Between Your Letter and My Reply

Chapter 121

The house was bustling late into the night.

Casey and Lilliana were excitedly telling Annette all sorts of stories about mythical creatures and legends.

Annette’s reactions were so varied that it fueled the speakers’ enthusiasm, making the conversation stretch on. As a result, it was already 1 a.m. by the time Damian went up to his room and finished washing up.

He was drying his hair when he heard light footsteps outside, followed by a knock on his door.

“Damian, are you asleep?”

It was Lilliana.

“No. What’s up, Lilliana?”

Damian opened the door without much suspicion. Lilliana, who was standing in the doorway, had a serious expression and abruptly entered his room. Before Damian could say anything, she closed the door and strode towards him.

“Lilliana?”

Sensing a certain forcefulness in her approach, Damian unconsciously stepped back.

The more he retreated, the more relentlessly Lilliana advanced, as if she wouldn’t stop until she bumped into him. Damian, bewildered, was forced to walk backward as if being chased. But before he could take more than a few steps, his legs hit the bed, and he fell back onto the mattress with a thud.

Lilliana leaned over him, placing her hands on either side of his face. Trapped between the bed and Lilliana’s arms, Damian broke out in a cold sweat.

“L-Lilliana?”

Damian realized for the first time that he could be intimidated by Lilliana. He had no idea what she was thinking.

Her long hair was slightly damp, as if she had also just washed up, and a sweet scent of soap wafted from her skin.

Her eyes seemed drowsy, mixed with sleepiness since it was nighttime, and her lips were slightly parted as if she had something to say.

Seeing all this, he felt like this shouldn’t be happening!

Unlike the flustered Damian, Lilliana had a rather casual expression, but her eyes were filled with determination. As Damian grew increasingly nervous, Lilliana looked down at him and finally spoke.

“Tell me.”

“Huh?”

“If you heard anything from my brother, share it with me.”

At first, Damian didn’t understand what Lilliana was talking about. But he soon realized she was talking about her memories, and he swallowed hard before speaking.

“Lilliana, let’s not do this here. Why don’t we sit down and…”

“No.”

“Okay.”

Since Lilliana seemed genuinely upset, Damian responded obediently while lying on the mattress.

“So… what are you curious about?”

Damian asked, trying his best to appear calm.

“Where I was and what I was doing for those two years. And what kind of event was so bad that I shut away my memories.”

“That’s not a very… pleasant story,” Damian mumbled evasively, but it didn’t work on Lilliana.

“Just tell me, Damian.”

“Are you going to stay like this until I tell you?”

“Yes.”

At Lilliana’s firm answer, Damian was flustered.

“If Casey finds out we’re like this, I’m dead. So please…”

“I’ll explain it to brother, so it’s okay.”

“I’m not okay.”

Damian subtly tried to wriggle free, but Lilliana’s arm moved to block him, preventing his escape.

Damian wanted to resist more forcefully, but he couldn’t think of a way to do so in his current position. In the end, he was trapped.

Under Lilliana’s intense gaze, Damian sighed softly and opened his mouth.

“So, to put it simply… Two years ago, you escaped to the countryside to avoid the ‘Lion’s Heart’ led by Marquis Sutton.”

“I know that.”

Lilliana nodded slightly. Damian continued, keeping his explanation concise and to the point.

“I heard that you spent your days there in boredom. You had to hide your identity and avoid people, so you lived a very isolated life. And in Casey’s eyes, you seemed quite…”

Damian looked into Lilliana’s blue eyes, which always sparkled with life.

“He said you seemed quite unhappy.”

“Unhappy…?”

Lilliana tilted her head. Her long blonde hair cascaded down like a waterfall towards Damian’s forehead. It felt like he was being enveloped within Lilliana, and a strange sensation washed over him.

“You’re someone who’s full of life when you’re with people, Lilliana. I can imagine how lonely you must have been alone.”

Damian lowered his gaze for a moment, then met Lilliana’s eyes again.

“Casey just doesn’t want to bring back those unhappy memories. Lilliana, those memories are truly okay to forget… You decided that unconsciously. That’s why you let go of those memories.”

At Damian’s words, Lilliana blinked her wide eyes and asked, “Then what about Dad…? Why did Dad die?”

Damian carefully chose his words before answering, “As Casey said, your father passed away from an unfortunate accident. He wasn’t murdered by someone like you feared.”

“So what was that unfortunate accident? What kind of accident? When and how did it happen?”

Lilliana pressed him with questions. But she suddenly stopped when Damian wrapped his arm around her neck. He pulled her close, her small frame fitting perfectly against him.

“Damian?!”

Surprised by the sudden embrace, Lilliana tried to get up, but Damian’s hold was too strong, and she ended up with her face buried in his chest. The more she struggled, the tighter Damian’s arms became.

“D-Damian! Let go of me…!”

Lilliana squirmed in his arms, but Damian showed no intention of letting go.

“Lilliana, you’re not the only one who can immobilize someone.”

His tone sounded slightly annoyed for some reason.

“You should have been prepared to be countered.”

“B-but that’s because you wouldn’t tell me…!”

“And I’m doing this because you keep prying!”

“You…!”

Lilliana looked at Damian’s face, her own flushed red. Damian seemed to have a calm expression, but upon closer inspection, the tips of his ears were red.

Damian buried his face in Lilliana’s hair. Lilliana felt a strange sensation as his warm breath tickled her scalp.

“I had such a happy day today…”

As Lilliana continued to fidget, Damian adjusted his hold on her and said, “Can we stay like this for a while to end the day? I need some human warmth, maybe because I have a lot on my mind lately.”

His words sounded a bit tired and weary, but also like a genuine request without any ulterior motives. Lilliana seemed to consider it for a moment, then replied in a barely audible voice, “If… if it’s just for a little while…”

“Thank you.”

Only then did the tension in Damian’s muscles ease. Still, Lilliana remained quietly in his embrace, her eyes darting around.

Neither of them spoke, and the only sound in the room was their soft breathing. But Lilliana, with her ear pressed against Damian’s chest, could tell.

His heart was beating incredibly fast.

***

“How would you feel if there was a third man in Lily’s life, monopolizing her, in the closest position to her?”

While Lilliana felt there were no ulterior motives in Damian’s words, he was ruminating on what Annette had said earlier.

Another man beside Lilliana?

He didn’t like that at all.

Whether she had someone she liked or not was irrelevant. Right now, it was him who was beside Lilliana. It was him who was holding her in his arms. And he didn’t want to give that up to anyone.

Damian released Lilliana from his embrace. She slowly sat up.

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