Leslie, who was 21, had no doubt that Braden hated her.

It was reasonable in its own way, because the only time Braden, who always had a friendly and generous face, couldn't hide his stiff face was when he met Leslie's eyes.

From a distance, a kind and gentle person to anyone could not hide his displeasure with Leslie.

Even on the day of the application for the swordsmanship competition, he said he would give a sword to make her feel "completely defeated".

Leslie was in a pretty bad mood but decided to take it. She felt bad for a moment, but a good sword would always belong to her.

'And if I don't pick it up, he'll throw it away. What a waste of resources.'

When she received her old sword, she saved every penny she had saved so far to buy a better sword.

It was easy to decide because she thought she should buy something delicious with that money.

So she went to the Duke of Wade and received the sword politely, at the same time, she only thought, 'the rich aristocrats express their hate in a luxurious way'.

Leslie wasn't even interested enough to ask Braden at that time, 'why do you hate me so much?'

However, it was true that she was somewhat curious now, so Leslie asked Braden of that time seriously after 20 years.

"You... I hated you? Did I?"

Braden asked back with a rather dim look.

It was Leslie who was bewildered. Obviously, back then, Braden was mean to Leslie.

"Sometimes, you never showed me a good look. You kept arguing with me to be thorough, and you would sarcastically say, 'Are you still training with poor quality?'. People who don't usually do that are mean."

Leslie pointed her finger at the reason.

"There must be more than one or two good knights in the Knights of the Wade, and you've been sulking for four years for my refusal once..."

Braden sighed, brushing through his golden hair and spitting it out irritably.

"It's not that I hated you. Why would I hate you?"

"...What?"

"Who would choose a sword for months to give it to someone they hate?" (pr/n: Crying so cutee)

Leslie stared blankly at Braden. He didn't like her before, but he thought she was fine now.

No matter how many times Leslie asked for the past years, Braden said, 'It was because I loved you so much,' and he thought he was certain that she would fall for those words.

And she never asked for an honest conversation about that time because deep inside, she thought, 'I don't want to think about the time when Braden hated me'.

But it seemed that he really didn't hate her.

"Of course I felt bad every time I saw you. But it's not because of you..."

Braden said slowly, rubbing his eyes.

"...I just feel pathetic that I'm always swayed by you."

"You're being swayed?"

"You're not interested in me no matter what I suggest... I kept thinking about you."

Leslie's mouth opened to the truth she had only learned now. (tl/n: wow the parents are so much like the kids LOL)

"If I managed to find you in all the places where the common people go, you would be courteous and immediately distant yourself. Even though I knew that, I was still busy looking for you..."

Then it wasn't a coincidence that she suddenly began to see him all the time...

"...It's so annoying."

Braden, who continued in a hoarse voice, stared at her with twinkling eyes.

"I always thought back to being fifteen in front of you. The adolescent kid who was at a loss after the first rejection."

"Uh... Well..."

"When I meet you, I always feel like I'm being rejected. I hate it so much. I didn't know what the hell to do."

"..."

"I'm old enough to know that there are enough things in the world that don't go my way, but why am I always still being stupid in front of you?"

He sighed, buried himself in a chair, and muttered in a dying voice.

"But you can't forget me for a while because there's the last sword competition. I hope you never give up, whether you hate me or just want to test a good sword."

Leslie couldn't reply to the truth she learned after a long time and rubbed her forehead for a while.

And by the time she took a few steps to hug him, Braden had already fallen asleep and was lying on the floor.

"Oh, my..."

Leslie was dumbfounded and smirked at Braden's blonde hair.

"It's not that you hated me back then, but that you hated yourself for caring about me..."

He must've wanted to keep their interactions, so that was why he must have looked strange when Leslie said she would abstain from the sword competition due to a leg injury.

As soon as he realized that there was nothing more for them to be entangled in, he wanted to change it somehow.

At some point, he was standing by her, depressed, holding back the frustration of her never being able to move agile again.

When she went to the duchy to return the sword gift, saying the sword had to meet another owner, he said he would give her a day to refresh herself.

At that time, she thought the first kindness she experienced was sympathy, so she accepted it without thinking.

Because at the time, she was very familiar with the kind of one-off sympathy people gave.

But that day became two days, two days became three days, and after almost a year...

"Look, Leslie. I'm much taller than I was then, my voice is low, and..."

When was the first time she was conscious of young Braden for not being a boy?

From some point on, it seemed that it took a long time for the "untalented child" to become a "pretty well-grown young man" and then to become a "pretty decent man."

"I'm past my angry adolescence age that doesn't belong to me anymore."

At one point, she remembered the relaxed, seducing face he had.

"So why don't you think about it again? Come to the Wade Duchy, not as a Lieutenant..."

The second proposal he gave her was completely different from the first one, which he uttered arrogantly at the point of a sword.

It was a soft yet desperate proposal that melted her heart.

"I'll give it to you."

At that time, the rights of the common people were lower than they were presently, so it was unimaginable for a commoner to become the Duchess of Wade.

Looking into Leslie's eyes full of hesitation, Braden asked, lightly resting his hand on her cheek.

"If you don't want to..."

Braden's choice of words had a knack for eliciting unusual narratives that existed only in their past.

Leslie had previously lightly blocked all of Braden's logic, saying 'I don't want to'. 

Braden then returned speechless, as Leslie expected.

Now Braden was nothing short of asking directly to her heart.

If she didn't want to, he would have no choice but to turn as helpless as he did then, but could she still reject him at once like the first time she met him?

'I guess he wanted to see me hesitate. That's exactly what he looked like when he said he'd give me a sword.'

Leslie knew she couldn't turn down Braden as she accepted the sword then.

There were many things that bothered her, like that time.

It was her way of life. Compromise with reality, but basically live as you like.

"I love you, Leslie. It's cliche, but please accept me."

Leslie usually always liked delicious things, but her favorite was sweet things.

The soft kiss that followed was sweeter than any dessert, so Leslie nodded unconsciously at that time.

"You really are possessed by something. No, are you still possessed?"

Leslie, who had since become his wife, covered the man who had been by her side for over 20 years with a blanket, she muttered as she grinned.

"I can't even tell you not to drink alcohol in the future. It feels good to go back to that time."

~*~

It was a deep night with the moon high. The rain that had been pouring down suddenly stopped, and the sky, which had been roaring with thunder and lightning, calmed down.

Leslie and Annabelle arrived late, side by side, as if they had made an appointment to meet in the Duke of Wade's dining room.

"Braden was drunk and just fell asleep... Did Ian also have any?"

"Yes. Ian is also now asleep."

The two smiled in embarrassment.

And the question 'when did he go back and what did he say' did not come out to each other.

It was because both of them were confident in talking about, "He thought I was dead and cried a lot," or "He liked me from the age of 15".