— Chapter 168………………………………………..
The strength drained from both of my hands that had been gripping the long hem of my skirt tightly.
As it brushed against the seawater like that, the lower edge of my skirt was helplessly soaked.
I soon felt the skirt being swept back and forth by the waves, but I didn’t want to grab the hem again.
“You like me? Me?”
As I asked in disbelief, Kyle’s eyes grew deep and intent.
Without the slightest hesitation, his unwavering gaze rested quietly on my lips.
“Yeah.”
“May I ask what you mean by that?”
You could say you liked someone out of friendly affection between friends, or the warmth you felt toward a neighbor. Even with feelings that light, you could say you liked someone.
But the way Kyle looked at me felt like he liked me as a member of the opposite sex. Of course… it might not be that way.
“…….”
“…….”
Kyle didn’t give me the answer I wanted, and just meeting his eyes was enough to make tears spill out all at once.
Trying to have an unrequited love here—something I’d never even experienced in my previous life—felt overwhelming.
At that moment, as if the sky understood my pitiful heart, raindrops began to fall.
One, two—raindrops that thudded heavily against my cheeks soon turned into rain, pouring down like a waterfall.
As I wiped away my tears in the rain, he carefully extended his right arm and patted my back.
My body tilted like that, my cheek brushing against his solid chest.
“Haa.”
Even though it was a sigh so quiet it could’ve been drowned out by the roar of the waves, I etched even his faint breathing deep into my heart.
“I don’t want to hear words that are said lightly. Just because we’re engaged doesn’t mean I think we’re in some special relationship, so you don’t need to feel pressured.”
I had left the imperial palace with such a light heart—I never once dreamed something this intense would be confessed.
That’s why my words came out rambling and disorganized, just like my chaotic thoughts.
As if soothing me, Kyle gently placed his hand on top of my head.
“To the point where I don’t want to yield you to anyone else.”
“…….”
“That’s how much I like you.”
We stood there like that for quite a while, until the coachman called out to us.
At some point, the coachman had arrived and was shouting loudly toward us, waving his arms back and forth.
“It’s dangerous in the rain! Please come back now!”
Soaked through by the rain, we boarded the carriage the coachman had waiting nearby.
Once inside, we fell into awkward silence again.
“…….”
“…….”
The floor of the carriage was already flooded, slippery even just standing still.
Still, I wasn’t angry.
Up until we got into the carriage, I’d assumed we’d head straight back to the imperial palace, so I’d mistakenly thought I could just endure the discomfort.
Rumble—crash.
Thunder and lightning followed one another, flashing and booming, making the inside of the carriage even gloomier.
But the problem wasn’t just my low spirits.
Because the rain suddenly began pouring down so heavily, we ended up stranded in the middle of the road.
“What should we do? The rain’s coming down so hard that we won’t be able to reach the capital today.”
The coachman shook his head, saying the weather was too bad to turn back, and Kyle frowned.
Even in a moment like this, my mind was busy wondering why Kyle was frowning.
After saying he liked me, he seemed uncomfortable being alone with me in the carriage.
If it’s going to be this awkward, then why even say you like me?
It was the kind of statement that made me feel good, yet strangely irritated at the same time. So I ended up—
“How about finding a place to stay nearby? I don’t think there’s anything good about staying in the carriage like this.”
Hiding the chill creeping into my body, I made the suggestion to Kyle. He glanced up at the sky for a moment, then nodded.
“There is a place I know nearby. But I was worried you might feel uncomfortable.”
At his words, I quickly shook my head.
Kyle could have dried my wet dress with magic, but with the coachman watching, it wasn’t something he could use lightly.
Because of that, wearing a cold, damp dress was painful.
“I want to wash up with some warm water. Is it far from here?”
Honestly, I was in pretty bad shape. A mild fever had started, and my whole body was beginning to shiver. I felt like I was about to catch a cold…
“Then let’s go to the temple.”
Kyle opened the carriage door and gave the coachman our destination. The coachman’s voice sounded faintly puzzled.
“There was a temple around here? I’ve never heard of it…”
“If you follow that road straight, you’ll find one. I’d like us to hurry.”
“…Understood. We’ll depart at once.”
The coachman replied in a slightly resigned tone, deciding to follow Kyle’s instructions.
I looked out at the rain-soaked window, where visibility was nearly gone, and responded with a quiet smile.
The rain was pouring down mercilessly, as if the sky itself had sprung a leak.
Even so, priests hurried out of the temple, busy coming to greet us.
“For you to travel such a long way in this weather, we hardly know how to repay—”
The man standing in front of the carriage with an umbrella looked to be well over seventy, and he treated Kyle with the utmost respect.
“Guardian—, ahem. We’ve been awaiting your arrival.”
His voice was hard to hear through the pounding rain, but the way he bowed his head was perfectly clear.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. It seemed they had known Kyle would come today and had been waiting in advance.
Kyle calmly stepped down first beneath the umbrella the priest held out, then reached his hand toward me.
As I took his hand and stepped out of the carriage, another priest—who looked a couple of years younger than the one I’d just seen—opened an umbrella for me.
“It is an honor to meet you.”
As I looked at the respectful priest addressing me, the feeling that something about this temple was strange wouldn’t leave me.
Perhaps to match the gloomy sky, everyone who came out of the temple was dressed in black clerical robes.
It made me wonder if this really was a proper temple.
“…An honor, you say. I’m the one who’s grateful. Even though we came so suddenly at such a late hour, you welcomed us so warmly. You all seem like such kind people.”
As I said that, I glanced at Kyle—and our eyes met.
When our gazes locked, he smiled more beautifully than usual.
And I wasn’t the only one watching him.
The oldest priest, who hadn’t been able to take his eyes off Kyle, looked at me and smiled warmly.
“To meet someone so lovely—how happy you must be.”
“…….”
After confirming the priest staring intently at me, Kyle frowned.
If he hates being associated with me this much, why did he say he liked me?
A sense of disappointment quickly washed over me. Unaware of my feelings, Kyle spoke to me as usual.
“Ahem. Let’s go inside.”
I thought all temples felt more or less the same, but that didn’t seem to be the case.
Because of Rubellion, a holy knight, I’d paid some attention to temple garments and accessories before.
I thought they only used pure colors—so why are they wearing black robes?
Unlike the capital’s temples, which used cream or white, everyone here wore black vestments.
Since I’d never really studied temples before, I didn’t know why differences in attire existed from temple to temple.
…Even the buildings look like ancient relics.
I was truly grateful they’d provided warm water and a large bath, but this white-stone temple felt old in every way.
So old it wouldn’t be surprising if it really were an artifact.
“Is there anything else you might need?”
The priestesses who followed to assist with my bath all looked quite old. Yet the fact that they addressed me with the utmost honorifics made me uncomfortable.
“No. Thanks to you, I’m resting quite comfortably. The unpredictable weather had me very worried, but you’ve taken such good care of me here that I feel at ease.”
“Care? There is no greater honor for this temple than today.”
“Pardon?”
There were so many odd things that I was starting to feel uneasy.
As if sensing my awkward expression, the elderly man—who had been bowing his head while speaking—looked me directly in the eyes.
“I heard you recently became engaged to Duke Obeln. That’s a rumor from the capital, so it must be true, yes?”
The expectant look in his eyes felt burdensome. What kind of connection did this temple have with Kyle, the Duke of Obeln?
“…Yes. That’s actually the reason we stopped by here today.”
“This is the empire’s very first temple, personally built by the founding emperor. Though it has been forgotten in many people’s memories, it is a place where those chosen by the true Guardian Deity gather.”
I’d never paid much attention to the Guardian Deity while living in the empire, but thinking about spending the night in a temple today stirred a bit of curiosity I didn’t know I had.
“Do all those who are chosen come here after meeting the Guardian Deity in their dreams?”
“No. I’ve never seen them in my dreams even once.”
