They Say an Age Gap Like This Doesn’t Even Need Matching - Chapter 62

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The promenade within the Imperial Palace was as quiet as always.
Quiet enough to make one forget that countless people dwelled within these walls.
I adjusted my pace to match Kailyb’s, walking slowly beside him.
Perhaps because of the profound silence.
The crunching of gravel beneath my feet sounded unusually distinct.
‘Even a simple walk proves difficult.’
I had come at Kailyb’s suggestion, but truthfully, I found it tedious.
Yawns kept threatening to escape, so I had to clench my jaw firmly to suppress them.
I would have preferred to remain in the Study and understand what Kailyb was currently undertaking.
‘I cannot afford to invite suspicion.’
I resolved to be satisfied with having skimmed through the documents on the desk.
I had decided to accommodate Kailyb as much as possible, except for a few matters I could never compromise on.
‘If he wishes to walk together, then I must oblige.’
Still, seeing the Separate Palace in the distance suggested this tedious time would soon end.
Now that I thought about it, a question for him came to mind.
“Is the Crown Princess still in the Tower of Repentance?”
“Are you curious about that?”
The Crown Prince asked gently in return.
“Yes. Aren’t you curious?”
“You know, Ser. That woman has nothing to do with me.”
He smiled and tilted his head. His gaze naturally turned toward me.
So naturally that it almost felt intentional.
“She doesn’t seem to think the same way.”
I did not avert my gaze.
Instead, I looked directly at him as I spoke.
“Did you torment the Crown Princess in the same manner when she was the Crown Princess?”
When I spoke so bluntly, he squinted as if troubled.
“I wonder. How was it?”
“What? You don’t remember?”
“Well… neither of us paid much attention to each other….”
“How can you show no interest in your own wife? You even proposed first.”
“That was….”
His pace slowed slightly.
As if he were contemplating his response.
“I thought I would need practice before meeting you.”
“…Practice?”
He nodded.
“I feared I could not make you happy without understanding women at all. Fortunately, our interests aligned perfectly, so we were able to help each other.”
“So you married as if conducting a transaction?”
“Exactly. She too had circumstances requiring a swift marriage. Her father was quite a greedy man.”
So something seemed off—perhaps they were never a true married couple after all.
Hmm….
Well, yes.
I suppose it’s similar to what Elhart and I have planned.
We’re also going to pretend to be husband and wife for our purposes.
Suddenly curious, I stole a glance at him.
“Still, don’t you develop feelings when you live together like that?”
“I told you. For me, there is only Ser. A heart that hasn’t wavered once in all these years won’t change now.”
“…But you’re still married, so you must have shared a bed. Didn’t any tender feelings arise?”
I could say such things because I had experienced it myself.
Was it even possible to engage in something so intimate and feel nothing at all?
“Ser, the body is merely a tool.”
A smile deepened at the corners of his mouth.
It almost seemed like a sneer.
“Apply stimulus and the body responds, feels pleasure. Even when you don’t want it to.”
I understood what Kailyb was saying.
In the past, there were plenty of people who spent nights chasing physical pleasure.
When your existence was as fleeting as a mayfly’s, there was nothing to deliberate over—a glance was all it took.
Then days later, the partner would change again.
‘So affection isn’t necessary to enjoy such things.’
I had thought the same way before.
But….
“Can you really exclude your heart completely when your body is responding?”
“It’s possible.”
At his brief, definitive answer, I let out a small laugh.
“Is that so?”
There probably were such people.
Like Kailyb, who claimed his feelings for me had never changed once, yet shared a bed without hesitation with a woman he’d married by contract.
On the other hand, there were men who said that even accidentally spending a night together meant you had to take responsibility for a lifetime.
The moment I thought of that innocent prince whose ears turned red whenever our eyes met, what I’d considered straightforward became hopelessly tangled.
“I really don’t understand.”
I murmured softly and resumed my steps, and Kailyb walked quietly beside me.
Before long, the garden path came to an end, and we reached the junction leading to the Separate Palace.
He naturally turned his feet toward the Separate Palace.
“I’ll see you there.”
“There’s no need to go that far.”
“Do you dislike it?”
Of course I disliked it.
There was no danger, but still….
I found it unpleasant that Kailyb was coming near Elhart.
But I couldn’t refuse him either.
“No. That’s not it.”
I shook my head.
“Next time, I’ll take you.”
At those words, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
“All right.”
Kailyb and I walked in silence.
Though the distance was short, time seemed to stretch unnaturally.
Even after entering the Separate Palace, he didn’t stop walking.
I quietly followed him as he continued up the stairs.
Only when we reached Elhart’s Bedchamber did Kailyb finally stop.
“Thank you, Mikhail.”
I smiled faintly and looked at him.
“You must be busy—did I take up too much of your time?”
It was a light remark.
Yet for some reason, there was no trace of amusement in his expression as he gazed at me.
“Ser.”
He called my name and stepped closer to me.
“It’s rather amusing, saying the body is merely a means, and then doing this.”
“…?”
“Why is it so hard to let you go?”
One step, then another.
The distance between us narrowed.
With the door at my back, I had no room to retreat—not that I could have anyway.
Stepping backward would only reveal my true feelings.
I neither dodged nor retreated.
I simply stood still and looked up at him.
“Will you just come with me?”
Only when our feet were nearly touching did he finally stop.
“Let’s find out. Where emotion ends and where the body’s response begins.”
He made his proposal in a low, whispered voice.
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re going to teach me that?”
“If you wish.”
He moved his hand.
He wrapped it around my waist and pulled me close.
Perhaps I hesitated without thinking, my body recoiling slightly.
My back touched the door.
“I’ll be far better than that prince. Aren’t you curious what kind of pleasure you might experience?”
He leaned his upper body forward, studying my eyes from close range as he spoke.
“I’ll give him my bedchamber. Let’s stay together, the three of us.”
His hand swept down my waist, then paused as if about to venture lower.
I struggled to keep my expression composed.
The slightest lapse in vigilance would betray the revulsion rising within me.
What if I had heard such words from the real Mikhail?
The me back then would have surely leaped at the chance.
And wouldn’t we have savored a different kind of joy together?
‘Games of all sorts, late-night snacks, endless conversation…’
In truth, Mikhail and I had fallen asleep and awakened in the same bed countless times.
We were that close, trusted each other that deeply.
That Mikhail harbored unrequited feelings for me… yes, perhaps it was true.
I still found it difficult to believe, but if Kei had discerned it, the information could hardly be mistaken.
And yet Mikhail had meticulously concealed his emotions so I would never suspect a thing.
His manarang had always enveloped me in warmth and comfort, filling me with a sense of security.
Unlike Kailyb now, he had never once troubled me with words or gestures laden with carnal intent.
‘That’s how much he cherished me.’
He had valued my heart and thoughts above all else.
And now the one who had stolen Mikhail’s body shamelessly coveted me.
“…Ser Brin.”
His gaze dropped to my lips before rising again.
If I tilted my head just slightly more, our noses would touch.
After that, he would naturally move to kiss me.
I drew in a breath, very slowly.
If I pulled away.
If I retreated now, everything could unravel.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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