"That will be all for today."
Rhaegar released her and turned away, walking calmly back to his seat. The man who had kissed her with such unexpected tenderness seemed to vanish as though he had never existed.
"You may go."
Caelith stared at him in stunned silence.
That was all?
Was he truly letting her leave?
"Three days from now," Rhaegar continued, lifting the cup of tea that had long since gone cold. His tone remained calm and indifferent, yet beneath it lay unmistakable authority. "The same hour. The same place."
He paused before landing the final blow, "I expect to see you."
His gaze drifted toward her neck. The powder she had used to conceal the marks had been blurred by her tears, revealing faint traces of red beneath.
"And next time," he added coolly, "do not bother with those ridiculous attempts to hide it."
"My mark is not something you are permitted to conceal."
The warmth that had only just faded from Caelith's cheeks rushed back again.
She bit her lip but said nothing.
Instead, she turned and hurried away—almost stumbling—as though fleeing from the elegant courtyard that had begun to feel like a suffocating cage.
Only after she emerged from Firefly Lane and saw Dolly anxiously scanning the street beside the waiting carriage did she feel as though she had returned to the world of the living.
The sunlight was dazzling.
The marketplace buzzed with life.
She lifted a hand to her still-burning cheek, then to her swollen lips.
Rhaegar's final words—and that terrifyingly gentle kiss—echoed endlessly within her mind.
Stay by my side.
Did she truly have a choice?
***
Deep within the quiet courtyard, Rhaegar remained seated alone in the grand chair.
His fingers absently traced the rim of the porcelain teacup as his gaze lingered in the direction Caelith had departed.
Dark and unreadable.
Upon the table before him lay a piece of silk—soft, pale, and painfully familiar.
It was the moon-white undergarment embroidered with twin peony blossoms.
The very one he had taken that night.
He reached out and gathered the delicate fabric into his hand, pressing it lightly against his chest, as though he could still feel the warmth of that night—when she had trembled beneath him, unfolding like a flower in bloom.
***
During the three days following her return from Firefly Lane, Caelith felt as though she had become nothing more than an empty shell.
By day, she still played the role of the gentle and composed Lady Valehart. She conversed politely with her mother-in-law, answered Dorian's occasional inquiries, and even endured several carefully staged "chance meetings" in which Yvaine Emberlyn appeared conveniently at Dorian's side.
To every observer, Caelith appeared flawless.
Her smile was perfectly measured.
Her words were faultless.
Even Dorian's critical gaze gradually softened into approval.
Yet only she knew that within her heart, everything had been overturned.
Rhaegar's voice.
His kiss.
The unreadable emotions in his eyes.
And those words—
Stay by my side.
They circled her thoughts day and night, winding around her heart like tightening vines, leaving her barely able to breathe.
She tried to convince herself that it meant nothing.
A man like Rhaegar Thorne—powerful, feared, and favored by the court—could have any woman he desired. Why should he covet the wife of his so-called brother?
It must be nothing more than the passing whim of a powerful noble.
A game.
A challenge to his own charm.
Or perhaps something darker still—an act meant to wound Dorian Valehart in ways deeper than any blade.
But what of that gentle kiss?
That kiss that had carried a trace of tenderness—what meaning did that hold?
And the undergarment he had taken from her that night…
Each time Caelith remembered it, heat rushed to her cheeks, mingled with a sharp sting of humiliation.
Fear, resistance, shame—and beneath them all, a faint, secret tremor of feeling—tore at her heart without rest. Food lost its taste. Sleep would not come. The faint shadows beneath her eyes had deepened to the point that even powder could scarcely conceal them.
Dolly saw everything.
She worried constantly but dared not ask questions. Waiting outside Firefly Lane that day had felt like an eternity. When her mistress had finally returned—dazed, lips faintly swollen—Dolly's heart had nearly broken. She suspected more than she wished to know, yet there was nothing she could do except serve even more carefully and guard their small courtyard like a fortress.
On the morning of the third day, as Caelith sat before her mirror, arranging her hair, she studied the reflection staring back at her.
The woman in the bronze mirror looked pale and worn, her gaze hollow.
A sudden wave of disgust rose within her.
She could not continue like this.
Rhaegar had come into her life like a bolt of thunder, splitting open the darkness. Dangerous though he was, his arrival had also cast light upon everything she had once endured. It forced her to see clearly how pitiful her past had been—and how hollow Dorian Valehart truly was.
Rhaegar had entered her life without invitation, forceful and impossible to refuse. He had placed before her another possibility.
Even if that possibility was itself another trap.
But could she truly accept living forever as Dorian's substitute—slowly rotting in the stagnant mire of the Valehart household?
The woman in the mirror slowly lifted her gaze.
Focus suddenly returned to her eyes.
And with it came a resolve as desperate as someone prepared to burn her own bridges behind her.
***
As noon approached, Caelith once again left the estate with only Dolly at her side. Using the excuse of visiting an embroidery workshop to inspect new designs, she climbed into the carriage and directed it toward Firefly Lane.
When she lifted the door ring this time, her heart still beat quickly.
But it was no longer driven by fear alone.
The same stern-faced guard opened the gate.
The courtyard within remained as silent as before. She was escorted to the same hall where she had stood days earlier.
Rhaegar was already there.
Today, he wore a dark raven-blue hunting uniform with narrow sleeves, belted at the waist with leather that emphasized the lean strength of his frame.
He stood with his back to the entrance, facing the great ink landscape painting upon the wall. His hands were clasped behind him, his posture straight as a pine.
When her footsteps sounded, he did not immediately turn.
Caelith stopped at the doorway.
Looking at his broad, unwavering back, she felt the taut string within her chest draw tight once more. Sunlight streamed through the lattice windows, casting a faint golden rim along his shoulders. The scene resembled a still painting—yet the quiet carried an invisible weight.
"Come here." At last, he spoke. His voice was calm and level.
Caelith pressed her lips together and walked forward, stopping three paces behind him.
Only then did Rhaegar slowly turn.
His eyes fell upon her face. He studied her silently for a moment, and the faintest crease touched his brow.
"You did not sleep well."
How could he tell with a single glance?
Caelith lowered her lashes. "I slept well enough."
"Lies." Rhaegar stepped closer.
He lifted his hand and brushed his fingertip lightly beneath her eye.
"The color here," he said quietly, "is wrong."
His fingertips were cool, the touch light—yet it sent a tremor through Caelith's entire body. Instinctively, she tried to turn her head away.
"What are you avoiding?" Rhaegar withdrew his hand and regarded her steadily. "Have you already forgotten what I said last time?"
He had said that the mark he left upon her was not something she had the right to conceal.
Heat crept across Caelith's cheeks. She lowered her gaze and did not answer.
Rhaegar did not seem to mind her silence. Turning away, he walked toward the long rosewood table set beside the window.
Today, there was a beautiful golden harp waiting beside it.
The instrument's body gleamed like a stream of light, its polished surface reflecting the pale daylight. The strings, pale and taut, shimmered faintly like threads of frost.
"Can you play?" he asked.
Caelith hesitated a moment before nodding. "A little."
Her mother had been born into a rather gifted family, well versed in the refined arts—music, calligraphy, painting, and chess. As a child, Caelith had learned at her side.
Rhaegar lowered himself onto the chair placed behind the table and gestured toward another across from him.
"Sit."
Though puzzled, Caelith obeyed. She took her place opposite him, the harp resting between them, its strings––the bars of a gilded cage.
"Play something," he said, jerking his chin in the direction of the instrument. "Anything."
She looked at the harp's gleaming strings.
Even to an untrained eye, it was no ordinary instrument. The body was carved from fine paulownia wood, the strings seemingly spun from rare silkworm thread—an object of considerable value.
He had summoned her here… to listen to her play?
"My lord—"
"Play," Rhaegar interrupted quietly. The command in his tone left no room for argument, though his expression remained calm. "I wish to hear it."
Caelith drew a slow breath and asked no more questions.
She took off her white gloves and set them on the table. After a moment of stillness to gather her thoughts, her fingers settled gently upon the strings.
The melody she chose was the piece her mother had loved most—The Loneliness of the Morning Breeze.
At first, the notes came hesitantly, touched by the unrest that had filled her heart these past days. But gradually she allowed herself to sink into the music's quiet world.
The sound grew clearer.
Sometimes the tones rose like towering peaks beneath a vast sky. Sometimes they flowed like a winding stream slipping over stones.
Her head inclined slightly as she played, absorbed in the music. Slender pale fingers danced lightly across the strings, their movements graceful and precise. Sunlight filtering through the lattice windows wrapped her figure in a soft halo, while a few loose strands of hair fell beside her cheek, swaying faintly with the motion of her hands and shoulders.
Rhaegar sat without speaking.
His gaze rested upon her face—yet at times it seemed to look beyond her, into some distant place only he could see.
The usual chill that surrounded him had faded unnoticed.
In its place lingered a deep attentiveness… and perhaps, just perhaps, the faintest hint of something gentler.