CH 58.2

Anne sat down at the base of the nearby tree and pulled her knees. She didn’t express it, but her body was still shaking. The fact that she was almost assaulted by a stranger, and that the person who instigated it was her brother, the shock was too much for her to calm down easily.

The Grand Duke was also seated across from her. Anne looked at the Grand Duke lighting the bonfire. Despite his high status, he skillfully built a fire, probably familiar with camping.

When she put her palms in front of the roaring bonfire, the warmth felt good. Thanks to him who appeared at an unexpected moment, she can experience this kind of feeling.

She stared at the flames with sunken eyes. It was a night with a bright full moon. In the softly pouring moonlight, the Grand Duke’s features, always reminiscent of winter, shone in a subtle light. The shadow cast over his face deepened, and his eyes, stained with memories somewhere, shone slightly.

Anne twisted her gaze whenever her eyes met his. She struggled to look him in the face, but she managed to open her mouth.

“Thank you for saving me, Daymond.”

“. . .”

“But . . . How did you know?”

She asked again, not even guessing how he knew and how he got to the place. Instead of answering her question, the Grand Duke tapped the wood of the bonfire that had been lit to light the flames bigger.

“I told you. There is nothing I don’t know.”

He kept quiet as if he already knew everything.

“You really know everything . . . I didn’t notice anything.”

If he hadn’t come, she would have been assaulted and impregnated by that—

“Don’t leave the North again.”

Anne nodded her head at the softer tone. She would never go to the capital again. However, she would also have to leave the North someday.

As the warm flame melted the tension, the Grand Duke suddenly stood up and took off the robe he was wearing and carefully laid it on the floor.

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

“Even if it’s uncomfortable, it’s better to close your eyes for a while.”

“. . . Like this?”

“There’s nowhere to rest nearby, and it will be troublesome if you faint.”

“But . . .”

Hesitantly, Anne looked at the Grand Duke, with his big build, and then awkwardly laid down next to him. Lying next to each other, the feeling was very strange.

Are we sleeping like this?

She had never experienced spending the night outdoors. A daughter of a noble family since her birth, she was experiencing something that would never happen again in her life. Still, when she lay down, her throbbing insides had calmed down.

The starlight illuminated her face. Anne gazed with enchanted eyes at the shining stars that often fell in large lines like meteors. It was the first time she had seen such a beautiful sight in her life, yet it felt strangely familiar.

In an instant, the Grand Duke covered her back with his body. Anne, startled, twitched her shoulders. He hadn’t touched her body just once or twice, so she wasn’t surprised by the touch. But her skin was sensitive, perhaps because she had been touched by a stranger a while ago. Then the large hand swept her back slowly a couple of times.

Anne raised her eyes carefully as she examined his face. His towering nostrils touched the top of her head.

“If you don’t want to freeze to death, bear with it

A warm wind blew here adjacent to the capital, but the nights in the forest were still cool. She didn’t mean it that way, but Anne gave up the thought of questioning him. Even though his words were blunt, she felt grateful because he had saved her.

The characteristic winter smell of him made her feel at ease. Oddly enough, she felt very comfortable with him— probably because she had gone through something bad a little while ago— even though she was with the Grand Duke she hated so much. His big hand ran across her back on repeat.

Like he was comforting her, Anne let her eyes close. She smelled the scent of flowers mixed with his familiar scent. A gust of wind blew through the black hair. The hair on her forehead tickled every time it rustled, but she didn’t hate it.

After their conversation was cut off, only the sound of small grass insects and the sound of the wind permeated her eardrums. She also liked the scent of wild flowers that permeated sparsely. Her heart, which had been swaying like waves, became calm. In the still and quiet atmosphere, Anne closed her eyes.

Daymond soon stared at Anne with a vague expression as she exhaled evenly and closed her eyes. She looks small today. When he held her in her arms, she was a very thin woman.

Have you been overdoing it?

She didn’t express it, but she must be surprised; her body trembled until she fell asleep. Is that why? Daymond suddenly felt his heart thump. She wasn’t living a happy life either.

He took his eyes off her and stared helplessly at the sky. The pitch-black sky was filled with small stars as if they were about to pour down.

When he saw that scene, a few buried memories came to mind.