CH 22.1

Isabella packed up in advance and lay in bed earlier than usual.

She was a little disappointed to think she would go back to Rubella Castle in the Northern Kingdom tomorrow.

The trip was more fun than she thought.

Well, except for Victor’s ball, it was a perfect trip.

Isabella had reminisced about the trip in a good mood until she fell asleep.

How long did she sleep?

Isabella woke up and felt a sudden rush of pain that made her bite her lips.

She suddenly felt this tremendous heat from the flame-shaped wound on her shoulder.

“Isabella! Are you okay? The strange wound on your skin is shining!”

He woke up from his nap and went to her side immediately.

He shouted as he hovered around her.

Isabella got up from the bed and staggered towards the mirror.

Indeed, her wound shone in the dark room.

As the pain became more intense, she grabbed hold of the chair in front of the mirror.

It grew stronger and unbearable.

Isabella couldn’t even get herself together because of the painful burns throbbing from the wound.

“I can feel the strong energy of fire from that wound!”

She heard Ignis’ loud cry, which compelled her to touch the wound with trembling hands.

In an instant, the light from the wound disappeared, and the terrible pain that bothered her subsided.

“Isabella!”

“Ignis, it’s okay now. You don’t have to worry.”

She had no idea why she kept feeling pain in this particular wound.

Isabella turned on the lamp and stared into the flame-shaped wound on her shoulder.

When the light vanished, the pain went along with it.

What is that light?

Isabella shook her head.

She had agonized about this for a long time.

Just thinking about it did not mean that the answers to her questions would suddenly pop up.

Finally, Isabella gave up digging deeper into it and went back to bed.

However, she couldn’t fall asleep anymore.

Maybe, it’s because she had already woken up.

After checking the time and realizing it was past midnight, she slowly got up from bed.

“Ignis, I will be gone to take a walk.”

She assumed she would fall asleep again if she could just move her body a little.

She opened the bedroom door and walked carefully.

The instant she opened the front door and exited the garden, she felt a little refreshed.

The moon was full and bright, and she found it easy to walk around the garden without lights.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” She heard a familiar voice from behind and realized it was Duke Kyar.

She glanced over her shoulder in surprise and witnessed Duke Kyar standing there, holding a lamp.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sleeping?”

He nodded slowly at her embarrassing question.

“I don’t sleep much.  You said you were going to bed early. Why did you come to the garden at this hour?”

“I just woke up, and I couldn’t sleep well. The garden here is beautiful.”

Isabella was busy throughout the whole trip, so she couldn’t afford to look at the garden in the villa.

Now she knew why Ignis liked to be here in this garden.

“I wish there was a garden like this in Rubella Castle.”

“I shall make a greenhouse as soon as we get back.”

Shaking her head quickly at Duke Kyar’s straightforwardness, she forgot about the fact that she shouldn’t utter any wish of hers in front of him.

“You don’t have to do that for me because I am about to leave the castle.”

Duke Kyar’s expression hardened when she told him the truth.

“I know, but you don’t have to do that.”

An awkward silence ensued between the two of them.

“Young master Kyle must be sleeping, right?”

Isabella changed the subject to Kyle immediately since she couldn’t stand the awkward silence anymore.

“I’m sure he’s sleeping. It’s late.”

Duke Kyar glanced up at Kyle’s room to check if the lights were turned off.

“That’s right. Master Kyle was very tired earlier, but I think his face became more cheerful because of this trip.”

Isabella looked up at Duke Kyar as she recalled the rich and varied expressions Kyle had worn.

“I wanted to say thank you for coming on a trip with us.”

She smiled at him, and Duke Kyar’s countenance turned blank for a moment before he frowned.

“Don’t smile like that.” He said in a low growl, and Isabella sighed inwardly as she stared at him.

He had asked her to smile in the past but, for the life of her, she didn’t understand why he suddenly told her not to do it again.

“Sorry for smiling at  you—-”

“—if you smile, you are making it hard for me to let you go.”

Duke Kyar cut her off, and Isabella’s blue eyes trembled when he stepped closer.

Again, the awkward silence between them ensued.

Both of them stood in the garden, looking at each other without saying anything as the crickets chirped loudly in the background.

“I think I should go.”

This time, it was her who broke the silence first.

He nodded in silence.

“Good night.” Isabella greeted before she slowly turned around and walked toward the mansion.

Duke Kyar quietly followed, lighting her path with the lamp he carried.

Was it because it was the last day of their trip?

For some reason, regret rose in her heart.

**