Chapter 25
“Wow. Your fiancée is meeting another guy.”
Arkin sneered.
“I know.”
Damian replied calmly.
Even though he could only see the back of her round head, he knew it was her. Even without the sparkling hairpin that usually caught the light when she moved, he would have recognized her. Her pale hair, the way she walked, the glimpse of her ankle beneath her skirt—that was enough.
It had been a long time since he learned how to pick out Tisslin’s gaze among countless others. Since when had he been able to find her in a crowd? He tried to remember.
Then his eyes dropped to the back of her hand.
Tisslin was standing face-to-face with a man he didn’t recognize. As the man kept talking, he lightly brushed the back of her hand. She flinched and quickly pulled it away.
“Oh. He’s making a move.”
Arkin had already crossed his arms and leaned against a tree, watching like it was a show. One word from his casual comment stuck in Damian’s ears.
“Making a move?”
Then what about that day at the Luxen estate, when she rode back with him on horseback… was that also—?
Damian looked down at the back of his own hand, where the wound was slowly healing, and let out a faint laugh.
No way. She seemed completely set on breaking off the engagement.
Otherwise, why would she be chatting so openly with a stranger at the entrance used by the Knight Department students? She must feel his gaze, yet she stubbornly refused to look his way. This was clearly a protest directed at him.
“Does Tiss think she can break off the engagement by doing this?”
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Arkin’s eyes widened.
“Break off the engagement? You two are breaking up?”
Ah.
Damian touched the corner of his lips. He had spoken carelessly.
“We’ll talk about that later.”
Quick-witted as ever, Arkin held back his curiosity. Meanwhile, Damian’s eyes never left Tisslin. He watched as they stood up, as she accepted the man’s pocket watch and returned it, as the man wrapped an arm around her shoulders—and as she stepped into his embrace.
Back at Luxen, whenever Damian stood guard from a distance near Adelinde, he often met Tisslin’s eyes. She had been younger then, sneaking glances his way. Whenever their eyes met, she would quickly turn her head as if fleeing. It had been so obvious.
Damian hadn’t disliked that. Watching the tips of her ears and the back of her neck redden when she couldn’t hide her feelings. Listening carefully—under the excuse of guarding—when her voice grew louder to hide her embarrassment.
But today, their eyes hadn’t met even once.
She definitely knew he was here. And yet, she didn’t look at him even by accident. He found himself strangely impatient. She could have glanced over just once.
“…Stubborn.”
But Damian had never once beaten Tisslin’s stubbornness.
Instead of going down and causing a scene, he stood there as if nailed to the ground, watching until she left.
“Let’s go.”
Arkin looked unusually light on his feet, clearly excited to interrogate his friend. Damian’s steps were slightly quick as well, and soon they matched pace.
Their destination was Damian’s dormitory room.
Thanks to the massive donation from the Grand Duke of Luxen, the dormitory room was as large and elegant as a noble’s chamber. But without decorations or personal belongings, it felt cold and empty.
Arkin casually took his usual seat at the table.
“So what is it? Tell me what’s going on. What do you mean by breaking off the engagement?”
“Tiss wants to end it.”
“She does? She did seem strange last time. But she—”
She likes you.
Arkin was about to say it when Damian tapped the desk twice with his fingers. Arkin shut his mouth obediently.
So he knew.
There wasn’t anyone their age who visited the Luxen estate who didn’t know how Tisslin felt. There was no way Damian Ksanov didn’t know. Arkin didn’t know when Damian had found out, but he must have known at least as long as Arkin had. It was amazing he had never shown it.
“There must be a reason,” Damian said quietly. “Even considering emotions, something that makes it absolutely impossible.”
“Absolutely impossible? That seems a bit much…”
Tisslin wasn’t exactly the easiest person to marry. But how often did nobles get to marry someone they actually liked? That was why people joked that romance should begin after having two children.
Arkin couldn’t understand why Tisslin would throw away such rare luck.
“If it weren’t serious, why would she go this far?” Damian muttered.
There had to be a reason on her side. But then again, if she disliked it so much, didn’t Damian also have his own reason for refusing to let go?
Arkin studied Damian’s profile. His face was flawless, but his eyes were cold.
“But does Tiss really think I’d agree to break off the engagement for something like this?” Damian gave a faint smile. “She sees me as… too soft. Even though I’m actually a fairly famous killer.”
The air in the room froze.
Arkin ground his teeth.
“Don’t say it like that. ‘Killer’? You’re the Duke of the Southern Front. People call that military merit.”
“Military merit is just another word for killing. I’m not saying it’s bad.”
Damian paused, choosing his words.
“Whatever her reason is, if she’s dealing with someone who became famous for killing at sixteen, she should’ve used a better method than this.”
Arkin was speechless.
Was Tisslin on a battlefield? She wasn’t caught in bed with another man. She just talked to someone in a public place and let him put an arm around her shoulders. Was that really worth saying such things?
“So you’re not going to agree to break it off?”
“No.”
Arkin scratched his head.
In simple terms, the two of them were standing at opposite ends of a rope, each holding onto their own secret reasons, pulling against each other.
If he didn’t even love her, wouldn’t it be easier to end it before things got worse and find someone else? That was Arkin’s thought—but Damian didn’t seem persuadable.
“Then there’s only one option,” Arkin said. “Attack the enemy’s hideout.”
Damian understood immediately. He had been thinking the same thing.
Expose the hidden opponent in broad daylight. Cut off their retreat.
“Right. Tiss won’t like it… I just hope she doesn’t get too angry.”
A shadow fell across his face.
He truly didn’t want to make Tisslin angry. He had promised to treat her well and intended to keep that promise. But today, she was the one at fault. Just because it wasn’t enough to justify breaking off the engagement didn’t mean he wasn’t hurt.
“Oh, she’ll definitely be angry. Try your best to calm her down.”
Sierra Fontineer was flipping through her assignments in the dormitory lounge when her pale-faced cousin dragged her outside.
Eden Fontineer pulled her all the way to the deserted area near the trash yard. After looking around nervously, he wiped his hand on his shirt as if cleaning it.
Sierra’s eyes narrowed.
“You dragged me here, and you’re the one wiping your hand first?”
As she turned to leave, Eden shouted urgently.
“Wait!”
“If you’re going to drag someone to a disgusting place like this, at least speak quickly.”
Eden’s face twisted miserably. The last thread of his patience snapped as he grabbed his hair.
“Do you even have the right to say that? You said he was just some guy you wanted to shake off! But you never told me that guy was Damian Ksanov!”
“Oh, right.”
She had mentioned that, hadn’t she? She forgot.
“So what exactly is your relationship with her?”
“They’re engaged. It’s a secret, though.”
“You introduced me to Lord Ksanov’s fiancée! Were you trying to get me killed, you devil?!”
“…What’s wrong with you?”
If it had been her own situation, Sierra would have reacted far more strongly. But since it wasn’t, she merely looked at Eden with annoyance.
The fact that the normally neat and picky guy was leaning against a dirty wall proved he was shaken. Still, family was family, so she clicked her tongue and gave him an excuse.
“They’re going to break it off. She asked me to introduce her to another man.”
“That’s nonsense. They’ll never break it off.”
Now this was interesting. Tisslin hadn’t told her what happened afterward, so Sierra had been curious.
“That hopeless?”
“You haven’t seen Lord Ksanov’s eyes. I only talked to Miss Tisslin for a bit, and he looked at me like I was her secret lover.”
Eden conveniently left out the part where he had wrapped his arm around Tisslin’s shoulders.
“But I don’t think Lord Ksanov likes her,” Sierra said, waving her hand dismissively.
No matter how hard he was to read, she couldn’t imagine someone rejecting a confession and then binding that same person in an engagement if he truly liked her.
“How would I know about their feelings? All I’m sure of is that he has no intention of breaking it off. Which means I almost became the other man! Having you as my only cousin is no help in life. Just disappear!”
“I’m going, I’m going. Ugh. No guts at all.”
“Seriously!”
Sierra clicked her tongue as she returned to the dormitory.
She had thought he was at least somewhat reliable in this area. But to back down without even exchanging a word with his rival? He wasn’t the type to give up that easily over pride.
If Eden Fontineer reacted like that, the others had no chance.
“Tiss, looks like you’re stuck for good.”
