The Price of Saving a Vicious Beast - Chapter 32

“I’m glad I can give it to him in person.”

Killi’s twentieth birthday. It had been nearly a month since she last saw him.

“Adelaide. Listen to me. That ‘friend’ of yours is definitely dangerous.”

Elise, whom she had met that day along with Killian, held onto her with a serious expression as she said this.

Adelaide wasn’t unaware of what Elise was worried about. But the words didn’t quite resonate with her.

Because… he had always been like that. Capricious. Self-willed. From an objective standpoint, he was far from having a good personality.

But what mattered to Adelaide was that Killian had always been that way. Just as he had always been unpredictable and selfish, he was a precious friend who always stayed by her side.

“He’s manipulating you however he wants, Adelaide.”

Elise insisted that Adelaide needed to leave for Clayton and spend time with proper people.

“A childhood playmate who stays with you until adulthood? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”

Is that so…? Hearing that, Adelaide found herself wondering. Did others really see their relationship as strange?

She had begun to question it herself, at times. Unlike her, Killian was free to meet whomever he pleased. He could have formed far more impressive connections—ones she couldn’t even compare to.

No—not just friends. At his age, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to already have a fiancée. And yet, he always came to see her.

He remained her friend, unwavering. It was a relationship that made no sense at all.

Adelaide quietly opened the gift box she had prepared. Inside lay an exquisitely crafted paperweight, adorned with gold-leaf marigolds.

Perhaps because of the rumors surrounding the reclusive count’s daughter, merchants would occasionally visit the estate. This was something Adelaide had personally commissioned from a jeweler who had come not long ago.

So that Killian, who would soon come of age and step into society, could place it on his desk and use it. And whenever he saw it, he would think of her.

A sunflower turns its head to follow the sun.

Some might call that admiration. Some might call it love. Or perhaps it’s nothing more than instinct.

Adelaide’s feelings toward Killian were much the same.

Whether it was friendship or love didn’t matter. To her, it was something singular, something special. And yet, she had no intention of ever speaking it aloud.

“Killi,” the nephew of a servant who served the Crown Prince, had a bright future ahead of him.

That was not a path she could ever share as a girl rejected by high society, labeled nothing more than a counterfeit count’s daughter.

“I’m honestly relieved, Adelaide. That you’re leaving with us. Once you’re far away, you’ll understand what I mean.”

At least this much, Adelaide agreed with Elise.

At first, deciding to go to Clayton had weighed heavily on her because of Killian. But now she realized that this was something necessary for both of them.

Unlike when they were children, Killian was growing busier with each passing day. She hadn’t minded it before as she spent all her time waiting for him, writing letters begging him to come see her. After all, she had nothing else to do.

But now, what if Killian came to regret becoming friends with someone as suffocating as her? Every time that thought crossed her mind, she couldn’t help but feel miserable.

So today, she intended to say goodbye. Not anything grand like cutting ties completely. If she could, she wanted to remain his friend.

But while she was away, she wanted to learn how to stand on her own. To become someone who didn’t depend entirely on him.

When two trees grow too close together, their roots and trunks intertwine until they become one. Adelaide didn’t want that.

If she was only going to become a burden to Killian, then it would be better to be alone.

Too many things had happened at once, and she had missed the chance to tell him about Clayton. While she waited for him to come see her, the departure date had already crept up. Now it’s just a day away.

She didn’t want him to hear it from someone else.

Not the gift for his twentieth birthday, and not the news of her leaving. Even now, she couldn’t predict how Killian would react.

Would he be angry that she hadn’t told him sooner? Or would he simply wish her well?

In the distance, a carriage passed through the estate gates and rolled toward the house.

Adelaide stood by the window with a tense look.