The Duke and the Girl from Nowhere

The sky above the estate had dimmed into twilight, painting the marble courtyards in shades of indigo and gold. A hush had fallen over the world, the kind of silence that didn't comfort — it pressed.

Yuna stood beneath the arch of the greenhouse, arms folded tightly across her chest. Her mind was tangled — not just with Ji-Hwan and his maddening possessiveness, or the Crown Prince's unsettling warmth — but with the velvet handkerchief still tucked in her drawer and Soo-Min's lingering warning.

Someone had been near her room.

Someone had left that symbol.

She shouldn't be here. And yet… she couldn't bring herself to leave.

The glass doors creaked behind her.

She didn't have to turn to know it was him.

Ji-Hwan's footsteps were soundless on the gravel path. "You always disappear when I need you to stay," he said quietly.

Yuna exhaled. "I'm not something you can hold in place, Ji-Hwan."

"No," he said, stepping beside her, "but I still want to."

The way he looked at her made the air thicken. There was a softness to him tonight — no armor, no biting remarks. Just the faint smell of something aged and elegant clinging to his coat. She hated how much it calmed her.

"You've been avoiding me," he said.

"I needed space."

"And did that help?"

"No," she admitted.

A small smile tugged at his lips. "Good."

They stood in silence for a long moment. Cicadas sang in the trees, and the stars blinked to life above the glass dome.

Then, softly, Yuna asked, "Why do you care so much? About me?"

He didn't answer right away. Instead, he reached for her hand — not to pull her close, but to hold it between his palms, like it grounded him.

"Because ever since you arrived," he said, voice low, "everything that made sense… stopped making sense."

"And you hate that."

"I do," he murmured. "But I hate not knowing if you feel the same even more."

She swallowed hard, unable to look away. "I don't know what I feel."

"I think you do," he whispered.

Before she could answer, a rustling sound echoed from the far hedges — sharp and sudden.

They both turned. Ji-Hwan's entire posture changed in an instant.

He moved in front of her without a word, hand instinctively resting near the hilt of the dagger she now realized he always kept tucked beneath his coat.

Yuna's breath caught.

"Stay behind me," he said.

The rustling stopped.

A servant appeared from the shadows, bowing low. "My lord, forgive me. I was sent by Lord Baek Seung-Min. He's arrived early. He requests an audience."

Ji-Hwan's eyes darkened. "Of course he does."

The servant looked up briefly — and Yuna caught it. A flicker in his gaze. Not fear. Something else. Disdain? Calculation?

Ji-Hwan dismissed him with a nod, then turned back to her.

"Go back inside. Stay with Soo-Min tonight."

"Ji-Hwan, who is Lord Baek—?"

"He's not someone you should worry about."

"Which means I absolutely should."

He stared at her for a moment, and then, without thinking, leaned in — his forehead resting gently against hers.

"You unsettle me," he whispered. "And I'm starting to like it too much."

She closed her eyes, pulse thudding. "Then maybe you should run while you can."

He pulled back just enough to meet her eyes. "No. I think I'll stay."

And then he was gone, leaving the scent of pine and regret in his wake.

______

Somewhere across the estate, in a candlelit chamber too lavish for a man so cold, Lord Baek Seung-Min swirled wine in his goblet.

"A girl from nowhere," he murmured. "And yet every powerful man turns his head."

He looked down at the red-stitched seal in his palm — the same one left under Yuna's bed.

"It's time we remind them who really controls the future of this kingdom."

And he smiled.

End of Chapter 13