IWBCAS 09

Episode 9

Carhill suddenly came to the café where Reina was. When Reina saw him, she opened her mouth in shock.

‘Why are you here again?!’

She wanted to say that, but before she could speak, the tea went down the wrong pipe and made her cough hard.

“Cough! Cough-cough!!”

As Reina hit her chest with her fist, trying to stop coughing, Carhill looked at her with a concerned expression.

“Oh dear. Be careful, Lady. Or… are you just that happy to see me?”

‘No! I was clearly surprised!!’

“Cough-cough!”

She tried to argue but could only cough.

“Alright, alright. I get it. You’re that happy.”

Carhill smiled and gently touched Reina’s hair, acting like she had welcomed him. Reina shook her head quickly, trying to avoid his hand, but he kept reaching for her head.

“I didn’t expect to meet you here like this, Lady Reina.”

Carhill’s smile suddenly turned cold as he looked directly at her.

“I sent you a letter, but you didn’t reply for days. And now I find you here… with another man?”

His voice was cold and scary. Reina froze in fear.

“What kind of rude behavior is this?!”

The one who stepped forward to protect her was Aisen.

“…And who are you?”

Carhill finally looked at Aisen. Aisen stared back with sharp eyes.

To Aisen, who had always lived honestly, Carhill’s rude and arrogant tone was shocking.

Aisen’s face hardened.

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before asking someone else’s name? If you’re a noble, you should know proper manners.”

Many people would recognize Carhill, but Aisen had just arrived from the South and didn’t know who he was.

Reina wanted to clap for Aisen. He stood firm and proper, the complete opposite of Carhill, who looked like he came here just to cause trouble.

But… the opponent was the worst possible person.

‘Of all people, it had to be Carhill…’

As expected, Carhill didn’t look hurt at all and replied bluntly,

“Why should the only Duke in the Empire show manners to a mere baron’s son?”

Hearing this, Aisen’s eyes widened.

“You… You’re the Duke Carhill Lautzen?”

Aisen’s shocked eyes looked as if a storm had hit him.

‘That carefree guy is the Northern Duke?’

He quickly collected himself and asked,

“Why are you here, Your Grace?”

Carhill didn’t answer. Instead, he just grabbed Reina’s teacup and drank from it.

Steam was still rising from the hot tea, but Carhill drank it like it was nothing.

‘Whoa, doesn’t he feel the heat?’

While Reina was admiring his insane tolerance, she suddenly yelled,

“That’s my teacup!”

At her slightly rebellious voice, Carhill laughed and loudly placed the teacup back on the table.

“Between us…”

His lips smiled, but his eyes were sharp and cold.

“Sharing a teacup shouldn’t be a big deal, right?”

Reina shut her mouth tightly in fear.

“Between you two…?”

Aisen looked confused and glanced between them.

“What do you mean ‘between you two’? Are you and Lady Reina… involved?”

“Oh, yes.”

Carhill nodded, pretending Aisen had asked the perfect question.

“I guess I should tell you, since you came here for a marriage proposal.”

“Marriage proposal…?” Reina tilted her head in confusion.

Carhill kept talking on his own.

“We’re going to get married soon.”

“What…? We are?”

Reina had never heard this before.

“You shouldn’t be meeting other men if you’re engaged, Lady.”

“When did we become—”

She was about to argue, but Carhill leaned in close and whispered in her ear,

“So, did you hide the Holy Grail well, Lady?”

“!!”

“I know everything. You hit me with it that day. You kissed me too.”

Reina stared at him, shocked.

“If they find out the Grail is missing, the Imperial Palace will be in chaos.”

Reina stopped breathing. She was too shocked to move.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Aisen looked at Reina with wide, confused eyes.

“Is that true, Lady? Are you really… involved with Duke Carhill?”

Reina’s face twisted in frustration. Carhill just smiled.

He was silently threatening her—if she denied it, he’d spill the truth.

Reina couldn’t say anything, and Aisen looked even more confused.

“If you want, I can prove it right here.”

Prove it? How?

It didn’t take Reina long to figure out what he meant.

Carhill was slowly leaning toward her.

‘No way. Don’t tell me you’re going to—’

Before she could react, Carhill kissed her.

Soft, warm, and gentle—just like before.

Reina instinctively closed her eyes.

‘Wait! Now’s not the time to close your eyes!!’

She suddenly snapped them open. But it was too late. Aisen was already walking away.

‘Aisen! Aisen, come back!!’

Reina screamed inside her head, but the kiss muffled her voice.

Carhill paused, then smiled as he kissed her again.

‘What is happening?! What even is this situation?!’

Reina screamed again in her mind—but no sound came out.

Inside a moving carriage.

Reina and Carhill sat across from each other, staring.

Carhill looked calm and relaxed. Reina glared at him, full of frustration.

She had so much to say but didn’t know where to start. Finally, Carhill broke the silence.

“What’s with that face?”

“You’re seriously asking that?”

Reina snapped back at him.

“If it’s not a question, what is it?”

“You suddenly showed up and did that! How could you do something so outrageous, Duke Carhill?!”

She shouted each word clearly, but Carhill just smiled.

That smile made Reina even angrier.

“…Are you laughing right now?”

“Yeah. I don’t know why, but I can’t stop smiling.”

He felt really good. The mystery that had bothered him for years was finally solved.

When he kissed her just now, the pain in his body vanished instantly—even the poison that no medicine could remove.

There was no doubt.

‘It’s her.’

Her kiss was suppressing the poison that had been hurting him for years.

Now that he could finally heal, of course he was happy.

Carhill even laughed out loud.

‘What’s wrong with this man? He kissed me and now he’s laughing…?!’

Reina looked at him like he was crazy, but he didn’t stop laughing.

She held her head, dizzy.

“Why… why did you do that to me?”

Even in an open-minded society like theirs, a public kiss—especially that kind—was a big deal.

Carhill smirked.

“You say that, but you seemed to enjoy it.”

He clearly saw her close her eyes and accept the kiss.

“Duke Carhill! This is not a joke! What you did today was serious!”

Carhill stopped smiling and looked at her seriously.

“And what about you, Lady? Why did you sneak into the Imperial Palace and steal the Holy Grail?”

“I… I didn’t steal—”

“Oh please. Don’t use that line again. It’s not funny anymore.”

He began listing everything calmly.

“I checked every item in the royal storage. What you took… was the Holy Grail. It had been sitting there for hundreds of years.”

‘Damn. He really did find out.’

She should’ve known from his earlier words.

“There were so many things to steal. Why the Grail? Did you have a special reason for stealing that?”

Reina didn’t answer. She just bit her lips.

“I kept wondering. Why would the thief kiss me while I was unconscious? There was blood in my hair, but no wound. Strange, right?”

He thought about it for days. Read through all the records. And after today’s kiss, he was sure of it.

There was only one conclusion.