As soon as she realized that he was following her, her back instantly straightened.
Her nerves were so tense that she thought her steps would falter. She could practically feel him noticing her awkward gait, and cold sweat ran down her back.
Why? Why is he following me? Instead of trying to keep her steps even, her thoughts began to wander.
Maybe we should go in the same direction? But the road to the main estate, where his mother, the former princess of Ontario, was staying, was not supposed to be like this.
As she mindlessly ran through one thought after another, his footsteps continued to echo right behind her.
The sound was too close. It was as if he was following on her heels.
At that moment, Tilia felt every nerve in her body focus on the part of the body he was looking at.
She couldn't know the exact path of his gaze. All she could do was imagine.
Where exactly is he looking?
Was it the hem of the skirt that swayed with every step? Or her shoulders, where her unkempt hair fell? Or maybe... a slight snag on her stocking near her ankle?
She didn't know for sure. But she was sure of one thing - he was looking at her.
How else to explain this warmth that she so clearly felt just a few steps behind.
Why is he following me? Why is he doing this? For what...?
Feeling as if she were being chased by a strange man on a dark night, but experiencing a strange excitement that overpowered her fear, Tilia slowly turned her head.
Their gazes met belatedly.
“So that was my waist.”
His blue-gray gaze slowly rose to her face. Realizing where he had stopped, Tilia bit her lip without thinking.
"He was looking at my waist."
Even though he was clearly staring at her, Ilex met her gaze with shameless confidence. And then, incredibly, he smiled - broadly and brightly.
The moment she saw that innocent smile, Tilia's face turned bright red.
Why is he smiling?
Even as she felt herself being pulled in, Tilia couldn't bring herself to turn her head again.
The face of her first love, seen again after such a long time, was so beautiful that it was impossible to look away.
It seemed that time worked magic only with him. How else could he become even more perfect?
The Duke of Davenport, who had shed all traces of boyishness and revealed the appearance of a fully formed man, was truly dazzling.
A neatly tied white tie, perfectly combed blond hair - all this was incredibly attractive. No one will ever believe that this is the same person who once wandered through the academic corridors disheveled, wearing a half-unbuttoned vest.
Now he looked like the perfect image of a noble aristocrat.
At that moment, Tilia's steps slowed down slightly.
Only then did she realize that he was no longer just the second son of the Davenport house, but its head. Not a classmate, but a Duke.
A man completely erased from her past. As she had feared, he now lived in a completely different world.
And when the image of a woman in a white dress with dazzling red hair standing next to him appeared in her head, a heavy wave of loss loosened her tongue.
- Why are you following...
Tilia's expression hardened. Just when she started to draw the line...
Ilex's gaze followed her, moving away slightly, like a hunter approaching prey that was already within reach.
It happened in the blink of an eye. With his brows furrowed slightly, he extended his hand towards her without hesitation.
There was no time to dodge. There was no time to react.
Tilia found herself trapped in his embrace, unable to protest.
Knock-knock. The uneven beating of the heart in the ears - whose is it? The warmth between their too close bodies - whose is it?
She couldn't tell.
All she could feel was the burning warmth where his large hand held the back of her head.
This palm was the only point of contact. Their bodies didn't touch. But somehow it seemed to her that he had taken possession of her entire being.
Her face flushed red.
Just at the moment when she opened her lips again...
Creak. The door behind her opened.
Hm?
Startled, she turned her head and saw a half-open ancient door. And behind her - people staring at her in confusion.
Myrk. Myrk. For a moment, the royal administration staff inside and Tilia outside exchanged confused glances, the only sound being the fluttering of their eyelids.
After they all blinked at least five times, Tilia finally understood the situation. Like someone whose toe had just been pinched by a crab, she recoiled in panic from his embrace.
There was a quiet chuckle from above. Her face flushed again, but for a different reason than before.
Because she wasn't watching where she was going.
At the end of the hall in the north wing was the office of the Royal Administration. So focused on him, turning back, hesitating as she walked, she did not pay any attention to what was ahead. It was obvious that she would eventually run into a door.
Ilex only covered her head so she wouldn't crash into it. But not to hug her. Not to keep her from leaving. Just so she doesn't run into the door.
- W-we've been waiting for you, Your Grace the Duke of Davenport.
But the awkwardness wasn't over yet. As if expecting Tilia to leave on her own, the head of the royal administration stepped forward to greet him.
- We received news from the Duke's assistant in advance. But why did you come alone, unaccompanied...?
- Let's go in first.
- Oh, yes!
It was only after the door softly closed and Ilex walked without hesitation into the reception area of the administration office that Tilia realized something.
Ilex Davenport did not reach out to protect her. He didn't follow her all this time.
He just... had business at the Royal Chancellery.
"Because of my mother."
Oh. Why did she misunderstand?
Ilex Davenport didn't say he came to see his mother. He just said that he had something he had to deal with because of her.
- Who is she?
- I have no idea. I thought she was the secretary of the ducal house. Apparently not?
The voices of administration employees were heard nearby, openly gossiping among themselves. Clenching her jaw, Tilia calmly went to look for the secretary to whom she needed to hand over the documents.
The thick papers in her hands, mercilessly crumpled at the corners, seemed to be a reflection of her feelings.
***
Worst day of my life.
On the way home, Tilia summed up her day with an exhausted and battered expression on her face.
It was such a terrible day that it couldn't get any worse.
Not only was she late because of a dream in which she was tumbling around with Ilex Davenport, but she also ran into him in the palace in complete disarray.
Returning to the consulate, she received a severe reprimand for being late. Trying to calm her frayed nerves, she got distracted and spilled the tea.
And thanks to the sudden disappearance of Norbert Karel, his report ended up on her desk.
The worst part was that, despite the enormous amount of work, she just sat there with her hands folded, without filling out a single form, and then she couldn't stand it anymore and left work.
“In this situation, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow... I won’t be able to leave work at all.”
Even knowing what punishment awaited her, Tilia could not resist and hastily packed her bag.
She just wanted to get out of this space. From the palace where he was. From the workplace where her beautiful first love was.
Haa...
Remembering her impulsive escape from work, she sighed, slumping her shoulders.
Her house was on the outskirts of the capital, and even after a thirty-minute stagecoach ride, it was a long walk to get there.
But even this dilapidated housing required effort. If the owner were not from her hometown, she would have to ride in a carriage not for thirty minutes, but for an hour and a half.
“How do I get to the fifth floor...”
A cheap house, below market value, always had its nuances. Every time she left or returned, she had to climb a steep five-story staircase.
There was no alternative. If she wanted to live on the second or third floor, she would have to travel three and a half hours by stagecoach.
If she hadn't been stubborn and just used the money Ilex Davenport had given her, she could have found a much more comfortable home. The money he thrust into her hands, telling her it might not be enough, was several times her annual salary.
But, unfortunately, Tilia has already returned them by mail.
To say that she didn't regret it while looking for a house would be a lie. But at the time she sent them back, she was in such emotional turmoil that she couldn't think about the future.
If she had kept it, her two-year-old self would have seized on the excuse that she needed to return the money to him... and she would have ended up buying a train ticket to Acansis.
Huu... She sighed again.
But despite her desperate efforts to erase all traces of his presence, there was one thing she could not bring back.
Tilia walked with her eyes on the ground, feeling the texture of the pendant under her blouse - a sensation now so familiar that she barely noticed it unless she was aware of it.