Just One Day of Your Time
She had thought he had completely forgotten.
The memories of that time. The feelings of that time.
Wondering if she alone still held them, Ania Brontë felt a lonely ache settle in her chest.
I swear to love only Ania Brontë for all eternity.
He had said those words.
He had sworn to love her forever.
And yet, after they drifted apart, he never once came looking for her.
Had he grown to dislike her? To hate her?
“Miss, it’s time to wake up.”
“......”
“Miss?”
“......”
“Miss!”
“Nngh...”
Only at the sight of the maid shaking her did Ania finally stir from her short night’s sleep.
“You need to eat, Miss.”
Yet the room looked a little different.
It was not her own chamber.
“Where am I?”
“The mansion, Miss.”
“Our house?”
“No, Miss. The mansion.”
Ania rose unsteadily, smoothing her tousled hair as she nodded.
The dream from the night before had left her mind hazy, but as she thought carefully, the events of a few days prior came back to her.
That’s right. I got married.
She rubbed her eyes while looking around the room that seemed just a little unfamiliar.
“You need to eat.”
“Mm. I’ll come down.”
“I’ll have everything ready.”
“Mm.”
Ania climbed out of bed and shuffled toward the vanity.
She lightly fixed her hair, washed her face with the water set out for her, then touched up her makeup.
Even bare-faced she was a stunning beauty, but the cosmetics made her features bloom even more brightly.
Ania smiled with satisfaction at her reflection.
“Marriage, huh...”
In a way, it had been a half-forced union.
Edward had shown no interest in her, and he had looked none too pleased about the marriage either.
Well, of course.
It had not been a marriage of his choosing, and she had essentially been sold for money.
That was why Edward’s expression had remained dark even at the wedding ceremony.
Did he not want to marry me?
Ania kept stealing glances at Edward’s face.
And a gloomy feeling settled over her.
She had believed that once they were married, he would look back at her again.
Yet Edward’s expression stayed grave.
So right up until they left the venue, she had regretted it.
If I’d known it would be like this, I never would have insisted on marrying him so recklessly.
What if Edward came to hate her?
What if even after marriage he still refused to look her way?
What if he ended up despising her forever?
But then—
Geumdonghwa.
At that single word from Edward, Ania had started in surprise.
Geumdonghwa.
It was a name few would know unless they took an interest in flowers.
Do you know this flower?
I do. You liked this flower, after all.
The moment she heard those words, Ania’s heart had swelled to bursting.
He remembered.
He remembered that she loved this flower.
He had not forgotten her.
He had kept the flower she loved in his memory all this time.
If he had not forgotten her, then she could make him look back again.
She only needed to make him fall in love with her once more.
“Good.”
Ania finished her makeup with a satisfied air and headed for the dining room.
“Here, open wide.”
“This early in the morning, and so shamelessly...”
“Open.”
“Haa...”
Roughly two weeks had passed since the wedding.
Ania was still hell-bent on seducing me.
First came the way she personally fed me at every meal.
“Is it good?”
“It is.”
“Hehe. I’m glad it suits your taste.”
Ania set her own meal aside and, with those small hands, kept picking up morsels and placing them in my mouth.
But if she thinks this is enough to win me over, she’s mistaken.
Of course I accepted everything she offered.
Inwardly I even found myself looking forward to the next meal, wondering if she would feed me like this again.
Yet that was different from romantic feeling.
It was more like the way one treats a flat, two-dimensional girlfriend on the other side of a monitor.
While the screen is on, you love her more than anyone; the moment it goes dark, you go looking for another love.
Ania Brontë was nothing more than that fleeting tickle.
Once I hypnotized myself that way, keeping my expression steady became easy.
The only real problem was that my hands felt awkward, since I no longer needed to move them myself.
At any rate...
After finishing the meal I rose from my seat.
“That was a fine meal.”
“Seobang-nim. Just a moment.”
I had been about to return to my room for sword practice when Ania called me back.
“What is it?”
“If you’re not too busy, would you spend today with me?”
“I’m busy today.”
“I was asking you to make time.”
“...... I’m sorry.”
“You’re going to practice the sword anyway, aren’t you?”
“Sword practice is important. You wouldn’t know this, Ania, but even a single day of neglect shows immediately in swordsmanship.”
“A single day of neglect also cools a marriage.”
“......”
Ania’s words sometimes carried a quiet barb like that.
Not aggressive, yet full of hidden intent.
So if one were to interpret her meaning, it became a threat: If you don’t make time for me right this instant, I’ll divorce you.
What does one do when the other party issues a threat?
One must make it clear that one will not yield either. We do not negotiate with terrorists!
“There will be time tomorrow as well.”
“There will be sword practice tomorrow as well.”
When I refused to back down, Ania’s cheeks puffed out. Then she suddenly rose and walked straight toward me.
How could someone a full head shorter look so large? She gazed up at me with a deliberately sulky expression.
“Just one day. Please give me your time.”
As she spoke, Ania... plop... nestled into my arms.
The musk of her skin and a sweet floral scent washed over me. The soft press of her chest, even the sound of her heartbeat.
“Won’t you?”
She looked up at me with glistening eyes as she said it.
So what choice did I have?
“...... Very well.”
I could only agree.
“This is the place you wanted to go with me?”
After a long carriage ride we arrived at the capital—the imperial capital of Calcedbar.
The sun had only just climbed high in the sky, so the streets were full of young people.
“I wanted to come here once with you, Seobang-nim.”
“I thought there must be something important.”
When I tossed the remark out lightly, Ania jabbed her elbow into my side.
“Can’t we go out together unless it’s something important?”
“That wasn’t what I meant.”
“Then let’s go.”
Ania slipped her arm through mine.
And so we walked slowly through the square of Calcedbar.
The stone-paved ground stretched wide, and a fountain sprayed water from the center of the plaza.
Birds—pigeons or something like them—fluttered up into the sky, and because the sun was so fine a small rainbow arched brightly overhead.
Moreover... quite a number of couples were sitting about, openly displaying their affection.
By twenty-first-century standards it was ordinary enough, but through the eyes of this world it looked rather shameless.
Whether she knew that or not, Ania strolled right in among the lovers.
“Shameless.”
“Couples these days all do at least this much.”
“The gods will be displeased.”
“The scriptures say we are to love one another, you know? The gods will be pleased.”
She never let a single word go unanswered.
Still, walking and talking so ordinarily like this made even Ania, the sole daughter of a ducal house, look like an ordinary young woman.
No. That was wrong.
Ania Brontë was a villainess.
The villainess who had lured countless men to their deaths.
I must not be fooled by this appearance.
As I steeled myself and looked around, I felt people’s gazes on us.
It was not mere feeling; they were actually glancing our way.
Especially the men.
Even with women on their arms, their eyes could not help but be drawn.
Thinking of it that way, it was a rather curious sight.
To walk through the capital with such a beautiful woman at my side.
Anyone who did not know the circumstances would surely find it enviable.
“Seobang-nim. Come quickly.”
Having already slipped free of my arm, Ania had hurried off somewhere and now called to me.
I followed her out of the square and into an alley, where a glittering street appeared.
Shops decorated with lavish ornaments lined the way; through the glass windows I could see clothes on display.
Quite casual garments.
“Clothes?”
“Hurry.”
Ania walked the street with excited steps and stepped into one of the shops.
I followed, half-defeated, and found her examining the clothes with sparkling eyes.
“Does this suit me?”
She picked up a garment and held it against her body.
“Well?”
“It suits you.”
“And this?”
“That too.”
Ania went into the fitting room, tried on various outfits, and struck poses.
Every single one looked perfect on her. The clothes themselves had never been the issue.
Even if she had picked up a rag from the street and thrown it on, it would have suited her.
“Which one suits me best?”
“All of them.”
“You’re not even trying.”
Ania huffed through her nose, snatched up a fluttering white dress, and disappeared into the fitting room again. Moments later she emerged in it.
“Well?”
What was there to say?
Of course it suited her.
“It looks wonderful.”
No matter who else might wear it, no one could wear it better than she.
There was not a shred of falsehood in that thought.
“Really... I asked which one suits me best.”
“They all suit you. Truly.”
“......”
Ania suddenly looked dejected and began hanging the clothes she had chosen back on the racks.
I had said they suited her... so why did she grow so gloomy?
“Let’s go. I want to stop at another shop.”
“Wait.”
Even as I wondered why she was dissatisfied, a far stronger impulse seized my heart.
I gathered up the clothes Ania had put back and carried them to the counter.
“I’ll take them all.”
I set five gold coins on the counter and collected the garments.
Ania stood frozen in place, staring at me blankly.
“Come to think of it, I never gave you a single wedding gift.”
It had been a sudden act born of momentary impulse, and once I returned to my senses I found it thoroughly embarrassing.
I had essentially shown, through action, that every piece had suited her and looked beautiful.
“Let’s look around a few more shops.”
Leaving the still-silent, frozen Ania behind, I stepped out of the clothing store first.
My face burned.
It might even have turned red.
And just as I was thinking that—
A certain face entered my field of vision.
That certain person was looking at me as well.
“Elder Brother. It’s been a while.”
“Yohan...”
It was Edward Radner’s half-brother... Yohan Radner.