Chapter 58
Raylenne realized that Caverion’s questions had a purpose behind them. He knew something.
“What exactly are you curious about, brother?” she asked in return. Caverion simply stared at her in silence. Raylenne took a calm breath and explained.
“On the surface, it’s true that Aiden’s body has recovered significantly. However, his collapsed immune system and stamina will take time to fully restore. When I mentioned deterioration, I meant it in that context.”
Caverion blinked once, still staring at her, then averted his gaze.
“Alright,” he agreed more easily than expected, his sharp expression quickly softening. Despite this, Raylenne remained tense. He clearly knew something. However, Caverion soon returned to his usual elegant demeanor, sipping his tea as if nothing had happened.
Raylenne wondered what would happen if Caverion found out that her relationship with Aiden was not just that of a prisoner and a guard.
‘…Would he get angry?’
Caverion had never gotten angry at her before, so she didn’t know what his anger would feel like. There was a time in the past when he had been quite seriously angry with her, but it was a childhood memory locked away, and she couldn’t remember why he had been so mad. Since then, Caverion had treated her with near-indifference.
‘How can I recover that memory…?’
When she had heard about the past involving Belle, the fog in her mind had cleared. Was the condition to recover memories hearing stories from the person involved? Raylenne dismissed her curiosity. Right now, knowing what had happened between her and Caverion in the past was not essential.
She refocused on the possibility that Caverion might be suspicious of her relationship with Aiden. His questioning tone seemed to imply, ‘Aiden is recovering quickly; didn’t you have a hand in that?’
Helis had tried to probe her in a similar manner before but hadn’t managed to confront her with just that level of suspicion.
‘But…’
Caverion might be more dangerous. Unlike Helis, he wasn’t simple-minded and could find out more if he set his mind to it. Raylenne felt a bit resentful. Initially, her reason for treating Aiden well was to help him escape from the estate. If Aiden went berserk, everyone in the estate could be massacred.
Though Caverion wouldn’t be included in that massacre, everything she was doing was for the sake of everyone’s safety.
‘If Caverion found out about this, would he help me?’
If he knew there was a possibility that everyone in the estate might die… Raylenne’s hopeful expression darkened. She realized there were two problems with this. First, Caverion wouldn’t believe that Aiden was on the verge of awakening. Since Aiden hadn’t manifested his powers into adulthood, everyone generally believed the prophecy referred to his younger brother, Damian. Caverion, too, believed this, so he would dismiss her claim that Aiden was the one destined to awaken as nonsense.
Second, if Caverion knew that Aiden might go berserk and kill everyone in the estate upon awakening, he might decide to kill Aiden first. Given his animosity towards Aiden, Caverion would likely choose elimination over release. Raylenne set aside her thoughts, hoping that Caverion would lose interest in Aiden.
Sipping her tea, Raylenne glanced at Caverion. Although he didn’t seem particularly upset, he was unusually quiet today. The atmosphere was peaceful yet uncomfortable. Raylenne, sensing the need to change the topic, spoke up.
“Brother.”
Caverion looked up at her call. After clearing her throat unnecessarily, Raylenne continued.
“I… I’m going to Countess Shablin Hamilton’s tea party this weekend.”
“You, Raylenne?” Caverion asked, surprised.
“Yes. I need to meet Lavita. It seemed better to approach her naturally at the tea party rather than directly.”
“That’s a good decision, but… are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Caverion’s eyes showed concern for her. Although she had left the estate a few times recently, attending a social gathering seemed premature to him.
“I’ll be fine. After all, this concerns my future.”
“Still, don’t overdo it. If it’s too difficult, I’ll personally try to persuade Miss Lavita.”
“Thank you for saying that.”
Raylenne reassured her overly concerned brother. His genuine concern made his earlier sharp questions about Aiden feel almost unreal.
“You said the tea party is hosted by Countess Shablin Hamilton?”
“Yes. She’s the flower and center of the capital’s social scene.”
Remembering her, Caverion nodded.
“I’ve met Countess Shablin Hamilton a few times.”
Raylenne thought it would be good to know more about the countess beforehand. While her ultimate goal was Miss Lavita, it wouldn’t hurt to be familiar with the party’s hostess.
“What is Countess Shablin Hamilton like?”
“She’s like a queen bee, always surrounded by people at parties.”
Raylenne nodded, forming a rough image of her in her mind.
“But you don’t need to be too cautious. No matter how much of a queen bee she is, she won’t dare to mistreat the only princess of the empire.”
Caverion’s handsome smile reassured her.
“If anyone gives you trouble, let me know. I won’t stand for it.”
His kind words significantly eased Raylenne’s anxiety.
‘Caverion really is the best…’
A kind and supportive brother. Raylenne truly didn’t want to have any conflicts with Caverion.
Thus, Raylenne resolved once again to thoroughly hide her relationship with Aiden. To Caverion, they must never appear as anything more than a guard and a prisoner.
Even though her teacup was empty, Raylenne, grateful to Caverion, continued the conversation with a different topic without getting up.
“Are you not interested in social parties, brother?” she asked.
“They’re bothersome. Those noisy places,” Caverion replied, unusually candid for him.
Raylenne asked a question that had been on her mind for a while.
“Don’t you have to attend them, though?”
As the eldest son of the duchy, Caverion attended only the minimum number of social gatherings. After the territory wars, this frequency had decreased even further.
“Father diligently represents us at important parties, so it’s fine,” Caverion chuckled. “When I use the knights as an excuse, Father usually lets it slide. Leading the knights is convenient in times like these.”
Despite what he said, Caverion truly devoted most of his day to the knights. However, there was one thing that bothered Raylenne.
“If you don’t attend parties, you miss out on meeting people.”
“Raylenne, one of the few good things about being born into the duchy is that people flock to you even if you just step outside the castle.”
“Not those kinds of people,” Raylenne replied.
Her ambiguous comment made Caverion tilt his head slightly.
“What do you mean…?”
“Young ladies.”
Specifically, women. Caverion still seemed unsure of her intent.
“Why should I meet young ladies…?”
“You need to get married, brother.”
Raylenne wished her handsome brother would find a proper young lady and get married quickly. Before he met the female protagonist, that is. If Caverion met the female protagonist, a heartbreaking one-sided love would begin.
Unaware of her thoughts, Caverion firmly spoke.
“Raylenne, I have no intention of marrying yet.”
“What?”
Raylenne inadvertently raised her voice. Unlike her, Caverion calmly rested his chin on his hand.
“There are things I need to do before getting married,” he smiled. “And I don’t want to be apart from my lovely little sister.”
Caverion had a talent for saying things that made her cringe without a second thought. His hair fell forward as his head tilted slightly. He was so ridiculously handsome that such words didn’t seem embarrassing when he said them.
“What if I get married first?”
“In that case, I’ll slowly start looking for a match myself.”
His response showed no enthusiasm. Raylenne murmured with a complex expression.
“Then I should get married quickly.”
Caverion’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Raylenne, I will search the entire empire to find the best man for you.”
The tea she had drunk seemed to stick in her chest at Caverion’s intimidating words.
“There’s no need to go that far.”
“Of course there is. It’s about your match, so I should be thorough.”
Caverion’s smiling voice had an ominous undertone.
“After all, someone who doesn’t know their place might fall for you.”
