She Becomes A Passive Villainess-NOT!

His Coping Mechanism

"Adira, are you okay?"

Triton asked when he pulled the cart's curtain a little bit to take a peek and check on his wife's condition. Because she was a pampered noble lady her whole life, he figured that she would not be used to long distance travels like these.

"We're almost there. It's just a little bit more ahead. We can take a break here if you want."

He spoke and turned his head to check the empty road they were travelling on. This road wasn't frequented by merchants or people since it was the long and roundabout way towards a distant province.

Triton was taking Adira away—somewhere far from Casimir's or anyone's reaches, far from the capital or the Sylveris or Dalriada dukedom. They were eloping.

He even made Adira wear this black long sleeved dress with a brown leather corset binding her torso he bought from the first town they stopped over to make her less conspicuous. Her hair was also tousled messily so as to avoid people from recognizing her.

Adira shook her head in response before smiling weakly. It's the third day since she left her home and in these three days, she couldn't think of anything—or anyone—but the little sapphire-eyed child and the silver-haired man.

They were bothering her too much.

...

Back in the palace, at the capital, inside a dark office with the curtains down, Casimir was cooping himself up as always. He hasn't even so much as stepped a single foot outside that room ever since he came back from the Sylveris fief.

A knock came and he stolidly replied—as monotonous and cold as ever.

"Your highness, will you please eat something?"

"Mm. Put it there." The prince answered briefly while not stopping in whatever he was doing nor giving his aide that came in a simple glance.

Roman, Alexander and William were lounging about, without anything to work on as Casimir hogged all the paper works.

He was using work as a distraction and it was all he ever did these past few days. Even though he was very efficient with it, it was abnormal, his coping mechanism worried them too much.

He didn't sleep—or more precisely, he couldn't—groom himself or eat. He was wasting away in his study doing even the most menial tasks of reorganizing the rotation of guards around the palace.

Roman turned towards the table where his untouched lunch sat, now cold, and sighed. Ever since he let Adira go, he was deteriorating more and more each day. To the point that even he was afraid he'd suddenly succumb to the pain and loneliness and fall.

And when he does, the empire falls along with him.

"Is..." Casimir suddenly spoke and, finally, his writing stopped briefly. "Is there a new report on her?"

Yes, he did let her go but that didn't mean he wouldn't care. There was not a single second when he didn't think of her—of how she was, if she already ate, if she was dressed warmly, or if she was comfortable enough—so many things ran through his mind at a faster rate than normal.

And it was burning him out. But he can't stop. He can't help but constantly worry about his wife he chose to let go.

"Yes. They just passed the Border town of Ertz. With the path that they took, I believe they're heading towards the Alynthi Kingdom's Brita province."

Roman professionally supplied him the necessary information he knew what the man wanted. It was the other reason he came—aside from reminding him of his meals which proved to be utterly useless.