Reborn As Noble-Chapter 542: The Secret Heart ( )

Chapter 542: The Secret Heart ( 542 )

Javier didn’t see her standing there.

His mind was far away, lost in thoughts that drifted beyond what anyone else could hear.

His voice, soft and private, seemed to reach the stars above, traveling farther than he realized.

Felicia was just beyond the archway, caught partially in shadow and partially in the gentle glow of moonlight.

She stood a few steps behind the edge of the wall.

She hadn’t meant to be here.

She couldn’t sleep.

Her room was silent—perhaps too silent.

Sleep had slipped away from her, as it often did after a battle.

So, she had walked out, moving with quiet grace—no escort, no sound, just the habits she’d learned since childhood—to find calm in the night’s silence.

And now, here she was, quietly still.

He was at the edge of the inner wall, right where he belonged.

The boy who had beaten her in combat.

The same boy who had quietly prepared her room with a good mattress—without saying a word, without pride or arrogance.

He sat on the wall, sitting upright, gazing up at the stars as if they held all the answers.

Then, suddenly—

He started to speak.

At first, Felicia thought he was just muttering to himself.

But then, his words reached her.

“They all chase after power like it’s a prize to be won… but do they ever stop to ask what it costs?”

Her breath caught in her throat.

She hadn’t meant to listen in. Yet, she couldn’t move.

His voice was soft, calm, not loud or dramatic.

Just honest.

Raw.

Without filters.

“Power isn’t just a gift. It’s a burden. A weight. It can crush just as easily as it can lift you.”

Her chest tightened, her heart aching.

“Claiming divine strength without understanding the duty it demands… that’s not ambition. That’s recklessness.”

A breeze brushed her pale silver hair.

Her thoughts shattered into a thousand pieces.

Not because he was wise beyond his years.

Not just because he looked handsome, sitting there with the stars reflecting in his eyes.

But because what he said.

Was something no one had ever dared to speak aloud.

“Every piece of power gained is a promise. A responsibility.”

She lowered her gaze a little.

Even her father…

Even her generals…

They always talked about victory.

Never about the cost.

Never about the consequences.

And this boy, this strange noble boy who wasn’t yet a man.Spoke of restraint as if it were a kind of power itself.

Her fingers, gently clutching her dress, twitched.

“They’ve already forgotten that.”

That single sentence—

It cut straight to her heart.

Felicia had spent her life carrying pride, armor, duty.

But for the first time.

She wondered if she’d been carrying understanding all along.

She took a quiet step back.

And then she stopped.

She looked at him one last time—sitting there in silence, the weight of the world already on his shoulders.

Without a word—

She turned away.

And slipped into the darkness.

No sound, no call.

But inside her—

Everything had shifted.

That night, Felicia lay on the bed Javier had prepared for her.

The mattress was soft.

The room was warm, comforting.

The air was still, silent.

She should have been asleep by now.

But her eyes stayed open, fixed on the ceiling.

Her heart was pounding, restless.

It beat too fast.

Her breathing was even, but something inside her wasn’t.

That boy…

She blinked once, trying to clear her thoughts.

The way he spoke.

So calm, so steady.

As if the stars themselves listened to him.

Her mind kept replaying his words.

Not just what he said, but how he said it.

The sound of his voice.

The weight behind each word.

And then.

That face appeared vividly in her mind.

Handsome.

With sharp eyes, quiet strength, a faint grin when he thought no one was looking.

She turned on her side and pressed the pillow gently against her chest.

Her brows furrowed in confusion.

What is this?

Her chest felt… tight.

Not painful, exactly.

Just strange.

Unfamiliar.

Like something slowly blossoming from the inside.

She squeezed her eyes shut tight.

“Why…?” she whispered into the emptiness of her room.

“What’s happening to me…?”

She rolled onto her back again, staring at the ceiling.

That human boy…

“Why can’t I stop thinking about him…?”

She didn’t understand it.

She, who had been trained in etiquette, in war, in negotiation.

She, who could command twenty thousand soldiers without hesitation.

Now felt… lost.

And all because of that single voice beneath the stars.

Felicia shifted beneath the sheets, turning again and again.

Finally, she let out a soft sigh.

Her fingers clenched the edge of the blanket, trembling slightly.

She tried closing her eyes, hoping for sleep.

But as darkness fell, his face appeared.

That boy.

That human noble.

The swordsman with a quiet voice and eyes that held the world’s weight without a complaint.

She opened her eyes again with a gentle breath.

Why…?

She turned her face toward the window.

Moonlight spilled across the floor, silver and peaceful.

Slowly, Felicia sat up.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed.

Barefoot, she moved softly across the room toward the tall window.

She gently pulled a carved wooden chair beside it and sat down.

Her posture was graceful—back straight, legs crossed properly.

But her gaze was distant.

Quiet.

Troubled.

She looked up at the moon as though it might give her an answer.

What’s wrong with me?

Every time I close my eyes…

That face appears.

His voice… those words…

Her fingers rested lightly on the windowsill.

No one had ever spoken that way to her before.

Not to her.

Not around her.

Not with such honesty.

He wasn’t trying to impress or boast.

He wasn’t even talking to her directly.

And somehow, that made it worse.

Or… maybe better?

She didn’t know.

She couldn’t understand this feeling.

Only that it stayed with her.

That it stirred inside her.

That it refused to let her sleep.

She sat there alone.

Bathed in the moon’s soft glow.

Gazing up at the sky, while her heart quietly whispered a name she hadn’t yet dared to speak aloud.

Felicia gently rested her chin on her hand.

A cool breeze drifted in through the open window, caressing her silver hair.

She remained still, eyes fixed on the moon.

Then, her gaze lowered slowly.

Toward the distant edge of the wall.

And there he was.

That boy.

Still sitting alone.

Outlined by the starlight, his legs swinging casually from the ledge, his head tilted upward toward the sky.

He hadn’t moved in a while.

From this distance, she could barely see the details.

But even so, there was something—something steady about him.

Not noble in title.

Not imposing in presence.

Just…

There.

A quiet strength.

A silent fire that didn’t seek attention or praise.

And somehow—without even realizing—her lips softened.

She offered her first real smile.

Not the formal smile she wore at court.

Not the proud, brave smile she showed on battlefields.

A different kind.

A genuine one.

And she didn’t even notice it.

Didn’t feel it creeping onto her face.

Unaware of what it truly meant.

She only knew this:

That watching him made the night seem less cold.

( End Of Chapter )

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