Chapter 50
“I’d prefer if no one knows that I’m sick if possible.”
“Why?”
“I want to have my birthday as quietly as possible. ……Kaiden, will you stay by my side until I open my eyes? I think I’ll feel anxious if no one is there when I wake up.”
“I promised. I’ll be by your side.”
Even if he hadn’t promised, he intended to stay by her side.
But her eyes looked so pitiful that he had no choice but to mention the promise to reassure her.
That day, Kaiden stayed by her side with his eyes open.
In case her prediction was off and a dangerous moment came.
He didn’t care if it was unnecessary worry. To him, Reina was no longer just a contract partner.
As she said, the moment the morning sun rose, her fever began to gradually subside.
And when the dark sky became completely bright, Reina opened her eyes.
She stared at Kaiden and muttered softly.
“I’m relieved.”
“What’s relieving?”
“I was scared that when I opened my eyes, all of this might have been a dream. That I might have to do unwanted things again……. But seeing you makes me realize this is reality.”
Reina smiled with a face that looked like she was about to cry while saying something incomprehensible.
Following that, she closed her eyes again and only woke up after half a day.
Kaiden quietly pondered the words she had said.
In fact, she seemed to have been having nightmares the whole time she was asleep.
When she frowned and groaned, he was startled, wondering if she was in pain somewhere.
“So this is how it feels.”
When Kaiden muttered lowly, Aiden, who was beside him, tilted his head.
Remembering that he hadn’t been able to concentrate throughout the meeting, Aiden asked subtly.
“You’ve had a distant look since earlier. Is something wrong?”
“…….”
“Can you hear me, Your Grace?”
Aiden asked while waving his hand in front of his eyes.
Only then did Kaiden, recognizing his presence, look at Aiden with a blank face.
“What on earth are you thinking about?”
“Reina.”
“Huh?”
“I was thinking about Reina a bit.”
Kaiden let out a low sigh with a face still lost in thought.
Following that, he touched his throbbing forehead.
There were too many thoughts. Useless worries that he wouldn’t have had normally now felt like big problems.
It was all because of Reina.
The variable called her had deeply occupied his daily life before he knew it.
Meanwhile, Aiden gaped at the unexpected answer.
A moment later, Aiden smiled mischievously and said.
“Is it finally my turn to help?”
“How do you know what my concern is?”
“If it’s about sister-in-law, what else could it be?”
Aiden made a heart shape with his fingers and smiled slyly.
Just a month ago, he had been gloomy, but lately, he had become noticeably brighter.
Kaiden frowned as if his head already hurt.
“I don’t know what it is, but don’t do anything.”
“Despite appearances, I have a track record of succeeding in unrequited love. Whatever it is, I’m better than you in that area, right?”
“…….”
“How about it? Let your little brother help?”
“I said no.”
Kaiden fixed his wavering mind and deliberately replied contrary to his inner feelings.
But Aiden wasn’t one to back off like that.
He placed his hands on his hips and started nagging.
“Honestly, you’ve been too much.”
“What did I do.”
The words starting with blame were full of stinging remarks.
“Since sister-in-law came to the north, she’s hardly gone outside Crencia Castle. In an already unfamiliar land, she must be very lonely. And her husband doesn’t even care.”
Ouch.
Aiden continued, seeing Kaiden’s shoulders flinch.
“You didn’t prepare a separate gift for sister-in-law’s birthday, right? I can tell without looking, crystal clear.”
“She said it wasn’t necessary.”
“She didn’t say not to give one. You’re supposed to give it thoughtfully on your own. At least a bouquet and a letter. Did you really do nothing?”
When Kaiden nodded with a reluctant face, Aiden hit his forehead and said.
“Sigh, I knew it. Honestly, if it were me, I would have cried wanting to go back long ago. Shouldn’t you at least be affectionate? The only husband doesn’t give a birthday gift, not even a scrap of letter.”
“…….”
“It happens that sister-in-law will remove the cast in a week. This is the time to properly show her around outside, how nice would that be? I bet you never thought of it before I said it. Well, you’d know if you’ve been in love, sigh.”
At the repeated jabs, Kaiden let out a low sigh.
Even he thought he had been neglectful toward Reina lately.
Thanks to her, the Goreth subjugation was safely concluded, but he had only talked about rewards and hadn’t actually given anything.
As he said, it seemed good to use this opportunity to give a gift and go out.
Kaiden asked in a humble posture.
“So what should I do?”
* * *
A week later, Reina moved her now light leg this way and that.
The ointment prescribed by the doctor was effective, as the wound healed quickly.
“There’s still a scar, so you must apply the ointment consistently.”
“Thanks.”
As the doctor finished the examination and left the room, Kaiden, who had been lingering at the door, entered.
“Ahem.”
Following that, when he cleared his throat to make his presence known, Reina noticed him and waved her hand.
He glanced at her ankle and said.
“Now you can move freely.”
“Yeah. It was quite hard leaning on crutches all this time.”
When Reina made a relieved expression, Kaiden kept moistening his lips.
“First, make a formal date request.”
“How do you do that?”
“Sigh, you have a long way to go, brother.”
As per Aiden’s advice, when trying to request a date, his mouth didn’t open easily.
While he was hesitating. Reina, who noticed that his behavior was somehow strange, spoke first.
“Do you have something to say?”
At that, as if waiting, he blurted out.
“Do you have time tomorrow by any chance?”
It was a sentence he had been rolling in his mouth all along. But since he said it hastily, the tone sounded threatening.
“I do have time…….”
Reina stared at Kaiden’s face, which somehow looked serious.
Since he had seemed like he had something to say earlier, she became tense instead.
‘Did something happen?’
Since the Goreth was wrapped up well, she thought it would be fine for a while…….
As Reina was about to become serious as well, he said stiffly.
“Then go somewhere with me.”
“Where?”
“Just. Well, here and there.”
Kaiden dragged his words and avoided answering.
That fueled more suspicion, so Reina asked seriously.
“Is something wrong by any chance?”
Kaiden tilted his head at the unexpected question.
“No? Not at all.”
“It’s just that your expression looks serious.”
Once he thought of it as a date request, conversing as usual wasn’t easy.
Kaiden still denied it flatly with a stiff face.
“It’s not like that.”
It seemed like he didn’t want to say it at a glance. Reina said in a somewhat deflated voice.
“If so, that’s good.”
Meanwhile, Kaiden became anxious seeing Reina’s expression darken.
‘Does she not want to go on a date with me?’
Once that thought came, his confidence naturally dropped.
“Anyway, you do have time, right?”
That was why he obsessively confirmed it.
‘He’s somehow different from usual.’
Reina quietly thought about her schedule and said.
“I don’t have any particular plans after lunchtime. I’ll keep it free.”
When Reina gave a definite answer, Kaiden nodded satisfactorily.
Following that, as he was about to leave the room, he hesitated at the door.
Precisely, he froze seeing his reflection in the mirror next to the door.
‘Did I request a date with this expression?’
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By Anna 💓
