TBKBS 32

Chapter : 32

Calix gave me a strange look as I reacted at the speed of light, frozen stiff.

Had I shown too much discomfort?

I forced out an awkward laugh and said,
“Hahaha! I answered too quickly, didn’t I? Hahaha!”

Ah, that made it even more awkward…

I stopped the awkward laughter and politely asked,
“Why did you call me? Do you have something to say?”

But he remained silent.

What’s his problem? He called me over but won’t say anything.

Then it happened.

Calix suddenly asked me a question I hadn’t expected.
“Do you love Crown Prince Eden?”

“Ah…!”

Gasp!

Why now?

Why show up and ask something like that?

Unbelievable.

How long are you going to keep interrogating me about my love?

And love? What love?

I’m just running to survive.

Still, of course, I couldn’t just tell him the truth of my feelings.

I had already broken off an engagement once and had just confessed to him not long ago.

Now, if I said I didn’t love him while marrying another man, I’d look completely insane.

Even if I did genuinely love him, I’d seem fickle and shallow.

Besides, I didn’t love Eden, so it felt wrong to say I did.

I had told Calix I loved him so easily before…

Even I thought that was a strange mindset.

Before I could even answer, Calix asked again.
“Why isn’t it Leon?”

Leon? Why bring up Leon all of a sudden?

Are you still connecting Leon and me?

Even now, when I’m marrying Eden, are you still doubting my alliance with Leon?

No!

I really don’t love Leon. I don’t support him. I won’t rebel against you!

Seeing him still ask about Leon, I decided I needed to make it crystal clear that I posed no threat to him.

Soon, I’d be clutching the lifeline that was Eden Daucus and running away, but for now, I hadn’t yet left Everetian.

“Duke Leon? I have no connection with Duke Leon. I love Lord Eden. That’s why I’ve decided to marry him!”

I emphasized my love for Eden to sever any lingering tie with Leon.

Apparently, when my life felt threatened, saying “I love you” came out effortlessly.

“Lord Eden?”

“Ah… yes.”

“Lord Eden… You love Eden Daucus?”

“…Yes.”

Leon and I have nothing to do with each other.

I won’t join in Leon’s or the Empress’s rebellion.

I will quietly leave, Calix.

He went silent again.

After walking for some time, we reached Letian Park.

At the park entrance, Calix suddenly stopped.

“Your Highness?”

Why? Why suddenly stop like a stone statue?

“I’ll be going back now.”

Really? Just like that?

We were walking fine, then suddenly stopped at the park entrance?

Ah!

Is it because he was embarrassed about collapsing in the park a few days ago?

Well, that’s a smart thought.

Better send him off quickly before things get awkward.

“Yes, then please go ahead.”

“You’re not bothered at all, are you?”

“?”

What does he mean? Not bothered by what?

Calix said that and turned, leaving the walking path.

As I stared at his retreating figure in a daze, I noticed Rajif standing by his side.

Barely noticeable.

After watching Calix and Rajif’s backs for a moment, I turned my head and began to enjoy my last days in Everetian, which had grown somewhat dear to me, by walking through the park.

The wedding was about a month and a half away, but once the dress fitting was done, I’d have to leave for the Daucus Empire in about a month. There wouldn’t be many more leisurely park walks like this.

Enjoy it. Truly enjoy it.

These last days in this empire.

I encouraged myself like that.

Yes, I had intended to enjoy the last days.

But just as I was about to, a thrilling trial came.

After that walk in the park, Calix began to appear in front of me wherever I went for a walk, strangely enough.

And it wasn’t just that—his expression was darker than before, sometimes angry.

Even at the café, he would appear and sit at a fixed distance. At the library, he’d sit at a distance, reading—or glaring at—books with a terrifying intensity.

At least he didn’t show up in the park.

Apparently, the shock of his fainting that day had affected him.

Why does he keep appearing in front of me?

Is he trying to torment me until I leave Everetian?

What did I do wrong?

Is he watching in case I change my mind and conspire in rebellion for Leon before leaving for the Daucus Empire?

But his appearances were too frequent to be coincidence, which made me increasingly uneasy.

He reminded me of the Calix in the story I had written. Obsessive over Kaelin…

No, that can’t be.

Every time I felt uneasy, I reminded myself that he had firmly said he didn’t love or care for me, and I tried to shake off the anxiety.

But there was one more thing disrupting my peaceful final days in Everen.

Eden’s letters, arriving at all hours.

The contents were mostly trivial, short, and simple.

<Missing you, Lin. Shall we move the wedding date forward?>

More like notes than letters.

<Are you ready to run away?>

Some seemed like jokes, mocking my desperation.

<I’m a little disappointed you never reply. You should send one.>

Pressuring me for a response.

I hated receiving them, and replying was way too much.

Arriving like lucky letters every two or three days, they were a huge nuisance.

Finally, I decided to reply to one of Eden’s letters, which I had never answered before.

Because of Calix’s constant appearances, my anxiety was increasing day by day.

To secure my safety, it seemed best to leave Everen as soon as possible.

I gathered all the ignored notes and answered them in one letter, trying to cater as much as possible. Even so, I could only manage more than three lines.

<Lord Eden, I am fully prepared to leave Everetian, and I actually wish to advance the schedule a little. I look forward to seeing you again.

• Kaelin Brockburke, eager to leave Everetian even a single day sooner.>

After sending the letter and receiving a positive reply, I moved up the dress fitting schedule by a few days.

The designer arrived a few days later with the dress, saying it was the earliest possible date.

I had chosen a strapless tube-top style dress, which I could never have worn as Kim Lin.

If I were still Kim Lin, exposing my shoulders like this would have been a problem with the wide shoulders and arms. But Kaelin, who had received the full “first love” boost, was a perfectly beautiful bride.

The tube-top style fit tightly to prevent slipping and had crisscross straps at the back tied with a ribbon.

Two maids and the designer—three in total—helped me put it on.

One maid held the dress to prevent it from slipping, the other pulled the ribbon tight, and the designer tied it.

Realizing the dress relied entirely on the ribbon, I nervously asked,
“Won’t the ribbon come undone and the dress slip?”

Though I couldn’t see her face, the designer answered proudly,
“Miss, this ribbon is even patented. Using just the two long ends, multiple ribbons are tied from the bottom up. Even if one loosens, it won’t all come undone.”

“Oh… that’s safe.”

I nodded, but then a thought came.

“Could anyone else undo it? After the ceremony, could anyone untie it?”

The designer laughed heartily this time and proudly said,
“I told you, it’s patented. If the groom pulls the top ribbon with force, it all comes undone at once. Mistakes won’t undo it, but if intended, it comes undone in one pull. The groom will probably do it.”

Groom? Whoa!

The designer’s strange laugh made me picture a vigorous groom pulling the ribbon and the dress slipping down.

This dress is subtly erotic!

But… the groom is Eden Daucus?

Oh no… my fate is to do this with Eden.

No, no. Don’t imagine it. Forbidden!

I shook off the dark thought.

Ah, why is it so hot suddenly?

Not because of imagination! Struggling to put on the dress made me break into a sweat.

“It’s a bit hot. Can you open a window?”

A maid, free-handed now, quickly opened the window.

Following her movement, I realized something uncomfortable.

The dress was far too tight!

It wasn’t slipping—it was suffocating me like a pressure bandage.

I struggled to breathe and muttered,
“My chest is too tight. Need to loosen it.”

“Here?”

The designer’s hand probed my back.

“Yes, loosen there. I can’t breathe. I’ll pass out during the ceremony.”

“……”

Huh?

Suddenly, I couldn’t feel the hands of the designer or the maids on my back.

“……”

Not only that—their movements behind me were gone too.

An abrupt silence.

Why is it so quiet?

In that moment of odd stillness, I felt something release. The pressure of the dress vanished, and it slipped down.

Reflexively, I grabbed the half-slipped tube-top and pulled it back up over my chest.

“What are you doing?!”

I turned around, shocked, unable to breathe.

Calix!

Crown Prince Calix was standing right behind me.

And the ribbons, which should have been tightly tied, were undone and in his hands.