CHAPTER 59…………….
The hot liquor slid down Etisha’s throat. Even though it was only a single glass to share, drinking in the morning felt burdensome. Etisha held out the half-filled cup to Cayenne.
“……”
Cayenne silently took the cup from her.
Their hands brushed for an instant.
“Ah!”
Startled, Etisha let go of the cup, but Cayenne reacted with the swiftness of a beast and caught it before it fell. Luckily, not a single drop was spilled. The ritual could proceed without mishap.
“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I was startled…”
Etisha quickly curled her hand as if to hide it. In trying to keep distance from him, she ended up looking as though she were avoiding him.
“It’s fine. No harm done.”
“Yes…”
“We can continue the ritual without issue.”
Cayenne slowly looked into Etisha’s eyes. But she kept her gaze on the ground, refusing to meet his.
Her long hair even covered half her face.
“……”
Cayenne’s brow furrowed slightly.
For some reason, her refusal to look at him gnawed at him. Restless, he called out impulsively:
“Lady Etisha.”
“Yes…?”
Her head remained lowered.
“Lady Etisha.”
He called again. She thought it strange—Cayenne was ignoring the ritual and calling her instead.
“Yes, Your Grace…”
At last she lifted her head slightly.
But the moment their eyes met, she quickly looked down again. Her clear blue eyes vanished as though to torment him further.
“……”
The hand holding the cup trembled faintly.
First documents, then penholders, then desks—now even the cup seemed ready to snap in two.
“Um… Your Grace…”
Etisha whispered softly.
“The ritual… should continue…”
Cayenne snapped back to his senses.
“Yes. You’re right.”
Suppressing the fire rising inside him, he drained the remaining liquor in a single motion. But the hot alcohol on his already-heated insides only made matters worse.
Why did he feel so unsettled, so irritated?
He set the empty cup down firmly on the chapel altar, then turned away first.
“Then, I’ll see you at noon.”
Without even glancing back, he strode out, not even offering her his usual escort.
Etisha watched him go, then closed her eyes with a bitter smile.
So it’s like that…
It was clear he must have thought the same as she did.
He must also feel the need to keep distance from me.
Otherwise, his attitude wouldn’t have changed so drastically. It hurt her chest, but at the same time she thought perhaps it was better this way.
If only things stayed like today.
Tomorrow, and the day after, and from then on—if things stayed like this, maybe she would no longer fall for Cayenne.
By noon, matters had only worsened.
Cayenne looked at Etisha, and Etisha avoided him. And the more he watched her avoid him, the more unstable he became.
The situation was even more dire than in the morning.
They sat through the ritual without a single word, drinking only the liquor. At this rate, it truly was nothing but a marriage of convenience—an empty contract.
“……Haa.”
Leaving the chapel, Cayenne strode heavily toward his study. The wedding was tomorrow, yet there was still work to be done today.
Sitting at his new desk, he began reviewing papers. Needless to say, a few documents and penholders were broken in the process.
“Click. All defective goods, it seems.”
He clicked his tongue, pushing the pens and papers aside. He would need to personally inspect the production line soon.
Just then, a knock sounded.
“Enter.”
At this hour, it could only be Valdefram. As expected, he entered, carrying a sealed envelope.
He stepped forward and offered it.
“The report you requested. On Lady Etisha’s supposed lover…”
Cayenne’s eyebrow arched.
He had demanded every detail. Yet the envelope was too small and thin to contain a full report.
Reading his expression, Valdefram explained hastily.
“Your Grace. Lady Etisha has no lover.”
“……”
“It’s certain.”
Cayenne broke the seal. The document inside confirmed Valdefram’s words exactly.
Etisha had no lover. No male acquaintances. Not even close female friends.
Then who had she kissed? Who had she embraced?
Cayenne tore the envelope in half.
“Valdefram. Are you sure this investigation was thorough?”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“The man might not be a noble. He could be a commoner. A servant, even.”
“We investigated commoners and servants alike. All clean.”
“Even someone from long ago?”
“We traced back ten years. Still nothing.”
Cayenne shredded the report to pieces. Paper flakes scattered across the pile of broken pens and crumpled documents. More casualties.
“Your Grace… forgive me, but may I ask one question?”
Valdefram lowered his voice.
“Why are you so convinced Lady Etisha has a lover?”
Cayenne’s gaze turned lethal. Valdefram instantly regretted speaking.
“Forget I asked.”
He backtracked hastily. But Cayenne gave an unexpected reply.
“‘Kiss me. Hold me.’ Those words are for a lover.”
“…What?”
“She said it in her sleep. Dreaming of him, no doubt.”
Valdefram fell silent.
A man of the North, he was not well-versed in romance, but he understood the basics.
Unbelievable.
It seemed his lord, Duke Cayenne, had fallen for Lady Etisha. And deeply.
So I’ve become the dog in this tale…
This was clearly love. And Valdefram, now, was the loyal hound.
“Your Grace,” he said carefully, clearing his throat. “My thoughts differ. Considering Lady Etisha’s upbringing and circumstances, those words were not for a lover but…”
“…?”
“…for her late mother.”
Cayenne froze.
“Out of longing, she must have asked in her dream—to be kissed, to be held by her mother.”
“I… see.”
“Lady Etisha has no lover. No friends. No mother. She is… a lonely person.”
“……”
Cayenne ran a hand through his black hair, undoing its perfect order. The gesture left him looking uncharacteristically unguarded.
“So that was it…”
He muttered like a sigh.
For three days, what delusions and misjudgments had he let himself believe? He could barely trust himself.
“Your Grace. Tomorrow is the wedding. All preparations are complete.”
“…Yes.”
“Shall the plan proceed unchanged?”
Valdefram’s words carried weight. From the beginning, Cayenne’s marriage to Etisha had been for revenge.
The wedding was the final confirmation stage.
Etisha was bait. A sacrificial pawn.
And yet… things had turned this way.
Pressing his furrowed brow, Cayenne answered, voice faintly unsteady.
“Of course. On the day of the wedding, confirm the identity of every single person entering Wintel Castle. Leave no gaps. This time, they will not escape.”
“Yes. Even with inside help, they won’t get away.”
“Good. Capture them. Bring them before me.”
“As you command.”
Valdefram bowed deeply. Cayenne dismissed him and leaned back in his chair.
He tilted his head, staring up at the ceiling. The chandelier’s flames wavered before his eyes.
“……”
Tomorrow was the wedding.
If all went as planned, tomorrow Cayenne would finally meet the one he longed to kill.
The very person who had cast his life into hell.
Day after day, he had lived with the thought of murder. He honed his sword for that purpose. He amassed power to crush that enemy.
And yet… another face kept appearing in his mind.
Not his foe’s.
On the eve of the wedding, Cayenne thought:
So that’s what it was…
He pushed his hair back again. The chandelier light shimmered, shaking his thoughts loose.
She only longed for her mother’s warmth, and dreamed of her.
Etisha.
Her face filled the ceiling of lights above him.
Why won’t you kiss me?
Why won’t you hold me?
Cayenne closed his dark eyes and sank fully against the chair. An unknown, swelling emotion threatened to swallow him whole.
At first, he had only intended to use Etisha as a tool.
Later, her smiling face, freed from her abusive household, lingered in his mind.
After that, her suffering from the coma disease concerned him.
He only wanted her not to hurt. To live peacefully until her time came.
And now…
His thoughts, once flowing freely, stumbled to a halt.
And now… what is it?
He could not say.
Like sinking into a deep black swamp, he lost all sense of direction.
Far away, he thought he could hear Etisha’s song.
