23.
“Why are you here…?”
The question slipped out of me because I was truly confused.
Surprisingly, I had never spoken a single word to this woman before.
We both knew of each other’s existence, but we had never been this close, face to face. It sounded unbelievable, but it was true.
I stared at her—at her shining emerald-green hair, smooth and glossy, and her dark purple eyes that gleamed before me. Her pale cheeks looked untouched by the sun, perfectly clear.
When I had just entered society as a young and inexperienced baroness, Lady Peregrine was always surrounded by countless people, and her attention never fell on me.
Later, when I became the lover of Rohwinas Canesion, she suddenly began ignoring me, always cold.
At first, I thought she was only doing it because she didn’t want to hurt Rohwinas’ pride by being nice to me.
But when I heard about her engagement with him, I finally understood.
Lady Peregrine had liked Rohwinas for a long time.
And it seemed he also felt the same toward her.
Otherwise, how could their engagement have been arranged so quickly, almost as if it had been waiting to happen?
Thinking about it, the two years I spent with him felt meaningless.
My cheeks burned hot with shame. All that time, I had thought I was happy—while knowing nothing.
“Can’t I sit here?” she asked.
This was the same woman everyone else had avoided like the plague, leaving me alone at the table. For her to come here now, there must have been a reason.
I shook my head lightly.
“No, go ahead. Sit. If you have something to say, then say it.”
At my casual reply, Lady Peregrine’s lips curved into a faint smile.
And in that moment, I understood—
She was elegant, but not truly kind.
In this way, she was very much like Rohwinas.
I was mocking them both in my head—“perfect for each other”—when she suddenly spoke.
“Desire is a natural part of being human.”
I stopped drinking the champagne I had been steadily pouring down my throat and raised one eyebrow.
She continued.
“But not everyone uses such cheap, dirty tricks to get what they want.”
It had been a long time since anyone had insulted me so directly.
And then,
“Do you really feel no shame at all?”
Her voice carried no flaws. Her eyes shone with noble pride.
For the first time in a long while, I had no words.
She wasn’t mocking me for fun.
She wasn’t showing a sense of superiority.
She was asking me sincerely.
She truly wanted to know.
Her world had no room for something as low as this—so seeing it before her, she couldn’t understand.
Finally, Lady Peregrine muttered, almost to herself:
“…Do you truly not even know what you did wrong?”
Then her face cooled, as if regretting that she had even spoken to me.
She stood up, turned her back, and walked away—
As if declaring that any interest she had just shown had now disappeared without a trace.
“…”
I lowered my eyes from her retreating figure.
‘I know.’
Of course I knew.
What I had done.
I knew it better than anyone else.
I dragged my feet back toward Duke Ishtan Gladinare’s camp.
Because of my troubled thoughts, I had taken a longer route. By the time I arrived, the Duke was already there, waiting for me.
I saw him standing in front of a horse, and I quickly hurried forward.
“You waited for me?”
The Duke raised one eyebrow slightly, as if noticing my poor mood.
I touched my cheek awkwardly, trying to hide it, but I wasn’t very good at keeping my expression calm.
Still, he didn’t comment. He simply held out the reins to me.
It was the same horse I had chosen earlier.
Did he go and fetch it himself?
“Want to ride it once before we go?” he asked.
“Oh… no, it’s fine. Anyway…”
Before I could finish, the Duke brought out another horse from behind the camp. It was large and black, with white spots on its chest and hooves.
He jumped on easily.
I thought, It must be a war horse. The power it gave off didn’t feel ordinary.
Now sitting high above me, the Duke looked even taller. I would have to tilt my head all the way back just to meet his eyes.
Seeing me hesitate to get on, he asked,
“You don’t know how to ride, do you?”
His tone was obviously meant to provoke me.
“Is it too tall for you? Are you scared?”
“….”
I knew he was teasing me, but somehow I found myself stepping into the stirrup and climbing up anyway.
“Who said I couldn’t ride?”
Gripping the reins tightly, I turned to face him.
He gave a short laugh—and then suddenly charged forward with his horse.
And in that moment, I caught it.
The glance he gave me as he looked back while riding away.
He thinks I can’t catch up?
I couldn’t help but chase after him.
And I realized something—
The horse I had picked was better than I thought.
Smaller than the Duke’s, yes, but fast and agile.
It was smart, too. It understood my light movements quickly, almost without needing reins.
We flew past people moving goods or strolling nearby, startling them as we rushed by.
The wind hit me straight in the face as we rode toward the quiet forest.
Whenever I was about to catch up, the Duke would pull ahead again, making me grit my teeth and push harder.
The way he kept just out of reach, almost mocking me—it made me burn with anger!
I had thought he was a serious, stiff man. But now he seemed like someone who loved teasing others.
I clenched my teeth and kept my eyes locked on his back, chasing with all my strength.
When I nearly reached him again, he finally pulled far ahead, then turned his horse and stopped in the distance.
I had no choice but to admit it—he was better than me.
I slowed my horse and stopped beside him.
The Duke squinted against the sun and smiled faintly.
“You ride well,” he said.
He was much better than me, yet he spoke as if giving me a small favor. I pressed my lips together but still lifted my chin proudly.
“I was born to ride.”
He chuckled, his eyes briefly warm as they met mine.
The rush of the ride had blown away all my earlier heavy thoughts.
Even my hair was messy from the wind, but my head felt fresh and clear.
I smiled at him for no reason.
His strong features were also touched by the wind, his cheekbones slightly red.
Wearing lighter clothes today, he even looked a little boyish.
I suddenly wondered about his age. Looking at him now, it felt like he wasn’t much older than me.
I swept back my sweaty hair. My face must have been just as red as his.
The Duke jumped off his horse and headed down toward a small stream.
I followed, dismounting as well.
He bent by the water, dipping his hands in and wiping his neck.
So he had been hot after all.
I sat beside him and washed my own face.
He didn’t stare or act awkward—he just let me be. That was unusual. Most nobles would have scolded me for breaking etiquette.
Feeling freer, I washed my neck too, then let my tangled hair fall loose. My curls spilled over my shoulders.
Holding the hair tie in my mouth, I shook off the water on my hands and gathered my hair back.
A few strands fell forward, almost poking my eyes.
I was about to shake them away when—
A hand suddenly moved close to my face.
His fingers brushed past my temple, gently tucking the stray hairs behind my ear.
He didn’t touch me at all—only my hair moved.
And yet… it felt like something more.
He drew back his hand as if nothing had happened.
I lowered my eyes, tied my hair, and didn’t look at him.
The only sound was the soft flow of the stream.
When I finally looked up, he was staring at the sun, now starting to tilt down from the center of the sky.
“We came this far. Do you want to explore the forest before the hunt?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“No. I feel better now.”
“…Then that’s enough.”
He didn’t argue. He understood why he had brought me here.
And he was right. I did feel much better.
He climbed back up the hill, as if his duty was done.
I felt a faint sense of regret.
If it weren’t for this dirty, tangled situation between us…
I might have gladly worked beside him.
Because Duke Ishtan Gladinare was, in truth, a good man.
