MLHRGD 49

#49. Rest (4)

Maybe it was because he saw Sir Andrei so often?

Since their age difference wasn’t that big, maybe Pavel felt like Andrei was an older brother—so he felt more competitive.

And because his relationship with his real father wasn’t a normal father-son bond, Sasha could understand.

Since Sasha didn’t know what was truly in Pavel’s heart, this was the only way she could see it.

Sasha smiled warmly after thinking.

“Yeah. Things will go the way you want.”

“……”

Pavel pressed his lips together and nodded.

After that short exchange, they silently stared at the calm surface of the lake.

The water rippled lightly when the wind blew, and watching it made them feel clear and refreshed.

Pavel wanted to melt into this moment, right here, right now.

He wanted to keep walking around freely, holding Sasha’s hand—just the two of them.

Forever like this…

“Time has already flown by.”

But Pavel’s secret wish couldn’t come true.

“Are your legs tired? We walked a lot.”

“This much doesn’t make me tired.”

“True. You’ve been training hard, right?”

“Yeah.”

Feeling a bit sulky at being treated like a kid again, Pavel looked up at the sunset sky.

It was time to head back.

“When can we go out again?”

“Hmm…”

Sasha thought carefully before answering.

“I’ll be busy for a while, so it’ll be hard. But I’ll try my best to make time.”

Pavel didn’t want to trouble Sasha.

He wasn’t a whining child begging for outings.

What he truly wanted was just…

“I liked it better before.”

“Hm?”

“When it was just us two.”

Pavel fidgeted with his hand in his pocket and said,

“When it was only you and me in the annex. I liked that time.”

Sasha wondered why Pavel was saying this. But only for a moment.

“Me too.”

Sasha slipped her hand into Pavel’s pocket and held his warm hand.

“It was comfortable and nice when it was just the two of us. Right?”

Hearing her smiling voice, Pavel also heard her true feelings inside:

[I really wish I could keep spending lazy, peaceful days with Pavel like this.]

Sasha’s spoken words always matched her inner thoughts.

Pavel gazed at her quietly.

It wasn’t just him who felt reluctant to leave.

Sasha too wished their time together could last longer.

Pavel’s heart tingled warmly.

“Yeah.”

He whispered softly. Sasha then pulled her hand out of his pocket and swung their clasped hands. Their arms swayed like a swing.

“Let’s go out again later. Even if not often, if we spend time together whenever we can, it’ll build up and up…”

Sasha smiled brightly.

“It’ll be even more than the time we spent together in the annex.”

Even with her kind words, Pavel still felt sad about returning home.

But thinking they could stay together for a long time made him feel better.

The Next Morning

After finishing her urgent work, Sasha used a short break to find Pavel.

Pavel had just finished his dawn training and was resting.

Sasha brought out a gift box she had prepared and suggested,

“Pavel, let’s go give this to the Grand Duke.”

Pavel frowned, clearly not liking the idea.

“Can’t we just have a servant deliver it?”

But Sasha smiled brightly, trying to persuade him.

“It’s a gift we carefully chose. Wouldn’t it be nice to give it personally? Hmm?”

“…Do we really have to…”

“Please, Pavel?”

He clearly disliked spending precious time with his awkward father, but in the end, he couldn’t win against Sasha.

The two, holding the neatly wrapped gift, arrived in front of Grand Duke Dmitri’s office.

Knock, knock.

From inside, a deep voice asked who it was.

“It’s me, Sasha. I came with Pavel. May we come in for a moment?”

“…Come in.”

Dmitri rose from behind his desk to greet them.

As they sat on the sofa and a maid served tea, he asked the reason for their visit.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Ah.”

Remembering the gift, Sasha signaled Pavel.

Pavel handed the gift he was holding to the Grand Duke.

“This is…?”

Dmitri asked, unable to hide his surprise.

Sasha smiled gently.

“Yesterday, while we were out, we thought of you and bought this.”

“……”

“It’s nothing big, but it carries our hearts. Please accept it.”

Dmitri stared at them silently, holding the gift.

His expressionless face was hard to read—whether he was pleased or bothered.

‘He could at least say something…’

As Sasha grumbled inwardly, Dmitri finally spoke slowly.

“…Let’s have dinner together tonight.”

“Dinner?”

“I’ll tell the chef to prepare a feast in the family dining room.”

“Ah…”

At first unsure, Sasha realized—

This was his way of showing he was happy about the gift.

‘Honestly. He could’ve just said he was happy.’

She thought the Grand Duke wasn’t very straightforward.

So another thought crossed her mind:

‘Maybe, just like Pavel, he has a hidden cute side…’

But Sasha brushed it off as just her imagination—
until she later saw an unexpected side of Dmitri Volkov.

Later That Day

“Aika! Aika, where are you?”

Once again, Aika was missing.

Sasha couldn’t let the puppy keep running off without knowing where.

“At least if we figure out where Aika always goes, we’ll worry less.”

“I’ll check that way. Pavel, can you check over there?”

“Okay.”

They split up and started searching.

After a long search, Sasha finally spotted movement.

“Aika!”

She saw Aika’s gray tail wagging quickly in the distance.

“Aika!”

Running fast toward the corner where the tail disappeared, she finally saw—

“Woof!”

There was Aika, and next to her stood a tall, strong man.

“…Grand Duke?”

Dmitri, with a stern face, was petting Aika—but then froze.

His face even looked pale.

“….”

“Ah…”

Sasha and Dmitri exchanged awkward glances.

This was embarrassing.

“Over here, Sasha?”

To make matters worse, Pavel approached from the other direction.

“There?”

“Uh, well…”

Pavel stopped in his tracks. He had spotted the Grand Duke.

Dmitri slowly stood, as if nothing had happened—but the dog hairs stuck all over his pants and sleeves gave him away.

“….”

“….”

“….”

“Woof!”

The heavy silence was broken by Aika’s cheerful bark.

“…Does Aika visit you often, Grand Duke?”

It looked like Aika was very used to his touch. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time.

“She even comes into my office sometimes.”

“Into your office?”

Sasha stared at Aika in shock.

“Woof!”

Aika just wagged her tail happily, thrilled to be with people she loved.

“So that’s where you’ve been disappearing to…”

Sasha looked at Aika with disbelief.

“Aika must really like you, Grand Duke.”

“Hm.”

“I’m the one who saved her, fed her, and raised her, yet she doesn’t even come into my office…”

She liked Pavel more than me, and now Dmitri too.

They say babies don’t hide their faces but hide their boldness—maybe dogs do that too?

Sasha rubbed her cheek in frustration. She didn’t think she looked bad in this life.

Or maybe Aika just had a thing for handsome men?

Perhaps the Volkov men were her type.

“….”

“….”

Pavel and Dmitri, looking so alike, stood staring at each other with stiff faces. Anyone could tell they were father and son.

‘Why just stand there like that? They should at least talk…’

If left like this, they’d just have an awkward staring contest until parting ways.

So Sasha quickly cut in, breaking the frozen air.

“Since we’re here, could you spare some time? It’d be nice to walk Aika together.”

“…I should—”

“Aika clearly likes you. Can’t you join us, Grand Duke? Are you really so busy you can’t spare even a short time?”

Her quick questions stopped Dmitri in his tracks.

In the end, he gave in to Sasha’s strong will.

So Dmitri walked side by side with Pavel, following energetic Aika all around—the gardens, the backyard, even the forest near the annex—until she finally tired out.

Even Dmitri, known for his iron strength, looked a bit worn out by the time they returned to his office.

Though Sasha had dragged him into it, he recalled the walk with faint pleasure.

‘It wasn’t bad.’

He had shared small bits of conversation with his son and found simple joy.

From then on, though still awkward, the three often took walks together.

Sasha was glad that, thanks to Aika, father and son were at least spending some time together.

And discovering this softer side of Dmitri, loved by a puppy, wasn’t bad either.

‘He seemed scary, but actually, he has a human side. He’s easier to deal with now.’

Surely Pavel felt the same.

After all, since seeing Dmitri with Aika, Pavel had grown noticeably more comfortable around his father.

And so, the cold winter passed peacefully.