Chapter 17
The noise of the hitting post being struck greeted me before Kyle’s figure did.
Standing quietly beside the pillar at the entrance, I silently watched Kyle’s back as he trained with fierce intensity.
He thrust his sword at the target repeatedly in the same posture, then continued striking quickly without rest.
‘He’s really working hard….’
Seeing him train with much more savage momentum than usual, I couldn’t bring myself to casually speak to him.
Small, younger than me, yet I could hear his desperate breathing and exhausted gasps.
Ten years of effort might be turned into nothing by a few words from the duke’s last will.
Even if I told Kyle now that he was the child of a maid and an illegitimate son, he would neither believe it nor accept it. And there was no proof.
Even if he believed it, it would be another problem. For a child who fought so desperately to gain his parents’ love and recognition, it would be like the sky collapsing.
The duke’s will was also beyond my ability to interfere with. If it were an accident or death in battle, I might have tried to stop it, but the cause of death was illness.
Even if I knew the future because I knew the original story, there was nothing I could do except change Kyle. And even that showed no improvement at the moment.
‘Will Kyle really change just because I keep staying beside him?’
When that question appeared in my mind—
Clang! — the wooden sword fell and scraped loudly against the floor.
Kyle came into view, bending down and collapsing while holding his knees, breathing heavily. Blood droplets dotted the shadow under his collapsed figure.
“Kyle!!”
I immediately ran and placed my hand on Kyle’s back. I could see blood flowing from his nose, passing through the space between his nose and upper lip, and dripping down his chin.
When I took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood, he pushed my hand away with his elbow. Then he rubbed the blood off with his sleeve.
“Are you okay? I think you pushed yourself too hard.”
I moved closer to Kyle, who was standing up while ignoring me. His shoulders rose and fell quickly as he breathed shallowly.
I handed him the towel and water bottle beside him. After a long time, he took them. Fortunately, the nosebleed seemed to have stopped quickly, but his face was pale.
“Take it easy. Ah, first eat some chocolate. It helps recover your energy quickly.”
I remembered the emergency snacks I usually carried and searched my bag.
“…Hey, go home.”
Kyle said in a cracked, tired voice.
His eyes were lifeless, like a dead fish. The bright golden eyes that once burned sharply were now dry and empty.
Something felt strange.
Even when he was angry or crying, he had never looked so fragile, as if he would break apart.
Even if this was self-directed training, I felt something was clearly wrong.
He was still a child who should be playing around, joking with friends, and laughing even if only leaves were rolling on the ground!
I couldn’t leave him like this.
“Hey, Kyle. Let’s go out and play with me.”
I grabbed Kyle’s wrist suddenly.
At my unexpected suggestion, Kyle’s brow sank deeply.
“I heard there will be a lavender festival near the capital. Aren’t you curious? I’ve never seen a vast lavender field either. If you don’t like crowded places, we can go before the festival starts.”
“…….”
“Oh. I also want to visit a pastry shop called Lotiang. I found it on Seilb Street, and later learned it’s the most famous bakery in Pellen. Will you go with me?”
I kept talking, trying to pull him out of this suffocating prison.
Kyle avoided looking at me and twisted his hand to break free from my grip.
“Or how about Serdin Lake? I heard it’s a quiet and beautiful lake. We’ll need a guardian to go, but it will be much better than running around the glass greenhouse before.”
“Hey.”
Kyle cut off my words, grinding each syllable with suppressed voice.
“Do you think everyone is as leisurely as you are? I’m different from a foolish idle girl like you. Go find someone else.”
“I said before, I only play after finishing my work. And I told you—you’re my only friend.”
“Make new friends. Someone who will happily waste time doing useless things with you. Or go with your proud, harmonious family.”
“…….”
His aggressive words left me speechless, but I calmed my mind.
“Like I said before, Kyle, I’m worried because you seem overworked. You need some rest. What about board games? Didn’t you enjoy them? Weren’t they fun?”
“Not at all. I only played because you kept begging.”
“…….”
“Take everything back. I won’t do it anymore.”
Since he rejected me this much, further persuasion felt meaningless.
A long sigh came from deep inside my chest. The distance I had barely narrowed seemed to return to the starting point.
Kyle turned away coldly, picked up the wooden sword, and resumed his stance.
The faint smell of blood stung my nose. The bandages wrapped around his hands were also stained red.
“Kyle.”
“…….”
“Did something happen between you and your father, Duke Dierne, who just returned?”
There must have been some reason he was driving himself so harshly today.
Maybe he heard cruel words. Or received cold indifference.
What kind of wound did he receive?
“Can you tell me what happened? I’m your friend. I’m on your side.”
When I asked gently but seriously, Kyle’s back-facing movement stopped.
I grabbed his elbow once more. Then Kyle violently pushed me away, and I lost balance and fell backward.
“Ah!”
Kyle’s pupils wavered with shock when he saw me fall, but it was only for a moment. The cold expression quickly replaced it.
“I don’t need friends.”
The next words, spoken coldly, pierced my heart.
His eyes were clearly fixed on me, yet it felt like he was looking at something else.
Distant thunder rumbled low and broke the silence. I looked at him earnestly and opened my lips that wouldn’t easily move.
“…Do you still think the same now?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? Truly?”
“Yeah.”
“…….”
“You’re in the way, so please disappear from my sight.”
At that moment, something inside my mind snapped.
The heartbeat that had been painfully racing slowed down.
As if I had been poured with cold water, my reason quickly returned.
The feeling of being immersed as “Ries” stepped back, and my original self—the adult who had possessed this body—raised its head.
A wave of emptiness rushed in.
‘Yes, let’s stop circling around this child. Trying to prevent a villain’s darkening… it’s beyond my ability.’
Continuing to cling to someone who rejects me is also disrespectful. Going further would be no different from being a stalker.
I should find another way to save Darius.
Later, when the heroine Adele appears, I might block Kyle from getting close to her, or send Darius far away so Kyle can avoid him.
In the worst case, I might have to treat Kyle as an enemy.
I barely calmed my complicated heart and stood up.
I dusted off my muddy clothes and straightened my back.
“Okay.”
I spoke calmly, as if starting a farewell.
“I wanted to get along well with you, but it’s a pity. I won’t come looking for you anymore. Sorry for bothering you.”
Kyle turned his back to me with tightly closed lips. But that was all. There was no reply or reaction.
Even though he wasn’t looking at me anyway, I still smiled slightly.
Maybe this was the last time, so I wanted to end it nicely.
“It was fun until now. Goodbye.”
I left the training ground quietly.
I didn’t expect him to hold me back, but not even a final goodbye felt bitter.
Since we were neighbors and he was Darius’s younger brother, we would probably meet from time to time.
But starting today, we were no longer friends.
‘Darius, I’m sorry. I wanted to keep your request to get along with Kyle, but I couldn’t.’
I called Millie and the coachman waiting nearby and told them I was going home.
After getting ready, I got into the Count’s carriage.
Raindrops began falling heavily from the sky, hitting the roof with a tuduk tuduk sound.
Mixed with the rhythmic sound of horse hooves was a sad white noise.
I stared blankly at the window covered with water droplets, and warmth was placed on my cold hand.
“Lady. You look pale. Did you fight with young master Kyleus?”
Millie sitting next to me asked while placing her hand on mine.
I tried to keep a poker face, but she was sharp.
“…No.”
It was more like I was pushed away, Millie.
It wasn’t a fight. It was one-sided rejection.
I truly felt that a fight needs mutual affection to exist.
To avoid worrying her, I stretched my lips into a long smile, but the tip of my nose felt sore.
It wasn’t really sadness, more like emptiness.
I had poured almost two months of my entire attention into getting close to Kyle, and it turned out to be a meaningless effort.
“When you return to the mansion, I will make you warm cocoa.”
I nodded at Millie’s comfort.
The gray clouds rumbled with thunder.
The distant Dierne Duke Estate faded away into the heavy pouring rain.
“Take care, Kyle. I hope you don’t go too far off the path, because it would hurt if you did.”
