Chapter 12
The moment their blue eyes met, both of them trembled.
“So… we’re doing this?”
He gave a small nod. Lilien took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing him softly. As their soft and warm lips met, her heart pounded wildly. The moment she parted her lips slightly and gently nipped his lower lip—
“That’s it.”
Cairn suddenly turned his head away, dodging her lips.
What was that feeling?
Just as she was starting to feel something, he pulled away so quickly she barely got to experience it at all. Disappointed, Lilien smacked her lips and grabbed his sleeve tightly.
“Um… Cairn… can I try with tongue?”
* * *
Spring had come to Baltan in full force.
Avoiding the blazing sunlight, Lilien took refuge under a tree, watching the archery contest from a distance. The competition had just ended, and—no surprise—the winner was once again Cairn Etienne Headington.
The host, Baron Regid, awarded Cairn a platinum brooch. Using the prize as an excuse, the young ladies crowded around him.
“How do you shoot a bow so well?”
Among them was Eisen Frederick, her beautiful blond hair tied up today. Cairn gave a polite smile and answered everyone’s questions with his usual charm.
Watching from afar, Lilien felt jealousy twist in her stomach.
“Good night, Lilien.”
Ever since she’d boldly asked ‘can I use tongue?’, Cairn escaped the bedroom pretending he didn’t hear her and had been desperately avoiding her.
This had happened enough times recently that even Matilda seemed suspicious.
So in the end, Lilien had come all the way to the archery contest in Baltan just to see him. Normally, she hated crowds and would’ve stayed far away, but she had no choice.
She needed to apologize to Cairn…
In her mind, she was already running to him, but her body didn’t cooperate.
With all those young ladies crowding him, she just couldn’t bring herself to approach.
“Ahem…”
Just then, someone cleared his throat nearby. It was Victor Regid.
“Good morning, Miss de Bermore.”
“Good morning, Sir Regid.”
“Why are you here alone?”
“The sunlight is too harsh.”
“If I’d known you were coming, I would have made sure there was more shade. My apologies.”
“Oh, not at all. That was just me grumbling.”
After that, the conversation fell flat.
Despite his reputation for humor and skill with women, things between them were awkward.
“…The Regid estate is truly beautiful,” she offered, trying to fill the silence.
“Thank you. In that case…”
Victor cleared his throat and offered a hand he’d hidden behind his back.
“Would you allow me to show you the gardens?”
The Regid estate was famous for its gardens, and Lilien had always wanted to see them, but she hadn’t dared wander around someone else’s home uninvited.
“Yes, I’d appreciate that. But won’t you be missed at the banquet now that the contest is over?”
She took his hand, and Victor smiled charmingly, his face flushing red to match his hair.
“No, my father can manage things himself.”
Lilien laughed aloud at his words, and at that very moment, she felt everyone’s eyes turn their way. Embarrassed, she looked around—and caught Cairn watching her from a distance.
His gaze lingered on her smiling lips, then shifted to her hand in Victor’s. Cairn’s brows knit together in a small frown.
His look seemed to say, ‘What do you think you’re doing over there?’
“What?”
Lilien mouthed silently back at him.
“There’s a maze garden that’s really spectacular. Would you like to start there?”
Over Victor’s shoulder, Cairn was motioning for her to come over right away. Lilien defiantly turned her head away. When she saw him actually start moving toward them, she pulled Victor’s hand and hurried off.
She’d come all this way just to apologize, but now that Cairn was avoiding her so obviously, she found herself getting irritated instead.
“Sir Headington, would you teach me how to shoot a bow too?”
Eisen had stepped in front of Cairn, asking for a lesson. Lilien looked away and tugged Victor along.
“After hearing you talk about it, I really want to see the maze garden. Let’s go.”
Cairn, meanwhile, was politely disentangling himself from Eisen’s grasp. Lilien, ignoring them, walked off with Victor toward the gardens.
After all this time ignoring me, now he wants to pay attention?
‘Hmph.’
She snorted inwardly.
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