Looking for My Fiancé's Lover

When our eyes met, his expression was strangely distorted. As if in response, my body jumped up from its seat. Once I got up, a heavy and dense silence pervaded between me and him.

My heart was thumping wildly, and I felt a great urge to say something. I parted my lips with great difficulty.

“H-have you been well?”

Only then did Nezar, who had been nailed to the spot, move his legs. That didn’t mean he answered my greetings or nodded in affirmation. He took a seat across from me with a crumbled expression on his face. Then he naturally picked up the overturned teacup and poured some tea in. What? When did the tea arrive again?

“Sit down, Kate. What’s wrong with your expression? People might think you’re going to be eaten in a tiger’s den if they see it.”

Was it that bad? At Nezar’s words, I stammered and touched my cheeks while folding my knees, sitting down again.

“Did something happen to your castle? Even if you go out of Ezelot, you usually wouldn’t even turn toward the capital. I thought you tripped over a rock causing you to fall down and need to borrow my clothes, but it seems that is not the case.”

Pale golden liquid trickled down along with his calm tone.

“What kind of strange things are you here to talk about again?”

“If you put it like, people heard it might think that I’m a nuisance who only causes trouble every time I come! You don’t seem to know, but while Nezar was away (on the battlefield), I had toned down my notoriety for being brutal.”

I would love to stay composed but whenever I heard a word wrong, I couldn’t answer calmly. I took the teacup he held out in my direction, continuing.

“There is no special reason for why I came. I was just on an outing in the capital, so I thought I might as well go see your face.”

“Outing?”

“Yes. Uh, last night was the final day of the Victory Celebration. I went to watch the fireworks…”

It felt like thorns were growing in my mouth as I tried to make up lies. Nezar, who had the sharpest wit in the empire, narrowed his eyes thinly. Even though I did not commit a serious crime, cold sweat ran down my back.

“By the way, I didn’t expect you to come down so quickly. I was thinking of waiting a few hours. Aren’t you busy?”

“I am busy, very. I don’t even remember with what kind of mind did I have coping with it the past few days.”

He was the one pouring the tea, but I was the only one drinking it. Nezar let out a sigh as he looked down at the tea without a ripple since he hadn’t touched it once.

“Looking at your face, it seems like all the sleep deprivation and stress that have accumulated over the years are flooding in at once. I think it’s time to get some rest, so leave everything and take your time to relax. Do you know what I mean, Ron?”

T/n: Just a bit of context so u don’t get confused: So apparently, Ron’s been nagging at Nezar a bit much the past few days, and Nezar got annoyed. They are seemingly having a small fight and Nezar’s low-key firing him in a sarcastic manner, and Ron also replied in the same way :))

Nezar’s aide, Ron, who I didn’t even know had followed him in, pulled up one corner of his mouth without changing his expression.

“It is said that a great ruler doesn’t leave behind a good courtier, but of course, I am saying, since I myself am not sure whether I am that great of an aide yet.”

“Then let’s take this opportunity to figure it out. What’s the big deal if you are not good enough? Go back to the countryside and plow the fields.”

“I don’t know what are you saying. People like me don’t get the chance to return home.”

“Then just shut up and work under me quietly. Stop fussing like a child.”

Ron, who had only let out a weak helpless laugh at Nezar’s harsh words, made eye contact with me.

“Would you just look at this, lady Katrina. Although Her Highness Nezar is so kind in front of the young lady, he is not very polite when dealing with his subordinates. At this rate, I think he’s going to punch me later.”

Nezar is kind to me? Which part? I couldn’t even respond out of courtesy since I didn’t understand. Nezar, who was leaning back in his chair as if sagging tiredly, retorted in a calm voice.

“Lockherd has already been hit by me. If I do it once, twice would be easy, so you’d better be careful.”

“Now you’re even bragging about it. Is it even right to beat the son of a noble family?”

“That bastard spouted nonsense, so I even proposed…”

“I have to say one more thing while I’m at it. Stop visiting the knight’s training ground! The bruises on the knights’ limbs increased on days you skipped work and sparred them to relieve stress. It’s nice to practise combat, but the Third Knights Division is a standing army in first place with aristocratic young lords in it. What are you going to do if some problems arise later on?”

Obviously, I was the one who visited to meet Nezar, but Ron and Nezar were having an in-depth conversation. Still, the image of Nezar, who had such a high status, yet was listening to someone else’s nagging, came to me quite fresh. A bitter expression could be seen on his face, and before long, he grabbed his forehead with his hand.

“I’m going crazy…Fine, it was my fault for opening my mouth in the first place. Don’t bother me anymore, and get out, right now. Just remember, it was you who thoughtlessly said you didn’t want to give up on your job.”

“Yes.”

After Ron left, the drawing room, which was once filled with tension, was quiet again. Now is my chance. At times like these, I would naturally ask of him what I needed, as if I just remembered it.

I shifted my eyes here and there, then slowly put the teacup down from my hand.

“Nezar.”

At my call, he silently raised his head.

“You seem to be much busier than I thought. Do you need or lack anything? You know, just in case I could help.”

“You.”

…did I mishear him? Still in a daze, I cleared my ears and continued to stare at him blankly. In contrast to me, Nezar remianed calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Though I don’t lack anything in particular, there are plenty of things I don’t need on my plate. Sleep deprivation, fatigue, indigestion, Lockherd Ezelot’s babbling, Ron Minerva’s nagging, mother’s meddling, Breit Taliya’s negligence, Duke Van’s excessive attention…”

His lips, which had been slightly parted as if to say more, slowly pursed. With his eyebrows knitted together and his arms resting on the sofa, he slowly closed his eyes as if pondering something, then opened shortly after. A thick shadow cast over his face, and his pupils blackened.

“Right, is the reason you came to me the present I told you about last time?”

(Gasp). Is he capable of reading people’s minds? I hurriedly fixed the stretched muscles on my face due to surprise, picking up the teacup.

“W-w-what are you talking about? A gift should be prepared without the other person knowing it. I’m just merely asking. What gift? I’m just trying to help.”

“Isn’t that why you visited the capital? Not bad. Seeing that you’ve come to my castle, I suppose the result was disappointing?”

“…yea.”

It’s not because I was stupid. In front of Nezar, even a thousand-year-old serpent would have no choice but to spill all of its innermost thought. This sharp wits of Nezar made people freeze with tension. But why couldn’t he notice my feelings?

“Kate, do you think there is something I am lacking?”

“No.”

Nezar laughed at my straightforward denial.

“That’s not it. Hmm, but I don’t think I can get it right away.”

“Then let’s make it happen.”

“Calm down. Why rush when we have plenty of time?”

Nezar, clicking his tongue, reached out to his tea. It was half-cold, and its surface was still. As he brought his nose closer and savored the scent, he noticed that it was honey water, not black tea, and his brows slightly furrowed.
T/n: Kate actually ordered water with honey in it in the last chapter :)) since the narration addresses it as ‘tea’ due to Nezar mistaking it for its colour, we also got a little confused. Sorry for the error, it is fixed now.

“No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t come to mind right away. Do what I ask for later.”

“Where do you think you’d get such bliss? You’re going to make me do something weird again and not let me say no, aren’t you? Do you think I’ll be fooled again? No way.”

It sounded like an annual event on Nezar’s birthday. I always regretted getting deceived by his words, as he would always postpone it until later, saying there was no need for a hurry. Wearing a big teddy bear costume and walking around his castle, making me read a literary book, or making me practice a dance I had been putting off…

Looking back, half were choices made for my own sake, but the problem was that the other half wasn’t. No but, why did he ask me to read the basics textbooks with his own wish in the first place?

At my firm refusal, Nezar removed his hand from his chin. Then, he raised a corner of his mouth, which was drooping from his fatigue, and drew a smile.

“I won’t ask you to do anything strange, so just grant me this wish.”

“And what if I don’t believe you?”

“My honour and my position, um…I swear on everything else except for those. That I shall not use the wish with the intention of teasing Katrina Ezelot.”

“…really?”

I finally nodded at the seemingly reliable words. After grinning once more and swallowing the honey water, Nezar stood up, frowning as if the thick sweetness was unbearable.

“Good. So, shall we go out now? I have a few things scheduled for today, so you can stay for the night before going back. Oh, don’t forget to write to the Countess (her mother).”