Chapter 07
Julia, who had washed up quickly, gathered the clothes that had been lying on the floor and dressed in the blink of an eye.
She moved and curled up on a chair placed near the door of the guest room.
That chair seemed to be the farthest from the bed, making it suitable for having a rational conversation with him.
‘What was the rush with the clothes that she had to just throw them around like that…?’
Filled with self-reproach, Julia buried her face between her curled-up knees.
As she sat there listening to the sound of water coming from the bathroom, her mind became incredibly complicated.
‘When did I come into the room with Cassian?… I don’t remember any of it… I’m screwed… This is crazy! Of all people, why did it have to be Cassian?’
Soon, the sound of water stopped, and along with the clicking sound of the door, a wet Cassian walked out of the bathroom.
Small droplets of water hung from the tips of his black hair.
Cassian approached the mirror hanging next to the bed and towel-dried his hair.
His eyebrows, looking at Julia in the mirror, raised in puzzlement.
“Why are you sitting so far away? Come closer.”
He gestured with his eyes toward the large bed behind him.
“Oh, no! I’m fine here! I’ll talk from here.”
Julia quickly waved her hands in refusal.
Facing Cassian from a distance, Julia slowly began to scrutinize his appearance.
Cassian’s unguarded appearance, just having woken up, was incredibly unfamiliar.
The image she was used to seeing at school was him in a neat school uniform with his shirt buttoned up to his neck and his black bangs smoothly swept back, looking impeccable.
In contrast, the Cassian before her eyes now was completely disheveled.
Especially his neck and upper body, full of messy and reddish marks, truly didn’t suit him.
‘Surely I’m not responsible for all of those marks…?’
Feeling a strange sense of guilt, Julia squeezed her eyes shut again.
It seemed that because she had drunk some alcohol for the first time in a while, she had lost her inhibitions and done things to him that she shouldn’t have.
The damage was already done, but Julia felt some sense of responsibility for having reduced him to that state.
‘But…’
But after all, it was just one night that she could barely remember.
She thought it wouldn’t be desirable for either of them to maintain this relationship.
‘First of all, since Cassian doesn’t have feelings for me…’
Julia decided to think about it the easy way.
“Cassian, let’s forget what happened today.”
“What?”
Julia declared boldly.
She could see Cassian’s expression in the mirror hardening.
Without getting intimidated, Julia continued firmly.
“I must have drunk too much of the mixed liquor yesterday because I don’t really remember. This is just the state I woke up in. I don’t want things to get unnecessarily awkward, so let’s forget about yesterday.”
Julia declared rather coolly.
After all, Cassian would probably prefer that over getting entangled with her in something like this…
Cassian, who had been standing still with the towel for a moment, turned around and looked at Julia with a cold expression.
He spat out in a chilly voice.
“…You don’t remember?”
“Yeah, I don’t remember… anything. This has never happened before…”
Julia nodded her head like a broken doll.
It really was strange.
No matter how drunk she had been, how could she lose all those memories so completely?
“Ha… That explains why your expression was strange when we faced each other this morning.”
Cassian ran his hand through his disheveled hair, pushing it back from his forehead, and furrowed his dark brows.
Julia held her breath, watching his mood.
She couldn’t quite understand why Cassian seemed displeased with the situation.
For him, not getting unnecessarily involved with her would be much simpler and easier…
“What if I don’t want to?”
Cassian lifted his head again and faced Julia.
His smooth face had returned to its usual calm, expressionless state, as if it had never been disturbed.
“Huh?”
“What if I don’t want to forget?”
He strode towards where Julia was sitting.
Screech!
Startled, Julia reflexively pushed her feet back, causing the chair legs to drag across the floor with an unpleasant sound.
She had expected Cassian to come straight toward her, but instead, he walked a few steps, bent down, and picked up a white shirt that had fallen under the bed.
“Oh… I see, I suppose you might not want to!”
That was a scare…
Julia, who had been instantly intimidated, continued, visibly flustered.
It was an unexpected reaction.
“But still… wouldn’t forgetting be better for both of us? Since it was a mistake for both of us…”
“A mistake?”
“Yeah, a mistake.”
“It wasn’t on my side.”
“Oh…”
Cassian slipped his upper body into the shirt he had picked up, buttoned it, and said in a calm voice.
The white shirt stretched tautly across his body.
“What? Is it common for you to spend the night with a man by mistake?”
His tone was uncharacteristically sharp and sarcastic.
Julia felt momentarily offended, but she had no room for excuses.
She had once ranted about a man who wanted to pretend nothing happened after spending the night together…
‘Ugh… That’s exactly what I’m doing now…’
Julia felt like irredeemable trash.
‘Besides, I’ve never seen Cassian express such uncomfortable feelings before…’
The Cassian Julia had known up until now had mostly been expressionless, indifferent, cold, or aloof.
Seeing this unfamiliar side of him made her feel a pang of guilt.
“Um… look, let me apologize first. I’m sorry… I really don’t remember anything.”
Julia cautiously spoke, watching Cassian.
“…But think about it carefully. You can’t seriously start dating me now, can you?”
It seemed unlikely that Grand Duke Cassian would seriously date or marry a woman he’d spent just one night with.
Nobles, after all, were the kind of people who entered loveless contractual marriages for the benefit of their families and kept multiple mistresses as if it were natural.
Unless he toyed with me and then dumped me when the female lead of the original novel appeared…
“Serious dating…”
Cassian muttered in a low voice after hearing Julia’s words.
She felt his menacing aura subside slightly.
Interpreting Cassian’s softened attitude as agreement with her words, Julia quickly continued.
“I don’t want to start a relationship that has an expiration date.”
“What do you mean, an expiration date?”
“Well… you wouldn’t marry me, would you? Even if the other person is a high-ranking noble, I have no intention of being a mistress or anything.”
“What, a mistress?”
Cassian, who had regained some composure, wrinkled his face again and asked incredulously.
“Who said anything about making you a mistress…!”
Knock, knock.
Just then, a light knock came from the guest room door behind her.
“Ju… li… a…!”
Jerome was knocking on the door of room 207.
Startled by Jerome’s sudden voice, Julia’s body trembled, and she stood up from the chair.
“Wh-what time is it?”
She glanced at her wristwatch and picked up her bag that had fallen on the floor.
She felt that if she dawdled any longer, Jerome might open the door and come face to face with Cassian.
“Well then… I’ll take it as settled and head off first! If we happen to see each other next time, let’s meet!”
‘Which will absolutely never happen!’
Julia shouted the last sentence only in her mind and quickly turned around.
She didn’t want to continue this uncomfortable conversation any longer.
With graduation from the academy just around the corner, there was nothing left that would entangle her with Cassian Isheid.
Ah, if she joined a company related to imperial duties, she might see him in passing?
Just before hurrying out of the guest room, Julia glanced back at Cassian inside the room.
“…”
Cassian was still staring at her without moving a muscle.
His expressionless face seemed to be deep in thought about something.
Sorry, but it can’t be helped… We mustn’t be entangled any further.
Heal your wounds today later when you meet the female lead of the original novel! You’ll surely thank me then.
Forcing herself to ignore him, Julia cautiously opened the guest room door.
Through the slightly open door, she could see Jerome standing there smiling.
If she opened the door wide, Jerome would look inside and spot Cassian.
Julia slipped only her body through the narrow gap and quickly slammed the door shut behind her.
“Jerome! You’re up early? Let’s go!”
Jerome, who had been waiting for Julia outside the door, worried she might fall as she rushed out frantically, firmly held her staggering arm.
As if she had come out in a hurry because he’d urged her, the ends of her brown hair weren’t even dry yet.
As Jerome held Julia, his gaze fell upon the earrings precariously dangling amidst her voluminous hair.
The back wasn’t fastened properly, as if she had put them on hastily without looking in a mirror.
“Ju… Julia… Jus… just a… mo…”
Jerome stopped Julia’s body.
“Jerome, I’m hungry! Let’s go quickly!”
Julia nervously alternated her gaze between Jerome’s face, who had stopped her, and the door of room 207.
Jerome, still ignoring Julia’s words, stood firmly holding both her arms.
“What’s wrong? Come on, let’s go down! We need to call a carriage before it gets any later!”
Julia stamped her feet impatiently.
If she didn’t leave this place quickly, she had no idea when Cassian might open that door and appear.
Jerome, who had been quietly watching Julia, carefully tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Then he fiddled with the pearl earring visible beneath it.
