25. I Like You Too
2024.05.25.
But Cass tilted his head, unfamiliar with the word “proposal.”
“Proposal? What’s that?”
“Dummy. You’re a whole year older than me and you don’t even know that?”
“Sorry.”
Riena decided to kindly explain it to her gloomy friend.
“It means asking someone to marry you.”
“M-Marry?!”
Cass, who had been lying down, shot up. His face, already more tanned than when he first arrived, flushed bright red as if under direct sunlight.
“Marriage—no way! I’m not thinking about things like that!”
“Hmm, but you’ll get married someday.”
“Th-That’s…”
“And I’ll get married too. Just like my mom and dad did.”
“That’s…”
Riena looked up at Cass and smiled.
“Hey, Cass. Marriage is something people who like each other do.”
“Do you even know what marriage is?”
“I do! It’s when a man and a woman promise to live together for the rest of their lives.”
“That’s right!”
Riena’s eyes twinkled as her smile deepened.
“So, if I get married when I grow up, I want to marry you, Cass.”
“Me… with you? Get married?”
Cass’s voice pitched up in confusion, but Riena casually asked back.
“Why? You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that… It’s just—you said it! That marriage is for people who like each other.”
Back then, just starting to be aware of the opposite sex, Riena’s “I like you” was closer to affection felt for a friend rather than romantic love.
She liked her dad, her nanny, Joanna, even Raul.
But somehow, if she had to choose between Raul and Cass, she preferred the idea of marrying Cass.
She thought living together in the same mansion forever with Cass would be fun.
It wasn’t the adult concept of marriage, but Riena was serious at the time.
“…!”
Cass froze, unable to say a word. His face, neck, and even ears turned red like a ripe tomato.
Riena giggled at the sight, and the nanny chuckled, finding the two children adorable.
Still, Cass kept his lips sealed and blushed. Lying down, Riena flipped over and slowly crept toward him.
When her arm touched his leg, Cass flinched and jumped away.
Riena, full of playful energy, kept crawling toward him, and eventually, Cass was pushed off the mat.
Propping her chin with both hands, Riena looked up at him.
“Do you not like me?”
“It’s not that…”
“Then?”
Cass glanced at the nanny for help, but she only smiled and looked away.
Letting out a groan, Cass mumbled quietly.
“…I like you too. If I grow up and get married, I want it to be with you.”
Riena’s eyes sparkled.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Cass hesitated but answered clearly.
“When I’m older, I’ll give you the prettiest jewel in the world and propose—like you said.”
“Okay, then let’s promise.”
Riena held out her right pinky. Cass hesitated, then hooked his pinky with hers, still blushing.
It was a promise made on a lovely spring day.
* * *
About a month had passed since then. The weather had turned to early summer, and it was pouring rain that day as well.
It happened while the Dyke family and Cass were all having dinner at the same table.
The butler rushed in and personally handed a letter to Count Dyke.
“What is it?”
The butler whispered something to the Count that no one else heard, but the Count’s face darkened as he opened the letter.
“Asher…”
After reading it, the Count rubbed his forehead.
No one else paid much attention, but Cass alone focused on the Count’s words.
Riena, noticing his delayed reaction, asked curiously.
“Who’s Asher?”
“My brother,” Cass replied instead, looking nervous.
“What happened to him? Is something wrong?”
The Count struggled to explain to a child and remained silent.
Sensing something serious, Cass uncharacteristically raised his voice.
“Did something happen to my brother? Please, Master, tell me!”
“Asher has… passed away.”
“M-My brother? Why?”
“Calm down, Cass. Just take a moment to listen.”
Riena tried to soothe him by placing a hand on his shoulder, but Cass couldn’t calm down. Tears instantly welled in his eyes.
“Why… my brother…”
“It seems a cold developed into pneumonia. The letter doesn’t say much, but someone will come to pick you up soon. So start preparing to go back.”
Before the Count finished speaking, Cass dashed out of the dining room. Riena apologized and followed him.
Cass was sobbing as he stuffed his belongings into his bag.
Sensing her presence, he mumbled,
“There’s no way my brother died. He’s the greatest knight in the world. My father must be lying to bring me back. I’m going to see for myself.”
What kind of parent would lie about a child’s death?
Still, Riena didn’t refute him. She simply helped him pack.
“Every time I got in trouble with Father, my brother always defended me.”
His words came out in fragments, but Riena listened patiently.
“Even when Mom and Dad scolded me, Asher was always kind to me.”
“…”
“When I cried, he’d secretly give me chocolate. This is a secret, but I love chocolate.”
“Really? You never showed it, so I didn’t know.”
“Yeah. My late mom said I shouldn’t eat it, so I tried not to. But when my brother gave me some, I could eat it freely. He’d watch the hallway to make sure no one came. If we got caught, he’d even lie and say he ate it.”
“I see.”
Cass kept talking.
“After Mom died, my brother asked Master to take me in. He said it’d be good for me to learn swordsmanship.”
“…”
“But Father opposed it. Apparently, he once asked Master to teach Asher and got refused. So he was mad that Master was willing to teach me instead…”
“That’s…”
Riena, who had grown up with her father’s full affection, couldn’t comprehend such treatment.
How could a father act that way?
Though Countess Dyke occasionally treated Bianca and Riena differently, Riena thought it was because she wasn’t her real daughter.
Could Cass not be his real son?
She was curious but tactful enough not to ask.
“But my brother said it was a good opportunity and convinced Father to send me. That’s why I could come here. And meet you…”
“Yeah.”
“He said when I got taller, we’d spar and I’d show him what I learned. But now he’s…”
Tears welled again in Cass’s eyes.
“There’s no way he’d leave me behind.”
Riena couldn’t say yes or no. Either way, it wouldn’t comfort him.
So instead, she hugged him tightly. He had grown a lot since arriving, not small enough to fit in her arms completely, but she hugged him as tightly as she could and patted his back.
Cass said nothing but cried in her arms.
* * *
Early that morning, people came to pick up Cass. Thankfully, the rain had stopped, but the sky was still heavy with dark clouds.
Riena came out with Count Dyke to see him off. The rest of the family did not.
“Goodbye, Cass.”
She hugged the trembling boy tightly. She regretted not having brought mittens in the summer—she could’ve warmed his cold hands.
As they were being urged to leave, Cass said resolutely,
“I’ll come back. I’ll check if my brother is really safe and then return.”
He wiped his tears with his sleeve and gripped Riena’s hand tightly.
“This place is another home to me. You and Master are another family to me—maybe even more so than my real one, except for Asher.”
“Yeah.”
“So wait for me. I’ll bring lots of presents.”
“Okay. Come back soon.”
“And when I return…”
Cass leaned in and whispered softly so no one else could hear,
“I’ll bring a pretty ring and propose.”
“Huh?”
“We promised to get married, remember?”
And with that, he kissed her cheek—smooch—then pulled away.
Riena’s eyes widened, and Cass, still tear-streaked, smiled.
“I’m really going now.”
And then he left.
Despite Count Dyke calling her back, Riena ran after the carriage.
No matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t catch up to it.
Her feet sank into the muddy ground, making it hard to even call it running.
The carriage was also slower than usual due to the mud, but the distance between them kept growing.
“Ah…!”
Eventually, Riena fell. Sitting in the mud, she watched the disappearing carriage and cried.
Cass firmly believed he’d come back. But Riena wasn’t so sure.
Would he really be able to return?
She had heard that Asher, his brother, was the heir of the family.
If Cass was his only sibling, wouldn’t he have to fill Asher’s place?
Wouldn’t that mean he couldn’t come back?
Maybe the peaceful days they spent as Riena, Cass, the Count, and sometimes Raul, would never return.
She sat blankly until the Count came and helped her up. Then, she asked him,
“Dad… Cass will come back, right?”
“…”
“Right?”
“Let’s hope so.”
The Count gave a vague answer and took Riena back to the mansion.
And just as Riena had feared—
Cass, who had sworn he’d return, never came back.
😭