Chapter 22
When their eyes met, Medilliane smiled brightly, holding a tray with a small medicine and a glass of water.
“You…!”
Winter felt her stomach flip at that smile.
“I noticed you didn’t look well, so I brought some medicine.”
“Ha, really! Medicine?”
Winter couldn’t help but feel exasperated. Medilliane had completely ignored all the messages she had sent, yet now acted as if nothing had happened.
Unaware of the storm raging inside Winter, Medilliane stepped forward. His large hand lightly touched Winter’s forehead.
“Hmm, seems like you have a bit of a fever…”
“Don’t you dare!”
Winter shouted impulsively and swatted his hand away. Medilliane’s eyes went wide in surprise.
Meeting his gaze, Winter felt a sudden twinge of guilt and rolled her eyes subtly.
“Why are you upset?”
“W-What? I’m not upset!”
“Then you’re happy?”
Medilliane’s eyes curved into a beautiful smile.
“I am happy.”
Facing that expression up close, Winter felt her ears heat up. Really? He says it’s not flirtation? And yet… this is maddening.
The fact that he was even more handsome than she imagined didn’t help. Everyone said he had the most striking beauty in the novel’s world, but he didn’t need to be this stunning!
His fine silver hair fell elegantly, and the shadows cast by his long silver eyelashes highlighted his jewel-like red eyes. His smile never wavered, enchanting to the point of leaving one dazed.
Flawless, smooth skin, broad shoulders, and a well-muscled body were on full display, the thin clothes accentuating every line.
“Milady…?”
Startled by his voice, Winter lifted her head and realized she had once again been caught admiring him. She quickly turned away, pretending she hadn’t. From above, she heard a soft laugh.
“It’s good to see you again. It’s been a while.”
His low voice sent shivers down her spine, resonating in her ears as though a siren’s song. Winter shook her head, trying to respond curtly.
“G-Glad? Don’t lie!”
At her words, Medilliane’s eyebrows drooped in a pitiful expression, and Winter struggled to suppress a curse that threatened to escape her lips.
In the original story, this was a completely self-centered, arrogant human, utterly ruthless and obnoxious. Yet now, Medilliane was sweetly obedient, using his beauty to charm her, a version Winter had never known.
“Why do you think I’m lying?”
Medilliane took a careful step closer. Winter instinctively moved back the same distance. He bit his lip gently.
“Did I do something wrong?”
His downward gaze was unbearably sorrowful, as if tears would fall at any moment.
“I’ve been trying to become a fine person, just as you said. And I’ve been waiting only for you, keeping my promise to come meet you. But it seems… you’re not very happy to see me.”
Winter froze under Medilliane’s lifted, red eyes. That once villainous, ruthless Medilliane now looked pitiful enough that Winter felt like hugging him. It was like a full-blown crush had settled firmly in her mind.
“Have I… displeased you? If you don’t want to see me, I can just put this back on,”
He held out a mask he had brought from somewhere. Seeing the familiar rabbit mask, Winter’s expression twisted. The unpleasant memory she had briefly forgotten instantly resurfaced.
“Get that out of my sight immediately. And… now that I think about it…”
Amid the chaos, she remembered something.
“What do you mean by that?”
“What?”
“You called me a flirt.”
“Oh, that.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected topic, Medilliane’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Winter racked her brain for a moment, checking if she had dug her own grave with her words.
“At the alley back then.”
“The alley, what?”
“I saw… you admiring my body…”
“Ah! Stop saying that!”
Winter screamed and covered his mouth. Indeed, she had confirmed it—her question was a self-dug pitfall.
The room fell silent for a moment. Awkward, Winter removed her hand from Medilliane’s mouth.
As she stepped back with a creaking floor, Medilliane spoke softly:
“Please tell me why you dislike me. I’ll fix it. I’ll try harder. Okay, milady?”
Hearing his almost pleading tone, Winter gave up completely. She had always been the type to give Medilliane her all, without hesitation.
After eight years, seeing her favorite person radiating such brilliance and speaking so earnestly, who could resist?
“…I don’t dislike you.”
At her sigh-like answer, Medilliane’s eyes went wide, then he beamed brightly. Just hearing she didn’t dislike him seemed like gaining the whole world.
“I was just a bit… upset.”
Winter muttered awkwardly, looking away.
“Upset about what?”
“That’s obvious…!”
Winter’s shout trailed off, exasperated. How childish must she seem after all this time?
“Why didn’t you reply to my letters?”
Muttering this without confidence, Winter made Medilliane flinch.
“Letters, you say?”
“Yes. I sent gifts on your birthday along with letters.”
At Winter’s words, Medilliane’s expression stiffened. He hadn’t expected her to bring that up.
Annoyed, Winter stepped closer.
“For three whole years! I lost count how many times I sent them!”
Actually, she could count—exactly fourteen times.
“And you never even acknowledged receiving them. And now, you say you’re happy to see me? Really? I can’t believe it.”
Winter rattled off the resentment that had been building over the past three years, shaking her head.
Medilliane’s gaze dropped low, deeply serious.
“Where did you send the letters?”
Winter tilted her head for a moment, then answered obediently:
“…To the Jenima Trading Company.”
“Jenima… the Jenima Trading Company, huh.”
He seemed to think for a moment, then smiled brightly.
“Now I think I understand what happened.”
“Understand what?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
But Winter still felt frustrated—what did he think he understood? And how was it nothing?
Medilliane tidied Winter’s disheveled hair and said:
“I received your gifts properly, milady. I couldn’t reply immediately due to certain circumstances…”
He paused, lips curling into an even more defined line.
“I’ll prepare a proper reply soon. So don’t be upset anymore.”
Stepping even closer, Winter instinctively raised her head—and froze as his forehead touched hers.
“You… right now…”
“Welcome back, Winter.”
Winter hastily covered her forehead and tried to step back, but there was no room left. She was pressed against the wall, startled.
Yet Medilliane, noticing her flinching, simply smiled.
“W-What are you doing all of a sudden?”
“A welcome.”
He boldly claimed that pressing his forehead to hers was a welcome, leaving Winter utterly speechless.
“We’re not kids anymore—ten or nine years old—what is this…”
Muttering in disbelief, Winter noticed Medilliane’s expression darken.
“I’m sorry if this was unpleasant. I was just so happy to see you again…”
His face looked like the saddest thing in the world, tears threatening to fall at any moment. Winter’s jaw dropped.
Had he not finished adolescence? Her words seemed to make his emotions swing wildly.
Fearing he might cry after meeting his favorite person for the first time in eight years, Winter quickly waved her hands.
“No, it wasn’t unpleasant.”
“Then it was good?”
At his sudden question, Winter pressed her lips shut. Was there any way to express that her heart was pounding violently because her favorite person kissed her forehead?
Medilliane noticed the subtle blush on her ears and tongue-clicked.
“You should step back. Too close.”
Winter pushed his shoulder gently, holding back a deep sigh. Her ears burned even more; being alone with him in this room made her unusually self-conscious.
“Milady.”
“Yes?”
Medilliane stepped back as she wished, still keenly watching her reactions.
His eyes caught the faint redness in her ears. Then his gaze narrowed.
“So you’re not completely unaffected, huh?”
A direct hit. Winter thought she had hidden it well, but now she removed her hands from his shoulders.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.”
Nothing indeed. Winter’s annoyance grew at his teasing smile, which seemed sweeter than before.
Medilliane whispered softly:
“Rest well. A grueling schedule will start soon.”
Watching his retreating figure, Winter wondered:
“Wait… we could just take the boat and get there. What grueling schedule?”
