Chapter 48

Vivian left her room and strolled around Rondor Castle.

She listened to the sound of the pouring rain, trying to calm her troubled mind.

Perhaps because it was nighttime, she felt a bit lonely, a bit emotional.

She went out for a short walk to forget him, but that only made her think of him all the more.

“...?”

That was when Vivian noticed something as she passed through the castle.

Through the window overlooking the training grounds, she saw something out of the ordinary.

Frowning, she focused her gaze and realized two small figures were standing in the rain.

One was practicing with a sword, and the other was watching him.

Could they be a young soldier and a maid?

Vivian wondered for a moment.

The person who seemed to be the young soldier swung his sword with steady diligence, while the one who appeared to be the maid hovered around him without pause.

The maid’s excitement and happiness were so strong that even Vivian, watching from afar, could feel them.

“...”

She found it curious how everyone seemed so busy pairing off.

Training together in the middle of a rainy night, cheering each other on—Love was said to be incomprehensible and terribly inefficient, and seeing them made her understand exactly why.

Just as she was about to walk away, a strange sensation made her stop.

Something about the young soldier’s stance and movements felt oddly familiar.

That peculiar feeling rooted Vivian in place, and she stared at him more intently.

“...Huh?”

The longer she watched, the more her heart began to pound.

Her expression grew tense, her head tilting in disbelief.

...But Vivian would never mistake him.

“...Kylo...?”

She whispered under her breath.

Doubt turned into fixation, and fixation became certainty.

That was Kylo.

Though the heavy rain and darkness made it hard to see, she could now clearly make out his black hair.

...And before she knew it, she was leaving the castle.

Barefoot, in a thin nightgown.

Practically dressed for bed, she headed outside.

Even under a torrential downpour, she remained unfazed.

It was the first time in her fifteen years of life that she had ever faced rain like this without hesitation.

But the icy deluge couldn’t affect her in the slightest.

Even the pain in her feet was of no concern.

No matter the obstacles in her path, the dark flame that had ignited in her chest would not be snuffed out.

As she walked, she thought to herself.

Arrogant as it might seem, she was sure of one thing.

....For Kylo, there was no one else but her.

Just as she had no one but him to truly rely on, he had no one but her to truly lean on.

They had been enemies, but in being so alike—and in being so hopelessly entangled—they had understood each other’s hearts better than anyone.

Even without saying a word, they had always been closer to each other than anyone else.

Didn’t Kylo also harbor feelings strong enough to risk his life for her?

Whether it was guilt or a sense of debt... didn’t Kylo carry some positive emotion for her sake?

She was the one he treasured the most...

...the very most...

“...”

...Hadn’t he cherished her the most?

Upon arriving at the training grounds, Vivian saw the maid by Kylo’s side and thought:

...Then who is that?

Could it be Serena?

If they were together even after the warning, then Serena was about to feel the full brunt of Vivian’s anger.

Intent on uncovering the woman’s identity, Vivian moved closer.

Even as her bare feet sank into the mud, she did not stop.

“...Ha.”

Then, a cold, menacing smile appeared on Vivian’s face.

The person next to Kylo wasn’t a maid.

It was Rani Dubos.

She had been holding back from meeting Kylo so the two would never run into each other, yet here they were—almost as if mocking her—forging a secret rendezvous.

And at such a late hour.

A time when no one else would catch them, and when emotions ran deeper than ever.

Vivian was so dumbfounded she let out a hollow laugh.

If things were going to turn out this way, why had she bothered restraining herself all this time? Every moment she’d spent swallowing her frustrations now felt utterly foolish.

And from the looks of it, Rani and Kylo had been carrying on like this for quite some time.

Rani giggled happily, circling around Kylo like a bird in flight.

Vivian had once envied Rani’s vivacious spirit, but now it only irritated her.

Keeping them in her sights, Vivian began to walk toward them with measured steps.

Vivian continued forward with determined steps, even as her hair clung to her shoulders and the rain blurred her vision.

Rani, who had been teasing Kylo by tapping his arm, suddenly closed the distance between them and placed her hand on Kylo’s chest.

“...”

For the first time, Vivian felt the urge to cut off someone’s hand.

Kylo was hers.

One of the very few possessions she had.

She couldn’t forgive someone else for casually laying a hand on him.

Vivian’s eyes fell on Kylo’s body, the wet clothes clinging to him.

Every muscle stood out in sharp relief.

Her heart pounded faster, fueled by anger—or perhaps some other unknown emotion.

She couldn’t tell when he had grown so large, or when he had become so… infuriatingly handsome.

A strange sensation kept swirling around her core.

Maybe it was the fury stirring up something violent within her, but she even found herself wanting to bite Kylo’s neck.

Out of all her questions, only one thing was certain: Rani, who was freely stroking what belonged to Vivian, exploring his body with her filthy hands, was annoying her more than ever.

Rani was touching Kylo’s body without hesitation—something even Vivian herself couldn’t bring herself to do, even if told to.

As Vivian’s fury grew, her footsteps quickened.

-Grab!

At that moment, Kylo grabbed Rani by the shoulder.

He spoke to her, his words heavy with meaning.

At the same time, he showed Rani an expression Vivian had never seen from him before.

Some emotion that looked like worry and tenderness mixed together.

Vivian felt her heart constrict painfully.

Anger, frustration, and hatred swelled within her, nearly exploding.

Were they so happy to have the perfect chance to get cozy with each other?

It wasn’t enough that their wet bodies created a suggestive atmosphere; they were also meeting in the dead of night.

Vivian hated it so much that she made up her mind: she would shatter this moment before it could go on any more.

“Kylo.”

They must have been lost in their own world because they didn’t even notice her arrival.

It was only when she raised her voice that they flinched, like children caught doing something bad.

It enraged Vivian that they had been so engrossed in each other.

…She wanted to rip Rani out of Kylo’s dark eyes.

“...W-What are you d-doing right n-now?”

Vivian stuttered, just like before.

But she didn’t bother to correct herself.

She already felt overwhelmed just trying to deal with these impossible emotions crashing over her.

It had been five days.

She disliked having this kind of conversation with him after five days apart.

She saw Kylo visibly flustered for the first time.

She hated that Rani was the cause of his confusion—he, who always kept his composure.

With every passing moment, Vivian’s anger grew, like flames consuming Rondor Castle.

Kylo hesitated for a long moment before asking:

“...Why are you here?”

“What about you?”

“...”

When he failed to answer again, Vivian aimed her fury at Rani.

“What are you two doing?”

Rani instinctively swallowed her fear and shrank behind Kylo, clutching at his collar and trembling.

It was as if Kylo had become her knight.

Vivian clenched her teeth and commanded:

“Kylo, come here.”

“What?”

Vivian could feel her patience hitting its limit.

Her tone grew rougher, sharper.

“If I have to tell you twice... I’ll gouge out your eyes.”

A violent side of her she hadn’t even known existed spilled out.

Kylo froze momentarily, then slowly walked toward Vivian.

Rani stood there alone, uncertain and lost.

When he reached Vivian, Kylo firmly grabbed her by the shoulders.

The warmth of his touch brought her to her senses, if only a bit.

Kylo spoke.

“...What are you wearing?”

“And you think… that’s what you should say right now?”

“Look at yourself before you speak.”

For the first time, Vivian glanced down at her own clothes.

Her thin nightgown was soaked through, clinging to every contour of her body.

Her recently developing chest and widening hips were fully exposed.

Her navel, toned abs, and slender waist were all in plain view.

Her pale, pinkish skin stood out here and there, unmistakably.

Only then did Vivian realize just how risqué her body looked at that moment.

When she looked back up at Kylo’s face, she saw that he was thoroughly unsettled.

She could sense how desperately he was trying not to look at her body.

“...”

But at the same time, a new and unexpected thought slipped through Vivian’s mind.

...If he’d just looked a bit more, maybe she would’ve felt a little more at ease.

Sexual desire was disgusting and revolting, but strangely enough, she wanted to accept that filth right now.

It irritated her even more to see him looking at Rani with that kind of gaze.

Why? Upon reflecting, there was only one answer.

If it was Rani, she might accept Kylo. She might even help relieve his sexual desire.

But Vivian was different. If he ever directed that desire toward her, it might only gift Kylo a frustration that would last a lifetime.

That’s what Vivian convinced herself.

Yet those thoughts didn’t last long.

Her growing anger toward him and Rani kept snapping her back to her senses.

She couldn’t stand the thought of them sharing memories in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain.

They were memories that would surely remain with them forever.

“Is that really what matters...?”

Rainwater dripped from Vivian’s hair as she spoke to Kylo.

“Right now... whose permission do you think you have to be doing this?”

“...Vivi—”

“—Did you come to this land expecting to find happiness?”

Vivian ran her gaze up and down Kylo’s body, then asked in a near whisper:

“...What, did your sexual desire flare up once you grew a bit? Looking for somewhere to let it out?”

Her relentless barrage of insults caused Kylo’s face to harden.

Steam rose faintly from the heat radiating off his body.

For some reason, that looked strangely sensual to Vivian’s eyes.

After a long silence, Kylo finally spoke with difficulty.

“It wasn’t like that.”

“What do you mean it wasn’t?”

“...The sexual desire... that wasn’t it.”

Vivian scoffed.

She glanced at Rani, then back at Kylo, before speaking coldly.

“Go on, lie again. Was it really not like that?”

Vivian could believe Kylo when he said it wasn’t.

But Rani was a different story.

She was the one who’d been circling around him like a bird, placing her hands all over his body.

Even a child who knew nothing about sex could see that there was something going on between them.

Even if Kylo wasn’t in the wrong, Rani certainly was.

And Kylo bore some blame for not pushing her away.

“Slipping out at night, soaking your clothes, fooling around together... holding each other all sweet and tender... How could it not be that?”

“...Vivian.”

Vivian placed her hand on Kylo’s cheek and warned him once more.

“Say it again, Kylo Allen. Go ahead and lie to me.”

They knew each other better than anyone.

They could see right through each other’s lies, whether they liked it or not.

“...”

Kylo frowned but couldn’t answer.

Now that he knew Rani was at fault, there was no way someone like him could simply claim he was blameless. He would never say it was all Rani’s fault.

Vivian felt a surge of emotion well up in her chest.

She was grateful for the rain.

Even if incomprehensible tears pooled at the corners of her eyes, they would go unnoticed.

No matter what, she had no intention of crying.

She had no intention of losing to Kylo, not even for a moment.

Vivian declared:

“Please... Kylo. Get a grip. Do I really need to spell it out? In this land... don’t even think about living an ordinary life. I control your happiness, don’t you know that?”

“...”

At that moment, Rani Dubos seemed to gather her courage. She dashed over to Vivian.

“Vi-Vivian, it’s all my fau—”

—Slap!

The moment Rani got close, Vivian slapped her without hesitation.

The image of Rani placing her hand on Kylo’s chest was still painfully vivid.

Kylo instantly grabbed Vivian’s wrist.

His face showed firm anger.

A clear warning not to go any further.

Vivian wasn’t afraid of his warning.

Instead... she felt hurt. So hurt that she almost wanted to throw a childish tantrum.

She forced that feeling down and spoke, cloaking it in a hardened tone.

“In front of me...”

“...”

She tugged on the arm he was holding, pulling Kylo’s face closer.

Looking into his eyes, perhaps revealing a hint of jealousy, Vivian said:

“In front of me... don’t you dare protect another bitch.”

– – The End of The Chapter––

 

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