My Arrogant and Insolent Shadow - Chapter 48

The Duchess?

Ah, that made sense. After what had happened with the young master collapsing recently, it seemed natural that his mother would come herself.

If anything, it had been strange that she hadn’t visited sooner, even though her son had been staying here while ill.

Yurisiel had often wondered about the young master’s distant gaze. Sometimes she questioned if the Blanchet family even cared about their heir.

But now, hearing that the Duchess was on her way, she wondered if she had been completely wrong.

Though she didn’t know much about the Duchess of Blanchet personally, she had imagined her through the stories and books she’d transcribed.

A woman as graceful and dignified as her son.

Someone who didn’t need many words. Just a glance from her could inspire fear.

The Duke and Duchess of Blanchet were known for having a flawless public image and a seemingly perfect marriage.

Before she met the young master, Yurisiel believed people like them lived without struggles, part of a warm and loving family.

But now, after spending time with him, she wasn’t so sure.

Maybe the stories about a harmonious Blanchet family weren’t as true as people thought.

Still, the fact that the Duchess was coming all the way here meant she must care for her son at least a little.

Whether it was as a mother or simply as the heir’s guardian, Yurisiel didn’t know.

A faint memory of a conversation between the steward and the young master echoed in her mind.

They had mentioned that the new medicine was nearly ready.

So once the Duchess arrived, would that mean the young master would leave Alphonse for good?

And if he left, what would happen to her?

Technically, nothing would change. Things would return to how they were.

But it didn’t feel that way at all.

She knew now she could never go back to the days before she met him.

They had come too far.

She had lost her home, found this one, and helped her mother get medicine.

And then there was the kiss from the night before, something that felt like an accident.

Images of the young master’s different faces passed through her thoughts.

His cold, distant presence in his room.

The fearsome expression he wore when they crossed paths.

And then the smile he sometimes gave her, soft and unexpected.

Each time, he took something from her and left something behind.

Now, she might never see that face again.

He had once been someone the world assumed wouldn’t survive. Now he was poised to return as Blanchet’s true heir.

It had always been a beginning destined to end.

A new beginning was waiting for him. That was how it should be.

Even during the moments when she wanted to be free from him, she never wanted him gone forever.

But whether he vanished into the sky or left for the capital, the result was the same.

He would disappear from this estate, as if he had never been here.

She would probably never see him again.

Someone like her from Alphonse would never have a reason to meet someone like him again.

She had always known that, but now that it was real, her heart was uneasy.

For Cassian, leaving would be simple.

Like tossing aside a moment of fleeting amusement and moving on.

He would meet another noble lady, resume his life as the Blanchet heir, and forget all about this chapter, as if it were a stain on his name.

And she would be left behind, carrying the weight of it as if it had never happened.

Once, she had wished for him to disappear.

Now, with him truly leaving, the emotions stirring inside her felt foolish.

Wanting him to leave and yet not wanting it—how selfish and contradictory that was.

But maybe all of this confusion was just desperation.

Once he left, her life, which had unknowingly started to lean on him, would collapse.

Only now did she realize how much she had hoped, how much she had expected from him.

Her feet, weighed down by those thoughts, led her to his room without even realizing it.

Steward Lanod noticed her, knocked on the door as usual, went in briefly, then came back out and allowed her inside.

Sunlight streamed through the window, spilling across the floor in scattered, golden rays.

Cassian looked up from the parchment he had been reading.

The whole space looked like a painting. Warm light touched everything around him.

His sleeves were half rolled up, revealing the arms that had once held her.

His crimson eyes met hers, and for a moment, she saw herself reflected there.

One step. Then another.

With each movement, the sweet scent of watermint brushed against her nose, making her heart pound wildly.

It was the same scent from the night before.

The silence was so thick, she feared he would hear the sound of her heartbeat.

She tried to stay calm, moving the way she always did, eyes lowered.

Cassian’s gaze remained fixed on the parchment.

It was as if the previous night had never happened.

As if she didn’t exist in the room with him.

And at that moment, she realized something.

What happened last night had only meant something to her.

To him, it meant nothing.

He would probably laugh if he knew she had tossed and turned all night, trying to forget it.

After all, she had been the one to act first.

Feeling anything now was just foolishness.

She had been the one who hoped he would ignore what happened and move on.

So this moment, this distance, should have been a relief.

But being treated like she was invisible left her with a strange, sharp emptiness.

It really seemed like he could walk away without looking back.

His clean profile, focused and calm, confirmed it.

It felt like something was stuck in her throat.

Yurisiel tried to bury her unease and stood before him.

It was a long while before Cassian finally looked up.

Yurisiel burned like the sunset in Cassian’s red eyes.

“Should I offer you a seat?” he asked.

The sound of his voice, so reminiscent of last night, made a wave of heat rise in her face.

She caught sight of her own reflection in the mirror behind him. Her flushed and foolish-looking face was completely exposed.

The thought that he must have seen her like this made her let out a dry laugh.

“No, it’s alright,” she replied.

As she sat down, Cassian handed her the parchment he had been reading.

The moment she touched it, she remembered the first time he had given her one. He had tossed it at her and coldly ordered her to read it.

Compared to then, his behavior now felt almost gentlemanly.

It wasn’t particularly kind, just ordinary. But coming from him, even ordinary felt refined.

As she held the parchment and tried awkwardly to settle into place, he turned back to his work, eyes returning to the page.

“You like organizing things, don’t you?”

“Young master!” she protested, glaring at him.

His red eyes met hers, locking her in place with a suffocating intensity.

His gaze held her completely, and with a sly smile, he spoke again.

“This one won’t be easy.”

He sounded like he was teasing, but the smile on his lips was different than before.

It wasn’t mocking, it was a real smile.

It was the first time she had ever seen him smile like that. A smile that didn’t seem out of place on someone like him felt almost out of character.

Yurisiel couldn’t take her eyes off him for a long moment.

When she finally looked down, she noticed the large stack of parchment in front of her.

The reason he said it wouldn’t be easy became obvious right away. None of the pages were numbered.

Some real smile that turned out to be.

The parchment and the hands flipping through it reflected in Cassian’s red eyes.

His gaze slowly followed the movement of Yurisiel’s slightly calloused fingers.

The timid girl who once trembled under his stare was gone. In her place was someone completely focused, frowning in concentration.

Was this the real person behind the shadow he sometimes saw through the windows?

He found himself more than a little satisfied.

It had been the right decision to keep this manuscript, instead of discarding it.

He had been planning to tell the pale, frightened author to stop writing it altogether.

But now, seeing this side of her, he wanted to read more.

Just last night, her face had been colorless, drained of life. But now, it was blooming with energy.

His eyes drifted, resting on her rosy lips.

The lips he had kissed so deeply the night before.

The ones that made even the air feel sweet, made him breathless, made him thirsty.

And now, here they were again, right in front of him.

Yet she sat there calmly, flipping through parchment as if none of it had happened.

She had clearly slept well. Meanwhile, he hadn’t closed his eyes all night.

It was absurd.

Last night, she had fallen asleep in his mother’s room and woken up a different person.

Gone was the bold girl who had kissed him. Now she blushed, hesitated, looked away when he entered the room.

This might be the last time he saw her like this.

Earlier that morning, he had received a letter.

Sealed with the Blanchet crest, the message instructed him to return to the capital with his mother once she arrived.

If the Duchess was coming in person, it meant the new medicine was indeed ready.

Her personal involvement confirmed it. His value as an heir had been restored.

Several days had passed since she left for Alphonse. She would likely arrive tomorrow.

And he would be leaving.

Naturally, that meant leaving everything in Alphonse behind.

Once in the capital, he would either die in pain from a new and unknown treatment or survive it.

If he survived, he would rot there until the end of his life.

So it was time to let go of Alphonse.

Everything in it, including the girl in front of him.

He would simply leave behind what he had given her—a small room, her mother’s medicine.

To him, it meant little. But to her, it was everything. Enough to make her tremble.

Everything had changed after that kiss.

He had made up his mind to release the girl who had cried for him.

Perhaps he had been bewitched by a fox.

Or maybe he had simply changed because death was near.

At that moment, Yurisiel pushed the stack of parchment toward him.

She had finished organizing it faster than he expected.

Cassian’s face stiffened as he accepted it.

Then, a trembling voice fell across his shoulder.

“Are you… leaving Alphonse?”

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