TYWML 12

Chapter 12

After a long hesitation, she finally picked just one thing.

“I’d like to take Lucy, my horse.”

It was the horse her father had given her as a gift on her eighth birthday. Once a small foal, Lucy had grown into a fine and capable horse thanks to Riena’s devoted care.

Not only did her father and the knights desire the horse, but even her stepmother, the Countess of Dyke, had her eyes on Lucy to give to her son, Aaron.

She hadn’t thought about taking Lucy with her when she was planning to run away secretly, but maybe now she could take her openly. Still, even as she spoke, she didn’t truly believe it would be possible.

What Cassel had said—”your belongings”—likely referred to things like clothes, jewelry, and other small personal items. Horses were difficult to transport and even harder to manage once taken.

So, with a pessimistic mindset, she expected rejection—yet to her surprise, a positive answer came.

“Lucy? Ah yes, the white horse you cherish. Understood. We can have her pull the carriage.”

Unable to believe his easy approval, Riena asked in a dazed voice:

“Can I really take her with me?”

Cassel, again without hesitation, replied,

“If that is what you wish, then of course. I know how much you care for Lucy—I can’t ask you to leave her behind. Is there anything else you need?”

“No,” Riena answered firmly.

“The one trunk I left in the carriage is enough.”

“Will you not be bringing a personal maid with you?” Cassel glanced at Joanna, who was standing to the side, keeping watch. Riena followed his gaze toward her.

Joanna waited with a face full of hope, anticipating that Riena would name her. Her freckled cheeks were flushed pink with excitement.

Riena forced herself to hold back the anger rising in her throat and spoke as calmly as possible.

“I don’t need one.”

“M-My lady?” Joanna approached her, disbelief all over her face.

“My lady, what about me?”

Her expression, as if she were betrayed by someone she had trusted her whole life, seemed fake in Riena’s eyes. She dodged Joanna’s hand, which was reaching for hers, and asked just one question.

“Why did you do it?”

“Huh?”

Joanna tried to act composed, but she couldn’t hide the trembling of her pupils. Riena looked her straight in the eyes and repeated the question.

“Why did you do it?”

“My lady…”

“You’re not even pretending not to understand. If you wanted to play dumb, you should’ve asked me what I meant. That would’ve made me hesitate, even for a moment.”

Riena let out a bitter laugh. She had suspected it, but hearing it confirmed still left her feeling hollow.

When her letter to Raul was caught by the Countess, Riena had trusted Joanna.

Joanna had been with her since she was a child. Despite their difference in status, Riena had always thought of her more as a friend than a maid.

That’s why she had confided in Joanna—about the letter to Raul, about the plan to escape in the night.

Besides, hadn’t Joanna even been slapped by the Countess? There was no reason to doubt her.

But Riena’s suspicions had started after their carriage got stuck in the mud. Her reaction at the time had seemed… off. And when the captain of the knights appeared, those suspicions deepened.

Then came the moment Joanna, after meeting with the Countess, let out a sigh of relief. That’s when suspicion became certainty.

The one who had betrayed her, who had told the Countess everything, was Joanna. The letter to Raul hadn’t been found by chance—Joanna had delivered it herself.

“I had no choice!” Joanna cried. “The Countess said she’d fire me if I didn’t!”

“I understand,” Riena replied. “I won’t hold it against you. I know how desperate you must have been.”

“My lady…”

“But you were that desperate to stay in this household—so stay. Isn’t that right?”

Joanna crumbled at Riena’s firm tone. She dropped to her knees and clung to Riena’s legs.

“My lady! I swear I’ll be loyal to you from now on! No matter what happens, I’ll only listen to you! Please don’t abandon me!”

“…”

“If you leave me behind, the Countess will throw me out! Once the rumors spread, I won’t be able to show my face anywhere in the territory!”

“And why should I care about that, Joanna?”

At the cold tone Riena had never used before, Joanna unconsciously loosened her grip and looked up.

Riena’s purple eyes stared down at her without wavering. Joanna saw then that her mind was already made up—nothing she did could change it.

Tears began to flow from Joanna’s eyes.

“My lady, please… show mercy…”

“Not punishing you is the last mercy I can offer.”

Without a shred of hesitation, Riena turned to Cassel.

“As I said, that’s everything.”

“Understood. I’ll give the order to prepare. In the meantime, it would be best for you to change your clothes.”

Cassel gestured to Ben, who quickly disappeared toward the stables.

Riena, noticing Cassel was soaked through, made a suggestion.

“In that case, Your Grace should also change before we leave. Even the nearest magic portal takes a while to reach. You might catch a cold.”

The idea of a Sword Master catching a cold from a bit of rain was absurd, but still—Riena couldn’t help worrying about him.

“I’ve already packed up most of my father’s belongings, but I think there are still a few sets of clothes left. I’ll have a maid bring them. Please come inside.”

Cassel looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

“If that is your wish, I shall follow it.”

She also offered the knight who came with Cassel a chance to change, but he declined, saying he’d only get soaked again on horseback.

“Very well. Then guide only the Duke inside.”

At Riena’s gesture, the butler quickly led Cassel into the mansion.

Riena hurried to her room, put on the first outfit she grabbed, and tucked a single ribbon from her pocket into her hand before coming back downstairs.

She glanced around the mansion once more, lost in memory—until her eyes widened at what she saw.

“…Ah.”

Standing in front of the mansion was Johannes Belliar, dressed in light loungewear. He stood still in the rain, blankly staring at Riena before slowly walking toward her. His aide rushed to cover him with an umbrella, but Johannes waved it away.

He approached her directly in the pouring rain. His damp hair clung to his face, and his forced smile made him look fragile—like a lily swaying in the wind.

“Riena.”

Just as Johannes reached out to her, Cassel stepped in front of her and blocked his path.

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Johannes acknowledged him.

“It’s been a while, Lord Winkler. Or should I say… Duke Winkler now?”

“…”

Cassel said nothing and simply stared him down. Johannes continued with a smile, unfazed.

“A man who should be up in the North—what’s he doing all the way down here in the South?”

“Could say the same about you, Lord Belliar. Shouldn’t you be enjoying the capital’s parties?”

“I came in search of a fragrant flower. Now, if you’ll excuse me—I’d like to speak with Lady Dyke alone.”

“Whatever you want to say, I think she can hear it just fine from here.”

Riena reached out and touched Cassel’s arm.

“It’s okay. I’d like to speak with Lord Belliar for a moment.”

Still, Cassel didn’t budge.

“Please,” she added softly.

With a conflicted look, Cassel glanced between the two of them before placing the umbrella in her hand and stepping back. Once Riena saw he had distanced himself, she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Lord Belliar.”

“…”

“I don’t think I can accept your proposal. I know it’s a terrible way to say it, but… things turned out this way.”

After a moment of silence, Johannes spoke.

“I always thought it was pathetic when a man said this, but still—I want to ask.”

“Yes?”

“Why is it that Duke Winkler is acceptable, but I’m not?”

To answer that, she would have to talk about the contract she made with Cassel. But she couldn’t speak about it directly—so she stayed silent.

‘If it hadn’t been Cassel Winkler, things might’ve gone differently.’

If Johannes had proposed a fake marriage for strategic purposes, she would have refused. Even if Raul, her trusted childhood friend, had said the same, she would’ve turned him down.

But Cassel was different.

For some reason, her heart leaned toward him. She didn’t know why.

Was it because he was her childhood friend? That alone wouldn’t have moved her.

But when he looked up at her, holding that crumpled bouquet, something inside her had changed.

Maybe it was because of the dreams that had haunted her the past two months.

In those dreams, she had fallen for a man blindly devoted to her—and Cassel had the exact same face and voice as that man.

Whether the man in her dreams truly was Cassel, she had no way of knowing. Even if he was, that didn’t necessarily mean they were the same.

After all, those meetings in the dream never happened in real life. Cassel didn’t even know what dreams she’d had.