"Get off," he said, his voice cold and low—a tone he rarely used with her.
For the first time, Adeline felt a flicker of fear. Darwin had never spoken to her like that. But her pride wouldn't let her back down so easily.
She squished his cheeks with both hands, narrowing her eyes. "Did you really just use that voice on me? Just because I want a little honesty?" she snapped, glaring at him.
They locked eyes in a tense silence.
Darwin hadn't meant to sound so harsh, but their current position was dangerous—for him. The temptation to touch her, to kiss her again like in his dream, was too strong. It overwhelmed every ounce of discipline he had. He'd never experienced this kind of desire before. For most of his life, women never stirred anything in him.
But Adeline changed that. She disrupted everything.
With no better idea—and slightly panicking—he leaned forward and bonked their foreheads together, not too hard but enough to jolt her back.
"Ow! What the heck?!" Adeline cried out, recoiling and rubbing her forehead as she rolled off him.
"Now we're even," he said with a sly smirk.
A beat of silence passed before both of them burst into laughter. Darwin's laugh was warm and unguarded—so rare that Adeline couldn't help but stare at him, grinning. He was changing, bit by bit, and she was seeing sides of him that never existed in the novel.
"Yeah, yeah, we're even," she muttered between chuckles. "But I still want answers."
Darwin lay back on the grass, trying to choose his words carefully—without revealing too much of the truth.
Adeline flopped down beside him, gazing up at the soft afternoon sky.
They lay there in quiet companionship.
"Well," he began after a pause, "you could say I felt bad about last night. I ended up being a burden. You had to take care of me when I could've handled it myself."
Adeline frowned. "That's it? Seriously? You've been avoiding me all day because you feel guilty?" She rolled her eyes. "I thought it was going to be some dark, dramatic secret."
Darwin chuckled softly, the sound low and genuine.
She turned to him. "Don't feel bad about it. I just wanted to help. So, forget the guilt, because if it happens again, I'm definitely doing the same thing," she said with a playful grin.
That grin, Darwin thought. The one that makes my heart forget how to beat properly.
He cleared his throat and looked away quickly. "Alright."
The two of them stared up at the clouds, letting the moment stretch in comfortable silence. No pressure, no expectations—just peace.
Later that night, in the stillness of midnight, Darwin woke up. He couldn't sleep—again—because of her.
Adeline kept invading his dreams.
Tonight's dream had been warm and oddly comforting. She had been smiling at him, holding his hand as they strolled together through the garden, the sunlight soft on their faces.
Shaking off the lingering emotions, he stepped out of his room, deciding that a walk and some fresh air might help clear his head.
He moved quietly through the dim halls of the manor, the moonlight casting gentle shadows against the walls. As he turned a corner, he suddenly felt a flicker of movement behind him.
He glanced over his shoulder. Nothing.
He walked a little further, but again—movement. He spun around.
Still nothing.
Then, as he turned down another corridor, something rolled onto the floor behind him. He turned and saw a single gold coin lying there.
Frowning, he bent down to pick it up—when a shadow loomed over him.
"Boo!" a voice cried out.
Darwin looked up to see what appeared to be a ghost—someone draped in a white sheet, arms raised like a cartoon ghoul.
He sighed and crossed his arms. "Lady Adeline, your scare tactics are utterly ineffective."
Adeline dropped her arms with a dramatic sigh. "Ugh... disappointing," she muttered. "Good night, then."
But just as she turned to walk away, Darwin grabbed the edge of the sheet and pulled it off her in one swift motion.
"Hey!" she cried, clutching at the edges of the sheet and scowling at him.
He smirked. "I prefer seeing your face rather than a floating bedsheet."
She pouted, eyes narrowing. "You're no fun."
"And you still haven't answered my question," he added, folding the sheet over one arm. "Why are you awake this late?"
Adeline scratched her head. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to take a walk. But then I saw you… and thought I'd play a little prank."
He smirked and flicked her forehead lightly. "You're such a child."
"Ow," she muttered, rubbing the spot with a small pout.
Then, without warning, he scooped her up into his arms.
"Hey!" she gasped, startled, her arms instinctively going around his neck. "Put me down!"
"I like walking faster," he said with a teasing edge to his voice. "And walking with you tends to slow me down."
Her eyes narrowed. "Are you insulting my height?"
He chuckled deeply but didn't answer. The truth was, he didn't mind walking slowly. He just wanted an excuse to be close to her.
As they passed the long corridor of family portraits, Adeline's gaze drifted to a blank spot on the wall.
"By the way, what's with that empty space?" she asked, pointing. "There used to be a portrait there, right?"
Darwin's eyes followed her gesture. His expression dimmed. "Yes. That was my mother's portrait."
"Did you remove it yourself?"
"I did," he replied simply, but his voice had a distant edge. His eyes, though calm, carried a shadow of something deeper.
"What was your mother like?" she asked gently. She knew she might be overstepping—but she wanted to know. The novel never spoke of his past.
He looked at the wall for a moment, then began softly, "My childhood wasn't great. My parents married for political convenience, not love. When I was born, they had no real interest in me. My father only acknowledged me during lessons and training. And my mother…" He looked at Adeline, pain flickering behind his composed facade. "She hated me. She said I looked too much like my father. Called me a monster."
Adeline's heart ached at his words.
"She would scream at me to get out of her sight, throw things at me—anything within reach. I was just a child. But to her, I was a curse. I stopped respecting her the day I caught her in bed with another man. My father was furious—she was damaging the family's reputation. He stripped her of her title and banished her. A week later, she poisoned herself."
There was no tremble in his voice. Only practiced control.
"Neither of us mourned. By then, I'd learned emotions were a weakness. I buried mine and moved forward. My father died later in an accident, and I inherited everything. Became a general. I've fought countless battles. The title 'monster' stuck—it felt fitting."
Adeline suddenly grabbed his face and squished his cheeks together, forcing him to look at her.
"That is not true!" she said firmly. "Your mother was blind. Clearly. Because she didn't see how ridiculously handsome her son turned out to be."
Darwin blinked, caught off guard.
"And just because you look like your father, that doesn't give her the right to treat you that way. A mother should love her child, not hate him. And your father? Bastard. Both of them. If they were alive, I'd tie them up and lecture them every day until they cried."
She paused only to take a breath.
"And the battlefield? You were surviving. Of course you fought with everything you had. That's not monstrous. That's strength. Maybe you were a beast. Or a black bear. But never a monster."
Darwin stared at her in stunned silence—until he let out a sudden, genuine laugh.
She looked at him, confused. "What? Did I say something funny?"
Darwin couldn't stop laughing softly. No one had ever spoken to him like that before. No pity, no sugar-coating. Just honest, fiery support. She didn't defend his parents. She stood beside him.
For the first time in a long while, something warm spread through his chest.
He looked at her—really looked—and smiled. A true, unguarded smile.
Adeline blinked. Her heart skipped a beat. He's smiling. Not a smirk. A smile. And gods, he looked even more handsome.
"Lady Adeline…" he said, his voice soft and reverent.
He gently set her down and took her hand, lifting it to his lips. He kissed the back of it.
"Thank you. Truly. Thank you for coming into my life—into Dane's life, and into this manor. You are this place's greatest treasure… my greatest treasure."
The way he looked at her—it was different now. His eyes held something deeper. Something raw and tender, like a storm that had finally stilled.
The moonlight washed over them, bathing the garden in a silvery glow. It shimmered on his hair and cast a soft halo around her, as if the night itself had paused just for them.
And in that moment, Darwin realized what he'd been feeling these past few days. He wasn't foolish—he knew exactly what it was. James, who often spoke fondly of his own wife, had described it before. The warmth in the chest. The ache of wanting to be close. The fear and thrill of it all.
This was it.
He leaned forward, pressing a gentle kiss to her forehead. Then he smiled at her and whispered, "…Thank you, my treasure."
Those weren't the words he truly wanted to say—not yet.
But in his heart, they were loud and clear.
'I love you, my treasure.'
He was in love with Adeline. Entirely. Undeniably. Irrevocably.