An Arranged Marriage with an Enemy - Chapter 38

“The seamstress is waiting for you, Young Master.”

“Me?”

“Yes. She said that you should try wearing the clothes now that they’re ready.”

Kaon let himself be guided into a dressing room, greeted by a large, full-length mirror and a row of suits.

It was going to be a headache to try all of the sets one by one, but he didn’t want to disrespect the sincerity of the seamstress.

“If there’s anything lacking, please inform me, Young Master.”

“No, it’s perfect. Tell Deborah she did a great job.”

In fact, after trying them all, Kaon saw that all of the suits were impeccable. They were easy to move in, luxurious but not overly flashy.

The assistant seamstress withdrew from the room, telling him to wait for Deborah to perform the final inspection. Soon after, the woman appeared with a pincushion in hand.

“Is there anything you don’t like? If you tell me now, I think I’ll be able to finish the alterations before the banquet.

“The comfort and quality leave nothing to be desired.”

“Thank you for your kind words.” Deborah bowed, whispering something to her assistant, who turned to leave immediately. “If there is no problem, we can simply match your outfits.”

Kaon’s brow furrowed in confusion.

But right then, the door creaked open.

“I’ve brought the lady with me.”

Alessia followed the assistant inside.

***

For a moment, time stopped.

Alessia was wearing a sky blue dress, embroidered with small flowers in a darker shade, its wide sleeves hanging down like the wings of a fairy.

And she shimmered, too. Her white hair cascaded down her back like it usually did, and her face was bare too, but that was simply how beautiful she was in general.

“Miss, did he just fall in love with you all over again?”

“Lily, don’t make fun of Kaon.”

Kaon jolted back into his body at the gentle voice. He also realized that he’d been staring at Alessia for far too long.

“Will you two please stand together?”

“Kaon, come here.”

“…Alright.”

Usually, he would have laughed at the change in her tone, so soft now that they were in front of others, but he had no time to do so. For the first time in his life, he walked as if his arms and legs did not wish to coordinate with each other.

“You look really good in that suit, Kaon.” Alessia smiled.

His face stiffened, jaw clenching. He didn’t look at her for fear that he wouldn’t be able to take his eyes off of her again.

Kaon’s bloodline had been a point of pride for him his entire life, but it seemed that it also gave him this damned disposition to be overly attracted to outward appearances.

And Alessia was undeniably his type.

He couldn’t afford to be so swayed again, and so he was resolved not to look at her until he left the room.

“Deborah is really skilled.”

“It’s also thanks to the two of you who wear the clothes so well.”

Alessia and Deborah exchanged compliments, glossing over his lack of response.

Kaon pretended not to hear anything.

“Well, I think it would be a good idea to wear this dress and a navy robe on the first night. The second day is more important, so your clothes have to be more colorful…”

“Ah, then for the hair…”

Deborah and the maid seemed to be talking intently, but nothing was registering as he tried his hardest to avoid Alessia’s eyes.

***

Kaon’s eyes opened to the sight of a world bathed in the bluish light of dawn.

As soon as he came to his senses, he gingerly raised his blanket, then immediately dropped it.

“I’m going crazy,” he groaned into his hands, cursing to himself as if they were the only words left in the world.

He shot out of his bed and into the bathroom, throwing his clothes off before pouring cold water over his head. His consciousness returned as the heat was sapped from his body.

Unwilling to go lie down again, he paced around his room silently.

The memory of his dream made him shudder.

“What in the world was that for?”

Alessia had appeared in his dream, bothering him all night in that dress he’d seen her in. Well, he wasn’t quite sure if ‘bothering’ was the right word, but…

Kaon shook his thoughts off, but it was of no use. Struggling internally, fearing that he would wake Alessia, eventually put on a fresh set of clothes and went outside to seek cold air.

He closed the door quietly and briskly climbed down the stairs.

‘I’ll go see Coda.’

His destination was impulsively chosen, spurred on by the idea that his heart would be purified with the help of something cute.

Nodding to himself happily, he strode to the back door, choosing the long route to get some much-needed exertion.

However, a familiar voice met him as he walked.

The person he wanted to see the least was right in front of him.

Fortunately for him, Alessia was also facing the back door, so she hadn’t seen him yet.

Kaon bit the inside of his cheek, debating whether to return to his room before he got caught.

“Stop!” came a soft, but definitely powerful, warning.

‘What? Did she see me?’

He turned his head slightly, peeking out from the corner of his eye, and saw her reach out a hand.

Hiding behind a pillar, he observed her closely.

Kaon saw his dog wagging his tail excitedly.

‘…Coda.’

He sighed, but then realized something.

‘Did she come here to see Koda?

He remembered hearing the other day that Alessia had run away from the back door after training, so he couldn’t believe that she was there to see the dog at the break of dawn.

Was really just pretending to be afraid of dogs?

Kaon’s blood cooled a little.

“Hi?” Her voice was gentle, but a little shaky. “We meet again today, Coda.”

At the sound of his name, the dog jumped excitedly.

Alessia waved her hand hurriedly. “No, no, don’t come too close yet. I’m still scared.”

One thing was clear, this wasn’t her first time coming to see Coda.

She seemed genuinely afraid of dogs, what with her tensing up even from far away.

His confusion deepened.

Why was she so scared of such a… relatively small dog?

“Who named you after your tail? That’s so insincere. It’s no good, isn’t it?”

Kaon’s eyebrow twitched.

What was wrong with that? When he was still a stray, Coda’s tail wagged violently whenever he saw him, and it was so cute that he just had to name him along those lines.

‘Coda is a cute name.’

“Is that why you keep wagging your tail? Because your name means ‘tail’?” Alessia continued talking, avoiding saying his name, likely because she didn’t want any more reactions. “Do you hate me? I’m sorry that I can’t let you near me.”

By this time, there was a huge grin on Kaon’s face as he watched Alessia crouching, hand reaching out and retracting with every movement from Coda.

“I hope I can get to hug you later. I’m still afraid right now…”

She sounded regretful.

Kaon felt proud that Coda was so cute that it could be seen by people who had a fear of dogs.

“You’re not going to bite me, are you? I’ll come say hello every day, so please don’t bite me.”

He froze.

It seemed that the source of her fear was having been bitten before.

Shame and remorse washed over him. It wasn’t gentlemanly to doubt someone’s fears even when he’d seen her panic.in the way she had.

“Coda… No, stop. Good boy. Do you want this? See, I brought you a sausage.”

She played with the dog for a long time after that. Even if she couldn’t get close, she worked hard from a distance.

Kaon watched Alessia for a long time.

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