Chapter 29
While he was lost in thought, Inaila stood up from the sofa and looked around the library again.
Then, he began to sneak up on him, smiling up at where Karpel was exactly at this moment.
‘Don’t tell me… You noticed my presence?’
Inaila crept closer and raised her hand, then shouted loudly.
“There…!”
Karpel was startled.
But Inaila stopped exactly below him, looking at the space between the columns next to the bookshelf, where there was nothing in particular.
The space wasn’t big enough for anyone to hide.
‘…No, maybe it’s not that.”
Inaila raised her hand up, but gently lowered it back down.
“Ugh…”
She stomped on the carpet with an irritated face.
Karpel jumped in surprise, thinking that she was about to fall over. He behind her and held her by the waist to steady her.
He managed to catch her.
“I keep telling you…”
Please. Just be more careful.
Inaila suddenly stopped striving to be a prudent lady and started causing trouble here and there.
She turned around and faced him as though she was a pancake that was flipped over while she was still within his arms.
Inspecting the ceiling, she looked at Karpel with suspicious eyes.
“You hid up there every time I came to the library?”
He was caught.
Without having to question him further, his silence was enough of an answer. Then, Inaila spoke seriously.
“Karpel, we need to talk.”
“I have nothing to say.”
Karpel raised Inaila to her feet, but perhaps worried that he might run away, she grabbed his cravat.
The small fist was full of energy with the way she gripped it.
“Karpel hates me anyway. Are you sure you don’t mind being engaged with me?”
Hate…?
Who hated whom?
Him towards Inaila?
Karpel had never once hated Inaila.
Inaila knew that, since she always said ‘You actually love me,’ even though he was being so cold to her.
‘Perhaps… Do you want me to say I like you, that’s why you’re baiting me with breaking off the engagement?’
But Inaila had no intentions of breaking it off from the beginning…?
Thinking that way, Karpel felt like the question that had been plaguing his mind finally found an answer.
Even during the day she got drunk, it was clear that she still yearned to feel affection from him.
He didn’t know what drove her to this point, but he could guess a few things.
Now, Inaila’s shoulders trembled when he let go of her hand, which he had carefully held, as though she was afraid of him.
She was so scared, but she was still standing in front of him.
It was what she wanted to hear… But it was something that he couldn’t say.
If he dared to say it, that would be like asking to walk hand in hand with her towards hell.
Karpel hesitated, then sighed.
“When did I ever say I hated you?”
That was all he was allowed to say.
Inaila stared at Karpel with a discontented look on her face, like she couldn’t believe her ears.
‘I guess it wasn’t enough.’
“My opinion doesn’t matter anyway.”
Ever since they were younger, the most important thing had been Inaila’s opinion after all.
Her eyes widened as she looked at Karpel. Her clear eyes, like drops of the blue sky, captivated him completely.
The eyes that looked at him were so beautiful and lovely that they seemed to permeate deep into his heart.
Deep down, he felt like he might go down the road of imagining a future with her even though the threat of the Emperor was still looming near.
Karpel avoided her eyes.
“If you understand, then I’ll take my leave.”
And so he rushed out of the library.
He never got to see the look of bewilderment on Inaila’s face as he left.
Ever since they met in the library, Inaila no longer sought out Karpel.
It was awkward and depressing at the same time whenever he saw her wandering around the mansion, but if he thought about the current situation, he had to admit that this was better for them both.
It didn’t seem like she was pushing for breaking off the engagement anymore. Instead, she was preoccupied with having tea parties with her friends or going to balls.
It was only in the evening that she could run into Karpel. He was always out during the day.
Every day, a cinnamon dessert was served during dinner even as he did his best to avoid Inaila.
It seemed that Ina had ordered the chef to do this for him. He should have thanked her, but he rarely showed himself, so there was never an opportunity.
And Karpel heard more news about Inaila’s recent changes in demeanor.
Stein, Karpel’s secret aide, slipped a small memo to him between today’s report.
“Did you perhaps have a pleasant date at the training grounds?”
“What are you…”
“Every morning, the Lady goes to the training grounds even though there’s no one there around that time.”
He never saw it.
Originally, Inaila never interfered with Karpel’s training or studies.
Even when he had to go out for business, he still set aside five hours for himself every day.
She could have been watching him train from afar all this time.
The next day, Karpel went to the training grounds with anticipation.
However, not a single strand of her hair could be seen, let alone any real signs of Inaila’s presence—even as the sun rose high in the middle of the sky at noon.
‘Does Ina know how to hide her presence?’
Karpel wanted to ask Inaila as they sat together at the dinner table, but he didn’t know how to go about it.
Did she really have to hide just to watch him? Something didn’t seem right.
He was going to order Stein to follow Inaila, but he would be in trouble if she happened to find out.
But the next day, Karpel couldn’t find Inaila anywhere.
After waiting, he decided to go to the garden and look for her himself. Just at the right moment, he saw Inaila leave the building.
He hid his presence and casually followed Inaila as she crossed the garden and headed towards the greenhouse. She didn’t head towards the training grounds at all.
At a leisurely pace, she circled the greenhouse a few times, then went back into the building.
“Should I trace my steps?”
“What…?”
What was it? What did she lose?
Wondering about this, Karpel went to the library after eating lunch.
There was someone inside, so he quietly opened the door as he entered.
And the person inside was Inaila.
Sitting on the sofa, she held an elf dictionary and a botanical map.
She was so focused on her task, she didn’t notice Karpel. She stared intently at the bookshelf for a long time, then jumped to her feet to approach that bookshelf.
His gaze followed her around for a long time, gulping down as he tried to guess what she was looking for. Then, she picked out a book and stared at it.
It was a book describing how elves foresaw the weather through mana. Their method had an eighty percent accuracy.
Karpel came closer to her with the intention of explaining the content’s summary if she needed it.
However, Inaila looked at the book for a long time, as if she was wondering whether to read it or not.
Karpel stared at Inaila for a long time because she was being so cute. He grabbed her small hand while he was lost in thought.
She had been placing the book back in its place in the bookshelf, then she looked behind her to see Karpel.
Their eyes met.
When her blue eyes, which looked up and down as though she couldn’t believe he was there, met his eyes, Inaila jumped.
Karpel was surprised, too.
He was flustered, so he made an excuse.
“I was about to call your name.”
“R-Really? Did you just get here?”
It was a weak excuse.
He did come a while ago, but it was closer to an hour since he got here.
He couldn’t bear to lie to Inaila as she waited for an answer, so he averted his eyes instead. Then, he saw the red book in her hand.
It was a book called ‘Physical Analysis’ that Karpel thought at first was a martial arts book.
The preface of the book mentioned that it was recommended to middle-aged couples who would like to return to their honeymoon period.
‘You’re not trying to read that, are you?’
Inaila stared at his embarrassed expression, then soon lost interest in the book and put it back on the shelf.
Karpel went back towards the sofa in case she wanted to have some privacy while reading it.
But Inaila, who followed him like a chick, suddenly clapped once.
“Positions!”
Karpel looked behind him, flabbergasted.
Inaila smiled as though she had been enlightened.
She seemed to have finally figured out why he was embarrassed earlier. Surprised by her outburst, he apologized, but still had a flustered expression on his face.