An Arranged Marriage with an Enemy

Ferdinand, an elite knight and their source of pride and the one whom they swore allegiance to, currently looking like an actor in a traveling troupe.

The noisy dining hall became quiet, as if cold water had been poured over the entire area.

Suddenly, someone whistled.
“Sir Kaon! You look so passionate today!” It was Maurice, cheering alone.

Kaon looked at the rest of the room, noting their distorted expression.
The knights all seemed to be thinking the same thing.
Most likely, they were probably wondering what they were looking at and if their master had gone crazy.

“Are you attending a banquet? Do you have to wear red to go? Looks fun, I want to go too!” Maurice yelled, waving his fists over his head as if begging Kaon to take him too.

It was weird, but it did shift the knights’ focus from the oddly garish attire to its color.
Kaon took the opportunity and opened his mouth, “Well, I really like red.”

Everyone exchanged glances.

“There must have been a lot of people that didn’t know that until now.
Well, I never mentioned it before, so I understand.”

‘Obviously, they might have wondered who made my sword, but not what color I like.’

He didn’t really want them to be too interested in his personal preferences.

“But please remember it from now on.” Kaon looked at the knights one by one.
“I really like this color.”

At this point, even a tactless fool would understand what he meant.
His actions today would be passed on from word of mouth, and eventually, the whole estate would know of them.

‘I’m going to be nagged.’

It was only a matter of time before Baroness Robert gave him a stern warning.
Still, he was prepared for that happening, so it didn’t matter.
It was fine.
Now, no one would dare gossip about Alessia.

Kaon turned around, satisfied.
He’d accomplished his goal, so now he just had to let Joseph return his mother’s things back where they were stored and that was it.

“Jo…” He stopped in his tracks.

She was right there outside the dining hall.

“Alessia.”

She was frozen, her expression stiff with surprise and something more.
Her shaky red eyes met his for a long moment, then she stepped away and sprinted out of the building.

“Alessia!”

Kaon immediately chased after her.

***

She was a surprisingly fast runner.
But he couldn’t just let her go, so he continued to follow her up to their suite.
He supposed it was only a matter of course since it was the only place in Ferdinand that could conceivably be her private space.

‘Am I being presumptuous?’

Kaon paced in front of their curtain.

He didn’t want Alessia to suffer alone, and he didn’t want to pretend that he didn’t know what she was experiencing.
He hoped that she wouldn’t feel so alone in this remote land, that no one would be rude to her, and that she knew that there was someone who cared about her.

Kaon wanted her to want to stay in Ferdinand, but he might have made a huge mistake just now.
His actions might have been too embarrassing for her.

“Alessia, I…”

At that moment, the curtain was suddenly pulled open.
Alessia glared at him, biting her lip.

Kaon rushed to get the words out of his mouth, “I can explain—”

She threw her body into his and hugged him tightly.

He froze.
His mind went blank.
He had no idea what was happening, but he did notice that the small body in his arms was trembling.

Pat.
Pat.

Kaon clumsily comforted Alessia for a long, long time.