Chapter 40: Chapter 21.2

“Feeling better now?” He asked gently as he brought the opening of his jacket together, preventing the breeze from penetrating her bones.

“Are you disappointed in me, Cassian? What did I do to make you feel upset?”

“I’m upset… that you’re upset about marrying me.”

“Oh, that’s right. I am upset.”

Yernia only had one dream: to experience the love that she didn’t have in her past life.

She didn’t want to give that dream up.

That was the reason why she hated marrying Cassian.

“I don’t know anymore. I’m just—”

Cassian was silent for a moment, and she wondered why he was acting like this.

She examined his side profile as he looked straight ahead.

Their eyes met the instant Cassian turned to look at Yernia.

The tension in the atmosphere was palpable that she could have cut it with a knife.

“I can’t live without you, Yernia.” His tone was severe and emotionless, but she swore he sounded melancholic. “Do you want me to beg so that you’ll marry me?”

“…….”

“I need you, Yernia.”

Yernia knew that what Cassian needed most was his one, true destiny.

Since that fated person turned out to be her in this life for some twisted reason, Cassian had no choice but to cling to her.

The injustice must have enraged him since he wanted to love someone other than Yernia.

She and Cassian were the victims of the same fate.

“You could try to love me just a little, Yernia. Just a little bit. I’m not asking for the world.”

Yernia embraced Cassian without saying anything.

Maybe, she did it because she was drunk or wanted to get rid of the awkwardness in the quiet night.

Perhaps, it was the earnest plea that won her over.

She was apologetic for the circumstances he was in.

“You will be happy in the future, Cassian.” She whispered, hugging him tighter.

Cassian’s eyes widened in shock for a few seconds, but then the faint hope in his gaze vanished at the next moment.

“—but I don’t want to force you to love me.”

“…….”

“Just forget about the things I have told you earlier.”

Since Yernia and Cassian had been friends all of their lives, they couldn’t love each other more than that.

Yernia prayed for Cassian’s happiness as much as she wished for herself.

However, Herena will be the one who will give that to him and not her, whom he was only forced to marry just because she wore his name on her skin.

Helena was Cassian’s true love.

The one and only woman for him.

Their marriage might be inevitable, but the real female protagonist would surely return and bring the original plot back.

Cassian’s lips tightened in a mulish line, having no idea of what was going on in Yernia’s mind.

Cassian held back tears with clenched teeth as Yernia gently patted his back.

He had suffered unrequited love for this girl for seven years.

For the first time, he hated his childhood friend’s naivete for not recognizing his feelings.

***

Once an Esper’s fated guide dies, their death could turn into a blessing and a curse for the Esper.

Espers weren’t allowed to become reckless and die if they wanted to because they belonged to the Estate.

Therefore, it could become a blessing for the Esper, who loved their fated guide very much and could be a curse for the rest.

But Cassian Lecardo’s parents, Vasil Lecardo and his wife, Lily, were not meant to be.

The death of his father’s lifelong companion and fated guide drove him to insanity.

The Emperor could no longer watch the person, who managed the country’s precious financial resources, waste his life, so he ordered Vasil to release his anger and grief on the battlefield.

But Cassian, an eight-year-old child, still required an adult hand.

Vasil was in no position to take care of a child, so he entrusted his only son to a close family friend.

The Cilliard’s.

It was a much safer place for Cassian to stay rather than his relatives, grasping for status and seeking his position as a Duke.

“ I’m sleepy.”

Cassian glanced up.

The little girl, who couldn’t even open her eyes, whined softly in Count Cilliard’s neck as he carried her in his arms.

“I’m going to bed, Papa.”

“Later, honey. Say hello to our visitors first. Yernia, open your eyes.”

“I don’t want to.” The child said, leaving the count perplexed.

He glanced back at Cassian and Vasil in mild chagrin.

“Cassian, you will stay here with this family for a while.”

Vasil, whose mental screws were already a bit loose, could never understand his son’s heart.

He left him with nothing but that single notice and disappeared for the entirety of his childhood.

Cassian turned to chase after his father, but he stopped him.

“I will come and get you as soon as the war is over. Stay here with the Cilliard’s until then.” Duke Vasil told his son bluntly.

“No, please take me with you, father.”

Vasil crouched so that he could see his son eye to eye.

The child thought that his father would abandon him forever, so he held unto his hand tightly.

“Stay here, Cassian. A battlefield is a place you can’t go.” Vasil said, straightened his spine, and turned his back on him again.

His father had rejected his plea for the second time, and he could no longer hold unto him.

As Cassian watched Vasil walk away until he turned into a dot in their vision, he tried to follow him later.

“Don’t go.”

A small hand gripped Cassian’s sleeve.

“Get your hands off me.”

“If you go, I’ll not be sleeping. I heard from Mama. I’m letting you off the hook here. Papa says he’ll bring you back here no matter what if you disappear from my sight. But I’m sleepy–”

“Stay away from me!”

Cassian shook the small yet strong hand that held his forearm, and she fell to the ground.

Yernia’s eyes blinked in chagrin.

Count Cilliard came in running and helped her up.

She felt bad.

Yernia fought her drowsiness and did what her father told her to do, but the rude boy pushed her hard.

Yena screeched at the back of the boy’s distant head.

“Yes. Go! Go! Go! I won’t stop you! Don’t ever come back here! I will sleep all I want!”