Chapter 52: Siana’s Battle

Rodrick gradually stepped back and headed toward the door. In a low voice, he muttered, “I might’ve drunk too much. I’ll go get some air,” and left the cabin.

Urien knew Rodrick hadn’t even been drinking, so he surmised the reason why his body was so warm was due to something else, like fatigue for example. That made sense. He had just returned this morning, and with him having a sleep disorder, he likely hadn’t had a proper rest yet. 

‘Still, why is he distancing himself? What’s going on? …Whatever’ Feeling a bit sulky, Urien decided to urge Rodrick to rest, so he called out to him, who was currently standing by the river.

“Lord Rodrick, come here.”

“What?”

Rodrick, who had just stepped out, returned obediently at his call. Lately, seeking Urien out constantly wasn’t the only thing he did; no matter how far apart they were, he’d come running when Urien called him.

‘He’s like a big dog,’ Urien thought, feeling a little satisfied as he saw Rodrick approaching. ‘Him being odd while distancing himself earlier probably doesn’t mean anything,’ he also thought. Now feeling reassured, he suggested, “Why don’t you sleep for a bit, Lord Rodrick?” 

“You haven’t rested enough, have you? We’ve already eaten, so if today’s schedule allows, you should try to have some rest.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Are you not going to sleep too? Did you sleep well last night?”

“I’m fine. Like usual.”

Sleeping alone without Rodrick for the first time in a while felt strange, and it took a while before he could finally fall asleep, but he did manage to get a few hours of sleep.

But Rodrick said, “You should sleep too.”

“Eh, no. I have a meeting with the vet this afternoon.”

“You can do that after you sleep.”

“Eh?”

“There are dark circles under your eyes. You should sleep.”

“No? They’re the same as always!”

“Marx is waiting for you on the balcony. Come back to the room with us.”

“What? Why would I—? Oh, I know what you’re planning to do. You’re trying to use me as your body pillow again!”

“I am not!”

“What are you two talking about?”

At that moment, a new voice cut in, prompting the pair to turn their heads toward the source.

Theobald, who had just arrived at the cabin, stared at them with an exasperated look. Rodrick, who had been strangely excitable for a while now, returned to wear his usual stoic expression and asked, “What happened?” instead of answering his younger brother’s question.

Seeing this, Theobald decided to not press further and just let out a sigh.

“Count Helder and Lady Siana have arrived.”

“I see.”

“They’ve headed to the training grounds.”

Rodrick nodded slightly and glanced at Urien.

“I’m going to greet my master. Want to come?”

“Sure. I was thinking of greeting him anyway.”

“Then let’s go. I’ve been wanting to introduce you to him.”

With a faint smile on his face, Urien nodded his head. The smile looked a bit forced, but Rodrick didn’t seem to notice. Since Theobald also had some business to report to the vice-commander, the three headed to the training grounds together.

Urien’s stiff smile came from his nervousness. Count Helder. It was a name he had heard from Rodrick several times already.

Rodrick had spent his childhood at the count’s estate, where he’d been taught how to fight. According to him, the count was a kind person, but he was still a distinguished former royal knight and Rodrick’s mentor.

Thinking that he’d face such a person, there was no way Urien wouldn’t be nervous. On top of that, there was also ‘Siana’.

According to Rodrick, he met Siana during his time at the count’s estate. She was his childhood friend, and he insisted that there wasn’t anything romantic between them, but that was just his side of the story.

After all, there were rumors spreading around about the two of them, and there was a possibility that she had something to do with those rumors. Maybe she actually loved Rodrick, and was still holding onto their childhood promise of engagement.

If that were true, Urien wouldn’t know what to do. Just imagining how she felt when an Omega like him appeared out of nowhere and became her childhood sweetheart’s spouse made him feel antsy.

Anxiety and unease swirled within him—a feeling he’d never experienced before. Only now did he realize he’d rather not meet this ‘Siana’ at all.

Since Siana and Rodrick were childhood friends, they likely shared a far deeper bond with each other than Urien ever could with Rodrick. He only became more certain of it after thinking how the woman came all the way here just to see Rodrick.

‘What am I supposed to—’

“You must be Lord Urien.”

The woman smiling at him was strikingly beautiful.

Her blue hair, a trait of the Helder Family, matched Vice-Commander Dieter’s. It resembled the deep blue sea, calming and beautiful.

Letting her long hair sway with her slender fingers, Siana gently spoke to Urien.

“I’ve heard about you from my brother and Rodrick. I’ve been wanting to meet you. My name is Siana, and I’m from the Helder Family.”

“N-Nice to meet you. I’m Urien.”

The woman who casually referred to Rodrick as ‘Rodrick’ then smiled and said, “What a lovely name,” to Urien.

On a related note, the count wasn’t at the training grounds, only Dieter and Siana were. Urien was thrown off by her perfect smile and glanced at Rodrick, but Dieter beat him to it, called Rodrick out with, “I need to discuss something,” and dragged him toward the back.

‘Lord Rodrick…’

“You two’ve been married for a year, no? Have you settled into the estate?”

“Y-yes, a little.”

“My! This place is so grand, and yet you’ve adapted so well to it, Lord Urien. I still can’t get used to it no matter how many times I visit.”

‘What is she trying to imply by that?’ Urien was completely lost.

There wasn’t a single trace of malice in her smile, but she was a noblewoman—she could easily  mask her true feelings, leaving her intentions a mystery.

Meanwhile, Theobald stood behind them, watching the exchange with a grin. Urien, unused to high society, could barely read between the lines. He wanted to ask Theobald for help, but the other man’s carefree attitude made it hard for him to.

Urien was shy by nature, hence why he struggled with women who approached him so boldly.

“Rodrick must’ve paid so much attention to you. I’m jealous.”

“Y-yes…”

“If only he’d share a bit of that care with others.”

Siana’s smile deepened as she said that. Meanwhile, Urien’s forced smile froze.

‘What am I supposed to do here?!’

‘Lord Rodrick, please come back…!’

His silent plea was interrupted by someone else entirely.

“Hello, Madam. Hello, Lady Siana.”

It was Kurd, the captain of the Kurd’s Platoon.

As always, his curly hair swayed in the breeze. This gentle knight often accompanied Urien as his escort knight. With a soft smile that never left his lips, he always looked cheerful. On top of that, he was also skilled enough to lead a squad. Having been with the knights for years, he seemed to know Siana too.

When he came over with his usual smile, Urien greeted him, “Hello, Kurd,” but Siana, for some reason, stepped closer to Urien before saying, “Good day, Sir Kurd. I haven’t seen you in a while. Where have you been?”

Her tone became sharper and her words came out quicker than before, leaving Urien surprised.

Meanwhile, Kurd just smiled, lowering his brows as he did.

“I was checking the inventory in the armory. Sorry if I smell of gunpowder.”

“No, you don’t!”

“Really? Thank goodness. I don’t want the scent to rub off on you two, Madam, Lady Siana.”

“Even if you do, it wouldn’t bother me. My brother’s the vice-commander after all. I’m used to the smell of gunpowder.”

“Is that so?”

Kurd let out a carefree chuckle.

Meanwhile Siana, with slightly flushed cheeks, continued, 

“So you were in the middle of your work? Are you going to continue?”

“No, since you’ve come, Lady Siana, the vice-commander decided to call it a day. Instead, he ordered me to prepare some tea for you at the estate.”

“Hmm. My brother, huh? I see…”

“Did I keep you waiting, Lady Siana?”

“Not at all!”

Flustered, Siana snapped, “It wasn’t like I was waiting for you or anything!”