke as well.
Having spent time with the Baltstein family, Marion knew their ways to some extent.
If it were Kaiden’s father, he would never leave his pregnant wife to sleep alone in a separate room.
In fact, those two never slept apart even after a fight since their marriage.
If Kaiden went up to his room, word would quickly reach the Former Grand Duke’s ears. The ducal residence was practically under his thumb.
Marion stared blankly into the air and muttered.
“Then Your Grace should sleep on the bed.”
Kaiden shook his head.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
Marion hurriedly shook her head.
“What are you saying? I’ll sleep on the sofa.”
“No. That won’t do.”
When Kaiden spoke firmly, Marion pointed at the sofa and asked.
“You’re going to sleep there?”
Kaiden had no response.
The sofa was a dainty two-seater. Since this was a guest room, it didn’t have large furniture like Kaiden’s room.
Kaiden imagined himself lying on that sofa. His body would be curled up tightly, his legs sticking out awkwardly over the armrest, looking utterly undignified.
But it looked too cramped for Marion to sleep on as well.
Kaiden didn’t back down.
“I’ll sleep sitting up.”
“Your Grace is going to sleep sitting on the sofa while I, your subordinate, sleep soundly on the bed?”
“I don’t mind.”
“I mind. How could I dare?”
Marion looked at him with an incredulous expression. Her words made sense. Who would let a grand duke sleep on a sofa?
But Kaiden ran a hand over his forehead, as if frustrated. He didn’t want Marion, who must have had a tough day, to sleep uncomfortably on the sofa.
“…A gentleman doesn’t let a lady sleep on a sofa.”
“What am I, then, when I slept in the field during beast subjugations…?”
“…”
It was as if a crow cawed and flew by somewhere.
Kaiden awkwardly touched the back of his neck. An uncomfortable silence passed briefly. Then Marion spoke in a resolute voice, as if she’d made a big decision.
“Then let’s sleep on the bed together.”
“What?”
“I’ll sleep quietly in the corner like a dead mouse.”
“…”
Kaiden looked at the bed. It certainly looked more spacious and comfortable than the sofa. It seemed just right for two people to lie on.
Kaiden hesitated. He and Marion had lived like family. Having known her since she was a 13-year-old kid, it was natural in a way.
But even so, two grown adults sharing a bed didn’t seem right.
Kaiden was about to refuse.
“No matter how you look at it…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t touch a hair on Your Grace’s head.”
“What?”
Kaiden let out a dumbfounded sound, not understanding Marion’s words. She looked at him with a trustworthy expression and said.
“It’s all just an act anyway, right?”
“…An act?”
Marion nodded, her face free of worry.
“Yes. Your Grace played the part of someone in love with me so convincingly, didn’t you? If I think of it as acting, sleeping together doesn’t seem like a big deal.”
Kaiden felt as if he’d been hit in the back of the head. His mood started to sour inexplicably.
“…Sleeping in the same bed as me doesn’t bother you?”
“If I think of you as a comrade, I might sleep even better than usual.”
“…”
Kaiden felt a surge of irritation.
A comrade, huh. Sure, we’re comrades. But this isn’t wartime, so what’s with the comrade talk?
He couldn’t hide the hurt in his voice.
“Then do as you please.”
“Yes, let’s sleep quick! I’m so tired and sleepy.”
Marion slipped into the bed with a cheerful voice.
Kaiden let out a deflated chuckle as he watched her.
“…Hmph.”
Despite being given sedatives to counteract brainwashing magic, Marion still looked tired. It seemed resisting the magic had drained her considerably.
Kaiden felt drained too.
‘Right. What am I doing with a tired kid…’
Marion lay quietly, looking at Kaiden. Her eyes seemed to ask why he wasn’t getting in.
Suppressing a sigh, Kaiden lifted the covers and lay on the bed. The bed shifted as he settled in.
“Good night, Your Grace.”
“…Sleep well, you too.”
Marion fell asleep within minutes. Her steady breathing made Kaiden’s heart feel complicated.
‘…To fall asleep so quickly.’
The warmth from Marion beside him kept him awake. Despite being exhausted from staying up all day, his mind grew clearer.
Kaiden turned to his side.
Moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating Marion’s face. Her thick eyelashes lay neatly. With her mouth slightly open, making soft sounds as she slept, she looked like a child.
Seeing her like that brought back memories of their first meeting.
☆☆☆☆
Ten years ago, in winter.
It was a time when magical beasts were pouring out from the northern frontier. The Baltstein family was struggling through a harsh winter, hiring mercenaries left and right.
“Thirteen years old?”
On the roster of a ragtag mercenary group was the name of a 13-year-old child.
Kaiden let out a disbelieving laugh. No matter how tough life was, a child not even fully grown working as a mercenary?
He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of parents would allow this.
But what was even more absurd was that, from a distance, the child’s features looked delicate.
“Is that… a girl?”
“It… seems so.”
At the time, Kaiden’s thought was, ‘What a headache.’ Why would a 13-year-old girl come to this cold, harsh place gripping a sword?
He was about to send her back before something bad happened when—
“Where do you think you’re touching, you filthy bastard! Want to die?! You scum!”
Kaiden, raised as a noble, heard the most vulgar curses of his life from that child.
With a dumbfounded expression, he watched the girl ruthlessly stomp on a grown man’s groin. The surrounding mercenaries shook their heads, whispering among themselves.
“That bad-tempered girl. Don’t mess with her. She’s bitten more than a few guys.”
“She’ll get herself killed by a beast.”
“She won’t die. Her skills are better than yours.”
“What?!”
Kaiden, who had planned to pull the child from the subjugation, quietly closed his mouth. And as the mercenaries said, he got to see her skills.
Marion used a worn, lightweight sword. Being small and scrawny, she likely chose a sword that was easy for her to wield.
At first, he worried whether she could even cut anything with it.
But the girl knew how to bring down a larger opponent with minimal strength.
Kaiden followed her with his eyes. The way she fiercely swung her sword, determined to take down the beasts, was astonishing.
Her skills improved with every beast she faced.
Not long after, Marion reached the level of a Swordmaster. Kaiden looked down at the little girl who had reached the same rank as him.
Her eyes were fierce like a beast’s when swinging her sword, but when she looked up at him, they were as innocent as a child’s.
Watching Marion, Kaiden thought to himself.
‘One way or another, you and I are going to be entangled.’
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
