Chapter 45
The day Melodyan would leave the Altair estate was fast approaching. Arin was busy gathering various modern items for her.
“Melody, do you need cup noodles?”
“Cup noodles are love.”
“Sunscreen and cleansing cream?”
“Need both!”
“We won’t see each other for at least a month. If there’s anything else you want, just say it.”
“Really? If I say everything, I’ll ask for a bunch of stuff.”
“Sure, take it all. I’m adding this too.”
“Wow. I love you.”
Melodyan’s eyes sparkled with emotion.
“If it weren’t for you, I could’ve never adapted here.”
Melodyan was someone who not only understood gratitude but also expressed it well. Arin felt awkward and waved her off.
“You’re leaving tomorrow morning, right?”
“Yes. They said if we leave in the afternoon, we’ll have to camp out, so we’re going early.”
“Then… want to say goodbye to Deneb now?”
“Eek, say goodbye?”
Melodyan puckered her lips nervously.
“Pfft, what’s with that reaction?”
“I don’t want to! Let’s leave that for future me…”
“Why not? You two seem really close these days. I almost felt left out.”
“Wow, seriously, why are you like this? Me and the Duke? How do we look close?”
“You joke around a lot, and Deneb treats you really well.”
Melodyan flinched hard.
“You call that treating me well? No way! There’s no way! Arin, do people often tell you you’re slow to catch on? You must hear it a lot to see things like that.”
Arin recalled what her friends used to say before she came to this world. No one had ever called her sharp.
“……”
Seeing Arin fall silent, Melodyan gave her a thumbs-up.
“…It’s okay. That’s your charm.”
“Thanks for sugarcoating it.”
After some silly chatter, they finished packing. Arin called a servant to load Melodyan’s belongings onto the Rigel Count’s carriage.
Arin should have seen Melodyan off, but she overslept. Hastily throwing on her clothes, she ran out of her room.
Selly looked alarmed as she watched Arin take the stairs three at a time.
“You may be a knight, but if you keep jumping like that, you’ll get hurt. Be careful.”
“Haha, just for today! I overslept and have to see Melody off.”
“I actually just saw Lady Melodyan right outside. She asked me to say goodbye for her. She said she was going to say farewell to the Duke. She just left, so she probably hasn’t left the estate grounds yet.”
“Ah, really? Thanks, Selly!”
Arin bowed in thanks and dashed off like an arrow.
Using mana to strengthen her body, she soon spotted the main mansion. She slowed to fix her clothes and looked around.
‘The only place to park a carriage around here is this spot.’
As she steadied her breath in the cold morning air, she saw some figures in the distance—Melodyan’s group and Deneb. Relieved she made it in time to say goodbye, Arin walked toward them.
She hadn’t meant to, but her presence was quiet—like a seasoned knight’s. Neither Deneb nor Melodyan noticed her as they remained focused on each other.
“I’ve never once failed to claim what I consider mine.”
His tone wasn’t just confident—it was arrogant. His low, seductive voice flowed through firm lips.
“You’re going to fall in love with me. I’m sure of it.”
Arin stopped like a stone. Deneb was confessing—to Melodyan.
Her heart felt like it sank to the bottom of the ocean. It hurt as if she had swallowed saltwater.
‘Why am I… why is this…’
Without even realizing it, tears welled up and rolled down her cheeks. Arin quietly turned and ran, letting her feet carry her wherever they would. She only stopped once she reached a quiet corner of the garden.
Heavy breaths escaped her lips.
“Haa… haa…”
Ironically, it was after seeing Deneb confess to someone else that she realized it—this heart she had kept hidden like Pandora’s box.
Just like how a sudden downpour soaks your clothes and you accept it, it felt natural for her to be drawn to him. So natural, she hadn’t noticed. She liked him.
And the moment she realized her feelings, she was already too late. Someone else already held a place in his heart, and she would have to bury her feelings forever. The unspoken love stung deeply.
“What have I been doing for the past three years? I didn’t even recognize my own heart…”
She clenched her lips and wiped her tears roughly.
Since witnessing the confession, Arin had felt awkward around Deneb.
Not just because he liked Melodyan. The real problem was how her heart would race at the sight of him now.
Ever since she admitted her feelings, just looking at Deneb made her feel shy. Things that used to go unnoticed now sent her heart fluttering, driving her crazy.
Even now, just thinking about Deneb made her heart thump pleasantly. Arin, struck by sudden shame, punched the mattress of her bed. Her one-sided feelings continued to spiral.
With a deep sigh, she fixed the messy blankets and lay back down.
“Ugh… I can’t keep doing this. I need to sleep early. Tomorrow’s a big day.”
Tomorrow was the joint training session for the Altair 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Knight Divisions. Held twice a year, the training started at dawn and lasted all day—with Deneb overseeing it.
“Ughhh, I need to sleep, but I don’t want to. If I sleep, I’ll wake up and see Deneb. I want to skip tomorrow’s training. But I can’t, can I? Ugh…”
As Arin groaned in agony, a loud banging came from the wall next to Yellow’s room. Bang. Bang. BAM! It was definitely Yellow warning her to shut up and go to sleep.
“Ugh… I’m going to sleep, okay? Geez, why so mean.”
Apparently, she was still muttering, because the banging was followed by Yellow’s furious shout:
[You insufferable brat, don’t you ever sleep? Quit your whining—I can’t sleep! If you wake me again, I’ll crack your skull open!]
“S-Sorry…”
Arin looked completely exhausted. She dragged herself to the joint training.
“Arin!”
“Yes, Captain Remain.”
“We’re doing mock battles after lunch. You good?”
She rubbed the back of her head to show she was fine.
“I’m okay. I just didn’t sleep well last night.”
Remain examined her carefully before nodding.
“You’ve got veins popping in your eyes—I thought you were seriously sick. Glad to hear you’re fine! Let’s talk tactics over lunch. We’ve gotta win first place this time.”
The mock battle was a three-way between the knight divisions, where each side tried to protect their own flag. Though they all acted nonchalant, the captains were secretly eager to win.
“Vice-Captain Arin, let’s win this!”
“We’re counting on you!”
“Alpha, Billy, and Embla—I’m counting on you too!”
The four of them were grouped together as the guerrilla unit for the mock battle. The 2nd Division had decided on a strategy where the guerrilla team would steal the opponent’s flag while the rest guarded theirs.
A red magic flare shot through the sky to signal the start.
“Let’s go!”
With Arin leading, the guerrilla unit charged forward.
From his position as overall supervisor, Deneb monitored the battle through magical video orbs scattered across the field.
Captured prisoners, wounded knights, desperate runners, and their pursuers—the battlefield was full of chaotic scenes.
Among them, one person stood out. Arin, slicing through opponents like a warrior goddess.
Deneb’s eyes lingered on her far longer than anyone else’s. So much so that anyone watching would’ve found it odd.
“She’s good. She’s gotten even better.”
As the guerrilla commander, she stole the 3rd Division’s flag and smiled triumphantly like a goddess of war.
Watching the wind tousle her soft hair, Deneb was overwhelmed with the urge to touch it and clenched his fist. At the same time, her bright smile felt cruel.
“She said she was tired… but that was a lie, huh? She dared to deceive me.”
His brow furrowed sharply. He ran a calloused hand over his face.
“I don’t like this.”
Ever since Melodyan left, Deneb had sensed Arin slowly starting to avoid him. At first, he thought she was just feeling down about her friend’s departure.
But soon, he began to suspect she was avoiding him specifically.
When he asked, she claimed she was just tired lately and wanted to rest early. Her rough skin and bloodshot eyes seemed to support that.
‘She’s not avoiding me, right? She’s just tired… right?’
That’s what he had told himself…
But after seeing her condition today, he realized—it was an excuse. She was avoiding him.
Perhaps this was the side effect of his obsession all this time.
“Damn it. My chest hurts.”
He recalled what Melodyan had shouted before she left the estate:
“Me and Arin sleep in the same bed, we share secrets—and frankly, I’m way closer to her than you are! We’re basically sisters.”
Now he was afraid… that he might end up even less than that.
Deneb decided—for now, he’d rein in his obsession until she was securely in his grasp. If he could just catch her, he didn’t mind lowering himself. Patience, like a hunter waiting for his prey to let down its guard, was nothing to him.
