Someone I Love...

"You hate this place? Which one? The village ... the resort ... the lake ... or something else?" asked Fae in confusion. "If you hate it, why do you come here often? It is a little confusing when you hate a place, but visit it often."

Ren smiled wryly at all the questions asked by the girl with an innocent expression. He would not tell his secret to a girl he just met, but he would also not be mean to her by refusing outright after earlier it was he who revealed that he hated Rhine.

"Hmm .. I have a lot in my mind right now. Can you leave me alone, Fae?" asked Ren. His face didn't look angry at Fae's barrage of questions, but the girl immediately understood that Ren was annoyed. Finally, being mindful, the girl looked down.

"Oh .. right away, Sir. Sorry if I was presumptuous. I will leave you alone," Fae quickly cleared her things and got up from the sofa. She was about to walk into the kitchen and leave Ren alone in the living room, but the man stopped her in her tracks.

"I want you to leave this villa and leave me alone. Not just the living room."

"Eh ...?" Fae was baffled. She turned to Ren with a confused expression. Did Ren want to kick her out? Was it true that this man felt very offended by her questions earlier?

Ugh.. Fae immediately regretted being nosy earlier. She should have said nothing. Why was she being so presumptuous and asking so many questions? She was just a maid here. She should know her place!

"I just want to be alone. Please leave me. Your work for today is finished." Ren stared at Fae without blinking. His expression now looked flat.

Fae became uneasy. She finally nodded weakly. Her hands trembled as she held the hem of her coat.

"All right. Uhm .. do you want me to come tomorrow or not?" she asked in a low voice.

"There is no need for that.." said Ren. His voice became firm. "I'll be back in the capital tomorrow. Thank you for your work during the past week."

Fae stood rooted in her place. She didn't expect things to take a dive in such a short time, just because she asked why Ren hated Rhine.

She felt devastated because Ren suddenly threw her away, simply because of an honest mistake.

Ren was supposed to return to the capital in two days, but now he even changed his plans and suddenly left tomorrow. This means .. Fae would never see Ren again.

Fae was dejected. She didn't know why Ren suddenly changed his attitude. The girl's legs trembled as she ambled toward the door. Ren looked away and focused his gaze on the book in his left hand.

He tried hard not to look at Fae, who was leaving.

"Sir..."

Ren looked up when he heard Fae's voice. Apparently, the girl turned around and walked over to him. Fae's face was serene, but the sad look in her eyes could not be hidden.

She held out a dark blue wool scarf she'd been knitting in the past few days, and gave it to Ren.

"This is for you. I knitted it to give to you as a farewell gift. I was going to give it the day after tomorrow when you return to the capital .. but apparently, today is our last meeting," said the girl, trying to force a sweet smile. "Hopefully, you like it. I noticed you like dark colors, so I deliberately chose this color."

She put the scarf carefully on Ren's lap then turned away. She walked briskly, and before Ren could react, Fae had disappeared behind the door.

Ren stared at the scarf with a complicated expression. His handsome face winced as if he was feeling pain in his head. The man closed his eyes and gripped the scarf firmly. He then tried to take a deep breath to calm himself down.

He hated this place, but he couldn't help but come here, many times every year.

Since he was called back to Moravia three years ago, he had started spending a lot of time in Rhine, not because he liked the place, but because he hated it so much.

He regretted being carried away today. He was overcome with emotions, and drove Fae out of the villa before the girl's job was done.

Ren understood that Fae must have been feeling dejected, thinking Ren threw her away. But he could not run and chase the girl to explain the real issue. His position was too high, and he shouldn't chase after a lowly maid.

After all, Ren was a prince and Fae was just a commoner, who was working as his personal maid this week. Ren was not obliged to explain anything to the girl.

With that thought in mind, finally, Ren opened his eyes and sighed. He looked at the knitted scarf Fae had given him and grabbed it tightly. This was a scarf made with love and care.

He remembered the days they had spent together in the living room, when he was busy working and Fae busied herself with her knitting.

He remembered that the girl often smiled to herself when she was knitting and repeatedly stole glances at him. He knew Fae liked him, but he had no idea she'd knitted this scarf for him.

Soon they would enter the very cold November, then winter would follow. As it turned out, Fae made this scarf on purpose to keep him warm.

Ren finally got up and put the scarf in his bedroom and returned to the living room to continue reading. However, his mind was unable to focus. After half an hour and he was still unable to concentrate on his book, Ren finally decided to get some fresh air.

He took his coat and walked out of the villa. The weather that day looked rather cloudy, and the air was getting chilly. Ren wrapped his coat tightly and walked with his hands in his pockets to the garden under the villas and past the resort gate.

He walked toward the lake to calm his restless heart. However, when he almost arrived at the shore of the lake, he saw from afar Fae fell down from her bicycle. The girl's face was filled with tears.

Subconsciously, Ren walked faster and faster and finally ended up running towards the girl.

"What happened to you?" he asked anxiously as he reached Fae. The girl raised her teary face, and her sad expression immediately turned into shock.

Fae was very sad that Ren suddenly kicked her out without knowing what she did wrong, and it messed up her mind.

As she cycled back home, Fae's eyes were blurred by tears, and she did not see a large rock in front of her bicycle. The girl fell when her bicycle's front tire hit the rock, and her body was slammed hard to the ground.

Hearing Ren's question, Fae just shook her head. She tried to get up on her own and gently brushed Ren's hand off her shoulder.

"I .. was careless and didn't see the road. I'm okay. Don't worry..." said the girl, forcing a smile. She got up and tried to pull her bicycle from the ground. The right handle was bent, and the tires were damaged. She couldn't ride the bike anymore.

Ren just gazed at Fae with a complicated look. Fae was holding her bike and bowed to him several times before excusing herself to leave and walked her bicycle. The man noticed that the girl's right knee was bleeding, and her clothes were dirty, but she was stubbornly acting like she was fine.

Instantly Ren was filled with guilt. He knew he had made Fae cry with his treatment earlier.

"Do you want to know why I hate this place so much?" asked Ren suddenly.

Fae, who had only taken a few steps, was frozen in place. The girl turned her head and looked at Ren with a questioning look.

"Someone I love... died here," said Ren in a choked voice. He didn't hide the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

His expression turned very sad. Fae looked at him with her mouth agape.

The two of them stood transfixed in their respective places, looking at each other with sad faces.