Chapter 48
“What are you wearing?”
The shepherdess hesitated in a dress he had never seen her in before.
The sleeves, layered with thin lace, fluttered at the upper part of her arms.
The chest part, made of light gray cloth, was adorned with dainty floral embroidery.
Seeing this, Izar realized something.
The usual attire of this woman was forcedly toned down.
While it made her look like a noblewoman, it was excessively plain for her age.
‘As if she’s determined not to give anyone a reason to criticize.’
The thin skirt, vertically pleated, fluttered in the wind.
Every now and then, her ankles were briefly exposed, the same places he had touched the night before.
As he stared intently, the shepherdess blushed and averted her gaze.
A few strands of hair by her ear fluttered in the breeze.
“The Marchioness lent it to me.”
“…”
“I’ll return it as soon as today’s events are over.”
“…Ahem.”
Izar’s golden eyes darkened.
No matter her lineage, this woman was from Arcturus territory.
Seeing her wear something given by others and it suiting her better stirred an unpleasant emotion in him.
However, since this was not his domain, he naturally swallowed that discomfort.
“Not bad.”
And this sentiment was indeed true.
Meanwhile, subtle glances were felt from around.
The looks being aimed at him and the shepherdess were from the Marquis and Marchioness.
‘Needlessly meddling.’
They were older, so they probably enjoyed seeing a newlywed couple tenderly say goodbye.
A rebellious urge surged within him to smash those expectations.
But before that urge grew stronger, the shepherdess softly lifted her head and whispered,
“Please return safely.”
“……”
“I’ll pray at the temple for your safe return.”
Only then did Izar force himself to shake off the sentiment he had tried to forget.
Once, those verdant eyes that seemed old had lit up, and now, they shone like the underside of leaves in sunlight.
And in that moment, an indescribable shiver ran from the base of his spine to his neck.
A peripheral sensation he felt for the first time.
A tingling excitement that made him involuntarily furrow his brow.
“…Alright. I’ll be back.”
The sound of his own voice saying goodbye felt awkwardly hoarse to him.
He had no choice but to suppress this strange shiver.
At the same time, a surge of irritation rose within him.
‘This is absurd.’
It was just that the shepherdess was wearing different clothes, changing her atmosphere slightly.
And that he reluctantly admitted those eyes were somewhat captivating.
The woman he had been determined to cast away was pushing him to this extent?
‘It can’t be.’
A sense of inferiority he occasionally felt when looking at the shepherdess surged.
It was intolerable that someone, especially such a powerless woman, could shake him.
Izar reached out towards the shepherdess.
He had been distracted by a few strands of hair fluttering near her ear since earlier.
And as his hand brushed past her ear, the woman’s body stiffened.
“……!”
“Don’t get lost on your way to the temple, hurry back.”
“Y, es.”
“And don’t forget to start preparing to leave soon.”
“Yes…”
In truth, enough time had passed that he should have completely tucked that lock of hair behind her ear properly already.
But Izar deliberately lingered, twining the ends of her hair around his finger, teasingly.
Even such a simple touch elicited a reaction from the woman before him.
Her expression remained composed, but her cheeks betrayed her, and her teal eyes flickered in confusion.
Only then did the sense of inferiority that had heated him up earlier finally calm down.
‘This is how it should be.’
This woman harbored feelings for him.
And those feelings were undoubtedly stronger than what he could possibly be feeling towards her now.
‘It has to be.’
As long as the woman harbored unrequited feelings, he thought he could surely overcome this heat.
This absurd heat would be a fleeting emotion, like when he was eighteen, foolishly fantasizing about her returning the borrowed coat.
‘Certainly.’
Then, Izar turned his back on the woman and walked towards his companions.
He thought this would settle it.
But all the way, the emotions he felt upon seeing her flushed face mixed together.
Satisfaction.
Relief.
Fulfillment.
Like a muddled quagmire, all these emotions chaotically intertwined.
And among them, the most intense emotion made his ears ring.
The dizzying… euphoria of holding someone else’s heart in his hand.
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