Chapter 37
“Do you think I don’t know that Father’s knee is perfectly fine? Last spring, when he was running from his debt collectors, he outran a horse.”
Leorahill’s expression turned sullen.
“He was born with good health.”
Maxcallion let out an exasperated chuckle and draped an arm around Leorahill’s shoulders, pulling him in until their foreheads touched.
At the familiar gesture, Leorahill burst into laughter.
“Wow, I still can’t believe I’m the same height as you now.”
“Imagine how I feel. I never thought this little brat would grow so much.”
“But, Brother… Odette—she really didn’t come?”
Leorahill kept glancing behind him, still suspicious that Maxcallion had hidden Odette somewhere as a prank. It wouldn’t have been the first time—he had done the same thing during the festival.
“Odette isn’t coming.”
Maxcallion said it lightly, still smiling, but something about that smile felt disturbingly unnatural.
Though his lips were curved upward, it was as if he were silently weeping.
It was only then that Leorahill felt his heart plummet.
“S-Something happened, didn’t it? That’s why she’s not here? Tell me, Brother!”
“Odette refused to live with us. She says she has someone she loves.”
Maxcallion’s lips twisted bitterly.
He had abandoned his studies, forsaken his beliefs, and become a dog of the Emperor’s faction—all for the sole purpose of reclaiming Odette.
He had thought that if he amassed enough wealth, he could bring her back.
But compared to the fortune of Caesar Maes, what he had was nothing but pocket change.
He barely remembered how he had managed to return to the capital after parting ways with Odette in Raon Town.
Something within him had broken—severely.
But where, exactly? He couldn’t pinpoint it.
He hadn’t slept in days, and his head throbbed as if it were about to split open.
“Brother.”
Leorahill looked at Maxcallion, concern deepening in his gaze.
“Odette… fell in love? She never mentioned anything during the festival. Who could she have fallen for in such a short time? There’s no way she found someone more handsome and noble than you.”
“I can’t speak for his character. I’ve never spoken with Caesar Maes.”
“W-Who? Count Caesar Maes?”
Leorahill’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
Caesar Maes—the man who had even rejected the advances of a princess.
There was no way that arrogant noble would genuinely care for Odette.
Not because Odette was lacking in any way, but simply because men like him—the ones born with everything—were inherently heartless.
There had been plenty of such men at the academy—ones who got their maids pregnant and then discarded them without a second thought.
Leorahill ran his fingers through his hair, gripping at his scalp in frustration.
“There’s no way Count Caesar Maes will actually marry Odette! He’ll just play with her and throw her away!”
“If that were the case, I wouldn’t have lost my mind.”
The moment the words left his mouth, Maxcallion realized—
It wasn’t his heart that had broken.
It was his mind.
The despair of knowing there was nothing he could do to get Odette back…
The helplessness had eventually shut down his brain, as if every last screw keeping him together had been removed.
That must have been why he could now talk about Odette so indifferently.
“By the Emperor’s decree, Caesar and Odette will soon be engaged. The wedding will take place here in the capital.”
“W-What? M-Marriage?”
“Yes. Odette… will never see us again.”
Tears began streaming endlessly from Maxcallion’s vacant eyes.
“Whoa, whoa!”
Caesar yanked on the reins, causing his black stallion to rear back and spin in place.
A gust of wind swept through, ruffling his dark hair.
At that moment, Princess Trisha and her attendants, who had come to greet him, held their breath.
As the breeze toyed with Caesar’s midnight locks, his hidden eyes were revealed beneath his bangs.
Eyes so beautiful they could melt hearts—so intense they could steal souls.
They all longed for those mesmerizing eyes to settle upon them.
With parched lips, Trisha and her ladies-in-waiting discreetly licked their lips, thirsting for his gaze.
But Caesar, completely unfazed by how he appeared to others, casually ran a hand through his hair before dismounting his horse in one fluid motion.
“Your Highness, it seems your peaceful days have been most satisfying. Your expression is positively radiant.”
“It’s because I’m happy to see you.”
Trisha smiled and extended her hand.
Caesar took it, placing a light kiss upon the back of her hand before speaking with perfect courtesy.
“It has only been a month.”
“After spending five years seeing you every single day, even a month apart feels long. Did that not strike you as odd?”
“The war is over now.”
Trisha had fought alongside Caesar throughout the war as a mage.
They were comrades who had owed each other their lives—partners whose teamwork had been seamless.
That was why she could summon him so suddenly and ask him to temporarily oversee her knights.
“Ah, there they are now—my slow-moving knights.”
A cloud of dust billowed as the knights galloped toward them, and Caesar Maes gestured toward them.
“Perhaps it’s simply that you’re too fast.”
Trisha shot him a playful glare as she laughed.
Caesar’s gaze lingered on Trisha’s face, searching for traces of Odette.
They look similar… yet different.
A faint blush began to rise on Trisha’s cheeks.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Because you look well.”
“…And you look like you’re glowing. Did something good happen?”
“Something both good and bad, I suppose.”
“Now I’m even more curious to hear what you have to say.”
Trisha took Caesar’s arm and led him inside the estate.
Once tea and refreshments were served, Trisha hesitated several times before finally speaking.
“Have you seen your wife? I assume that’s why you were in Earl Anderson’s territory.”
“I’m going to divorce Amelia Anderson.”
“Divorce?”
Trisha’s heart began to pound wildly.
So, Caesar is finally cutting off his meaningless marriage.
Amelia, Caesar’s wife, had never sent him so much as a letter while he was away at war.
She hadn’t even fulfilled her role as the lady of the house, choosing instead to stay with her own family.
She might as well have been openly disregarding him.
Caesar was not someone to be treated that way. Trisha had long thought he should either annul the marriage or file for divorce.
Looks like he finally came to the same conclusion.
It was a relief that he had made his decision immediately upon returning from war.
She had worried that Earl Anderson, who played the role of Caesar’s so-called benefactor, might try to keep him shackled in an unhappy marriage.
But before she could fully process his decision, Caesar’s next words sent an even greater shock through her.
“And at the same time, I’ll be getting married.”
“M-Married? T-To whom?”
A pensive look crossed Caesar’s face as he prepared to explain, but before he could, a small smile tugged at his lips.
“To a hopelessly clumsy liar. She lies every time she opens her mouth, but she’s so terrible at it that she gets caught every time. The way she fumbles when she’s exposed is absolutely adorable.”
“Y-You actually like someone you can’t trust? That doesn’t suit your cautious nature at all.”
Please… think this through.
How could he possibly marry a liar?
A sharp ache rose in Trisha’s chest, and a stinging sensation pricked at her eyes.
No…
If she showed her emotions now, Caesar would only draw a firm line between them.
Lowering her head, she clenched the handle of her teacup tightly.
“Her lies are always trivial, nothing worth getting upset over. I can laugh them off because I trust her.”
“I… I don’t understand how that’s possible.”
“You will, once you meet her.”
Caesar’s lips curled into a smirk.
“She must be quite the remarkable person.”
Trisha’s voice trembled as she spoke, gripping her teacup even tighter.
It was unbearable to watch the light in Caesar’s eyes as he spoke about her.
The sparkle in his gaze, the soft smile lingering on his lips—it was too much.
I guess I never really had a chance, did I?
Her vision blurred, and she bit down hard on the inside of her cheek.
She couldn’t let him see her cry.
Just as she bowed her head even lower, Caesar’s voice floated down from above her.
“She’s unpredictable, always keeping me on edge. That’s why I need to tie her down with marriage.”
“…To keep you on edge? She must be something else. Well… congratulations.”
“Thank you. By the way, your estate is as beautiful as ever.”
Hearing the sound of Caesar rising from his seat and walking toward the window, Trisha quickly wiped her tears away.
Then, she lifted her head and gazed at his back.
Seven years.
They had spent the entire war together.
That was why she could instantly tell— He’s changed.
This was love.
Caesar Maes has fallen in love.
