My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 35

Cassian’s calm expression seemed designed to prove that everything Yurisiel had imagined was nothing more than a fantasy.

His gaze slowly dropped to her lips.

It was so focused and unhurried that she could almost feel the cold weight of it resting on her skin.

He hadn’t touched her, but the memory of him brushing her lips felt real again, spreading through her like a chill.

Would he insist on holding the pen again today?

If that was all, she thought, it wouldn’t be so bad. But then, something unexpected brushed her ear.

“They’re hosting a party at the estate soon.”

It was so sudden, so unrelated, that she almost laughed.

“A party…?”

“You didn’t know? The whole estate has been a mess getting ready for it.”

Yurisiel thought back to how busy the estate staff had seemed lately.

She remembered the shiny ornaments and overly extravagant decorations being delivered. She had assumed it was just part of seasonal changes.

So that had all been for a party.

It wasn’t strange. Events like that were fairly common in the lord’s household.

Still, she had no reason to care. It had nothing to do with her.

“I see. It doesn’t concern me.”

Cassian set the teacup down gently and looked at her, then spoke again.

“Are you sure about that?”

The faint smile forming at the corner of his lips made her nervous.

He always smiled like that before giving her some difficult order or saying something cruel.

Her shoulders tensed. Her whole body froze for a moment before she could slowly let the tension go.

He didn’t seem to mean anything specific by it.

Maybe he was just interested in the party.

It surprised her. With how sensitive and particular he was, she thought he would hate noisy gatherings like that.

After that, Cassian said nothing more. He simply sat in silence until the time passed.

The silence was suffocating, but for Yurisiel, it was a relief.

She had been terrified he might bring up Hael again or do something about it.

Even though his quiet “Are you sure?” and the slight frown he wore made her uneasy, she told herself she was imagining things.

It must be the party that was keeping his mind busy.

When she looked at him one last time, there was a faint smile on his face.

The anger from earlier, when he had spilled the tea and frowned in frustration, had completely vanished.

Later that afternoon, Cassian left the pergola and returned to his usual space.

The weather was as peaceful and clear as the calm before a storm.

Outside the window, he spotted Yurisiel. Her expression looked more relaxed now that she was away from him.

Her red hair stood out vividly, even from far away.

It shimmered in the light, filling the space around her like a glowing sunset. She looked like a part of the scenery, essential and irreplaceable.

The moment she slipped from his grasp, she walked straight to the silver-haired boy.

Cassian’s gaze stayed fixed, unmoving.

Before him sat a canvas painted with the red tones of a burning world.

It reflected the emptiness in his eyes.

The canvas lay opposite the portrait Yurisiel had drawn of him. It was his own painting, one he had made after thinking of her.

She had frowned when she saw it, as if it was something she didn’t want to see.

He had laughed it off then, but now he understood.

What he saw as a beautiful sea under a red sunset, she had seen as a sea of blood.

Hael stood in the sunlight, finally facing Yurisiel again after days apart.

“What happened to you?”

Her worried face filled his vision, and just seeing her made all his struggles feel lighter.

“What about Britt…? What happened?”

Her voice shook slightly.

Hael snapped back to focus and gave her a faint smile on his pale face.

“I found her.”

Looking back, the entire situation had been strange.

He never imagined anyone would discover he had sold Britt.

The Rittenbuff Auction House was far from Alphonse. That distance alone should have made it impossible.

On top of that, the idea that someone from Bronzes would know what was happening here in Alphonse was ridiculous.

And yet the local guards, who rarely ever moved from their posts, somehow found out exactly where Britt was.

Even more unbelievable was that the buyer remembered the seller’s identity and confirmed that it had been him.

It had all been too perfect, too suspicious.

Of course, nothing is truly impossible. Maybe this was just another coincidence, just like all the others.

But that was the only way Hael could explain any of it.

After thinking about it over and over again, everything felt too perfectly timed, like someone had set him up as a joke.

Maybe that’s why, when he locked eyes with the young master earlier, he felt like he was being mocked.

Still, Hael forced the thought out of his mind.

There was no way the young master of this estate had time to track down a stolen horse in a rural town like Alphonse.

He was far too noble, far too high above that sort of thing.

Though it was strange, he admitted, how closely Yurisiel always stayed by the young master’s side.

But surely that had nothing to do with this.

Yurisiel was just a servant. That was all.

Hael shook off the absurd thoughts, calling them nothing more than paranoid nonsense.

Either way, the result was what mattered. By some strange and unbelievable chain of events, Britt had come back.

His mother believed he had used the money from selling Britt to fund research into new horse breeds, so there was no reason for her to suspect anything.

Everything was going smoothly now.

He wondered briefly if that medicine had actually helped Lady Jane, even a little.

“Is your mother doing, okay?” he asked.

Yurisiel’s face darkened at the question.

For a moment, panic shot through Hael. Had something happened?

Fortunately, her expression wasn’t because of that.

“She’s doing well. But…”

She trailed off, hesitating.

Seeing her look so unsure, Hael leaned in, a bit anxious.

“What is it? Did something happen?”

“It’s about Britt…”

Yurisiel slowly raised her head, her face shadowed with unease.

Concerned, Hael crouched slightly, trying to meet her emerald eyes.

“What about Britt?”

Her transparent gaze flickered before settling on him, steady and direct.

Her lips trembled as she spoke.

“Did you… sell her?”

For a moment, it felt like Hael had been struck.

Did Yurisiel already know?

Did she find out that he had sold Britt to buy the medicine?

Thoughts spun wildly through his mind.

“What… what are you talking about?”

He tried to sound calm, but his voice trembled.

Yurisiel’s expression fell even more as she looked at him.

“No, never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Hael’s shallow breathing, the way he tried to compose himself, she saw it all.

Her expression turned cold, harder than before, but she softened again once their eyes met.

“Can you wait here for a moment?” she asked quietly.

Then, without another word, she turned and quickly crossed the yard, her skirt fluttering as she disappeared into the distance.

Hael stood still, dazed, trying to make sense of everything.

There was no way she could know. Not even his parents knew the truth.

He had told the shopkeeper and everyone else involved to keep their mouths shut.

Just as the thoughts were starting to consume him, Yurisiel returned.

In her hands, she carried a small, polished wooden box.

Without a word of explanation, she placed it in his hands.

Before he could even open it, she spoke.

“I’m sorry, Hael. I can’t accept this.”

“What?”

Only then did he look down and see what it was.

The box, one of the most expensive things she owned, was filled with a large sum of money.

Where had she gotten so much?

As Hael thought back over their recent conversation, he quickly realized—this was the money he had given her for the medicine.

His face hardened like stone.

“Why are you giving this back?”

“I thought about it… and it just doesn’t feel right.”

He stared blankly at the box in his hands, confused and unable to respond.

Then Yurisiel’s voice came again, firmer this time.

“I’ll accept the gesture. That’s all.”

The gesture? Yurisiel had never accepted his feelings before.

At least, not as far as Hael was concerned.

“Am I not even allowed to help you?” he asked, his voice rising with frustration.

The medicine he gave her was meant to help. It was something he had done purely for her sake, without her permission, and he knew that. But still, hearing her reject it stung.

Even if he knew he had no right to be angry, he couldn’t stop the emotion.

So many thoughts swirled through his head.

The image of the young master and Yurisiel together burned in his memory like a waking nightmare.

His voice grew louder.

“Is that all I am to you? Is that really how little I matter?”

His eyes shimmered, holding back something between anger and grief.

Yurisiel simply looked at him, calm and unwavering.

On any other day, she might have faltered.

But today, she stood firm, like stone.

Seeing her like that made Hael feel as if something inside him had just crumbled.

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