Chapter 25

“Diana…”

Thinking he had heard Diana’s voice, Alan raised his head.

Amidst the drifting darkness of the night, there stood hair of silver so dazzling it felt as though the moon itself had descended upon the earth.

There she was—his beautiful and dignified fiancée.

Trailing behind her was the owner of that very jewelry shop.

Given that the shop owner was with her, did that mean Diana already knew about the rings?

“I’m sorry, I am…”

“No, please don’t apologize, Lord Alan.”

Diana stopped Alan before he could offer an apology.

For once, Diana was looking down at the tall Alan as he sat on the bench.

“I am the one who owes you an apology.”

“Diana? Why──”

Just as Alan started to ask, the shop owner smoothly held something out.

At that sight, Alan’s eyes widened.

“This is…”

Resting in the shop owner’s palm were the rings the two of them had ordered that day.

The two rings, set with their dual gemstones of amethyst and tanzanite, glittered inside the small box under the moonlight.

“I had arranged for it beforehand. If anyone other than Lord Alan came to pick them up, I asked him not to hand over these rings and instead give them a dummy pair.”

“Good grief…”

Alan could do little more than marvel at Diana’s sharp foresight.

Monique, who harbored feelings for Alan, was not the only one who might wish to disrupt their wedding.

Until very recently, Miles had felt the same, and Crown Prince Lawrence surely viewed it with displeasure as well.

And if Lawrence was counted among their enemies, they naturally could not trust Cordelia either.

The absolute worst-case scenario would have been Cordelia, posing as Diana, coming to collect the rings.

Had that happened, no matter how vigilant one tried to be, most people would have been deceived.

That was precisely why she had left instructions beforehand not to trust even herself──and to refuse anyone other than Alan.

With a look of profound relief at finally being able to hand the rings directly to Alan, the shop owner bowed and returned to his store.

In the nighttime park, only Alan and Diana remained.

Alan gazed blankly at the silver locks swaying gently in the breeze.

“Did you foresee that Monique would go that far, Diana?”

“I wouldn’t have guessed she would resort to such a rash action, but I was well aware that she held extraordinary feelings for Lord Alan and found it difficult to stomach your relationship with me.”

“I see…”

Leaning back against the backrest of the bench, Alan looked up at the night sky.

Even the moon suspended in the heavens could not shake his heart half as much as the moon standing right here on earth.

“You saved me.”

The brief words were laced with bitterness.

What a remarkably perceptive woman Diana was.

Compared to her, how foolish he truly was.

He hadn’t even understood the inner thoughts of a female knight he unilaterally considered a close colleague.

She was truly like a divine moon.

So breathtakingly beautiful, so intelligent, and yet──somehow fleeting.

Compared to her, what was he?

Was he capable of doing anything more than merely worshiping the beautiful moon and gazing up at it from afar?

“I believe the ability to trust people is one of Lord Alan’s greatest virtues.”

Whether she knew Alan’s thoughts or not, Diana murmured softly.

When he shifted his gaze back to the earthly moon, a somewhat sorrowful smile was playing across her lovely features.

“Isn’t it just foolishness?”

“No.”

Alan’s self-deprecating voice clashed with Diana’s voice, which firmly rejected the notion.

“As for me… I can no longer bring myself to trust anyone from the bottom of my heart…”

Though she offered a faint smile as she spoke, contrary to her expression, Diana somehow looked as though she were weeping.

“Is that why you foresaw what would happen this time?”

“I merely assumed the worst-case scenario.”

“You truly are remarkable.”

“I only wish I had been overthinking things, of course.”

With a wry smile, Diana sat down beside Alan.

Leaning into his sturdy arm, she drew close to him.

Whether because she had been chilled by the night breeze or for some other reason, her slender frame seemed to tremble slightly in Alan’s embrace.

“Ah.”

Alan’s strong arms wrapped around Diana in a tight embrace.

Enveloped in warmth against the chill, Diana closed her eyes quietly against Alan’s chest.

“Diana… can you not bring yourself to trust me either?”

“That is──”

At Alan’s question, Diana caught her breath.

Just a moment earlier, she had stated that she could no longer trust anyone from the bottom of her heart.

Judging by her attitude toward Cordelia, there was no doubt she didn’t even trust her own twin sister.

For a moment, Diana was unable to return any words.

No matter how deeply she searched within herself, no answer came forth.

She trusted Alan.

She knew, without a doubt, that he was someone she could lean on more than anyone else.

Yet, whether she possessed enough strength left within her to truly put her trust in someone—Diana simply did not know.

“…I do not know. I want to believe in you. But what if I were to be betrayed by you as well──”

If that were to happen, what would become of her?

The memory of being stabbed by Cordelia still tightened its grip around Diana’s chest.

She never wanted to experience a feeling like that again.

She wanted no part of being betrayed by someone ever again.

In that case, wouldn’t it simply be better never to trust anyone at all?

Her weaker self kept whispering that very thought deep inside her heart.

Clutching her as tightly as he could, Alan held her close.

“Forgive me, that was an unkind question to ask.”

“Ah──”

Released from the crucible of her thoughts, Diana let out a soft sigh of relief.

Then, seeking comfort, she pressed her cheek against Alan’s chest as he held her.

“Indeed… because I wouldn’t even want to imagine such a fate.”

Thump, thump. Their heartbeats intertwined.

The arms of Alan holding her so tightly they almost ached felt comforting now.

“Diana, it may not be my place to say this… but please do not shoulder everything by yourself.”

At Alan’s words, Diana raised her head.

His blue-gray eyes looked down at her straight and true.

“You looked terribly sad just a moment ago… almost as though you had actually suffered a cruel and bitter betrayal.”

“I suppose… I have.”

She could not exactly say she hadn’t.

She simply could not bring herself to lie to Alan.

Yet, neither could she speak the absolute truth.

She could only offer a vague, troubled smile and let her words trail off into silence.

Her expression was so heartbreakingly pained that Alan pulled her into a powerful embrace once again.

She had only just graduated from the academy, still in that unstable period where one could scarcely be called a full adult.

What kind of betrayal could a young woman of her age possibly have suffered to make her wear an expression so profoundly sorrowful?

Was it because of Miles? The image of the man who had persistently dogged Diana’s steps flashed through Alan’s mind, though it had seemed she never shared a relationship deep enough to warrant such agony.

If not him, then who else could have wounded her so deeply?

Just how much sorrow was this fragile body carrying within it?

“Diana.”

Gently, Alan’s fingers stroked her cheek.

“From now on, as your husband… I will protect you.”

He lacked her sharp cleverness, and when it came to the nuances of human hearts, Diana undoubtedly understood them far better than he did.

Yet her heart was far too fragile.

At the very least, he wished to become a shield to protect her──Alan could not help but wish for nothing less.

“Lord Alan… when you are so kind to me, I feel as though I am about to grow weak.”

Smiling as she spoke, the corners of Diana’s eyes brimmed with large tears.

Alan gently pressed his lips to the corner of her eye, wiping away the tear.

“Weakness is not a bad thing.”

He understood this precisely because he had excelled in the sword and always striven to be stronger than anyone else.

Strength and weakness were not simply cut from the same cloth.

Sometimes, a fragile heart concealed a depth of affection and kindness greater than anyone else’s.

“Diana, you simply do not wish to be hurt ever again, do you?”

At Alan’s words, her tear-drenched eyes blinked wide.

He had always thought of her as a strong and beautiful woman──that was what he believed.

He had felt that the young Diana of the past had somehow grown into such a magnificent person before he even realized it.

But he was wrong.

Her true self remained, even now, an easily wounded, crybaby of a girl.

Such an exceedingly timid Diana.

Realizing that she was the one who, despite all her fears, had reached out her hands in desperation to rely on him, a gentle warmth spread through Alan’s chest.

His fingers wiped away the tears spilling continuously down her cheeks.

“Diana, I want you to remember just this one thing.”

Her wet gaze stared intently up at him.

“No matter what happens, I will never do anything to betray you. I have decided to spend the rest of my life walking beside you, after all.”

“…Yes.”

Her reply was once again swallowed up by her tears.

As if to absorb even those muffled sobs of hers entirely, beneath the moonlight, their lips met in a slow, gentle kiss.