Chapter 18
“Our lady doesn’t even seem to like him!”
From the beginning, the people of House Hillington hadn’t immediately fallen for the quiet and composed young Hildea.
Unlike her twin sister Rosériel, who was always cheerful and spoke her mind, Hildea was a very reserved girl.
She barely showed any expression.
To others, that could easily be mistaken for arrogance or condescension.
But the truth was, the eldest young lady was incredibly kind.
“I thought you might need this. I don’t, so you can have it.”
“I heard you just got married. I didn’t want to overstep, so could you give this to your wife for me? Just to say congratulations.”
“It may be rude to say, but winter’s cold. That kind of fabric might get you sick. And if that happened, it would be disgraceful for a duke’s house.”
When had she been observing people so closely?
What noble lady would think to care about such trivial things?
And so, people began to gather around Hildea—people who cared for her, who loved her. And with one heart, they prayed:
“Please, don’t let that ill-tempered Duke of Belkius become our lady’s fiancé!”
But the heavens turned their backs on them.
The Duke of Belkius, who had had no previous contact, suddenly barged into their estate—and even began pursuing Hildea actively.
His doll-like beauty, his solid rank—they meant nothing to those loyal to Hildea.
“Can’t even speak to her properly—what a coward.”
When Hildea wasn’t looking, his gaze would follow her persistently, burning with intensity. But the moment their eyes met, he’d turn away as if panicked—unable to even meet her gaze.
He acted cold and rude to everyone else, yet in front of Hildea, he couldn’t manage a single coherent sentence. His face was stiff, his expression frozen.
And yet his ears would flush red like apples, and his fingers fidgeted helplessly.
“And our lady…”
Rather than seeing his behavior as romantic interest, she took it as rudeness.
She’d glare at Gabriel with such an intensely displeased and uncomfortable expression that no one could mistake it.
And then that detestable duke went and dropped her in the lake!
Okay, technically, he was trying to help her and just fell in too—but still!
What good is an impressive supernatural gift if you can’t even keep your boat partner safe?
If the young lady disliked him, they were ready to make sure that not even a fearsome duke like Belkius could so much as touch the hem of her gown.
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It had been a long time since I felt this sick.
No—since I woke up in this body, it was the first time I’d caught something that felt like my entire body was being pummeled.
It took me a full week to recover, and by then, there wasn’t much time left before Gabriel was scheduled to leave.
Rose had come by often, cheerfully chatting by my bedside. Half of what she said was grumbling about Gabriel.
It was all in an adorably grumpy voice, but…
“I don’t like it when you’re sick, sis. You both fell in, but Gabriel’s perfectly fine!”
“Well, cough, I guess that could happen.”
Even so, I remembered it clearly—the moment he reached out to me.
The moment he tried to save me, even though he supposedly found me so unpleasant and unbearable.
Just that memory alone seemed to settle the annoyance and frustration that had been building up inside me.
‘If you think about it, Gabriel was the victim here.’
Even when I fell from the tree, and this time too—he ended up like that because he was trying to catch me.
If he had been alone, even if the boat had rocked or capsized, he probably would’ve just shot into the air and landed perfectly.
No—he definitely would have.
That’s why. There was no other reason.
I simply thought, maybe I should at least thank him.
But when I actually tried to find him, it was surprisingly difficult.
When I didn’t want to see him, we bumped into each other constantly—but now?
After practically circling the entire Hillington estate, I finally arrived at the library.
“Is he here?”
The first head of the Hillington family had been borderline obsessed with books
A regular study hadn’t been enough—he’d dedicated an entire building to create this library.
The guards standing at the front saluted stiffly and said,
“Yes, my lady. If you check the entry log, you’ll see that he entered quite a while ago.”
Feeling slightly embarrassed at their overly rigid expressions, I sighed, wrote my name in the logbook, and stepped inside.
“How am I supposed to find him?”
Gabriel was still a small boy—and so was I.
This wasn’t a state-run library with professional librarians. Even if there were one, it would’ve felt odd to ask someone to go hunting through this massive place for a single small boy.
“Well, I have time anyway.”
So, I started checking the shelves one by one.
And after a long while… I spotted the back of a boy, completely absorbed in something.
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This is bad.
Because of that incident, Hildea had been sick in bed for an entire week.
During that time, Gabriel kept going to visit where Hildea was staying—only to turn back without entering, over and over again.
That precious, fleeting time slipped away too quickly.
He didn’t have much time left to stay here.
He wanted more—just a little more.
That selfish desire kept growing, and it was starting to worry him.
After all, he wouldn’t be able to see her for a very long time.
‘If I could be sick instead of her, that would’ve been better.’
Gabriel let out a small laugh at his own thought.
If his lieutenant had heard that, he probably would’ve shivered and muttered how terrifying that was.
He’d already said that a few times, after seeing how Gabriel acted around Hildea lately.
“Phew.”
And then—
“Are you not feeling well?”
“…….”
“Um, Duke? I… I came to see you because there’s something I wanted to say…”
Gabriel had never been caught off guard like this before.
He had never once failed to notice someone’s presence.
The problem was, lately, his mind had been slipping too often.
Especially whenever he was thinking about her.
“Hil—!”
And now that very girl suddenly spoke to him from right behind?
Gabriel, shocked enough to feel like he was dying from a heart attack, stumbled where he stood—perched high on a ladder.
“!”
His elbow knocked against the books stacked at an angle.
As his body twisted and fell, the books tumbled too, like a cascade of rain.
Ah.
And right below him—staring up at him with wide, startled eyes—was her.
The very girl who’d been driving him crazy lately: Hildea.
At this rate…
Gabriel’s heart squeezed tightly.
She’s going to get hurt!
No. Absolutely not.
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Can this even be real?
Can something like this really happen?
I crouched down and braced myself, waiting for the weight and pain to hit me.
But even as the seconds passed, I felt no pain.
Instead—something was holding me tightly in its arms.
When I slowly opened my eyes, what I saw was Gabriel, who had shielded me with his small frame and taken the brunt of the falling books instead.
“Ah…”
His usually neat hair was a mess, and his appearance was completely disheveled.
I stared at the boy who was so close to me with a blank expression, just as I noticed a red bump starting to swell on his pale forehead.
I frowned. Ugh, that’s gotta hurt.
Then suddenly, Gabriel’s body flinched.
“Ugh!”
Perhaps only then realizing how we were positioned, he jerked back violently like he’d been electrocuted and scrambled away from me.
“That was close, I— Uh!”
The problem was… the place was still a complete mess, books scattered everywhere.
As he stumbled awkwardly, he nearly fell backward—but this time, I reached out and caught him.
We quickly let go of each other, awkwardly, but it felt like the corners of his lips almost formed a clumsy smile.
Only then did I really look at the boy and open my mouth to speak.
“Thank you.”
The words I should have said from the beginning but somehow hadn’t managed to.
The atmosphere, which had been so tense and sharp, felt like it had softened just a little.
Was I imagining that?
It also looked like Gabriel’s hand trembled slightly—maybe he hurt it while blocking the books.
“Your hand…”
“I’m not hurt. I’m fine.”
“But your forehead…”
“That too, I’m fine.”
I tried to take a closer look, but the boy quickly hid his hands behind his back like he didn’t want me to see them.
His head was lowered deeply.
Well, fine.
That’s as far as he’s willing to go, I get it.
I decided to respect Gabriel’s space.
Besides, he had just saved my life.
‘Even if we’re not fiancés.’
And so, the terrible first impression I had of Gabriel crumbled a little more.
‘It would’ve been nice if we’d gotten along. If only he didn’t dislike me so much.’
There was a surprising sense of regret. And guilt.
To Gabriel, I might be nothing more than an ill-fated encounter full of mishaps, but to me, this boy was not an ill fate at all.
I couldn’t smile as sweetly as Rosériel,
but still, sincerely, I said once more:
“Thank you, Gabriel.”
“…It was only natural.”
Even as he said that, Gabriel stubbornly refused to look at me.
Yet the small hand he extended to help me up trembled faintly, like it was in pain.
I took it gently, being careful not to squeeze, and stood up.
His hand was very warm.
The few days that followed passed in a flash.
“May the touch of the silent goddess linger with you, and bring peace wherever you go.”
“May only the blessings of peace and serenity bloom around you, like the wind god’s grace.”
For families supposedly discussing a betrothal, the parting words were strangely formal and cold.
Gabriel’s gaze was fixed on us sisters—but it was obvious he looked at Rosériel for much longer.
He stared at her for a while, then, almost like he was checking off a final task, turned briefly toward me.
He parted his lips—hesitant, reluctant—and finally said:
“I hope you… stay well, my lady.”
“I hope you stay safe as well, Duke.”
Unlike the earlier stiff exchange, this one held a bit of personal feeling.
And it was genuine.
They say it’s a battlefield, but in truth it’s a place where anyone could die.
That child was going there.
The thought made my brow furrow.
Gabriel, who had been holding eye contact while we exchanged our farewells, quickly turned his gaze away.
‘Well, I’m done talking to him—time for him to say goodbye to Rosériel.’
I turned around.
I was going to call out to Rosériel.
But for some reason, Rosériel, who had been chattering away, had stepped back with a gentle smile, quietly watching us.
I motioned for her to come over, trying to set up a moment between her and Gabriel, but she waved her hands and gestured in refusal.
Then, with her finger, she pointed behind me.
Huh? But Gabriel’s behind me…
As I turned around—
I was startled.
“…Lady Hildea.”
When did he get this close?
