“Go. Hurry!”
His voice wasn’t really calm; she noticed it was, in fact it was too suppressed and low. Akkard’s eyes, which seemed to be barely holding back burning desire, reinforced this observation.
He looked like he wanted to rush at her, lay her down, and spread her legs. Damia saw this and took a step backwards without realizing it.
After leaving his bedroom, she closed the door and leaned back on it. Then, the cold feeling of the door came up through her thin fabric and woke her up.
‘Wait.. Did I really need to run away?’
Damia, who had already decided to give him a chance, frowned. But since she had already fled, it was pointless for her to worry about it now.
‘Well, giving him a chance doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping together.’
With that in mind, Damia reluctantly took a step back. Not knowing a guest was waiting in her room.
* * *
“Damia Primula! You bad girl!!!”
Cecil, who reunited with Damia after a long while, screamed.
“How could you go up to the capital without talking to me?! Do you know how worried I was? I can’t forgive you for not writing me a single letter!”
Although her voice trembled with a sense of betrayal, Cecil’s body was honest. She hugged Damia as hard as she could muster as if she was so happy she did not know what to do.
“Seeing that your complexion has gotten better, I guess capital life suits you well, huh?”
Cecil grumbled over and over again that she was so worried over Damia that she came all the way from the North. She was someone whose harsh words did not match her sweet deeds.
“I’m sorry, Cecil. I had some urgent work to do.”
Swaying around in her best friend’s arms, Damia smiled and apologized softly.
“What the hell is that!”
“It’s about the family business, so I can’t tell you yet, I’m sorry.”
No matter how close they were, there were unwritten rules they abided by. Among them, the customary practice was not to ask or tell each other the secrets of the family’s business.
Cecil was also the heir to her house, so she knew this well. So, while rubbing her lips, she quietly backed off.
“Then, let’s talk about the capital. So, what’s the royal palace like?”
“… … a place full of knives.”
Damia responded with sincerity. She wondered how often she had seen a flashing blade in less than a couple of months.
But Cecil thought it was a metaphor for the war of nerves in high society. She laughed out loud and shook her head.
“Ah, capital city girls are a bit feisty.”
“Don’t even talk about it.”
Her stomach twisted. Damia trembled involuntarily as she recalled Teresa’s infuriated face.
‘Didn’t he say they were going to break up soon?’
It was because of the temple that Teresa Dmitrys was nominated as the crown princess. Because of their support, Teresa’s family could strong-arm Heinrich into an engagement.
However, as the High Temple was accused and put on trial, many pro-temple nobles, including the Dmitry family, were on the verge of collapse. Thus, Teresa’s engagement didn’t go as planned.
Heinrich dropped the engagement as soon as possible as if he had waited terribly for the opportunity. And Teresa was surprisingly willing to accept it:
‘I’m sick and tired of men who are in love with other women.’
Her response when accepting her breakup spread widely throughout the social circles. Hearing that, Damia thought it was a very Teresa-like remark.
‘May she find someone who only loves her.’
After Damia made a brief prayer, she turned her head to meet an intense gaze she felt from her side. There, Cecil held her cheeks with both hands and stared intently at her.
“Wh- what? Why are you looking at me that way?”
“Be honest, Dami.”
“What?”
“I heard everything all the way here. About your personal life.”
A meaningful smile hung on the corners of Cecil’s lips as she said that. She was such a close friend, so just by looking at her face, Damia seemed to know what she was trying to say.
But she didn’t want to confess docilely, so she pretended not to know.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“You don’t know!? Rumors have spread even to the suburbs of the capital. I heard Sir Akkard is infatuated with you?”
Cecil exclaimed in a higher voice. Akkard was such a famous, high-profile celebrity person who drew the attention of social circles, so his deeds had already spread widely.
“I heard he apologized to the women of his past because you told him to, and no matter how many beautiful women called him—no matter how many times they threw their bodies at him, he wouldn’t even spare them a glance? And to top it off, to protect you, he threw himself in harm’s way and became disabled?!”
… … she didn’t know how the word spread. But it seemed like the rumours had twisted and exaggerated everything. Damia massaged her throbbing forehead.
“Go. Hurry!”
His voice wasn’t really calm; she noticed it was, in fact it was too suppressed and low. Akkard’s eyes, which seemed to be barely holding back burning desire, reinforced this observation.
He looked like he wanted to rush at her, lay her down, and spread her legs. Damia saw this and took a step backwards without realizing it.
After leaving his bedroom, she closed the door and leaned back on it. Then, the cold feeling of the door came up through her thin fabric and woke her up.
‘Wait.. Did I really need to run away?’
Damia, who had already decided to give him a chance, frowned. But since she had already fled, it was pointless for her to worry about it now.
‘Well, giving him a chance doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping together.’
With that in mind, Damia reluctantly took a step back. Not knowing a guest was waiting in her room.
* * *
“Damia Primula! You bad girl!!!”
Cecil, who reunited with Damia after a long while, screamed.
“How could you go up to the capital without talking to me?! Do you know how worried I was? I can’t forgive you for not writing me a single letter!”
Although her voice trembled with a sense of betrayal, Cecil’s body was honest. She hugged Damia as hard as she could muster as if she was so happy she did not know what to do.
“Seeing that your complexion has gotten better, I guess capital life suits you well, huh?”
Cecil grumbled over and over again that she was so worried over Damia that she came all the way from the North. She was someone whose harsh words did not match her sweet deeds.
“I’m sorry, Cecil. I had some urgent work to do.”
Swaying around in her best friend’s arms, Damia smiled and apologized softly.
“What the hell is that!”
“It’s about the family business, so I can’t tell you yet, I’m sorry.”
No matter how close they were, there were unwritten rules they abided by. Among them, the customary practice was not to ask or tell each other the secrets of the family’s business.
Cecil was also the heir to her house, so she knew this well. So, while rubbing her lips, she quietly backed off.
“Then, let’s talk about the capital. So, what’s the royal palace like?”
“… … a place full of knives.”
Damia responded with sincerity. She wondered how often she had seen a flashing blade in less than a couple of months.
But Cecil thought it was a metaphor for the war of nerves in high society. She laughed out loud and shook her head.
“Ah, capital city girls are a bit feisty.”
“Don’t even talk about it.”
Her stomach twisted. Damia trembled involuntarily as she recalled Teresa’s infuriated face.
‘Didn’t he say they were going to break up soon?’
It was because of the temple that Teresa Dmitrys was nominated as the crown princess. Because of their support, Teresa’s family could strong-arm Heinrich into an engagement.
However, as the High Temple was accused and put on trial, many pro-temple nobles, including the Dmitry family, were on the verge of collapse. Thus, Teresa’s engagement didn’t go as planned.
Heinrich dropped the engagement as soon as possible as if he had waited terribly for the opportunity. And Teresa was surprisingly willing to accept it:
‘I’m sick and tired of men who are in love with other women.’
Her response when accepting her breakup spread widely throughout the social circles. Hearing that, Damia thought it was a very Teresa-like remark.
‘May she find someone who only loves her.’
After Damia made a brief prayer, she turned her head to meet an intense gaze she felt from her side. There, Cecil held her cheeks with both hands and stared intently at her.
“Wh- what? Why are you looking at me that way?”
“Be honest, Dami.”
“What?”
“I heard everything all the way here. About your personal life.”
A meaningful smile hung on the corners of Cecil’s lips as she said that. She was such a close friend, so just by looking at her face, Damia seemed to know what she was trying to say.
But she didn’t want to confess docilely, so she pretended not to know.
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“You don’t know!? Rumors have spread even to the suburbs of the capital. I heard Sir Akkard is infatuated with you?”
Cecil exclaimed in a higher voice. Akkard was such a famous, high-profile celebrity person who drew the attention of social circles, so his deeds had already spread widely.
“I heard he apologized to the women of his past because you told him to, and no matter how many beautiful women called him—no matter how many times they threw their bodies at him, he wouldn’t even spare them a glance? And to top it off, to protect you, he threw himself in harm’s way and became disabled?!”
… … she didn’t know how the word spread. But it seemed like the rumours had twisted and exaggerated everything. Damia massaged her throbbing forehead.
