One Day, My Fiancé Brought His First Love Along - Chapter 128

What rolled across the floor with a crashing sound was none other than a sword.
Or rather, a scabbard. A weapon that hadn’t even been drawn yet.

Airene looked up, eyes narrowing. A tall man just slightly taller than Carlisle was standing there with one corner of his mouth curled up in amusement.

“Who are you?”

I asked, my voice sharp with anger. The man chuckled lightly, tilting his head as he laughed. His blood-red hair, tied in a loose ponytail, swayed with the breeze.

Airene’s eyebrows drew together in a deep scowl. She was clearly agitated.

“What do you think you’re doing—suddenly attacking people and laughing? Do you have a death wish?”

“No. I don’t want to die.”

“Then you really must want to.”

“I told you—I don’t want to die.”

The man raised both hands in surrender and gestured toward the scabbard on the ground.

“If I really meant to kill you, do you think that thing would’ve been a scabbard?”

That was partly why Airene hadn’t struck him the moment he appeared.
Clearly, he hadn’t come with murderous intent—or at least not serious ones.

Lifting her chin a little, she asked firmly,

“What kind of welcome is this supposed to be?”

“I was just curious. I heard a lot of good things from Santinu. He said your style was light and sharp.”

“Aha. If you were curious, you could’ve just asked to spar. Not ambushed me like an idiot.”

“But how else would I know how you handle surprise attacks? I wanted to see all sides of you, Master.”

Shameless. Airene let out a short laugh.
He clearly thought he could brush off his rudeness with charm.
But she wasn’t that forgiving—especially not now, as vice-captain of Khan.

“Who even said I’d teach you?”

“His Majesty the Emperor. Twice a week, he said. Are you really going to disobey the Emperor’s command?”

“Yeah, and I said I’d quit after reporting for today. That’s it.”

“No, no, it’s an imperial edict. Not just an order—an imperial edict.”

“Oh, the Emperor’s edict, huh? Then I guess I don’t need to explain myself. Should I tell Santinu about how rude you were today?”

As soon as she mentioned Santinu, the man’s face went pale.

There it is.

Airene smirked, raising one corner of her mouth.

“I’ll file an official complaint with Santinu. Since you said he sent you, how could he send someone so disrespectful?”

The man, who had been blankly staring at her muttering, suddenly came to life and shouted,

“No! It’s my fault! Please don’t tell Santinu!”

It was an oddly intense reaction. Airene blinked in confusion as he nearly dropped to his knees.

What on earth did Santinu do to make people so terrified?

“I’ll listen to everything you say! I’ll train hard from now on! Just… please let today go.”

He looked at her with pleading eyes, hands clasped tightly together.

“Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste my potential?”

“…Just follow orders.”

He hung his head.

Airene had won.

The man’s name was Sanche.
He was Santinu’s younger brother.

He had a tall frame and strong facial features, so Airene assumed he’d be around the same age as his brother.
But in truth, he was seven years younger than her.

Still, her surprise didn’t last long. It was quickly replaced by irritation.
That red-haired brat.

“Five more laps.”

“I-I-I really think I’m going to die.”

“Funny, you still have the energy to talk. I guess you can do more.”

Sanche, who had just finished a lap, immediately closed his mouth.

Airene let out a dry chuckle. It was obvious she had the stamina to run five more if she wanted—but of course, she was bluffing. Her acting was impeccable.

Sanche stood before her again, breathing heavily. She smiled faintly at his exhausted expression.

“That’s enough for today. Next time, we’ll add sandbags. Keep that in mind.”

“Master!”

“Goodbye.”

“Please!”

Even as his desperate voice trailed behind her, Airene ignored him and exited toward Karas Palace.

His temperament was unusual.
If not for Santinu, he might’ve already quit. The imperial edict alone would’ve been too much for him to handle.

As I rubbed my temples in frustration, the coachman’s voice broke my thoughts—
“We’ve arrived at the Levart mansion, milady.”

Before I could even open the carriage door, it opened for me. A familiar scent reached my nose.

“Carlisle!”

“Airene.”

There he was, just as calm as ever. That gentle smile—just like always.

His sudden appearance sparked a moment of joy in my chest.
But it didn’t last long.

Almost immediately, worry clouded his eyes and washed the smile from his face.

“Why are you here? I didn’t expect to see you so soon. Were you waiting?”

“…No.”

“Lies. From now on, don’t wait for me. Just rest inside. You know when I’ll arrive. It’s cold and boring outside.”

“I’ve never once been bored waiting for you. You don’t need to worry about me.”

His gaze was warm, his tone firm. Airene smiled faintly and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Then give it to me.”

“As much as you want.”

Carlisle lifted her gently into his arms and walked toward the door. He moved slowly and only set her down once they reached the entrance.

“You can just carry it in…”

“That’s a bit—”

Airene, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, giggled and stepped inside first.

“What about food?”

“Not yet. What about you, Carlisle?”

“Same here. Let’s eat first. It’s already late. You can wash up later.”

Carlisle lightly grabbed her shoulder and led her to the dining room.

Airene glanced at the time. They were about an hour and a half later than usual. She gave a small nod.

It wasn’t really that late for them. Missions, training—they often skipped meals or ate whenever they felt like it.
It felt a little odd, but the strangeness vanished as soon as she looked at Carlisle’s face across from her.

“What were you doing today that made you late?”

Carlisle asked casually, sipping from his glass. The question was so natural that Airene almost answered truthfully on instinct.

“Just… some work.”

“What kind of work?”

“Overtime. Something related to our Knights.”

I didn’t want to lie—but I had no choice.

Carlisle paused, staring at his glass before finally speaking.

“I was worried. You told me to go home first, but you didn’t explain why. Usually, you tell me directly.”

I had asked Setsu to tell him on purpose, but… he still worried.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you’d be worried.”

“Is there really nothing going on?”

“Yeah. Nothing at all.”

“Then… tomorrow. Do you think we’ll be able to leave together?”

“…Huh.”

Tomorrow was her scheduled day for management. Without meaning to, her words came out slightly slurred.

“…Yeah. You seem really busy lately, but if it gets too hard, just tell me. I’ll be waiting.”

“Thank you, Carlisle.”

Carlisle gave a soft smile at her words. Airene smiled back, and they both began eating more comfortably.

Two days later, Airene went to see Sanche again, telling Carlisle she had overtime work.

This time, when she looked directly at him as she spoke, Carlisle didn’t press her with questions. He simply said goodbye and gave her a short kiss on the forehead.
That small gesture made her feel strangely excited. Normally, he wasn’t the affectionate type—not even at the fountain.

When she arrived at Karas Palace with light steps, her smile faded.

The mountain spirit who had come to greet her was waiting at the entrance.

“What.”

“Welcome, Master.”

Airene gently smacked the back of the man still bowing deeply and brushed past him into the building.

“Hurry up.”

“Yep!”

She followed behind him, her gaze scanning the towering figure walking ahead.
Now that she looked more closely, he did resemble Santinu—just with a more masculine edge. He was tall, lean, and muscular.

Now that she understood why Santinu and Edys had insisted on him, she knew it was time to start his training properly.

“Since His Majesty has personally entrusted you to me, I’ll do my best to teach you for a month. So, if you don’t like it, speak up now. If you cry and say it’s hard later, it won’t matter.”

“Why are you saying that? What do you take me for? A month? You were supposed to train me the whole time I was here.”

Airene blinked.

“I thought it was just a month or two.”

“But you’ve been teaching me for a while now! If you knew it’d be longer, why say one month?”

She didn’t answer. She simply changed the subject.

“Either way, a month or two. The rest depends on you.”

“Then I’ll give it my all. Please keep an eye on me until I catch up.”

“You haven’t even learned the basics yet.”

“I know enough. So, do you promise?”

I couldn’t help but say no—with my eyes sparkling and determination burning.

“Okay. Let’s both try our best.”

And just like that, their special training began.

Their first proper session ended smoothly. But that was that.

As soon as class finished, Airene headed straight to Edys’s office. She had a question about the time frame.

“—Ah, that. I meant the secrecy period. You’ll need to keep an eye on things while the mountain spirit is here.”

That answer caught me off guard. I hated the emperor and everything, so I was ready to challenge him to a duel.
But she was just a knight.

In the end, Airene accepted her fate and focused on teaching Sanche.
Surprisingly, he was a model student—more passionate than she expected. The more he trained, the more she kept an eye on him.

He was so immersed in the lessons, he didn’t even realize how quickly time passed.

Today was one of those days.

And this time, Carlisle came looking for her.

Support