Chapter 89
Before long, it was time to end the gathering.
One by one, messages arrived that carriages sent by their families had come.
They all headed together toward where the carriages waited.
“Reina.”
Amid the ornate carriages, a man even more splendid than them called out to Reina.
“Kaiden? How did you…”
“I thought it might be ending around now, so I came. Luckily, I timed it perfectly.”
He was in uniform, as if he had just come from the palace.
The uniform, adorned with lavish medals, made him stand out even more.
The young ladies recognized him and made a fuss.
“Oh my, the duke came in person?”
“Goodness, how sweet.”
Most men avoided openly waiting for a woman.
At best, those who cared for their lovers would send a carriage, but the duke had come to greet her himself, so it was only natural to envy.
At that moment, Kaiden naturally linked Reina’s hand through his arm and teased lightly.
“I wanted to see you sooner too.”
“Pardon?”
“Why? You didn’t miss me much, I suppose?”
“I-I missed you too.”
As Reina flushed in embarrassment, Kaiden burst into laughter.
His affectionate demeanor made the other young ladies’ faces turn pink as well.
It was clear at a glance that the duke looked at his wife with loving eyes.
“May I take this one home now?”
“Of course. See you next time, Duchess.”
“See you at the arena.”
They all replied as if enchanted, their cheeks reddening.
“They really get along so well…”
“I’m jealous.”
As Reina left on Kaiden’s escort, those remaining let out sighs of admiration one after another.
‘Hah, going to such lengths for attention!’
It was clearly staged.
Noble marriages were merely means for familial gain.
Her own marriage to Eric was on the same continuum. Just like her parents’.
‘She should just hurry back to the north instead of lingering like this.’
She didn’t know how Reina had bewitched the Duke of Crencia, but men’s affections were fleeting anyway.
Surely, in a few years, his interest would wane, and like other men, he’d take a mistress or keep a second household—it was obvious.
Isabelle tried to ignore the creeping sense of comparison and irritably climbed into her carriage.
It was a feeling of inferiority she had never experienced before seeing Reina here.
* * *
Once in the carriage, Reina chided Kaiden.
“You don’t have to go that far.”
“What did I do?”
Kaiden replied nonchalantly as he lifted Reina’s legs onto his lap.
When he naturally began massaging them, Reina was at a loss for words.
It was because she had grown so accustomed to his care.
Snapping back belatedly, Reina pulled her legs away and said.
“You’ve been doing attention-grabbing things lately. People might start suspecting us.”
“What suspicion? That we’re a contract couple?”
“Yes.”
“Reina. Not everyone is as thorough as you. You saw it back there. Was there even one person doubting?”
At Kaiden’s words, accompanied by a smirk, Reina clamped her mouth shut.
She knew she was being overly sensitive, even by her own standards.
Truthfully, she was glad he had come. Conversations with unfamiliar people had been utterly exhausting.
The fact that she could whine to him the moment she saw him was, in a way, because he made her feel at ease.
As Reina grew quiet, Kaiden pulled her legs back.
Soon, his large hands kneaded her calves, sending a sharp ache through them.
At the same time, it felt relieving, and Reina’s fighting spirit gradually diminished.
“If you keep this up, it’ll become a habit.”
“What habit?”
“You’re too good to me. It makes me whine to you all the time.”
“I like that, though.”
“Pardon?”
“Can’t you whine a bit?”
At Kaiden’s soft question, Reina blinked.
“I’ve told you before. You need to lean on me more.”
Yes. He always told her to rely on him.
Yet she couldn’t lean on him carelessly because of the aftermath of her past life.
Whenever she wanted to depend on someone, they always vanished or tried to bind her.
But lately, a thought had crossed her mind.
She wanted to lean on Kaiden.
With such a broad embrace, supporting someone like her wouldn’t be burdensome.
She felt embarrassed, suspecting he might sense it a little too.
Reina fidgeted with her hands and asked.
“…Am I not a bother?”
“Not at all. In fact, I wish you’d bother me more.”
“……”
“I want to be someone you need.”
His earnest gaze held not a trace of falsehood. She could tell without even using Ritsi’s power.
That unwavering consistency might be what put her at ease.
“I feel the same.”
“Hm?”
“I want to be useful to you too.”
At Reina’s straightforward confession, Kaiden’s expression darkened slightly.
It was because of the unease he always felt from her.
She had a tendency to focus excessively on proving her worth.
“The term ‘useful’ sounds too instrumental. That’s not what I meant by ‘need,’ Reina.”
His voice sounded somehow angry.
Reina couldn’t quite pinpoint what part of her had sparked his ire.
It was natural for her, as she had always thought that way.
Kaiden let out a deep sigh as he looked at Reina’s confused expression.
He had known for a while that her way of thinking was somehow twisted.
And he inwardly suspected it was related to the emperor.
He didn’t know the details of child-rearing in the palace, but he could infer from her behavior.
That’s why he wanted to keep showing her. That he was by her side and would never leave.
Kaiden took her hand.
“Reina. You don’t have to prove yourself like that every time.”
“…Pardon?”
“Even if you become utterly useless, I still need you.”
Reina stared at him blankly.
To be needed even without usefulness.
It felt like a blow to the head, making it buzz.
Kaiden always shook her up.
Like now, he effortlessly touched deep longings she hadn’t even recognized.
“Prove your worth.”
The emperor’s words, drilled into her like nails for ten years—his were the complete opposite.
Only after hearing them did she realize how much she had wanted to hear such words.
It was strange. Her insides churned like boiling water, her breath quickened, and heat rose.
It was just one of the things he said often, yet her heart raced uncontrollably.
She felt like she might cry or laugh.
She could feel the heat at the corners of her eyes. Even Kaiden’s face turning to panic.
“Reina?”
“Kaiden.”
I really, truly…
Her throat was dry.
Even though they were touching, an endless yearning burned within her.
She wanted to say something, but the accumulated sorrows kept trying to burst out, so she couldn’t utter a word.
Every moment had been fierce and desperate.
The fear that failure to prove her worth would mean death had always choked her.
Yet that one sentence from Kaiden seemed to fully console the self she had endured for so long.
Even as Kaiden looked bewildered by her sudden state.
All she could do was gaze at him.
With desperate eyes, hoping he might somehow resolve this overwhelming emotion.
In that instant, the atmosphere shifted palpably.
It wasn’t that the air in the carriage had changed.
A strong pull seemed to draw the two together.
Kaiden approached her as if entranced.
In the narrow carriage, even a slight movement brought them face-to-face.
He braced beside Reina, maintaining the distance.
He sensed immediately that she wanted him. Still, he spoke calmly.
“…Why?”
In case his feelings had arbitrarily misinterpreted her intent.
