Chapter 13
“Oh, were you waiting here?”
Rose seemed startled. She had come up the stairs carrying a tray with a silver-lidded dish and hadn’t expected Kyler to still be outside the room. She probably thought he would already be inside waiting.
As she approached, a rich, savory scent reached him. When Kyler looked at the tray, Rose stepped forward, reaching for the doorknob. But before she could open it, Kyler took the tray from her with one hand and opened the door himself.
Caught off guard, Rose stopped mid-motion, her other hand now feeling oddly empty.
“You can go back to your duties.”
“But the food…”
Kyler said nothing. His silence was enough.
“Yes, understood.”
Rose hesitated, then stepped back, her expression holding a trace of concern. Even as she retreated, she lingered for a moment before finally turning away.
Kyler stepped inside.
Sasha had kept the promise she made earlier. She was sitting by the window, looking like a flower gently reaching for the sunlight. Her posture was relaxed, hands folded loosely on her lap, head tilted slightly back as she basked in the warmth.
Her golden hair glowed in the sunlight, and her pale skin seemed to blend with the light itself.
She looked beautiful. Like a goddess born of the sun.
She must have heard the door open or maybe smelled the food because she slowly opened her eyes while still facing the window.
“You will gain nothing by staying in the dark.”
Kyler placed the tray on the small table by the window and removed the lid. A puff of fragrant steam rose into the air, filling the room with a warm, inviting aroma.
Sasha, still holding her pose, finally turned her head slightly and looked at him.
She had reacted to the smell. It made him want to laugh. She seemed like a small animal drawn to food by instinct alone.
“Why are you eating in here?” she asked.
“What?”
“Um, I mean…”
She still didn’t seem entirely back to herself. Her question made no sense, and he responded instinctively.
They stared at each other for a few seconds. Kyler gave in first. He knew she wasn’t in her right state of mind.
“Sasha, this is for you. Come sit here.”
She groaned softly in protest but didn’t move. Kyler stayed silent, watching her. His steady gaze lingered on her, and the weight of it felt like it might pierce right through her skin.
Eventually, Sasha rose slowly and walked toward the table.
The aroma grew stronger with each step. It was mushroom soup, the one she liked the most. The moment she smelled it, her mouth began to water.
Maybe it was the sunlight. Maybe it was not because of him.
Her thoughts began to form clearly again. Until now, they had been scattered, like floating fragments trapped in fog.
Kyler waited patiently. He sat still, tall and composed, never looking away from her.
The closer she got, the lighter her chest felt. Something that had been weighing her down was starting to lift.
She sat across from him and picked up the spoon placed in front of her. She hesitated, then looked up at him.
“Aren’t you eating too?”
Her voice was rough, but she didn’t seem to mind. Kyler, understanding her intent, let a small smile play at the corner of his lips.
“I am not taking any from you. Eat at your pace.”
Still a bit dazed, Sasha pouted. Her face showed a hint of irritation, and her eyes began to come back to life.
She scooped up a spoonful of soup and brought it to her lips. The taste didn’t register immediately. Her mouth was still dry, and the heat was strong. But the aroma and warmth slowly spread from her mouth to her chest.
“It’s good.”
“Our chef is quite skilled.”
Sasha let out a quiet laugh.
She had eaten enough meals here to know. Whether he said it to cheer her up or because he really wanted to compliment the chef, she could not tell.
But it helped.
She moved her spoon slowly, but steadily. As she continued eating, her appetite gradually returned. The soup had cooled to a pleasant temperature, and soon she began taking bigger spoonfuls, filling her mouth with each bite.
“It seems your reception didn’t end very well.”
Kyler brought up the subject once the bowl was about two-thirds empty. He had waited until he was sure she had calmed down before confronting her directly.
Sasha paused mid-motion, her spoon hovering in the air. Of course, he would be curious. She had greeted the duke in such a disheveled state. She lifted the spoon to her mouth and tried to act as naturally as possible while wondering how she could explain everything.
“Yes, it didn’t go well.”
Although she sympathized with Sasha’s position, even from her own perspective, it had been a huge shock. Just remembering how stunned she had felt was enough to make her uneasy all over again.
“I didn’t ask you back then, but now I’m wondering. Why did you invite them in the first place?”
So he knew. He knew about Sasha’s relationship with the Marquess’s family.
Then did he also know that Sasha had taken her younger sister’s place?
She had spoken confidently in front of Elina, but the truth was, Sasha wasn’t entirely sure about it. In fact, the idea that she really had taken her sister’s position was more convincing than anything else.
Even if it was true, and even if she had taken the role, the outcome didn’t change. Sasha was the one here now. Still, the guilt lingered, making her uncomfortable. After all, she was Sasha now.
“I just… wanted to talk to them. We’d been apart for so long, and I thought… maybe something could change.”
She answered carefully, doing her best to hide her discomfort. Pretending to be focused on eating helped cover her feelings, but unfortunately, the soup was almost gone.
“I heard the young lady treated you with disrespect. What would you like me to do about it?”
“…What?”
By “young lady,” he must have meant Elina. But how did he know what happened? And what did he mean by asking what she wanted him to do?
Sasha was too stunned to respond, her eyes wide, and Kyler kindly elaborated.
“Should I bring her to the town square and punish her for insulting the Duchess? Or should I summon her to the council and let her be humiliated in front of the nobles? If you prefer something less dramatic, I could simply send her to prison.”
“W-what…!”
Sasha suddenly felt alert and tense. Every word he said was terrifying. The town square? Prison?
“S-she just spoke harshly. That doesn’t deserve such punishment.”
She tried to stay calm as she carefully swallowed the soup and spoke. Maybe she should have kept quiet and let it go. She should have been more careful and stopped Rosé from speaking in the first place.
Her pride had made things worse, not just for her, but for Kyler too. Now she regretted it. Perhaps this really was a place where it was hard to live unless you had strong mental resolve.
“Ignote is a noble house with a long and proud history in the Derma Empire. At times, we’ve held more authority than the Emperor himself. For someone to insult the Duchess of such a house is completely unacceptable.”
Hearing him say that so seriously made her feel like she truly didn’t belong here. She didn’t want to break the heavy mood, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking the question.
“If that’s the case… then wasn’t the Duchess chosen a bit carelessly?”
She had argued earlier that no one could take the position from her so easily, but now she was wondering. If the role of Duchess was so important, why had it been treated like some kind of contract?
The situation was more complicated than she had thought.
“Elina said I stole her rightful place.”
At her words, Kyler’s faint smile disappeared. His expression turned ice cold, more terrifying than ever before.
Startled by the sudden change, Sasha instinctively reached out and placed her hand on his, which was resting on the table.
“She actually said that? Did she mention it to anyone else?”
“P-please calm down. Maybe that’s just how she feels. I just… wondered if something happened before, something I don’t know about.”
The room was filled with tension, as if Kyler might storm off to the Ivern estate with his sword drawn at any moment. Desperate to stop him, Sasha spoke quickly, anything to calm him down. Luckily, what she said wasn’t far from the truth, although she didn’t actually know the full story herself.
Her reaction, however, was enough to bring Kyler back to his senses. The warmth of her small hand wrapped around his arm softened his anger almost instantly.
“That would mean I once chose the second daughter of House Ivern to be my Duchess. And even after making that choice, I allowed myself to be swayed by another woman. That would make me a weak and foolish man.”
“Well… I suppose that would be upsetting.”
What a bold thing her sister had said. And so confidently, too.
Sasha silently shook her head. You can’t just insist something is true and expect it to be.
But the more they talked, the more everything started to make sense. It was becoming clear that Kyler had never even considered Elina. From the beginning, he had chosen Sasha.
Oh, and that choice had been based on a contract. But what kind of contract was it, really? Sasha had a good guess now about what she had asked for. She must have wanted to be taken away from the Marquess’s household. If she had lived in an attic, ignored by everyone, that would make sense.
But what about him? A man with power, youth, and beauty, why would someone like Kyler need to marry through a contract?
