Chapter 13:
Kaylen was seated in exactly the same way as when he first visited.
The only differences were his neatly tied-up hair and the slightly stiff, tense expression on his face.
“I pay my respects to the small light of the Empire.”
I nodded and bent my knees in greeting.
Kaylen, who hadn’t even glanced at me when I first entered, finally looked up. The moment our eyes met, I realized my intuition had been right.
Kaylen, exuding a cold aura, set down his teacup and stood up.
“I’d like to speak with Miss Eliana alone for a moment.”
His tone sounded both like a request and an order as he spoke to my father.
“Al-one again? Ugh!”
My mother, sitting beside him, stomped on my father’s foot. She tapped his flushed back and let out a graceful laugh.
“Of course, we should give you space. The summer flowers in our garden have already started to bloom.”
Kaylen gave my mother a light smile and strode toward me.
Stopping three steps away, he extended one arm in an escorting gesture.
Feeling my mother’s expectant gaze, I placed my hand on his arm.
It took less than five minutes to walk from the reception room to the garden. Neither Kaylen nor I spoke a word. As we exited the house, the hot air enveloped us.
During the few days I had been confined, spring had passed and summer had arrived.
The sunlight was harsh enough to make me squint instinctively. Kaylen walked calmly without a blink. After a few steps into the small townhouse garden, he suddenly stopped. I stopped in step with him.
The suburban townhouse was quiet, and only the early summer breeze passed between us.
“Is… there something you need to tell me?”
I asked cautiously under his steady gaze, but Kaylen remained silent, staring at me.
Under his heavy gaze, my eyes darted sideways.
Was I going to be taken away again? Or being ordered to leave the capital?
Several hypotheses swirled in my mind, but Kaylen’s lips remained tightly sealed.
Sweat began forming on my palms from the tension. I pressed my palms subtly against my dress, biting my upper and lower lips. Finally, Kaylen spoke.
“Eliana Ludd.”
I stopped wiping my hands and looked up.
“We need to get married.”
There was no subject in Kaylen’s sentence. I raised both eyebrows. Seeing my expression, Kaylen wet his lips with his tongue and roughly ran a hand through his hair.
His neat hair became tousled. His face carried a strange hint of allure, and I realized I had to forcibly control my lips from stretching into a foolish smile.
“Huh. Um… Who? Who is getting married?”
Kaylen closed his mouth again. Frowning deeply, he stepped closer.
“You.”
His index finger pointed at me, then slowly moved to point at himself.
“And me.”
I blinked slowly.
I couldn’t comprehend his words. So, we were the ones who were supposed to get married?
I looked up at him. In Kaylen’s serious gaze, I blinked slowly again.
My brain felt broken. I raised my right hand and lightly thumped my head, but my mind showed no signs of working.
As I tried to hit my head again, Kaylen grabbed my wrist roughly.
“I see you don’t understand. You and I are to be married. Got it?”
“…Why?”
He let out a small, amused chuckle, lifting one corner of his lips.
Marriage with the male protagonist? I thought he was insane, yet his red lips were so clearly in front of me that I began to wonder if I was the one going mad.
“If you do not marry me, you will…”
His voice, as if holding back many emotions, made me flinch.
He glanced at my wrist, and with a small sigh, he released it. My arm dangled freely in the air.
“I’ve informed His Majesty. A formal marriage proposal will arrive from the royal house soon.”
Kaylen, hands in his pockets, turned his head. His chest rose and fell irregularly as he tried to calm his breathing.
Staring blankly at the air, he shook his head. He pressed both hands to his temples, exhaling deeply. When he turned back to look at me, his voice and gaze had cooled.
“So… I am to marry Prince Kaylen?”
It wasn’t a lie.
Seeing Kaylen’s unwavering, calm gaze, I realized something crucial:
The original story had completely gone off course.
Tap, tap.
The sound of a pen hitting the desk made Dylan look up.
Kaylen had been tapping his pen on the desk. A habit when deep in thought, he had been like this since meeting Eliana at the Ludd estate with Caspian that morning.
“Kaylen, would you like a cup of tea?”
The pen stopped abruptly.
Kaylen raised his head, rubbed his brows, and nodded.
Dylan walked to the trolley in the office.
Since visiting the Ludd estate about the marriage, Kaylen had been lost in thought. Dylan opened the tea container, and the strong aroma of tea leaves hit his nose.
It was tea given by the Tetra chief. At first, it was bitter and black, and he had avoided it. But adding sugar had made it surprisingly drinkable and even clearing the mind, making it a favorite of both Dylan and Kaylen.
Dylan placed the strongly brewed tea in front of Kaylen and asked:
“What happened at the Ludd estate?”
Kaylen, about to bring the cup to his lips, paused. Eventually, he put the cup down and stood to look out the window.
“They proposed a contract marriage.”
“Pardon?”
“Eliana Ludd. I don’t understand what she’s thinking at all.”
Kaylen recalled what Eliana had just said.
“It’s unavoidable, right? This marriage?”
While leaving the garden with a confused Eliana, she had grabbed his arm and said this.
“Just one year! This marriage will last only one year.”
She was completely unpredictable.
“A contract marriage… What are the conditions?”
Dylan asked. Kaylen sighed, hands in pockets.
“Divorce after one year, a small sum to support herself, and…”
Kaylen recounted the conditions Eliana had requested and let out a small, ridiculous laugh.
Dylan couldn’t believe his ears. But Kaylen’s back was to him, hiding his expression.
Turning back to his chair, Kaylen continued:
“She will never try to find me again.”
“What?”
Dylan’s voice cracked miserably. Kaylen, startled, turned around.
He could only laugh again.
Did Eliana realize what she had done? Dylan’s blank expression—a rare sight once every three years—was the proof.
“Those are all the conditions Eliana Ludd set.”
Kaylen sat back down and picked up the still-steaming teacup.
“Even putting aside the unusual conditions, divorcing a royal isn’t easy.”
Dylan’s voice was loud, a habit when confronting complex, illogical issues that couldn’t be solved at once.
Kaylen shook his head once and took a sip of tea. The bitter yet nutty flavor filled his mouth and nose.
“In a way, this might be for the best.”
The tea smelled like baked bread, flowers, or roasted peanuts. Somehow, Tetra tea suited Kaylen perfectly.
After another sip, he lifted the paper at the top of the pile.
“If we marry, we’ll leave the palace and live on our personal estate. His Majesty will notify us soon.”
Royal family members couldn’t remain in the palace after marriage. Except for the Crown Prince, all princes would live in estates granted by the Emperor. Despite the forced nature of this marriage, Kaylen liked the idea of being separated from the Empress and Ferdinand.
“Caspian and you might even get a day off.”
“I don’t need a holiday.”
“So you can lie too, I see.”
“Are you really okay with marrying her like this?”
Kaylen lifted his head as he flipped through papers.
