He laid out the mat and took out the food from the basket, creating a simple but charming picnic scene.

Riena sat on the mat and exclaimed loudly:

“When did you prepare this? I never even thought of it.”

“Amy packed it, saying it would be nice to bring along.”

“She didn’t give me any hint when she put this together.”

That meddling wasn’t unpleasant.

Riena wiped her hands with a damp handkerchief, then passed a sandwich to Cassel who had also cleaned his hands. Then she took a bite of her own sandwich.

The tangy whole grain mustard, savory ham and cheese, and fresh vegetables blended well in her mouth.

Riena swallowed what she was chewing and looked around. Lucy and Black, who had been let loose, were now peacefully grazing together.

It was a peaceful moment. So much so that she worried if she deserved to enjoy such happiness.

Riena whispered, looking down at her sandwich:

“It’s been a while since I’ve been on a picnic like this. It brings back old memories and makes me happy.”

“I feel the same.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it too.”

Riena finished the rest of her sandwich. After eating one, she stretched out her legs and wiggled her feet.

Though no special conversation passed between them, the silence between the two was no longer awkward.

However, contrary to their high spirits, the outing did not go very smoothly. The sky, which had only scattered white clouds when they left the mansion, suddenly gathered dark clouds and heavy rain began to pour down.

“Oh no…”

Cassel quickly got up from his seat. He hastily packed everything into the bag and mounted his horse.

“Should we go back the way we came?”

“The rain is too heavy. It doesn’t look like it will stop easily, if we go back like this we might have an accident or catch a cold.”

“Then what should we do?”

Cassel looked towards the interior of the hunting grounds.

“There’s a place to rest near the entrance of the hunting grounds. Let’s take shelter there until the rain stops.”

Riena followed Cassel as he guided his horse towards the forest. True to his word about a resting place, a large tower soon appeared.

“Where is this?”

“It’s a kind of watchtower. During hunts, you never know what might happen where, so they watch the situation from here. It seems to be empty now since it’s not hunting season.”

“I see.”

“I’ll tie up the horses, so please go inside first to avoid the rain.”

“Alright.”

Riena entered the tower while Cassel tied Lucy and Black’s reins to a tree where the rain barely reached.

The inside of the tower showed signs of being vacant for a long time. There was clutter scattered on the floor, and dust floated hazily in the air. There was also a musty smell of mold.

However, Riena felt more intrigued than displeased by the sudden change in plans.

‘If it’s a watchtower, the view of the hunting grounds must be good, right?’

Since coming to the capital, she had been so busy that today was her first proper outing, except for visiting Baron Donovan’s residence. Strictly speaking, she had also gone to Viscount Loraine’s residence, but at that time she didn’t even have the leisure to look at the outside scenery.

Since the sudden rain made further horseback riding impossible, she wanted to at least enjoy the view of the capital from the top of the tower.

Riena climbed to the top in one breath. The view of the hunting grounds visible through the open window was spectacular as expected. Although it was blurry due to the rain, it had its own charm.

‘It’s quite different from Dyke’s territory.’

Just as Riena was leaning out the window to get a closer look:

“Ria!”

With that urgent cry, her body was turned 180 degrees. Cassel, who had followed her belatedly, embraced her tightly while exhaling roughly.

She could feel his heart beating rapidly, as if about to burst, under her hand that inadvertently pressed against his left chest.

Was it because he had rushed up here in one breath, or was there another reason?

Riena could only blink, still in his arms, not understanding what was happening. She tried to raise her head to examine Cassel’s expression, but the more she tried, the tighter he held her, making it impossible to move.

“Cas?”

There was no answer from Cassel. He stepped back a few paces from the window, still holding her. Even then, he remained silent for a while. All that could be heard was the sound of heavy rain and his rough breathing.

“What on earth is wrong?”

Tremors passed from body to body. Since Riena wasn’t the one shaking, it was clearly Cassel who was trembling.

Although the weather was quite cool, it didn’t seem like Cassel, who had a higher body temperature than Riena, was shivering from the cold.

Then why on earth was he acting like this?

Riena was puzzled, but judging from Cassel’s reaction, he wasn’t in a state to give a proper answer at the moment.

In the end, instead of asking again what was wrong, she tightly wrapped her arms around his waist. And she patted his back to signify that everything was okay.

“It’s alright. I promised to be there for you when things are tough, remember?”

As if that was a signal, Cassel buried his face in her neck. His hot breath touched her sensitive neck.

It wasn’t unpleasant at all. If it had been someone else, she would have been uncomfortable, but because it was Cassel, it didn’t feel bad.

Rather, the problem was that it made her feel strange. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but the inside of her throat tickled and her toes curled involuntarily.

Riena swallowed dryly and rested her head on his chest.

‘It’s hot.’

It was the first time she had been this close to Cassel, except when they were children.

Riena used to often hug Cas, who was 1 year older but smaller than her. Though it was tight, Cas fit into her arms back then.

The young Cas smelled of the sweet desserts eaten during snack time. His body, not yet properly muscled, was firmer than Riena’s, but still didn’t feel hard.

But the current Cassel was different. His already firm, sturdy muscles were so tense they felt like stone.

Was it because of the heat radiating from Cassel? Her body, which had cooled from the rain, seemed to be warming up in response.

No, it wasn’t just a feeling, her body really was getting hot. For some reason, her breathing also became slightly faster.

Riena bit her lip at the strange sensation spreading from below her navel.

Her mouth became parched. She wanted Cassel to do something, but she couldn’t understand what she wanted him to do.

Her heartbeat also quickened in response. She had thought Cassel’s heart was beating abnormally fast, but now her heart was speeding up just as much.

After some time passed, the strength in Cassel’s arms loosened a little. He looked down at Riena, who had her face buried in his chest, and carefully asked:

“Are you alright?”

It was a strange question. Riena, who had just been looking out the window, had no reason not to be alright.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

But Cassel kept asking about her well-being as if she had fallen from the window. However, Riena couldn’t answer promptly. The reason was that Cassel’s state was unusual.

His hands were still trembling slightly. Even his face, which usually didn’t show much emotion, was gripped by an inexplicable fear.

He was shaking so much that she couldn’t bring herself to point out that he was overreacting.

“I’m fine. Nothing happened. I was just, just curious and looking around.”

Only after Riena managed to answer did he exhale deeply and embrace her again.

“Why did you come up to such a dangerous place? What if you had slipped and fallen…”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would be dangerous.”

Cassel gently caressed Riena’s cheek and whispered painfully:

“Please never do this again.”

“I understand. I understand, so please calm down first…”

He slowly lowered his head and pressed his forehead against Riena’s rounded forehead.

Their noses touched. Riena instinctively closed her eyes. This made her even more acutely aware of the breath falling on her lips.

Her lips tickled and a slight chill ran down her spine.

Cassel, still breathing slightly more roughly than usual, mumbled somewhat incoherently:

“I was scared when I couldn’t see you. I thought something might have happened to you in the brief moment we were apart…”

“As you can see, I’m fine. So there’s no need to worry too much.”

Riena gathered her courage and opened her eyes.

An impure impulse, inappropriate for the situation, arose. What if she just raised her heels slightly and kissed Cassel’s trembling lips?

At that thought, Riena shuddered and stepped back. However, Cassel reached out again and wrapped his arms around her waist. It seemed he was afraid of Riena’s body getting closer to the outside of the tower.

Finding herself suddenly back in his arms, Riena quickly mumbled:

“Alright. I’ll go inside. I won’t go back, so please let go of me for now?”

Cassel, still not feeling reassured, turned half a circle while holding Riena. Only after Riena’s body was facing inward did he release her.

“Cas…”

“…We should go downstairs first.”

Cutting off Riena’s words, he took her hand and carefully led her down to the first floor.