Chapter: 0.94 A Heart in Conflict

The air between them was thick, heavy with unsaid things and emotions so fragile they cracked under the silence. Jin Rotschy stood a step away from Rina, the dim lamplight from the ornate chandelier casting golden lines across his sharp jaw and raven-black hair. One crimson eye peered at her through the cascade of his bangs, flickering with a playfulness that held something darker just beneath.

"You're thinking about kissing me again, aren't you?" he said, a sly smirk tugging at his lips.

Rina's breath caught, but she didn't respond.

That silence made his smile widen—not just in amusement, but with a deeper, almost dangerous interest. "Just as I thought."

He tilted his head, mock innocence clouding his voice. "My sweet Rina, always dreaming of my lips on yours. But you still haven't told me—what's the color of the lace you're wearing?"

Her face flushed instantly, the scarlet racing across her cheeks like wildfire. Without thinking, she raised both fists and pummeled his chest with more embarrassment than force.

"Damn it, why do I have to be married to someone like you?" she shouted, half shrieking, half pouting. "You're the worst husband ever! I hate you so much, Jin!"

Unfazed, Jin merely laughed under his breath, amused by her fluster. "So? Is it red? Black? Or maybe... white?" he teased, each word more deliberately drawn out. "Which one's your favorite, Rina? Come on, I'm curious."

"You're disgusting!" she barked, cheeks now burning. She pinched his cheek hard, her golden eyes narrowing. "That's none of your business. It's private, you idiot!"

But Jin only smiled more, the corner of his mouth curling as he stared at her through those lashes that made his expression unreadably beautiful. His scarlet eyes shimmered with the same humor, the same slight menace, the same spark that made Rina's heart pound with anger—and something else.

Her hand slowly dropped from his cheek. Her voice softened, cracked. "Jin... I don't deserve to be your wife."

His expression faltered, just for a moment.

"I married you," she went on, "but I don't know if I love you. I've only known you for three days, and today is the fourth. You changed me so much in so little time, but..." Her lips trembled. "You know I still have feelings for someone else. I—I thought I was over him, but I'm not. I don't know what I feel anymore."

She shook her head violently, fists clenched. "Maybe I love you, maybe I don't. I'm a terrible wife. This marriage—it was arranged, political, nothing more. Our families decided our future. And yet, you accepted me. You didn't get angry when I cursed you that night in the kitchen, when I screamed and told you I'd kill you, when I called you filthy and every terrible name I could think of... I didn't know you were the one I was going to marry."

Her voice cracked as the tears began to fall. "But you just listened... you smiled... you laughed—and that made me hate myself even more."

Her eyes met his, red and swollen. "What if I fail you?"

Jin stood silent. The teasing expression was gone. He didn't interrupt, didn't mock her again. He just looked at her quietly. Then, gently—so gently—it was almost surreal, he raised a hand and placed it atop her head, ruffling her fiery red hair with a softness that made her tears fall faster.

His voice, when he spoke, was lower, tender. "Rina... I told you. You don't have to love me. You don't have to force anything." He looked her straight in the eye. "All I want... is for you to stand beside me."

Rina blinked up at him, the sob lodged in her throat. Her chest ached, swollen with confusion and something deeper, something unnamed. She didn't know what came over her, but she stepped forward and threw her arms around him, clutching him tightly.

"I don't know how I feel about you," she whispered into his coat, her voice shaking, "but I won't let you go. Never. I'll follow you even into hell if I have to. I... I belong to you."

She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, her golden irises shimmering. "I don't understand my feelings for you yet, but I'll get over my feelings for Shane. I'll be loyal to you. Only you. Do you hear me?"

Jin stared at her, his face unreadable again. He smiled faintly, more amused than moved, but his tone was calm, almost warm. "That's the spirit. You're a Rotschy now. Be strong... even if you are a bit possessive and imagine kissing me all the time."

He said it teasingly, but didn't return the hug. He didn't even lift his arms. He just stood still, letting her bury her face into his chest. Her tears soaked into the black fabric of his shirt and coat, and still, he remained motionless.

Not because he was cold... but because he had long since killed the part of him that would have responded.

**He remembered.**

Naoko Rotschy's voice, so smooth, so crystalline, echoed in his mind.

> *"Emotions are chains, Jin. Never let them bind you."*

He remembered her silver hair, sleek and flowing like liquid metal. Her silver eyes, empty. Her silver lashes fluttering with not a single tremor of care. Her face, eternally calm. Cold as snow. Void of sympathy. Void of warmth.

> *"You are my son. That is both your blessing and your curse."*

She had said it with the same emotion one would use to comment on the weather.

> *"Do not cry. Do not grieve. Do not be angry. Do not bow. Do not kneel. Do not apologize to anyone but me. You are mine. You belong wholly to me. Remember that. You are part of me. Never—*never*—disobey my commands."*

> *"And above all, Jin, never trust anyone but me. This world is cruel. Even a brother will betray his brother. So place your trust only in yourself—and in me. Your mother. Don't die like Estelle."*

His heart didn't ache. It didn't clench. He had trained it not to. Trained it so well that now, holding Rina—his wife, his supposed partner—while she sobbed into him... he felt nothing.

But he remembered.

After several long minutes, Rina stepped back. Her golden eyes were puffy from crying. Her scarlet hair was wild, sticking out in places. She sniffled and glanced down at his now-drenched shirt.

"I... I'm sorry," she murmured.

Jin gave a small nod. "It's fine."

He turned slightly, eyes sharp again. "Now\... let's talk about Sarafina Frost. Your rival."