It had already been two weeks since I left the castle. I was now holed up in a quiet little port town.
“Geez, I’ve already blown this much?”
My heart sank as I looked into my nearly empty coin pouch. All that hard-earned salary I’d carefully saved up—gone. The biggest hit had been buying a horse for mobility.
If I’d known it’d come to this, I should’ve brought the clock from my room. That thing was pricey. I winced at the thought for a moment, then shook my head.
“Forget it. It’s not like I ditched my job in the middle of the night or anything.”
Leaving Kalz with a first love memory of me as a common thief would’ve been far too cruel.
…I wonder what Kalz is doing right now. Just thinking of his name made me unexpectedly sentimental.
“He’s probably given up by now.”
I’m sure he tried to look for me once he realized I was gone, but there were limits. He couldn’t have strayed too far from the mountain, and he didn’t even know which direction I went. There was no way he could’ve tracked me all the way to this village. Which meant… we’d probably never see each other again in this lifetime.
But that was my choice. Even if I couldn’t be with him, it was better than watching him disappear. As long as he was alive somewhere out there, then…
“Ugh, enough with the melodrama. Time to eat.”
I headed downstairs to the inn’s tavern. I’d been here a few days already, and the friendly innkeeper lady greeted me with a warm smile.
“There’s my pretty young man. Same as usual—sandwich and soup?”
“Yes, thank you.”
She was sweet, but to be honest, her food didn’t even come close to Elizabeth’s cooking. Still, since meals were included with the room, I forced myself to eat every bite.
While waiting for my food, I gazed out the window at the sky.
“Wonder if the boats will be able to set sail today.”
My original plan had been to catch a ship the moment I arrived. Cross the sea to some distant land and try to make it on my own. Then, once enough time had passed, I’d go back home and inherit my father’s Merchant Guild.
I hadn’t completed the term I’d promised back at Kalz’s castle, but if they saw I’d survived and thrived in a foreign land, the board would have no choice but to acknowledge me.
To be honest, it had nothing to do with the Merchant Guild. I just wanted to get as far away as possible. Far enough that even if I had second thoughts, I wouldn’t be able to turn back.
But of course, the universe had other plans. The weather had been terrible for days, and not a single ship had been able to sail. So I ended up stuck here, grounded in this tiny harbor town.
“Here you go. Potato soup today.”
“Thanks for the meal.”
As I ate, I mentally mapped out how to stretch what was left of my funds.
Jingle.
The bell over the inn’s door chimed cheerfully. I didn’t pay it much attention.
But the voice that followed? That I couldn’t ignore.
“Excuse me a moment.”
“Yes? How can I help you?”
…Wait, what? I looked up instinctively to see a tall man in a hood speaking to the innkeeper.
No way. That couldn’t be. What would he be doing here? It was probably just someone with a similar voice.
“I’m looking for someone.”
…Oh no. Please, no.
“And who are you looking for?”
“A servant who ran away in the middle of the night.”
I slowly set my spoon down.
“Blond hair, green eyes…”
I quietly rose from my seat.
“A guy who knows exactly how attractive he is.”
I began inching toward the door. But a massive shadow fell across my path before I could get there.
“Looks exactly like this.”
Golden eyes flickered through a familiar mask.
“So? Where do you think you’re going?”
“Ahaha…”
And just like that, I was dragged off—caught by the scruff of the neck like a runaway cat.
“Wait, how the hell did you even find me here?”
“When you’ve got money, brains, and a decent body, there’s not much you can’t do. Turns out my nose is better than I thought.”
Wait—did he just say he tracked me by smell? Seriously?! Do I smell that much?
Kalz shoved me into my room at the inn and locked the door behind us.
“Are you out of your mind? What if someone saw you? You came all the way out here in broad daylight?”
“You’re not really in a position to lecture me.”
“I’m not lecturing. I’m worried, okay?”
“Yeah? You think you’re the only one?”
“……”
I didn’t know what to say. I just stood there awkwardly, unable to read his expression through the mask. After a long silence, he finally let out a heavy sigh.
“Either way, I’m not going back. And you already know why.”
“……”
“There’s still time. Don’t give up. Try something else. You’re not as scary or dangerous as you think. Honestly, you’re… kinda adorable. Your mane’s all fluffy and well-groomed.”
“Besides, like you said—you’ve got money, you’re ridiculously fit. If you’d just act a little nicer, you’d have women lining up for you. Find someone you like, start a family, and live a long, happy life.”
I hadn’t thought it through. Half of what I said was real, the other half… not so much. But one thing was true—I genuinely wanted him to live and be happy.
Kalz had been silently listening. Now he finally spoke.
“You’re going back, whether you like it or not.”
“You’re wasting your breath. Don’t you get it? I left because I want you to survive!”
“You do realize your contract isn’t up yet, right? You’re breaking Imperial Law.”
“…Hold on. Don’t tell me you came all the way out here just because of that?”
So he hadn’t come chasing after a runaway lover—he was tracking me down like some bounty hunter. The twist threw me off, but then he spoke again, and his words yanked me straight into a memory.
“You promised. You said you wouldn’t leave until the contract ended.”
“Don’t leave this castle until the contract is over. Don’t even talk about leaving.”
“That’s seriously it? No extra punishment? No weird demands? That’s all you want?”
“Yeah… unless you don’t like it?”
“Fine. I won’t leave until the contract ends. Promise.”
It was the deal Kalz had offered instead of compensation after he broke his arm riding the sled I built. That was the first time I realized… he was kind of adorable.
That memory hit me hard. My chest tightened. He hadn’t come all this way wielding a contract—he’d come because of that promise. And somehow, that was more heartbreaking than anything.
Slowly, he reached out and pulled me into a quiet embrace. His breath brushed against my ear as he whispered,
“Come back with me.”
“…I can’t.”
“Stay with me.”
“You’ll die. You only survive if I’m gone. I know that. So how could I possibly stay?”
“So what? If I die, I die.”
“How can you say that?!”
The words exploded out of me, and I slammed my head against his chest. I heard the faint hitch in his breath.
“Before I met you, my whole life was just… waiting to die. If it weren’t for you, it’d still be the same. So no, death doesn’t scare me. But…”
I looked up, and the second I saw his face, my mind went blank.
Kalz was crying.
The man who never shed a single tear. Who faced death like it was nothing. That man was crying—because he didn’t want to lose me.
“I can’t bear a single second without you. Don’t ask me to live a life where you’re not in it. Not even for a moment.”
“……”
“Please, Bell. Don’t be that cruel to me.”
He rested his head on my shoulder, and I could feel his shaky breaths against my neck.
“Just stay with me. Please.”
His tears soaked through my shoulder, and mine finally broke free. The ones I’d been holding back for so long traced warm lines down my cheeks.
Could I really leave him? Could I walk away from someone who had no reason to keep living without me, and pretend like everything was fine?
We stood like that for a long time, leaning on each other. Eventually, Kalz stopped crying. He toyed with my wrist and muttered quietly,
“…You’ve gotten even skinnier.”
“Probably. The innkeeper here’s nice and all, but her cooking’s not exactly great.”
“Obviously. You don’t find someone like Elizabeth just anywhere. I put all that effort into feeding you, and now it’s gone to waste.”
“Oh, please. You used to act like I’d poisoned your food if I tried to eat any. What’s this about ‘feeding’ me?”
“…Ahem.”
Still terrible at comebacks. I smiled and gently ran my hand down his back.
“You done crying?”
“…You’ll come with me, right?”
“What choice do I have? You showed up, crying and begging like a mess. I guess I’ve got no choice but to give in.”
“I wasn’t begging.”
Even as he said it, Kalz gripped my hand like he was afraid I’d vanish again. I laced our fingers together, looked up at him, and smiled as brightly as I could.
“Let’s go home. Our home.”
Even if I’d have to let him go one day—even if it shattered me—I didn’t care anymore. I’d stay by his side to the very end.
That was the choice I made.
