Chapter 56
Isaiah’s words—that it might not be only the emperor’s decision—meant that someone else’s scheme could be behind it.
And everyone here knew who that “someone else” was: Crown Prince Ferdinand.
“When can we leave?”
After a long silence, Caylen finally spoke.
“We can leave the day after tomorrow.”
Caspian answered, and Caylen nodded. He picked up the imperial decree, stood up, and walked to his desk. Then he sat down and began writing something with a pen.
“Fine. Let’s leave the day after tomorrow. Caspian, tell the knights to hurry and prepare. Dylan, gather only the urgent matters and bring them before I leave.”
As soon as Caylen gave the order, Caspian bowed and quickly left the office.
“And Dylan, Isaiah—please step outside for a moment.”
Isaiah took the still-annoyed Dylan with him, and they left the room.
Only Caylen—still writing on paper—and I remained. A heavy silence filled the office.
The only sound was the pen scratching across paper.
I watched his long, pale fingers move the pen and thought:
It wasn’t something we could avoid. It was an imperial order—whether it felt unfair or not, he had no choice but to obey.
But I couldn’t guess what Ferdinand was plotting this time.
The original story had already changed. I no longer knew his future.
What a useless transmigrator I am.
Watching the male lead preparing for a dangerous deployment made me feel pathetic.
I let out a sigh, trying to ease the tight feeling in my chest, when Caylen suddenly stood up.
He checked the teapot Dylan had left on the trolley, then turned toward me.
“Can you make coffee?”
He was… asking me for a favor. I widened my eyes and jumped to my feet.
“Of course!”
I walked over, took the pot from his hand, and began preparing coffee.
Inside the tea canister was ground coffee—probably done by Dylan. I put the right amount into a cloth filter and let the boiled water cool slightly.
When I poured the warm water over the grounds, the fragrant smell quickly filled the office.
Caylen quietly watched me as I brewed the coffee.
“…Did Dylan ask you to check how I make coffee?”
One of Caylen’s eyebrows rose.
“Guess not,” I muttered.
Seeing his expression, I shrugged and tried to focus on making the coffee.
Caylen sat on the arm of the sofa and spoke.
“I have a request for you.”
The dripping sound stopped. I put down the pot and turned my head toward him.
He was still staring at the coffee dripping through the cloth.
“I can’t disobey His Majesty’s order. So I must go to the border.”
His voice was calm—too calm. I could hear the hidden resignation.
I turned fully toward him.
“While I’m away from Winterford… please take care of April.”
His green eyes looked straight at me, unwavering.
I nodded. Hard. Twice.
“I’ll leave a few knights in Winterford. One of them will be quick, so if anything happens, he can inform me right away. Don’t worry too much—”
“No. You don’t need to do that.”
I poured the brewed coffee into an empty cup and handed it to him.
“In a barren, poor place like this? Who would attack us?”
He took the cup, frowning slightly.
“Leave only the minimum number of people. Take the rest with you. The border is probably far more dangerous than here.”
Winterford Castle had more things to throw away than steal.
I was much more worried about Caylen going to the border.
The border—now tense and nowhere near peaceful—would have frequent accidents. Even death wouldn’t be rare there.
“Don’t worry! I’ll do your work for you. I don’t know if I can do it as well as you, but I’ll try. And I’ll play with April, and then…”
I puffed out my shoulders, trying to appear confident, wanting to reassure him before he left in two days.
Then—
Pfft.
Caylen actually… laughed.
I froze, staring at him, then quickly turned away.
He was smiling. Not mocking. Not out of disbelief. Just… smiling.
His red lips curved beautifully.
Caylen was truly smiling.
My face must have turned bright red.
Heat spread from my ears to the top of my head. I covered my burning ears with both hands.
“Th-Then, I’ll go now!”
I rushed to the door, yanked it open, and ran down the hallway like my life depended on it.
“Oh? My lady!” Dylan and Isaiah called after me, but I didn’t stop.
I burst into my own office, panting, and tried to calm my racing heart.
When I finally lifted my head, April and my brother Aiden were staring at me in shock.
“Eri, your face looks like an apple! Apple! Draw an apple!”
“Ah, yes, Your Highness…”
Aiden picked up a red crayon, glancing at me.
“It’s nothing. Really! Nothing at all!”
I forced a smile at him. My trembling cheeks twitched.
I slapped them lightly a few times and marched to my desk.
“Right. It’s nothing.”
I repeated that to myself over and over.
Would the male lead die from overwork even before becoming emperor?
I stared at the mountain of documents on my desk and wondered.
Tomorrow morning, Caylen would leave for the border with his knights.
Maybe that was why Winterford Castle felt quieter and heavier than usual.
Except for one person.
“Please take care of this, and this one as well. Ah! But you can ignore this file. The duke will review that one himself later.”
Yesterday, I had asked Dylan if he needed any help while Caylen was gone. His eyes sparkled—and he dumped endless work on me since last night.
Was this revenge for not teaching him how to make coffee?
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“You said yourself that you wanted to help.”
“I admit that. But… how long will this continue?”
“Oh, what time is it?”
Yes, I made a mistake yesterday. But wasn’t this too much?
I pointed dramatically at the small clock.
The big hand was only five marks away from pointing at 9.
“Nine! It’s nine at night!”
“Oh. Is it?”
Dylan pushed up his glasses and sounded completely uninterested.
When I stared at him in disbelief, he bowed and apologized, saying he often worked until this hour and didn’t realize how late it was.
Because of all the work he brought yesterday, I even had to cancel my plans with my brother.
When he heard about Caylen going to the border, my brother ruffled my hair gently and told me not to overdo it.
He smiled warmly and said we could talk later when the duke returned safely.
But that warmth quickly faded under the endless piles of work.
“Dylan, why aren’t you going with them?”
“I’d only be a burden.”
“A burden?”
“I’m not good at anything that involves moving my body.”
Honestly… judging by his looks, I wouldn’t be shocked if he couldn’t even run properly.
I crossed my arms and nodded. He frowned.
“Since the duke leaves in the morning, and we receive part of the aged Oak barrels tomorrow afternoon… you should rest for today.”
“After giving me all this work?”
Was he giving the illness and the cure together?
I pointed at the ridiculous amount of documents.
“At some point, you might be grateful that I handed all this to you.”
No way. I wasn’t a masochist.
I glared at him, but Dylan only bowed politely.
“Well then, excuse me.”
“Wait.”
I stopped him just before he left.
He turned his back toward me and looked over his shoulder.
