“Since when, since when have you been here?”

“Is that important?”

Whitney stood up abruptly from her seat. Seeing the maid standing next to him, she bowed her head.

“Don’t scold the young lady for not hearing when the maid called her.”

“…Ah.”

Only then did she vaguely recall that the maid had called her earlier. Whitney rolled her eyes and smiled awkwardly.

‘What should I do.’

Though she didn’t know from where he had heard, it seemed clear that he had grasped the gist of what she was saying.

“I followed because I thought you weren’t feeling well, but it seems that wasn’t the case. Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?”

“…It’s not good to watch people. Unless Your Highness has an unpleasant hobby, it would be better to make your presence known next time before people think they’re alone and start talking nonsense.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Cheston strode into the room and sat on the sofa. Then he handed her some documents on the table.

“I followed to give you this, so don’t misunderstand.”

“…What is this?”

“It’s a compilation of incidents that happened in Heartfail. The informants did a good job.”

How did he know she was planning to go there? Whitney looked at him suspiciously. Could the Swordmaster read people’s thoughts too?

“I can guess what you’re thinking, but unfortunately I don’t have such an ability.”

“…That’s fortunate.”

She took the documents but couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.

“Thank you. This was what I was trying to find out.”

“You told me something important, so I should do the same. Isn’t that what we contracted for?”

Whitney nodded. It was right that there should be give and take since it was a contract made out of mutual necessity.

“About what you heard earlier…”

“What conversation?”

“…Never mind.”

“Ah, that you don’t consider your kiss with me as your first kiss?”

“…That’s!”

His blue eyes curved in amusement. He was clearly teasing her. Whitney bit her lip and glared at him.

“Don’t tease me. But it was just an act to save me, wasn’t it Your Highness? So I was just trying not to give it meaning.”

“Who says that?”

“…Pardon?”

“That it was just an act to save you.”

Cheston took a glass of lemonade from the maid and swirled it slightly. Droplets of water ran down his thick, long fingers.

He didn’t take his eyes off her even as he drank the lemonade.

“But is that important? It was the young lady who said to be insensitive to the other’s feelings. Ah, I guess first kisses are different.”

“…”

“It’s not the kind of concern you’re worried about, so don’t fret over it and relax your expression.”

Cheston snapped his fingers and smiled faintly. He put down the empty glass on the table and stood up.

“We’re done talking, so rest.”

After he left, Whitney couldn’t say a word.

There was nothing wrong with what he said, so why… did her chest ache again?

She could hear the sound of ice melting and clinking in the glass.

As soon as the maid cleared away the glass, the light followed and then broke off. Whitney’s gaze was fixed on the water stains left on the table.

Until the traces disappeared in the hot sun.

Cheston stopped in his tracks.

He had forgotten to tell her about the fire that would break out in the Queen’s Palace. She wouldn’t be in danger, but he was worried.

Somehow, if he went back like this, he felt he might say something unnecessary. He sighed, clenching and unclenching his fist. The image of her not responding to his words lingered.

He didn’t understand why he felt so frustrated. What answer did he want to hear, and what expression did he want to see?

He turned his head to stare at Whitney’s room before heading back to his study. Even if there was a fire, he had planned to come to her first, so it should be fine.

‘If I tell her, she’ll worry.’

He rubbed his fingertips where moisture remained.

Should he have chewed the ice too? Perhaps due to the hot summer, his insides felt parched. His mouth seemed to keep getting dry.

Whatever it was, it was an extremely unpleasant summer day.

The palace was in an uproar. Along with screams, people were moving busily. Whitney, who had just woken up, rubbed her eyes and wore a bewildered expression.

Opening the door in her nightgown to assess the situation, she saw maids shouting and running about in confusion.

Whitney hurriedly grabbed a maid and asked,

“What’s happening?”

Despite her question, the maids ignored her. Whitney’s eyes shook anxiously at the sight of people fleeing the palace in panic.

‘Something must have happened.’

Come to think of it, there seemed to be an acrid smell. As she left the corridor and reached the outside, the sky was filled with black smoke, making her nose sting and eyes water.

Flames rose through the black smoke.

“Fire! There’s a fire!”

At someone’s scream, Whitney stepped back. She ran towards where the maids were escaping to leave the annex.

She tried to quickly descend to the lower floor, passing through the long corridor. At that moment, her hand was grabbed by someone.

“Your Highness Cheston?”

“Haa. I’ve been looking for you for a while!”

“I came out because of the commotion… There’s, there’s a fire. You need to evacuate quickly!”

Despite her words, he remained calm. As if just finding her was enough to reassure him, his contorted face soon relaxed.

“I know. The fire broke out in the Queen’s Palace.”

“…No way.”

“The fire will be put out soon. There’s no better way to get rid of Ribenia.”

Whitney felt relieved. By the way, did Cheston know what his face looked like? She reached out and lightly brushed his cheek.

“You didn’t go around like this, did you?”

Ash came off on her hand. Cheston shrugged and whispered to her.

“Just say I got covered in ash trying to save you. No one will doubt it, so don’t worry.”

Whitney nodded.

As they left the annex together, people were carrying water to the Queen’s Palace. Sir Aaron approached and examined her and his bodies.

“Are you alright?”

“The fire?”

“It seems it will be put out soon.”

“There’s nothing wrong with the annex, so it will calm down soon.”

Cheston nodded at Sir Aaron’s words. Then he draped his jacket over her shoulders.

“I couldn’t grab separate clothes because you weren’t in your room when I went to find you.”

“Ah…”

Whitney realized she was in her nightgown and clutched the jacket.

As if nothing had happened, the palace was quiet. The Queen temporarily moved her residence to the main palace due to the fire in the garden.

The Queen, unable to contain her anger, tried to find the culprit, but the investigators found nothing. Though there were suspicions, there was no physical evidence, which was frustrating.

Her anger soon subsided, perhaps not disliking the fact that she would be closer to the King. Above all, it was fortunate that Lady Elenia’s residence was also moved to the annex.

Whitney watched Elenia while drinking tea.

“Were you not too shocked?”

She was worried because Elenia’s body was already weak. Although her face looked better, it took quite a long time for a weakened body to become healthy again.

Elenia smiled as if to say she was fine.

“Cheston told me there would be a commotion. I didn’t hear the details… but it seems you were more surprised than me. It seems he didn’t tell you. I hope you understand, he must have been busy.”

Rather, she was worried about Whitney, not herself.

“His Highness came to find me. I was surprised, but thanks to that, I learned that there wasn’t a single person of His Highness in the annex.”

“Cheston went to find you? That’s a relief. I was worried, but it’s good to hear he handled it well on his own.”

“He always treats me too well. To the point where I don’t know how to repay him…”

“Don’t say that. It’s Cheston who should repay. You don’t know how much he’s changed thanks to you.”

Whitney stared at Elenia’s pale white hand that held hers. Her thin, long fingers grasped Whitney’s hand pitifully.

She thought it was very warm then, and this time too, her hand was warm.

“Thank you. For soothing Cheston’s wounds. It seems I’m the one who needs to repay, not you. Thank you so much.”

She couldn’t become someone he could open his heart to. It wasn’t her who made him change. He was making efforts to change on his own.

All Whitney did was give him a small motivation. She showed him a breakthrough, and it was none other than Cheston who chose it.

She felt uncomfortable. She hadn’t done enough to deserve such gratitude. In fact, she was just repaying a debt she owed previously, and Whitney still hadn’t finished what she needed to do.

“I’m the one who should be grateful.”

For becoming another reason for him to live. It was reassuring to know that he had at least one ally here.

“Don’t be surprised by whatever happens at the upcoming banquet. Please trust His Highness.”

“…You two are alike when I look closely. You both just tell me to trust without explaining what’s going on.”

Elenia smiled, her eyes crinkling. Her blue eyes, similar to his, curved prettily and shone clearly.

“Don’t worry. The only ones I trust here are you two. I know you’re not telling me for my sake.”

“…Thank you for understanding.”

“I’m just sorry I can’t be of help. If I could have been a great support, you wouldn’t have to struggle so much.”

“But you’re suffering enough as it is, Lady Elenia. So please don’t say such things.”

It was she who had to suffer alone, unable to open her heart to anyone. She couldn’t hate the King she had loved, nor could she resent the Queen who had come from another country for national interests.

She had to live here for the rest of her life, hiding her emotions and conforming, unable to fully love Cheston who was born between them.

“It’s not your fault, Lady Elenia.”

At Whitney’s words, Elenia smiled deeply and held her hand tightly.