Killing Your Sweet Breath - Chapter 25 - [ Arc. 3 ]

Chapter 13.1

Her body and mind were a mess. How could Van Helgram be so perfectly fine—nonchalant, even?

Before she realized what he was doing, Van suddenly kissed the back of Winter’s hand and smiled, his eyes twinkling.

“How about we wash up together? Consider it my way of apologizing.”

“I’ll pass. I don’t think that’s necessary.”

“What are you saying? For all we know, the emperor’s spies could be watching us this very second. Would you believe a man in love to spend the night with his fiancée and then simply run off without a care?”

“And a woman who sleeps with him before their marriage is even official is perfectly acceptable?”

“Any man would find that hard to resist.”

As Van leaned in close to whisper, Winter caught a faint smell of blood. It seemed that someone tried to kill him while she was still asleep.

And now that her senses were heightened due to the blood, she felt as if she was being watched from outside, confirming Van’s suspicions about a spy.

It was likely someone sent by the emperor. He was still distrustful of Van, and he wouldn’t let his guard down just because of their sudden marriage announcement.

The entire situation felt cunningly orchestrated, as if it were playing into Van’s seduction.

“Hah. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve agreed to be your guard instead.”

Van took Winter’s hand and led her to the bathroom. Sianna, noticing the situation, bowed to Van before quickly exiting the room.

“It’s too late for that now. You’ve already caught the emperor’s eye. If you don’t want to take a bath together, how about I at least assist you?”

“I’d prefer that.”

Winter dipped into the water, feeling it hotter than usual. She looked down at the red marks scattered all over her body and chided,

“Thanks to you, I’ll be stuck having to wear clothes that cover up these marks. Even if our engagement was announced, I can hardly go about in this state, can I?”

“Your beautiful face will stand out even more,” he replied flatly.

Her face relaxed, and Winter leaned back against the bathtub’s rim

There was already a hot towel prepped and waiting for her, serving as a comfortable pillow for her neck, courtesy of Sianna.

“Sheeran has organized everything needed for the wedding. We can discuss it later in my office after a meal.”

“What’s the most urgent thing we need to do?”

“We need to make an appearance in the socialite world. I’m not keen on it either, but there are bound to be those suspicious of us, so it’s best to make it look natural. If I were a man so enamored with a woman that I whisked her away like this, I’d be eager to show her off to everyone.”

Winter stayed silent, moving her hand in the water and creating gentle splashes. Her face remained expressionless, but a slight tension was evident in her eyes.

The Ruhen territory was quite far from the capital. As a result, Winter’s involvement in the socialite world was limited to the circles within Ruhen, and after its collapse, she lived in the shadows. It was natural for her to feel nervous.

“You don’t need to worry. All you have to do is stand by my side and smile when necessary. Everyone’s weak against a lovely woman and a charming smile.”

“Haha, it’s funny hearing that coming from you.”

Van’s words made Winter laugh, and her tension instantly eased.

It had been a while since she was described as “lovely.” It felt both embarrassing and amusing, especially coming from Van Helgram.

“I wasn’t trying to make you feel better. The socialites only see the superficial, so just as you cover scars with clothing, hide your feelings with a smile.”

“Is that why you go around smiling all the time?”

Van neither confirmed nor denied it. He just continued to wash Winter’s body with careful motions.

“You looked so lovely smiling just now. Even while knowing your true nature, I almost fell for it.”

The water remained warm, and feeling Van Helgram’s cool hands on her heated boy felt oddly pleasant, making her mind increasingly more confused.

* * *

As Sheeran and Sianna had predicted in their reports, invitations to parties began to arrive at the estate with the onset of the autumn social season.

Van rarely accepted most invitations, so the Helgram estate remained quiet even during the social season. However, news of his engagement seemed to have given other nobles the courage to send invitations.

“I filtered out invitations from lower-ranking nobles and those outside the capital. There’s no need for you to attend all of them.”

“Then how many should I attend?”

“First, it’s an absolute must that you attend the gatherings at the imperial palace. Besides that, one or two should suffice.”

“Hmm, alright.”

Winter carefully examined the neatly arranged invitations on the desk. She set aside those from the families of her previous targets.

That left about roughly ten invitations.

She planned to choose two from among them.

“Sianna, I need your help.”

“As you wish.”

Sianna stepped forward, approaching the desk. She ignored the invitations Winter had discarded and focused on the ones she was sorting through.

“Can you separate these? Those who support the emperor and those who oppose him?”

The prominent families of the capital. Winter was familiar with their names, but the complicated politics surrounding them were of no interest to her.

She purposely avoided delving deep into their lives to keep her emotions detached from her targets.

Without a moment’s hesitation. Sianna swiftly separated the invitations into two stacks.

“This pile is for the emperor’s supporters, and this one is for those against him. There are far fewer of those who oppose him.”

As Sianna had said, there were only three invitations from those who opposed the emperor. This showed how many forces were against Van Helgram.

It truly was impressive how he managed to kill the two princes while being at a political disadvantage.