CH 28

“Uh, umm…”

When Blake stopped suddenly, Lily raised her head in embarrassment. Their eyes were entangled.

“Lady.”

His hot breath reached her ear.

Cold air, the smell of clean snow, entered the lungs.

The skin of the man she touched was really hot and hard. Lily was even more embarrassed.

“You don’t know the next move, do you?” (Lily)

She tried to lead the waltz, but the opponent did not move as if he was a statue even though she gave it strength.

Blake’s chest was burning fiercely.

D*mn, he wanted to put his lips on Lily’s forehead and press it right away.

But isn’t it obvious that she will be angry? If not, it certainly won’t lead to good results.

“Lady, I……”

A low, rough whisper came from just above Lily.

Her body trembled strangely, and blood rushed to her face.

The heels of her ankle boots pushed and slipped backwards.

“Ah.”

Lily almost fell, but she stood still without her feet attached.

The man was holding her. Of course, it was not difficult at all.

Now Lily knew what he wanted.

But it wasn’t the kind of feeling she had ever thought of….

‘Should I decline?’

Her mind was spinning and spinning.

‘Do I need to say no?’

Meanwhile, their bodies were constantly getting hotter due to their close contact. The cold air of winter seemed to disappear elsewhere.

While only the smell of the two people’s skin mixed.

Finally Blake bowed his head over the collar of her cloak. As he tried to kiss her white neck…

<Come on, Lily. Kiss me goodbye.>

Lily remembered her ex-husband’s voice.

Memories of the past hit her like waves.

There was almost no physical contact with Count Fox. It was probably because there was no possibility of what followed.

But whenever he went to work at the Imperial Palace, he always asked for a goodbye kiss.

<Come on.>

When Lily kissed the Count’s cheek, he gave her a response by pushing her lukewarm lips in.

She had to close her eyes and endure the time. A time of great pain. It was harder to endure than when she was whipped by her parents when she was a child.

It was only after the clock passed very slowly that Count Fox gradually stepped away…

Lily always wanted to push Count Fox away.

“Stop!”

Involuntarily, Lily shoved Blake on the shoulder. He staggered back and distanced himself.

At that moment all the heat was blown away into the winter wind.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Lily felt a little empty. But before that, she came to her senses.

“It’s just that all of a sudden, my ex… I mean, oh no. I mean… it’s time to go. My hands are cold because I’m not wearing gloves.” 

“Can I give you my gloves?” (Blake)

“It would fit my head!” (Lily)

“Is it a joke now?” (Blake)

Lily hesitated, then fled as if running away to the winter castle.

The outside, which had been warmer than usual, suddenly felt like ice. When did the sky suddenly become cloudy?

To make matters worse, it started to snow.

Snowflakes sat on the brooch made by the maids.

“Then, let’s put it on your head!”

Blake’s voice followed her eagerly, but the distance widened.

Eventually he ran after her.

Lily didn’t want to be caught.

The heart inside her ruffled shirt was beating fast. It was embarrassing.

She had never loved anyone in her life. There were no good memories of the opposite gender at all.

‘I can’t do this.’

She wanted to shake off the memories of Count Fox.

If she stayed with Blake like this, other memories seemed to come to her mind.

She didn’t mean that the two men looked overlapping. In fact, on the contrary, they were completely different…

That was strange.

What does love mean? Lily didn’t know love.

The first was parental love.

She knew that even if she died, her parents wouldn’t shed a single tear. So would Lily. They had always left her behind.

The second was love between friends.

She heard that really close friends reveal their secrets without hiding, but is that possible?

Lily’s only friends were the children of the families that her parents ‘allowed’. Since it was only a political interest, she had to hide her flaws.

Finally, there was love between the couple.

Lily couldn’t understand the love of this classification the most. Her ex-husband had always been a terrible person. Her heart, which was beating warmly, would turn cold with fear when she saw him.

‘I do not know. I don’t know anything.’

Lily heard Blake following after her.

But right now, she didn’t want to see him face to face.

Just then, she saw the stable keeper in the distance.

There was also a black horse with angled muscles. Dominic was enjoying the walk while the keeper held the reins.

“Coco!”

Dominic lifted its head at Lily’s call.

Dominic, who originally liked Lily, grew more obedient to Lily after having a child. It seemed to think of Lily as its owner.

“Coco, come here!”

At that call, Dominic lightly blew its nose and threw away the stable keeper.

This battle horse was not an animal to be easily caught by anyone in the first place. Lily thought.

How can Dominic effectively stop Blake? She was so desperate that she used magic.

<Ask!>

The enchanted language turned into a visual image and stuck in the horse’s head. Dominic blew its nose in response as it was seeing a carrot in front of its eyes and then rushed to Blake.

When it opened its mouth and exposed its teeth, Blake had no choice but to back away.

“This ungrateful beast!”

Dominic was a beast that ripped off the arm of the enemy on the battlefield.

Of course, he wouldn’t bite Blake, but…… It was enough for the man’s strong back to contract with tension.

While the two quarreled, Lily ran into her room.

“Don’t let anyone in.”

At her request, Gianna, a dedicated maid, brought out all kinds of cleaning tools.

Lily was puzzled again.

“Oh, before closing the door, I want to ask what Gianna is intending to do…”

“I’m going to do a thorough cleaning so that not even an ant can get in!”

Because Lily said ‘no one can come in’.

Lily tried to say that her request had nothing to do with one such insect, but just went into the room…

Her whole body screamed that she had only uttered a single word of incantation.

Lily wiped her tired face.

“ha.”

The act of using magic in everyday life was something a great sorcerer would do. They would later appear in standard textbooks.

Would it be better to take a nap?

She didn’t even want to go out and meet Blake anyway, so she just lay in bed.

****

Lily had a dream.

It was a pretty painful nightmare.

Memories went back to when she was a kid. Her father scolded her, saying, ‘You’re a fool, and can’t even learn a proper etiquette.’ Her mother prioritized the gatherings of the wives of lawmakers over Lily.

Then, at some point, she grew up and married Count Fox by arrangement.

Standing under an old tree at the wedding, the guests came to fulfill their social duties…. After the ceremony was over, Lily entered his mansion… 

Each time the memories flashed, she felt nauseated.

She didn’t want to remember anything about Count Fox.

After waking up, Lily had been dazed for days.

‘Why do I feel so anxious?’

The dance on the snow and the hot breath had long since disappeared like a mirage. She was strangely anxious. Like a herbivore with natural enemies approaching. Her ex-husband was far away but Lily felt suffocated.

This Winter Castle was crowded with amazing people, so she thought she would forget her painful memories, but she didn’t. 

She had to go back to the topic she had been ignoring.

It was inevitable. She couldn’t stay here forever. The seasons naturally flew.

But where the hell is she supposed to go?

Does she have any other option than death now?

“Lady.”

An evening a few days after the day they danced outdoors.

Lily was sitting in front of the fireplace in the hall on the first floor, drinking tea.

Blake shrank his huge body and approached cautiously.

“Are you having a good day?”

“Oh, yes. Gianna brought me an armchair and blanket. Even chamomile tea.”

Lily’s eyes were still looking at the fireplace. The sparkly blue eyes were blurred out of focus.

“Hey….”

The man sat down slowly across from Lily. It was a sign of observing her mood.

“Others……”

Blake tried to tell Lily that the people of Winter Castle were worried about her, but stopped.

There must be a reason why Lily suddenly became quiet, so there was no need to make her worry anymore.

“….?”

Lily waited for Blake to speak up, then looked back at the fireplace when he didn’t say anything.

Blake let out a low sigh, not knowing how to deal with this situation.