Chapter 42
Ha!
If you’ve done something wrong, you should apologize!
“Mia-nae.”
During breakfast, Lea had said April shouldn’t hug her doll while eating and asked her to play with it afterward. April apologized to the doll, promising to play later.
After handing the doll to Lea, April focused on her meal.
Yes, April can apologize so well…
I stabbed an innocent piece of meat with my fork and chewed it thoroughly, frustrated.
Kylen, as if nothing had happened, calmly cut his meat with elegance.
His perfect composure made me feel even more petty inside.
I wasn’t ignorant of Kylen; I had intended to act gracious and accept an apology if he gave one.
But after waking with April in the morning, having a simple breakfast, working, and even sharing dinner, Kylen hadn’t apologized or even looked at me.
Kylen placed bite-sized pieces of meat onto April’s plate.
April had been cheerful all day, and as Kylen continued to take care of her during the meal, she wiggled her short legs and hummed happily.
“Princess April, when eating…”
Lea, standing behind, opened her mouth to correct her table manners.
Seeing April immediately straighten up and eat politely from the fork, I realized how children can change so much overnight.
It also struck me that there were only a few days left in the year.
Time flies. It felt like just yesterday that I ran into Kylen in the royal corridor.
Only about ten months remained of the period I had promised Kylen.
Yes. There’s much to do. A year will pass in the blink of an eye if we continue this busy pace.
I forced my narrow-minded heart to widen.
I tried to cut the meat neatly, but my knife refused to cooperate.
Life really is something.
As I grumbled, suddenly the plate of meat in front of me disappeared.
In its place appeared a plate with neatly cut meat.
My plate had originally been in front of Kylen.
With his usual calm expression, Kylen had cut the meat I had left unfinished and brought a piece to his mouth.
I stared at him. Surely he felt my gaze, but he didn’t even turn his head; he only occasionally checked if April was eating well.
I took the meat Kylen had cut and carefully chewed, afraid a smile might slip.
I decided to ignore the slight flush on his ear.
The New Year arrived.
There was no event to watch the first sunrise here, so I woke up early to see it alone. Unexpectedly, I found out Kylen’s wake-up time.
He woke up before the sun even began its day.
Rubbing my eyes and sitting up, I shivered as the cold air seeped into my nightgown.
Kylen looked at me with curiosity, having never seen me rise this early.
“Happy New Year.”
I yawned widely and offered my New Year’s greeting.
“Let’s fight! Let’s win! Aja, aja!”
Clenching my fists, I cheered and shuffled to the window in slippers.
The curtains rustled as I opened them, revealing Winterford in a pre-dawn blue light.
Beyond the pine forests surrounding the castle, the plains stretched endlessly, tinged faintly red at the horizon.
If the climate were mild, even planting wheat on that plain would be fruitful.
As the cold wind slipped through the window, I shivered again—and laughed.
Waiting for the rising sun, my first thought of the day was absurd.
“What are you looking at?”
Kylen stood beside me, having arrived silently.
“The sunrise. Waiting for the first sun of the year.”
“Why?”
“To wish for luck and reaffirm my resolutions?”
Kylen’s gaze fell on me. I tilted my head to meet his eyes.
“Resolutions?”
“Yes.”
“What are your resolutions this year?”
“It’s a secret.”
His eyebrow rose, skeptical, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Nothing much. Just to safely finish this contract marriage before winter ends, and to hope for a bit of luck in everything.”
I had worried whether I could put Winterford on track within a year and make Kylen emperor.
I almost said, “Cancel the one-year marriage! Let’s make it two years!” but stopped myself. The longer a war drags, the worse it gets.
The longer the war, the more variables, and how they would affect Kylen and me was unknown.
Fixing things quickly was the best plan, given the story was already off-track.
“Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask two things.”
The blue pre-dawn light caught Kylen’s lifted lips.
Lifted lips?
Still half-asleep, I rubbed my eyes. His face was expressionless as usual.
Kylen’s smiles usually meant sarcasm, disbelief, or shock—not genuine warmth.
“Why only one year?”
I hadn’t expected him to ask that.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned the period carefully. Six months was too short, a year and a half awkward, two years too long.
“I just thought that around this time, even if we divorced, it wouldn’t be a problem.”
I dodged the truth slightly. Smart as he was, Kylen seemed unsatisfied with my answer.
“Hmm. You’re not leaving? Caspian said you usually go to the training grounds first thing in the morning…”
I rolled my eyes slightly and changed the subject, feeling his gaze sting my side. I ignored it and stared at the rising sun.
The blue sky quickly turned red. Soon, the sun would appear.
“I’ll watch it with you.”
I turned to look at him.
“Luck, resolutions, things like that. I think I need them too.”
Kylen, freshly out of bed with messy hair and casual clothes, watched the horizon intently. I noticed the deep look in his eyes—handsome, even more than I could bear.
“The sun is rising.”
Unconsciously staring at his profile, I quickly turned back to the window. Peeking above the horizon, the sun revealed its face.
I clasped my hands and closed my eyes tightly.
“Please let Kylen achieve everything he wants!”
My first sunrise of the year had become a little different from what I originally intended.
“You’re late today.”
Caspian remarked when he saw Kylen at the training grounds later than usual.
“Is that so?”
Kylen twirled his arms and moved toward the stored wooden swords. Today, with good weather, he decided on outdoor training.
He chose a suitable wooden sword and scanned the knights already training.
Even in the cold, they were sweating. When Kylen approached, they stopped and saluted loudly.
He raised his hand, and they dispersed, returning to training.
Kylen warmed up lightly and began sparring with Caspian.
Bang!
Their wooden swords clashed loudly, echoing across the training grounds—a sound that made the knights stop in their tracks.
“Today, you’re especially light on your feet.”
Caspian panted and flexed his sore hands.
“Where are you pretending to be weak?”
He shook his head. Caspian, once unmatched in strength, had frequently discovered his limits since meeting Kylen.
“Then, today, I won’t hold back.”
Kylen’s one-sided smirk was both charming and intimidating. Caspian charged forward.
