TOOCM 89

Chapter 89

The time to end the gathering had come.

One by one, notifications arrived that carriages sent by their families had come.

As everyone headed toward the carriage area together,

“Reina.”

Among the splendid carriages stood an even more splendid man calling her name.

“Kaiden? How did you…”

“I figured it would end around now, and luckily, I timed it perfectly.”

He was in uniform, perhaps having come from the palace.

The ornate medals adorning his uniform made him stand out even more.

The young ladies recognized him and made a fuss.

“Oh my, the duke came in person?”

“Goodness, how affectionate.”

Most men avoided openly waiting for women.

At best, those who cared sent a carriage, but the duke had come himself—how enviable.

Then Kaiden naturally hooked Reina’s hand on his arm and teased,

“I wanted to see you quickly.”

“Pardon?”

“Why? Didn’t you want to see me?”

“I-I did want to see you.”

Flustered, Reina blushed. Kaiden burst into laughter.

At their affectionate display, the other ladies’ faces flushed too.

It was clear the duke looked at his wife with love.

“May I take this person now?”

“Of course. See you next time, Duchess.”

“At the arena.”

Everyone answered as if enchanted, cheeks red.

“They really get along…”

“I’m jealous.”

As Reina left with Kaiden’s escort, the remaining ladies all let out sighs of admiration.

‘Hmph, doing anything for attention!’

Clearly a staged scene.

Noble marriages were merely a means for family gain.

Her marriage to Eric was the same. Just like her parents’.

‘She should just go back to the North—what’s she doing here, acting all happy.’

She didn’t know how Reina had bewitched the Duke of Crensia, but a man’s heart was fleeting.

In a few years, he’d lose interest and, like other men, take a mistress or keep two households.

Isabel ignored the creeping sense of inferiority and irritably boarded her carriage.

It was a sense of defeat she had never felt before seeing Reina here.

* * *

Once in the carriage, Reina scolded Kaiden.

“You don’t have to do that much.”

“Do what?”

Kaiden answered casually, lifting Reina’s legs onto his lap.

He began massaging them naturally, leaving Reina speechless.

She had grown far too used to his care.

Snapping out of it, Reina pulled her legs back and said,

“You’ve been making obvious moves since last time. People will suspect us.”

“Suspect what? That we’re a contract couple?”

“Exactly.”

“Reina. Not everyone is as meticulous as you. You saw earlier—did anyone look suspicious?”

Kaiden smirked. Reina pursed her lips.

She knew she was being overly sensitive.

Truthfully, she had been glad he came. Talking with strangers had been exhausting.

Whining the moment she saw him was, in a way, because he made her feel at ease.

When Reina quieted, Kaiden pulled her legs back.

His large hands kneaded her calves, sending a pleasant ache.

At the same time, it felt refreshing, and Reina’s resistance dwindled.

“You’ll spoil me like this.”

“Spoil you how?”

“You’re too good to me. I keep whining to you.”

“I like that.”

“Pardon?”

“Can’t you whine a little?”

At Kaiden’s soft question, Reina blinked.

“I’ve always said you need to lean on me more.”

Yes. He always told her to lean on him.

Yet she couldn’t easily do so because of her past life.

Whenever she wanted to rely on someone, they either disappeared or tried to bind her.

But lately, she sometimes thought:

She wanted to lean on Kaiden.

His broad chest seemed like it could easily hold just her.

He probably sensed that a little, which embarrassed her.

Reina fidgeted with her hands and asked,

“…I’m not a bother?”

“Not at all. I’d rather you bothered me more.”

“…”

“I want to be someone you need.”

His earnest eyes held no lie. She didn’t need Ritsi’s power to know.

That consistency might be what made her feel at ease.

“I feel the same.”

“Hm?”

“I want to be useful to you too.”

At Reina’s candid confession, Kaiden’s expression darkened slightly.

It was the discomfort he always felt from her.

She tended to focus too much on proving her worth.

“‘Useful’ sounds too transactional. That’s not the kind of need I meant, Reina.”

His voice sounded almost angry.

Reina wasn’t sure which part had upset him.

She had always thought that way—it was natural to her.

Kaiden sighed deeply at her confused expression.

He had long known her mindset was twisted somewhere.

And he suspected it was related to the emperor.

He didn’t know the details of imperial child-rearing, but her behavior told him enough.

That’s why he kept wanting to tell her: he was by her side and would never leave.

Kaiden took her hand.

“Reina. You don’t have to keep proving yourself.”

“…Pardon?”

“Even if you became completely useless, I would still need you.”

Reina stared at him blankly.

Needed even if useless.

Her head rang as if she’d been struck.

Kaiden always shook her.

Like now, he easily touched a deep longing she hadn’t even recognized.

“Prove your worth.”

The emperor’s words, hammered into her for ten years, were the opposite.

Only after hearing Kaiden did she realize she had wanted to hear this.

It was strange. Her chest boiled, her breath shortened, heat rose.

It was just one of his usual statements, yet her heart raced uncontrollably.

She felt like crying and laughing at the same time.

Her eyes grew hot. Kaiden’s face turned to panic.

“Reina?”

“Kaiden.”

I really, really…

Her throat was dry.

Even touching him, she burned endlessly.

She wanted to say something, but the grievances of the past kept surging, leaving her speechless.

Every moment had been desperate, a fight for survival.

The fear that failing to prove her worth would mean death had always choked her.

Yet Kaiden’s single sentence seemed to fully comfort the self she had endured for so long.

Despite her sudden state panicking him,

she could only look at him.

Hoping he would somehow resolve this overwhelming feeling, her eyes pleaded.

At that moment, the atmosphere shifted.

The air in the carriage hadn’t changed.

Yet a strong pull drew them together.

Kaiden leaned toward her as if enchanted.

In the narrow carriage, a slight movement brought them close.

He braced beside her, maintaining distance.

He instantly sensed she wanted him. Still, he spoke calmly.

“…Why?”

In case his feelings had misread her intent.