Chapter 15

Chapter 15

When her white dress was stained, Kashika thought it looked like fragments of sunlight. Then she immediately thought of Lydia, who would surely be upset. But that was Lydia’s business. The golden specks on the white cloth looked almost like embroidered gold thread. Kashika didn’t seem to mind. If anything, it looked like intentional decoration.

“It’s too pretty to wipe off,” she said.

Noah must have thought the same, as his gaze turned to her. But rather than looking at her clothes, his eyes drew closer to her face. Kashika, wondering if there was pollen on her cheek as well, raised her hand to wipe it off.

“Apologies if I startled you.”

Kashika shook her head as if to say it was fine. She had expected one of the lawyers Noah had summoned to be here, but there was no one else in sight.

“You came alone?”

“Yes, but someone will arrive shortly.”

Noah sat down on the rattan chair opposite her and placed the contract on the table. Unlike the long couch Kashika was on, Noah’s chair was sized for a single person, and it seemed lower than expected—his knees and legs stretched out far in front of him. Kashika’s gaze followed his legs and slowly moved upward, eventually meeting Noah’s smile.

“White flowers suit you well. I’ll take it as an intentional adornment.”

“Well, it’s summer—flowers are pretty.”

“I meant you’re the beautiful one, Kashika.”

Kashika froze for a moment. Still, such compliments were exchanged all the time—at least in the trashy novels she used to read. In fact, far more scandalous lines were thrown around, so this didn’t merit tension.

“You’ve grown in an unexpected direction.”

“In what sense?”

“You’re good with empty flattery.”

“I’ve always thought you were beautiful.”

Whether that was a lie or not, she couldn’t tell.

Beautiful.

Kashika looked at Noah. From the very first time she saw him, she had thought his hair was the color of fine champagne. For something as ordinary as hair, it had an oddly clear and pristine look. His radiant blond locks, lighter than silk thread and tinged with a pale sand hue, had filled her with envy in her childhood.

Kashika had wanted to be someone like Noah. If she had to be born a girl, she would’ve wanted to be a girl like that. Of course, Noah was a boy, but as a child, his bright smile and cheerful disposition had felt both annoying and irresistibly charming. She had wanted to gnash those golden strands between her teeth and swallow them whole—jealous of the noble light he carried.

“Then what do you think of yourself?”

Or perhaps snatch it, or secretly hide it away.

“If I’m beautiful in your eyes, then I can’t imagine what you must think when you look in the mirror. Especially that hair of yours.”

“Well, I don’t think I’m all that. In fact, isn’t darker hair more beautiful? It doesn’t reflect light—it draws it in…”

Noah trailed off mid-sentence. Kashika waited for him to continue, but he simply covered his mouth, leaving the words unsaid. She couldn’t tell why.

Did he have unusual tastes? Anyone would say that blond hair was more appealing than brunette. Ah—perhaps he wanted dark hair himself.

“It’s true that men often admire darker hair. Maybe because it seems weightier?”

To that, Noah smiled in agreement.

“Yes, like the forest at night. Deep and endless.”

Wasn’t that a bit much?

“A forest where it feels okay to get lost, at least once.”

“You must enjoy literature.”

Now that she thought about it, Countess Lambroiche had never been pleased with the books Noah read. It made sense now. When Kashika said nothing and simply stared, Noah seemed a little embarrassed and said, “Perhaps a drink would help,” before standing up.

He stepped out and returned shortly. A waiting servant brought a small assortment of treats and tea. She had eaten tea and fruit for breakfast, and once again, the offerings were all desserts. But unlike what Lydia had prepared, these were quite different.

“…He remembers.”

Everything placed on the table was something Kashika had liked. She never made it obvious, but whenever she came to the Lambroiche estate as a governess, she had eaten desserts instead of proper meals. Unlike Elpertz, where all she ever ate was dark bread, everything here had once smelled sweet and rich.

The servants and maids may have changed since then, but it was still surprising how accurately the past had been recreated. After all, food is more about memory than taste.

The Lambroiche family had once given her everything she never had in childhood, and Kashika had often found herself missing the taste of it all.

“These are your favorites, aren’t they?”

“Yes.”

Kashika was full of pretense and pride, but this—this didn’t need to be hidden. She did, in fact, like them.

“Thank you for the thoughtfulness.”

She smiled. Noah parted his lips slightly, as if to say something, but instead of speaking, he took a quick drink of the cold tea. Kashika picked up her fork. The pastry on her plate—layered thin with custard between the folds and a marbled sugar glaze on top—crumbled with a crisp crack.

* * *

Surprisingly, Kashika and Noah shared a few things in common. Kashika didn’t have a very clear memory of her childhood. Perhaps she simply didn’t want to remember. But Noah seemed to recall every moment they spent together. She thought, He really does have a good memory. That must come in handy studying law.

By the time she finished her dessert, the person they had been waiting for arrived. The man, with sun-darkened skin and black hair, was a bit shorter than Noah but looked sturdier—almost like a knight.

“Perfect timing,” Noah said.

Is that the dark, forested night he was so enchanted by? The one you’d want to get lost in…?

“This is Bertram. He works as an administrator for the royal court.”

So, not a knight after all.

“I thought you were bringing in a lawyer?”

“He has a law license as well.”

“…Is it okay for a government official to be involved in something like this?”

“Yes. Working for the court doesn’t pay as well as you’d think. Anyway, pleased to meet you, Madam.”

That answer came from Bertram himself. Noah gave up his seat for Bertram and casually sat beside Kashika. She didn’t even have time to shift away. The warmth of someone else’s body beside her felt unfamiliar.

“I was going to bring in someone from a side branch, but I thought I might lose your trust.”

“I see.”

Indeed, you couldn’t just kill a royal administrator. If it had been a relative, there might’ve been a way to… attempt something. Unbelievable—was he already thinking one step ahead? Still, it wasn’t a disadvantageous position for her either. If anything went wrong, Noah might be the one to fix it. A situation not in either’s favor—perhaps not a bad balance.

“Is this how lover contracts are usually done?”

Kashika asked. Bertram lifted his gaze slightly, then lowered it again. He seemed uncomfortable making eye contact and replied with his head still bowed.

“I can’t say for certain, but considering how secretive such relationships tend to be, it wouldn’t surprise me if these things happened behind closed doors.”

So, yes—they could exist. Not a particularly helpful answer.

Bertram began flipping through the documents. Since they’d already discussed things, there wasn’t much more to check. But judging from his slightly puzzled expression, it seemed this was his first time seeing the contract’s contents.

“No physical relationships with anyone else… This is really in the contract?”

“That clause is to be removed. Looks like the wrong version was brought.”

“….”

Just cross it out and pretend it never existed? Bertram was sure this was no accident, but neither of the two showed any change in expression. He was starting to think both of them were formidable in their own ways.

A few other clauses added to the document were favorable to both parties, yet Bertram still couldn’t understand why Kashika had agreed to it. There were plenty of disadvantages for her. Though there were benefits as well.

“You’ve both read the contract thoroughly, I assume?”

“Yes,” Kashika answered. Noah only shrugged. If it were me, I’d read it once more, Bertram thought, but doing that now would just make things worse for them. So he said nothing.

“Then please sign here.”

Bertram spoke. Noah handed over his fountain pen. Kashika took it and signed the bottom of the contract. Then Noah took the pen, added his signature, and handed both the document and pen to Bertram. After signing, Bertram set the pen down.

What followed was something Kashika didn’t understand. The moment Bertram held the paper, a soft blue light spread across the contract. Then he pulled out a blank sheet, tapped it once with the pen—and the text from the contract began lifting off and transferring itself to the new page. One by one, each line of writing landed neatly on the blank sheet. Once the transfer was complete, Bertram fanned the paper lightly. Seeing Kashika’s puzzled expression, he said, “It still needs to dry.”

So even magically transferred ink still needs to dry. She hadn’t known that.

“I’ll keep this in the bank’s vault,” Bertram added as he sorted the documents.

“Even if the contract is lost, you can request a copy. Since it was sealed with magic, it won’t burn or get soaked. You don’t need to worry much about storing it.”

He handed her one of the documents, and Kashika lifted it with just her thumb and forefinger, as if she were reluctantly picking up something unpleasant. Bertram looked slightly awkward. He tucked another copy away for himself and handed the final one to Noah.

Noah quietly looked down at the document. His smile was harmless on the surface, but it was impossible to guess what he was really thinking. Was he always like that? She didn’t remember him smiling so much. But lately, it felt like that was the only expression she ever saw from him.

Noah Lambroiche’s smile, with its faint eye-crease, was cute—and distinctly calculating.

“Well then.”

It was that kind of smile…

“She’s mine now.”

Kashika, for the first time, felt Noah Lambroiche might be dangerous.