CULBE 13

Chapter 13

Something was wrong.

The letter had been dated two days ago.

Knowing Adelind’s personality, she would have set out the moment she sent it. Considering the distance between Luxen and Viera, even if she traveled slowly, she was certain to arrive before the end of the week. She might even have already passed through Viera’s city gates.

No… if she’d already arrived, Damian would be there instead of here. She hasn’t come yet—

No, wait. What does it matter if she hasn’t? It’ll only be a day or two’s difference!

She’s coming because she knows about the engagement, right?

Then what do I do?

What am I supposed to tell her…?!

Without realizing it, Thislin looked up at Damian as though asking for help.

“Shall we go together this weekend?”

That was all he said.

“I don’t want to.”

She deliberately turned her head away.

Looking troubled, Damian spoke gently, as if trying to soothe her.

“Don’t be so angry.”

His fingertips brushed her forehead.

With practiced ease, he tucked her messy hair behind her ear.

Those were the same hands that, when they were children, had tied both Adelind’s hair and Thislin’s. They were much larger now, roughened by years of brutal training and countless battles, but they were still unmistakably the same hands.

The memory softened her without permission.

It’s a real problem how easily I forgive him…

Even thinking that, she couldn’t help it.

“…Say something that actually makes sense. You’re going to pick Adel up anyway. So how could you go with me?”

“That’s true.”

The hand lingering beside her ear withdrew without hesitation.

Only then did Thislin realize she’d been holding her breath.

If she stayed here any longer, she’d only get swept up in his pace again. She immediately stood.

“It’s getting late. I’m leaving. As for Adel… I don’t know. I’ll buy her some chocolate or something.”

“I’ll walk you back. You said you don’t want anyone to see us.”

“If someone sees us leaving together, that’s even worse. Honestly, if I get caught here by myself…”

She laughed awkwardly.

“…At worst, people will think I’m dating Arkin Rudera.”

She’d meant it as a joke.

But Damian frowned.

Tilting his head with a strange expression, he said slowly,

“I wouldn’t like that.”

It was exactly the sort of statement that begged to be misunderstood.

For a ridiculous moment, it even felt as though he’d said it on purpose.

Either way, in a situation like this, she hated even wanting to misinterpret him.

Pretending she hadn’t heard, she took off Damian’s jacket and held it out.

“Anyway, I’m leaving now. Don’t come out.”

Even after she’d said that much, Damian remained leaning against the lounge door until she left the room and opened the exit leading outside the dormitory.

She could practically feel his gaze on her back.

Afraid she might accidentally turn around, Thislin hurriedly shut the door behind her and almost ran away.

She’d left in such a rush that she hadn’t even checked whether she’d packed all the books and their assignment.

Only after collapsing onto a bench beneath a tree near the Administration Department dormitory did she rummage through her bag.

Then she finally let out a sigh of relief.

“I brought everything. Doesn’t look like I left anything behind.”

There had been too many distracting things before and after, but the assignment itself had gone surprisingly well.

Considering they’d met without any planning, their research had been thorough.

Which wasn’t surprising.

The two of them had always been used to working together.

Convincing Adelind to attend classes when she wanted to skip them.

Comforting her when she was sick.

Preparing birthday parties.

They’d spent nearly ten years doing things like that together.

That experience had probably helped.

Absentmindedly, Thislin traced a few notes written in Damian’s familiar handwriting while the cool evening breeze brushed past her.

Then she suddenly snapped back to reality.

“Get a grip. I still got completely swept along!”

This time, she’d truly done her best.

They’d finished the assignment.

She’d asked every question she’d intended to ask.

The only problem…

Nothing had actually been resolved.

She still couldn’t understand—couldn’t understand at all—why Damian insisted on this marriage.

She’d thought talking to him would finally give her answers.

Instead, she’d only come away with even more questions.

But honestly…

The reason hardly mattered anymore.

No matter what, as long as things ended with a broken engagement, that was enough.

And Damian himself had practically told her how to make that happen.

“A justification… A reason the engagement can’t continue…”

Finding a convincing excuse wouldn’t be easy.

She didn’t want to disgrace her family with some enormous scandal.

Nor did she want to destroy the life she’d worked so hard to build.

She simply didn’t want to marry Damian.

She wasn’t willing to throw everything else away just to avoid it.

As she crossed one option after another off the list, there was almost nothing left she could actually do.

“…Is that really the only way?”

She tapped the single finger she’d left extended while thinking.

Then she suddenly remembered the latest disaster.

Adelind Lux was about to arrive.

With a groan, Thislin dropped her forehead onto the bag resting on her knees.

Whether she broke off the engagement or not…

As long as Adelind was in Viera, she couldn’t do anything.

She didn’t think Damian had planned it that way.

But if he had…

He’d found the one weakness that would stop her completely.

So what do I do now?

“…Sigh. I’ll just finish the rest of my assignments first.”

There wasn’t any better option.

For now, she’d have to shove all these complicated problems aside…

…and return to being an ordinary student.

* * *

As Thislin walked down the corridor, her steps gradually grew faster and more unsteady.

The instant the door slammed shut behind her—

she broke into a run as though she’d seen a ghost.

Damian watched until the door closed behind her before turning back toward the lounge.

Half a mug of hot chocolate and an untouched cup of tea sat alone on the table.

Although someone was assigned to maintain the lounge, he didn’t want anyone realizing he’d brought an outsider inside, so he cleaned everything up himself.

Once the room looked as though no one had ever been there, Damian stood silently, looking at the chair where Thislin had been sitting.

It was one of the few bright, elegant places on campus.

He’d once heard that students affiliated with the Royal Guard often used these lounges for quiet dates with their fiancées or lovers.

That was why he’d deliberately brought her here.

Instead of softening the atmosphere…

…it seemed only to have made her angrier.

Honestly, he was a little bewildered.

“I didn’t think she’d hate it this much.”

Naturally, Damian had no idea that Thislin had only learned about the engagement after it had already been arranged.

Just as the Grand Duke had asked for Damian’s opinion before arranging the engagement, Damian had simply assumed that Thislin’s parents had done the same for her.

He had never once questioned it.

So he had never imagined that, the moment the engagement became official, she’d immediately ask him if they could break it off.

Had he known all of that…

…he probably wouldn’t have chosen to become engaged to her in the first place.

…

Would he really not have?

He couldn’t say for certain.

But it didn’t matter.

Because he had no intention of ending the engagement now.

If it had been before the engagement was finalized, that would have been different.

But once it was official, Thislin couldn’t simply cancel it because she insisted.

Which meant she didn’t have to tell him why she wanted to end it.

It didn’t matter.

Even so…

Being rejected over and over again wasn’t exactly pleasant.

Lowering his eyes, Damian quietly replayed everything that had happened before reaching for the jacket he’d casually draped over the chair.

Perhaps because it had rested over Thislin’s shoulders for a while, it carried a faint fragrance.

It was the same scent he’d noticed when he’d held her around the waist earlier.

Only now did it occur to him that the fragrance seemed strangely familiar.

After thinking for a moment, he finally realized where he’d smelled it before.

“…Adelind’s perfume.”

About a month ago, when he’d briefly returned to Luxen because of the engagement, Adelind had proudly shown off a perfume she’d gone to great lengths to import from Manorca.

She’d hovered around him with an eager expression, obviously hoping he’d compliment it.

Instead, he’d honestly told her he didn’t like it.

She’d been furious.

“You know nothing!”

“Do you have any idea how expensive this is?”

“Your taste is hopeless!”

She’d complained endlessly.

In the end, a sulking Adelind had forcibly sprayed the perfume all over his face until he had no choice but to smell it.

It was almost identical to the scent lingering on his jacket now.

“So it was Thislin’s perfume…”

He’d wondered why Adelind had suddenly gone to such lengths to obtain a perfume she’d never cared about before.

Now it made sense.

She must have bought it simply because Thislin wore it.

Breathing in the sweet fragrance mixed naturally with Thislin’s own scent, Damian finally understood why Adelind had insisted on getting the exact same perfume.

His mood eased a little.

Instead of putting the jacket back on, he simply draped it over one arm…

…and quietly left the lounge.