Chapter 13. Forever, With No One

“She’ll be in a place impossible to reach with your pace. Let’s ride there.”

“Wait, just tell me where they are and I’ll go by myself, eeeek!”

Acting without listening to others seemed to be his innate personality.

Calyx lifted the resisting Lottie and placed her on the saddle, then quickly mounted behind her before she could protest that she couldn’t ride.

“It seems I’ll somewhat keep my promise to teach you horseback riding.”

Calyx spoke in a voice that seemed to embrace her ear, his body pressed close as he held the reins.

“That’s what I told you. No one can guarantee how things will turn out.”

“……!”

“Ha!”

Calyx firmly wrapped one arm around Lottie’s waist and began galloping.

With her eyes tightly shut against the strong vibrations she had never experienced before, Lottie slowly opened them when her ears became numb.

— When riding a horse, does it feel like you’re flying through the wind?

Charlotte Ebenscher. You were right.

It feels like flying through the sky.

You, who only knew how to limp along in uncomfortable shoes, are now flying freely.

The wind made her eyes sting. The redness around her eyes was surely just because of that.

‘If I don’t marry my ex-husband, then what?’

The question that had persistently troubled her since arriving in Ronvernon surfaced unexpectedly. Lottie thought hazily as she swayed in the wind.

She would marry someone other than Andrew Thompson.

And when she married, this freedom, like cutting through the wind, would end.

‘Ah……’

The realization didn’t take long. It was her inner truth that she had known but avoided.

I will never, ever marry anyone.

I’ll choose the freedom I can fully enjoy by being alone, not a marriage that constrains both parties.

“……”

The horse, running more fiercely than usual, soon caught up with the hunting party. They had apparently missed Lottie because they had returned via the western path instead of the usual eastern one.

The pack of hunting dogs heard the fierce hoofbeats first and began barking loudly. The gentlemen’s attention quickly turned toward them.

While they stood puzzled, the white horse came to an abrupt halt before them.

Oh my. After being startled by the horse’s front hooves, they were surprised once more moments later by a slender boy who jumped down from the horse.

And they were twice as shocked to discover that the boy approaching them with long strides was actually a woman.

Surprised or not, Lottie quickly scanned the group and found Andrew. The small house was now just ahead.

“Mr. Thompson!”

“Miss Ebenscher.”

Andrew, recognizing Lottie, dismounted in confusion.

The familiar way he had addressed her before had changed back to the formal “Miss Ebenscher.” Just from that, Lottie could tell where his heart truly lay.

“She loves you!”

“Pardon……?”

“Not me!”

Andrew, now completely confused, looked at Lottie with a bewildered expression. Lottie quickly leaned in and whispered softly:

“A young lady is waiting for you. In the garden of the small house.”

“……!”

“You hate this marriage, don’t you? So do I. I’ll somehow deal with the adults, so you should go now. Quickly!”

In her second life, Lottie had firmly resolved never to sacrifice herself for others. She had decided to live selfishly, only for herself.

Yet now she was thoroughly betraying that resolution, which suggested that perhaps she, too, wanted to see it. Perhaps she wanted to believe that a love existed where one could give everything to another without regret.

Her decision wasn’t slow. As Andrew ran alone toward the garden of the small house, the group fell into an awkward silence.

And Calyx, who had been able to observe Lottie and Andrew from closer than the others, understood the situation faster.

‘A broken engagement.’

He realized he was quite satisfied with this outcome from the unconscious smile on his face.

No, actually, it was more than satisfaction. He was bursting with joy.

Am I truly a demon for laughing at others’ misfortune?

At the end of these self-deprecating thoughts were light green eyes. As he tried to gauge how long he had been staring at her, he soon realized it was a futile effort.

He sensed that he could no longer control his gaze toward her with reason.

‘Ah.’

I think I understand now.

As Calyx, having reached a complete conclusion, suppressed his laughter, the women from the small house, having heard the dogs barking, rushed outside. Among them was Lottie’s grand-aunt Isabelle.

Isabelle let out a low gasp when she saw her grandniece, who had said she was going for a walk, standing among the men in a strange outfit. Lottie, meeting her eyes, felt the same.

Well, earlier you boldly claimed you’d handle this yourself, but now what?

As she was racking her brain, Calyx approached and stood beside her. He whispered in a low voice:

“I need something to wipe with. Do you have a handkerchief you could give me?”

When he waved the hand that had held the reins, Lottie gasped and searched her pockets.

She had the handkerchief meant for Andrew. She handed it to him without suspicion.

As he reached out his hand, he whispered with a strange expression:

“I know the most economical way to break off an engagement. Would you like to hear it?”

“……? What.”

The uninvited guest in the banquet hall’s private room.

The young man who dared to threaten and cajole in front of royalty.

A mystery still undetermined whether beneficial or poisonous. And……

— Don’t open it, please……

The only human who had grabbed his hands, which only knew how to kill, and begged for help.

The woman who made him want to meet those expectations, yet ultimately overcame difficulties on her own without asking anyone for help.

Tracing the emotions that had been swirling chaotically inside him, Calyx finally seemed to understand their name.

“You won’t regret it. It’s the most effective method I know.”

It was desire.

A dangerous and beautiful woman who easily disarmed Calyx Valdea, who had lived amid all manner of fraud and deception. The profound desire to make her completely his own.

He looked down into those light green eyes before which he no longer needed to be the deposed prince, the unfilial son, or anything else.

Lottie’s eyes, meeting his directly, sparkled transparently. The Calyx reflected in them smiled smoothly.

He gently pulled her hand.

Or perhaps he was the one being pulled.

“……!”

A shrill gasp flowed through the watching crowd.

He lowered his body as if embracing the woman he had gently pulled. His lips skillfully brushed near the corner of her mouth.

He had intended to stop there, but her breath, escaping between her lips, scattered finely across his skin.

Breath that had stiffened in surprise.

Even that subtle vibration against his skin stirred his desire. To the point where he could no longer suppress it. No, to the point where he didn’t want to suppress it.

His lips consumed hers.

He thought he had consumed her, but in fact, her warm and soft sensation had swallowed him whole. Having been devoured, all he could do was flounder.

He seized her as she struggled to escape his embrace.

As soon as her rough breath burst out between their slightly parted lips, he pounced again. He swallowed hers along with the moist breath.

He clung to her. He was drenched in her scent, which was like flowers and grass.

It was a kiss that seemed like an eternity to some, yet a mere moment to others.

The kiss ended when the woman, assaulted by this rogue who didn’t care a whit about royal dignity, pushed his chest with all her might.

“What…… are you doing……!”

Lottie glared at Calyx, panting. Her eyes were slightly wet. Her slightly swollen lips were the same.

Calyx, who had been staring blankly at her, eventually let out a low laugh.

“The broken engagement……”

He reached out his hand again. Lottie flinched.

“I sincerely congratulate you, my lady.”

His hand removed Lottie’s hat. The orange hair hidden inside flowed down in luscious curves.

Before the woman who made it impossible to look away, he smiled as if bewitched.

He had no intention of asking for forgiveness. As he had said, he was not a good gentleman like Andrew Thompson.