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(T/N: Will post more later.)
He’s lying.
Erin had known Calix long enough to know this.
Calix always smiled so sweetly when he lied.
‘He used to be so cute when he was little.’
Erin used to be deceived several times, even though she knew he was lying, because when he was young, she find him so cute when he smiled so sweetly like this.
Well, back then his lies were more like when he’d spread soapy water in the hallway and make passersby slip and cry that he didn’t do it, or when he’d skip class and say,
‘I’m done studying for the day, so let’s go, play with me!’
Basically they were just little pranks that she can look past as cute, but now that he’s an adult

Erin glanced over at Calix.
She could see his sideways glance at the window.
The light reflected off the panel of glass, illuminated the sharp, fine lines of his nose and jawline.
He was statuesque and delicate, with broad shoulders and a well-defined body.
He was clearly a fully grown man.
If she looked closely, she still could see a hint of boyishness on him, but it had disappeared without a trace in the past year or two.
‘I don’t know when he got so big.’
Oh how time flies.
Erin didn’t manage to see him grow up, and she felt a sense of regret for that.
Erin narrowed her eyes and asked again.
“So how did you know I was going to the general store?”
Calix simply smirked at the question which was implying how he knew if he wasn’t spying on her, and answered without hesitation.
“My men told me.”
‘What?’
“How did your men know I was here, Mr. Calix?”
Calix looked at her as if she was asking the obvious.
“That’s because they were watching Erin, that’s how.”
“
 You know, that’s spying, right?”
He actually thinks that it wasn’t spying if it was his subordinates that were keeping an eye on the person.
Erin felt like the meaning of the word spying was slowly shaken.
“Did you send someone to spy on me?”
“No. I didn’t send them to spy on you. I sent them to protect you. That’s not the same thing, is it?”
‘
 What’s the difference?’
When Erin gave him an incredulous look, he simply wiped the smile off his face and spoke frankly.
“You’ve been in danger before. I thought it would be a good idea to be careful. I didn’t mean to spy on you.”
Okay, that seemed to be the reason.
Well. Though it was true that Erin had been really close to death once, and had only been saved thanks to Calix

“Still, you don’t have to keep a person near the cafe.”
“It never hurts to be cautious.”
“It’s broad daylight, and Einz is with us.”
Erin grumbled that there’s no need for his subordinates to follow in a situation like this.
Calix suddenly fell silent, after hearing her words.
He turned to the window and muttered.
“I didn’t realize Captain Levnin was so good. I’ll have to spar with him one of these days.”
‘You better not.’
Einz was a master swordsman by all accounts.
For someone from a family with nothing to rise to the rank of Knight Captain, he had to be the best in the Empire.
“You said you had something more important to say.”
“Yes. What did you and my brother talk about last night?”
Erin sighed and briefly explained what she and Raymond had talked about.
“That’s all?”
“Then what did you think we were going to talk about?”
“Just. I was wondering if there was anything else.”
There really was nothing else.
Erin waited a few minutes, wondering what he was up to, but Calix remained silent, staring out the window.
‘Don’t tell me when he said that there was something important to talk about, he meant this?’
“Hey, was that all you had to ask?”
He made her get in the carriage just to ask that.
Erin couldn’t believe it.
She stood and looked at him incredulously.
“There’s something else.”
Then Calix spoke up.
“There’s a night market next week. Do you want to go?”
It was even more trivial than before.
“There was nothing important to talk about after all, was there?”
“Why, this is important enough.”
The smirk on his face was condescending.
Erin secretly wanted to punch his face.
“I’m sorry, I have a prior engagement.”
“Who, with Captain Levin?”
He is quite perceptive.
“Yes, I promised to come with him.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Erin was a little worried that Calix would insist on coming with her but he didn’t seem to mind.
Instead, he just smiled, with the corners of his eyes crinkling.
“I see. I suppose everyone will be safe with Captain Levnin around. That’s good. I didn’t know Knights had enough free time to go to the night market.”
Erin was about to rebut and say that he obviously won’t be as free as his highness, but stopped herself.
It was partly because he obviously wanted to go with her, and she’d refused.
She didn’t want to argue with someone five years younger than her.
‘I’ll just stop by the fragrance shop and get back to the store later.’
With that thought in mind, Erin turned her attention back to the window.
The afternoon sun was shining with a blinding intensity.
Erin had spent most of her day poring over the ledgers, scribbling things down, or wandering about to make sure the palace was running smoothly.
She barely slept or ate because she was overseeing and managing everything all day long.
Even though she worked so hard, there were always voices behind her, chattering and criticizing her.
‘She doesn’t know what she’s doing.’
There was a subtle mockery in the criticism.
‘It’s their first night and she’s so useless. She doesn’t deserve to be the Duchess.’
Calix was young, but he understood what was going on. He went and told her,
‘It’s all his fault.’
It was all Raymond’s fault that Erin was ignored by the nobility of the palace.
He’d played the doting fiancĂ© role in front of her, but as soon as they were married, he’d shown his true colors and ignored Erin.
It started on their first night.
As if on cue, he publicly walked out of the chapel and never sought her out again.
After that, Raymond didn’t speak to her, even when she was around, as if he couldn’t see her.
If Raymond loved and respected Erin, the nobles would have bowed before her, even if she was lowly and stupid.
Just as Serena, Raymond’s mistress, ruled like a queen in a society full of noblewomen.
However Erin was different, and he didn’t know what was different.
Even after all these years, Calix couldn’t quite put his fingers on why he had fallen for her in that moment, or why.
Sometimes your heart will be moved for reasons you can’t explain.
That was one of those times.
Calix stared at her, and spoke on impulse.
‘Thank you, sister-in-law.’
Erin laughed, her laugh was a crystal-clear sound, at the unexpected gratitude.
‘Thank you for what?’
‘No reason.’
Mostly for coming here.
For coming to see me..
No words could accurately express how he felt.
It was hard to put into words why, but he was grateful for her presence.
About half a year later, Erin became engaged to Raymond, Calix’s older brother.
A year later, they were married and living at the Crown Prince’s Palace.
From then on, Calix visited Erin every day.
‘Sister-in-law, come play with me!’
He’d pester her like a child, and she’d smile and accept his presence without a hint of annoyance.
Now that I think about it, he has been a relentless younger brother-in-law.
He always wants to do this and that.
But they didn’t have much time to play together.
That’s because she was always busy.
For the first few years, Erin as the Duchess lived like a new caretaker hired by the imperial palace.
⚘
Calix looked away.
Erin was sitting across from him.
Her platinum hair glistened like gold threads under the bright sunlight streaming through the window.
She watched the street pass by quickly.
Her green eyes sparkled with life like freshly blown grass as she watched the bright sunlight.
She looked relaxed and happy.
Calix couldn’t take his eyes off her.
He could see a long-forgotten emotion rising with those clear, light green eyes.
It was a memory he had buried deep in the tomb of time which slowly resurfaced.
It was the day when he was 13 years old, and the day he first met Erin.
It was a memory he would never forget, even in death.
He was young, but the moment he laid eyes on her for the first time stuck in his memory.
The first time he saw her

It was when she came to the palace to meet Raymond before their wedding.
She had been to the palace before.
But Callix hadn’t bothered to go meet with her.
After running away several times to avoid being seen, he was called by the Emperor and was admonished.
‘You must greet the person who will become your brother’s wife.’
He was forced to leave, under such duress.
Bored, Calix stared at the white moonlight shining over the garden of trees.
The garden was filled with lilac blossoms on every branch.
Their light purplish scent drifted on the breeze as the wind caressed the petals.
A carriage stopped in front and the door opened.
Then a woman slowly stepped out.
It was Erin.
She stepped out of the carriage dressed in her mauve gown.
She was beautiful and graceful like a goddess of legend.
There were many beautiful women among the nobles who came and went from the palace.
But there was obviously none like her.