Chapter 81

Before that, the person Carinne met was Marie, who was waiting for her outside.

Marie was very happy to see her.

“My lady, you came at just the right time. A guest is waiting.”

“Who’s the guest?”

Until then, Carinne hadn’t thought much about it. Who else could come to the mansion besides Iris?

Marie tilted her head as she responded.

“Someone from another country. His name is Ian.”

‘Why is Ian here?’

The door to the mansion suddenly appeared like a monster’s maw.

Carinne had thought she was done with her work after submitting the proposal. She had warned Iris to be careful of Ian and had blocked all the holes where he could get a hint, but why did an ominous feeling creep up on her when she heard Marie’s words?

It was just the beginning, someone seemed to whisper in her head.

“Did he come alone?”

“Yes.”

What could Ian have come to the mansion for?

And without even notifying her beforehand. They did promise to go to the ruins together. But if he had come to see her for the purpose of exploring the ruins, Giles would have been with him.

Giles was also present when she made the promise to Ian, and he said he would come too. So then… Could it be that he knew what she did today?

Still, she had just come from the palace. Ian couldn’t have known what happened at the palace this morning as he didn’t have two bodies.

Yes, Ian didn’t know what she had done. Whatever it was, she’d be fine as long as she behaved herself.

At the thought, she nodded once and opened the door to the mansion.

Ian was sitting in the sunlit drawing room, tilting a teacup. His light-colored hair fluttered in the breeze that came in through the crack in the door, and his golden eyes, which sparkled with various colors, resembled finely crafted jewels.

Adding to that, with his porcelain-like white skin and slender limbs, he was the epitome of a mysterious young man.

She wouldn’t have been surprised if he had been a fairy living in the forest. However, Ian was no ordinary person. Knowing his dark intentions, everything seemed hypocritical to her.

“Carinne, it’s good to see you. I hope I’m not intruding on your busy schedule.”

Ian put down his teacup on the saucer as he watched Carinne open the door and enter. It was an elegant movement that didn’t allow for a single inch of disarray. Nonetheless, it seemed more like the movement of a well-trained animal than a human.

“No, I’m fine. But what brings you here?”

“It’s a beautiful day today. I thought it would be a perfect day to keep our promise.”

Oh, so he was here to explore the ruins. If so, she was relieved. Despite the fact that her expectations were off, her heart felt much lighter, and she stretched out her legs comfortably on the sofa.

But where did he leave Giles?

“Didn’t you say Giles would come with us?”

“He said he doesn’t have time today.”

That was fortunate. It was a promise she was going to cancel anyway, though if she had to meet Giles even for a moment, the atmosphere would have been tense because of what she did last time.

“Besides, he doesn’t seem to be particularly interested in the ruins.”

Ian’s voice was subtly cold.

It seemed he didn’t like Giles very much. Well, Giles wasn’t exactly a likable person. Carinne listened attentively to Ian’s words and then suddenly slapped her knee as if she had remembered something.

“Oh, right. But what should we do…?”

“Yes?”

“I heard some news when I went to the palace today. They said they were blocking anyone from entering the ruins for the time being to protect them, so I think we’ll have to cancel our promise.”

“Surely, you wouldn’t do that?”

“….?”

Ian burst into low laughter as he watched Carinne, who was lost in thought.

“I was just kidding. There’s no way you would do that.”

“Haha… That’s funny.”

She thought she was going to faint. She held back her surprised expression and painted a hypocritical smile on her face.

“Oh, right. You said you were interested in the ruins?”

It was unexpected that Ian would come to her in person, but refusing a promise she made with him was a predetermined procedure. As for Ian, since he wouldn’t be able to access his interests, he’d find another interesting thing to do.

“Please wait a moment,” said Carinne, standing up from her seat and bringing a book.

It was a guidebook that included a map of ancient ruins in the neighboring country of Radian. It was one of the books she had borrowed from the library, and she had set it aside thinking it might be useful while she was organizing her books.

“There are many more ruins in Radian than in Esmeril, and they are much larger. I thought this might be helpful since you seem to be interested in ancient ruins.”

‘How about it? Are you interested?’

There were so many more ruins in Radian than anywhere else, so please, please go to Radian.

Ian smiled happily and accepted the book. His golden eyes sparkled with interest as he opened the book and scanned it, and Carinne exclaimed to herself, ‘Now you’re done!’

“I was thinking of going to the library to look at books about ruins anyway, even if you hadn’t told me to.”

“No, you won’t.”

However, perhaps she had let her guard down too much. Carinne unconsciously replied to Ian’s words, then realized what she had said and came to her senses.

“As far as I remember, there weren’t any. Oh, there’s no need to go there in vain.”

“Is that so?”

Ian still had a smile on his face. He closed the book and asked Carinne.

“Is this a book that was originally in your house?”

“Yes.”

“You must like books.”

“Huh?”

“You said you heard the news at the palace today. But as soon as you heard my story, you immediately came to find a book.”

It was a sharp observation.

“It was as if you were expecting me to come. Or maybe you knew in advance that the appointment would be canceled.”

“Ahahaha… Is that so?”

To say such a thing directly… was he trying to get her to leave? Or has he noticed something?

She never thought she’d be engaged in psychological warfare with the crown prince of another country, not at the ball, but at home. While it felt like the hairs on her body were standing on end, there was a way out.

“I do like books. I go to the library often.”

That’s it, right? What else can she say here?

Ian let out a short exclamation and then continued in a languid voice.

“Reading is a good hobby. A person who does not read books is like a cart without wheels, a sailor without a compass…”

Carinne tilted her head, wondering what this strange statement was about, and Ian chuckled at her.

“It’s an old Irita proverb.”

“Oh, yes.”

What could she say? Should she praise him for being smart? Perhaps because she knew Ian’s dark intentions, nothing he did seemed good to her.

Just then, the door flew open, and the person she had been waiting for appeared.

His face, which had been bright at the sight of Carinne, changed subtly when he saw Ian sitting on the sofa.

“This person is…”

“Your boyfriend is here, so I should go.”

Ian cut Archen off and stood up. He smiled at Carinne and picked up the book from the table.

“Have a good time. And thank you for the book.”

As he nodded to Archen in greeting, Archen stood there awkwardly and returned his greeting. Finally, when Ian left, Carinne sighed with relief.

She sent him off safely, right?

“I’m surprised he came to my house all of a sudden.”

In the awkward silence, she felt she had to explain something, so she blurted out. Archen looked at Carinne quietly before opening his mouth.

“I am always on your side.”

It was a short sentence, but she could tell. He would accept whatever she did, no matter what, and he would gladly wait until she was ready to tell him the truth. Although she felt an urge to confess everything openly, the last remaining shred of her conscience held her back.

She couldn’t make things harder for him here.

“I wanted to see you.”

So, instead of revealing the truth, she went up to Archen and hugged him. She rested her head on his chest and pressed lightly, but he took a step back.

Carinne was startled and raised her head.

She hadn’t pressed that hard. Was something wrong?

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

His face, as he said this, was as gentle as ever.

She released her arms and tilted her head back to look at him. His face seemed paler than usual. Was she imagining things?

Archen raised his eyebrows at Carinne, who was staring at him intently as if to ask what was wrong.

“Do you have something to say?”

“No.”

‘If it hurts, you can tell me.’

Carinne swallowed the words that had come to her throat and hugged him again. Maybe because she was holding him gently, there was no sound this time. The two spent their time in each other’s arms until it was time for dinner.

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