Chapter 82
Maya answered flatly.
“He’s not someone who suits me.”
“What do you mean? Do you know how precious you are?”
Kendrick snapped back. To him, no matter who the other person was, Maya was too valuable to waste.
“Haha. Thanks, Kendrick.”
Maya burst out laughing as she watched Kendrick fume.
“But really, he’s not a good match for me. That’s why…”
Kendrick could no longer tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing for him.
“Once this contract marriage ends, I’ll leave right away. So I won’t have any lingering attachments.”
Her eyes looked lonely as she said it.
Tristan could, if he wished, hear every sound in the mansion. But more often than not, he deliberately dulled his senses.
Otherwise, he became so overly sensitive that he couldn’t even sleep.
“That’s why… I want you to take some time and think about it.”
That was the very first line Tristan heard.
Since there had been so much going on today, he thought Maya might already be asleep and so he’d hidden his presence—
a mistake that left him stuck against the wall like a thief, holding his breath.
Peeking cautiously into the room, he saw Maya comforting the sorcerer Kendrick.
Even though it was only a hand on the shoulder, Tristan felt the urge to tear it away.
But he couldn’t step forward.
“…Alright. I’ll seriously think about whether I truly like Tristan or not.”
Those words froze his whole body.
Like.
Like…
Tristan blankly replayed the meaning of what he’d just heard over and over.
The words that followed blurred into nothing.
He savored Maya’s words with desperate thirst, like a traveler who had found an oasis in the desert.
“She’s going to seriously consider whether she likes me.”
Was that a good sign? Or bad? It was hard to tell.
Actually, it meant Maya wasn’t certain of her feelings yet—so he couldn’t interpret it only positively.
But even so, those words alone were enough to make him happy.
“So it wasn’t just in my head.”
He was overjoyed to know that the feelings he sensed from Maya weren’t only his own.
An impulsive urge to confess welled up inside him.
No.
He fought the desire to rush in and blurt everything out.
He didn’t want to confess on a whim just because he’d overheard something.
“So it’s not time yet?”
Do it now!
No, don’t!
In his mind, an angel and a devil began to battle.
Knowing Maya felt some kind of affection for him only made him more impatient.
Tristan wanted to be perfect for Maya—even the timing of his confession.
At the very least, he believed he should wait until the curse was broken.
If things had gone differently, Kendrick might have confessed today instead…
But circumstances were changing too quickly.
Even the chance for Maya and Kendrick to speak alone like this was already suspicious.
It was fortunate that Kendrick respected Maya’s opinion—yet at the same time, it wasn’t fortunate.
Because who knew how things would turn next?
Maya was too good of a person. Both Kendrick and Riserfield knew that all too well.
He didn’t want to lose her by chasing perfection, but neither did he want to confess without preparation.
A crushing dilemma.
That was the weight of a first love—the enormity and heart-pounding thrill.
“When would be best?”
He fell into blissful deliberation.
“I can’t slack off in my duties either.”
He didn’t want Maya to see him as anything less than capable.
He had already finished discussions with Marquis Rebour and exchanged contact.
Through carrier pigeons, they would continue plotting for the revolution.
Once in the capital, he’d also prepare ways to bring down Count Baker.
Yet none of that thrilled him as much as imagining the moment he would confess to Maya.
Just as every moment with her did.
But that happiness shattered.
“Even if I like Tristan, nothing will come of it.”
Why?
Tristan couldn’t understand Maya’s words.
He threw the same question Kendrick voiced aloud.
“Because I’m not someone who suits him?”
It sounded more like she was belittling herself.
And that made even less sense to him.
Of everyone he knew, Maya was the noblest, most dignified, and most beautiful.
He wanted to run in and tell her, No—you are exactly that kind of person.
At the same time, he wanted to hear more of her raw, hidden feelings.
What was she keeping from him?
But even at Kendrick’s questioning, Maya stayed silent.
The only truth Tristan could piece together was that after slaying the monster and ending the contract marriage, she intended to leave.
His impulse to confess vanished instantly.
“There’s something else I have to do first.”
A very important task presented itself.
Maya has to realize how incredible she really is.
Her words revealed the low self-esteem that surfaced only occasionally—now fully exposed.
In her current state, she wouldn’t be able to properly accept a confession.
So Tristan set a new goal.
“For her to acknowledge her feelings—and to be able to confess them to me.”
Two conditions had to be met first:
Maya had to be sure her feelings for Tristan were genuine, romantic affection.
She had to hold herself in high enough esteem not to see them as “different ranks.”
“Luckily, we’ll be together from now on…”
On the way to the capital, and even later in the east, he would make a point of praising her often.
So she could feel her true worth.
Because she was that precious to him.
“…And soon, I’ll need to hear it.”
It wasn’t the most urgent thing now, but one thought nagged at him.
Her willingness to leave quietly, without confessing, surely wasn’t only about self-esteem.
“The secret she’s been hiding.”
The answer likely lay in the story she’d once promised to tell.
The sudden realization gave him a headache.
He shut his eyes tightly, then opened them again, wearing a gentle smile meant only for Maya.
“Tristan!”
As soon as Maya sensed his presence, she welcomed him gladly.
Kendrick grumbled but eventually left them alone.
Maya and Tristan lay down together on the bed.
Maya soon fell asleep, but Tristan stayed wide awake all night.
“So we share the same feelings… and yet I can’t even confirm it.”
The thought saddened him—
but he burned with determination, knowing what path was truly right for Maya.
Yes, it might take time.
But compared to the lifetime they might share, this was nothing but a fleeting moment.
He repeated that to himself as though chanting a spell.
Because otherwise, he might burst out and confess right then.
Maya didn’t accept the position of Knight Commander right away.
Too hasty a decision would only arouse Riserfield’s suspicions.
She knew all too well how much patience Riserfield possessed.
Her terrifying memories as his one-time contractor, when their personalities had overlapped, came in handy now.
Exactly one day later, Maya accepted Riserfield’s offer—
making it seem like she had no choice.
“But I’d like to bring this young man with me.”
Maya slyly pushed Tristan forward.
“Not a bad idea.”
To her surprise, Riserfield agreed readily.
“Since the Archduchess has entered the imperial knight order, the defense of the West can also be counted as the empire’s achievement.”
Just as he’d been waiting for, Riserfield shamelessly claimed her credit.
Hayden was appalled, but he didn’t show it.
The more Riserfield tarnished his own honor as emperor,
the more grateful Hayden was that Tristan was on their side.
Hayden was thankful, too, that the western affair had ended more smoothly than expected.
“Thank you, Your Grace.”
The longer they lingered at the mansion, the greater the chance someone would notice Tristan’s changes.
It was best to get away from Riserfield quickly.
On the journey to the capital, Maya heard various reports from Riserfield.
He seemed almost excited at the thought of exploiting her.
“Except I’ll be the one doing the exploiting, not you.”
Of course, she had no reason to tell him that.
She learned about disturbances expected in the eastern region.
Apparently, the sudden increase of birds was the issue.
A flock of birds…
She vaguely recalled that Riserfield had once helped Marquis Akisia, one of his allies, with a similar problem.
But she couldn’t remember exactly how it played out.
After Kendrick’s death, the time she had to think clearly had grown shorter and shorter.
“This really is a future I don’t know anymore.”
She now knew less about the future than she didn’t.
But there was still one truth she believed wouldn’t change.
“Maya.”
The fact that the man calling her name—Tristan—would become emperor.
And unlike Riserfield, he would be a true sage king.
