TLDOWN 85

CHAPTER 85………………………………

– The Proposal Letter

After seeing Lea off, Akkia returned to the mansion and sank deep into the sofa in his bedroom. The buttons on his collar, fastened up to his neck, felt stifling, so he roughly tugged them open.

“Haa…”

All sorts of thoughts and emotions tangled chaotically in his head. He didn’t even know how he had managed to leave the party and make it back to the mansion.

If he was being honest, he hadn’t wanted to send her home at all.
He kept seeing in his mind that brown-haired nobleman who had held Lea in his arms on their way out.

“This is driving me insane.”

The image of that man’s hand around Lea’s waist flashed before him, and Akkia barely suppressed the urge to slice the man’s throat open.

That wasn’t all, either.

Lea had blinked up at him again and again, following him out into the garden.
The moment Akkia saw the look in her eyes—those eyes that didn’t want to leave as she gazed at the Belarus family’s carriage—he had almost lost control.

He hadn’t wanted to let her go so easily.
He’d wanted to hold her so tightly her body might break, to kiss those pouting lips that looked so hurt. He’d wanted to lock her in his room so she couldn’t take a single step away.

Even in that fleeting instant when they had faced each other, unbearable desire had boiled up in him.

“Haa…”

He clenched and unclenched his fist. His nails dug into his palm so hard that blood welled up as he tried to suppress the passing impulse.

Staring at his ruined hand, Akkia let out a heavy sigh.

How long have I been holding myself back?

Lea had always been that way—appearing without warning and shaking his world to its core.
His life, once silent and still, had been thrown into turmoil since meeting her. He had never been a man swayed by emotion or impulse.

But with Lea, he simply couldn’t control himself. Her wounded eyes lingered in his mind, and his chest ached.

Still, he couldn’t just stop here and turn back.

“Not yet.”

He was still too weak to protect Lea completely.

That long night, filled with sighs, Akkia wrestled with his turbulent heart. Just until I have enough power, he told himself.

But before long, Lea trampled all over that resolve.

❀ ❀ ❀

Silence filled the study. A short knock sounded, and Rikel appeared, looking troubled.

“My lord.”

The moment Akkia saw that expression, his heart sank. It was the same look Rikel always wore when Lea had come calling.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. She’s here again.”

It had already been a week since Lea had started showing up at his mansion uninvited.

Once, when he hadn’t opened the door, she had simply waited outside until they had no choice but to let her in.

Rikel looked helpless as he met Akkia’s eyes.

With a low sigh, Akkia rose from his chair. As he approached the door, he caught sight of Lea standing behind Rikel.

“Do you have no pride?”

He had made it very clear that he didn’t want to see her.

“I gave up on pride back when I was an apothecary,” she replied with an easy smile.

Akkia was at a loss for words. Seeing her greet him so brightly, he clicked his tongue unconsciously.

He knew that if he started arguing, she would never leave today. So he turned away and went back into the study.

“Rikel, what’s on today’s schedule?”

Without looking up from his papers, Akkia asked quietly. Rikel glanced awkwardly between Akkia and Lea before answering.

“Um… you’re scheduled to visit the merchant guild in the city today, and then…”

Rikel was dying inside trying to navigate between the two of them.
Ever since that night after the debutante ball—and again after the recent social gathering—Akkia’s mood had been ice-cold whenever he saw Lea.

No, ‘cold’ isn’t even the word.
His frosty gaze had been enough to make anyone stop breathing.

Just when Rikel thought the mansion might finally thaw with Lea’s return to the capital, it had become like walking on thin ice.

Please, can’t the two of you just make up?

He prayed silently as he looked between them. Then Lea’s voice rang out across the study.

“My lord, you should try this cake! It’s from the most famous pâtissier in the city—”

So that sweet smell was from her basket. She placed the rattan basket full of desserts on the table as she spoke.

Akkia watched her for a moment, then gathered his documents and called out,

“Rikel, follow me to the conference room.”

“Eh? Right now?”

Before Lea could even set the basket down, Akkia brushed past her. He was afraid that if he faced her any longer, he would lose control and fall right into her pace again.

Peach tart.

That scent was especially unbearable today—it was the same sweet peach fragrance that had filled his mouth the first time they kissed.

As he passed her, he caught, just for an instant, the reproach in her eyes.

Before she returned to the capital—and after she came back—he had avoided her without explanation.
He understood why she might resent him. Anyone else would have been long gone by now, disappointed in a man like him.

He was grateful to her for staying… but he couldn’t let himself be ruled by emotion.

“We’ll review the agenda for the upcoming state council meeting.”

Leaving those words behind, Akkia strode out of the room.

“Ah… y-yes, sir!”

Rikel glanced between Lea and his departing lord, then hurried after him.

– Click.

The door shut. Lea stood there for a moment, expression unreadable, before muttering softly,

“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh?”

At first, it had hurt—being rejected so coldly. But she understood why Akkia was acting this way, and she had planned to approach him slowly.

To think he’d ignore me to my face like this.

Now her pride was on the line. He must still think she was the timid apothecary who used to shrink from his every word.

“Honestly.”

Let’s see who wins this time, my lord—you or me.

She had planned to stop visiting for a while after being turned away all week.
But now, she decided—she wouldn’t go to him anymore.

Even if he came to the Belarus mansion looking for her, she wouldn’t see him.
With that resolve, Lea turned and left without a second thought.

.

.

.

After that, Lea truly stopped visiting Akkia.

Naturally, Akkia assumed she had come by as usual, so on his way back from the palace, he picked up some desserts.
He couldn’t stop thinking about how he hadn’t eaten the sweets she’d brought before, and it had been bothering him.

He’d planned to have them served to her when she arrived.

“Desserts, sir? You don’t even like sweets,” Rikel asked in surprise, accepting the box Akkia handed him.

“I saw them on the way and bought them. Anyway—Lea, today…”

“She didn’t come today. Isn’t that great? You’ve been so troubled by her visits every day.”

Akkia froze mid-motion, halfway through unbuttoning his cufflinks, and turned toward Rikel. He hadn’t seen Lea for several days now.

“She didn’t come?”

“No, sir. I doubt she’ll be coming anymore. By the way, that’s quite a lot of dessert.”

Rikel examined the heavy basket curiously. At the words she won’t be coming anymore, Akkia’s lips twitched faintly.

She won’t come again?

That was the answer he had wanted—so why did it feel like his heart had just dropped to the floor?
He turned away quickly so Rikel wouldn’t notice his expression.

“I’ll serve tea right away—”

“Leave it.”

“Eh? Didn’t you buy them because—”

“I said leave it. You may go.”

Akkia’s voice was tightly restrained as he dismissed him, then shut the door so Rikel couldn’t say anything more.

What’s gotten into him now?

Rikel scratched his head and left, bewildered by his lord’s sudden moodiness.

❀ ❀ ❀

Akkia was on his way to the audience chamber where Ilei awaited him. Gossip from the palace echoed in his ears like a haunting refrain.

[They say the young lady of House Belarus has quite the head for business.]
[Ah, you mean the cosmetics venture? My wife’s been desperate to get her hands on that potion—it’s supposed to work wonders.]
[So they say… though that’s the ladies’ affair. Anyway, did you hear?]

From maids to noble elders, everyone in the capital knew Lea’s name.
He had known she was sharp since her days at the Heidern estate, but he hadn’t expected her to start producing and selling products even after joining House Belarus.

[I hear proposals are flooding into House Belarus. She’s of marriageable age now, after all.]
[Indeed. And as the sole heir of that ancient family, she’s quite the catch. Are you thinking of trying your luck?]
[Already sent our family’s proposal letter, actually. Haha.]

Akkia’s brows drew together, as if he’d recalled something he’d rather forget.
He’d already heard rumors that Lea had been publicly proposed to at a party.

They said the young lady of Belarus was of exceptional beauty, that noble sons were lining up to court her.

Hearing how she had become the new darling of high society made Akkia’s blood boil.

Insane.

When he finally entered the audience chamber, the emperor sat smiling at him from the central throne.

“You’ve come, Akkia.”

“Your Majesty.”

“Oh, come now—formality between us isn’t necessary.”

Akkia sat down, his narrow gaze sweeping across Ilei. The emperor had summoned him to the palace despite his busy schedule overseeing the Bialitskal development project. There had to be a reason.

“I’ll be holding a birthday celebration soon. You’ll attend, won’t you?”

“Unless I must leave the capital urgently, I’ll do so.”

His Majesty’s birthday was indeed approaching, but Akkia had been planning to use a business trip to avoid the event entirely.

“Haha, excellent. And one more thing…”

Akkia lifted his teacup, but froze at the next words.

“I intend to invite the young lady of House Belarus.”

“…”

“That’s all right with you, isn’t it, Akkia?”

His fingers tightened around the teacup until his knuckles turned white. Ilei was baiting him, and Akkia knew it.

He knew that if he invited only Akkia, Akkia would refuse to come—so he was using Lea as bait.

“The young lady’s affairs have nothing to do with me. Do as you please, Your Majesty.”

Though his insides churned, Akkia kept his tone steady. He was just setting the cup down when—

“Well, that’s a relief. I’ve no interest in stealing my younger brother’s woman, after all.”

“…What?”

“She should have arrived by now.”

At those ominous words, Akkia’s brows furrowed deeply.
Ilei was smiling that same unsettling smile he always wore when he was plotting something.

“I’ve sent a proposal letter to House Belarus.”