As Kai's figure disappeared beyond the courtyard gates, Rai remained where she stood.
She did not realize she had stopped moving.
Lantern light swayed gently overhead, casting shifting shadows across the stone floor. Somewhere nearby, someone laughed. Servants moved quietly, gathering scrolls, extinguishing lamps. The world continued on—yet Rai felt strangely detached from it, as if she were standing just outside the flow of time.
She stood still.
Her fingers rested loosely at her side, unmoving. Her gaze remained fixed on the space he had occupied only moments ago, though there was nothing left to see.
Gradually, the gathering dissolved.
People began to leave in small clusters, their footsteps echoing softly as they crossed the courtyard. The topic of conversation shifted naturally, drifting away from paintings and talent and settling—almost unanimously—on the same subject.
That boy.
"He left too quickly," a girl said, her voice carrying a trace of regret.
"I didn't even get his name." another couldn't help but say.
"Did you see how tall he was?"
one after one they chimed in the conversation.
"And his features—clean, sharp."
"He seemed… reliable."
Their voices softened as they spoke, tinged with curiosity and lingering excitement.
"And that smile," someone added suddenly.
A brief pause followed.
"That smile at the end…"
"I wasn't expecting it."
"It was dangerous."
"I was at loss, it felt like my life had achieved its meaning. "
"So calm, yet so warm."
Light laughter followed, a little breathless.
Rai did not react.
Her expression remained unchanged, but her eyes slowly lost focus, her thoughts drifting somewhere far beyond the courtyard walls.
"Rai?"
The voice barely reached her.
"Rai," someone called again, closer this time.
A hand brushed lightly against her sleeve.
She blinked.
The courtyard returned to her senses—the lanterns, the murmurs, the night air brushing against her skin. She turned her head slightly, meeting the concerned gazes of her companions.
"There you are," one of them said, studying her face. "You looked completely lost."
Rai pressed her lips together, offering no reply.
They began walking together, passing beneath the archway and toward the road beyond. Outside, carriages waited in a neat line, lanterns glowing softly along their sides.
As they walked, the conversation resumed.
"That boy really was good-looking," one girl said, her tone light but sincere. "I wonder what his name is."
Another laughed. "And that smile—ah, that smile was unfair."
A third tilted her head. "But who do you think he smiled at?"
The answer came instantly.
"Rai, of course."
Soft laughter followed, teasing and knowing. They spoke one after another.
"Did you see her?"
"She hasn't said a word since he left."
"That smile must have struck her harder than she wants to admit."
Rai glanced at them, her brows knitting faintly.
She wanted to deny it—to say something sharp, something dismissive—but the words refused to come. Her chest felt unsettled, as though something inside her had shifted out of place.
Then another voice cut in, quieter.
"Enough. Don't say things like that. Rai already has a fiancé. Their marriage is soon."
Someone frowned. "But she's barely met him, hasn't she?"
"Yes," another added thoughtfully. "Who even knows what he looks like now, after so many years?"
Rai's steps slowed—just slightly.
Before she could stop herself, the words slipped free, quiet and unguarded.
"You saw him..... just now.... that boy at gathering.... and tavern."
The world seemed to pause.
Her friends turned toward her all at once, eyes wide, expressions frozen between shock and disbelief.
Rai realized what she had said.
Her breath caught.
They reached the carriages.
Before anyone could speak, Rai lifted her skirts and stepped into hers, the door closing behind her with a muted sound that cut off the night air—and the stunned silence outside.
The carriage began to move.
The girls couldn't utter a single word until Rai left in her carriage.
Inside, the space was dim and still. Rai leaned against the window, resting her head in her hand. The cool glass pressed against her knuckles as lantern light flickered past, briefly illuminating her reflection before it vanished again.
She released a slow breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Her thoughts returned to him.
Why had he come?
Had he come to see her?
To see what she looked like now?
Had he come to decide something—for himself?
Or…
Had he come to refuse?
To make it clear he did not wish for this marriage?
Perhaps he had wanted to ask her something.
Perhaps he had wanted to hear her answer.
The questions tangled together, offering no clarity.
Her fingers curled slightly against the window.
Did she miss the little boy she had once played with?
No.
That child existed only in memory.
They were no longer children.
They were adults now—and that difference felt heavier than she had ever expected.
Then—was it anger?
Anger that he had not spoken to her directly?
That he had left without explanation?
That he had challenged her openly before everyone?
She searched for anger.
But she could not find it.
Only a quiet, persistent unrest—something without shape or name.
Rai lifted her gaze toward the sky beyond the window. Vast and distant, it stretched endlessly, stars scattered across its depth.
She watched it silently, her thoughts drifting as freely as her eyes.
Searching.
For meaning.
For understanding.
And finding neither.
What remained was only quietness and silence that was felt in the atmosphere.
If she wanted the answer for this, then perhaps only he, Kai, could give her an answer.