Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Even in the academy, he had several girlfriends. But the strange thing was that everyone thought Lilles was worthy of it.

‘Why is it a good thing to have multiple girlfriends?’

Idina always wondered. She couldn’t understand the girls who dated that guy even though they knew what he was like.

What was so great about a guy who was only good-looking?

Grumbling to herself, Idina kept running. Then she turned around for a moment, thinking that if Lilles happened to see her, she’d flash him a middle finger.

And in that instant—Lilles was already looking elsewhere, as if he couldn’t care less about her.

As expected, it was infuriating.

But while she was caught up in that thought… strangely, her eyes met Killian’s.

For some reason, it felt like Killian had been watching her the entire time.

The timing of their gaze locking was too perfect to be a coincidence.

<…..>

The two stared at each other for a while without looking away.

Even from afar, Idina thought that his eyes were really intense.

Shwaaa.

Even to young Idina’s eyes, the scene before her felt foreboding.

You look unhappy.

There was a shadow in him—one she had never sensed in anyone their age.

At the time, Idina couldn’t quite put into words what that was, but she recognized the feeling.

It was the same emotion she had seen once before—the kind of sadness etched so deeply it left no room for anything else.

The same look her father, Duke Bride, had worn when he gently woke her one morning, his voice heavy, telling her they had to return to the estate at once.

That day, when the news came that the godmother who had raised Duke Bride since his youth had passed away.

She hadn’t given birth to him, but she had cradled him in her arms and raised him with unwavering love. And he had truly loved her in return.

Duke Bride led his entire family back to the estate. In front of the coffin where his godmother rested, he wept—tears not of duty, but of deep, heartfelt sorrow.

<Mother…….>

Even though they were not blood relatives, Duke Bride called her mother.

He said it was a title he could never bring himself to call her while she was alive. Duke Bride confessed that regret with trembling lips, then knelt before the coffin like a penitent man seeking forgiveness.

It was the first time Idina had ever seen her father cry.

Tears are contagious—many, not just her father, began to sob quietly, swept up in the weight of the moment. Young Idina cried too, not fully understanding the meaning, but moved all the same.

As tears slid down her chin, she remembered a strange thought:
It felt like her body was being wrapped in a heavy, endless darkness.

That sorrow. That feeling of being swallowed whole by shadows, even while standing in the sun.

She saw it on young Killian’s face that day.

***

Idina raised her head as she recalled the man from back then.

Her mouth felt dry. For a moment, she clearly remembered the nuance of his disdain toward omegas. Because of that, she felt a little disheartened that they had to get married after just a one-night stand.

The man in front of her was undoubtedly someone who could be everyone’s lover—but she couldn’t imagine this perfect man ever being her lover.

“I thought Your Highness hated omegas… I think this situation might be difficult for you.”

Killian tilted his head slightly at her words.

“…Who said that? That I hate omegas?”

“Isn’t it true? That’s the impression I got.”

As the words left her mouth, Idina realized how out of place they felt. Perhaps Killian didn’t even remember their first meeting.

After hearing the story, he furrowed his brows as he had when he was young.

Even with a crack on his perfect, pristine face, he was still breathtakingly beautiful. And the moment she caught herself thinking that, Idina realized—she was already falling deeply for him.

“Do you feel like that?” 

“When we first met… do you remember? Back then, Lilles introduced me to you.”

“Ah.”

Killian let out a low chuckle, as if the memory had just returned to him. Maybe he’d tucked it away in some forgotten corner of his mind, but with that small hint from Idina, it came rushing back.

Then, with a faint smile, he summed up that moment in a single word.

“When Lilles was being a jerk.”

Idina was a little surprised because it was quite a strange thing to say from the crown prince’s mouth.

However, he soon smiled, and she waited for what he would say next. He leaned back against the chair, crossed his arms, crossed one leg, and said.

“Do you still remember that old memory?”

To Killian, it might have been nothing more than a fleeting moment—just another part of his daily routine. But for Idina, the image of Killian from that day had been carved deep into her memory.

She was haunted by the afterimage for days. Afterward, she occasionally caught sight of him from a distance. Each time, a strange sense of nostalgia washed over her, as if she were glimpsing an old lover.

Maybe the emotions from that day had quietly built up, one layer at a time, until they led her to this very moment—this strange, complicated feeling she couldn’t name.

‘It’s strange. It’s not like I like him… but it’s not that I hate him either.’

Her heart truly felt uncontrollable.

She turned over his question in her mind, but there was no use pretending otherwise. Eventually, she gave a small nod.

Killian murmured again, his voice low.

“……Unexpectedly.”

“What are you talking about?”

Idina questioned his small monologue, but Killian completely changed the subject, as if he didn’t want to talk anymore.

“But the past is of little use at this moment, Idina Bride.”

“Yes.”