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~Chapter 24~
Melina Srun blinked, unable to shake off the shock of imagining the roles reversed.
Honestly, Aveline didn’t even know what Melina’s younger brother looked like.
She only knew his name was sometimes mentioned among the young ladies.
If Melina is cute, maybe her brother is too. That would explain the rumors, Aveline thought.
“That’s… it’s kind of weird. Sometimes, girls who like him cause trouble for me, and I just don’t get it,”
Melina said, almost introducing herself.
“That’s exactly what you did to me.”
Melina’s eyes went wide and her face flushed even redder.
“B-but Ares is—!”
She tried to make excuses, but gave up.
“…Fine. I’m really sorry this time. For everything I did to you. I knew I was being childish, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“That apology is a little quick, compared to how you acted earlier.”
“Why do you always complain, even when I apologize!”
Melina sighed heavily.
“Actually, after the debutante, Count Herolds came to our house and scolded me, telling me to apologize to you. But my pride got in the way, so I kept putting it off.”
“…What?”
The mention of her father caught Aveline off guard.
“I just didn’t want to apologize because of my pride!”
“No, before that. My father came to your house? What do you mean?”
“The day after the debutante, Count Herolds came to our house early in the morning. He told my father that if anything like that happened again, he wouldn’t let it go. He always looks so serious, but when he’s angry, he’s really scary!”
“…My father?”
“Yeah. He also made my mom and me go to my dad and get scolded. Later, I heard Count Herolds begged the Emperor to keep you from being punished. Normally, anyone who causes trouble at a palace banquet would be disciplined.”
“…”
“I also heard your father spent days looking up all the rules and past punishments for palace banquets. He didn’t even come home for a while. And the Emperor let it go on one condition: Ares would join the Emperor’s faction. Thanks to that, I didn’t get punished either… Wait, you really didn’t know any of this?”
These were all things Aveline had never heard before.
He went to the Srun house to defend me? For my sake?
Suddenly, the reason her father was away from home for a week, and why he started taking Ares to central meetings, all made sense.
All this time, she thought her father stayed away because he disliked her.
She thought he preferred Ares and felt ashamed of her.
But he actually protected me?
“I… didn’t know any of that,”
Aveline muttered in shock.
“Really? Even when you showed up today all dressed up? Don’t you realize it means your father doesn’t want anyone to hurt you?”
Melina exclaimed.
“When I tried to pick on your outfit earlier, my mom scolded me to tears. She said the Countess Herolds is so respected that if I messed up, I’d be finished in society.”
“Really?”
“Yes! And Count Herolds made it very clear when he sent you here. Oh, wait—I shouldn’t have said that.”
Melina covered her mouth, but Aveline barely noticed.
She’d only worn her mother’s things because she had nothing else. She never realized what those choices meant.
He went to the Srun house. He bargained with the Emperor to protect me. Maybe… my father cares about me more than I thought?
Her heart swelled with unexpected emotion.
“Are you mad because I insulted you?”
Melina asked, worried about Aveline’s silence.
Aveline, though her anger had already faded thanks to Melina’s story, kept a stern face. She wasn’t about to forgive Melina too easily after everything.
“Yeah, I’m mad.”
“No! Please forgive me, okay? If my dad finds out, I’m in real trouble!”
“Then you’ll have to make it up to me.”
“What? How? I’ll do anything as long as it’s not too hard!”
Melina looked frightened.
Aveline smiled wickedly—something that didn’t match her gentle face.
“You promised you’d do anything, right?”
In a royal lounge outside the ballroom, the Crown Prince and Theron sat facing each other.
They were two of the empire’s most handsome men.
The Crown Prince, Serio, had a relaxed and easygoing manner, unlike Theron’s refined image.
“So, who is it?”
Serio, with his blond hair and red eyes, asked Theron.
“I’m not sure what you mean,”
Theron replied.
“Don’t play dumb. I mean the girl you were staring at so openly.”
Theron’s smile faltered, but he quickly covered it up.
“Girl? I was just looking at the young man next to her.”
“The young man? Oh—Ares? Seriously?”
Serio was skeptical.
“You already did your research and know the rumors, don’t you? I visited the Herolds’ house not long ago.”
“Yeah, I’ve been dying to know why. And who’s that mysterious lady in the newspapers? Why are the young Duke Casey, Ares, and even you so worked up about her?”
Serio loved interesting gossip and always kept up with the latest news.
“It’s amazing there’s still something I don’t know about in this empire.”
He didn’t attend many royal events, but he had a network for gathering news from everywhere.
“I’m always amazed by how much you know,”
Theron said.
“Every morning, I check for anything new that happened while I slept. All the best stuff happens when I’m not looking.”
Serio leaned back on the sofa, still curious.
“Anyway, it’s odd there are rumors about you being interested in Ares. I always thought you two were opposites. Poor Ares.”
As Serio teased him, Theron stood up.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll excuse myself.”
“You’re so cold.”
Ignoring Serio’s grumbling, Theron left.
As soon as he stepped into the corridor, someone called out to him.
“Well, if it isn’t Duke Ribes.”
It was Duke Casey—Logan’s father, with the same silver hair and violet eyes.
“I wanted to talk to you after reading the news. What happened yesterday? Who is that mysterious lady? I tried to ask the young Lord Herolds, but he’s hard to find.”
“Didn’t he already leave?”
Theron replied.
“I saw him go alone into the Emperor’s audience room, but he hasn’t come out yet. I was going to ask Lady Herolds, but I can’t find her either.”
Theron paused.
“Lady Herolds is missing, too?”
“My wife saw her heading toward the garden. I hope she doesn’t get lost—she’s new to the palace.”
“Excuse me.”
“Wait, Duke Ribes! You didn’t answer my—”
But Theron was already gone.
He made his way through the crowd, out to the gardens.
Before long, he spotted a white glow among the trees—Aveline’s aura.
It was actually Theron’s own magic around her, shining brightly for his eyes only.
He really hadn’t been lying when he said he could always find her.
The aura from the magic stone she’d swallowed was impossible for Theron to miss.
Seeing how much brighter it was than before, he realized something must have happened last night, when he’d failed to enter Aveline’s dream.
He needed to find out what had changed—fast.
He walked toward the light, and as expected, Aveline appeared.
But she wasn’t alone.
