Chapter 46
Even though it was our first meeting in two years, he saw right through me behind my mask at once.
“…….”
I didn’t know how to react. I was genuinely surprised myself. Should I pretend I didn’t know him, or greet him? I felt completely confused.
“Don’t try to act like someone else.”
It seemed he had expected that much. The way he got angry again suggested as much.
I didn’t know if he had seen through me back at the banquet hall, or if his eyes caught me the moment I stepped out. The only thing I knew was that, no matter what I said, he had no intention of letting me go.
There was no choice. I would have to let it slide for now.
I hoped he wouldn’t notice the tension in my voice.
I slowly closed my eyes for a moment, then opened them again.
“……It’s been a long time, Your Highness.”
He let out a short, amused laugh at my words.
So he could smile like that too.
The smile I remembered from him had always been so kind and bright that it made one feel guilty. But now, it was so cold.
Hearing his once-sunny smile turn cynical made me painfully aware of just how long the past two years of quietly living had been.
“Long… time?”
“……You’ve grown so much.”
“How much I’ve…!”
He stopped mid-sentence, as if his voice choked. His eyes, which had looked so striking even behind the mask, narrowed.
The corridor was nearly as bright as the banquet hall, but with him grown taller and standing in front of me, a large shadow fell over me.
He had changed so much in just two years that I stared at his face for a moment before glancing to the side. Thankfully, no one else had come out from the banquet hall yet.
But it wouldn’t be strange if someone came out now. Perhaps that couple hadn’t emerged yet—they might come any second. I needed to end this situation before anyone saw.
I wasn’t looking for drama or spectators.
“Your Highness, if anyone sees us like this, you’ll be in gossip immediately.”
My calm tone seemed to annoy him even more.
“I don’t care.”
“I do. If you really want to talk, we should change the place first.”
At my insistence, the shadow that had been cast over me receded slightly as he took a step back.
Still, he didn’t seem to intend to let me go.
He grabbed my wrist and headed somewhere. His grip was urgent and rough, unlike him. Perhaps he thought I might run away again.
I followed, feeling pulled, and said,
“It hurts… go a little slower.”
His pace slowed noticeably, as did the roughness in his grip.
“Where are you taking me?”
I asked, still behind my mask.
“To a place where we can be alone.”
There were a few doors nearby. Probably rooms for banquet guests. He opened a firmly shut door after a few steps and took me inside, closing it behind us.
Thud!
He threw the mask he had been wearing onto the floor.
“…….”
“…….”
Between him and the door, I could see his unmasked face clearly.
The room was dimly lit, only enough to see shadows. The flickering light highlighted the contours of his face sharply.
We must have met at least ten times before, but I had never seen him this close.
His features had grown sharper and more defined than two years ago, and his eyes, once partially hidden by the mask, were now fully visible—dark, beautiful, and intense.
The faint youthful innocence he once had was gone. His face was leaner, sharper. Was this really the same gentle person I knew?
Though it was the same two years, perhaps he had lived through much more than I had.
“Quite handsome now,” I thought.
Or should I say…
“How did you know?”
Or should I say…
How should I calm him down when he’s this angry?
I heard voices outside the closed door. Someone had come out of the banquet hall.
I held my breath and glanced at the door. The voices of a man and a woman were tangled together, unintelligible. The approaching noise slowly faded.
I shifted my gaze back to him.
He stared at me intently, then let out a sigh and covered his face with one hand, muttering something under his breath.
It sounded like a curse, but fortunately, I couldn’t understand it.
“I thought you were dead.”
He looked at me again. His hand carefully brushed my chin and cheek, as if tracing over his memories and sketching me back into them.
His hand was warm yet rough against my jaw. Perhaps from sword training—it felt very different from the gentleness I remembered.
“……There were circumstances.”
“Circumstances that left you unable to say a word?”
There was still anger in his voice.
Unlike before, I felt overwhelmed by his presence in a way that was new and slightly intimidating.
Not the kind of threat that puts a blade to your neck, but the kind that makes you realize someone you barely recognized had changed so much without you noticing.
I was a little surprised, to be honest.
I had assumed he wouldn’t forget me, since he had once let strong feelings bloom for me. I had even considered that someone else might have caught that same emotion later.
But his gaze and actions made such thoughts meaningless.
I had never been so obsessed with anyone. Life had been too harsh for that.
I hadn’t thought of him often. Not that I had forgotten, but I had deliberately avoided thinking about him.
And I had started to get used to life away from that place, hoping never to return.
Wasn’t that the best possible ending? I had thought so.
Of course, now that I had returned, all those thoughts shattered again.
Lost in unconscious reflection, I quietly looked at him before lowering my gaze and reaching for the ribbon holding my mask behind my head.
Thud.
I dropped the mask and looked up at him.
The moment we met eyes without the mask, his gaze trembled violently.
“Were you very worried?”
“…….”
He looked confused.
The walls he had built so firmly moments ago collapsed, and the expression I remembered returned.
Yes, this was the expression I knew.
“There really were circumstances.”
“You could have just said one word.”
As soon as I thought that, his voice softened slightly.
I lifted my head a little more.
“If I could, I would have told only you.”
“How much I searched for traces of you…”
“…….”
I raised an eyebrow instead of answering.
Valeri’s expression shifted subtly. He seemed to be struggling to speak, yet stopping halfway.
Finally, he opened his mouth with effort.
“I know you’re not Blake.”
Ah, that’s what he wanted to say.
I had guessed he might have noticed, since he found traces of me. But I had been able to act as Blake Ariandel again, thanks to Mr. Schvalt’s arrangements, so I thought I might pass safely.
“……Are you threatening me?”
“No. That doesn’t matter.”
A sudden curiosity struck me—damn it, I asked a question I shouldn’t have.
“……Do you know who I really am?”
“…….”
He closed his mouth. His jaw tensed, holding back words.
He knew. That was as far as his knowledge went.
Yet I wasn’t scared. Looking into his eyes, I felt that I had indeed taken up space in his heart.
“So… are you going to let me go?”
But the next words made it clear he had really changed.
“No. But if I can use that to keep you by my side, I will. If you plan to disappear again, like before.”
He pulled something from his inner pocket. His hands were so large it took a moment to recognize the object inside.
“…….”
It was the necklace I had lost, the one strung with vivid red rubies.
Had he been carrying it all this time?
Valeri came closer. With his large hands, he took the necklace and held it to my neck.
I simply watched him, letting him do as he pleased.
