INOTV 15

Chapter 15

A Day Spent Together

“…Aahhh!”

Excitedly walking ahead, Sara failed to notice the hollow dip in the ground beneath her feet and slipped straight down.

With a short scream, she disappeared into the valley below, and Cassian hurried after her in alarm.

“Sarah!”

When Cassian climbed down and found her, he let out a disbelieving laugh.

Instead of being injured as he had feared, Sara was sitting in the stream with her hands in the water, happily splashing around.

“…Are you alright? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m okay. The ground suddenly sank beneath me, so I lost my footing without realizing.”

Sara laughed awkwardly, embarrassed.

“Cassian, come sit here too! It feels really strange!”

“Haha… You scared me.”

For a moment, his heart had dropped.

What if she had gotten hurt again? What if she had collapsed crying?

Those thoughts made him glare at her resentfully for a second, but seeing her harmless smile, he couldn’t even bring himself to be angry.

Cassian set aside his jacket and sat beside her, rolling up his sleeves slightly.

He hesitated awkwardly, as though reluctant to touch the cold water.

“Wow, it’s really refreshing. I’ve never been somewhere like this before… Thank you, Cassian.”

Sara’s bright expression made a smile spread across Cassian’s lips.

Gathering courage after watching her, Cassian finally reached out and touched the stream.

The instant the icy water brushed his skin, he flinched from the cold. But after splashing around for a while, he quickly adjusted, playing in the water like a young boy.

Then suddenly, as if remembering something, he turned toward Sara.

“Ah, right. At a certain time, moss fish rise to the surface in this valley—”

At that exact moment, a massive fish burst from the water with a loud splash.

“…Kyaa!”

It was so enormous that water crashed over both of them the instant it surfaced.

Cassian immediately shielded Sara with his body.

Soaked from head to toe, neither of them spoke for a moment. Sara touched her dripping hair and stared blankly at Cassian.

“It already came and went.”

“……”

Cassian spoke in an awkward voice.

The situation—and Cassian himself—was so ridiculous to Sara that she finally burst into laughter.

“Puhahaha…!”

She laughed openly and brightly, dimples appearing on both cheeks.

Laughter was contagious.

Watching Sara laugh, Cassian found himself laughing too.

The two of them simply looked at each other and laughed for a long while.

Thankfully, the jacket Cassian had left farther away hadn’t gotten wet, so he draped it over Sara’s shoulders.

“For now, keep this around you. I’ll have the servants prepare a change of clothes.”

“But you got soaked too, Cassian. I’m really okay.”

“Wear it. Otherwise I won’t feel at ease.”

“…Thank you.”

Sara smiled gratefully.

Maybe she was simply small—or maybe Cassian was just that large.

Watching Sara disappear entirely into his oversized jacket, Cassian smiled faintly.

Sara curled into herself and hugged her knees.

Staring at the now-calm stream, she fell into thought.

Before they realized it, the sunset had begun to spread across the sky.

“……”

While gazing blankly into the air, Sara lowered her eyes slightly and smiled bitterly.

Thinking this was his chance, Cassian carefully spoke.

“The sunset is beautiful, isn’t it?”

Following his gaze to the sky, Sara slowly nodded.

“Yes. It’s beautiful. Very, very beautiful.”

“…Earlier, in the carriage… what was that dreamlike thing you mentioned?”

“……”

“I’m just curious, that’s all.”

At his question, Sara looked startled.

What kind of excuse should she make? How could she answer naturally?

In response to such a simple question, Sara decided on a simple answer.

“…Spending a day with you, Cassian. To me, it felt like a dream.”

Though she acted calm, Cassian felt his heart slam heavily in his chest.

How was he supposed to take that?

It sounded far too sincere to be a joke.

His eyes shook slightly.

Completely unaware of his reaction, Sara relaxed inwardly, thinking she had answered well.

If she acted this way, he would stay friendly toward her, and becoming friends with him would be much easier.

“……”

As Sara watched the sunset, she suddenly turned her head, finding Cassian’s silence strange.

At that exact moment, he was staring directly at her.

The instant their eyes met, Sara quickly looked away in embarrassment.

It was still difficult—both frightening and embarrassing—for her to hold his gaze for too long.

Finally regaining his senses, Cassian spoke again.

“It seems your siblings care for you very much, considering they even give you necklaces as gifts.”

“……”

The intention behind the question was obvious.

Pretending otherwise, Cassian carefully observed her expression.

As expected, her face darkened almost instantly.

Sara answered quietly.

“…In our own way. We’re neither especially close nor especially distant.”

She lied.

At least to him, she didn’t want to reveal her ugliness.

“I thought so. You also seem close with your mother. I heard the Tresha family is very harmonious. I suppose the rumors are true.”

This time, Cassian’s question was even more direct.

But the more he asked, the more Sara hid the truth.

“……”

Sara sensed there was something strange about his questions, but outwardly she pretended not to notice.

After hesitating over what to say, she chose another lie.

“Of course. It may sound like bragging, but she always hugs me. She calls me her beloved daughter. Every single day.”

“……”

Though she spoke calmly, tears rapidly filled her eyes.

Not wanting him to see her expression, Sara stared straight ahead as she continued.

“She always tells me I did well, that I’m pretty… she only ever praises me. She’s truly a wonderful person.”

But saying those words made her feel strangely miserable.

Sara bit her lip, trying to suppress the heavy emotions swelling inside her.

Diana was surely a good mother to someone.

Just not to Sara.

Sara wanted to hear those words too.

You did well. You’re beautiful. You’re doing great.

She wanted praise.

She had never wished for anything grand.

Just a warm embrace.

That alone would have been enough.

But by now, Sara and the Tresha family had already drifted far too far apart.

“…Are you crying?”

After silently listening to her, Cassian asked in a low voice.

“No? Of course not. Ah.”

Sara shook her head.

Yet despite her words, tears slid down her cheeks.

“……”

Flustered, Sara hurriedly wiped away the tears roughly with her hands.

Then she smiled even brighter.

“I guess I’m crying because I’m so happy. Before I came here, Mother said she’d miss me.”

It was a lie until the very end.

Cassian simply nodded quietly at her words.

“……”

Listening to her speak, Cassian only became more certain.

[They probably beat and abused her to keep others from discovering what she truly is. They likely trained her to obey as well.]

Remembering his conversation with Lotte, Cassian pieced his thoughts together.

There was something unnatural about Sara’s words.

She was lying.

His instincts told him so.

But he couldn’t accuse her of it.

She was protecting herself in her own way.

A victim of violence.

And when the abusers were family, victims only buried themselves deeper to survive.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Cassian spoke gently.

“You must treasure your family very much.”

Without hesitation, Sara nodded.

The saddest thing about abused people was this—

Even after everything, they still longed to be loved.

The conversation gradually faded, and silence settled between them.

“Thank you for telling me, Sara.”

Cassian smiled softly.

“Though it still seems you have many secrets. Let’s learn them little by little.”

But Sara felt she could never tell him the truth.

Not about the abuse.

Not about seeing his future.

‘…Would someone this kind really kill me? Is this version of him real?’

She still didn’t know.

The future was the future.

Even if he was kind now, people could always change.

Quickly pushing away those thoughts, Sara suddenly grabbed Cassian’s hand.

“Thank you for everything. It feels like I’ve gained someone dependable on my side. Honestly… this is my first time. Facing someone with my real eyes.”

Praised by Sara so sincerely, Cassian smiled shyly.

Then Sara continued.

“…It really feels like we’ve become friends. Real friends who share each other’s secrets.”

At those words, Cassian’s expression stiffened strangely.

Oblivious to his reaction, Sara spoke excitedly.

“Friends…?”

Cassian repeated the word in shock.

The word friend echoed clearly in his ears, leaving him deeply unsettled.

Unlike Cassian, Sara thought they had successfully moved one step closer.

As the crimson sunset disappeared, night quietly descended beneath the moonlit sky.

To change out of her wet clothes, Sara entered a room with Cassian’s servants.

For some reason, she turned pale and insisted she could change by herself, but after Meiri insisted on accompanying her, she reluctantly gave in and entered the room.

Meanwhile, Cassian paced restlessly in his room, unable either to sit or stand still.

“Why are you acting so restless?”

Lotte, who had been reading a book, slammed it shut with irritation.

Even after hearing him, Cassian ignored him completely and continued muttering the same words.

“…Friends.”

Had everything they done together really just been friendship?

Why were they friends?

He genuinely couldn’t understand it.

Cassian’s brows furrowed deeply.

The word friend made him uncomfortable.

And he didn’t like it at all.

“Go do that in your own room. This is my room.”