Chapter 48
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 48
I caught Aiden Byon's eye from across the distance.
He quickly approached my side.
"Belita, I apologize for keeping you waiting."
"Not at all. Let's go quickly."
"Yes. Duke Cain Maxius, I shall see you next time."
I had no desire to exchange words with Cain, so I merely bowed my head in greeting.
"Do take care of yourselves... both of you."
Cain's voice was chilling.
From his tone alone, I could sense how much anger he was restraining.
But that was none of my concern.
I was equally furious at that very moment.
Thus, Aiden Byon and I walked together toward where our family's carriage awaited.
I felt the scorching gaze upon me from behind, but I deliberately smiled brightly at Aiden Byon as if to show him.
"Aiden Byon, didn't you come by carriage?"
He seemed puzzled by how radiantly I was smiling.
"Ah, I rode on horseback to arrive quickly."
"I see."
"Miss."
The carriage was not far away.
After exchanging a few words as we walked, we soon arrived before the carriage, and Lian, who had been waiting there, called out to me and approached.
"Lian, let's return."
"Yes, understood."
Lian recognized Aiden Byon, glanced at me briefly, then bowed toward him.
"This boy always seems to follow Belita around."
"He's my escort knight. And Lian swore to follow me to the very end, didn't you?"
I asked Lian with a satisfied smile.
"Yes, that's correct. I am your knight for life, Miss."
He had always been unusually serious for a child, but today his voice sounded particularly resolute.
"...I see."
"Then let's go now."
"Yes, please take my hand and board the carriage."
Lian extended his hand to me.
It was something Lian always did when I boarded the carriage, so I unconsciously reached to take his hand.
"I shall do it."
"Pardon?"
But then Aiden Byon suddenly stepped forward to offer his escort.
"It's fine."
"No. Step aside. I shall do it."
Lian glanced at me once, then withdrew with a hardened expression.
Aiden Byon took his place and extended his hand toward me.
A hand as large as his frame itself urged me to take it.
I slowly placed my hand upon his.
His large hand wrapped around mine with warmth.
"Please, ascend."
"...Yes."
A sensation I had never experienced before washed over me, and my response came a beat too late.
I glanced at his expression quickly, but he seemed not to have noticed my hesitation.
Relieved, I climbed into the carriage, and Aiden Byon immediately followed me inside.
Then the door closed.
Since this was merely a brief visit to the Imperial Palace, I had not brought Mary along.
So the carriage held only the two of us.
As Aiden Byon settled into the seat across from me, the carriage lurched forward.
And we resumed the conversation that had been cut short.
"It seemed you rode back on horseback last time as well. You must enjoy riding, then?"
"I do."
"I enjoy it too. When you ride and gallop, your chest opens wide and you feel a freedom you don't experience otherwise."
"Indeed. If you would not mind, shall we ride together soon? There is an equestrian tournament coming, and I thought we might practice for it. I shall be staying in the Capital for some time to participate."
"Together?"
"Yes. The equestrian tournament will be held soon, so I intend to remain in the Capital longer this time for practice. I must participate in the tournament."
'Ah, so the equestrian tournament is coming soon.'
The equestrian tournament was the Empire's grandest Festival, held each autumn alongside the Harvest Festival.
When the Harvest Festival and equestrian tournament were held, many of the Empire's nobility flocked to the Capital.
And for good reason—winning the equestrian tournament made one the most honored in the Empire and granted an enormous prize purse.
Especially in years of abundant harvest, the prize money was beyond imagination.
The tournament proceeded in a bracket format, and with so many participants, it lasted several days.
And during that time, the Streets of the Capital bustled for an entire week with the Harvest Festival and numerous smaller festivals.
'Autumn is already here.'
I had returned from my travels around summer, yet time had slipped away so swiftly.
I pondered my response for a moment before speaking.
"Well, let me think about it."
"Think... about it?"
Though I said I would consider it, it was a polite refusal.
Aiden Byon seemed to notice, and I could see disappointment cloud his expression.
"I have a business venture I'm currently pursuing, so I fear I shall be quite busy."
To be honest, I wasn't nearly as busy as all that.
I did need to practice for the equestrian competition myself, after all.
So we could have trained together, but something within me kept whispering that I should maintain a proper distance from him.
And I heeded that voice.
"I understand."
Aiden Byon was certainly different from Cain Maxius.
He didn't force his way into people's lives the way Cain did.
He simply accepted my refusal with clean grace.
Part of me appreciated that, yet something about it felt strangely unsettling.
Disliking the peculiarity of that feeling, I hastily changed the subject to dispel it.
"How is Adela's health?"
"...I thought rest would help her improve, but there's been no sign of progress."
"I see..."
Though I'd known as much, hearing that her condition remained grave drew an involuntary sigh from me.
Was it the illness of the heart that prevented her swift recovery?
She had collapsed in shock upon hearing Cain Maxius's words back then—it was highly likely that wound still hadn't healed.
Our correspondence contained not a single mention of Cain Maxius.
Perhaps because I had spoken so firmly during my visit to her sickbed, Adela had refrained from mentioning him to me at all since then.
"I heard you exchange letters with your sister."
"Adela told you that?"
"Yes."
Ah, so Aiden Byon knew that I remained close with Adela.
That was fortunate indeed.
"I'm thinking of visiting her again. She must feel suffocated, being confined to the Manor all the time."
Having already tasted the outside world, being trapped indoors would be nothing short of torment.
As my bond with Adela deepened, the unfavorable feelings I'd once harbored toward her gradually faded away.
In their place, compassion and sympathy took root.
Perhaps it was inevitable, something I'd already resolved myself to accept.
Yet I hadn't expected my emotions to shift so rapidly, and I found myself bewildered by it these days.
As I spoke of visiting her, my eyes met Aiden Byon's.
For a moment, an inexplicable expression crossed his face before vanishing just as quickly.
Then he smiled faintly and replied.
"You remain as kind and gentle as ever, Belita."
Why did this pair lavish such praise on me whenever I did anything?
I'd told him before—I was hardly someone deserving of words like kind or gentle.
It was simply that their evaluation of me was far too generous.
Well, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, so there was no need to protest.
As long as they—especially Aiden Byon—understood that I wasn't someone who would harm Adela, I would be safe.
So I laughed awkwardly and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"By the way, how are the children at the Orphanage doing? I haven't been able to visit them lately."
"I haven't been able to visit the children in quite some time."
"I see. Have you found the person you've been searching for?"
A conversation from a year ago suddenly came to mind.
The reason he had been searching through the Circus Troupe.
"...No. I wasn't able to visit the Circus Troupe this time."
A shadow momentarily crossed his face.
'He must be searching for someone truly important.
That would explain why he's been combing through every Circus Troupe.
"Ah... You'll surely find them. So please don't lose heart."
"Yes, I believe that as well."
"Yes, you'll definitely find them. I asked before, but if there's anything you need my help with, please tell me."
"In that case, there is one thing I must ask of you."
"What, what is it?"
I had assumed he would decline again, just as he had when I offered to help before.
So I asked out of courtesy, but his immediate response caught me off guard, and I found myself stammering slightly.
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