Chapter 78: Night Visitor
—REN—
I was so deep in my thoughts when a knock on the door disrupted the silence of my room.
It was soft, almost hesitant, as though the person on the other side was uncertain whether they were even allowed to disturb at this hour.
That alone was enough to make straighten slightly in my seat, my senses sharpening out of habit rather than fear.
In this household, permission was always given before intrusion, and anything outside of that pattern imdiately raised suspicion in .
I rose slowly, my gaze already shifting toward the nearby sword resting against the wall, and for a brief mont I considered whether I had left my door unsealed.
"Who is it?" I asked, my voice low and controlled, carrying more authority than I usually needed inside my own chambers.
But there was no answer.
The silence that followed felt heavier than it should have been, and my hand instinctively moved closer to the hilt of the sword.
My mind, already unsettled from earlier thoughts, imdiately began calculating possibilities.
A servant would have answered.
A guard would have identified themselves.
No one inside this estate was supposed to be wandering the corridors at this hours. That ant whoever stood outside my door either did not belong here... or did not care about protocol.
I stepped forward, my expression hardening slightly, preparing to draw my blade if necessary.
My patience had already been worn thin by the events of the evening, and I had no desire to entertain unnecessary threats.
But before I could act, a voice ca through the door.
Soft, familiar, and entirely too calm for soone appearing outside my room at this hour.
"Ren...? Are you awake?"
The tension inside my chest loosened instantly, almost against my will.
My grip on the sword relaxed as recognition settled in, replacing caution with sothing far more complicated.
I exhaled quietly, pushing the weapon fully away before it could betray my earlier readiness, and crossed the room in a few quick steps.
My hand hovered over the door for a brief second before I forced myself to steady my breathing. Of all people, she should not be the one standing outside my chambers at this ti of night.
And yet, there she was.
I slowly opened the door and there, stood Lady Aria in the dim hallway light, with her hair slightly disheveled as though she had walked here in a hurry or had been too restless to properly prepare herself for sleep.
Her hands were clasped loosely in front of her, and for a mont she shifted her weight as if suddenly unsure whether this had been a good idea.
I noticed imdiately how she avoided direct eye contact at first, which was sothing rare for her, and that alone made my concern deepen.
"...My lady?" I asked carefully, lowering my voice slightly. "Why are you here?"
She blinked, as though the question itself had taken her off guard. Then she gave a small, awkward smile that did very little to hide her discomfort. "I couldn’t sleep," she admitted simply, her tone light but not entirely convincing.
"And before you say anything, yes, I know what ti it is. I checked. Twice. I just... couldn’t stay in my room."
I studied her quietly for a mont, noting the faint tension in her shoulders and the way her fingers kept fidgeting with the edge of her sleeve.
It was not like her to wander the halls at night without purpose.
Even when she was restless, she usually attempted to solve it with books, sketches, or one of her strangely structured "plans" that sohow always involved chaos disguised as productivity.
The fact that she had co directly to my door suggested sothing more persistent was troubling her.
"You should have called for a servant," I said gently, though my tone still carried its usual restraint. "Or requested assistance."
"I did think about it," she replied quickly, then paused as if reconsidering her own words. "Actually, I did not think about it. That sounds responsible. I just... walked."
That was so bluntly honest that I almost exhaled a quiet laugh, though I suppressed it out of habit.
Instead, I stepped aside slightly, allowing her to enter.
"At least co in," I said. "Standing in the hallway at this hour is not advisable, my lady."
She hesitated for a second longer, then stepped inside.
The mont she crossed the threshold, I closed the door behind her, though I made sure not to lock it.
My instincts remained alert, but my attention had already shifted entirely to her. Sothing about her presence made the remnants of my earlier thoughts feel more distant, as though they belonged to a different version of myself that only existed when she was not near.
For a brief mont, neither of us spoke.
The room felt quieter than before, but not uncomfortable. Rather, it was filled with an uncertain stillness, like the world had paused to wait for whoever would speak first.
I noticed her gaze wander briefly around my room before settling sowhere, as though she was gathering courage from the act of avoiding my eyes.
That alone made even more aware that sothing weighed on her mind.
"My lady," I said more softly this ti, "you did not co here simply because you could not sleep."
She sighed.
Slowly, she moved further into the room, stopping near the edge of the window where faint moonlight touched the floor. She turned slightly toward , her expression now more serious, though still uncertain.
"I didn’t," she admitted at last.
I waited.
She hesitated again, and I could see her searching for the right way to phrase whatever had brought her here.
This was not a request for assistance, nor was it one of her usual spontaneous ideas.
"It’s about earlier," she finally said.
My expression did not change, but my attention sharpened.
"...The carriage?" I asked.
She nodded.
I had expected many possibilities when she ca here, but not this specific uncertainty. I had replayed her question over and over again since she asked it, each ti arriving at the sa conclusion I could not yet act upon.
And yet hearing her bring it up again now made it clear that she had not dismissed it either.
"My question made you uncomfortable," she said slowly, almost carefully, as though testing each word before releasing it into the air.
"It is not discomfort," I replied imdiately, though even I could hear the subtle hesitation beneath my tone. "It is... complicated."
"That sounds worse," she muttered under her breath.
That, at least, made relax slightly.
She shifted again, this ti more deliberately, before letting out another breath. "I wasn’t trying to pressure you," she said quickly. "I just... I don’t know. You’ve been acting a little strange since the banquet, and I started thinking maybe I said sothing wrong. Or maybe I missed sothing important. Or maybe—" she stopped herself and sighed again. "Actually, I don’t know what I’m even guessing anymore."
I watched her quietly.
She spoke as though her thoughts were scattered, but there was always a thread of clarity beneath them.
She noticed things others would overlook, even when she pretended she was rely guessing.
I took a step closer, then stopped at a respectful distance.
"My lady," I said carefully, "you did not do anything wrong."
She looked at imdiately, as if checking whether I was telling the truth or simply trying to comfort her.
I t her gaze steadily.
A long silence stretched between us again, but this ti it felt different.
Eventually, Lady Aria let out a small breath and spoke.
"Well, I am still sorry," she said softly. "I know you are not exactly the type of person who shares whatever is on your mind, but... I really hope you do not have any frustrations toward ."
A nervous laugh escaped her.
"I... really wouldn’t want that."
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
She looked away for a mont before continuing.
"I an... you are the first friend I’ve ever had."
The words caught completely off guard.
"You spent ti with when nobody else would. You listened to all my ridiculous ideas. You went along with my stupid jokes even when they weren’t funny."
A pause followed.
Then she laughed softly.
"Actually, most of them weren’t funny."
I disagreed.
I found nearly everything she said amusing.
Mostly because she was the one saying it.
"But still..." she continued. "You never made feel weird. You never made feel like I had to be sobody else."
Her fingers tightened slightly against her sleeves.
"Everything around was terrifying. Everyone looked at differently. I felt like I was constantly walking on a tightrope and if I made one wrong move, everything would fall apart." She paused.
"Then you showed up."
I stared at her unable to look away.
"You treated like I was special," she said. "You never cared whether I embarrassed myself. You never acted like I needed to impress you."
"You were just... Ren."
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