Chapter 55
Harvich’s lips parted slightly.
He understood what Lincia meant when she said that if he had truly loved her, he could never have forgotten that night.
The reason he couldn’t believe in that night was, in a way, the same as hers.
No man could forget his first true night with the one he loved.
That was why Harvich could never be the man from that night.
***
The night before, Harvich had not left the art studio.
Lincia noticed, but decided not to dwell on it.
“But if I imagine another man standing at the end of your smiling gaze, it burns here.”
How could he say that…
“I was taught this is what love is.”
Lincia could only think that Harvich was saying sweet things to calm her down, to escape the situation.
Even from an objective view, Lincia had been a pitiable woman for almost a year now.
To make up for that, he was giving her what she wanted most—his affection.
Otherwise, how could love roll so easily off his tongue?
Even if it was love, Lincia didn’t want to believe it.
A knock came at the door, followed by Anna’s faint voice.
“…Excuse me.”
It was barely a whisper.
Lincia rose from her seat and opened the door.
“I’m sorry.”
Anna apologized as soon as their eyes met.
“I caught a cold, so I was staying in the outer palace, but His Majesty came to the North.
Other than yesterday, I haven’t met or spoken with him at all.
It’s just that yesterday…”
Her words trailed into a blur.
Lincia’s gaze had caught on the bandages around Anna’s arm.
She hadn’t noticed them yesterday.
Startled, Lincia grabbed her arm and pulled her inside without thinking.
As soon as the door closed, she asked,
“Did Yulias hit you?”
Anna said nothing.
“He took it out on you because I refused to meet him, didn’t he?”
“No. It was a small accident.
I foolishly brought up what happened between Her Highness and Oberok.”
Anna’s lips trembled before she sighed.
“T-The two of them fought.
I tried to stop them and…”
A bookshelf nearly fell on her, but the Emperor and Tereo had caught her just in time.
If her injury was discovered, she’d have to explain that Yulias had come to see her, and so…
“I shouldn’t have mentioned the unpleasant story between Oberok and the Princess.
I’m so sorry.”
***
“Take a look at yourself in the mirror.”
Left alone in the studio after Lincia left, Harvich looked at his reflection.
He didn’t look like a man who had just confessed love.
He stared into the mirror and tried again and again to smile, but failed miserably.
It was almost pathetic, but he knew this expressionless face was the result of years of practice.
He had trained himself not to smile in front of Lincia.
Now that he thought about it, Harvich had liked her for a long time.
Maybe even from the first moment they met.
Judging by how she had even brought her books, she probably hadn’t heard that classes were canceled due to the Founding Festival.
Back then, Harvich didn’t want to get involved with her.
Even if Lincia wasn’t receiving proper treatment as a royal because of the succession struggle, she was still a Durand.
And Harvich was a Cassius.
He had tried to walk away, pretending not to notice her, when he realized something was wrong.
Not just a little wrong—terribly wrong.
Harvich had once cared for his sick mother, so his eyes went straight to Lincia as she staggered.
When she finally collapsed, he caught her.
Her body was burning hot.
Her shallow breaths carried a scent he recognized.
It was the scent of a poisonous herb that grew only in the Cassius territory.
He realized right away what she had eaten.
He had spent enough time wandering the mountains, eating whatever he could find to survive, to know that much.
A small amount wouldn’t harm you, but from the way she looked, she must have taken a lot.
If left alone, she’d fall into fever and die.
And then he’d surely be blamed for a crime he didn’t commit.
There was no time to think.
Harvich gently lifted Lincia and carried her to a cabin.
He made a simple antidote and helped her drink it, then laid her on the bed.
She would recover on her own, but she was young, and he’d never treated anyone else before, so he stayed nearby, worried.
Not long after, Lincia woke up.
Her violet eyes, which usually gave off a chilling aura like all Durands, looked clear and soft now.
Her eyes glistened with pain and tears—but even that…
Harvich didn’t want to get too involved, so he quickly drew the line.
“Are you awake?”
“…Ah.”
“You fainted, so I brought you here.”
Then it struck him—she might suspect him of poisoning her.
Should he make it clear where he stood?
But her next question caught him completely off guard.
“…Is it alright if I speak to you?”
And her response, too.
“…I’m sorry.”
Sorry?
Why would she apologize?
She was the Third Princess.
She couldn’t speak freely, not even about small matters.
And Harvich knew what the royal family thought of people like those from the Grand Duke’s line.
Uneducated beasts.
That was how the royals described the Cassius family.
But Lincia had treated even such a “beast” with kindness.
“Could you stay with me?”
She was the first to treat him like a human being.
“…I’m sorry if that was too much.
I only asked because I’m lonely.
I’m sorry.”
Harvich couldn’t ignore the quiet desperation in her voice.
That was when it began—
When he first became curious about Lincia.
In the academy, no one had to take responsibility for what happened within those walls.
So Harvich, despite his growing affection for her, pretended not to see the hardships that followed her.
He believed their connection would end with graduation.
Besides, he already had more than enough troubles of his own—problems even he couldn’t solve.
“I’ve prepared a gift.
Consider it compensation for the collapse of your trading company.
I’m not sure it will comfort you, but…”
When Harvich realized that “gift” was Lincia herself, he immediately understood what Yulias meant.
Yulias had known about Harvich’s feelings from the very beginning.
Afraid that this would become a new leash around his neck, Harvich forced himself to keep his lips firm every time they softened in her presence.
He was the head of his house, and that alone carried enough weight.
There was no place in that role for Lincia Durand.
The feelings he held for her were too cowardly to call love—
And too deep to be described by any other word.
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