Chapter 69: The Aftermath of Victory 4

Humans are beings driven by emotion.

Though their mouths and minds always tout reason, in decisive moments, their actions are dictated by their feelings…

What could be called desire.

And as a result of being overwhelmed by such emotions, she…

The woman named Cazeros Sophia…

Despite her reason screaming in protest, she ultimately acted according to her heart.

‘I shouldn’t… This is… In this situation… This is…’

As he slowly brought his lips to hers, Cazeros was all too aware that his actions were unacceptable given her current circumstances.

Yet, she could not resist.

In this moment, this feeling… this emotion…

For Cazeros as a woman, it was an irresistibly powerful, sweet temptation.

The man she had long admired, harboring a distinct affection even she could sense in her heart’s depths.

His act of love he was bestowing upon her in this moment was far too… too alluring a snare for her to refuse.

‘…Warm… And… sweet…’

The soft sensation enveloping her lips…

As if angels were singing in the heavens, blessing her entire world…

It was enough to momentarily paralyze the reason deeply rooted in Cazeros’s mind.

‘…I love… I truly… I love you so much… I… When did I come to love you this deeply…?’

Silently confessing these words over and over, Cazeros strove to indelibly etch the lingering warmth of his lips into her senses.

Then, some time later…

At some indeterminate point, his lips slowly parted from hers.

“Ah…”

Just as she felt a pang of longing at their separation…

Cazeros regained her rationality, immediately overwhelmed by profound bewilderment at being swept away by her emotions without realizing it.

The act they had engaged in, she understood its meaning all too well despite her inexperience in such matters.

A kiss…

An act expressing the love between two people…

Moreover, it was initiated not by her, but by Santana before her. Cazeros could not help but clearly comprehend its implications.

‘Did he… love me…? Me…? Lord Santana…?’

She had harbored some inkling.

No, looking back, the answer had been apparent for some time.

Considering how he regarded her, the great deeds he had done for her sake…

His feelings had already been quite predictable.

The preceding act was merely his clear reaffirmation of the affection Santana had consistently demonstrated.

Realizing this, Cazeros covered her furiously blushing face with her hands, momentarily rendered speechless.

‘What do I do… I’m… I’m too happy… I shouldn’t be this elated… Yet my heart won’t calm from this overwhelming joy…’

Her heart racing, body slightly trembling, Cazeros’s demeanor prompted an bashful reaction from Santana as well. He then cautiously asked her:

“Um… Shall we head back then…? It’s getting late…”

His slightly quivering voice prompted Cazeros, unable to meet his gaze directly, to meekly reply in a muffled voice:

“Y…Yes…”

So, tightly grasping his hand with her head bowed, Cazeros followed behind him.

In this moment, her mind was increasingly beset by worries and concerns about the future… about possibly being unable to do what she must.

Because she had confirmed his heart for her…

And in doing so, she had realized the depth of her own love for him…

‘But… even so… I must… For Lord Santana’s sake… I must return there…’

-Kaddeuk…-

A sharp sound rang out from the darkness.

Its source slowly emerged after the ones who caused that sound had departed.

Revealed in the bright moonlight was Dust Andreas, overwhelmed with burning rage as she recalled the scene she had just witnessed with her own eyes – a scene she wished she could have intervened to stop at that very instant.

“How dare… How dare that lowly wench… defile my dear brother like that…”

The vivid image seared into her mind – that vile woman of unknown origin seducing her brother and stealing his lips under the beautiful moonlight.

It sparked an utterly uncontrollable storm of emotions within Dust.

Yet, separate from that, she began to think she must maintain her composure as much as possible.

‘As much as I want to wring that wench’s neck right now… I mustn’t get carried away… If I did something like that, brother might be heartbroken and leave again.’

Though Dust’s hatred for that Cazeros woman was sincere, her affection for her brother Santana was equally genuine.

For her, the memory of her brother’s abrupt departure in childhood remained a deep trauma. Thus, she could only tread carefully regarding matters involving him.

‘I cannot recklessly lay a hand on that woman… But telling Father to drive her away is also not a good choice…’

Ever since her brother’s return, their father had been eager to grant his every wish. Especially now, after his exploits led to victory in the war, publicly raising an issue with Cazeros could backfire.

‘If, by some chance… brother said he wanted to marry that lowborn woman… Then even if Father had reservations, he would likely accept it in the end, given the current atmosphere…’

Of course, considering Cazeros’s status, it would not be easy. But in this climate, if Santana insisted with all his might, it could not be ruled out as impossible.

Thus, regarding this matter, Dust maintained the utmost restraint, approaching it dispassionately and politically rather than emotionally.

‘Acting on emotion is dangerous… Here, I must approach this coolly and politically.’

As she coolly and carefully analyzed the situation, a stratagem suddenly occurred to Dust.

‘That’s right… If I use that method… Perhaps I can steer things the way I want. Since almost everyone is already aware of brother’s exploits, if I seize this momentum to push things forward…’

With that thought, Dust hurriedly re-entered the lord’s castle.

‘It may be a bit premature… But it’s better to act swiftly now. The conditions are ripe enough… Besides, this has occasionally been discussed before, so now is the time to seriously set things in motion.’

As she passed through the thinning banquet hall, Dust glanced inside.

As she expected, there he was, still at the center, conversing amidst the nobles.

After taking another look at him, she headed towards her father’s private quarters.

‘Just you wait… I won’t ever let a lowly thing like you take him. You are not the one worthy of being by my brother’s side!’