Chapter 8
Sasha sat quietly in the drawing room, staring blankly out the window. Her thoughts weren’t spinning with energy, but rather slowly tangling, like threads knotted together.
The idea of “family” always left her with a deep, formless longing.
She had entered the drawing room in a hurry and was now thinking of returning to her room. As she stepped into the hallway, she ran into Rose, who was walking toward her with a tea tray.
“Oh, Rose. If that’s for the Duke, could I take it to him instead?”
Rose, who had just lowered her head in greeting, looked surprised by the sudden offer and glanced up at Sasha.
“But…”
She hesitated. It was understandable. Sasha smiled awkwardly, sensing the uncertainty, and after a brief moment, Rose slowly handed the tray over to her.
Sasha walked a few steps farther and knocked on the door of the Duke’s study.
He didn’t respond, but after waiting long enough, she opened the door herself.
Inside, Kyler was seated at his large desk, fully focused on a map he was organizing and studying.
“I brought tea.”
She gently pushed the tray toward the sofa and spoke softly, but he didn’t respond. It was as if he didn’t care who had entered. She quietly began placing the tray’s contents onto the table in front of the sofa.
Following what she had seen others do, she poured the tea just as she had observed before. Kyler remained completely still, eyes locked on the map. After watching him for a while, she took a seat on the sofa and began sipping her own cup.
The tea had a lovely scent. The aroma, which had already been pleasant while she was brewing it, now filled her mouth gently and lingered. Sasha hoped the calming fragrance, like chamomile, might soothe the tangle of thoughts in her mind as she watched Kyler from across the room.
They say a man who is focused on work looks the most attractive. And looking at him now, with barely a millimeter of movement as he concentrated on the map, she could see why.
With his head slightly lowered, his smooth forehead and the sharp line of his nose caught her attention. His lips, firmly closed beneath it, had a surprisingly deep color for a man. Their stern shape added a quiet intensity to his expression.
Of course, he wasn’t doing any of this to impress her.
His sharp gaze as it scanned the map made Sasha flinch slightly just from watching.
“He’s always so cold.”
“I heard they sent multiple invitations and never received a reply.”
“They said marriage would soften him, but now it seems he just plans to keep his wife locked up in the mansion.”
People who had complimented Marquess Ivern to her face now openly criticized Kyler behind his back.
She could still hear them clearly. They weren’t even trying to lower their voices. Did they think she wasn’t worth their concern? Her mood soured instantly.
The things they said about Kyler weren’t just fearful, they were also full of dislike. Only negative things. Sasha pouted, irritated.
Just then, while she was still watching his concentrated expression, Kyler suddenly furrowed his brow and tightly closed his eyes.
What was that? She stayed where she was, unsure whether to approach, and watched as he remained motionless. After several minutes, he finally relaxed his face again.
“Something is suspicious.”
Even his muttered words sounded too smooth. The calm way he spoke distracted her, and her concern faded for a moment.
“You plan to keep waiting there?”
Gasp. So he had known she was there all along.
As she heard his sigh, Sasha picked up the teacup she had poured for him and brought it over.
“This tea… I think it helps calm the mind. You should try it.”
She wasn’t sure what the name of the tea was, but the scent was a little like chamomile. The director at the orphanage used to enjoy tea, so Sasha had grown up around many different types.
Kyler glanced at the cup with cold eyes but didn’t reach for it. His gaze returned to the map, his brow slightly furrowed again.
When he refused the tea, Sasha felt her heart sink a little. Was she upset because he didn’t drink it? Probably.
“Hmm…”
She placed the cup on the desk and stood there awkwardly. Then, trying to shake off the odd feeling, she looked at the map he was studying.
The name of the empire, “Derma,” was written at the top. It seemed to be a map of the entire Derma Empire.
In the center of the wide map, she saw the capital city, Planada. In the upper left corner, in small letters, was the name “Ivern.”
So that’s where the Marquess’s territory was. That’s where Sasha was supposed to be from.
“Is this your first time seeing a map of the empire?”
Apparently, he had been watching her quietly. Kyler asked casually, still not looking at the tea.
“Yes, it’s my first time.”
Ignote was located just above the capital. The terrain was mountainous, but the land itself looked even larger than the capital.
It seemed a bit far from Ivern.
Would they be able to come here?
“Would it be alright to invite my family here?”
She hadn’t meant to ask that. Sasha flinched, startled by her own words.
She had never sent an invitation to anyone before. She didn’t even know their faces or names. If she invited people she didn’t know and called them family… what exactly was she hoping to find out?
“Are you serious…?”
Kyler’s reaction was strange.
Lost in her own thoughts, Sasha lifted her head at his unexpected question.
“Pardon…?”
“You seriously want to invite the Marquess and Marchioness of Ivern here?”
“Yes. Is there a problem with that…?”
Kyler finally looked at her. He hadn’t even glanced up when she brought him tea, but now his eyes were fixed on her, filled with something close to suspicion.
It was clear he doubted her motives, but Sasha couldn’t understand why.
Isn’t inviting your family to your home something common, no matter the country? Even in a contractual marriage, it would be easier to avoid outside rumors that way.
Sasha tried not to let herself feel intimidated and quickly thought through her reasoning.
“I overheard something earlier. I learned my father worked hard behind the scenes for this marriage.”
In truth, part of her wanted to improve ties with the Ivern family because it could benefit the House of Ignote. If things went well, getting closer with her family might actually help Kyler too.
“They are a noble house. Wouldn’t maintaining a good relationship with them be helpful?”
But Kyler continued to stare at her, his expression cold, as if she were saying something foolish.
“Why… do you look like that?”
He was the kind of person who seemed built for silence, but being on the receiving end of it was incredibly frustrating.
And now, Sasha finally noticed. The way he was looking at her, his gaze unwavering and focused, made her throat tighten.
Of course. When he stares like that without a hint of emotion, no wonder the young ladies of the Empire fall for him.
His cold blue eyes locked onto her, deep and unreadable, filled with a quiet intensity. Just then, he let out a long, quiet sigh.
“If that is what you want, then do it.”
His voice was soft and calm. He had given permission, but the atmosphere didn’t feel like something to celebrate.
It wasn’t that he seemed angry. It was something else. But since he rarely showed emotion, she couldn’t quite figure it out.
“You don’t hate the idea, right?”
She didn’t want to do something he disapproved of in his own home, so she asked again, carefully.
“No. If it’s what you want, go ahead.”
He moved his firm arms to tidy up the map on his desk. Then he reached for a stack of papers beside him and began to read.
“Thank you.”
Sasha left the study after offering her gratitude. The thought of meeting her family, the nerves about inviting them, and the uncertainty of Kyler’s response left her more tangled up than before.
Click.
She closed the door quietly and disappeared down the hallway. Once her presence was gone, Kyler finally lifted his eyes from the page.
On the table sat the untouched tea set Sasha had prepared, and by his arm, her carefully poured cup of tea, now growing cold.
He looked at the soft green color of the tea and then lifted the cup, now cool, and drank deeply. The warmth was gone, but the calming scent remained. It helped ease the tension in his muscles.
What is going on?
She wants to invite them to the mansion? No matter how much he thought about it, Kyler couldn’t figure out what she was thinking.
He had told her to do as she pleased because she said she wanted it, but it didn’t sit well with him.
Am I being petty?
He scolded himself quietly. He didn’t want to start anticipating pain before it even happened. Before the marriage, the Sasha he met at the Ivern estate wouldn’t have dared say something like that.
Something had clearly changed. He could tell from her eyes alone.
Back then, she had never once looked him in the eyes. It was as if she believed that once she came to the Ignote estate, her part in all of this would be over. It wasn’t about the future. She just wanted to escape the present.
But his thoughts were interrupted. The silence around him had grown loud again. He had only recently found a way to quiet the noise that haunted him all his life.
And even that had been pushed away.
Kyler furrowed his brow.
He had sent Pavon to summon Dillon, and it hadn’t taken long for the large, muscular knight to appear before him.
“You called, Your Grace?”
“There’s no one in the south with the strength to plan a rebellion. And yet, the sounds are coming from the south.”
Kyler tapped the side of his temple with one long finger as he spoke. Dillon’s face twisted with immediate frustration. His thick brows and expressive features showed how much it bothered him.
“Seriously? Those bastards! So the ones we couldn’t find in the west have moved there!”
His voice roared like thunder through the study. But Kyler didn’t even flinch. He simply leaned back in his chair.
“It’ll take time to investigate the south. Send scouts who are fast and have stamina.”
“Yes, Your Grace. But… uh…”
Dillon, usually so expressive, suddenly hesitated and glanced at Kyler’s face with uncertainty.
“Are you planning to return every three days again?”
He almost looked like he might cry as he asked. The last time Kyler insisted on doing that while investigating the west, Dillon had lost so much weight it became a concern.
“I won’t be returning. Not until things settle down.”
There was something final in his voice. Dillon sensed it and didn’t say another word. He simply nodded and stepped back.
“My ears, my mind, my chest… not until it all quiets down.”
Kyler stared at the door, which had now seen two people leave in the span of minutes. Then he turned his eyes back to the papers on his desk.
