When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 39

Turning Away, You’re a Stranger (38)

Kaver had always been a difficult person to read, even when he was young. Perhaps it was because growing up in the Imperial Family taught him to skillfully hide his emotions.

Railey always sensed a subtle guardedness about Kaver. After seeing him more often, he almost always wore a smile, but she remembered it wasn’t a genuinely bright one.

‘I didn’t understand back then why he smiled like that.’

Her childhood memories were hazy, but Kaver’s confession was one thing that remained vivid.

It might not have been entirely sincere, but Kaver had seemed quite serious at the time.

“You resorted to methods unbecoming of Your Highness.”

Railey handed Kaver a document as he sat across from her. It contained the necessary information, though she couldn’t know all the details.

Kaver accepted the document as if accustomed to Railey’s directness whenever they met.

“I don’t believe that’s what you’re truly curious about.”

If she had examined the document closely, she would have noticed the last words Kaver had written. That was why Railey had no choice but to address him directly.

“I’d like you to give us a moment alone.”

Kaver addressed Ren, who was subtly concealing his presence. Railey glanced to the side and nodded in agreement.

Incredibly, Kaver could sense mana. Railey’s gaze flickered, confirming that it wasn’t a fabrication to get her alone.

‘If that’s the case, then it really might be…’

Perhaps she was being given a chance to alter her fate.

Wasn’t that what she had been longing for? Railey concealed her trembling hands and met Kaver’s gaze with a nonchalant expression.

“I’ll be nearby, so don’t do anything foolish.”

Ren revealed himself, a hint of displeasure on his face, and quickly vanished.

Where should she begin? Railey found it difficult to speak. Kaver seemed equally hesitant, and silence hung between them.

“…Since when?”

It was unprecedented. A child inheriting the Imperial Family’s blood being able to manipulate mana independently was unheard of. This was not a trivial matter.

Had he been deceiving her from the start?

“Was it around the time you got married?”

On that day in the past when he couldn’t hold onto her. Kaver closed his eyes, a wave of guilt washing over him as if it were all his fault.

The past days when he had worked tirelessly for her came to mind, but what did it matter now?

Railey’s heart sank. If she had known back then, wouldn’t she have run away and avoided the marriage?

‘I wouldn’t have believed it.’

She never believed she could escape so easily. As if brainwashed by her father, she believed she had to become a weapon the moment her abilities were revealed.

“You can resent me. It was my failure that I couldn’t hold onto you until the end.”

If it was selfish of him to hope that she, who appeared happy, would leave this place and be free, then that was his fault too.

Kaver was powerless in the face of her smile.

“I don’t resent you. I made the choice. It’s true that I, who hated the Imperial Family, even hated Your Highness.”

Railey still harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Imperial Family and the Trailla family because their contract had ruined her life, everything.

However, the truth Kaver had been concealing came as a shock to her, who believed that escaping fate was the only way.

“…Why go to such lengths?”

Railey stopped speaking abruptly. She vaguely sensed Kaver’s sincerity, which she had been trying to ignore. His gaze toward her was filled with emotion.

‘He never showed his emotions well, so why is it so easy to see now?’

Perhaps she had been deliberately blinding herself. She was exhausted from the constant struggles and desperate to escape her fate.

“Are you not feeling well?”

Kaver looked at Railey with concern. He knew that her mana was unstable and her health wasn’t good, but Railey herself had no way of knowing that.

“Reta…”

At Railey’s words, Kaver nodded, reassuring her not to worry. She was in a safe place. It was better for her to be under Kaver’s protection until everything was resolved.

“I took care of the Count quietly, so you don’t have to worry.”

Only after confirming Reta’s safety did Railey sigh in relief. She suppressed her urge to go find Reta immediately.

“How did you find out about Theo?”

“Railey, there is nothing I cannot do. It’s different from the past when I was just a young Crown Prince who was powerless and had to let you go.”

Back then, he was just a young Crown Prince, but now he was the heir to the throne who had built up his own power. The others were unaware that the Crown Prince could manipulate mana on his own.

The nobles who learned that he couldn’t make a contract with a sword were questioning Kaver’s qualifications, but he didn’t care.

Because he was able to handle enough mana that he didn’t need a sword contract.

“I couldn’t tell you sooner because of political matters.”

“…Then, is Your Highness saying that you knew I was hiding my abilities?”

Railey hoped it wasn’t true. And fortunately, Kaver hadn’t known from the beginning. He had found out after she got married, while he was watching over her.

“Not from the beginning, but…”

Kaver handed Railey the documents he had prepared and said to her. He didn’t have much time, so he couldn’t stay here any longer.

“Even so, nothing changes. Railey, this will be useful during the trial, so you can use it as evidence.”

Railey slowly opened and scanned the documents Kaver handed her. The things he had been doing secretly were so underhanded that it made her frown.

“So that’s how you were able to hold on despite being a duchy with only a reputation.”

His good reputation was a facade he maintained by laundering his image in high society, while behind the scenes, he was working with information brokers to commit all sorts of illegal acts to amass wealth and use it as bribes.

‘This is enough to win.’

All that was left was Anna, but she would inevitably witness the downfall of the Printz family. Railey already had Anna’s weakness in her hands.

“You came to see me in person because you have something else to say, right?”

Railey put down the documents and slowly raised her head to look at Kaver. If it was just about the documents, he could have simply sent someone.

Even so, Kaver wanted to meet her in person. It was also to tell her that he was able to handle mana, but Railey suspected there was another reason.

“If I said there was another reason, would you be willing to hear it?”

Kaver smiled faintly and met Railey’s eyes. His silver hair and eyes containing green still looked beautiful.

“…I don’t think I can guarantee that.”

Kaver frowned slightly, as if disappointed by Railey’s words. But he admired her unyielding nature even more.

“I thought there was something you needed to know.”

He was relieved to see her looking a little better, but there was something he had to tell her. The ends of her silver hair were dyed blue, making it stand out.

“What are you going to do about the contract with the sword?”

The thing she hated and had been putting off for so long. But even so, it was something she had to do.

If Railey didn’t make a contract with the sword eventually, then Ren and she would probably not be safe. He had looked for a way to break the contract, but it didn’t exist.

“If I make a contract, is there a guarantee that the Imperial Family won’t try to control me?”

Railey’s eyes flickered. Kaver’s lips twisted with bitterness at her obvious distrust. Did she still see him as just a member of the Imperial Family to be wary of?

“Probably as long as I’m here.”

He would never allow Railey to be used. He was Kaver, who would get her out of this cycle no matter what.

There was just one selfish desire.

“But if it’s not the Imperial Family, but I who want you…”

That he still loved her, that he wanted to move forward side by side with her.

“Do you have any intention of accepting my feelings?”

He didn’t want to see her in pain anymore, or to see her hiding the deep wounds in her heart as if nothing was wrong.

He hated being unable to help even more.

If that wasn’t possible either.

“I’d appreciate it if you could give me even a little bit of space in your life.”

He didn’t want much. He just wanted to be by her side, even if it was just as a shoulder to lean on.

He had spent over 10 years looking only at Railey and striving for her. The reason he decided to become emperor and build up his power was also for Railey.

Railey was momentarily stunned by Kaver’s words. She wondered if she had heard correctly and slowly replayed his words in her mind.

‘This is no different from a confession.’

But in the past, she had rejected Kaver outright. She was sick of the Imperial Family, and Kaver was a part of it.

She never imagined that he would still care for her even now, more than 10 years later.

Come to think of it, wasn’t he already past the typical age for marriage?

“…Could it be, from then until now…”

“I didn’t realize it, but I was quite the romantic.”

Kaver had been postponing his marriage because he couldn’t forget Railey. If it wasn’t Railey, it didn’t matter who it was.

But it had to be Railey. That’s why Kaver couldn’t bring himself to put anyone else by his side.

Because he would only ever look at Railey.