Previously
Recovering from her fever, Sienna attempts to bathe alone but realizes she left her clean clothes outside the bathroom. She calls out to Theodore for help, but it is actually Declan who is wandering the monastery grounds late at night.
How to Break Up with You Perfectly Episode 13
It was the sort of reaction reserved for someone she never should have run into.
Naturally so. The person Sienna had called for was not him, but Theodore Monches.
Belatedly assessing the situation, Declan bowed his head.
“Forgive my intrusion. You seemed to be in trouble, so….”
Uncharacteristically, Declan trailed off. Meeting her so unexpectedly in such a place left even his lips uncooperative.
Frozen in shock, Sienna twitched her lips as if to say something, then pressed them tightly shut again. An unmistakable trace of fluster flickered in the silent sweep of her blue eyes. Though he tried not to show it, Declan was no different.
After a suffocating silence, he was the first to avert his eyes.
“I will wait outside, so please call if you need anything.”
* * *
Long after he stepped out of the washroom, Sienna remained frozen with her head raised dumbly before finally looking down at the clothes and towel he had brought. Only then did her bare, unclad body register in her sight.
From where he had been standing, he would not have caught the full view, but he undoubtedly had a clear sight of her back. Sienna buried her flushed, humiliated face in her hands.
She had known all along that she could not keep avoiding him forever. But still….
‘To run into him in such a state. I must have lost my mind….’
The belated rush of mortification was unbearable. Moving briskly with irritated haste, Sienna threw on her clothes and stepped out of the washroom.
Declan, who had been leaning against the opposite wall, took a step forward the moment she emerged. In the narrow corridor, that single step abruptly closed the space between them.
No sooner had their eyes met than Sienna cast hers downward.
“It seems I have unintentionally imposed upon you, Duke.”
“Think nothing of it.”
He replied politely, with consummate gentlemanly poise.
“If you are returning to your quarters, I will escort you.”
“There is no need. I know the way well.”
“Forgive me, but familiarity does not make it safe. Moreover….”
Breaking off mid-sentence, his gaze flicked downward.
Dampened by the humidity of the washroom, her thin dress clung flush to her figure.
Droplets she had failed to dry dripped steadily from her wavy hair, and beneath the water-soaked fabric, her pale skin showed through plainly.
Following his line of sight, Sienna looked down and hastily drew her robe tightly shut. Then she countered with a sharp edge to her voice.
“Surely an escort for the likes of me is beneath the Grand Duke's station.”
In truth, every imperial subject served the Emperor and the imperial family, so escorting a princess was entirely independent of social standing.
Declan, however, saw no need to argue every point and focused solely on overcoming her stubbornness.
“If my presence makes you uncomfortable, I shall summon Sir Monches.”
He was resolute. At his utter lack of concession, Sienna knit her brows.
Just then, a chill wind blew past, sending a shiver through her. As she instinctively hunched her shoulders, he slipped off his coat. He moved to drape it over her, but Sienna raised the hand holding her robe closed to ward it off.
“I am fine.”
“I heard your health took a turn for the worse.”
Declan did not force the coat upon her, but he did not pull back either.
“Besides, it would surely be distressing if you were to encounter someone else dressed like that.”
Sienna bit down on her lip in silence.
When she finally dropped her hand in resignation, he stepped forward once more and laid the coat over her shoulders. Her blue eyes stole a glance at the man standing near.
He was dressed just as lightly as she was, though the solid frame faintly visible beneath his clothes was far more robust than hers could ever be.
Fixing her gaze firmly on the floor, Sienna clutched the coat tightly and walked ahead.
She heard him follow, but she did not bother to open her mouth. She had no desire to cause any further stir in the dead of night. He matched her pace a few steps behind.
Even so, not a single word passed between them.
A long path stretched from the washroom to the quarters where the priests resided.
With every faint breeze, her scent brushed the tip of his nose. Over the silhouette of her back as she walked steadily through the darkness, the glimpse of her bare, unclad form from moments ago superimposed itself.
‘You mad bastard.’
A bitter surge of self-loathing made Declan swallow a curse.
Despite the measured distance between them, he was acutely attuned to everything about her.
To think he had sworn only days ago never to intrude upon her life again, yet the moment they crossed paths, he was endlessly shaken. He found himself utterly contemptible.
In terms of discomfort, Sienna fared no better. Even as she moved forward, her every sense remained trained on the man walking a few paces behind.
Why had he been standing outside the washroom of all places? And why go so far as to attend to her like this?
Amid the chaotic rush of idle thoughts, a subtle warmth of relief undeniably lingered—even if she failed to recognize it herself.
Her ruminations spiraled until they wiped away every lingering question. For in the end, she arrived at the thought that all of this was merely basic courtly decorum toward a princess.
Once her thoughts reached that conclusion, the heart that had been fluttering ever since their encounter cooled to ice. Her grip on the coat tightened unnecessarily.
She was sick to death of his dutiful loyalty.
Reaching the front of her room, she immediately slipped the coat off and held it out to him.
“This is far enough. The hour is late, so you should return as well, Duke.”
Her gaze remained firmly glued to the ground.
“It seems I find myself indebted to you several times over.”
“I only did what was proper.”
“I suppose so.”
Her expression sank another shade darker.
“Regardless, thank you. I hope there will be an opportunity to repay the favor in the future.”
He would be leaving this place soon, and such an “opportunity” would likely never come to pass. Turning her body, Sienna signaled that she was done speaking.
His gaze silently tracked her movement.
The woman in the past had been desperate to return to the capital, yet the person before him was entirely different from the memory he held. Far from speaking of the capital, she did not even appear interested.
Something about her demeanor stirred an indefinable emotion within him.
His long-held resolve crumbled with startling ease.
“Your Highness.”
Sienna turned her head slightly to look up at him. The elegant features set into her pale face bore no expression whatsoever.
“I am returning to the capital tomorrow. This will likely be the last time I see Your Highness here.”
As he spoke, an edge of desperation colored his face, prompting Sienna to blink slowly.
“Is there anything else you desire of me?”
Sienna stared at Declan with a bewildered look before letting out a soft, belated murmur of realization. Only then did the conversation she had inadvertently overheard between him and Theo flash across her mind.
“Theodore Monches.”
The murmur sounded almost like talking to herself. Her blue eyes, devoid of a single shred of spirit, turned calmly toward him.
“You may take him to the capital. Truly, it makes no difference to me.”
Declan's brow furrowed faintly. He seemed not to have properly understood what she meant.
Having never expected an answer from him in the first place, Sienna turned away without lingering regret. Uncharacteristically adrift in confusion, Declan let his gaze trail the flutter of her robe hem as she moved.
Yet she closed the door without once looking back. The creak of the old wooden door swinging shut sounded pitilessly cold.
* * *
Before the sun had even fully risen, the monastery entrance bustled with preparations for the long journey. Soldiers were scattered about in busy motion, hitching wooden wagons to horses or adjusting bridles.
“Industrious so early in the morning, aren't we?”
Theo yawned lazily as he approached the Count, who was loading baggage onto a wagon.
“With the Grand Duke moving since before dawn, it's not as if I can sit back and idle.”
The Count shot back gruffly without sparing him a glance. Even as he spoke, fatigue was written plainly across his face.
“By the way, how is Her Highness?”
“Since when did you ever care to ask after Her Highness's well-being…?”
“No, I only wonder how ill one must be to remain shut inside a bedchamber for an entire month.”
Caught off guard by the half-mocking remark, Theo clamped his mouth shut. For once, he had no retort.
Under normal circumstances, imperial royalty would naturally commend the valor and toil of the troops in person on behalf of the empire's people.
Even if Sienna was currently banished to this place, so long as she was addressed as ‘Her Highness the Princess,’ she was no exception. From the perspective of the Count, who was the Grand Duke's loyal retainer, it was understandable enough to take offense.
Feeling awkward, Theo idly toyed with the tarp securing the cargo, only for the Count's sharp glare to turn back on him.
“Besides, what are you doing up so early? I thought you were busy playing babysitter to Her Highness the Princess.”
“What are you on about?”
Judging by the heavy sarcasm first thing in the morning, the Count seemed to harbor lingering resentment over Theo's refusal to return to the capital with them. Theo shot an irritated look at his brother, then let out a deep sigh.
Of course, he could understand the Count's attitude. When it came down to it, had not Theo himself coaxed the Princess to seize the Grand Duke's presence here as an opportunity to return to the capital together?
Even so, he bore no grievance against the Princess for her decision not to go.
He had only made the suggestion because he knew how desperately she had counted down the days to return. He simply had never imagined she would turn it down.
Yet setting that matter aside, lately the Princess felt somehow different from before.