Chapter 89: Exposed (4)

 

Cayden first sought out Daisy.

 

Finding her wasn’t difficult. Having spent considerable time with her during the escort training, he had a good idea of where she would be.

 

Indeed Daisy was in the student council room. And fortunately, she was alone.

 

When he suddenly showed up, Daisy greeted him with a slight surprise.

 

“Cayden!”

 

A small smile crossed Daisy’s face as she greeted Cayden.

 

She put down the fountain pen she was using, stood up from her seat, and quickly walked over to him.

 

“...”

 

As she approached, Daisy noticed the serious look on Cayden’s face and her expression hardened. She had never seen him look this way before, and a vague sense of unease began to settle in.

 

What concerned her the most was the possibility that their engagement might be called off. She couldn’t help but wish their relationship was as rock-solid as those of other nobles—set in stone once agreed upon.

 

It wasn’t that she couldn’t live without Cayden, or that she would die without him... but if the engagement were to be really called off, she thought she would at least become depressed.

 

In truth, even Daisy couldn’t be sure. This was the first time she had experienced such emotions, and since she had never lost them before, it was hard for her to gauge just how important they were to her.

 

Regardless... if there was a problem, they would have to resolve it together. They were going to be together from now on, and Daisy wanted to be his strength.

 

“...Is something wrong?”

 

“.......”

 

Cayden closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought, before grasping Daisy’s shoulders.

 

Then he looked into her eyes and spoke.

 

“...Daisy, I’m leaving the academy.”

 

“...What?”

 

Daisy froze, stunned by the unexpected news.

 

There was no falsehood in Cayden’s face. Not a hint of hesitation. This wasn’t a request for permission; it was a declaration.

 

“...”

 

Daisy took a moment to digest his words, then pieced together the likely reason for his sudden decision.

 

A few days ago, she had had a conversation with the twins.

 

The day she and Cayden verbally agreed to their engagement, the twins had visited her.

 

Filled with contempt for the twins, who were determined to break all of Cayden’s arranged marriages, she had asked them who they would be satisfied within Cayden’s life.

 

-“Me.”

 

Asena’s voice, in response to her question, still echoed in her ears. It was a voice that was enchanting yet coercive, desperate yet determined.

 

Daisy swallowed.

 

She could guess that this might be the reason, but she couldn’t ask directly. What if she was wrong? Then she would only be delivering troubling, unnecessary information to Cayden.

 

So, she decided to gauge the situation first.

 

“...May I know the reason?”

 

“...It’s a…family matter.”

 

“...Is it because of the twins?”

 

Cayden flinched at her question.

 

At that moment, Daisy became certain.

 

“...Cayden. If it’s about the twins... I know.”

 

“...You do?”

 

“...They told me. That they... love you.”

 

“......”

 

Cayden clenched his eyes shut. Was he the only one who didn’t know?

 

While he was aware that the twins had harbored feelings for him for some time now, each confirmation weighed heavily on his heart.

 

He couldn’t find an appropriate response. Instead, he asked a question that was ultimately inconsequential.

 

“...When... did you find out?”

 

“...The day I heard from my father that our engagement was arranged.”

 

Cayden recalled the recent actions of the twins. Whenever he closed his eyes, they would secretly slip into his bed and steal kisses—sinister acts unbefitting their innocent facade. In other words, they unleashed their wicked tendencies where he couldn’t see.

 

And yet they acted so pure and kind where he could see them.

 

He was ashamed that he was only realizing this now. That he had been blinded all along.

 

“...Did the twins hurt you?” He couldn’t help but ask.

 

“...They didn’t hurt me.”

 

Cayden found it hard to believe Daisy’s words.

 

“What did they say? Please, be honest.”

 

Daisy hesitated for a moment before sugarcoating the reality for him.

 

“...They said they wished our engagement would be called off.”

 

“...Sigh.”

 

Once again, Cayden let out a long sigh.

 

Seeing him in such a state, Daisy was the one to move toward him.

 

“Cayden, I’m okay—”

 

“—I’m sorry, Daisy. For making you go through such an uncomfortable experience. If it weren’t for me... you wouldn’t have needed to go through such unusual circumstances.”

 

At his words, ‘If it weren’t for me,’ Daisy’s heart began to flutter anxiously.

 

It felt as if at any moment he might say, ‘Find someone better than an unusual person like me.’

 

Of course, all of this had been unusual, and parts of it had indeed made her uncomfortable, but that didn’t mean she wanted him to leave.

 

To spend her lifetime with a genuinely good person like Cayden—small obstacles meant nothing to her.

 

So Daisy, blinking nervously, gripped his arm.

 

“I... I said I’m okay—”

 

Cayden interrupted her.

 

“That’s why... Daisy. If we get married... I’ll make it up to you. I’ll make you so happy that the discomfort and dissatisfaction you felt because of me will be completely forgotten. Right now, that’s the only promise I can make.”

 

Hearing his warm words, Daisy felt deeply moved once more.

 

“...Ah.”

 

A soft, almost inaudible sound escaped her lips.

 

‘Yes,’ she thought.

 

‘This is a man worth dedicating a lifetime to.’

 

Someone who would dig deep to understand the discomfort she had been silently harboring. Someone who committed to taking responsibility and making amends until the end. This is the kind of person who should be her life partner.

 

Tears welled up in her eyes, unexpectedly.

 

Daisy had withstood fear and pain with resilience, but she was all too vulnerable to words that warmed her heart.

 

She was ashamed of herself for it. Cayden might have spoken those words lightly, and she worried that if she showed herself to be this moved, he might think of her as a bothersome woman.

 

Daisy lowered her head and closed her eyes.

 

Meanwhile, Cayden continued speaking.

 

“...Even if I leave your side this time, know that this will remain a debt on my conscience.”

 

“No... that’s not necessary. There’s no rule that says fiancés always have to be together. Circumstances might require us to be apart for a while.”

 

“...”

 

She thought for a moment, then decided to be bold.

 

“...Cayden, can you answer just one question for me?”

 

“Go ahead.”

 

She asked without hesitation.

 

“...You will come back, won’t you?”

 

Daisy gripped his arm more tightly. Though tears filled her eyes, she lifted her head to meet his gaze directly. She felt that if she didn’t do this now, she might later regret her hesitancy.

 

Cayden was looking straight back into her eyes.

 

Up until now, as they talked about twins, a faint pain had tinged his voice. Now he answered with unwavering strength and certainty.

 

“I will come back.”

 

Daisy took it a step further, perhaps because her resolve was weakened by her tears.

 

Right now, she didn’t want to hide anything from Cayden. She wanted him to know why she had asked the question.

 

“...I hate to bring this up, but your engagement with Judy was also called off. Couldn’t the same happen with us?”

 

“...I promise, Daisy. That won’t happen.”

 

“...Prove it.”

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

Cayden locked eyes with her, then pulled her towards him—He embraced her.

 

Though they had talked about their engagement, this kind of physical intimacy was a first for them.

 

Of course, if one would count interlocking pinky fingers as intimacy, then they had experienced that once. But embracing like lovers was definitely a first.

 

The moment he pulled her into his arms, Daisy gripped his waist tightly, and Cayden’s one hand settled on her head while the other rested on her waist as he held her close.

 

Daisy’s heart pounded as if it would burst.

 

She had been fond of him even before their engagement, but now that he was on the cusp of becoming irrevocably hers, any sense of restraint felt superfluous.

 

She belonged to him.

 

He belonged to her.

 

This harmonious symmetry was deeply satisfying.

 

Whenever she’d thought of arranged marriage, she had always treated it like unwanted homework.

 

She hadn’t expected that it would end up this well—getting together with someone she actually liked.

 

Feeling Cayden’s warmth, Daisy came back to her senses.

 

It was her first time embracing a man like this, but she didn’t want to let go.

 

Even if she couldn’t know what he thought of this version of her, she held him tightly, very tightly, in her arms.

 

****

 

-Thump, thump, thump.

 

The next person Cayden sought out was Judy.

 

She was nowhere to be found. After asking around, it seemed as though she hadn’t left her dormitory.

 

It wasn’t difficult to guess that this might be because she had stolen a kiss from him the previous day.

 

Cayden didn’t think twice and went to her dormitory.

 

While it was generally frowned upon for a man to visit a woman’s dormitory, Cayden was out of time.

 

Furthermore, the perception that Cayden was visiting the women’s dormitory for work purposes, due to the escort training, still remained. So, no one looked at him strangely because of it.

 

-Thump, thump, thump.

 

“...Judy, it’s me. Open the door.”

 

There was no reply.

 

He persisted in knocking. He was really running out of time now.

 

“...Judy, it’s important. Open the door.”

 

Perhaps knowing he wouldn’t give up, a response finally came from behind the door.

 

-“...Go...go away... If you’re here because of the kiss, I have nothing to say.”

 

“...Judy.”

 

-“...My feelings haven’t changed...I now only want…”

 

“Judy, I’m leaving the academy.”

 

Cayden made sure to say it clearly so she could hear.

 

Immediately, the sound of the door lock quickly turning could be heard, and the door burst open.

 

-Bang!

 

“...Wha...What?!”

 

Cayden was finally able to see Judy. It was the first time he had seen her since their kiss the previous day.

 

Judy stood at the doorway, dressed in casual, rather revealing attire, a blanket draped over her shoulders.

 

Cayden averted his eyes as he spoke.

 

“...Judy, take a moment to change your clothes—”

 

Just then, the blanket dropped to the floor.

 

Her pale, toned abdomen was exposed.

 

Just as he was about to comment on it...he lost the opportunity.

 

Before he knew it, Judy had grabbed him with the hand that had been holding the blanket.

 

Caught in her grip, Cayden found himself unwittingly meeting Judy’s eyes.

 

Her eyes were quivering intensely.

 

In a voice that trembled just as much, Judy asked,

 

“...Is it because of me?”

 

---  End Of The Chapter ---

 

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