Chapter 37
Following his gaze, Lilien spotted Cairn at the end of the room, dressed sharply in his navy uniform. He stood out, a head taller than most, his hair neatly slicked back for a change, looking every bit the grown man.
When had he gotten so tall?
Lilien found herself absentmindedly repeating Christian’s last words, still caught in a daze as she met Cairn’s eyes. Suddenly startled, she gasped.
“Research sub—uh, what?”
Her gaze drifted from Cairn to Christian, now realizing what he’d said.
“I tend to notice things. But don’t worry, I’m not about to gossip about someone else’s preferences. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Christian had nailed exactly what Lilien was thinking, and she froze in place. Meanwhile, Cairn, oblivious to their exchange, watched the two with a cold stare.
“That guy… Still as insufferable as ever, even after all this time.”
“Christian! Not so loud—this is the palace, you know.”
Christian and Cairn were acquainted, but their relationship was never exactly cordial; there was always a subtle rivalry between them.
“Come on, Lili, let’s go.”
Christian said, draping an arm around her shoulders and, with a quick, triumphant glance at Cairn, led her away. Christian couldn’t help but smirk to himself when he saw the way Cairn’s jaw tightened.
Lilien, wanting to avoid making things worse with Cairn, quietly followed Christian to a secluded corner beside a marble pillar, where she finally let out a sigh of relief.
“This is why I like you, Christian.”
“What did I even do?”
“You don’t give me a hard time about not being social.”
“Hard for me to judge—who am I to talk?”
Christian had always been a bit of a loner himself, having spent his whole life buried in books. Still, unlike Lilien, he was a self-imposed outsider—he could get along with anyone when he wanted to.
“By the way, happy belated birthday, Lili. I wanted to come to Baltan, but I was swamped with patients.”
Lilien’s actual birthday, which fell in late winter, always passed quietly, as it was also the anniversary of her mother’s death. Even her coming-of-age was marked with little fanfare.
Cairn had visited briefly, but she’d been too unwell to see him for long, and her father was so consumed with business that even her official birthday came and went without celebration.
An extravagant ball like tonight was something she’d never imagined.
“I’m all grown up now, aren’t I?”
“Alright then, let me ask you something only grown-ups get asked. Is there anyone you like? Not your ‘research subject’—and that guy’s off-limits.”
‘That guy’—meaning Cairn—was now welcoming guests with perfect etiquette, looking every bit the composed host, which somehow made him seem even more arrogant.
“If you were really happy to see him, you’d have come running instead of pretending not to notice.”
“Cairn isn’t my research subject! You’ve got it all wrong. And anyway, he’s busy tonight—it’s his party after all.”
“If you say so. So, is there anyone you’re interested in, Lilien?”
“…What’s the point?”
Lilien lowered her head, then tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear with her gloved hand and looked up at him.
“As you know, Christian, I’m hardly ideal marriage material. Even if I did fall for someone, what good would it do? I’d just pine for them in silence, as always. But don’t worry—I only say this because there’s nobody I like at the moment.”
Christian didn’t contradict her self-deprecating words, but instead gave her a warm, gentle smile.
“You might not be the ideal bride, Lilien, but you’re a good person.”
“And you’re a good person to me, Christian.”
“That almost sounds like I’m only nice to you, you know?”
“Well, you’re not exactly nice to everyone.”
Christian ruffled Lilien’s carefully styled hair with a grin.
“I’ll take that compliment back, Christian.”
Lilien tried, a bit awkwardly, to fix her hair again just as the orchestra’s leader signaled and a fanfare rang through the ballroom.
“Looks like it’s starting.”
* * *
Seated on a gilded chair atop the high platform, the Emperor slowly surveyed the grand hall. As the orchestra’s short performance came to an end, Cairn, who had been waiting in the center of the room, began to ascend the steps at an unhurried pace.
Even before reaching adulthood, he had already been appointed an honorary officer, and today, the uniform he had received on that occasion suited him perfectly.
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