Killing Your Sweet Breath - Chapter 8
Chapter 4.2
“I thought I already explained that to you during our last conversation. I found what’s been stolen from me. It’s only natural that I’d want to keep it close. Especially when it’s the woman I deeply cared for.”
Van slowly approached, perching himself at the edge of Winter’s bed.
The thin silk robe she had been wearing since waking up in this room now grated on her nerves, considering it was nearly see-through.
Pulling up the blanket so that it covered her, she reasoned,
“I understand what you’re saying. If I’m with you, especially if I pose as your wife, it would be easier to get close. Disguising myself as an ordinary woman would be even simpler than if you were to approach him directly. But the emperor will recognize me. If you recognized me, there’s no way he wouldn’t.”
“You don’t have to worry about that, Winter. It’s not unusual for a man to fall in love with someone who resembles his first love.”
“So you plan to claim I look just like her.”
It made sense, given that she had met him when she was still a child, before the collapse of Ruhen.
And the emperor would never imagine she was still alive. How could he ever suspect that a young girl escaped that inferno?
Especially from the horrifying nightmare that consumed the largest castle in the empire, the Ice Castle of Ruhen.
“So, will you marry me?”
Van leaned in slightly, once again asking the question. His almond eyes curved, staring at her in a way that almost seemed seductive.
“I’m still thinking about it.”
She answered, averting her gaze. And judging by Van’s bright smile it seemed he was satisfied with just that.
“That’ll do. For now.”
Winter hesitated, clutching the blanket. There was one more thing she needed to say, but bringing it up wasn’t easy.
Reading the expression on her face, Van’s gaze grew more insistent, urging her to speak. Meeting his eyes again, she finally declared,
“If I decide to marry you, it won’t be because of our past relationship. It’ll be for the revenge you promised.”
Silence followed. For a second, Van’s eyes flickered with something complex before settling back into their usual calm.
“That’s exactly what I wanted, Winter.”
The look in Van’s eyes was dry, something Winter had never seen before. His expression reminded her of desert sand shifting in the wind, looking so pitiful that Winter almost reached out to touch his face.
But before Winter could make that mistake, Van quickly regained his usual polite, gentle expression.
It was so swift that the fleeting look Winter had seen almost felt like an illusion.
“I came here to tell you that the person I mentioned will be arriving tomorrow.”
Winter nodded instead of replying.
“Oh, and I told Sianna to add painkillers to your evening medication. You’ll probably feel like walking tomorrow.”
Having said all he needed to, Van wasted no time in rising from his position.
His dark hair and Helgram uniform glistened, while his once-brilliant golden eyes were now shadowed by darkness.
* * *
Within a day, the pain had dramatically subsided. Winter suspected that the previous medication hadn’t contained any painkillers at all.
It made sense; the pain had shown no signs of improvement until the four doses she had taken from last night to this evening had completely alleviated it.
Removing the painkillers out of fear that she might escape—what an excessive precaution for someone who called her “my Winter.” It was clear that the Van of today was not the same as the Van from the past.
She realized it had been her own mistake to see the young boy from the past in this grown man.
‘Well, it’s not like I’m the same person, either.’
Thinking back to when they first met, this current reality seemed unimaginable. A reunion of two twisted souls, struggling in the mire.
Yes, perhaps it was fate that brought them together, as he had said.
“His Grace’s office is through here. You’ll be coming here often, so you should remember the way.”
Walking alongside Sianna with her pain now gone, Winter stood before the door. The ordinary door seemed unusually massive and imposing today.
Knock, knock.
Van’s voice answered from within, “Come in,” in response to Winter’s knock. Creaak, the door opened, Winter stayed rooted to the floor, unable to step inside.
Van’s office was even dimmer than the corridor. As her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, the first thing she noticed was the way Van’s eyes shone even in the dark.
And there, as he had promised, sat a familiar face on a red sofa beside a low, large table.
“I…an…?”
There sat Ian Gunthers, the youngest knight of Helgram, clad in the territory’s customary uniform.
“My goodness, my lady…!”
He was so surprised that his eyes widened in shock. Perhaps he never imagined Winter would be standing here.
Nevertheless, as soon as he realized that it was indeed Winter, he rushed forward, kneeling at her feet.
It was the stance knights reserved for their lords, a pledge of their loyalty.
Even in the darkness, his soft brown hair and kind demeanor reminded her of when they first met at Castle Ruhen.
Seeing him like this was so strange and yet so familiar to Winter that she ended up sinking to the floor with him.
“I offer you my unworthy greetings, Lady Ilisias.”
This marked their first reunion since Winter had secretly watched him cry his heart out in front of Castle Ruhen, where everything had turned to ashes, including the massive stone buildings. It was as if the war had swept through and left nothing behind.