Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

“Wh-why did Lockherd become so tan? He’s so ugly that it’s hard to look at him without frowning.”

“Ugly? All the maids in the castle were swooning over him, saying how cool he was.”

“What? How could they say that when they get to see Nezar’s face every day? If they like him that much, ask him to take their hand in marriage. I would be more than glad if that happened.”

Were such a day to come, I would be the one overwhelmed with joy, not them. Lockherd, who was crazy about horses and enjoyed horseback riding day and night, now returned as a real wild horse. I already got goosebumps on my back thinking that he would harass me with his petty tricks with that newly acquired strength. I wished he could have a wedding soon and get out of Ezelot.

Nezar grinned at my grumbling tone.

“It seems that my face is still useful. I thought my charms would have faded after five years.”

Having said that, Nezar turned around and walked slowly along the path. I kept waiting for him to hold my hand, but as he kept walking in front of me, all I could see was a wide and prideful back. After contemplating whether or not to say it, I eventually straightened my back and walked side by side with Nezar. I’d rather go insane than ask him to hold my hand first.

“How about you? Have you found the girl friend you wanted so much?”

“Uh, um… not really.”

Though far from being Nezar’s lover, at the least, Caron was the only person I could confide in.

Nezar, who clicked his tongue, placed another plucked musk rose on my hair. If it were Rick, I would have shaved his head and told him not to do anything weird like that, but this was a little different. Nezar’s fingertips made the back of my ears hot, and I couldn’t react.

“What were you doing while I was away? It’s been a while since you made your debutant … A year?”

“I turned twenty this year. So, it’s been two years since I’ve debuted in the social world. Not one, but two years.”

Nezar let out a small sigh, barely audible. I had felt it a while ago, but he sighed a lot. I wondered if he thought I was pathetic, but my sense of self-doubt melted away at the affectionate eyes I met moments after…like right now.

“Twenty-year-old Kate. It’s so unreal that it feels like a dream. It’s like ten years flew by overnight.”

This was also something that Nezar had often said before. It was a lament I hadn’t heard in a long time, so I couldn’t help but laugh.

Ever since I was eight, on the day of my birthday banquet each year, the first guest had always been Nezar. He would lift me up in the air with an expression of disbelief.

‘You’re ten years old already? Still so short?’

Even when I was twelve years old.

‘I can’t believe Katrina Ezelot is twelve now. It won’t be long before the sky will fall.’

And in the year when I reached fourteen.

‘Fourteen? Are you kidding me? I’d rather buy it if you say Lockherd’s pet horse is a hundred years old this year.’

Every time with a doubt until the year I turned fifteen, right before he left. Did Nezar want me to be the eight-year-old Katrina for the rest of my life? Even my mother had never said anything like that to me.

As I was thinking about this and that, the musk rose bushes, which were blooming on both sides of the road, disappeared without a trace. I turned in confusion and looked around. Now, white roses are in full bloom over the long road that we passed by.

“Nezar, where are we going? There are no lights here, it’s so dark. Shouldn’t we go back now?”

The pace, which was already slow, now became even heavier.

“Why? Are you afraid of the dark?”

After looking straight ahead for a while, he turned his head and met my eyes without making a sound. His eyes, which should have been red, were darker and quieter than the night sky at this moment.

“You’ re saying strange things, we’re merely strolling around. There’s nothing you should be afraid of in this castle. That dazzling Cassandra Hall, this precious musk rose…”

Nezar’s long fingers touched the rose in my hair.

“It won’t be long before everything will be yours.”

The slightly unusual gaze, the corners of his mouth, and even the stiff cheeks altogether made a strange expression that could not be described in one sentence. The Nezar in front of me gave off a strange vibe I had never felt before. Uncomfortable with the indescribable feeling, I spoke hastily.

“What are you talking about? I’m not saying this place is scary, I just want to go to somewhere bright. When it’s dark like this, we can’t even see each other’s faces.”

Nezar stopped walking completely and looked at me. It was an expression of deep contemplation. Belatedly, he parted his lips, seemingly having made up his mind.

“You still have our engagement pledge, right?”

“Yes, of course. It’s framed nicely and was hung on the wall in my father’s office.”

“Framed?”

“He said that whenever I cause trouble, he gets comfort from reading the pledge. He must be reassured that I have a man to take responsibility for.”

Nezar laughed out loud at my words. It was not even funny. It was ridiculous to think that Count Ezellot hung the engagement pledge of his youngest daughter on his office’s wall. After a fit of laughter, while holding onto his stomach, Nezar struggled to regain his composure and pulled out the musk rose that had been placed in my hair. The rose he plucked did not fall to the ground, but settled behind my ear.

“The Count’s room is already full, so now its should be your room to store, right?”

Nezar, who seemed to like the way I looked with the flower behind my ear, stooped down to meet my gaze and rummaged through the pocket around his waist.

“Why? Are you giving me a present? Is it a victory gift?”

“I’ve told you, Kate. Such a gift should be prepared by you, not me. Of course, I didn’t expect it in the first place.”

“I- I know that. Not just empty words, but I’ll be sure to prepare it. So don’t give up on your expectations…”

He snorted openly at my words. At Nezar’s signal glance, I quietly put my hands together and held them out. As if to praise me, a small glass bead came onto my palm.

“…this is?”

Upon closer inspection, it was not a simple glass bead, but a paperweight made of glass. It was dark and difficult to see, but a single flower in full bloom was lodged in the clear glass. It was a lily of the valley.

“The legacy of the Kingdom of Ibrium. As you said, it would be convenient to think of it as the spoils of the victor. After getting defeated times over times, Ibrium’s royal family chose to commit suicide. All of the items passed down from generation to generation belonged to our Caval Empire. This is one of the many trophies we got.”

“I feel a little scared after hearing the whole story. Can I keep such a precious thing?”

The former owner was a member of a ruined royal family, who committed suicide. I was afraid if I looked at it closely in a bright place, it would look like it’s stained with blood.

“Objects shine the brightest when they meet an owner who recognises their true value. Though, I don’t really know if a day will come when you use a paperweight.”

It didn’t matter what use it was for. I cradled the glass paperweight in both hands and smiled broadly, excited at the thought of receiving a valuable gift from Nezar. At the same time, I was ashamed of myself for not preparing anything.

At that moment, it felt as though nothing had changed from the year he left for the battlefield. I only received, and Nezar only gave. Even though I was his fiancée, I had never expressed a single sincerity for him.

“Um, Nezar. I really didn’t know you would prepare a present. All I have now is…”

Sh-should I make a bouquet of flowers or something?

I hurriedly turned my head to find the musk roses in full bloom behind my back. It was then that a warm hand grabbed my cheek and brought it back to the front.