BOOK 3

Whiik.

A long, thin blade cut through the air. Sienna spun around, slashing in the opposite direction. She then changed her direction once more, bringing the blade down from above.

She paused to catch her breath, standing still for a moment. She was panting, having moved nonstop.

After returning to the palace immediately following the greenhouse party, Sienna took up her sword and came out. It wasn’t even a day for sword practice, but moving her body simply was helpful when her mind was in turmoil.

She stared at the tip of her sword, pointed towards the ground.

‘Fatima.’

Her mood didn’t improve. The woman's face kept flickering in her mind. If Kuhn married her, he could become a king.

‘Does he want to be a king?’

In the future she had seen in her dream, he was a prince. Perhaps he was helping the Iron King in order to become a king himself. It wouldn’t be surprising. For a man like him, such ambition was natural.

She sighed and lifted her head. Sienna flinched in surprise.

‘...Kuhn.’

He was already standing some distance away. Their eyes met, and he started walking toward her.

"I went to the palace, but the countess said you’d be here."

Sienna stared at him silently. She was irritated. She knew her feelings were irrational. It wasn’t Kun's fault that Fatima was interested in him.

Moreover, even if their feelings developed positively, it was their own matter, not something Sienna could interfere with.

"Is something wrong?"

"No."

"But you’re not in a good mood."

"No."

"You are, though."

"I'm not."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"See, you're upset."

Sienna glared at him sulkily. She was angry at him for a reason that wasn’t his fault, but his prompt arrival soothed her twisted feelings. Her emotions swung back and forth. She felt pathetic about her own fickleness.

"I'm not getting it right."

"What?"

"My swordsmanship."

Sienna blamed her swordsmanship as an excuse.

"Do you want some help?"

"With swordsmanship?"

"Come to think of it, it reminds me of the first time we met. It’s not much fun practicing alone. Could you help?"

As the memory of that day, which she had buried deep, resurfaced, Sienna couldn’t help but smile.

"You threatened me, asking if I could handle it."

"It wasn't a threat."

Kuhn replied awkwardly.

"I'm different now than I was back then. I've changed my training routine since that day."

"How?"

"I train every day, even if it's just for an hour."

"Oh."

Kuhn clapped his hands in admiration.

"Alright, let's see how much you’ve improved."

"I don’t have a sword."

Kuhn looked around and picked up a long branch.

"With that?"

"This is enough."

"But I’ll be using a sword."

"As you wish."

"Are you underestimating me?"

"A master doesn’t blame their tools."

"Oh, really."

Sienna wanted to knock down his arrogant nose.

"What if I win?"

"Well, the bigger the dream, the better. If you succeed in just one attack, let's call it a win. I’ll give you a prize."

"What kind of prize?"

"Anything. Tell me if you want something."

Sienna put her hand on her hip with a pouty expression.

"I don’t need a prize. As I said, I'm not in a good mood right now. Losing would make me feel worse."

Kuhn's relaxed expression instantly hardened.

Their match began shortly after and ended anticlimactic. After a few exchanges, the tip of Sienna's sword hovered dangerously close to Kuhn's throat. Kuhn dropped the branch he had used as a makeshift sword without hesitation.

"I lost."

Sienna frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"What’s the point of winning if it makes you feel worse?"

Sienna's eyes widened. The sword she had been pointing at him slowly lowered. Her head bowed. She felt embarrassed by her stubbornness. Her ears burned.

Why did he keep shaking her heart? Why did he only say sweet things? Why did he talk as if he would do anything for her?

Sienna lifted her head. Their eyes met, and he carefully examined her expression. He wasn’t groveling. Sienna realized the difference between him and Joseph. She was happy to see his sincerity.

And she was afraid. Because it might change. Thinking of the cold look in his eyes from her dream made her heart stung.

Sienna stepped closer to him and suddenly hugged him. His arms wrapped around her back after a moment, pressing her tightly against him. She buried her head in his chest.

Fatima, who had been watching him with heated eyes, came to mind. She didn’t want to let this man go. She hated the thought of another woman knowing his embrace.

"Did Fatima act rudely to you?"

He had noticed that Sienna frequently looked at Fatima in the greenhouse. It wasn’t just a coincidence, considering how often it happened.

Sienna lifted her head slightly.

"Fatima?"

Her voice was sharp as she repeated the name.

"If Fatima was out of line—"

"If she was?"

"I would tell her to apologize to you..."

If he had said something like, ‘Be gracious and forgive her,’ it would have made her furious. But the thorn that had stuck in her heart seemed to retract.

"You seem close."

"Not really."

"Today wasn’t the first time you met."

"Today was the first time we actually talked."

Liar. There’s no way a woman would look at a man like that if they’d never spoken before.

"Are you saying you haven’t met her in the desert?"

"Why would I meet Count Merses in the desert?"

They were talking about two different people. Kuhn saw the confusion in her eyes and realized she was flustered.

"Weren’t we talking about the count?"

"Why would we talk about the count when discussing Fatima..."

"Fatima is staying at the count’s residence. So, if I were to send a message, it would be through the count."

"...."

Her reaction was strange. He had a vague idea but laughed at his own silly thought. Still, he couldn’t shake his curiosity. He knew it was nonsense, but he asked anyway.

"Do I seem close to Fatima?"

"...."

"What makes you think that?"

"You called her by her name..."

"Desert people call each other by name, even the warlords. They don’t have the custom of using titles or ranks."

"Fatima..."

"Fatima?"

".... Never mind."

Fatima hadn’t made any slip-ups. It wasn’t like she could say, ‘I saw in a dream that the two of you were lovers.’ Kuhn might start noticing Fatima just because she brought it up.

Hadn’t she experienced it enough already? The future had changed over trivial triggers.

‘Wow.’

Kuhn suppressed a grin that kept threatening to spread.

‘Am I dreaming?’

Jealousy? He wasn’t that arrogant. It was enough that she felt wary of another woman. Even if it was purely possessiveness, that was fine. Even if it was a primal desire not rooted in affection, it didn’t matter.

She needed to understand the desire to monopolize a person to somewhat comprehend Kuhn's emotions constantly orbiting around her.

‘Should I devise a plan?’

What if he created an extreme situation that would draw out her emotions? Using Fatima might be an effective tactic.

‘...No, I’d end up failing with any cunning tricks.’

He shouldn’t push her to conclude that her feelings were mere displeasure. Her pride could lead her to sever the root cause altogether.

She was someone who wouldn’t be swayed by familial ties. Dian had told him how the Marquis of Lyman’s taxidermy information had been used.

The princess had made a bold move to find a weakness in the Red King for Countess Pope’s sake. Weren’t they reputed to be a very close mother and daughter?

Dian had laughed while recounting the story.

"It was frightening. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine doing that to my own mother. You know how things are with people. We all know right from wrong, but when feelings are involved, we often pretend we don’t."

Kuhn agreed with Dian’s view. He had indirectly experienced how cold she could be when she decided something didn’t align with her principles. He always thought he should be careful with his words around her, but he liked her resolute nature.

‘I want to walk alongside you.’

Life was full of unknowns. He felt that with her, he could move forward into the uncertain world without faltering.

He lowered his arm from her shoulder and back to her waist. Pulling her close, Sienna instinctively lifted her head.

Kuhn quickly bent down and pressed a firm kiss on her lips before pulling back. Startled, Sienna pushed against his chest with both hands.

"Who’s going to..."

"No one’s coming. You know I’m sensitive to any presence."

Sienna's hands lost their strength.

"Do you practice swordsmanship alone every day?"

"The knight who teaches me helps every other day."

"One day of class, one day of practice?"

"Yes."

"On practice days, I’ll watch."

Sienna frowned.

"When we first met, and even when I practice, I don’t like having someone around. That’s why I practice alone, right?"

"Not at the palace. Let’s meet here."

"You said not to come to the palace."

Sienna pondered for a moment. Kuhn didn’t give her a chance to hesitate.

"You’ll make rapid progress. I’m a good teacher."

"There’s nothing you can’t do, huh?"

"I’m kind of like that."

Sienna chuckled lightly. Was she going to be subtly swayed again? His way of leading her was unilateral but not oppressive.

No, it wouldn’t have worked if another man tried to pull such a move. She had grown accustomed to his persistent flirting. Now, she thought she might feel lonely if it stopped.

"Instead, it will just be lessons—nothing more."

"…Nothing more?"

"No kissing. No unnecessary physical contact."

"Why?"

Sienna glared at him, irritated as if he were depriving her of something rightfully hers.

"Hiding means we’re not being upfront. It doesn’t matter who teaches me swordsmanship, but secret rendezvous are different, right? I have a fiancée, after all."

Kuhn’s expression turned sour.

"Will you stay faithful to your fiancé?"

Sienna studied his grumbling face and touched his chin with her hand. He flinched slightly. Her hand slid across his cheek.

"Kuhn."

"Yes?"

"Do you want to become my paramour?"

His face contorted, and he spoke ominously.

"Sienna."

"People will talk about us that way."

Whether she would marry him as she had seen in her dream was still uncertain. What was clear was that her relationship with him had already diverged from the future she had seen.

In a different future, they likely wouldn’t have had much interaction until she broke off her engagement. He would have had another lover by then.

If it were revealed that Joseph had an illegitimate child and Sienna broke off the engagement, she would be the victim. But if a scandal broke before the engagement was dissolved, people would pity Joseph instead.

‘Gossips will come up with all sorts of filthy stories. I don’t want that.’

Sienna muttered to herself and lightly tapped his cheek.

"Be patient. You were the one who told me to take my time and think it over."

Kuhn was about to say something but then closed his mouth. With a skeptical expression, he tried to confirm if he had heard correctly.

"You? Did you just call me...?"

Sienna’s gaze flicked sideways as her pupils rolled. She spoke coyly.

"I should be careful with my words since you’re a marquis."

Her address for him had upgraded from "you" to "dear." Kuhn's previously annoyed mood instantly melted away. He felt the narrowing distance between them.

Was he finally treading on level ground after a long and arduous path? Was there a trap waiting for him to fall into? He couldn’t gauge her shifting emotions. It felt like climbing a glass wall, where one wrong move could shatter everything.

In any case, he was feeling euphoric right now. He could hardly contain his emotions and wanted to express them somehow.

"I’ll let it go just for today."

Kuhn bent down, slipping his arm under her legs and lifting her. As her feet left the ground, Sienna let out a startled scream.

"Put me down. What if someone sees!"

"There’s no one around."

"Kuhn!"

"Hold still. I might drop you."

Kuhn carried her further into the garden. It was an ivy-covered garden. Pillars and ceilings constructed of iron frames were covered thickly with ivy.

The winter in the Empire's capital wasn’t cold. The ivy, which could withstand the chilly weather, stayed green throughout the year. The vines hung down like curtains from the ceiling’s edge. If one didn’t look closely, they couldn’t see the people inside from a distance.

Kuhn brushed aside the vines and went in. He sat her on a wooden swing hanging from the ceiling frame. Holding onto the swing's ropes with both hands, he leaned forward.

"I found this spot while on my way to see you. It seemed like a good place."

"So you intended this from the start."

Kuhn answered her with a silent smile. Sienna didn’t avoid his approaching lips this time. Her eyes slowly closed. His breath tickled her lips, and her mouth opened naturally. His tongue quickly filled her mouth.

Sienna’s hands, placed on her thighs, clenched into fists. His tongue entwined with hers, slowly brushing against the roof of her mouth as if savoring a delicacy. He meticulously explored and sucked the inside of her mouth.

The kiss was long. When he pulled away, he chuckled softly. Sienna gave him a questioning look, and he said,

"You’re getting quite good at controlling your breath now."

Sienna turned her head away to avoid him coming closer again.

"That’s enough."

He grabbed her chin and made her look at him.

"I won’t be able to touch you for a while. You should give me a reward for holding back."

"That doesn’t even make sense... Mm."

Kuhn savored her lips greedily and left the palace with a contented look like a well-fed beast.

‘If the fiancé is a problem, he needs to go. I should start proceeding with the annulment soon.’


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