Chapter 68
Alperen tried hard to ignore his unnecessary fears.
The things the servants said.
The way Rodelia ticked off date spots one by one like she was solving a workbook.
None of it, he told himself, had anything to do with a farewell.
But if—just if—she really meant to end this contract…
Crack.
At the thought alone, the armrest of his chair snapped in his hand.
Alperen let out a bitter laugh.
“That will never happen.”
He had already given her his body and his heart.
To take and take, and then suddenly say it was over, let’s go back to before—no, that wasn’t acceptable.
But the instincts of a man who had loved for so long whispered that these were sweet yet dangerous signs.
And his instincts were rarely wrong.
Still, he chose to look away. Or perhaps he pretended not to see.
* * *
I hadn’t realized how fast a week could fly by.
On the day of Nanael’s tea party, before heading there, Alperen and I dressed more elegantly than usual and went out for one last date.
It was an ordinary afternoon—but beneath it lingered a strange tension.
Propping his chin on his hand, Alperen stared at me and said,
“Come to think of it, it’s already been a week.”
At the word week, my shoulders flinched like a guilty thief caught red-handed.
“Yeah. Time really went fast.”
I gnawed nervously on my straw until he brushed his hand against my cheek.
“So, did you do everything you wanted to?”
“Thanks to you, yeah. …Wait—did you know?”
The words slipped out carelessly, and I immediately bit my tongue. But Alperen only smiled slyly.
“I noticed. Every date you’d pull out that notebook and check something off. I figured you must have a long list.”
He nodded toward my bag. So much for hiding it—he’d seen everything.
I clutched my bag to my chest, fumbling for an excuse.
“It’s—it’s nothing. Just… things I didn’t want to forget. Stuff couples usually do.”
“Is that so?”
“Mm-hm. Thanks to you, I got to do them all.”
“If that was the case, you should’ve told me. I could’ve planned it more perfectly for you. Didn’t it feel like you rushed too much?”
Well, that was because I only had one week…
From his perspective, it must have felt overwhelming.
“Was it hard on you?”
“Not hard, exactly, but…”
His eyes dropped. He looked like he was deep in thought, then smoothed his expression into a gentle smile.
“It was… unsatisfying.”
“Unsatisfying?”
“That’s why—I was thinking. How about we start over from the beginning, properly this time?”
As if waiting for this moment, he pulled something out and set it before me.
It was a long itinerary, neatly organizing every single place I had checked off this past week.
And beneath it, even the items I hadn’t yet crossed off my bucket list.
The list of date spots stretched on and on—impossible to finish within a year.
“Wh-what is this?”
“I got carried away organizing. It turned into a lot.”
“You did all this… by yourself?”
If my bucket list was like a cup of cheap coffee, then Alperen’s schedule was a rich Winif blend.
‘But today is the last day. There’s no way we can do all this…’
I wanted to honor the effort he put in, but today was also the day Summer arrived.
“Ren, listen…”
I was just about to tell him it was time to end our fake dating—
“Deli. I need to step out to the restroom.”
Abruptly, Alperen rose and left.
Again.
Earlier too—just when I’d been about to say something, he’d “gone to the restroom,” breaking the flow.
I’d thought it coincidence then. But twice? No way.
He knows. Doesn’t he?
That must be why he brought all these plans.
But why go so far?
Back when I’d first suggested setting a deadline, he hadn’t liked the idea.
He’d said it wasn’t as if he’d suddenly fall in love with anyone else, and at the time, I’d found that reasonable.
But now, after so much time… ending things didn’t seem strange at all.
In fact, it would be better for both of us to cut things cleanly rather than drag them out.
My head swirled in confusion.
When Alperen returned, we moved on to the carriage. It was time for the tea party.
“….”
“….”
The silence between us stretched long. Alperen stared blankly out the window, while I stared right at him.
The way he avoided my gaze confirmed it.
“Ren…”
“Don’t say it.”
Before I could finish, he cut me off.
Still, he stubbornly refused to look at me.
Almost as if he already knew what I was about to say.
“I just—”
“Not today. Please.”
His voice trembled ever so slightly. That alone made me ache, and curious too.
“You already know what I was going to—”
I reached for his arm just as—
Neighhh!
The horses whinnied, and the carriage lurched violently.
Alperen reacted instantly, pulling me into his arms to shield me.
The sudden stop had nearly thrown us.
Holding me close, he asked the coachman,
“What happened?”
“I-I’m sorry, sir. A child suddenly ran into the road. Just a moment, please. …Hey! Don’t you know how dangerous that is?!”
Apparently, a boy had wandered right into the path of the carriage.
And just like that, the timing to speak slipped away again.
When I pulled back from his embrace, Alperen said quickly,
“I’ll go check.”
The coachman had already gone, so he didn’t need to.
“…Alright, go.”
But I didn’t argue. I knew he wanted an excuse to escape this conversation.
Yet the moment the carriage door opened, and I saw who was outside, my mind went blank.
A girl with long blond hair tied into two braids, wearing a wide straw hat.
Her clothes were different—foreign, not like those of the capital.
In her arms, she held a little boy sniffling through tears, shielding him protectively.
She bowed again and again in apology.
“I’m so sorry! It’s our first time in the capital, I didn’t know there was a separate road for carriages!”
“Tsk, must be from the countryside. Still, you need to be careful! Do you have any idea who’s inside this carriage?”
The coachman scolded, exasperated.
“What’s going on?”
Alperen stepped closer. The brim of her hat shifted—and I saw her face.
Bright green eyes, clear as a forest fairy’s.
A delicate frame that sparked protective instinct. Long hair that evoked the image of a first love.
She blinked in surprise, as if recognizing someone unexpected.
“…Alperen?”
Hearing her call him so familiarly, Alperen looked confused.
Then realization dawned. He spoke her name.
“…Summer Clophen?”
“Oh my gosh, it really is you!”
Summer broke into a radiant smile, stretching out her hand eagerly.
He hesitated for a moment, then took it.
“You’re here already? I thought I told you the Tower wasn’t expecting you yet.”
“I came early to find housing. My little brother’s with me, too. And to think the person in the carriage I almost ran into was you—what luck! I was so worried about how to apologize.”
With a relieved sigh, Summer introduced the boy in her arms: Winter.
Their conversation flowed easily, with the warmth of old friends.
Watching them, I shrank against the carriage wall, hand clapped over my mouth.
So Alperen already knew Summer was coming to the Tower.
Of course he would—he was the Tower Master. But that didn’t matter.
Her sudden, unannounced arrival was enough to throw me into turmoil.
My face twisted painfully.
A strange, ugly emotion surged in my chest.
Right then, I wanted to get out, stand at Alperen’s side, and declare myself his lover—just to make Summer falter.
Like in the original story, when she had hidden her feelings upon learning he was already engaged.
I wanted to cut the thread of fate connecting them with my own hands.
To want to disappoint her… I’m the worst.
