I Can No Longer Trust You
Canna replied calmly.
“I can no longer continue my relationship with Your Highness. No, I don’t want to.”
“Tatiana!”
Canna stared straight into his eyes.
“You deceived me, Your Highness.”
Alexei’s face turned deathly pale.
“If it’s what Your Highness wants, I suppose I’d fall for it like a fool again at any time. Just like now.”
“Tatiana, I’m sorry. Really…”
“I can no longer trust Your Highness.”
“I was afraid of losing you.”
It certainly looked that way.
His eyes, his hands, were drenched in the terror that Canna might leave him.
That was why he had made such a foolish decision.
“I’m sorry. Tatiana, please forgive me just this once.”
But Canna did not waver in the slightest. There was not even a trace of willingness left in her to do so.
Because the affection she held for him was shattering into pieces even at this very moment.
Bad bastard.
She had truly liked Alexei, and the disappointment was crushing in equal measure.
Alexei had been the person closest to her in this world. The one she trusted most.
Yet that very person had betrayed her trust. He had mobilized his power and connections to deceive her completely. He had made a fool of her.
That was why she could no longer believe in him the way she once had.
“I cannot continue this relationship any longer.”
At her resolute declaration, Alexei’s face began to freeze over, slowly, excruciatingly slowly.
“You’re ending it just like this?”
“Yes.”
“No. I absolutely will not allow it to end.”
“Don’t misunderstand. This isn’t something decided by Your Highness’s will alone.”
“You love me too. So don’t give up on me so easily.”
Alexei caressed her cheek with a trembling hand.
“I am yours.”
Just as she was about to snap back, the door burst open with a violent bang. Canna and Alexei turned their heads at the same time.
It was Lorenzo.
“Your Highness?”
Lorenzo glared at them both in turn, his face twisting with disgust.
“What the hell are you two doing right now?”
“Lorenzo.”
Alexei sighed as if exhausted and pressed a hand to his forehead.
“Get out. This is none of your business.”
“You’re engaged! So what are you doing with Tatiana!”
“This little bastard…”
“Tatiana, were you lying to me? Were you really my brother Alexei’s mistress?”
The boy’s face was smeared with betrayal.
“You told me you weren’t!”
It was a complete disaster. Canna shoved Alexei aside and approached Lorenzo.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest with you that day. But…”
“Don’t touch me!”
Slap! Lorenzo struck away the hand she extended. His expression was one of raw hurt.
“Liar! You tricked me!”
Then he spun around and ran.
“Please wait, Your Highness!”
Canna hurried after him at once.
Whatever the reason, she had indeed deceived Lorenzo. She could not simply let him go without an apology or an explanation.
Lorenzo fled as if running for his life, only stopping in the middle of the garden. He whirled around and glared at her.
Panting, Canna apologized quickly.
“I’m sorry for lying. I wanted to avoid scandal as much as possible. That’s why…”
“Do you like my brother?”
“Yes.”
Canna let the word slip out like a sigh.
“I did, until I heard about the engagement.”
Lorenzo’s face collapsed entirely. He clenched his fists, then turned away again.
“Don’t follow me.”
This time, even Canna could not bring herself to chase him any further.
Ah, damn it all.
Canna covered her face with both hands.
She had completely lost Lorenzo’s trust.
She had lied to him, claiming she was not the mistress of Alexei—the brother he respected—and that she would never do anything to tarnish his honor.
Hadn’t she herself been furious at Alexei for deceiving her?
It was only natural for Lorenzo to lose faith. She had brought this on herself.
“Tatiana.”
Alexei, who had followed, called her name in a low voice.
“I’m sorry.”
He pulled her waist toward him and crushed her against his chest.
“Please understand.”
“…”
“I love you.”
For a moment the strength drained from the hands that had been ready to push him away.
Not because her heart had softened.
She simply felt hollow.
Devastatingly empty.
The reality that she could no longer say me too hurt. This sudden, brutal reality hurt.
At that moment Alexei lifted her chin and brought his lips to hers.
Canna shoved him away sharply.
“Get away from me. Don’t ever do that again.”
“Tatiana.”
“My decision has not changed. There is nothing more to say, so please leave.”
At the icy rejection, Alexei finally stepped back.
“I’ll return for now. But remember this. I will not give up on you.”
Canna could no longer hold back the venom.
“Enough with your bullshit, Your Highness. You sound completely insane.”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
Alexei smiled bitterly and turned away. The moment he left, Canna let out a groan and clutched her head with both hands.
Ah… seriously.
What is this?
What the hell is this!
It was infuriating. So infuriating she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.
It was then that she heard a rustling sound from above.
Canna flinched violently and looked up. Her gaze met a pair of green eyes.
A white-haired man was sitting on a tree branch.
“Ren?”
Ren stared down at her intently while smoking a cigarette. He took a deep drag; the ember flared vivid red. Then he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
Perhaps because he had been watching her the entire time, she felt a fleeting sense of insult, as if he had blown the smoke directly into her face.
But that was obviously a misunderstanding. The cigarette scent did not even reach her.
“…How much did you see?”
Ren took another long pull from the cigarette. Then, exhaling smoke, he answered curtly.
“All of it.”
He jumped down lightly and stood before her. The corner of his mouth twisted into a smirk. Mocking, or perhaps praising, he whispered.
“You really are kind, aren’t you, my dear client.”
…What?
But there was no chance to ask. Ren simply walked past her. Only the bitter scent of tobacco lingered, brushing her nose.
Canna watched his receding back, then pressed a hand to her chest.
Her heart was pounding violently, perhaps because of the strange unease from a moment ago.
What was that just now?
That look in his eyes. It felt familiar… but of course it would; the shell he wore was identical to Kallen’s.
Canna steadied her tightly wound nerves and began walking. She followed after Ren, who had already moved far ahead.
She still had something to give him.
As expected, Ren was waiting in front of her bedroom. He had come to collect the money she had borrowed.
Canna entered the room with him.
“Wait on the sofa for a moment.”
“Yes.”
Canna approached the storage door connected to the room.
The safe was inside this storage. The instant she inserted the key, Canna realized something was wrong.
The door was open.
It had not been locked.
I definitely locked it with the key before I left.
Yet it was open.
That meant someone had gone inside.
There’s only one key, and I have it.
Canna strode quickly into the dark storage room.
“Oh my god…”
The safe’s lock had been snapped, and its door hung wide open in blatant display.
And inside—nothing.
At the sight of the empty safe, her mind went completely blank. Canna’s legs gave out and she collapsed on the spot.
Could a thief really have broken in?
But this was the royal palace. The most heavily guarded place in the entire country.
A thief here?
Then a faint trace of cigarette smoke brushed the tip of her nose. Canna turned her head weakly.
“…”
Ren was leaning against the doorway.
“I told you to wait. When did you get here?”
“Just now.”
Ren moved only his lips, his face utterly expressionless.
“You were taking a long time.”
“…”
“So.”
His lips curved into a cold smile.
“Where’s my money?”
An ominous chill shot through her mind. No way.
…That’s impossible.
She quickly dismissed the suspicion.
There was no way Ren would have done it.
For one thing, there simply hadn’t been enough time.
They had only just arrived at the palace, and the time Canna had left the bedroom had been nothing more than a brief moment.
That fleeting instant while she chased Lorenzo. At that time Ren had already been out in the garden, smoking.
Besides, he had returned almost at the same time she had. Time-wise, it was impossible.
Above all, he had no reason to do such a thing.
Ren was a mercenary who built his reputation on trust, and he earned more than enough money from his work.
There was no reason for him to commit something as stupid as theft inside the royal palace.
Yes. Ren had no reason to do it.
…Though if it had been Kallen Addis, that might have been a different story.
“It seems a thief broke in. All the assets I kept in the safe are gone.”
“A thief?”
“Yes.”
“So?”
Ren stared at her with eyes that showed not a flicker of emotion.
“So what?”
His flat, toneless voice made the tips of Canna’s fingers go numb. For some reason, even the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.
“That’s your problem. I need to receive my money. Right now.”