CHAPTER 31……………………
He opened his mouth as if trying to say something but kept closing it again. His briefly wavering gaze dropped downward. After shaking his head weakly, he suddenly stood up.
“It’s time to return to the capital.”
At those words, I quickly stood up too.
“What? We came all this way, and you’re saying we’re just going back?”
We had finally come out, just the two of us, and now he wanted to head back already? No way. Who knew when we’d get another chance for a date like this? We had to enjoy it while we could.
“Is there something you want to do?”
“If there is, will you do it for me?”
“……”
Taking his silence as a yes, I cried out excitedly,
“Let’s go see the ocean!”
“Wow, this is amazing. It’s my first time seeing the sea.”
Well, in this lifetime, anyway.
Neither Bria, my inland hometown, nor the capital had such a vast ocean. The wide-open view of Mathias’s coast was truly breathtaking. The bright blue water sparkled so vividly that just looking at it made me feel refreshed.
Cities were nice, but sometimes, you needed to be in nature.
“You’re going to get drenched, and you don’t even have a change of clothes.”
Unlike him—standing motionless on the sand like a statue—I was gleefully splashing in the shallows.
“I’ll just buy something on the way back!”
“You’re always so reckless.”
We’d come all the way to the seaside, yet he looked so unimpressed. I hadn’t expected him to play in the waves, but I thought he’d at least dip a hand in the water.
“Come on, relax a little! Think of it as a mini vacation.”
“I don’t really like nature. Why leave a cozy, well-built room just to come out here?”
What a boring man. Sure, he’d come because I asked, but did he have to complain this much?
Splash!
I splashed water toward him in mock irritation. I’d only meant to get him a little wet, but I must’ve put more force behind it than I intended. From head to toe, he was soaked.
“Wh–why are you coming closer?”
For the first time, he stepped into the water, moving toward me with a dangerous glint in his eye. I instinctively backed away.
“Why are you avoiding me?”
“Because you’re scaring me!”
I darted around him like a slippery fish, and he looked increasingly frustrated.
“How are you so fast even in the water? Stay still for once!”
“Would you stay still if you were me, Your Grace?”
I got so caught up in showing off my otter-like agility that I lost track of how close the “hunter” had gotten. And honestly, I was just having too much fun playing in the water again.
“Got you!”
He lunged at me from a distance. Unable to withstand his weight, I lost my balance, and we both went plunging beneath the surface.
“Cough—! I swallowed water because of you!”
“You started it. Let’s stop, I’m tired.”
Apparently exhausted, he trudged out of the water first. Still full of energy, I grabbed his hand as soon as he reached the sand.
“What now?”
“Let’s run!”
Like a scene from a youth drama, we ran barefoot across the beach, drawing everyone’s attention.
After sprinting freely through the open space, sweat beaded on my forehead. At first he didn’t react, but soon enough, laughter burst out of him. Before I knew it, he’d passed me and was running ahead, pulling me along joyfully. My chest felt lighter than before.
After running for a long while, we finally collapsed, completely out of energy.
“Ugh, I’m exhausted. I got sand in my mouth—pfft, pfft.”
The coastal winds of Mathias were stronger than I’d expected. I spat out the sand while he panted beside me.
“See? Why did we have to run in the first place?”
Honestly, he’d been laughing the hardest a moment ago, and now he was grumbling again. There’s always that one person who complains after having fun.
“By the way, everyone’s already left the beach. Do people here get tired of the sea or something?”
I looked around. The spectators from earlier were gone. Only the two of us remained.
“That’s because the sun’s about to set. People leave before it gets dark.”
“The sun’s setting? But it’s still so bright!”
“Mathias is like that—one moment it’s bright, and before you know it, it’s pitch-dark.”
“Oh, come on, that can’t be—”
Before I even finished my sentence, the beach suddenly plunged into darkness, as if by magic. No matter how much I blinked, my eyes couldn’t adjust.
“What do we do? It’s too dark to ride back, isn’t it?”
“It’d be dangerous. We should’ve left earlier. You’re the one who wanted to see the ocean.”
His constant scolding made my fists clench in irritation.
“So you knew the sun sets fast here, didn’t you? You didn’t tell me on purpose—trying something shady, huh?”
“Shady?! You’re the one who wanted to come!”
He looked genuinely offended.
“You could have warned me! Don’t tell me you planned not to return from the start—”
“What are you talking about?! I just forgot how quickly it gets dark here!”
So much for the earlier warm atmosphere—now we were bickering like old times again, stranded alone on a pitch-dark beach.
“There’s a villa nearby—the Seymour estate. We can stay there for the night. Don’t look at me like I didn’t plan anything.”
“Sure, sure. I’m the careless one, sorry.”
Ignoring my sarcasm, he led the way to the villa. But no matter how hard we pulled, the door wouldn’t open. No one came out to greet us—or even respond.
“What… why isn’t it opening?”
He banged on the door, growing more frantic.
“Hello? Anyone there?”
While he was busy knocking, I looked around and spotted a small notice.
“Your Grace! It says they’re on vacation!”
“Those fools! They’re supposed to rotate vacations, not all leave at once!”
“Wow, truly the man of ‘many plans,’ huh?”
As soon as I teased him, a chill ran through me. Soaked from earlier, my whole body began to tremble in the cold night air.
“What do we do now? I’m freezing…”
He looked troubled for a moment—then launched into another lecture.
“That’s what you get for playing in the water with no spare clothes! Of course you’re cold.”
“You think I don’t know that?”
His nagging made me even more upset. As if I wasn’t miserable enough already.
“…There’s no helping it, then.”
“What are you—hey!”
Before I could react, he pulled me inside his long, heavy coat. I ended up pressed against him from behind. His awkward throat-clearing sounded right next to my ear.
“Ahem. Don’t get the wrong idea. This isn’t anything improper. Just bear with it—it’s better than catching a bad cold.”
I couldn’t tell whether the goosebumps rising on my skin were from the cold or from feeling his warm breath so close to my ear. If anyone saw us like this, they’d probably think we were some overly affectionate couple.
“Where are we going now?”
“Probably best to head back to the orphanage. We can stay there for tonight.”
Still huddled together under his coat, we arrived at the orphanage. Thankfully, the night-shift teacher let us in. She lit a fire in the fireplace, letting us dry our soaked clothes and hair. Sitting side by side under the same blanket, we finally began to warm up.
“Good thing tomorrow’s my day off. Ah, but I’m definitely going to get scolded for staying out all night without telling my father.”
“Well, a daughter who runs around like a wild foal deserves a scolding.”
“What? A foal?”
After sipping the warm wine the teacher handed us, the chill in my body finally faded, replaced by a pleasant warmth.
“Phew. I feel alive again.”
Next to me, he quietly drank his wine, staring absently into the flickering flames.
“Your Grace.”
“What.”
“Why did you look so gloomy earlier, back at the orphanage?”
“…I remembered something.”
“Can you tell me what it was?”
I worried he might shut me out, but surprisingly, he answered right away.
“My childhood…”
