***
Celine had not yet recovered the wounds she had received from Lieutenant Colonel Grenendall.
This year, at nineteen, she was old enough to get married. Numerous proposals and the courtship of nice men came pouring in, but she liked Jeffrey and the Admiral wasn’t ready to let her marry.
People thought he was a caring father who didn’t want his daughter to marry yet, or she didn’t have any partner who was considered worthy.
In many ways, Celine was relieved that Diana had left. She knew that the Duke of Progen had taken Diana with him.
Perhaps Jeffrey was hurt because the woman he risked his life to save had followed the man who kidnapped her.
Celine headed to see her father. There was something she wanted to ask him. Why did he want to kill Diana?
Her steps were heavy as she walked. Every time she went up the stairs she heard a creaking sound nervously.
She knocked and opened the door gently, but the Admiral’s room was empty.
Knowing that it was a great disrespect to enter the ownerless room, she slowly walked inside. Maybe it was an impulse.
Sitting on the couch, quietly looking around her father’s quaint, oak-scented room, Celine opened the bottom drawer.
This was an action she could do because she was a trusted and loved daughter. Her crisp green eyes went to one crinkled letter.
The wax seal that affixed the envelope had been neatly cut with a paper knife. The letter, which was placed heterogeneously between neat and stiff documents, seemed to contain something important.
After looking around for a while, Celine began to open the letter.
[When are you going to do it? I have to give up the throne as soon as possible.]
[I heard there is a suitable heir to the throne. If he marries the other woman, I can’t cooperate anymore, and if you don’t, I’ll do as I please.]
What is this?
Celine left the letter in its original place and left the room. When she came back to her own room, she tied her long, gray hair into a knot and looked back at the contents of the letter.
Abandonment of the throne, a proper heir to the throne, someone’s marriage….
‘Princess of Medea* sent it, didn’t she?’ (*it’s Erica)
It must have been sent by the heir to the throne of Medea, who could not marry the person of her choice. She was willing to give up being Queen because she loved someone who was not a Medean*. (*It’s Noah)
Is it because she’s blinded by love? Celine scoffed as she thought of the Princess who must be getting jealous of the other woman.
It seemed that the Princess was not very smart, seeing that she sent a letter with all the details without hesitation. It was an immature Princess who whined about what she wanted.
But who was the other successor?
‘It’s not me, is it? Is that why my father turned down all the marriage proposals that came for me? But I’m not Medean and I don’t have Medean appearance.’
Celine was a shrewd character. As she tilted her head in wonder, a presence came to her mind that she had forgotten.
Diana.
Celine, who was deeply immersed, covered her mouth with a gasp. She jumped up and looked around. It was an analogy of the reason why her father hates Diana and tried to kill her.
The current Queen was not the first in line to the throne from the beginning. There was already a Crown Prince, who died suddenly of illness, so Grace II, who was a Princess, ascended the throne as Queen.
Could Diana be a member of the royal family of Medea?
She has pitch black hair, which was unlikely to come from blonde parents, and an appearance distinctly different from a Belfordian.
Sometimes Celine wondered if her father had picked up Diana from somewhere. She was told that her father had spent some time in Medea when he was younger. Was it possible that her father stole Diana from there?
It was probably for diplomatic and political reasons, as Belford was currently enemies with Medea.
Medea’s Princess doesn’t seem to know about Diana.
If it was known that Diana was royalty, the Queen would have already given her the right of succession. Her father must have crumpled the letter nervously because he was currently unable to answer.
The reason he had Diana with him until now was probably to threaten the Queen of Medea or use her in a different way.
If Diana went to Medea herself after she was kidnapped by the Duke, it would have ruined the plan, so that may be why he tried to kill her.
There was nothing confirmed as to what sort of some sort of deal the Princess of Medea and her father had, it was just an analogy.
“I have to help father.”
It wasn’t out of conscience or a sense of justice that Celine wanted to know why her father wanted to kill Diana. It was to effectively help her father.
Because the Admiral was her beloved father.
***
I was stuck with Noah. This deadly man confined me in his room.
I looked at him with my mouth hanging open. I must have a silly face. Noah swept my chin with his finger and did not take his eyes off my face.
As I watched him admiringly, he spoke up.
“Pretty.”
Is he talking about my stupid face? I closed my mouth tightly.
The area was quiet and I could hear the geese honking and flying outside the window. The sunlight filled the room with the colors of the late afternoon. The shadows of him and me reflected on the warm-colored wooden floor grew longer and longer.
I gingerly lowered my posture and tried to pick up the blanket that had fallen to the floor, trying to avoid the eyes that persistently haunted me.
But Noah picked up the blanket and tie before me. It was because his arms were longer than mine. He picked it up, shook it off, and folded beautifully.
The shadows of his eyelashes, lowered by his concentration, hung on his cheeks. He was quite cute as he placed the blanket on top of the pale blue console.
“Who taught you that? You’re very good at folding clothes and blankets.”
“My mother. She said if I’m good at this, my wife will love me.”
As expected, his manners, gentlemanly behavior, and neat habits show that he has been well educated at home.
“She’s a good woman.”
Noah smiled as I spoke, then quickly picked me up and sat me lightly on the edge of the bed.
He sat quietly beside me and took my hand in his. Silence hovered between him and me for a moment. The mansion was so quiet that I had the illusion that we were the only two people here.
Knock. Knock.
There was a loud banging on the door to counteract the illusion. The door opened and a blank-faced Molly walked in.
“The Queen wants to meet the Lady.”
“Really?”
Noah looked a little frustrated.
“I guess the Queen is curious about the fiancée of the Count, who is like the Queen’s brother.” (Molly)
“The Count?” (Diana)
Molly tilted her head and smiled slightly at my question.
“In Medea, there is an earldom. It’s an honorary title. Noah had been knighted.” (Molly)
Noah had a stronger background than expected because he was close to the Queen here. However, his expression was not good. At first glance, he seemed nervous.
“The Queen wishes to see you.” He looked greatly disturbed by the fact that he was immersed in the words.
Molly reported a few more things and then left the room.
We were still sitting side by side, holding hands. I looked down at our hands. His nails were always short and neat.
I looked sideways at the collar of Noah’s shirt, which was much more unraveled than usual, and my eyes met his.
“Why do you keep peeking at me?” (Noah)
He saw straight through my shameless stare. Noah covered his mouth and tried to stifle his laughter.
“I keep looking at you because…..”
I reached out and thoroughly locked the desired shirt button that kept stealing my attention.
“I’m doing this. Won’t you look at me?”
I added without thinking, and Noah nodded with a low chuckle.
“Of course. I’m a man myself.”
The answer was so frank that I was confused. I think I said something wrong. He lifted his hand and stroked my hair slowly, a strange air current drifting between us.
“I want more because I’m a man.”
“What do you want?”
Even though I knew well, I asked in a cautious tone because I couldn’t grasp his thoughts.
“What do you think it is?”
He asked back simply and clearly in a slightly indifferent tone. I know what a normal male adult wants from a woman, but I didn’t know what this man wanted.
I tried to keep my face expressionless and looked down at our clasped hands.
“I don’t know.”
Noah leaned toward me, and one of his hands rested on my shoulder. He stared at me, and soon his lips curved seductively.
“I want to defile you, destroy you, make you completely mine. I want to monopolize you.”
His eyes turned cloudy.. A shiver ran from my neck to my toes, and I shuddered.
“That’s right. It’s instinct.”
A dramatically lowered voice followed, conveying the exact meaning. Despite the somewhat rough language, it was ultimately seductive and numbed me to the tips of my fingers.
Every word seemed to stir every inch of my body, making me thirsty.
“Why are you scaring me?”
“That’s why I’m not doing anything. Because you’re precious.”
“I’m precious?”
“Yes.”
He kept his face close to mine, tilting his head as we locked gazes. My expression was nonchalant, but subtly off. My heart raced faster in a different way. The sweetness of his breath warmed my face. It was close enough to reach my nose.
“I want to do what I couldn’t do that day.”
He stopped speaking for a moment, as if waiting for my answer. He was asking my permission with noble manners. The quiet voice mixed with breathing was too close.
I knew exactly what it was, and I felt my heart pounding, and I didn’t want to be any more stubborn.
“Okay.”
Noah let out a small intake of breath and kissed me lightly. It was urgent, but sweet and slow.
My lips, which had been cold, became warm and sweetly stained. He gently parted his lips, holding my waist and cupping my cheek with one hand.
“Wrap your arms around my neck. You can hug me.”
As if mesmerized by his whispered request, I obediently wrapped my arms around his neck and we huddled together.
The room was bright enough to see the dust in the quiet afternoon sunlight, but all I could see was Noah’s face.
Blue eyes reflected under painted down eyelashes, the continuous lines of his face, and a bandage on his cheek filled my vision.
I could hear the sound of the reed forest swaying in the wind, not far from the quiet mansion. As I slowly closed my eyes and closed my field of vision, my other senses left as well.
His straight jaw tilted gracefully. Their dense breathing mingled with each other’s gulping breaths. I could feel the strange heat from Noah’s hand wrapped around my waist.
He was skillful and it was driving me crazy. His hands were as strong as they were moderate.
It was our first kiss.
It was as short as the light that lit and extinguished after a while , but the moment felt like eternity.
“Diana.”
Noah opened his mouth and rubbed my lips gently. Her loving eyes bent nicely, and the under-eyes rose plumply.
The trajectory of my consciousness, drenched in sweetness, was circling. I finally regained my composure and answered.
“……What?”
“It’s okay if you don’t care about me. But I wish I was your only one.” (Noah)
I don’t know what it means to actually be the only one. Noah kept talking while I rubbed my face and tried to think of something to say.
“I’ll do anything you want, so don’t leave.” (Noah)
“Why do you always think I’m going to leave?” (Diana)
“You’ll leave me if you have a reason. Whatever the reason is.” (Noah)
Is it because I left him that time? If I didn’t have a solid reason that time, I wouldn’t have left him. I grabbed Noah’s hand and wrapped my little finger around his.
“Noah, I won’t let that happen. I promise.”
“I hope it’s nothing but you and me.”
Noah kissed me around my eyes as he said that. The words, which I didn’t understand, felt quite desperate. It was as if he was hanging on to someone who would soon leave. But the words that were added were quite distressing.
“Okay, we kissed, so we’re done getting to know each other.”