When You Turned Your Back On Me, We Became Strangers [EN]: Chapter 55

“Sister!”

Leta’s voice broke the silence between them. She had been gauging the timing, observing their unusual atmosphere before finally interjecting.

‘I was going to pretend not to notice until the end, but…’

Leta glanced at Raili, who seemed flustered and unsure of what to do. It would be a relief if her sister didn’t get startled and run away.

“It’s getting late, Your Highness.”

“…Has it already become that late?”

Kaver gently distanced himself from Raili, creating space between them.

‘This is driving me crazy.’

Kaver, now fully aware of the situation, ran a hand through his hair and composed himself.

Judging by Leta’s expression, he seemed to have been too hasty.

What if she felt burdened? He was afraid that Raili, who had opened her heart even a little, would distance herself again.

Whenever Kaver stood before Raili, he felt anxious, as if he was losing his grip on reason. He felt as if being alone with her would put her in danger.

“I should get going.”

His retreating shoulders looked endlessly dejected.

Raili unconsciously rose from her seat and watched Kaver disappear, then covered her face and sank back down.

Her legs gave way, and she couldn’t stand up.

‘If Leta hadn’t appeared…’

Kaver’s breathing echoed in her mind, and her face flushed. The brief moment when they had stared intently at each other, as if engraving each other into their memories, was vivid.

Leta watched Raili and couldn’t help but smile.

“Hmm, did I interrupt something?”

“N-no, it’s nothing like that.”

Raili waved her hands and turned her head. It was fortunate that the surroundings were dark, so her face wasn’t easily visible.

Otherwise, her already red face would have been exposed.

“Really? It’s nice to see you two together.”

“We just happened to run into each other.”

Leta couldn’t stop laughing at Raili’s excuses.

She was genuinely pleased to see Raili slowly opening her heart.

After that trash Theo, she had worried that Raili might never experience love again.

‘I’ve known her for so long, so I want to support her.’

She felt she could trust and leave her sister in the care of Prince Kaver.

“By the way, I haven’t seen Ren today?”

He was always glued to her sister’s side, and she had wondered when she would ever get a chance to be alone with Kaver. But he was nowhere to be seen at the perfect moment!

Perhaps her idea that Ren liked her sister was just her imagination?

‘Well, my sister said it wasn’t like that either.’

It was strange for a sword to have feelings. After all, to him, Raili was just a contractor.

Ren’s red eyes were sometimes so intense they were frightening. His gaze was chilling, making it impossible to know what he was thinking.

However, Raili seemed to trust Ren more than anyone else and felt like he was family.

“He seems to have gone to see His Majesty for a bit. I think it’s about the contract…”

Raili had strongly dissuaded him, but Ren wouldn’t listen.

He had disappeared without a word of when he was leaving. He must have gone to the Emperor after all.

Ren still didn’t trust the Imperial Family. He had never been one to trust anyone, but he had gone to ask the Emperor, who had promised to break the contract.

“Is it okay to let him meet him?”

Leta cautiously asked Raili. No matter how much Ren was the sword to protect the Imperial Family, he was powerless without a contract.

“The contract is important to Ren too.”

Raili carefully touched the mark engraved on her neck. The mark flickered with a faint blue light as if responding.

“But Leta, what brings you here at this hour?”

Leta, who didn’t particularly like the night, didn’t usually come out for a walk late at night. She was wondering why she was in the garden now.

“Huh? It’s nothing!”

Leta quickly changed the subject and looked up at the sky.

“You can see the stars well in the Imperial Palace.”

Raili’s eyes narrowed at Leta’s suspicious behavior. Leta gave an awkward smile and avoided her gaze.

“Sister, I’m so happy these days.”

Leta suddenly opened her mouth as she looked at the sky. Beyond peace and leisure, she had never looked forward to the next day so much.

Every day, every single day, was a day of joy for her.

“But when I imagine leaving the Imperial Palace and going back home, I also feel scared.”

Could she be as happy as she was now in that house where no good memories remained?

Leta wondered. She had never imagined the Trailla family without her father, and she still couldn’t believe it was actually happening.

“It’ll all be okay.”

Raili stroked Leta’s cheek and patted her shoulder. She would fill her memories with only happy days so that she would never remember the past.

“I’m worried.”

Leta took Raili’s hands and made a worried expression.

“I feel like this happiness will end someday.”

“No, Leta.”

Raili hugged Leta and gently stroked her back.

“We’ll be happy in the future too.”

She would definitely make it that way. So that they wouldn’t be unhappy anymore, so that they would be filled with laughter.

Raili looked at the stars twinkling in the night sky and steeled her resolve. The contract she hadn’t been able to properly tell her sister about would also work out well.

* * *

Kaver, about to enter his office, dismissed the people at the door when he sensed a presence.

“What brings you here to see me separately?”

Ren emerged from the darkness. He slowly approached Kaver, his arms crossed and leaning against the wall, his expression hardened.

“Are you really going to be okay with this?”

“I don’t know what you’re asking.”

Ren scoffed at Kaver’s pretense of ignorance.

“I don’t like it.”

“Raili made the decision. Do you not trust her?”

Kaver passed him and entered his office. He narrowed his eyes as he blocked the mana [magical energy] suddenly flying towards him with his sword.

“I think you’re taking out your anger on the wrong person.”

Ren, who had approached closely, frowned and withdrew his mana.

“What did you hear to be like this?”

He knew from Haban that Ren had gone to see the Emperor. Seeing him come in such a rage, he must have heard something unpleasant from the Emperor.

“I can’t tolerate Raili being used, even for a moment.”

“There’s no need to use her. It’s just a formality.”

It was just to show others that nothing would change from what had been done so far. It meant that Raili would not directly become the sword of the Imperial Family.

“Shouldn’t you be helping Raili steady her heart by her side since there are only a few days left?”

He didn’t want to admit it, but Raili trusted Ren more than him. She must be nervous about the approaching contract as well.

She had looked complicated when they met in the garden.

“You lucky bastard.”

Kaver unconsciously spoke his thoughts out loud. He envied and was jealous of Ren, who had been steadily by Raili’s side.

Fortunately, Raili didn’t think of Ren as an emotional object.

That was probably the most displeasing thing for Ren.

“You’re saying what I want to say.”

Ren gave a hollow laugh at Kaver’s sincerity. Who was envying whom?

Ren couldn’t become anything more than what he was, even if he was by her side. Although he was materializing, he wasn’t human.

People said he had no emotions, but he did. He just didn’t expect anything because it couldn’t be achieved even if he revealed them.

If no one had found her, he might have unknowingly hoped.

The days he had spent with her every day had become a memory, creating a glimmer of hope. Perhaps he had known in advance that this would happen today.

Because there was always a desire in a corner of Raili’s heart to return.

“You’ll need to strengthen the security around the area on the day the contract is made.”

“Of course. There might still be rat-like bastards around.”

Kaver flipped through the documents on his desk and slumped into his chair. The contract would be made in a place where everyone could see it.

It was an old tradition, and it had been considered a very important event to enhance the authority of the Imperial Family and the prestige of the Trailla family.

The contract with the sword itself was unfamiliar to everyone.

If anything went wrong with the contract, even a little, it wouldn’t be good for Raili. If it wasn’t a complete contract, her body would become imperfect again, just like now.

“Raili’s body is already a mess inside.”

“…I know. That’s what I’m worried about.”

“And we can’t postpone the contract any longer. It seems like her body can’t handle it anymore, and we need to return the mana with this contract.”

Ren didn’t like this choice of having to make a contract. But apart from that, Raili didn’t have time.

She didn’t know it, but the balance of her body, which contained a large amount of mana, was broken, so it wasn’t a very good situation.

“There’s not much time left until I inherit the throne, so nothing will happen.”

Kaver clenched his fist. It had to be that way.

Ren nodded with an unreadable expression.

Kaver was still young. But his father wasn’t.

That meant that time wasn’t very long.

Maybe it was soon.