Return of the General's Daughter-Chapter 327: It Is For You

Kasmer blinked. "Pardon?"

Lara didn’t answer immediately. She simply gazed at him, eyes searching, her voice dropping to a whisper as fragile as the wind. "It’s really you..."

For a breathless moment, the world narrowed to the two of them—crouched beside the Iron Horse, the sunlight spilling through high windows in golden shafts.

Dust motes drifted in the warm air like suspended stars. Her hand, smudged with grease, hovered near his on the chain. She was close enough for him to feel the warmth of her breath, and yet somehow she felt even closer than that—like a memory rising to meet him.

That scent—earthy cedarwood, rain-drenched stone, and something else indefinably him—stirred something deep in Lara’s chest.

"I thought I was imagining it," she murmured. "Back at the palace... that scent passed me once. I turned to look, but you were already gone. I told myself it couldn’t be real."

Kasmer said nothing, though his throat tightened. His gaze locked with hers, unreadable, but there was a flicker—fear, hope, something unspoken and aching.

What if she’d mistaken him for someone else? Which day was she talking about? Was it two days before the assassination? He had already left at that time for the exile, though he sneaked into the ball organized by Princess Ceres and Reuben, to get a glimpse of her.

"You recognized me by scent?" he asked, trying for a smile, though it came out quiet and unsure.

"Don’t mock me," she said softly, eyes glinting with something between awe and anger. "It wasn’t just the scent. It was your eyes. The way you carry silence like a shadow. The stillness in you... your aura is different."

The chain slipped from his hand again. Lara caught it instinctively. Their fingers met and didn’t retreat. It was not a fleeting brush but a deliberate and steady pause, like both were daring to remember what had been left unsaid for far too long.

A breeze stirred the open yard. It lifted the hem of Lara’s palazzo pants and teased a strand of hair across her cheek. She didn’t move. Her gaze held him, as steady and certain as if she’d already made a choice.

"You smell good," Kasmer said suddenly, his voice quiet and unguarded. "Comforting."

She tilted her head, lips parting in surprise.

Then softly, "Alaric... why did you come back? Don’t you know how dangerous it is?"

For a moment, he didn’t speak. Then, slowly, his lips curved—not in amusement, but in quiet relief.

So she did know.

He nodded, as though finally releasing a breath he’d been holding for years.

"I came back for you, Lara. Reuben has set his eyes on you, and I know what that means. He’s not just dangerous. He’s calculated. He would do everything—even unscrupulous things to get you. And even with your family and their strength, even with your brilliance...you would be nothing against him. He’s the crown prince, after all."

Lara’s heart fluttered in her chest, panic and something else rising fast. She hadn’t let herself think about Reuben that way—not the way Alaric clearly did. Not how he looked at her now: not with jealousy, but with fierce protectiveness.

Then, slowly, Alaric reached up and brushed a smudge of grease from her cheek. His touch lingered just a heartbeat too long, and it sent something electric pulsing beneath her skin.

"You have no idea," he said, "how many times I imagined this moment."

Her voice trembled. "And?"

He smiled gently. "It never came close to this."

She stood very still, as though caught between a kiss and the future. The air pulsed with something unspoken. And maybe she would have closed the distance—maybe he would have reached for her again—

But from across the yard, Reya’s voice shattered the stillness.

"My Lady! We found another Iron Horse prototype in storage—Nasser is already sitting on it, and I absolutely don’t trust him!"

Lara blinked, the spell broken. She stepped back, slowly pulling a handkerchief from her pocket to wipe her hands, grounding herself in the familiar.

Kasmer looked down at the Iron Horse, then back at her. "I didn’t even notice... you fixed the chain."

She nodded. Then, pausing mid-step, she turned and looked back over her shoulder.

"I wasn’t looking for you," she said softly. "I just came to fix the bike."

Alaric tilted his head, a faint smile rising to his lips. "No?"

"But maybe..." Her voice was like the echo of a secret. "Maybe I’ve been waiting for you anyway."

And with that, she walked away—back toward the quadrangle, where Reya and Nasser were deep in discussion, and Nasser was wobbling on another prototype like a newborn deer.

Alaric stood frozen, her words ringing in his ears. frёeweɓηovel_coɱ

From the far side of the yard, Nasser’s laugh broke the stillness. "This is better than a stage play! Don’t stop now—what happens next? Does she sniff his hair like a lovesick deer?"

"Shut up, Nasser!" came the sharp, synchronized twin reply from Lara and Alaric.

Nasser burst into a delighted wheeze. "Ah, the duet! Synchronized shouting—the first stage of royal courtship!"

Reya folded her arms. "First stage? Aren’t they already betrothed?"

"Betrothals are stupid," Nasser muttered darkly. "People marrying off babies not even born yet. Thank the stars; only royals are cursed by that tradition. But courtship is different."

Lara glanced toward him thoughtfully, then shifted her gaze back to Alaric, her expression unreadable. She lifted her hand and touched the place where he touched it. The remnant of the grease from her hand streaked across her cheek like a mark of battle.

Alaric approached her, reached out, and wiped it off using his sleeve. He took out his handkerchief and wiped it again before handing the piece of cloth to Lara to clean her hands.

Lara looked up and smiled at him before thanking him.

"Humor helps," Kasmer added quietly, referring to Nasser’s remark on bethrotals and courtships.

And he laughed—a sound rare and unfamiliar, like light breaking through clouds. It spilled from him slowly, then with warmth, surprising even himself.

Lara looked over and smiled. "There. That’s better. You look more handsome when you laugh. You are always brooding."

He opened his mouth, tried to respond. Nothing came out.

"...I am always brooding," he said at last, stubbornly.

"That’s the problem," she said, walking past him with a laugh.

"Lara..." he said softly. "Please don’t reveal my secret."

Lara looked back and nodded. She wouldn’t dare. He returned for her, and she would do everything to protect him just as he would do the same.

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