Chapter 43: A Decided Partner

She wanted to kiss him.

But for some reason, she felt so shy.

She’d been the one to initiate a kiss once before, so it shouldn’t be that hard. But she was probably only able to do it back then because she didn’t know anything.

Now that I know what kissing this man is like………I can’t bring myself to do it.

[Black] “I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”

As Rienne’s fingers gently brushed against his neck, Black glanced down at them as he spoke.

[Rienne] “What kind of thing…..do you mean?”

[Black] “Things like this.”

Black grabbed Rienne’s hand, pulling it towards him and placing it on the side of his face, kneeling down as he did to better match her height.

[Black] “I don’t know anything about women and I don’t have much experience in this area. Even if you send me a signal, I can’t read them well, so I might be wrong.”

Now he was taking her other hand. With his words quietly trailing off, he took it and placed it on his other cheek.

Until eventually, Rienne was holding both sides of his face with her hands.

[Black] “That face you’re making right now. Does that mean you want to kiss me?”

[Rienne] “. . .”

……He said he didn’t have any experience, but then what was happening right now? What was he saying?

[Black] “Tell me if I’m wrong. Or I’ll interpret it however I like.”

He must’ve been lying.

She wasn’t completely sure, but this man might be very good at lying.

[Rienne] “You’re not wrong……….”

Hearing Rienne’s answer, as quiet as a mosquito, Black smirked.

[Black] “Do you want me to kiss you?”

Why is he asking me that if he already knows the answer……….?

[Black] “Then I’ll do it if you do something for me.”

……Wait, something strange was happening. Was this man trying to put a condition on a kiss?

[Rienne] “If you don’t want to, then that’s fine…….”

[Black] “You were talking to yourself earlier. What were you saying would be nice?”

But before Rienne could reject him, Black quickly rushed out his question.

[Black] “You said it would be ‘nice’ to run into me at the Temple.”

[Rienne] “Well, I just thought…….that If I were…..to go…..then…I’d meet you……And then we could……go together……….”

[Black] “And?”

[Rienne] “And I thought it would be better than going alone………..”

[Black] “Do you prefer to be with me than to be alone?”

Rienne was so flustered, her eyes quickly lost focus, looking around and struggling to settle on anything.

[Black] “Answer me. Are you pleased with me?”

[Rienne] “……You already know, don’t you?”

[Black] “But I still want to hear you say it.”

Looking at her, Black lowered his head towards Rienne.

[Black] “Close your eyes. I’m going to kiss you.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

He was acting a little mean and teasing right now, so she thought she’d keep her eyes wide open, but the moment she heard his command, she automatically shut them without question.

[Black] “Give your lips…..to me.”

Just before their lips overlapped, Black whispered towards her.

He was making a lot of demands of her today, and yet, though that thought was in her mind, Rienne parted her lips. And what if this continued on in the future?

Though truthfully, her heart already knew the answer to that didn’t matter.

Whatever Black asked of her was always something she could easily do.

As if telling him she was happy with him and that she liked him right now, in this moment, Rienne readily allowed her lips to open.

*

* * *

*

I’m going to tell him today.

From the bathroom, there was the faint sound of water just from the other side of the door. It was the sound of Black, washing up before bed.

After changing into her nightgown and washing up herself, Rienne sat in front of the mirror, brushing her hair and making a vow to herself.

I’m not pregnant.

Back then,I lied thinking I’d be able to reject your proposal. I’m sorry for deceiving you like this.

The child I have in the future will be yours, no one else’s.

That’s how she’d say it.

She was thinking about it so deeply, but she didn’t even realize how much her fingers were shaking. In some ways, telling him this shouldn’t be that big of a deal, but she was so nervous her mouth felt like it had gone completely dry.

…..Then, should I tell him I also have no experience as well?

That was also a little bit of a concern.

If she told him she’d never actually slept with Rafit, the conversation would naturally head in that direction, but it was still so embarrassing for Rienne to think about.

……And I’m sure that man has experience.

She remembered what he had told her earlier that day.

[Black] –‘I don’t know anything about women and I don’t have much experience in this area.’

Not having ‘much’ experience and total inexperience were two completely different things. And he was too good at everything that it was hard to believe he had no experience to speak of.

But thinking about it made her feel a little strange. Like her emotions were suddenly getting bumpy and rough feeling.

Did that mean……….he’d done this sort of stuff with another woman?

She couldn’t help but wonder. How many times did he passionately steal kisses from her, looking over her lips even after they were done because he thought it was a shame the kiss was over?

And when she would’ve asked him why he suddenly embraced her and kissed her, would he have told her it was because she was ‘lovely’, too?

Just like he’s done to me?

. . . . .

Suddenly Rienne’s mood sank to her feet.

It didn’t make any sense, but somehow she felt a little upset.

He was taking so many of her firsts, but the same couldn’t be said of her towards him, though she knew it was unfair of her to feel that way.

She didn’t have a right to feel wronged by this.

He doesn’t know I’ve never been with another man……He might be even more upset than I am.

So she decided she should tell him properly. She would tell him he was her first, and then she’d ask him about the women he’d run into in the past.

It probably wouldn’t make much of a difference, but she thought she should at least listen to him.

Yes. Today.

Today, they’d speak properly.

Knock, knock.

Then, there was a small knock echoing against her bedroom door.

[Rienne] “Who is it?”

There was still the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom, so it definitely wasn’t Black. It was someone else. After giving the bathroom door a quick glance, Rienne approached the bedroom door.

[Rienne] “Who is it?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “It’s me, Princess.”

It was Mrs. Flambard.

Happily, Rienne opened the door.

[Rienne] “Welcome back, ma’am. Thank you for working so hard so late into the night.”

The woman’s face looked a little tired and grim. It was only natural, considering she’d been outside the castle all day.

[Mrs. Flambard] “I know you must’ve been readying for bed…….But may I speak with you for a moment?”

[Rienne] “Yes, of course. Come in.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Thank you, Princess.”

Mrs. Flambard entered the bedroom, but the moment she heard movement and the sound of water coming from the bathroom, she suddenly stopped walking with a shocked expression.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Is he here?”

Her voice was suspiciously quiet.

[Rienne] “Yes. He’s been staying in the room next door.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Then we need to speak elsewhere.”

[Rienne] “Excuse me?”

Mrs. Flambard hurriedly pulled on Rienne’s hand.

[Mrs. Flambard] “This isn’t something he should hear.”

[Rienne] “Lord Tiwakan, you mean? He shouldn’t hear this?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Yes.”

She nodded firmly, but looking closely she wasn’t just being adamantly stubborn.

There was fear in her eyes.

[Rienne] “. . .”

Rienne glanced back at the bathroom.

What was it that she didn’t want Black to hear? Rienne wondered if it was a terrible thing, but if it was, then she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it either.

……..But she had to listen. If it had something to do with him, then she couldn’t afford to turn her ears away. She had to know.

Biting her lip, Rienne nodded.

[Rienne] “Then let’s go.”

Turning out of the bedroom, Rienne and Mrs. Flambard left so quietly, they didn’t leave even the tiniest bit of sound behind.

*

* * *

*

The place the two of them went to was the audience room at the end of the southern tower. It was definitely a place where no one would go looking for them at this time of night.

And they certainly couldn’t go to Mrs. Flambard’s bedroom. Black’s old room was just opposite of it and it was now frequently used by Phermos as an office.

[Rienne] “Now speak freely. What’s going on?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “I looked for the older man as you requested of me, Princess. And I found him.”

Her story took some time to explain.

First, it was difficult to locate and meet with him.

With the Temple stairs currently under reconstruction, the entrance was always busy and filled with people. There was no place for an old beggar to sit comfortably like before, so she had to wander through the alley ways, asking around for his whereabouts.

And that’s when she witnessed something strange.

There was a servant handing water and bread from the Temple to the begging old man, being beaten with a cane.

[Rienne] “So it happened again………”

Rienne frowned.

[Mrs. Flambard] “Did you see it too, Princess? I couldn’t just stand by, so I tried to intervene. But the servant stopped me. He said he needed to be hit more.”

After that, the old man’s beatings didn’t stop until he’d hit him several more times.

[Mrs. Flambard] “The old man looked very upset, so I was a little hesitant to speak with him. But after you made this request of me, Princess, I couldn’t avoid it. I told him to tell me about you. And then he said…….”

Then he said something similar to what Rienne had heard.

Nauk’s sin has returned. The daughter of Arsak will bleed.

[Mrs. Flambard] “I didn’t understand him at all. What sort of beggar uses words as complicated as the priests do? So I asked him to use words I could understand to explain who that person was. I think he said something back, but it was so hard to understand him. That’s when I asked him to write something down instead. His hands were a bit unreliable and shaky, so he struggled to write something on the ground…………”

He’d only managed to write down a few letters by the time Phermos arrived with a group of Tiwakan mercenaries at his side.

Phermos said he’d come to the Temple to find a servant by the name of Klimah. After that, the servant quickly fled and the Tiwakan took the old man away for questioning on the servant’s whereabouts.

[Mrs. Flambard] “But…..I think it’s strange. An old man with barely working eyes wouldn’t have seen where the servant fled.”

The woman also didn’t forget Rienne’s express request to keep her desire to find the old man a secret. She had no choice but to back away from the situation, lest she draw attention to herself by arguing.

And then there was another problem after that.

After the Tiwakan took the old man away, Mrs. Flambard had seen places on the ground were someone had purposely crushed it with their foot.

Oddly enough, it was the place where the old man had tried to write Black’s name.

[Rienne] “Oh…….”

Rienne let out a soft sigh.

[Mrs. Flambard] “I didn’t even realize he had done that. He was speaking to me so quickly, I was just trying to keep up with him. But I think it’s strange that place he crushed on the ground just so happened to be where a name was partially written.”

[Rienne] “. . .”

It was more than just strange.

Rienne knew how clever Phermos could be. With him, there was no meaningless action, and he wouldn’t have done something like that purely on accident.

But the question of why still remained.

The timing was too perfect as well.

Rienne had just told Black about him, and he claimed that the old man wouldn’t be able to recognize him after so many years. Then, Phermos headed for the Temple to find the servant, Klimah, and detained the old man in his place instead.

It’s like………It’s like he ordered Lord Phermos specifically to hide him away.

[Mrs. Flambard] “What does he mean by Nauk’s ‘sin’? It seemed certain that the old man knew something. That’s why he was trying to write that name.”

[Rienne] “Sin……..”

The old man said that Black would take revenge.

Revenge required a grudge. The death of one’s family would certainly be enough to fuel that desire, but Black told her he’d forgotten all about it because it had been so long.

The daughter of Arsak will bleed, they said. But Black said he’d come to take back the daughter of Arsak because he didn’t wish to lose his childhood fiancée.

So which of the two contained the truth?

[Rienne] “You couldn’t recognize the name he was writing?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Unfortunately, Princess. Even when the old man tried to write it, his hands were shaking, so it didn’t even come out as a proper letter. I think I could make out the letter ‘P’, but I’m not sure.” (1)

[Rienne] “Is that all?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “I’m sorry, Princess. The Tiwakan appeared too suddenly.”

The doubts were stacking up one by one.

But still, she wanted to believe in Black more than anything.

[Rienne] “Ma’am, do you……Did you know when I was a child, there was once a discussion for my marriage?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “I’m sorry? When was this?”

[Rienne] “At this point…..About twenty years ago.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “You would’ve been very young, Princess. A marriage at the age is a little much.”

[Rienne] “That’s true…….But if the person in question was also young…”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Then it must’ve been an arranged marriage between families.”

[Rienne] “Yes, it would’ve been. Do you remember anything about that?”

[Mrs. Flambard] “It hasn’t even been sixteen years since I entered the castle to serve you, Princess. Do you remember? The first time I saw you was on your ninth birthday. Such a brave and mature little girl you were back then. The Queen was ill and yet you didn’t act childish when she needed to rest in bed.”

[Rienne] “That……That’s right. I met you as my nanny when I was nine years old. This engagement would have been before that.”

[Mrs. Flambard] “Yes. I’ve never heard of you being engaged before this, Princess. So that means either it was simply never made official, or that the engagement never existed from the start.”

* * *

T/N: In the original text, the letter written here was “ㅍ” which makes a ‘P’ or “Pu” sound depending. I thought about leaving it as is, but decided against it and just wrote in the letter since they’re not sure either.

Rienne looks really heckin’ cute in this CG, not gonna lie.