Sorry 11

Chapter 11

    ***

    "I'm not in a relationship with Kylan, I don't know about anything else, but I can tell you that for sure, but................ Master Chaint?"

    He looked up at her call. His hands were clasped under his chin as if he were concentrating on what she was saying, and his smiling face looked so much like the one she'd once gazed upon with love. With a rush of memories, Euris pressed her lips together, wanting to say, "Honey," and pulled away again.

    "When did you start liking me........ that... Okay.............. We didn’t really know each other.”

    She trailed off, embarrassed to hear the word "liked" come out of her mouth. As if he'd been waiting for the question, Chaint lowered hand and straightened his posture.

    "My feelings for you are quite old."

    His words caused the two ladies in the room to gasp.

    Euris felt dizzy. This didn't seem like the same old Chaint she knew. He hadn't been this aggressive when they were newly married.

    It wasn't that she didn't like him now, of course, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

    'I wonder if he's been in love with me since this age in his last life, and that's why we got married, but why the hell......?'

    He was staring at her as if he were truly in love, and Euris sipped her tea, trying to ignore his gaze.

    Then he leaned his head closer to hers, as if he had something to say. He whispered in a low voice.

    "Is it true that you're leaving ....?"

    His voice trembled slightly, as if he'd been thinking about this for a long time. Yuri smirked.

    "It's false."

    "What do you mean you told Kylan not to come to you again?"

    Frelona asked on the return carriage ride. It was a voice she'd been holding for a long time. Euris answered casually, as if it were no big deal.

    "Literally, I don't want to be friends with Kylan anymore."

    "Oh. What happened?"

    "Uh, no. It's just a change of heart, and now that we've come of age, if we stay together like we did as children, you never know what kind of scandalous rumors will be in the papers today. But I want to get along with the young master of Hebron (Kylan), so don't worry."

    "I see."

    Frelona nodded, and said no more about it. She respected her daughter's wishes not to talk about it.

    The carriage sped gently toward home. Frelona was in good spirits. For whatever reason, she was proud of her daughter for accepting a marriage proposal from the Marquis' eldest son.

    The mother and daughter did not arrive home until late afternoon. Marquess Eridov and Chaint had not yet known about her decision, and Frelona said they would have to think about the engagement before they could give an answer. The smile on Chaint's face was an added bonus.

    Euris said she had a lot on her mind and needed to rest, then returned to her room and closed the door. She felt strange. She sat down on her bed to think about it.

    Even though Chaint had changed somehow, going through with the engagement wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it was something to look forward to.

    Euris still wanted him. Her love for him hadn't changed.

    She wondered if the gods had given her one more chance, to make amends for her foolishness in the last life. When he asked her to marry him, she felt a surge in her heart.

    ‘But why do I keep feeling like I'm missing something?’

    As she pondered this, there was a gentle knock on the door.

    "Rune?"

    Euris feigned interest, and the door opened. There stood Rune and ............ Kylan, looking contrite.

    Seeing him, Euris’s expression automatically darkened. She had told Rune that she wanted to rest and that she didn't want anyone to come in, so Kylan must have insisted on seeing her.

    "Miss......."

    Rune stuttered, and Euris gave her an acknowledging wave, and then Rune gave a quick bow and disappeared.

    Left behind, Kylan's expression was uneasy, probably because he'd been reading today's newspaper. He approached the bedside.

    "Euris. First of all, I'm sorry for barging in on you."

    He apologized, all too familiar with her harshness by now.

    ‘Ah, I used to be like that, just like you, but now that you’ve been in my shoes, what do you think?’

    She wanted to ask, but he was still innocent at this point of time. She stared at him without answering, hiding the sting of having been the bad guy.

    Then, with a small sigh, Kylan spoke.

    "The papers, I've read them, and the reporters were so hasty in their writing. I'm sure it made you feel bad, are you okay?"

    "Is that what you're worried about, Kylan?"

    "Something like that, and......"

    He trailed off for a moment, took a breath, then continued.

    "In fact, I came looking for you this morning as soon as I saw that article................ But then I heard that you were visiting the Marquis of Eridov with your mother."

    "That's right, I went with my mother to see Master Chaint and the Marquess."

    At her dry reply, he shrank like a puppy in the rain.

    "You'll excuse me if I ask what you talked about...?"

    Kylan mumbled helplessly. He was acting like he'd lost the world after just a few days of cold treatment.

    ‘Soon your father, the Count of Hebron, will be in failing health, and I don't know what I'm going to do if he's already in this much pain.’

    Euris hated him, but he was dimly aware of it.

    Kylan had pushed her away in the past, perhaps for reasons beyond his control. Their friendship, if not their love, was clearly a two-way street, and it was like a certainty in her heart that he wasn't the kind of friend who would abandon for no reason.

    It was just that the hurt was too great.

    Euris stared at Kylan, who stood before her as if punished. His hair was disheveled, as if he'd been running in a hurry, and his shirt was untucked.

    It was heartbreaking to see him take the brunt of her anger and still come to see her again.

    'The man I once loved so much, I would have given my heart for him.’

    She should have gotten used to seeing him every day, but every time she looked into those eyes, cold as Kylan's winter, but springlike to her, she'd gotten a new thrill.

    Whenever she touched him, she struggled to hide her blush.

    Euris absentmindedly tugged at Kylan's hand as he stood in front of her, intertwining their fingers together.

    He crouched, startled by the touch, and looked up at her.

    Now she felt no emotion in his large, warm hand, and she felt a sense of release from whatever was holding her back.

    She held on to his hand, determined.

    To go through with her engagement to Chaint.

    ***

    "Imperial service is an honorary position. The succession of the family comes first."

    It was as quiet as ever in the manor's executive chambers where Chaint sat. As he flipped through papers, he stared emotionlessly at his father's unexpected arrival.

    It was a look of unsurprised recognition. Marquis Garnan Eridov sat down on the sofa across from his son.

    "Is that what you came to tell me?"

    Chaint's voice was flat, as he heard it every time.

    "Yes. I was surprised to hear you were suddenly engaged."

    "You have every right to be surprised."

    Chaint replied dryly, shifting his gaze back to the papers.

    "Not bad for House Aether, I suppose. Your business is promising, and your social standing is impressive."

    "I knew you'd approve of the engagement with that in mind.”

    Chant replied, his eyes still on the desk. He flipped through the papers with a gentle gesture.

    It was rude to do so in front of the man who was his father, but it had been a long time since he had done so.

    The Marquis did not criticize his son's demeanor. In fact, he was glad that his son, who was so much like him in so many ways, was so much like him in this.

    He was the kind of person who didn't mind a little rudeness in private as long as it met his expectations.

    Garnan eyed him warily. Thinking that his son had changed in some subtle way in recent weeks.

    ****

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