Chapter 13
As Ian approached her, Ariadne suddenly felt as if her throat was being choked. The unpleasant sensation of all the fond memories she had held suddenly fading swept through her body.
She didn’t want to see him up close.
“…….”
Ariadne raised her hand into the air, signaling him not to come closer. Ian paused briefly at the gesture but soon closed the distance between them with a serious expression. He even looked slightly pitiful.
Ariadne was annoyed that he appeared right in front of her at a time when she was thinking about him. It felt like he was forcibly holding onto a thread that had already been severed.
Once, they had fit together so well.
When Ian reached within arm’s length, he reached out to touch her face. She turned her head to avoid his hand.
“Ariadna.”
Hearing his voice calling her, Ariadne momentarily felt as if she had returned to the past.
“……A bit late, aren’t you?”
She greeted him casually, as she normally did. After all, he always arrived early at the hunting tournament, so this remark was natural.
“……Ah.”
For Ian, her words seemed double-edged: not only noting that he arrived late at the palace… but also implying that it was already too late because her heart was closed off.
“…….”
At her words, Ian shrank slightly, as if he had done something wrong. Always so confident and radiant, he now seemed diminished, which unsettled Ariadne. But there was no way to forcibly restore a broken bond.
Ariadne stared at him silently. Hesitating, Ian finally opened his mouth with difficulty.
“I came… because there’s something I really want to say. Ariadne.”
“…….”
It was completely different from his scolding insistence that she apologize to Ashley. Ariadne found his sudden change in demeanor strange. She had expected the usual nagging about apologizing to Ashley, yet Ian looked inexplicably pitiful.
Her gaze remained fixed on him as his complexion looked unwell.
“Ariadne.”
Ian gently placed a hand on her shoulder. With his other hand, he brushed his own face and let out a faint sigh.
“I… I think I went mad for a while.”
Suddenly?
Ariadne couldn’t comprehend his sudden shift in behavior.
“…….”
“I did something terrible, Ariadne.”
Ian’s voice trembled. That tremor conveyed itself fully to Ariadne, leaving her momentarily speechless. She lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. His brown hair swept softly aside, and his expression looked deeply pitiful. The slightly moist blue of his eyes reflected her image faintly.
“I… I demanded duties from you without considering your situation. I’m sorry. Now… now I’ve come to my senses.”
Ariadne wore a sad expression as she thought of the faded past—a final courtesy to someone who had illuminated so many memories for her.
Ian’s hand, resting on her shoulder as if he might kneel, tightened slightly. Ariadne lifted his hand from her shoulder and met his gaze again.
“Ian.”
She called him softly. Ian couldn’t look at her and spoke again.
“I can’t bear to think of you leaving me…”
Ariadne froze. He must have heard about her meeting Diego. Only now could she understand Ian’s mindset. He wasn’t truly apologizing out of genuine remorse—he simply couldn’t accept that someone familiar was leaving him.
It was like someone refusing to let go of an object they once owned.
Ariadne called him again.
“Ian.”
Only after she called once more did they finally meet eyes.
“…….”
“We can’t… Ian.”
“…….”
His eyes trembled violently.
“When you defended Ashley instead of me… it was already irreversible, Ian.”
Ariadne looked at him calmly.
“You just don’t want to let go of what you had, Ian.”
Ian’s composed, gentle face crumbled completely before her.
“We’re… really finished.”
Ian laughed through his tears. It seemed he had sensed the end of their relationship. Ariadne stepped forward, leaving behind the man who had become a remnant of her past.
She passed him without a glance, leaving his hand floating in the air, his face filled with despair.
She resolved firmly to sever the tie. She would not allow herself lingering attachment. Her heart ached only because of the past she had spent with him.
That was all.
‘Goodbye, Ian…’
Ariadne took steps forward without looking back. With each step, the layers of the past that had bound her peeled away. The obligations as the eldest daughter of the Count and the responsibilities of being Ian’s fiancée—now meaningless burdens—she shook them off completely.
Yet… she didn’t know why tears fell. It should have been a relief.
Perhaps it wasn’t longing for Ian… but regret over the past years she had dedicated with all her effort. The countless nights she had expected to receive love from her family and from Ian—how futile it all seemed.
“Ha…”
Ariadne slowed her hurried steps, catching her breath. She folded away the suffocating feelings, letting them pass like a sudden summer night rain.
“…….”
She stood still, looking out the window along the corridor. The sun was setting. The red sun dissolved into the deep blue sky.
“Lady… Ariadne?”
Startled by the voice, Ariadne turned her head. There stood Canin.
“Ah, Your Highness.”
She quickly faced him and bowed politely.
“No need to be so formal with me.”
Ariadne smiled inwardly at his awkward words. When would this man ever become fluent in the Imperial tongue, she wondered. Then her gaze fell on his attire. She stared at him intently. Noticing her stare, Canin chuckled sheepishly.
“This outfit looks odd here. In our Empire, it’s quite normal.”
“You should say, ‘It may look odd here, but in our Empire, it’s normal.’ Still, you’ve improved a lot, Your Highness.”
Ariadne habitually corrected him, and they shared an embarrassed smile.
“Ah…”
What stood out most was the jacket he wore.
In Ariadne’s southern Empire, men’s jackets rarely reached past the knees. But his jacket almost touched his ankles and was made from a very unique material.
The wide collar emphasized a slim waist, making it look somewhat like a narrow dress, but the material made it undeniably masculine. Only after staring for a while did Ariadne realize it was made of leather. Leather was rarely used in her southern Empire except for belts or small decorations.
“What is that?”
Ariadne noticed something long in his hand.
“Oh, this is a gun… it’s called a gun.”
He held it out so she could see it clearly.
“Oh! I’ve heard of these. In the Northern Empire, they use guns instead of swords or spears.”
“Exactly. They can kill from a distance in a single shot.”
“…Hmm.”
Canin, clad in Northern Empire attire and armed with a gun, looked distinctly different from everyone around him. His skin was paler than southern men’s, his black hair contrasting sharply with his fair complexion. Tall and handsome, he had an exotic charm.
“…I have a question, Lady Ariadne.”
“Yes. Please.”
“Here… if someone wins the hunting tournament, does His Majesty grant them anything?”
“Ah…”
Ariadne recalled past winners. Ian had once won as well… but she shook her head.
“Yes. As long as it’s not some ridiculous request like asking for the country, they usually grant it.”
“I will win.”
Startled by the sudden declaration, Ariadne’s eyes widened. Canin calmly clarified.
“Excuse me?”
“I said, if I win…”
Ariadne smiled slightly at his determined lips.
“My goodness. You, a prince from this unfamiliar southern Empire, are going to win? Aren’t you underestimating the men of this Empire?”
Canin furrowed his brow.
“That’s something I’ll only know once I try.”
“Alright… so if you do win?”
Canin gazed at her intently, then slowly spoke.
“Then you shall become mine.”
“What?”
Ariadne was so shocked that she raised her voice. What on earth did he mean? Even knowing it was probably a slip, she was flustered. Canin’s ears turned bright red, realizing his mistake.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.”
He was usually cold and emotionless, almost machine-like—perhaps due to coming from a technologically advanced nation. Even now, he seemed to creak like a mechanism.
“I mean… I request that you allow me to take you to our country—”
Before he could finish, another voice interrupted.
“What nonsense is this?”
Ian had appeared behind her.
