The Lord Of Sinal (16)

Only after regretting did Kaiston come to his senses. This was bad. That soft body, with barely a trace of muscle, was so sweet it stole his breath. Even as he should be chastising himself, his heart thudded wildly and urged to hold the woman close.

“Master?”

Liris’s body wavered as she took a step toward him. Her waist and thighs ached sharply. In an instant, he closed the distance that had been between them and caught her, and Liris looked up at him intently.

“Are you all right? I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.”

His violet eyes had cleared, but they were distinctly different from before. Why was that? They had confessed their love and confirmed their possession of one another. They had exchanged rings with violet stones that glittered. Which of those events had changed him?

Even when he had confessed, back in the Red Moon, that he “liked” her, he had looked at her with tenderness, but not like this. It wasn’t the clinging possessiveness or greed of Millen or Raiden, but still different.

Now he looked at her with eyes that burned with longing as if he might die from the ache. Though touching, he wanted to touch more; though watching, he longed desperately as if she were his entire world.

Liris leaned into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist.

“It’s okay. I told you I love you too, Master.”

She said it to comfort him because he looked so precarious. This man, stronger than anyone in the world, was looking at her with such desperate eyes that if she pushed him away, he might truly burst into tears.

“Yes…”

His heartbeat sounded in her ear; it was so rapid she wondered if he was okay.

Liris lifted her head to look at his face. With his other hand—the one not supporting her—he covered his face. She could now guess the expression beneath that hand.

‘If I were to grow distant, if I could no longer be seen, if I were to die before you, you would simply die.’

For some reason that thought came to her in that moment.

“Now you must take me to the banquet hall and introduce me.”

She felt tears coming and instead smiled gently as she said it.

“Yes. Of course.”

Kaiston sighed and removed his hand from his face. Liris took a step back and looked at his now-composed face with a hint of regret.

No matter how tired she was, she was the only Crown Princess of the Empire. She could not show weakness. She straightened her back and squared her shoulders. Then she took his outstretched hand.

“My Duke.”

He kissed the back of her hand that rested in his.

“Crown Princess Liriana.”

Though unintentional, she arrived later than planned and thus entered at the banquet’s full climax. With her platinum hair swept elegantly up, amber eyes sparkling like gems, and an orange dress adorned with lavish lace, she smiled radiantly and looked so beautiful that even those who knew her well were stunned.

Of course, more astonishing than her full beauty was the fact that Liriana, the Crown Princess, had chosen Duke Kaiston Crunel as her man.

When the Duke Crunel appeared with the Crown Princess, he proudly wore an ornate brooch set with a dusky stone in place of the cloak clasp, and no high noble failed to recognize the meaning of that brooch.

After announcing the engagement, the pair danced in the center of the hall. Kaiston, thought to be only skilled with the blade, surprised everyone with his dancing, and seeing Liris surprised, he smiled and whispered, “I’m confident with anything done with the body.” His low voice and breath tickling her ear made her laugh uncontrollably, forgetting the setting, which astonished everyone. The Duke’s tender gaze and gentle smile toward her were also shocking. Among the stunned young noblewomen was, of course, Esnel of the Marquis Lotus family.

A man who had been cold and impartial to all showing that look for just one woman felt like cheating. Esnel, who had prided herself that, aside from the Crown Princess’s sacred power, she lacked nothing in the Empire, trembled with a chill of defeat at this unexpected spectacle. Could she ever experience a love where someone would look at her with such eyes and smile like that?

In short, the Crown Princess and the Duke had ignited the hearts of not only Esnel but also the young ladies who had scoffed at romance. How that would play out remained to be seen.

Heads of high noble houses could not hide their complicated thoughts. Some nobles had stood with Raiden, and others had intended to push candidates like Millen or other eligible young men as consorts, but Duke Kaiston Crunel was completely unexpected. It was puzzling how someone presumed trapped in the Red Moon could be chosen by the Crown Princess to be a consort, and even more puzzling that he had received the Emperor’s official recognition and become the owner of that dusky brooch.

They could not ignore Sinal’s annual grand coalition military exercises held just days before the banquet. While no one was paying attention, Duke Crunel had become a feudal lord condensing tremendous power.

As they returned to the Isles, each house would need to convene to decide their futures. They knew Raiden would not be one to easily yield his position. Even if his maternal house was the Blair family, leaders of the western Grim region, he still had the support of a significant portion of the central nobility and was a contender for the throne. Unlike Millen, who lost power after falling out with his father despite the military’s and central nobles’ support under Commander Luther’s tacit approval, Raiden’s power remained intact.

It was clear that Duke Kaiston Crunel had risen to be the Emperor’s officially recognized first in the line of succession. Unless Raiden staged a revolt, Duke Crunel would naturally ascend the throne after the Emperor’s passing. But nobles doubted whether the Emperor’s full favor truly lay with him. After all, he was the crown prince of a fallen kingdom whom the Emperor had directly subordinated. Entrusting the throne to him seemed risky.

“What on earth is this…”

Marquis Kyril muttered, stunned at having reaped an unexpected harvest in an unexpected place. He was astonished that the Crown Princess Raiden had so long sought was found in Sinal, and wondered about the Emperor’s and the Princess’s intentions. He was also worried about his illegitimate son serving as Kaiston’s aide. Forces he had thought would never collide were now clashing. If Duke Crunel was merely a piece the Emperor intended to discard, his son’s safety could not be guaranteed.

Since he was in Sinal, he planned to ask the Duke to visit the Red Moon. If it was Saik’s father in question, even Duke Crunel would not dismiss it. If Kyril could see the fort’s situation with his own eyes and return, he could make a more accurate judgment than any other noble of the Isles.

The dance that had captured everyone’s attention ended. The picturesque couple, unable to tear their eyes from one another, went out to the terrace. Liris, who had maintained a rigid and graceful posture to the end, clung to him as if collapsing the moment people’s gazes were blocked.

“Haa… That was exhausting, Master.”

Kaiston held her and patted her.

“You did well.”

“Hehe, then give me another reward.”

Feeling his body stiffen at her words, Liris giggled.

“Just once here is enough.”

She tapped her lips lightly with her fingertip as she said it. With a look that was both longing and relieved, Kaiston gently lifted her chin and kissed her. He watched her smile broadly with satisfaction.

“Liris.”

“Yes?”

Kaiston, who had hesitated after calling her, finally sighed softly after a long pause and asked, “You know the meaning of this brooch, don’t you?”

Liris looked at the dusky brooch adorning the edge of his collarbone.

“Of course.”

“Your father… His Majesty the Emperor said something about it. Could it be…”

Kaiston stumbled over his words, uncharacteristic of him. It was a subject tied to the throne, so caution was inevitable. He also wondered how much Liris knew of the Emperor’s intentions.

“Did he say anything separately about your future and mine?”

Liris tilted her head in puzzlement.

“He said you were the most trustworthy and that I should stay by your side to be protected… and he told me to be sure to tell him if I bore your child.”

“And? Anything else…?”

“Hmm… I don’t know. In any case, telling me to have a child suggests he wishes to make you a consort, doesn’t it? Isn’t the answer already decided then?”

Kaiston looked down at her clear face, unsure what to say, and sighed softly. Whether she truly did not know or was pretending not to, he had no choice but to trust her for now.

“…Right. That’s true.”

The situation was certainly different from thirteen years ago. Back then he had no other use, and no one imagined Liris would fall in love with him or that he would love her. The Emperor was probably not the kind of ruthless father who would forcefully separate his daughter from the man she loved.

Kaiston held Liris and rested his chin on her narrow shoulder.

“You love your father, don’t you?”

“…Yes. No matter what anyone says, he is my father.”

“I see.”

He tightened his arm around her. After days of deliberation and steeling his heart, it was time to tell her the decision he had made.

“I will also try not to hate your father anymore.”

Liris could not begin to guess with what feelings he spoke those words.

There were no conditions attached to his decision. It wasn’t certain whether the reality of those imprisoned in the Red Moon could change, nor was there any guarantee he would be allowed to meet his parents held on the Isles even once.

Still, he had resolved to do it solely for her happiness. To not hate the man who had stolen his country and ruined his life, with no conditions. He wished the Emperor had raged, or had urged him to oppose the Emperor as well; then he wouldn’t feel so sorry or ache so much inside. Yet despite that.

“It’s impertinent of me, but… I’m glad you said that. Thank you so much.”

Hearing her choked voice, Kaiston thought that was enough. If she was happy, he was happy. Even if it was his only solace, it was the greatest resolve he could make now.