Ch.70Paralysis Poison (2)

“Right? I think so. …Maybe.”

“…”

“…Um, Caden. Anyway, thank you for sending food to the territory.”

“It was nothing.”

“Even though you told me to forget about it, I’ll always feel indebted to you.”

She clapped her hands lightly to change the atmosphere.

“Well, today’s the day we return to our normal routine, right? Let’s head to school before we’re late.”

****

Daisy was confused by her body’s reactions. She tried not to show it, but she wasn’t sure if she was succeeding.

Was her walking the same as before? Was her expression intact? She had to be conscious of every little thing.

It had been like this ever since everyone said Caden had gotten engaged.

There was clearly no reason for her to feel this way.

She had thought many times that he was impressive, but she never considered it love.

She was in the middle of convincing herself that there was no reason for her to fall in love with him.

They hadn’t exchanged affectionate words. They hadn’t shared physical intimacy. He hadn’t saved her life. Of course, there aren’t set reasons for falling in love.

But her body’s reaction was definitely saying otherwise. Her chest felt tight, and her whole body felt drained of energy. A subtle sense of disappointment lingered.

As she walked, she began to organize her thoughts.

In other words, she was starting to be very honest with herself.

She asked herself how she really felt about him.

Daisy respected him. A commoner-turned-noble who could uniquely influence the twins, especially Asena.

He seemed unbothered by the whispers of “Praester’s abandoned adoptee” behind his back, and focused solely on his training to achieve dazzling results.

This alone was applause-worthy, but combined with his kind nature, he shined even brighter. Recently, he had even risked his life to save commoner children.

It would be a lie to say Caden wasn’t worthy of respect.

When he said he found comfort and strength in seeing her, even that made her heart flutter with gratitude.

-‘No. I’ve watched you work hard, so I know.’

His voice echoed in her head. Those words that warmed her heart.

Decisively, he had helped her territory’s people. Despite having no reason to do so, he provided food as if it were nothing.

She had to admit it.

At that time, she couldn’t help but think Caden had feelings for her.

The flower at the jousting tournament.

The escort practice.

Their daily conversations.

And finally, the food aid.

Each one was an action that seemed unlikely for someone without feelings.

And she-

“Daisy.”

At that moment, someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her.

It was Caden.

Daisy snapped out of her thoughts and looked ahead.

An orange pillar stood there. If she had continued walking, she would have crashed right into it.

“…Are you okay?”

Caden asked about her near-collision with the pillar, but Daisy just smiled and continued walking.

She was someone who could quickly fall back into her world of worries.

She had to admit it.

The moment she thought he might have feelings for her, Daisy’s heart raced.

She didn’t dislike it. His apparent interest. Perhaps the emotions she had built up watching him live his life played a part.

Even when her father mentioned the possibility of marriage talks with Caden Praester, she felt no resistance.

Rather, a slight expectation began to rise. When the possibility of being with him crossed her mind before sleep, it instantly drove away her drowsiness.

She thought having Caden, whom she had observed and knew to be diligent, as her partner would be a hundred times better than someone whose face and identity she didn’t even know.

But it was all futile.

What about his true feelings? Did he really have feelings for her? Was their relationship impossible because of the arranged marriage?

She was newly realizing how cruel the custom of arranged marriages could be.

Either way, she had to hide the melancholy she was feeling now. Because he would be with Judy.

Of course, hiding it wasn’t working.

If he had liked her, she knew it would be rude to show such disappointment… but somehow, she couldn’t completely hide these feelings.

Perhaps she wanted to reveal them deliberately. Maybe she wanted to show him her disappointment. Maybe she wanted to draw the same reaction from him.

When had she developed these feelings for him? Like clothes getting wet in a drizzle without noticing. Being together every day seemed to have played a big role.

“……”

The problem was that he seemed to have accepted his assigned mission, taking no action in response to her subtle expressions of dissatisfaction.

Daisy knew she had no right to act this way and that it was childish, but her emotions couldn’t be controlled.

The more she was honest with herself and sorted out her feelings, the greater the regret in her heart grew.

What future would have unfolded if they had been together? Who would be her next partner if not him? Would someone as hardworking as Caden appear?—These regrets grew like a snowball, draining her energy.

Inversely, Daisy was starting to get irritated. Something made her angry, something dissatisfied her.

And she wanted to show these emotions to none other than Caden.

Caden, perhaps wanting to lighten the mood, asked her:

“Ah, Daisy. There’s a really pretty new flower blooming. Would you like to see it?”

“No thanks.”

She curtly rejected his offer.

If asked if she wanted to see the flowers, she did. But more than that, she wanted to do something about the irritation complicating her thoughts.

With that subdued atmosphere, the two arrived at the political science classroom.

And there, they had to face the Praester twins who were waiting for them. Judy was standing behind the twins.

Caden awkwardly greeted everyone, especially Judy at the end.

Daisy felt an inexplicable discomfort.

“….”

“Hey everyone, did you sleep well?”

Caden asked about their well-being.

But Asena ignored his question and spoke to Daisy.

“Daisy, I have a favor to ask.”

“…A favor?”

Meanwhile, Kirsy called for Caden.

“Brother, come over here for a moment.”

“Huh?”

“My sister has something to discuss with Daisy alone.”

“Is that right, Asena?”

Caden asked Asena for confirmation.

Asena nodded.

Caden scratched his head briefly, then followed Kirsy and Judy to create some distance.

Asena took one step closer to Daisy and lowered her voice.

“…A favor. You’ll do it, right?”

“I think I need to know what the favor is first.”

Asena glanced over her shoulder to check on Caden, then whispered quietly.

“…Let my brother be my escort for a while.”

Daisy frowned slightly.

“…Why?”

“…There are some family matters.”

“Because Caden is marrying Judy?”

Realizing that Daisy already knew, Asena quickly admitted it.

“…Yes, because of that.”

“…What does that have to do with escorts?”

Daisy found herself questioning Asena persistently without realizing it. Normally, she would have complied with Asena’s request without argument… but the possibility that Caden might no longer be by her side gave her a strange sense of regret, making her probe further.

Seeing that Daisy wasn’t easily agreeing, Asena sighed deeply and said:

“As you know, our relationship with the Ice family isn’t good.”

“………”

“As such, I don’t like my brother’s marriage arrangement either. I’m thinking of breaking it off.”

“What?”

“For that, I think it’s better if I stay close to my brother.”

“……”

“Also, I don’t want to be around Judy. It’ll just be for a while, Daisy… My brother’s marriage might not concern you, but it’s important to me. Besides, you know he was badly injured a few days ago. Consider that and let him stay by my side.”

“…..”

Daisy had never seen Asena being this honest before. Indeed, Caden’s involvement changed Asena significantly.

But what stirred her heart wasn’t Asena’s requests.

Rather, it was her plan to break off the engagement.

That caught her attention and moved her.

Her motivation wasn’t strong. Even after sorting out her feelings, she wasn’t in love with Caden. She could say she had reached the stage of liking him or having feelings for him.

To that extent, if asked how she felt about Judy and Caden’s marriage, she could definitely answer to herself that she disliked it.

In truth, she didn’t want to get involved in something that seemed likely to escalate into conflict… but that didn’t mean she avoided all fights.

She knew there were times when one had to fight.

Caden’s issue wasn’t just limited to the current problem.

Depending on the circumstances, it could be a life-changing… decision.

So, the decision came quickly.

She pretended to think for a moment, then nodded.

“…Alright.”

What would Caden think of this action?

Would he notice her anger by the change in escorts?

Childishly, she hoped he would.