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Chapter 36

"Why are you Ivan's?"

Emilia turned her head to look at Kayden.

"What do you mean?"

"What you just said to Ivan."

She'd whispered it softly enough for only the child to hear, but it seemed he'd caught it too.

Yet his tone carried considerable displeasure.

"It's just something I said to a child—why are you taking it so seriously?"

"It'll spoil him."

"What do you—"

Emilia blinked at his firm words.

"What if later, when he's sent to the Holy Kingdom of Hypria, he throws a tantrum saying he can't take you because you're his?"

"Th-that's..."

Emilia faltered, caught off guard.

"And I'm merely stating the facts."

But at his following point, she had a retort.

"No, if we're going by facts, that's not entirely wrong."

"In what way?"

Kayden tilted his head as if to say explain yourself.

"During the hours I work as his tutor, I can be considered his, can't I?"

Emilia argued with conviction.

Honestly, it was a bit of a flimsy logic, but sometimes you had to push through with momentum.

Kayden was silent for a moment, as if thinking, then met her eyes.

"If you put it that way, I'm the one who signed the contract."

His low voice continued slowly.

"Does that mean you agree you're mine?"

"Wh-what are you—"

She was flustered, trailing off—

Just then, she heard something cutting through the air from a distance.

"Ah, watch out!"

Emilia reflexively turned her head—

Thud.

A light pull on her shoulder tilted her upper body back, and the back of her head met something solid.

Huh?

At the same time, a sharp jawline appeared before her eyes.

Soon, she found herself meeting a pair of deep-set eyes.

"So."

A low voice came from right beside her, and Emilia blinked.

"Are you going to answer?"

"...Pardon?"

Kayden looked down at her without moving, demanding an answer.

"Um, well..."

Emilia trailed off, her lips moving.

No. What answer does he even want...

And more than that—

She couldn't decide where to look, and her mind wasn't working properly.

Just then, a child approached them, trembling, to retrieve a ball.

"Ex-ex-excuse me, but..."

The sudden interruption made Kayden's brow furrow.

Without even glancing at the child, he lightly kicked the ball at his feet.

The ball cut through the air at high speed and flew far away.

Thwack!

Crack!

And a tremendous sound followed.

"The goalpost is broken..."

"Whoa! Look at that tree split!"

The children who witnessed the marvelous sight of a tree breaking from the ricocheted ball were thrilled.

Emilia also checked the scene of destruction, her eyes wide.

She turned her gaze back to Kayden and cautiously opened her mouth.

"Um, that property damage..."

Kayden's face, which had been fixated on her lips, crumpled.

At the same time, he set Emilia upright and rose from his seat.

As the man's face, which had filled her vision, suddenly vanished, Emilia blinked.

She turned her head to look at Kayden standing there.

"Sigh..."

Running a hand through his hair with a restrained gesture, he stepped away from the bench.

"Where are you going?"

At her bewildered question, Kayden murmured lowly.

"I didn't mean for you to ask at times like this."

He nodded toward the goalpost and broken tree in the distance.

"To pay for the damages."

"Ah, right..."

Emilia quickly answered.

Indeed, leaving that behind would have caused trouble for the park keeper.

---

Left alone, Emilia somehow felt too embarrassed to lift her head, so she kept it bowed.

I knew Kayden was handsome, but...

Seeing him that close up had caught her off guard again.

Her heart was pounding uselessly.

Rustle.

With her head down, her long hair fell over her dress.

She wished she could cover her face with it.

Phew.

After taking a few deep breaths, she lifted her head again.

She looked at Ivan, who was playing in the sandbox.

Just moments ago, she'd been watching the children play with a warm heart—

But now, they didn't seem to register in her vision.

It's hot.

Emilia fanned her face to cool her burning cheeks, then tied her hair up.

Just then, a long shadow fell over her.

What?

Emilia looked up, puzzled.

A man standing right in front of her came into view.

Her eyes widened as she recognized him.

And then—

"Who are you?"

Knights appeared from somewhere and grabbed the man, speaking coldly.

Lucas glanced at the knights on either side with an amused expression.

One of the Duke of Valen's knights asked Emilia.

"Do you know him?"

"Ah, yes."

Emilia quickly nodded, and the knights released his arms, giving Lucas a brief bow.

"Forgive the intrusion."

Lucas smiled at the corners of his mouth as if to say it was fine, and shrugged.

Then the knights vanished as quickly as they'd appeared.

"Goodness, so scary."

Lucas feigned distress, rubbing the arms they'd grabbed.

Then he naturally sat down beside her.

"Nice to see you again, isn't it?"

He crossed his legs and even draped his arm over the back of the bench.

Emilia narrowed her eyes at him.

"Is the capital really this small?"

"Huh?"

"It just seems like I run into you far too often, Lucas."

She shot him a highly suspicious look.

Their encounter on the street last time could be chalked up to coincidence.

But running into him in such an unusual place felt questionable.

Especially since he didn't seem to be accompanying any children.

Lucas spoke in a tone of protest.

"Both that day and today were coincidences!"

"Really?"

"Really. In fact, I come here often."

But Emilia couldn't drop her suspicion. It was easy enough to claim anything.

"Then tell me something that's changed since last time I was here? That seesaw was replaced a few days ago—oh? Wait. What happened to that goalpost and tree all of a sudden?"

"..."

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