Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 108
Kyden rolled his tongue in his mouth before answering.
“I need to secure the fief as soon as possible.”
“The fief?”
HIs concern was more practical.
“Horman Castle isn’t a place we can stay.”
“Are you not happy to be going back home?”
“I am.”
“Then why do you look so unhappy…?”
Roel asked and blinked. Kyden let out a low sigh.
His family home was near Horman Castle, and he knew that if he showed up with Roel, his relatives would undoubtedly swoop in with all sorts of nosy interference.
He also anticipated that his father, who had grown more powerful and arrogant thanks to aligning with Serley as he took over the countship, would be more overbearing than ever.
“There’s a lot of hassle waiting for me there.”
Kyden had no intention of being swept up again by his father’s greed and ambition.
Seeing Kyden’s brows narrow, Roel spoke up cautiously.
“If there’s anything I can do to help… just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can.”
Kyden gave a small laugh, pulling Roel’s shoulders. He nuzzled his face against her shoulder like a child seeking comfort. His hair tickled her chin.
Whenever he, with his large frame, acted this way, Roel always felt a mix of surprise and warmth. She guessed his duties as a knight must have been weighing heavily on him.
“Do you have family back home?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Are your mother and father still around? Do you have siblings?”
“They’re around…”
There was a faint tremor in his voice. Roel gazed down at the top of his head, her lips parting hesitantly.
“…When we get there, do you think I could meet your family?”
Her heart raced at the thought. She was curious about Kyden’s family, and being introduced to them would make her feel like she held an important place in his life. After all, meeting someone’s family often signified a serious relationship, a promise for the future.
She felt nervous about whether she would be accepted, but she was determined to make a good impression. However, Kyden quickly dashed her expectations.
“It’ll be hard for you to meet my family.”
“….W-why?”
“They’re busy… and honestly, we don’t have the best relationship…. Meeting them wouldn’t be worth it.”
Roel could sense that he was avoiding the subject, and a sudden sharp pain struck her heart.
‘So… he’s not going to introduce me to his family.’
The floating, dreamlike feeling she’d carried for the past few days came crashing down to reality. She felt embarrassed for having overreached, and at the same time, a deep sense of disappointment washed over her.
Roel wanted to ask him for reassurance. She longed for him to make a promise, even if it wasn’t entirely truthful. She wanted him to swear that he would never leave her, even if his feelings changed, that he would vow before the heavens to stay by her side.
‘If I ask for that, I’ll just become a burden to him.’
Roel hesitated. She was afraid that pressing him for promises would make him uncomfortable. Rather than feeling crushed by her own despair and heartache, she was more concerned about causing him the slightest discomfort.
Her emotions resembled fear. It was the fear that he might leave her, a fear that made her small and hesitant.
‘I should just be grateful that I have him by my side at this moment. He’s a knight who’s about to receive a fief, and I’m… I’m nothing special. I don’t have anything to offer, not even a dowry. How could I possibly ask him to marry me when I have nothing to be proud of?’
Roel pushed aside the bitterness welling up inside her and held him tightly.
She wanted to stay by his side for a long time—forever, even until the day she died. But she couldn’t ignore the possibility that such a day might never come. She carried that fear deep in her heart.
‘I just hope that day never comes…’
To her, Kyden was like a ray of light shining from a cabin in a dark forest. He was the warmth of a fireplace in the middle of a harsh winter. If she ever left his side, she would be lost in the cold, wandering aimlessly in the dark woods until she froze.
‘But it’s okay. I’m fine. Right now, I’m happy.’
She forced down the rising tide of anxiety in her chest and tightly closed her eyes.
Kyden, watching her face as she slept, let out a quiet sigh. He felt like he was facing an unexpected obstacle.
‘Damn father.’
He knew his father would use him and his marriage as a tool to gain more power. Kyden worried that his father would see Roel as an inconvenience. Of course, Kyden had no intention of letting himself be manipulated or controlled like a child.
But what concerned him more than his father’s schemes was how Roel might feel about his family. He couldn’t shake the thought that they wouldn’t meet her expectations.
His father, with his authoritarian ways, his emotionally distant and frail mother, and his brash, arrogant siblings—they would all make Roel uncomfortable.
‘Who knows what nonsense they might say.’
The thought of his father’s harsh words driving Roel away filled him with dread. He was determined to cut off any possibility of her being hurt by them.
Roel was his, and it was his responsibility to protect her. It was only natural for a man to prioritize the family he had built.
