Chapter 32
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 32
Whenever I spoke with Lian, jokes tumbled from my lips without conscious thought—casual and effortless.
Perhaps it was because Lian knew nothing of the original Belita.
Since he was unfamiliar with her, he harbored no suspicion even when I simply acted as myself, and that ease of mind brought me considerable comfort.
So these moments of conversation between just the two of us were quite pleasant.
Of course, when Lian became endlessly serious like this, it lost some of its charm, but it wasn't entirely disagreeable.
"We spoke of training earlier, but how is life in the Knight Order treating you? Are you managing well? No difficulties?"
"None at all."
William would surely look after him properly.
We had traveled together for a full two years.
We shared meals and lodging as we journeyed from place to place.
That bond ran deeper than I had anticipated.
So even without my explicit instruction, William would certainly be caring for Lian as he deserved.
"You're listening well to William, aren't you? And you're not neglecting your training?"
"I am studying and learning with all my effort and dedication."
From what Mary had told me, Lian was indeed training with remarkable diligence.
And since his learning speed far surpassed that of others, his aptitude shone all the brighter within the structure of systematic training.
"You must work even harder. That way, when I become the head of the family, won't you claim a position at my side?"
At my words, Lian's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at me.
"What's with that look? Don't tell me you were planning to leave my side?"
When I playfully narrowed my eyes in mock suspicion, Lian spoke urgently.
"I would never leave."
"Truly?"
"Yes, if you command me to remain, I shall never depart. I will stake my very life to protect you, for all my days."
What was I to do with this earnest man?
"You needn't go that far. And don't recklessly stake your life for anyone. If someday you find someone you love, then—yes, tell them that instead."
"I will dedicate my life only to you."
"No, but if you find someone to love—"
"No. I belong to you. Therefore, my life belongs to you as well."
If I pressed the argument further, he'd likely declare that my heart, my courage, my very soul all belonged to him, so I wisely closed my mouth.
Yet I found his blind devotion to me not entirely unpleasant.
I smiled contentedly and gestured for Lian to bow his head.
It was something I did so often that Lian understood perfectly and lowered his head at once.
But this time, instead of stroking his hair as I usually did, I playfully tousled his silver locks.
"Haha!"
I couldn't help but laugh at how entertaining it was to tease Lian when he gave no reaction.
As expected, Lian remained unresponsive this time as well.
He simply stared at me intently.
"What, are you unhappy?"
"No, I'm not."
"Let me fix it for you."
I gestured for him to bow his head again.
"That's not necessary. I can do it myself."
As Lian's hand moved toward his hair, I quickly grabbed his forearm.
"No, I'll do it. Come on, bow your head."
Lian's expression seemed somewhat displeased.
But when I insisted with an imperious command, he reluctantly bowed his head before me once more.
And instead of tidying his hair, I messed it up even more.
"Puhaha!"
I laughed loudly, even clapping my hands because it was so amusing.
At my antics, Lian also burst into a helpless chuckle.
"It's fun, isn't it? It's fun, isn't it?"
Until we arrived at the carriage, I continued to tease Lian, and he fell for my tricks time and again, delighting me with his responses.
* * *
As Belita left the Garden, Aiden Byon suppressed the urge to hold her back and fell into thought for a moment.
He was startled when he first saw her at the dining table, but he was also glad to encounter her like this.
Belita Heitz.
The woman who had introduced herself as Bel was actually a young lady of House Heitz.
It was truly an unexpected development.
When he first saw her, he had already discerned from her appearance and demeanor that she was a noblewoman, a lady of a noble house.
Of course, her behavior often contradicted what one would expect from a noblewoman, which made him pay closer attention and feel more intrigued.
When she learned that he was Aiden Byon, she seemed equally surprised.
But something felt odd.
It seemed as though she was deliberately avoiding his gaze.
'Why is she doing that?'
As the question arose, his mood grew increasingly sour.
When they had unexpectedly met again in Ulita, she was not like this.
The woman who had sought out the Circus Troupe to inquire about the children's welfare, and who had helped him when the necklace had caused him such agony, was not like this.
But the woman he met again kept her distance so conspicuously—like someone who had witnessed something she shouldn't have, with a determination never to meet his eyes again.
He had continued to attempt conversation, but she behaved as though she had no desire to exchange words with him.
And when he asked a tentative question and received an unexpected answer, he became certain.
The woman he had called Bel—or rather, Belita Heitz now—was treating their past encounters as though they had never happened at all.
An inexplicable sense of unease and displeasure surged within him.
Though we had met only twice, I believed we had shared much in that brief time.
But the fact that she now wanted to erase those moments from her memory was plunging his spirits into an abyss.
In truth, there was no reason for him to be angry at her for taking such an attitude.
Since he was not the type to give his heart easily to anyone from the start, it wasn't as though he had fallen for Belita at first sight or anything like that.
But she possessed eyes similar to his own.
Those irises, deeper than the azure sky, understood loneliness and emptiness.
That was why she often—no, frequently—came to mind.
How she was faring, where she might be traveling now, or whether she had returned home, whether those eyes of hers still held that same melancholy....
For someone who rarely paid attention to others, she was perhaps the only person he had cared about for so long.
That must have been why.
He had been so curious during the time he could not see her, but it seemed she had not been the same.
He wanted to know the reason.
He had to speak with her to understand why she felt this way.
After the meal ended and he had settled Adela Byon in the carriage, he went directly to find Belita.
She happened to be heading toward the Garden, and he followed behind her.
And the moment he heard from Belita why she felt this way, it was as though someone had struck his head with a solid iron rod, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.
'Adela Byon and Cain Maxius, and Belita.'
He rarely remained in the Capital.
He traveled here and there on family matters, and was busy with personal affairs as well, but more than anything, Byon Duke did not approve of his presence in the Capital.
Moreover, he had no interest whatsoever in society gossip.
So he knew nothing of what had transpired between the three of them.
He learned only later that Cain had broken his engagement with his former fiancée and then became engaged to Adela, only to break that engagement as well, but he did not know the precise details of what lay between them.
Belita had told him to hear from Adela what had happened, but it seemed he could understand without being told.
Adela had been frail in body since childhood, and her heart was equally weak.
Moreover, unable to venture outside, she harbored a deep longing for human connection.
She enjoyed receiving attention from others.
And she had grown up receiving abundant love from her father and the servants within the Manor.
Perhaps because she understood what it meant to be loved, she was not stingy with her affection in return.
One could tell from what she had done for Aiden, for him, all this time.
Whenever he was punished by Byon Duke from childhood and became thoroughly cowed, she would unfailingly appear to comfort him.
- Aiden, does it hurt much? Why does Father treat you that way?
- You must take care of your body. Do you understand?
- Your body is no longer yours alone now. You bear the name Byon.
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