Chapter 15
Inael sat by the window, gazing down at the garden and passing the time by looking over the small decorations in the room.
After having a simple lunch in her room, she fiddled with the scented candle placed on the table, waiting for Ruban to return.
Just when she began to think that time was flowing unbearably slowly, a knock sounded at the door.
“Inael.”
At the voice she had been waiting for, Inael sprang to her feet and hurried over to the door.
When she flung it open without even answering, Ruban looked down at her with eyes that widened slightly.
“Ruban, when did you get back? Did you eat lunch?”
“I’m going to lose my breath at this rate.”
He laughed out loud in a pleasant voice.
Was she bored from being alone, or had she been looking forward to going out?
Whatever the reason, he was happy simply knowing that she had been waiting for him.
“I just got back, and I’ve already eaten.”
“Then when are we going out?”
“After I change clothes. I’ll wait in the hall, so take your time getting ready and come down.”
Ruban’s large hand lightly covered the top of Inael’s head.
“Let’s go on a date.”
As soon as Ruban returned to his room, Lawrence came in.
Saying that this was Inael’s first outing in Blayer and that she couldn’t be dressed carelessly, she brought along two maids and hurriedly began preparing Inael.
After applying light makeup and changing into a velvet red dress, Lawrence and the maids let out admiring sighs.
“Red really makes your skin look even whiter.”
The dress, with a waistline fitted perfectly and a skirt that gradually flowed downward, suited Inael so well it looked as though it had been made just for her.
When Inael stepped out into the corridor and placed her foot on the stairs, her eyes met Ruban’s, who was waiting in the hall.
Because her preparations had taken longer than expected, she hurried down—but until the moment she stood right in front of him, Ruban never once took his eyes off her.
“Did you wait long?”
“Not at all.”
Ruban bent slightly and gently pressed his lips to the back of her hand, as if escorting her.
Even though she knew it was a common greeting in this world, Inael’s face turned as red as the dress she was wearing.
The two of them boarded a carriage waiting in the garden and headed toward a street filled with all kinds of shops.
As a famous tourist attraction, the entrance of the street was packed with people, leaving barely any room to step.
The carriage carrying Ruban and Inael stopped at a side road some distance away from the dense crowd.
“We’ve arrived.”
Beren, who had followed on horseback, approached the carriage and reported.
“Inael. Stay inside and wait a moment.”
“Okay.”
When Ruban rose from his seat and tapped the wall lightly, the waiting coachman immediately opened the carriage door.
Stepping outside, Ruban surveyed the bustling street and frowned slightly.
The knights who had tied their horses nearby and approached him also clicked their tongues, looking troubled.
“There seem to be more people than usual today. We may need to control the crowd.”
“Shall we bring more guards, even now?”
Ruban shook his head in response to Beren and the other knight’s questions.
If they controlled the street, attention would gather, and it would only be a matter of time before people realized who he was.
The residents had already been deeply disappointed that they couldn’t properly welcome the Grand Duke back after his journey.
As always, wherever he went, they would shout Blayer’s name and scatter flower petals.
Their feelings were precious—but today, he simply wanted Inael to fully experience Blayer’s free and lively atmosphere.
“Have only two stay close so we don’t draw attention. The rest, scatter and follow.”
“Yes, sir.”
At Beren’s signal, more than a dozen knights melted smoothly into the crowd like flowing water.
“Inael, let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Taking Ruban’s hand, Inael stepped lightly down from the carriage, then rolled her eyes in flustered surprise at the scene before her.
She hadn’t expected there to be this many people.
Feeling tense, she took a deep breath and pressed herself closer to Ruban at her side.
He stiffened for a moment.
When he slowly looked down, Inael was staring at the street with a thoroughly frightened expression.
Suddenly, the image of her sitting alone behind an inn, afraid of an unfamiliar path with not a single familiar face, came to his mind.
A strange emotion surged sharply in his chest.
Ruban wrapped his firm arm tightly around Inael’s slender shoulders.
Meeting her startled eyes, he firmly suppressed the churning feelings inside him and spoke.
“Stay close so you don’t get lost.”
Inael nodded and clutched the collar of Ruban’s clothes.
Even though it wasn’t clear who might lose whom, the two of them held tightly to each other.
Thanks to the guards naturally clearing a path, they quickly passed through the entrance and entered a relatively quieter street.
As if her earlier tension had been a lie, an excited Inael stopped in front of a stall filled with beautiful hairpins.
After briefly eyeing her expensive dress, the merchant picked up the most expensive hairpin with exaggerated politeness.
“I think this would suit a beautiful young lady like you.”
“Wow, it’s pretty.”
“Here, here—let me show you a mirror. Try it on.”
Watching from the side, Ruban took the hairpin from the merchant’s hand.
“I’ll do it.”
He bent down, gently brushed her soft hair behind her ear, and pinned it in place.
It didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped, and he adjusted it several times before finally turning Inael around with a satisfied expression.
Reflected in the mirror, the hairpin sparkled in various colors each time she tilted her head.
“As expected, it suits you perfectly.”
“You have excellent taste. Keep the change.”
Ruban pulled out silver coins from his inner pocket and handed them to the merchant.
It was a price that would have required selling more than half the pins at the stall.
The merchant accepted the coins with both hands, his mouth hanging open.
“My goodness, thank you, sir!”
Inael whispered softly to Ruban, who had paid without hesitation.
“I haven’t even said I’d buy it yet.”
“It’s pretty.”
“But… there might be something even prettier. We should look around before buying.”
“Then we’ll just buy all of those too.”
Ruban took Inael’s hand and led her away.
What a windfall.
The merchant, grinning from ear to ear, suddenly felt an odd chill and turned his head to follow Ruban’s retreating figure.
From his imposing, solid build radiated an overwhelming presence, paired with an elegant dignity that felt anything but ordinary.
Staring intently at the silver hair that gleamed even in the shade, the merchant suddenly sucked in a sharp breath.
“G–G–G–Grand Duke—”
A hand shot out from somewhere and clamped over the merchant’s mouth.
“Best to keep that thought to yourself.”
The merchant, eyes bulging from successive shocks, nodded frantically.
The man removed his hand, grinned, gave the merchant’s shoulder a couple of pats, and vanished from sight in an instant.
Meanwhile, after browsing here and there, the two of them entered a fairly large bookstore.
“What kind of book do you want to look at?”
“Um… novels.”
Hearing the conversation, the bookstore owner guided Inael.
“Novels are this way, miss.”
As she looked over the shelves filling the wall, Inael pulled out the nearest book.
“Huh…?”
What was this?
The open book was filled with cryptic-looking letters she had never seen before in her life.
‘What is this…? This can’t be right.’
Since conversation flowed naturally, she hadn’t even considered that the writing might be different.
Standing there blankly, Inael soon closed the book and put it back, looking devastated. Ruban approached from behind and asked,
“Did you pick one?”
“No… let’s just go.”
“Why? Nothing you like?”
Sensing her disappointment, Ruban bent down to meet her eyes.
“Shall we try another bookstore?”
“That’s not it…”
Inael hesitated, her lips trembling.
“I don’t know the letters.”
“Hm?”
“…I can’t read the letters in the book.”
Understanding her quiet words, Ruban quickly wrapped an arm around her slumped shoulders and gently patted her.
If she had wanted to come to a bookstore, perhaps she had unconsciously recalled memories of reading in the past.
Had she lost even her literacy along with her memories?
In a gentle voice, Ruban comforted her.
“It’s okay. You can learn letters again. Pick several books with covers you like. I’ll read them to you.”
Trying to cheer her up, he watched as Inael picked up the first book she’d touched and another with an interesting-looking cover.
After leaving the bookstore, Inael stood still, slowly turning her head.
Only then did she notice the letters on shop signs and papers posted on walls.
They were all the same letters she’d seen in the book—how had she not realized?
Even the street she had just walked down hand in hand with Ruban was filled with written signs.
Seeing her expression grow darker by the second, Ruban cupped her delicate cheeks with both hands.
“Shall we go back?”
When she nodded, Ruban silently led her back toward the carriage.
After returning to the estate, Inael skipped dinner and curled up on her bed.
The despair that she could do nothing in this world without knowing its letters—and that she would only become a burden to Ruban—kept growing heavier.
‘If I were to part from Ruban and never find a way back…’
She might have to live her entire life alone, with nowhere to belong—forever a complete outsider.
Her thoughts spiraled endlessly in a dark direction.
The anxieties she had tried to ignore while spending time with Ruban now raised their heads, flashing insistently.
Large tears fell onto the pillow.
She even came to resent herself for having fallen into this world.
After crying for a long time until the room grew dark, Inael hurriedly wiped her tears at the sound of a knock.
“Inael, I’m coming in.”
“Yes.”
As she quickly sat up and brushed back her hair, Ruban opened the door and entered.
He placed the two books he was holding on the table and sat on the edge of the bed beside her.
Looking at her swollen, reddened eyes, Inael lowered her head slightly.
“Are you very upset?”
“I’m better now.”
Trying not to worry him, she forced a smile, lifting the corners of her lips.
After silently studying her face, Ruban pulled Inael into his arms.
As her body stiffened with tension, he held her tightly and spoke in a low voice.
“I’m not seducing you. I’m comforting you.”
His tone was more serious than ever. A small laugh, almost like a sigh, escaped Inael’s lips as her tension eased.
Ruban gently patted her small back, soothing her sorrow.
At his warm, tender touch, tears welled up again.
Not wanting him to see her cry, Inael buried her face into his broad chest.
