Chapter 53
Suspicious Cassel (1)
As he spread out the mat and took the food out of the basket, a simple yet charming picnic scene unfolded.
Riena sat on the mat and exclaimed loudly,
“When did you prepare something like this? I never even thought of it!”
“Amy thought it would be nice to bring along, so I prepared it,” he replied.
“You didn’t give me any hint at all… when did you even manage to arrange this?”
She didn’t dislike his attentiveness.
Riena moistened a handkerchief to wipe her hands, then handed a sandwich to Cassel, who had done the same. She took a bite of her own sandwich.
The tangy whole-grain mustard, salty ham and cheese, and fresh vegetables blended perfectly in her mouth.
Riena swallowed her hesitation and glanced around. Lucy and Black, left to roam freely, were already peacefully nibbling the grass together.
It was a peaceful moment, so calm that she almost felt undeserving of such happiness.
Looking at her sandwich, Riena whispered,
“It’s been a long time since I went on a picnic like this. It brings back memories, it’s so pleasant.”
“I feel the same,” Cassel replied.
“I’m glad to hear you enjoy it too.”
Riena finished her sandwich. After finishing, she stretched her legs and wiggled her feet.
No special conversation passed between them, but now the silence between the two wasn’t awkward at all.
However, contrary to their excitement, the outing didn’t go smoothly. When they had left the mansion, the sky had been dotted with a few white clouds, but now dark clouds gathered, and suddenly a heavy downpour began.
“Oh no…”
Cassel quickly stood up, packed the items he had spread out, and mounted his horse.
“Shall we head back the way we came?”
“The rain is too heavy. It doesn’t seem like it will stop easily, and if we try to go back in this downpour, we could have an accident or catch a cold,” Riena replied.
“Then what should we do?”
Cassel glanced toward the inner part of the hunting grounds.
“There’s a place to take shelter near the entrance. Let’s stay there until the rain stops.”
Riena followed Cassel as he guided the horses toward the forest. True to his words, a large tower soon appeared.
“Where is this?” she asked.
“It’s a kind of watchtower. Since we can’t predict what will happen during a hunt, we observe the situation from here. It seems empty now because it’s not hunting season.”
“I see.”
“I’ll tie the horses up, so you go inside first to take shelter from the rain.”
“All right.”
While Cassel tied Lucy and Black under a tree where the rain barely reached, Riena entered the tower.
The tower had clearly been empty for a long time. Debris littered the floor, dust floated in the air, and a musty, moldy smell lingered.
Yet Riena found the sudden detour more intriguing than unpleasant.
If it’s a watchtower, the view of the hunting grounds should be nice, she thought.
Since arriving in the capital and staying busy, this was her first proper outing aside from visiting Viscount Donovan’s estate. Technically, she had been to Marquis Lorraine’s estate too, but back then she hadn’t even had the leisure to enjoy the scenery.
Since riding in the rain was no longer an option, she decided to at least enjoy the view from the top of the tower.
Riena climbed swiftly to the top. As expected, the view of the hunting grounds from the open window was splendid. The rain made it hazy, but it had its own charm.
Quite different from the Dyke estate, she thought.
As she leaned out to get a closer look,
“Ria!”
With the urgent shout, her body spun 180 degrees. Cassel, who had followed her, breathed heavily and pulled her tightly into his embrace.
She instinctively felt her heart pounding violently beneath his left chest where her hand had landed.
Was it because she had climbed up so quickly, or was there another reason?
Riena couldn’t understand what was happening. She only blinked as she remained in his arms. When she tried to lift her head to see his expression, he hugged her even tighter, making movement impossible.
“Cas?”
Cassel didn’t answer. He stepped back a few paces from the window while still holding her. For a while, he remained silent. The only sounds were the heavy rain and his ragged breathing.
“Why are you doing this?”
A shiver ran through her from his body. It wasn’t Riena who was trembling—it was Cassel.
Despite the chilly weather, his trembling didn’t seem caused by the cold.
Then why was he like this?
Riena was puzzled, but judging from Cassel’s reaction, he wasn’t in a state to answer properly.
Finally, instead of asking again, she hugged his waist tightly and patted his back to signal that it was okay.
“It’s fine. I promised I’d be here when things get tough.”
As if responding to her gesture, Cassel buried his face in the nape of her neck. His hot breath touched her sensitive skin.
It wasn’t unpleasant at all. If it had been someone else, she might have felt awkward, but since it was Cassel, there was no bad feeling.
In fact, it made her feel strangely flustered. She couldn’t describe it exactly, but the inside of her neck tingled, and her toes curled involuntarily.
Riena swallowed and rested her head against his chest.
So warm.
It had been a long time since she had been this close to Cassel, except when they were children.
She used to hug Cas, who was a year older but smaller in build. Back then, his body fit into her embrace.
Young Cas smelled faintly of sweet treats from snack time. His not-yet-developed muscles were firm but not rigid.
But the current Cassel was different. His already solid muscles were tense, feeling hard as stone.
Was it the heat radiating from him? Her body, chilled from the rain, felt hot in response.
No, it wasn’t just a feeling—her body truly warmed, and her breath became slightly shallow.
Riena bit her lips at the strange sensation spreading from her lower abdomen.
Her mouth went dry. She didn’t know exactly what she wanted him to do.
Her heartbeat quickened in tandem. At first, she thought Cassel’s heart was beating unusually fast, but soon hers matched its pace.
After some time, Cassel’s grip loosened slightly. Looking down at Riena, who was leaning against his chest, he cautiously asked,
“Are you all right?”
It was a strange question. Riena had merely been observing the view from the window, so of course she was fine.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
Yet Cassel repeated his concern as if she had nearly fallen from the window. Riena hesitated to answer, noticing how unusual his state was.
His hands still trembled, and his usually composed face reflected an inexplicable fear.
It was trembling that couldn’t simply be dismissed as overreaction.
“I’m fine. Nothing happened. I was just… just curious, watching the view.”
Only after Riena finally answered did he exhale deeply and hug her again.
“Why did you come to such a dangerous place? What if you had slipped and fallen…”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be dangerous.”
Cassel carefully caressed her cheek and whispered in discomfort,
“Never do this again.”
“All right. I understand, so calm down first…”
He slowly lowered his head and rested his forehead against hers.
Their noses touched. Riena instinctively closed her eyes, feeling his breath more vividly against her lips.
Her lips tingled, and a faint shiver ran down her spine.
Cassel, still slightly breathless, muttered a little incoherently,
“I was worried because I couldn’t see you. I feared something might happen while we were apart…”
“As you can see, I’m fine. So there’s no need to worry so much.”
Riena mustered the courage to open her eyes.
A mischievous impulse rose in her, inappropriate for the moment. What if she lifted her heels slightly and kissed Cassel’s trembling lips?
Thinking that, she shivered and stepped back. Yet Cassel reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist again. Apparently, he feared her moving too close to the edge of the tower.
Riena, caught in his arms again, murmured quickly,
“All right. I’ll move inside. I won’t go backward, so can you let me go for now?”
Still uneasy, Cassel spun half a turn while holding her. Only when Riena’s body faced inward did he release her.
“Cas…”
“…We should go down first,” he said.
Ignoring her words, he took her hand and carefully led her down to the first floor.
