Chapter 77
Adrian didn’t look like someone on a date—he looked more like someone competing in a race to see who could reach the exit of the rose garden first.
Once they had gone ahead, Nathan held out his hand to Jaelin. It was the kind of escort gesture a partner might make when entering a social ball together.
“Shall we go?”
Jaelin stiffly placed her hand on top of Nathan’s.
She was completely out of sorts, still reeling from the shock of her feelings being discovered. She had thought she’d hidden her heart well from others, but apparently not.
The fact that Nathan had seen through her feelings embarrassed her to no end.
Her complexion turned pale, growing paler by the moment. Seeing this, Nathan’s eyes wavered.
Lionel was handsome, skilled, and even of high status—an academy celebrity.
Countless girls admired him from afar, so Nathan had assumed Jaelin’s feelings were nothing more than a lighthearted crush like theirs. That’s why he’d spoken so casually. But the ripple effect was greater than he had imagined.
Jaelin’s feelings for Lionel ran far deeper than Nathan had thought. That was Nathan’s mistake.
To ease her worries even a little, Nathan tossed out a light joke.
“Don’t tell me you think I’d run to Lionel and blab your secret just because I’m his friend? If I gave you that impression, I’m really disappointed in myself. I can’t believe I haven’t even earned that much trust from you.”
“N-no! That’s absolutely not it.”
Startled by Nathan’s self-deprecating words, Jaelin waved her hands frantically.
Escorting her, Nathan strolled slowly down the path lined with blooming roses.
The closer they came to the center of the garden, the thicker and more piercing the fragrance became.
“Since when?”
“Huh?”
Jaelin blinked, not understanding what Nathan meant.
“Lionel. Since when have you liked him?”
“Oh… a long time. About ten years, I think.”
“What? Ten years ago?”
Nathan’s voice shot up in surprise. He had thought it had only been a few months since Jaelin entered the academy at most.
“You’re not thinking of confessing?”
“No. W-well, it’s just me who likes him anyway.”
Hmm. I don’t think Lionel is entirely indifferent, though.
Nathan recalled Lionel’s eyes when Jaelin had grabbed his hand earlier. They had gone cold.
And now that he thought of it, Lionel helping Jaelin during the recent committee incident hadn’t looked like mere kindness either.
Lionel had said he was just repaying an old debt, but… Nathan had never once seen Lionel involve himself so deeply in someone else’s affairs.
“Why not? How can you know without trying? Lionel might feel the same way as you.”
Jaelin shook her head. She had, at times, let herself get swept up by his warmth and kindness, wishing that might be true.
But Lionel was fair to everyone. He was kind and gentle not only to her but to others as well.
Jaelin shook her head again.
“I-I’m fine. Anyway, I’ve heard that nobles usually marry for politics, so it’s hard to end up with someone you truly like. Just being able to see him by my side like this is enough. It’s okay if I’m the only one who likes him. It’s not like I’m bothering him or anything…”
“True. The feelings of love belong only to you. No one can deny them—not even Lionel himself.”
Nathan replied bitterly. All nobles knew this fact well: marriage wasn’t about love but about family interests.
Of course, some lucky few fell in love with their arranged partners. Or, by pure chance, ended up marrying the person they already loved.
But those cases were exceedingly rare.
Especially for direct heirs, who bore the responsibility of continuing their line—it was impossible to escape that snare. Most accepted it. Or rather, they had been raised with no choice but to accept it.
From childhood, they had lived within the cage of noble society, seeing nothing but the power, wealth, and honor that stemmed from such arrangements, and learning exactly how to preserve them.
For them, marriage was a means, a tool.
So Jaelin wasn’t wrong in saying she couldn’t end up with Lionel. In fact, she was probably being realistic.
Still… can’t someone at least date the one they love?
That was Nathan’s thought. During his time at the academy, if he met someone he liked, he dated them and got to know them.
Precisely because it would be difficult later, he was even more proactive.
Who cared about the distant future? If he could burn brightly now and become part of someone’s life, even briefly, that was valuable enough.
Even if the ending was predetermined, refusing to even begin because of that didn’t align with Nathan’s view of life.
Besides, you only really learned about a person by being with them. Whether they were someone you could spend a lifetime with—there was no way to know without trying.
“Nothing’s ever simple, huh?”
Nathan muttered with a sigh. Jaelin’s eyes widened.
“Why are you so surprised?”
“I-I just didn’t expect you to say something like that.”
“Why? Do I look like someone who has everything easy?”
“Uh… yeah.”
“Everyone has their own struggles. What you see on the outside isn’t the whole truth. Even with me, people say I’m some hopeless womanizer, but that’s not true at all. I’m actually a really devoted guy, you know.”
Nathan winked at her.
Jaelin burst out laughing. There was no word less fitting for Nathan than “devoted.” A playboy, a Casanova—maybe.
But now she could see why he was so popular among women.
He radiated a confident ease. Time spent with him was comfortable and fun.
So absorbed in their talk, their pace slowed. From a distance, they could hear voices—Lionel and Rosia, who had set out later, chatting as they walked.
Maybe I should stir things up a bit…
Nathan grew curious about Lionel’s reaction. His long-time friend had always been unreadable, even after all these years.
Nathan considered himself Lionel’s closest friend, yet he was aware of an invisible line between them.
At first, he hadn’t noticed. But over time, he began to sense it—that distance Lionel always maintained.
Lionel smiled politely, kept his dignity, and never crossed certain boundaries. He was always like still water, never too much, never too little.
Nathan had never seen him angry, crying, or laughing wholeheartedly. He never voiced complaints or shared worries.
It made him look perfect—but was that really normal?
Nathan had once thought Lionel was simply born that way. From the first time he met him as a boy, Lionel had been poised and mature. Perhaps it was just natural for a duke’s son to embody noble qualities.
But as he grew older, Nathan began to doubt it.
There had to be a limit to how much someone could suppress their emotions and desires.
Nathan wasn’t the only one who thought so. He had once discussed it with Sasha, who had also spent years at Lionel’s side.
She had agreed—and in fact, she’d been thinking the same thing for a long time.
Nathan wanted to cross that line Lionel had drawn, to glimpse the side of him he’d chosen to keep hidden.
Lionel was human too. He couldn’t suppress his emotions forever.
“Jaelin, what I’m about to do now—I’ll apologize in advance.”
Nathan’s low murmur brushed her ear. She widened her eyes, staring up at him, not understanding why he would suddenly say such a thing.
The sound of Lionel and Rosia’s footsteps drew nearer.
Perfectly timing it, Nathan stopped, turned toward Jaelin, and slowly lifted the hand he had been escorting.
His blue eyes, like the light of an emerald sea, fixed on her.
They sparkled with mischief.
Without breaking eye contact, Nathan slowly lowered his lips toward the back of her hand.
Jaelin could swear—she felt no romantic feelings for Nathan whatsoever.
And yet her ears flushed hot. The corners of his mouth curved into a smile as he pulled back, radiating irresistible charm.
There was a reason he had such a reputation as a flirt at the academy.
And just as Nathan’s lips touched her hand, footsteps emerged from behind the rosebush. Lionel and Rosia’s faces appeared. Nathan’s timing had been perfect.
Then came Lionel’s stiff voice.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
