The Price of Breaching the Contract - Chapter 31

The cold air sharply nipped at the tip of her nose as they moved from the banquet hall to the training grounds. The distance wasn’t far, but as they walked, Yulania grumbled.

“You didn’t have to come, you know.”

She didn’t like the sight of Yurban mingling among dozens of excited knights. Besides, it was very cold. He frowned, draping a large fur cloak over her, as she was dressed too lightly to be outside.

“How can I pretend not to know when it’s a matter between my husband and my brother?”

But she wanted to see it for herself, just in case. She also had a small, worried hope that her presence might make the two men think twice.

Neither Santia nor Yulania was particularly happy with the spur-of-the-moment decision, but it was better to draw a clear line to endure Yurban here for a long time anyway.

Yurban, who was following the two walking side by side, added playfully.

“How affectionate. We’ll see about that.”

“…Yurban.”

Yulania breathed her brother’s name softly instead of a sigh. When she sent him a worried look, Santia gave her a light wink. It meant he was okay. Only then did Yulania relax a little and lower her shoulders.

Then Yurban said with a smile, still walking lightly.

“Why? Are you anxious, Sister? Haha, don’t worry too much. I don’t want to hurt the Duke either.”

He still had a nonchalant and playful tone, but at least he didn’t seem to have any malice to upset his sister. Yulania wanted to avoid this situation, but since Santia had made up his mind, she decided not to interfere anymore. She trusted Santia’s skills, not to mention his maturity. Even if his relationship with her was strained, Santia was a talented man who had risen from nothing to become a Duke.

‘He’s just acting strangely towards me.’

Yulania moved away with a bitter smile.

When they arrived at the training grounds, both of them took off their coats and picked up their swords. Macari’s knights surrounded the circular training ground in a heated silence. Yurban warmed up lightly, swinging his sword a few times, then grinned at Santia.

“I learned swordsmanship from the royal family, so I think I might have a slight advantage.”

Santia didn’t bother to argue. He silently drew his sword without saying a word. The moment Santia stepped into the training ground, his aura changed instantly. The Duke, who had been calm until just now, revealed the essence of a knight sharpened the moment he grabbed his sword.

A momentary look of embarrassment flashed across Yurban’s face, but he soon smiled and took his stance.

“Shall we begin, Duke?”

“I’m ready whenever you are, Your Highness.”

Santia’s tone was still polite, but he couldn’t hide the overwhelming confidence he possessed.

Yurban moved first. The slender boy nimbly rushed towards Santia, swinging his sword. His movements were quite sharp, and it seemed that it was no exaggeration that he had been properly trained in the Royal Knights.

But Santia could clearly see every single movement. After all, it was swordsmanship learned in the safe palace. The direction of the sword’s tip was also clearly revealed.

Santia lifted his sword with a concise motion and lightly deflected his attack. The sound of metal clashing rang out, and Yurban’s sword wavered in the air. Yurban blinked in surprise, but quickly regained his expression and attempted a second attack.

“Oh, it’s true what they say!”

Santia lightly ignored Yurban’s compliment and pushed his sword away once more. Yurban’s steps faltered for a moment.

The Macari knights, who had been watching in silence, began to smile faintly. Seeing their lord overwhelmingly subdue the prince, who was subtly acting obnoxious, gave them a strange sense of pride.

Santia focused only on blocking and dodging Yurban’s sword without attacking. Yurban began to panic, and sweat beaded on his forehead despite the cold weather. His initial confidence was quickly fading.

Santia didn’t miss Yurban’s change. He was particularly sensitive while holding a sword. The subtle hesitation appearing at the tip of Yurban’s sword revealed his emotions.

“Your Highness, would you like to finish here?”

Yurban’s face flushed at Santia’s quiet suggestion. He gritted his teeth and launched a reckless attack. At that moment, Santia’s expression hardened slightly. He lightly tapped Yurban’s wrist with precision, and Yurban’s sword fell powerlessly to the ground.

Yurban stared blankly at his hand, which had suddenly become empty.

“Your Highness, the royal swordsmanship is indeed excellent but if you get rid of a little impatience, you will improve even more.”

As Santia offered advice in a gentle tone, Yurban’s face contorted with conflict for a moment. But in the end, he smiled as if nothing was wrong and continued.

“Ha, as expected of the Duke. I was careless today. Let’s have a proper match next time.”

Santia nodded briefly. The knights’ applause echoed through the training ground. Yurban smiled brightly, but everyone could guess how much his pride had been hurt inside.

But perhaps because he seemed to have struggled for a few exchanges, Yurban’s reaction was not as strong as feared.

Yulania approached, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. For finishing it well.”

“It was nothing.”

Santia smiled lightly and extended his hand gentlemanly. It was an honest smile, but somehow it looked crooked in Yulania’s eyes.

Yulania took his hand, as if she couldn’t help it. Then he said softly, as if he were acting.

“Shall we go?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

Yulania felt Santia’s hand guiding her and somehow laughed. Was it just her imagination that he seemed to be elated to have won the sparring match?

Yurban was seen in the distance, talking loudly with the royal knights, trying to recover his pride. Yulania looked at her brother’s figure and sighed inwardly with pity.

Santia, whether he knew her feelings or not, quietly shrugged his shoulders and moved into the castle.

That night, as Yulania was changing into her pajamas and sitting on the bed, there was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Santia, who opened the door and came in, had a more cautious expression than usual. He glanced around once and then spoke.

“Sorry for the late hour. Were you about to go to bed?”

She shook her head slowly.

“Not yet. What’s wrong?”

Santia closed the door and seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally opening his mouth.

“Today is, uh, the scheduled wedding night. I came to ask, just in case.”

Yulania stared at him silently for a moment. Come to think of it, it had already been a month. Not long ago, Joel had stopped by and subtly told her that it was okay to have marital relations. It wasn’t that she had a aversion to the relationship itself.

“…I’m okay if you want to.”

“No, I’ll do as you wish.”

Santia’s voice was calm, but the content was firm. He waited for her answer with eyes filled with complex emotions. Yulania, staring into his eyes, voiced a sudden worry.

“I’m okay. I’m okay, but what if we have another baby?”

The first baby, who was so precious, was gone before she even had a chance to feel that preciousness. That terrible first experience became a huge scar engraved on her heart. She found it difficult to imagine that a healthy baby would come again.

“…”

As Santia said nothing, Yulania’s anxiety grew without stopping.

“What if another one comes and then leaves.”

“What are you thinking?”

Santia roughly ruffled his bangs with his hand. And he clenched his teeth tightly and said.

“You don’t have to if you’re not ready yet.”

“I don’t know.”

Yulania had no emotional changes even when she was at the banquet and the training ground. Was it because something was stimulated as the night darkened? She also felt that she was strange and couldn’t control the rushing emotions.

When her eyes finally welled up with tears, Santia roughly washed his face and approached her.

“Ha…”

And he took a deep breath, reached out, put his arm around Yulania’s shoulders, and pulled her in. She felt her faint breath on his chest, which was covered in a thin shirt. He impulsively pressed the back of her small head with his palm.

As her soft face touched him, a strange sense of satisfaction filled him, and at the same time, an even greater sense of dissatisfaction flared up.

Yulania leaned against her husband’s warm chest and felt for the first time that his embrace was cozy.

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