## Part One: The Carriage
I stared at Kaian with bewilderment.
He raised his eyebrows and waited for my response.
*What am I saying? If I admit I was trying to tempt him, he'll use it as proof that I'm the seducer, not him.*
He claimed he never teased me, but clearly he did.
*If I deny it with a straight face, he'll lecture me about the Duke's dignity. Either way, he'll blame me for mentioning my heart in the first place.*
I used to shrink beneath his gaze, my mind going blank. But I'd learned: his harsh tone and expression were simply how he communicated. If I understood that...
If I understood that, then he was definitely teasing me—deliberately trying to make me blush within five minutes of departure.
I sighed softly and narrowed my eyes at him.
"That's right. I tempted you."
I decided to meet his provocation head-on.
Kaian rose from the opposite seat and moved beside me.
"Why are you making that face? I was only joking."
"Were you?"
"Are you sad?"
His red eyes searched my small face carefully.
"Not sad, exactly."
"Are you sad about leaving Rowen?"
The question captured something of what I felt, so I nodded.
"You were trying to tease me, weren't you?" I realized suddenly. "You just wanted to change seats."
His guilty expression confirmed it.
Kaian's hand reached up to gently press the corners of my eyes with his thumbs, as though trying to lift the sadness from my face.
"You care about my feelings," I whispered, feeling a strange happiness at having annoyed him into showing concern.
"You said your chest felt tight, but that's not motion sickness?" he asked, adjusting his approach.
"No. The journey from Valmonde didn't affect me this way."
"You didn't sleep well last night," he observed, his fingers finding the delicate curve of my ears and the thin nape of my neck, gently massaging as if kneading tension away.
"Why don't you rest? Close your eyes for a moment."
"But you'll be bored."
"I won't be."
I leaned my head against his chest as he wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me close. His free hand took mine, resting on his lap, gently touching my fingers.
Within moments, I yawned and fell asleep.
---
*Even insomnia can be tamed.*
Kaian watched her sleep, observing how she needed his presence to find rest—how his body heat and gentle touch could lull her into deep sleep, as though she were an infant secure in his care.
He hadn't been trying to tease her, despite what she believed. This was their first carriage journey together since the marketplace visit. The two-headed carriage was spacious and well-made for long-distance travel. She'd even exclaimed about the soft seats that day.
But sitting across from her for a week-long journey to the capital? That would reduce his enjoyment significantly.
The moment the carriage had begun moving, he'd decided to change seats.
*She'd never suspect his true goal.*
His naive wife would never realize he'd achieved exactly what he wanted—her pressed against his side, within his reach.
He kissed her forehead gently as she slept.
---
## Part Two: Irena in the Capital
The downtown district dazzled Irena.
Cafes and restaurants lined the expansive square where fashionably dressed people hurried with bright, lively expressions. Looking out from her carriage, Irena felt struck.
*Valmonde is truly cold.*
Castle Valmonde was unique—a structure that couldn't be found anywhere else on the continent. Most castles existed near cities, but Valmonde itself was like a city enclosed in stone. The outer castle rose seven or eight stories high, its layered structure designed to withstand brutal snowstorms and half-yearly freezing.
Within, protected and towering nearly ten stories higher, rose the inner castle—a fortress within a fortress.
Vermont's enormous wealth had created this architectural marvel, though it appeared rough from the outside.
*The capital alone could construct a commercial district like this.*
Yet Valmonde's internal space was constantly saturated. Recently, underground passages had been dug to connect nearby villages, because without them, winter snowfall would make the roads impassable.
This was Irena's first journey beyond Valmonde's walls, and she absorbed every sight and sound with calculated precision.
*This is why daughters are never granted freedom until marriage.*
If the girls born and raised in Valmonde's frozen valleys experienced the outside world, they'd never wish to return.
*Like me now.*
The carriage stopped. When the door opened, a middle-aged woman with graying brown hair greeted her warmly.
"Lady Irena. Welcome to the capital."
Madame Arnanti. The etiquette teacher the Duchess of Vermont had considered inviting north. Though Irena wasn't prominent in capital society, the difference between ignorance and knowledge—even if unused—was significant.
Madame Arnanti had journeyed north, teaching the Princess before returning to create an album of capital nobility's portraits.
Irena had wanted to meet her again, so they'd arranged tea at a cafe today.
---
As they entered the private room, everyone stared.
Red hair. Golden eyes.
"Is that Vermont?"
"I've never seen hair that color."
Irena could hear the whispers clearly.
Most ordinary people in Oberon had brown hair and brown eyes—about seventy to eighty percent of the population. But the royal family's blonde hair and blue eyes, Temnes's black hair and red eyes, Vermont's red hair and golden eyes—these were striking symbols of rulership, admired but rarely born naturally.
Irena had received this reaction everywhere in the capital.
Madame Arnanti, brown-haired and brown-eyed herself, covered her mouth with amusement.
"Because Vermonters don't socialize in the capital, everyone is amazed."
"I understand, but it's uncomfortable."
Once tea and desserts arrived and the door closed, Madame Arnanti leaned forward eagerly.
"How are things with His Majesty the King?"
"What do you mean?" Irena asked innocently.
"The capital's social circles are buzzing. The young King, who has never shown interest in women and is notoriously difficult to please, has apparently fallen for a beautiful northern lady."
"Hardly."
Irena raised her teacup calmly.
"Then why would His Majesty invite you to the castle, to the hanging gardens of all places?" Madame Arnanti fretted. "That's a special invitation, a meaningful location."
"Perhaps because we traveled so far."
The King was certainly notable. Three years her senior, with unusual features and presence. Could someone hide their true intentions so completely?
*Kaian did.*
*Does a place truly change a person?*
Throughout the dinner, Valquiterre had been pleasant and gentle, his smile captivating. Yet Irena sensed something beneath—like smoke concealing truth.
She'd received a formidable education as Vermont's future leader. She could read people.
"It would be a waste for you to live in the frozen north," Madame Arnanti pressed. "Wouldn't it be wonderful to become Oberon's Queen?"
"I'm already the Princess of Valmonde," Irena replied calmly. "Everything I desire is within my hands. Why would I covet another throne?"
She was a body without freedom, though others might not realize it.
Madame Arnanti, unable to contain her excitement at what seemed like confirmation, eventually calmed herself and asked about Claudel.
"How is Lady Claudel? How did she manage among enemies? Gamblers in the capital were betting on whether there'd be a stabbing before dawn."
Irena smiled behind her teacup, remembering her sister and brother-in-law.
"You'll see at the royal ball."
She offered no further gossip. She enjoyed their conversation, but had no reason to entertain the capital's wealthy through Madame Arnanti.
---
## Part Three: The Mansion
As sunset painted the sky, the carriage stopped before a quaint, small mansion.
I looked around carefully, seeing no people anywhere. Everything was quiet.
*Like a villa.*
"Where are we? This isn't an inn," I asked.
"Did you want to stay at an inn?" Kaian replied with a question.
"Wouldn't that be normal for traveling?"
I'd stayed in modest lodgings during my journey from Valmonde to Rowen—humble accommodations befitting my meager expenses. But now, having lived in a castle, those memories had grown glorified. I'd regretted missing the famous foods and sights of the cities we'd passed through, especially given my illness.
"I wanted to see the famous places we passed last time," I confessed. "I wasn't able to properly during my first journey."
Kaian studied me with soft eyes.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you. We're staying at one of my mansions."
---