CFT 88

Chapter 88

If someone asked what exactly felt strange, she couldn’t give a clear answer, but just… something felt off.
Was it his eyes? Come to think of it, today she seemed to meet his gaze—those ruby-like, crystal-clear eyes—more often than usual.
If not that, then perhaps his strangely ticklish behavior…?

But then again, Ianharte had always been rather gentle by nature.
So what exactly was so unfamiliar about him now?

It felt as if a thin veil covering him had been lifted, making him feel like the same Ianharte she knew, yet oddly different at the same time.

“Why are you spacing out like that?”

“……Because of Your Majesty.”

“What did I even do?”

What did he do? He’d been acting weird all day, that’s what!
That was what she screamed inwardly, but all that came out of her mouth was a weak, “No, I mean…”

It was too embarrassing to point out his strange behavior directly, and besides, there wasn’t anything overtly unusual.
She could clearly feel something was off, yet couldn’t pinpoint what exactly.

In the end, the victor was Ianharte, who feigned innocence.
He knew exactly why Liana felt so unsettled, yet he had not the slightest intention of easing her tension.

And his oddly affectionate behavior continued even during dinner.

“Here.”
He sliced her steak and set it before her.

“How about a light drink? I had them prepare that wine you said you liked.”

“Uh… sure, that sounds nice.”

When she sipped the wine that suited her taste and her face brightened, he smiled in satisfaction.

“If you’ve got time, how about a little walk together? The greenhouse looks quite beautiful at night.”

He dismissed all the attendants, yet still took her hand as they strolled through the greenhouse.
By the time they reached the front of the Emerald Palace, Liana was feeling strangely light-headed—it was the peak of the evening’s oddness.

“Get inside safely.”

“It’s right in front, it’s fine.”

Liana chuckled lightly as she answered, and the corners of Ianharte’s lips relaxed upward.

“That’s true.”

Thanks to the rather long walk, the sky had already grown dim, and under that dusky canopy, the two of them shared a little more idle conversation.

If that had been all, Liana might have simply brushed today off as a slightly unusual day when Ianharte had been unusually kind.

But Ianharte did not allow her to leave it at that.

His gaze deepened as he looked at her, and then, slowly, he reached out his hand.
He brushed aside the slightly tousled strands of her silver hair from her forehead, and then pressed a brief kiss there.

His lips—slightly rough yet soft—settled gently on her skin, just like yesterday.

“……!”

Startled, Liana could only stare at him wide-eyed.

Since they were posing as a couple brimming with love, she couldn’t very well leap up and cry, What are you doing?!—because this, too, might be part of the act.

And yet…

“Good night, Liana.”

Ianharte smiled softly as he spoke those words, and somehow, it felt different from when he was only pretending to play the role of a loving partner.
As unbelievable as it seemed, it almost felt… genuine.

The person was the same as ever, the face, the voice unchanged.
Yet, with just a little bit of true feeling behind his words and actions, Liana found herself unable to hide the faint trembling of her eyes.

“Go on inside.”

“……Y-Your Majesty as well, please be careful on your way.”

“Yes. I’ll go carefully.”

His tone was softer than before, but Liana wasn’t in any state to notice.
In the end, she muttered a dazed farewell and went inside the palace.

After a bath in a perfumed tub and changing into fresh nightclothes, she tried to review some documents that required her attention.
But even then, Liana was only half present.

“Sigh……”

Thud—
She let out a long breath and tossed the papers she was holding onto the table.

She simply couldn’t focus.
White was paper, black was ink—yet none of it would sink in.
Her concentration, something she usually prided herself on, had abandoned her alongside her scattered mind over an hour ago.

The reason was obvious—none other than Ianharte, who had been so strangely unfamiliar tonight.

Liana slid sideways and lay down on the sofa.
When she turned to face upward, the cream-colored ceiling, softly glowing under the dimmed lamplight, filled her vision.

“…What on earth is he thinking.”

No one can truly know another’s heart, but for someone to change so suddenly—it was bewildering.

And what was worse, even though Ianharte’s behavior was unfamiliar… Liana didn’t dislike it. No—she even liked it in a faint, confusing way.

If someone asked which part she liked, she could answer—it was that he had been kinder than usual.

“Ah.”

At that realization, the confusion and strangeness made sense.
She identified the tiny weed that had sprouted, one that had thrived by feeding on the loneliness buried deep within her heart.

Good grief.

“…Was I just starved for someone’s kindness?”

If so, it explained why Ianharte’s subtle changes felt good to her.
Today, he had worried for her, cared for her, shown her consideration.

“Well, if it’s that…”

Even though their bond was founded on a contract, eventually they would be husband and wife.
That meant they would be family.

Her birth family might have been a miserable mess, but the family she would build now didn’t seem so bad at all.

Even the way he had called her by name made sense.
After all, considering how they’d made such a show of being inseparably in love, “Princess” sounded much less fitting than her name.

‘Come to think of it, he said he came to the training grounds earlier because he was worried about me.’

Though Ianharte himself didn’t seem to realize he had been worried.

Once that thought came to her, Liana could finally reach a clear conclusion.

‘I must have finally stepped into his circle.’

Ianharte’s kindness today must mean that she had entered the space of people he accepted.
Of course, some of his words and actions had been too ambiguous to dismiss as mere friendliness—but when one’s heart leans in one direction, the other side often chooses to pretend not to notice.

“Up we go.”

If Bernian, Kion, or even Ail had heard her conclusion, they would have shouted at her for being so infuriatingly dense.
But Liana herself, who reached that conclusion, felt oddly relieved.

With that lighter heart, she rose, and tidied the table in a haphazard way that would have made the neat-freak Lady Gisel twitch her eye.

The only light filling the room now was the faint moonlight filtered through thin clouds, but it was enough for Liana to see clearly.

Meanwhile, in a corner of the vast imperial gardens, a gloomy atmosphere hung thick.

Shuffle shuffle—
Trudge trudge—
Snarl snap—

Even from outside the palace, one could see the lethargy in the gait of the creature wandering there.
It was Leon, the Empire’s divine beast, his sleek black fur and graceful frame usually exuding nobility and elegance.

<…We’re doomed.>

Having returned to his true form to stretch his stiff body, Leon muttered complaints as he circled the garden.

<Who would’ve thought Liana had absolutely zero sense for romance…>

He grumbled as he completed one slow lap.

<Not that Lou is any better at romance! He isn’t. …Sure, his restraint and composed demeanor are things human women seem to like, but still…>

Another round of muttering as he trudged a second lap.

Of course, only Ianharte could actually understand Leon’s words when he made no special effort to hide them.
To everyone else, it just looked like a divine beast with a scowling face growling irritably while pacing the garden.

Today’s unfortunate witnesses were two maids who had come out to tend the grounds.

“What do we do…”

“…Even meat didn’t work?”

“No, he ate all of it…”

One of them glanced toward the big empty platter that had been set down earlier and let out an “Ah.”

Normally, after feasting on prime cuts, Leon would lie down in contentment, doze off, or go find His Majesty.
But right now, as he prowled about, his mood still looked stormy.

“What could he be unhappy about…”

“Maybe his bedding was uncomfortable?”

“Divine Beast sleeps either in the Emperor’s Palace or the Emerald Palace, doesn’t he?”

“…Ah, that’s right. And yesterday he slept in the Emerald Palace, so it can’t be that…”

Most in the palace knew that Leon was very fond of the First Princess of Rowoon—the Emperor’s consort—when he stayed at the Emerald Palace.

Anyway, back to Leon.

<Sigh…>

He flopped down helplessly and let out heavy sighs.

There was a very good reason why he was so drained.
And that reason was simple: those two humans with not a shred of romantic sense between them.