Chapter 102
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 102
"What?"
"I've come to refuse the contract termination."
"...Refuse?"
Dale curved his fingers and swept my hair behind my ear.
The skin where his fingertips grazed tingled.
I gazed at Dale quietly.
His damp black hair clung to his eyes, water droplets falling like tears.
He looked at me with sad, downturned eyes. Yet his gaze burned with an intensity I'd never seen before.
"...You rushed out in the rain just to tell me that?"
"..."
"You were outside on a rainy day for that reason?"
"Because it's the most important thing to me."
Dale's low voice struck my heart.
At the same time, my eyes wavered. No—I should be fetching him a towel to dry off, not standing here like this.
"Wait, Dale. Stay right here for a moment. You'll catch a cold if I leave you like this. Let me get you a towel."
"It doesn't matter."
Then Dale grabbed me.
Cold dampness seeped into my pajamas. I couldn't move—his gaze was too earnest.
"It's fine. Even if I catch a cold."
"..."
"What I want to hear is your reason, Enya."
His grip tightened. I flinched at the desperate strength in his grasp and looked up at him.
"Why did you abandon me before the promised time?"
"..."
"You promised 364 days, and I believed that promise."
"Dale, I understand. I'll explain."
"No."
Dale cut off my words without hesitation.
He still held me close, allowing no distance between us.
"Promise me you'll cancel the termination. We can discuss the explanation afterward."
"Do you know who I proposed this contract marriage to escape?"
"The Emperor."
At his straightforward answer, I nodded.
"You understand well. But a problem has arisen."
"What problem?"
"I realized The Emperor's proposal to me wasn't a coincidence. He doesn't want my House—he wants me."
"...."
"But recently, The Emperor has even begun exchanging with the Religious Organization."
Even as I explained slowly, Dale only held me tighter.
I placed my hand over his cold arm. I felt him flinch for a moment.
"I don't know the exact reason The Emperor changed his mind. But if he moved after confessing the truth to me, it feels unsettling."
"Because he might discover traces of our marriage registration?"
"Exactly."
I nodded slowly.
"The Emperor shouldn't take interest in me until much later, if things go as planned. Yet he already favors me."
"...."
"I know how cruel The Emperor can become. Dale, so you must become someone unrelated to me."
At the same moment, Dale released me.
His calm golden eyes wavered like ripples on water. Then they quickly returned to their usual composure.
"What are your feelings, Enya?"
"My feelings?"
"Not about The Emperor. Have you now decided you no longer need me?"
"What?"
"Your feelings are most important to me. Not external circumstances, not The Emperor, nothing else."
"...."
"What do you think?"
The moment I looked at Dale honestly, my heart began to race. Truth be told, my heart had felt strange ever since I saw him beyond the window.
I grasped the hem of his robe.
"I want to be with you, Dale."
"...!"
"But not now. Being together would only bring danger, so we need to resolve the situation first."
Dale remained frozen, his eyes widened, as if holding his breath.
Then I heard a strange sound.
Tap-tap-tap, like footsteps.
"My lady."
Knock-knock, followed by successive knocking.
What could this be at dawn?
Startled, I looked at Dale and quickly pushed him into a corner of the wall.
"...Ugh, ahem, what is it at this hour?"
I forced my voice to sound drowsy and strained, clutching at my throat.
"My apologies, my lady. An intruder has been discovered in the Mansion. May I enter your room to check?"
I gripped my throat more tightly.
"Aaah...! I'm dying of sleep. I can't. *cough*, I think I'm catching a cold too. There's nothing wrong here, so go."
"Forgive the intrusion, my lady! If anything happens, please pull the bell rope at once!"
"Hmmm, understood."
I pressed my ear firmly against the door.
The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
"You broke in?!"
I rushed over to Dale and demanded an explanation.
He let out a short sigh with an unbothered expression.
"It was the only way."
"Dale...!"
Was he always this reckless?
I steadied my spinning head. Then again, from Dale's position, he couldn't simply walk through the front gate, and there was no faster way to meet me.
Still, the fact that knights were patrolling at dawn meant he'd essentially invaded—there was no way around that.
"How many did you knock out?"
"I'm not entirely certain."
Which meant he'd definitely done it.
"How many did you take down?"
Dale looked at me cautiously, then turned around and began counting on his fingers one by one.
"...I understand. I can tell it was quite a lot."
"My apologies."
"It's absurd, but I can certainly confirm now that you're skilled, Dale."
To have slipped past the Duke's House sentries and knights without being caught was extraordinary.
I studied Dale's face—unmarred and pristine.
"You're not injured anywhere, are you? No wounds?"
I removed his robe.
Beneath it, he wore nothing but dark clothing. One could easily mistake him for an assassin who'd come with murderous intent.
Dale stared at me intently.
"I have no injuries."
"That's good...a relief."
"But I'm cold."
He buried his face against my shoulder.
"...!"
When his heavy, large frame pressed against me, I stumbled for a moment. He slowly wrapped his arms around me.
Before I knew it, my body had nestled completely into his embrace.
"If I hadn't met you, Enya, I wouldn't have known what cold or loneliness felt like."
"..."
"I would have simply lived on as I was."
Dale pulled me deeper into his arms. He slowly lifted his head and met my gaze.
"I don't want to go back to how things were."
His eyes were unfathomably deep, dark, and intense—like those of a wounded young beast.
"Dale."
"If our contract must be terminated, I will take the contract to court."
"...W-where are you going?"
"Breaking the contract is a decision that wasn't mutually agreed upon, so this time I won't follow your wishes, Enya."
"So you're taking me to court?"
"...."
Dale seemed to hesitate for a moment, but his resolve didn't waver.
I patted his back to soothe him.
Each time my hand touched his broad shoulders, water droplets splashed softly.
I had to persuade Dale more carefully.
"This is for your sake."
"You don't even know what's for my sake, Enya."
Dale, who had been leaning against me, rose to his feet and lifted me effortlessly in the same motion.
My legs dangled helplessly in the air as I hung suspended in his arms.
He met my gaze and stared at me intently.
"Keep me by your side."
His soft, low voice echoed in my ears, resonating long after he spoke.
"That's what it means to care for me."
"...Even if the Emperor might kill you?"
"...."
"Why?"
I wiped the moisture from his neck.
His clothes remained damp and clung pitifully to him, making him look cold, yet his body grew increasingly warm.
"Why would you go that far when it's not part of our contract?"
"...."
"Is it because you're kind? Or perhaps...."
His gaze followed the movement of my fingers.
I sensed something from him, and slowly cradled his cheek in my palm.
"If what I'm thinking right now isn't a misunderstanding...."
Dale's eyes met mine as he looked away from my hand. Our shallow breaths intertwined in the empty space between us.
His gaze was heavier than it had ever been.
"I love you."
He whispered softly and tilted his head slightly.
"I love you, Enya."
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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