Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: I've Fallen for You
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Daphne gazed at Fabian's face. The man with red hair and blue eyes smiled cheerfully.
She couldn't understand why he was going this far for her. Timid Daphne stared at Fabian without daring to question him.
“Miss, why do you keep running away?”
“Because you keep chasing me…”
“Isn’t it okay to chase you? You run away, so I chase. Let’s talk for a bit.”
“What… talk?”
As Daphne stuttered and turned her head away like she was avoiding him, Fabian grinned.
“If you keep dodging me, I’ll have no choice but to keep chasing you.”
“…”
“I’m curious about you. A lot.”
When she looked at him with an expression of utter incomprehension, Fabian grinned again. Why did he go around smiling like that? Was the world so blissful for him? Daphne harbored a slightly twisted thought.
“Aren’t you curious why I’m so curious about you?”
“…”
“Not curious? You must be dying to know?”
Daphne found his teasing annoying. With her eyebrows slightly furrowed and her lips pursed as if about to say something, she found this version of herself unfamiliar.
What was this?
She always approached others with anxiety and resignation.
It was only natural. She never knew when these people might insult her or lash out. That included Asherad. Asherad was one of the people who made her the most anxious.
So, she hadn’t had the leisure to think something like ‘annoying.’ She found her own emotions fascinating. Whether he knew that or not, Fabian let out a sigh.
“You’re so quiet like this… no fun, no thrill… Sigh. Sorry.”
“…”
“It’s because I badmouthed that great Crown Prince, right? Got it. I won’t say stuff like that anymore.”
Fabian raised both hands to show he meant no harm. When Daphne looked at Fabian, he chuckled.
“You won’t avoid me now, right?”
Daphne nodded, and Fabian looked relieved. His smiling face was certainly more comfortable to look at than Asherad’s. It was peaceful, without that precarious tension or danger.
That leisure, that peace—it felt strange, so Daphne opened her mouth deliberately.
“So, why do you keep chasing me, Sir Knight?”
At her words, Fabian’s eyes sparkled. The young man smiled as if her question delighted him beyond measure.
“The reason I keep chasing you…”
“…”
“I fell for you at first sight.”
Daphne’s eyes went wide at his words. It was so absurd. Fell for her? What did that even mean? Fabian rolled his eyes a bit, seeming embarrassed, then spoke.
“Yeah. I’ve fallen for you.”
“…”
“I like you.”
What was she supposed to say to that? As Daphne instinctively started to turn away out of habit, Fabian hurriedly said,
“Don’t run away again!”
“…”
“I wouldn’t be able to take it if you did. Truth is, I’ve been watching you ever since we first met.”
“…”
“For over a season.”
Someone likes me.
Daphne didn’t know Fabian well. She hadn’t even fallen for him at first sight. In other words, she didn’t love Fabian.
And yet, Fabian had lodged himself deeply in her memories.
Someone had fallen for her. Unless he misunderstood the meaning, it meant he harbored romantic feelings.
Someone likes a nobody like me.
A wretch like me.
“Miss? Why… why? Do you hate it that much?”
Daphne’s chest tightened. She shook her head, desperately holding back the tears welling up.
Why was this? Even with Asherad cherishing her, this man’s lighthearted confession, that simple phrase of falling at first sight, felt so profoundly important and heavy to her.
“You won’t run, right?”
Nod. At Daphne’s response, Fabian very cautiously placed his hand on her head. It was such a gentle touch. In the end, Daphne let the tears fall.
In her life so far, Daphne had cried plenty. Out of pity for her own situation, longing for her mother, pain, suffering.
But these tears were somehow different.
She didn’t know if they were tears of joy, relief, or pity for the self who had never even received such affection.
Daphne stared at Fabian without wiping the tears streaming down her face. Soon, he reached out with his finger to wipe them away.
“Um, so… your answer?”
Fabian said, looking awkward. Daphne gave him a puzzled look.
He likes me. Wasn’t that the end of it? Seeing her face, Fabian fell silent for a long while before sighing.
“Yeah. Got it. I understand.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll give you time to get to know me.”
“…”
“From now on, I’ll come find you as often as I can—every day, if possible. So, cuckoo miss.”
“…”
“Get to know me, too.”
At Fabian’s words, Daphne broke into a bright smile. Somehow, it felt like a spring breeze was blowing.
* * *
“Um, Your Highness, that’s…”
Lancelot said with an awkward expression. Asherad was looking toward where Daphne and Fabian stood.
They were talking again. Daphne wore a soft expression.
“Why?”
Asherad said to Lancelot as he watched.
“I’m sorry! It’s my failure in training her…”
“No.”
Asherad raised a hand to cut off Lancelot’s excuse.
“No need to interfere anymore.”
Asherad gave a thin smile. He turned and walked away. Pure white sunlight hung on Daphne’s face.
Asherad turned away as if it meant nothing to him. Lancelot wore a baffled expression. Wasn’t this the Crown Prince who used to hate her getting close to anyone?
What had gotten into him?
At least Fabian wasn’t dangerous. That was enough. Lancelot glanced back.
A warm glow lingered between the two.
* * *
“Congratulations on the official engagement, Aunt.”
Asherad approached the woman who looked bored. The woman with red-tinged golden hair tied up sat in the waiting room with a listless expression.
Even that was picturesque in its beauty. She smiled with a sorrowful face.
A banquet commemorating the engagement between Thalassa’s youngest princess and the Emperor. Asherad smiled even more radiantly at the woman despairing over the tragic engagement.
“Come in, Asherad.”
“Ah, should I call you Mother-in-law?”
At his words, tears welled up in Calista’s eyes. Her ladies-in-waiting and maids panicked and tried to stop her, but Calista showed no intention of holding back.
“Leave us for a moment.”
Asherad dismissed all the attendants and approached Calista.
“You look exhausted, Mother-in-law.”
“Don’t call me that!”
At her sharp words, Asherad withdrew the hand he had raised toward her.
“I was tricked. Completely deceived!”
“…Aren’t you happy? You’ll become the Empire’s Empress, Aunt.”
“Branded as an old man’s bride—how could that possibly make me happy?”
Calista glared at Asherad with reddened, tear-filled eyes. Asherad gazed at her impassively before lowering his voice.
“Father will be here soon. Wipe your tears.”
Asherad pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped Calista’s tears himself.
“The thought of that old man’s hands on me—it’s revolting!”
She shook her head as if disgusted. Asherad gripped her shoulders.
“Aunt. Do you realize how foolish it is to say such things to me right now?”
“What?”
“I am Father’s son. If I were to report this to him, what would you do?”
Calista flinched. She looked at Asherad with a frightened face.
“If you plan to reveal your emotions so recklessly to everyone and throw a tantrum, then stop it right now.”
“You—you!”
Calista raised her hand to slap Asherad’s cheek, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.
“You can’t hit me because you know I’m right, don’t you?”
When Asherad asked stiffly, Calista bit her lip. Asherad raised his hand and gently touched her pink-rouged lips.
He lifted her gloved hand, which lay haphazardly.
“Calista.”
Her heart pounded in that instant. He slowly slipped off the silk glove on her hand. It felt dizzyingly like undressing.
His bare hand overlapped her bare skin. It burned like fire. To the graceful woman looking at him with tear-wet eyes, Asherad said,
“I’ll help you.”
He smiled like a devil and pressed his lips to the back of her hand. As she flinched at that, he gave a cool smile.
“That ‘old man’ won’t ravish you.”
Kneeling, the face looking up at her bore a confident smile. The kiss on the back of her hand was sweetly tempting, like a devil’s seduction.
She was no priestess or saint resisting temptation.
The corners of Calista’s mouth lifted. The woman tempted by the devil gave a shy smile and yielded to it.
* * *
The following spring, the Emperor and Calista’s marriage proceeded smoothly. Whether some change had occurred in her heart or not, Calista no longer defied the Emperor.
Her occasional flashes of temper still emerged, but from the Emperor’s perspective, they were endearing enough to overlook.
The Thalassa Kingdom provided a massive dowry and foundational resources, while the Empire sent cannons crafted by skilled artisans. It was a satisfactory exchange between the two nations.
A young and beautiful bride. Scarce resources. Abundant gold. All of it.
The bride herself, however—the item of the transaction—wore the expression of a dying corpse.
With her red-tinged golden hair piled up, Calista displayed purity with pure white flowers. Her makeup was as minimal as possible, but her striking features stood out even more.
Standing beside the aged Emperor, she looked like his daughter. Yet no noble dared mention it.
Asherad blessed the pair’s “beautiful union.” For a moment, a faint smile crossed Calista’s face before vanishing.
Amid it all, the Emperor’s gaze was not on his Empress but elsewhere—on a maid carrying a plate. The Emperor stared at her blonde hair. The Crown Prince glanced at it fleetingly.
Thus, that precarious family was complete.