Chapter 75
“I dislike speaking in circles. What exactly are you trying to say?”
When he asked bluntly, McAkin frowned slightly, then softened his tone again.
“Even if the war is over, there is still a lack of trust between our sides. Don’t you think we need a solid guarantee for that?”
Kaisa lifted his glass.
His cold smile hid behind it, and the golden eyes beneath grew heavy.
Now he understood why McAkin had seated those women across from him.
Kaisa turned his gaze to the young ladies of House Rosebin, each wearing a shy expression.
McAkin intended to marry one of them off to him.
So that was your goal from the beginning.
A visceral disgust rose in him.
Whether or not there was any gain for him or the serpent clan was secondary.
He had no intention of playing along with the scheming of an old merchant trying to sell off his granddaughter.
“This is not something to decide lightly.”
Kaisa set his glass down.
Suddenly, everything felt tedious.
“I’ve traveled a long way. I’m rather tired. May I be excused from the meal?”
“Ah, of course. I must have detained you too long.”
Feigning embarrassment, McAkin quickly changed his expression.
“I’ve had a chamber prepared. Please, rest well.”
But Kaisa did not go straight to his room.
Though the chamber was spacious by their standards, it felt small for a man of his stature.
The air felt stifling.
The warm and humid atmosphere peculiar to Rahol only made it worse.
He almost longed for the biting winds of Barhad that could freeze the skin.
He began to wander around the Rosebin estate.
He had no destination.
He simply walked wherever his feet carried him, wherever the wind blew.
The grass rustled underfoot.
And then—he turned his head toward the moonlight.
“Hey, over here.”
A familiar voice drifted through the wind.
“This way.”
Without realizing it, his feet moved.
Drawn by that voice, Kaisa found himself at the outer edge of the vast mansion grounds.
There, tucked away where few eyes could reach, was a single lit window.
From the open window, someone reached out a hand.
“Here.”
The moment he saw the slender arm calling to a little bird by the window,
his mind went completely blank.
Kaisa froze in place.
He knew her immediately.
The girl who had saved him years ago.
How…?
It was a meeting he could never have foreseen.
His throat tightened; his breath caught.
Why was she here, of all places?
Is she… a daughter of House Rosebin?
But if so, why had he not seen her anywhere inside the mansion until now?
She hadn’t appeared in the welcoming crowd, nor at the banquet.
What was going on?
He couldn’t make sense of the situation, but neither could he rush up to question her.
Barely clinging to reason, he swallowed dryly.
“Chirp, chirp…”
The bird that had been hopping nearby fluttered toward her.
She smiled as the tiny creature landed on her finger, mimicking its chirp.
She still loved animals, it seemed.
Watching the little bird nuzzle its head against her hand, he saw his old self in it.
A trivial memory, perhaps already long forgotten by her.
“Hehe… how cute.”
She was still small and slender, yet she had clearly grown.
Her limbs were longer, her figure graceful and gently curved.
A woman now.
“……”
Why was it that looking at her made his throat dry up again?
A thirst welled up from somewhere deep, raw and powerful.
It wasn’t like any desire he had ever known.
At that moment, in Kaisa’s golden eyes, a glint of hunger flickered.
Then—whoosh.
A gust of wind swept through, stirring the leaves.
“Ah…”
Startled, the bird took flight from her hand.
He wondered what she was thinking as she watched it go.
He couldn’t look away.
Her small shoulders drooped in silence.
“It’s gone…”
The swaying curtains, the long silver hair fluttering in the breeze—none could hide her sorrowful profile.
Kaisa unconsciously clenched his fist.
Why are you still…
So much time had passed since that day. So much had changed.
Yet why did she still look so sad?
As she lifted her gaze to the sky with that shadowed face, she quietly closed the window.
Kaisa stood there for a long time, staring at the lone, glowing window before finally turning away.
Originally, Kaisa’s stay in Rahol was to last only a week.
But if he wanted to learn more about her, he had to delay his return to Barhad.
“Rahol’s beauty is truly as the rumors say. If you have no objection, Lord McAkin, I’d like to stay a bit longer.”
“Of course. As long as you wish.”
Kaisa secretly began gathering information about her.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult.
His lieutenant, Edwin—once an assassin—was skilled at information gathering anywhere he went.
“Shariel Rosebin. Seems she’s in poor standing within her family due to some physical frailty. Nothing else remarkable, though… rumor has it she’s to be married.”
Kaisa’s hand froze as he reviewed the report.
It felt as if his heart turned to ice.
Unaware of his commander’s reaction, Edwin continued casually.
“Her fiancé’s… not exactly ideal. It’s Artiwen of the Wolf Tribe.”
Even across the continent, few didn’t know the name Artiwen.
A wealthy tycoon who’d made his fortune in Babylon through land speculation—
but when drunk, he was known to turn into a beast, literally beating those around him.
That was why, even at eighty, he remained unmarried.
“The head of that family has gone too far. Selling his granddaughter off to such an old drunk just for money.”
It made perfect sense.
Wasn’t this the same McAkin who had tried to auction off his other ‘proper’ granddaughters to Kaisa at the banquet?
In politics, what use were ethics or dignity anyway?
Perhaps this was simply McAkin’s way of survival.
Just as Edwin was about to say so, a chill ran down his spine.
It was as if a blade had been pressed to the back of his neck.
“…Why are you angry, sir?”
He asked cautiously, sensing the killing intent.
“What do you think?”
Kaisa’s voice was low and cold.
His face, usually so refined it could have been sculpted, was now as sharp and frigid as a drawn blade.
The situation was spiraling in a direction he had never anticipated.
He had once wondered what he would do if they ever met again.
Whenever he thought of her, it was always the same—
He wanted to see her. To keep her close.
To never let her go.
Those vague, irrational urges began to dominate his mind.
The uncontrollable desire frightened even him.
Maybe it would have been better never to see her again.
But that was impossible.
All such thoughts were meaningless.
From the moment he saw her again, Kaisa had lost the time to weigh pros and cons.
He simply followed his instincts.
What should I do…
The answer was already clear. Desire drove him.
Just seeing her isn’t enough.
He wanted to know what she liked, what she hated—to know everything about her.
He wanted to be close to her.
He wanted no one else to have her.
He wanted her by his side.
He needed her there.
His chest burned like the wick of a lit candle.
Tap. Tap.
His long fingers tapped rhythmically on the table before he finally stood up.
“Lord McAkin. The proposal you made earlier—does it still stand?”
If proof of alliance was needed, it had to be her.
“Of course, Lord Kaisa. If you wish it, by all means.”
And so, the arranged marriage between the two clans began.
Returning to Barhad, Kaisa started preparing for the bride he would soon receive.
It was strange.
Shariel likely had no idea of his intentions, yet an odd thrill stirred in his chest.
“Make the ceremony as grand and splendid as possible.”
“Sir? Is that really necessary for this marriage?”
Edwin looked bewildered, unable to understand his commander at all.
But Edwin’s greatest strength was that, even when he didn’t understand, he executed orders flawlessly.
“…Understood. I’ll see to it immediately.”
The preparations for the wedding proceeded under Kaisa’s direct supervision.
From the banquet arrangements to the bride’s dress, he oversaw every detail.
“This dress will do.”
He imagined her pale skin—so delicate it would mark with a single bite—
veiled in a thin layer of white fabric.
“These jewels, then.”
A small pair of amethyst earrings—deep purple, gleaming faintly.
They would match beautifully with her long silver hair.
“Since when have you been interested in such things, sir…?”
Edwin couldn’t hide his curiosity. His commander, usually indifferent to adornments, was now obsessing over them.
Kaisa himself wasn’t truly interested either.
Only—whenever he thought something might suit her, he couldn’t help but want it.
