A Stranger's Kiss
* * *
“What did you write?”
I leaned forward, craning my neck toward Hellion. In response, he childishly hid his lantern behind his back.
“No. I’m not telling you.”
“What? You saw my wish. Show me yours too.”
Hellion ignored me completely and lit his lantern. The moment I reached out, it soared high into the sky.
“Oh, it’s started. Let’s launch ours!”
People mistook Hellion’s lantern as the signal and began releasing theirs one after another. Thousands of precious wishes, each carried by a star, illuminated the night sky, the riverbank, and even the distant Imperial Palace.
“Wow!”
I forgot to launch my own lantern, completely mesmerized by the breathtaking sight before me.
Because I had always been so busy, I had only ever watched this scene from a window each year. I had never once imagined a day would come when I would ride a boat with someone and release a lantern myself.
“Hellion, look over there! Yours is flying the highest!”
I pointed at the lantern sparkling at the very top. It wasn’t a competition, yet seeing his fly the highest filled me with inexplicable joy.
“You should launch yours too.”
Hellion held out a match to me.
“No, I want to watch a little longer. I’ll do it later.”
My eyes refused to leave the night sky. So Hellion kindly lit the match for me.
“Hurry and launch it. My wish only comes true if you send yours up.”
Together, Hellion and I lifted our lantern into the sky. It blended among the countless others and rose high above us.
“What kind of wish did you write that it only works if I launch mine?”
“It’s a secret.”
Hellion firmly pressed his lips together.
“If you ever have a wish later, tell me. Then I’ll tell you mine too.”
“Ugh, you’re so stubborn.”
I shook my head and leaned against the wooden boat, gazing up at the sky.
What wishes could be written on those countless lanterns? Having never thought of one myself, I was incredibly curious.
It wasn’t that I had nothing to wish for. But calling something a wish felt like it needed to carry a more special meaning.
I wanted to save that word for the desperate longing I could never achieve with my own strength.
Come to think of it, I never even thanked Hellion.
The fact that I could enjoy such a beautiful view among so many people was all thanks to him. I turned to tell him so, but something felt off.
Why is he so close…?
Hellion, who had been sitting about the length of a box away, had somehow moved close enough that I could reach him just by turning my head.
Beneath the softly glowing lanterns, Hellion cast a large shadow over me.
His arms were planted firmly on either side of my body, trapping me between them. The eyes looking down at me trembled with tension.
The small boat floating on the water, the lanterns drifting overhead, and our now-close breaths. Everything created a strange atmosphere between us.
No matter how emotionally dense I was, I understood exactly what this moment meant.
What do I do? I can’t just pretend I don’t notice.
Even as I thought that, Hellion drew closer little by little. My lips suddenly felt parched. The rising tension made me wish I could just faint, but instead, my mind grew clearer.
But… has Hellion always looked like this?
A sudden question filled my head. Maybe it was because we weren’t in the familiar Imperial Palace, but under the lantern light, Hellion looked strangely unfamiliar.
His deep eyes, straight nose, and strong jawline. I had thought of him as a boy who had only grown tall, but now I saw something else. Even though it was a face I knew so well, I felt awkward and nervous, as if looking at a man for the first time.
Hellion’s shadow had grown large enough to completely swallow me. When I gently closed my eyes, he tilted his head slightly and kissed me.
At first, it was a light kiss. Our breaths mingled and parted two or three times before Hellion pulled away for a moment.
When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw Hellion still looking at me. In that instant, the realization that he was now a grown man hit me like a wave.
I guess I really have to stop treating him like a child.
I must be the one who had changed. How could a single kiss completely alter the way I saw him?
These unfamiliar feelings rushing in still felt awkward. I needed more time. Time to get to know this new side of Hellion I had never noticed before.
As I tried to sort through the strange emotions blooming inside me, Hellion leaned in again. I had a feeling this next kiss would be deeper and more intense than the last.
Ah, I’m not ready for that yet.
With my face burning red, I turned my gaze away and looked around. Just then, I spotted a lantern falling nearby.
“Oh, it’s falling!”
I jumped up from my seat and swatted the lantern back into the sky. At the same time, the boat tilted sharply to one side.
“Ishtel!”
The boat capsized in an instant. I fell into the river with a loud splash, and Hellion, who had tried to catch me, fell in too.
Laughter erupted from the people around us. Hellion quickly surfaced, flipped the boat upright, pushed me up first, and then climbed back in.
We looked like drowned rats. Soaked from head to toe in the cold river water, our teeth chattered uncontrollably.
Neither of us could look at the other’s face. What had just happened was far too embarrassing—and equally hilarious.
“Pfft.”
In the end, amusement won over embarrassment. I burst into loud laughter.
But it seemed embarrassment had won in Hellion’s heart. He still wouldn’t look at me, only continuously shaking the water from his wet hair.
“Hey, Hellion.”
I called his name in a low voice. He looked at me with a dejected gaze.
“So… you…”
I almost asked why he liked me. I was curious about his feelings, yet at the same time, I was afraid to hear the truth.
I already knew. The mischievous pranks Hellion had played on me as a child had all been signs of his interest. It was only natural for a young boy to admire an older girl.
But could he still hold onto that pure heart after more than ten years?
I couldn’t guess Hellion’s true feelings. Did he really like me? Or did he simply need my heart to become the Crown Prince?
I pushed the unanswerable question aside and turned my gaze away from him.
“Never mind. It’s nothing. The sky really is beautiful.”
I lay down in the boat and looked up at the sky filled with lanterns. Even though my wet clothes made me shiver, my heart felt wonderfully light.
* * *
“Achoo! A-a-choo!”
I lay in bed in my room, sneezing nonstop. The constant coughing left my ears ringing.
I pulled the blanket over my head and took a sip of warm tea. Still, my body refused to improve.
I shouldn’t have stood up so suddenly on the boat last night.
It was far too late for regrets. The moment I fell into the river, this outcome had been inevitable.
But if I hadn’t done that, Hellion and I…
I imagined kissing Hellion. Feeling my face flush hot, I decided to gladly accept this full-body cold.
“My lady, the Northern Archduke Hellion has arrived.”
My nanny, who didn’t want to catch my cold, shouted from a safe distance.
“Let him in. Cough.”
It seemed the rumor that I had caught a cold had already spread throughout the Imperial Palace. I sat up and leaned against the headboard. Soon, Hellion entered my room with hesitant steps.
“I heard you caught a cold. How are you feeling?”
“As you can see, not great. Cough. How did we both fall in, yet you’re perfectly fine?”
“I’m from the North. I’m used to the cold.”
“Ah, right. Of course.”
Hellion trudged over and sat on the simple chair beside my bed.
Though our bodies were close, his eyes avoided mine. Whenever our gazes nearly met, he quickly looked somewhere else.
He must be thinking about what happened yesterday too.
Hellion kissing me had been surprising, but not entirely unexpected.
Before the two archdukes arrived at the capital, I had spoken with Aunt Turen Baroness and my sister-in-law Sylvia.
My politically minded sister-in-law had said that even in a political marriage, both men would try to win my heart.
Although the Regentera ducal family remained neutral, a person’s heart would eventually lean toward one side. If they won my heart, I would naturally help that person become the Crown Prince.
Baroness Turen had agreed. She advised me to accept their emotional expressions to a reasonable degree, as long as they didn’t cross the line. But she emphasized that I must remain fair and not favor one over the other.
Looking at it that way, I should have just let it happen yesterday.
Feeling like I had been too harsh, I began to feel a little sorry for him.
“Ishtel, so…”
After a long pause, Hellion finally spoke. His face was as red as his hair.
“About last night…”
“I know. Let’s just pretend it never happened.”
Seeing him stutter so pitifully, I spoke first.
“So don’t overthink it. Just act like you normally do. That’s all. Cough.”
“No, that’s not…”
But Hellion’s expression looked strangely bitter, like someone whose words had been cut off.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted us to have fun, but I ended up making you catch a cold.”
I gently shook my head at his words. I wanted to look him in the eyes, but my aching head spun dizzily at the slightest movement.
“My lady.”
My nanny knocked and entered again, once more keeping her distance as she called out.
“The Southern Archduke Illid has arrived.”