Caitlyn's POV
No one expected Kaisa to be the first to speak up, and her words caused Talon to stifle a sigh of relief. Talon stood still, gazing at Kaisa with more than a hint of bewilderment.
"So, what do you think?" The king also appeared somewhat surprised, followed by a playful smile as he twisted his head to look at me. "It would be my honor." I nodded with a smile and then bowed towards the king.
"Talon, we should go." As I walked to Talon's side, I gestured for him to leave the palace with me intact. After all, Bard and the others were anxiously waiting for news outside the city walls.
However, Talon remained motionless, his eyes looking at me evasively. He slowly pursed his lips, seemingly hesitant. "Caitlyn, I'm afraid I still have some things to take care of. Either you go back first, or I'll come find you a little later."
Talon's tone was flat, and for a moment, I was left guessing what he was thinking. Yet, I detected a hint of an unusual politeness in his eyes—an emotion unnecessary between two like-minded individuals.
"Okay." I nodded calmly, then turned and briskly walked towards the door. "Caitlyn, I..." Talon's voice came from behind me, as if he wanted to say something more, but the next second, Kaisa's arm pulled him in front of the king.
Seeing that, it felt like I was the one who was redundant. A wave of loss surged through my heart, and for a moment, everything I had sacrificed my life for seemed like a complete joke.
Dragging my heavy feet toward the exit, I inexplicably thought of Talon's determined eyes on the battlefield. It left me in a bit of a trance, wondering what was real and what was not in front of me with Talon.
"Ms. Caitlyn! How's it going? Nothing happened to Alpha, right?" Bard's nervous voice interrupted my thoughts just as I was making my way out of the palace.
"Well, he's doing well." I took a deep breath, attempting to appear nonchalant.
"That's good. I really have to thank you for this one. I saw Alpha Yone heading toward the Great Hall earlier. That's a tough situation. Hey, why didn't Alpha Talon come out with you?"
Bard's face brightened upon confirming Talon's well-being. He stood on his tiptoes to look behind me.
"He had something else to attend to, so I came out first."
My tone carried a hint of indifference, and the uncertainty in Talon's eyes lingered in my mind. Perhaps this incident was the catalyst for Talon to realize that bonding with a human woman was a joke in itself. I smiled to myself before preparing to bid farewell to Bard.
"Ms. Caitlyn, thanks to you this time. Oh, and last time, if it weren't for you, I'm afraid we wouldn't have been able to persist until Alpha Kaisa came to the rescue."
A smile spread across Bard's face, and gratitude filled his eyes as he looked at me.
"By the way, we've all heard about what happened between you and Alpha Kaisa. Don't worry; the majority of the pack supports you. Alpha isn't the type of man to have second thoughts."
As Bard's companions gradually receded in the distance, he lowered his voice and whispered to me, though Braum beside him still overheard.
"That's right. If anyone disagrees with what's going on between you and Alpha, count me as the first to disagree."
Braum declared proudly, waving his fist.
"And what if it's Talon?"
I looked up, feigning absent-mindedness in the direction of the palace.
"By this time, Talon would probably be all smiles, discussing engagement plans with Kaisa," my mind mused indignantly.
"How is that possible? Alpha isn't that kind of person. There must be some kind of misunderstanding."
Hearing my remark, Braum paused for a moment before defending Talon with a flushed face.
"That's it; I'll go back first."
I couldn't help but let out a sigh. The nerves that were tense until this moment were completely relieved, and then a huge sense of fatigue overcame me. Even opening my eyes required my entire body's strength.
"Ms. Caitlyn, I'll take you back," Bard said, looking a little nervous when he noticed my subdued mood.
"No need, I'll go back by myself. You'd better take good care of Talon."
After saying that, I waved my hand toward Bard and slowly dragged my body back to my room. Lying on the soft bed, exhaustion pressed down on me like a huge mountain, and almost instantly, I fell into a deep sleep.
I didn't know how long it took, but it felt like I was having a long dream until hunger woke me up. I opened my eyes hazily, and the aroma of buttery bread filled the air. Struggling to prop myself up, I sat up as a familiar figure appeared in front of me.
"Sure enough, it's still you. I just made this, and you woke up right away. Your sleep was remarkable; you slept for three days and three nights. If I hadn't noticed you were still breathing, I would have thought you were dead."
"Leona!"
Hearing the familiar broken voice, I realized that everything in front of me was not my dream world but the real world. I immediately got up and hugged Leona tightly from behind.
"It's really great to see you again!"
Seeing Leona's familiar smiling face, the gloom in my heart vanished instantly.
"Who asked you to leave without saying goodbye at that time, leaving me behind so heartlessly? If Bard hadn't contacted me later, I still wouldn't have known that you had arrived at the palace until now."
Leona said, twisting her face aside to sulk, showing that she must have suffered a lot after the incident.
"I'm sorry; the situation at that time was too urgent. I didn't want to involve you again..."
Just as I was panicking and explaining, Leona's small hand slowly covered my mouth.
"Well, I forgave you a long time ago. Otherwise, how would I have snuck over to you again on my own?" Leona blinked at me and opened her arms.
"But you have to promise me that no matter what happens in the future, you won't leave me behind without caring about anything."
I flung myself into Leona's arms, feeling the familiar scent of her body, and nodded heavily, tears rolling down my face.