We’re Married, After All - Chapter 25

I stared blankly at Danel. Despite having known him for so long, this was the first time I’d seen him smile like that. It was like a speck of gold hidden among pebbles—a faint glimmer from afar, but up close, it was breathtakingly dazzling, almost piercing.

Yet, there was something that nagged at me.

“How do you know about that?”

I had only ever demonstrated my jousting skills in front of others once, and that was at least five years after Danel had left for the monastery.

Moreover, the event had been kept secret for the sake of the other two people involved. By now, hardly anyone knew about it.

“You were at the monastery then.”

At my words, Danel fell silent. His grip on my right hand tightened slightly.

“Just that day…”

His voice was low, almost a whisper.

“It wasn’t the only time you practiced, was it?”

“…Have you seen me? When?”

“It was a very long time ago.”

Unlike Danel, who answered calmly, I was growing more confused.

After my engagement to Petios, I spent long vacations at the Veloce estate once or twice a year. Petios often fell ill and lacked close friends to keep him company, but I enjoyed those visits. It gave me the chance to have the riding trails all to myself.

One was too sick, and the other was too busy. The result was that the riding trails were left unused, giving me the freedom to do anything I wanted. I often used the spears or bows that Petios had barely touched, or I rode a horse with a saddle that must have originally belonged to Danel. Even though the equipment didn’t fit me well, it was far more comfortable and enjoyable than riding in the muddy, trampled riding grounds my brothers used.

Eventually, I tried doing both at the same time—riding a horse and using a spear. I was good at both individually, so it didn’t take long for me to get good at jousting. Though it probably wouldn’t be of much use, I enjoyed the practice for its own sake and often trained alone.

That is, until the day I ended up competing in a jousting match in place of Petios.

I remembered that time vividly—both when I started practicing and when I stopped. I was certain there had been no one around. Not a single servant, and certainly not Danel, who spent those days locked in his room, so much so that I rarely saw his face.

Under the evening sky, I looked at him. His violet eyes gazed straight at me, clear and unwavering. As I stared into that vivid color, the suspicion that had been lurking in the back of my mind resurfaced.

What exactly had he been hiding from me? And how much?

“You remember more than I thought. I didn’t think you’d recall anything from when we were younger,” I said casually, keeping my tone as neutral as possible, even as my thoughts raced.

I was already planning my next move. The next time Danel left the estate, I would go to the study. Somewhere in the hidden room within the study had to be answers to my growing questions…

Lost in thought, I stepped on a loose stone and stumbled. My body swayed sharply, thrown off balance by the sudden misstep.

Instinctively, I tried to pull my hand free from Danel’s grasp to steady myself, but he held on tightly, refusing to let go.

In an instant, my precarious balance collapsed. I fell forward, straight into Danel’s arms. His solid chest caught me completely, supporting my weight.

Thud. A dull sound reverberated from beyond our pressed bodies. It made my earlier preoccupation with suspicions about this man feel almost trivial. The embrace that held me was broad and comforting, even instilling a strange sense of stability.

Danel’s breath scattered above my head. He neither pushed me away nor pulled me closer into his arms. Instead, he murmured softly, almost like an exhale.

“There are things you just can’t forget.”

I stayed still, letting myself feel his warmth. The large hand gripping mine, the faint stir of his chest beneath the pristine suit, even the heat in his breaths—everything radiated an intensity that made it feel like the air around us was shimmering.

Under the slowly setting sun, I found myself reflecting on why I wasn’t pulling away from his embrace.

Why couldn’t I leave him in his seclusion and isolation without trying to intervene. Why, despite the constant sense that something was off, I tolerated his actions without question.

I wanted to know what Danel was thinking and what he truly wanted. Perhaps, more than I had realized, I had grown to like him.

The lukewarm embrace ended only when I finally stepped back.

Even this time, Danel hadn’t been the one to let me go first. Just as he never spoke to me first but always fulfilled my requests with excessive eagerness, this too had been left to me.