Chapter 15

Fortunately, Arwin didn’t seem to notice even that slight change in my expression, and he continued speaking.

“When people think of desserts, cake is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Is there a particular reason you don’t make it?”

His voice was filled with nothing but innocent curiosity.

I looked at him…

Then lowered my gaze.

Cake.

The reason I didn’t make cakes…

For a brief yet endlessly long moment, memories of making cakes in the Duke’s estate flashed through my mind.

A faint smile appeared on my lips as I murmured,

“…Because I don’t want to.”

“What?”

My voice had been so quiet that he hadn’t heard me.

Looking back up at him, I answered,

“It’s just…”

“…Cakes are difficult to make.”

His eyes remained on me.

It seemed he had sensed that something about me was different from usual.

I continued.

“Making cakes is incredibly difficult.”

“Especially when you’re frosting them.”

“It requires intense concentration.”

“You have to keep the spatula perfectly clean at all times, and if you don’t maintain exactly the right angle while spreading the cream, the entire cake quickly loses its shape.”

I smiled gently at him.

He looked back at me with an unreadable expression.

“I suppose you could say it’s important to keep the proper distance between yourself and the cake.”

“…I see.”

“That’s why they’re so difficult to make.”

“I only started making these desserts as a small hobby.”

“I don’t really want to add something as elaborate as cakes.”

“…Besides, I only plan to make small batches of the current desserts anyway. Once they’re sold out for the day, that’ll be it.”

Perhaps because my answer had carried an unusually cold tone…

He watched me quietly for a moment before speaking.

“I’ve noticed this before.”

“Yes?”

“Sometimes…”

“You have remarkably deep eyes.”

“…”

“In those eyes…”

“I can see sadness.”

“Loneliness.”

“A longing for something.”

“…And yet, somewhere within them, there’s also unmistakable resolve.”

“They remind me very much of the atmosphere in your paintings.”

I looked at him.

Smiling gently, he continued,

“Whenever you look like that…”

“I feel as though I want to hold you in my arms.”

His eyes were filled with nothing but warmth.

For a long moment…

I simply stared blankly back at him.

An unusual silence settled between us.

How much time passed?

Eventually, I spoke.

“…The gallery will be closed tomorrow.”

“Please don’t come.”

“Why?”

His eyes widened.

“Is something wrong?”

“I’ve had a lot to worry about while preparing the new dessert menu.”

“I’d like to spend one day alone and get some proper rest.”

And hiding you has been exhausting.

Though… it was rather enjoyable.

Since arriving here…

He had been the greatest gift I had received.

Meeting someone like him…

Made me sincerely happy.

“I understand…”

A trace of disappointment appeared on his face.

“Then I suppose…”

“I’ll stay home and rest tomorrow as well.”

Without saying anything…

I simply smiled.

…

In truth…

There was somewhere I wanted to go tomorrow.

* * *

After he left…

I closed the gallery earlier than usual.

There had been many things demanding my attention lately.

Besides…

I wanted to spend a quiet evening alone and prepare for tomorrow.

I planned to go home early…

Prepare a simple dinner…

And end the day peacefully while painting.

Thinking that…

I locked the front door.

Just then…

I felt someone’s gaze.

I turned around.

…What?

There was no one there.

My eyes carefully swept across the area surrounding the building.

I could have sworn I had sensed someone’s presence.

A moment later…

I dismissed it.

Perhaps I’m just tired.

With that thought…

I finished locking up and slowly began walking home.

The peaceful countryside at sunset stretched out beautifully behind me.

* * *

“It was definitely the Duchess.”

A few days earlier…

After returning from Lorencia, where he had gone with the Imperial Knights to search for the Third Prince…

The knight Jacob sought out Ken.

Standing beside Ken, who was practicing his swordsmanship at the training grounds, Jacob excitedly continued,

“That woman looked incredibly familiar.”

“She definitely had the bearing of a noble.”

“Then it hit me on the way back.”

“She was the Duchess of Whydrian.”

“I’m certain I saw her from a distance once before.”

“…Don’t say ridiculous things.”

Sweat poured down Ken’s forehead as he continued practicing without stopping.

Jacob persisted.

“I heard your mother left the estate.”

“Isn’t it possible she’s living there?”

“Jacob.”

Finally irritated by Jacob’s constant pestering, Ken lowered his sword.

“She’s not my mother.”

“She’s my stepmother.”

“And don’t meddle in someone else’s family.”

“I’m saying this because it’s frustrating!”

Compared by noble rank…

Jacob’s status couldn’t even begin to compare with Ken’s.

But inside the Imperial Knights…

Birth meant nothing.

Everyone was judged solely by their swordsmanship…

And by how long they had served.

Still…

Most people couldn’t completely ignore Ken’s noble background and hesitated to approach him casually.

Jacob was different.

From the very first day Ken joined the Order…

Jacob had treated him without hesitation.

Before long…

He had become Ken’s closest friend.

“When my family fell into ruin…”

“My mother ran away.”

“My father remarried.”

“I felt exactly the way you do now.”

By coincidence…

Jacob had experienced something very similar to Ken’s own life.

Perhaps that was why.

Although Ken rarely spoke about his family…

Jacob somehow understood him anyway.

“I spent every day searching for my real mother.”

“I kept wondering why I cared so much about someone who abandoned me.”

“…”

“But after living through it…”

“I realized relationships are something you build.”

“My biological mother…”

“She was important.”

“She was precious.”

“I could never forget her.”

“But that’s a different matter from the relationship itself.”

“Sometimes your biological mother can be worse than a stranger.”

“And sometimes someone with no blood relation at all becomes a real mother.”

“It all depends on how you choose to see it.”

“So what’s your point?”

“What exactly are you trying to say?”

Finally losing patience…

Ken frowned deeply.

He sheathed his sword and glared sharply at Jacob.

Jacob sighed.

Placing both hands on Ken’s shoulders…

He looked him straight in the eyes.

“Ken.”

“I’m worried you’ll end up regretting this.”

“…”

“I realized it too late.”

“Only after my mother passed away.”

Jacob’s eyes grew serious.

“If I’d understood sooner…”

“I would have treated the woman who willingly became my stepmother so much better.”

“…I don’t want you to realize that too late.”

“I don’t want you to regret it like I did.”

“…”

“Have you ever even tried listening to your stepmother’s side of the story?”

“Instead of regretting it someday…”

“Why don’t you hear her out at least once?”

“We’re adults now.”

“I’m saying this sincerely.”

With those final words…

Jacob patted Ken’s shoulder once…

Then turned and walked away.

Ken watched his departing figure with a furrowed brow…

Before silently looking away.

* * *

Several days later…

Ken stood in front of the gallery in question.

At first glance…

It looked rather modest.

Yet somehow…

It fit perfectly with the clear blue sky and the peaceful countryside surrounding it.

Looking at the simple but well-kept building…

A slight crease formed between Ken’s brows.

There wasn’t any profound reason he had come.

Certainly not because he feared the regret Jacob had spoken of.

He was simply…

A little curious.

What exactly was she doing after leaving the Duke’s household?

How had she ended up crossing paths with the Imperial Knights?

…

And after meeting them…

Why hadn’t she returned?

Ken looked through the glass door.

Inside…

He saw Kasia.

Her black hair.

Her refined features.

Even the graceful way she walked.

Though he was too far away to see clearly…

The elegant aura surrounding her unmistakably belonged to his stepmother.

She was talking with someone.

When Ken shifted his gaze toward her companion…

His eyes widened ever so slightly.

The man was too far away to see in detail…

But there was no mistaking the silver hair.

The defining feature of the Third Prince.

The Imperial Knights—

Including Jacob—

Had searched this area thoroughly.

Everyone had claimed they failed to find the prince.

Yet there he was…

Casually talking with his stepmother.

Ken made no move.

Finding the Third Prince was not his assignment.

Nor did he intend to report Kasia’s whereabouts to the Duke’s household.

He had only come…

To satisfy his own curiosity.

Ken looked back toward Kasia.

She turned to the prince beside her…

And smiled.

It was a smile he had never seen before.

“…She’s smiling.”

A dry laugh escaped Ken.

It was an incredibly graceful…

Beautiful smile.

But that wasn’t how he saw it.

To him…

Kasia was simply someone he had never been able to like.

She had always been that way.

Ever since he was a child.

She had been the woman who hadn’t shed a single tear…

Even when his friend died.

The woman who had stood quietly in a corner throughout the funeral…

Wearing an expression no one could understand.

Not long afterward…

She became his mother.

Everyone pointed fingers at the Duke’s household.

His father defended her.

Without offering any explanation…

He simply told them to accept her.

To embrace her.

To call her their mother.

An utterly absurd demand.

Of course…

Kasia had been someone Ken had seen around since childhood.

But that…

And accepting her under the title of “Mother,”

Were two entirely different things.