Four Realms of Desire のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

"I would advise you not to mistake familiarity for understanding."The Count stepped closer, his expression unusually serious."The Windrider court keeps its own counsel. It always has."Loren frowned. "You make it sound terribly mysterious."“I suppose every court appears mysterious from the outside.” He paused. “Though some are better at keeping their secrets than others.”The remark landed oddly.“Secrets?”He didn’t answer immediately, as though deciding how much to tell her.“Let's simply say there are people in this fortress whose lives are more complicated than they appear.”Loren felt heat creep into her cheeks. If the Count suspected something about the Duke, then who else was already watching and weighing the same possibility?“If you're attempting to warn me about the Duke,” Loren said carefully, the wind almost stealing the words from her mouth, “he is responsible for my safety, nothing more.”For a moment, genuine confusion crossed his face.“The Duke?”Loren suddenly wis

The summer house felt very small. The scent of honeysuckle pressed in from all sides and the light through the windows turned everything the color of amber.The kiss had been unhurried and real. Loren could taste the desperation in it, the acknowledgment that this moment existed outside of time and consequence. She stopped thinking about duty and obligation and the alliance that depended on her marrying the Prince.Then clarity returned.She pushed him away, breathing shallow, as if waking from a dream she never meant to fall into. “Alix…” Her voice broke. “What are you doing?”He dragged a hand across his face, as though trying to gather himself together.“I've loved you since I first saw you.” His hand flexed on his sword hilt until the knuckles whitened. “I love your intelligence, your stubbornness. I love the way you argue with me, the way you challenge everything I thought I knew.”He swallowed.“I love you in spite of my own better judgement.”For one terrible moment she could

It was a relief when the Prince suggested they spend the following day away from court. “I thought we might ride to the northern meadows. Alone.” he said as they walked toward the stables. The northern meadows were on a higher stretch of ground, waves of grass dotted with bright wildflowers. They rode in comfortable silence for some time while the fortress shrank behind them. Eventually they reached the crest of the plateau and turned their horses toward the sweeping grasslands below. Windrider stood in the distance, its towers rising above the endless sea of straw. Behind them, the craggy mountains of the north cut a jagged line against the horizon.“My mother loved the wildflowers here. I hope you will come to love the steppe as much as she did,” he said, his voice soft with memory.He looked toward the eastern road winding through the grasslands.“We are not far from where she died.”The Prince cleared his throat and sat a little straighter in his seat.“I feel I owe you an expl

The following morning the Mirefolk delegation stood in the courtyard, readying for departure. Kelpie-bred water horses stamped and shifted on the packed earth, their coats glistening. The morning was clear and cool, promising good weather for travel.Loren stood in the formal send-off line that had assembled near the main steps, the Prince at her right side.The whole scene carried the polished pleasantness of a successful diplomatic visit drawing to its close. Everyone wore appropriate expressions of friendly regret at the departure. Everyone bar the Duke.The Prince exchanged a few final words with the Count. They clasped forearms in the Mirefolk manner and Xander said something that made the Prince laugh. The sound carried across the courtyard, genuine and warm. Whatever differences existed between their kingdoms, the two men had found an easy friendship during the visit.The Count then bowed to Loren, his smile easy and familiar, as if departures were simply another form of arriva

The Prince stood by the window in his study and read the note Loren held out to him. By the time you read this, I will be gone. This was my decision. Mine alone. Xander does not love Rowan, he loves me. Perhaps by the time you read this I will already regret it. But if I remained, I would regret that too. Do not come after me. I have made up my mind. Mariselle“The timing is extremely convenient,” the Prince said, his voice tight. “It’s possible Count Xander engineered this from the beginning, undermining our alliance while we’ve been extending him hospitality.”“We don’t know that,” Loren said, though the words felt hollow. “Mariselle is young and impulsive. She might have acted without encouragement.”“Did she?” The Prince turned from the window to face her. "Or has something been growing between them while none of us were paying attention?"Loren wanted to defend Mariselle but the memory of the whispered exchange before Xander’s departure kept surfacing.“I