FGFM 36🔐

Chapter 36

“Ah, Aidan. Wait, you’re misunderstanding something.”

Fleur held onto his jacket tightly, worried he might step out the main gate and leave. The fabric creased under her grip.

The moment Fleur had experienced the “error” after the engagement had been the instant she left the Hauser mansion.

She was anxious, afraid that even a single strand of hair slipping free could cause the quest to fail.

“Why wouldn’t I care about you?”
“……”

“I’ve always been trying to take care of you. It’s just that the party kept me distracted, that’s all.”

She added a hasty excuse, but he didn’t look convinced at all.

“That means you were pretending not to notice me even though you knew I was waiting for you.”
“Uh… what?”
“Forget it. Go to the party and take care of your real guests.”

He tried to shake her off, tugging at his jacket in different directions, but she had no strength in her hands, making it seem like she was only pretending to resist.

She knew she absolutely couldn’t let him turn away, so she grabbed him with both hands.

“Aidan, how could I pretend not to notice you? You don’t know how thankful I am that you came all the way here because of me.”
“……”
“I admit I was a bit careless because I was comfortable around you… I understand that you might feel neglected compared to other families.”
“……”
“But I never acted like I was ignoring you. I was planning to come to you first after the party. That’s the truth.”

To soothe the sulky Aidan, she tried to look as pitiful as possible: her eyebrows drooped, she bit her lower lip gently, and her eyes glistened.

It was exactly the same pouting face he always made that had unsettled her heart before.

“Please believe me, Aidan…”

She deliberately drew out the words, mimicking the tone he often used as a weapon.

There seemed to be some effect—his eyebrows twitched slightly.

“…Who taught you this?”
“Huh, what?”
“You’ve never acted like this toward me. Martin’s third son? Or your big-body aide?”
“I wasn’t taught… I’m really sorry, that’s why…”

Alert!

Aidan’s affection dropped.
Current Aidan affection: 30% → 26%

Wait, she had gone out of her way to act cute, and his affection dropped instead?

Embarrassment and awkwardness caused her strength to falter for a moment, and he quickly pulled his jacket free from her grasp.

“I came here only to see you. I didn’t care that others treated me like an unwanted guest.”
“Ah, Aidan…”
“But you can’t do that too. If you treat me like I don’t exist, how am I supposed to endure…”

His emotions surged, and Aidan’s eyes trembled as he couldn’t finish his sentence.

“It’s not like that…”
“No, it is. I watched only you the whole party. But did you even glance at me?”

She had no time to tend to him, so she had nothing to say.

Suddenly, the shadow of the Emperor appeared, pulling all her attention in that direction.

“As you know, there was an accident suddenly.”
“Ah, are you saying I have to stab my hand with a knife just to get a look from you?”
“What? You know I didn’t mean that.”
“No, I don’t know.”

Tears formed at the corners of Aidan’s eyes as he shook his head.

“I used to think I knew you well. We knew half of each other’s lives.”
“……”
“But after your parents passed, you changed so much that I don’t know you at all anymore.”
“…I said I was trying to live well on my own. So of course, I can’t be the same as before.”

Listening to Fleur, he finally shed a single tear.

“I was there in that certainty, but now it’s gone, and it’s hard…”

Aidan, now completely a stranger after the engagement was broken off, struggled with his confused emotions.

Alert!

Aidan’s affection dropped again.
Current Aidan affection: 26% → 21%

At a time when it should have gone up, it plummeted instead.

Previously, his affection had risen easily without special effort, as it did with other romanceable characters. She had assumed it would rise smoothly, so she had postponed the conversation.

But now, the situation was completely unexpected, and she didn’t know how to respond.

“Maybe it would have been better not to come here at all…”

With that last word, Aidan turned away first. Even without being told, he stepped back—something he had never done before.

Fleur watched his retreating figure in a daze, only one step away from the gate.

“Aidan!”

Fleur snapped out of her daze and hurriedly wrapped her arms around his waist.

She hadn’t expected to hold him this tenderly.

“Don’t go. I was wrong. Please forgive me just this once…”

Pressing her forehead against his broad back, she trembled, begging him not to leave.

For the quest to succeed, she had to use every method at her disposal.

Congratulations!
Affection increased without a quest.
Current Aidan affection: 21% → 25%
The current double-affection event is active.

As expected, physical contact immediately raised his affection.

She didn’t stop there and slowly pulled him back toward her from the gate.

But Aidan held firm, unmoving. She pressed harder on her embrace.

“Fleur.”

Aidan lightly released her arms, then held her right hand and slowly turned toward her.

“Are you really sorry?”

With his affection slightly raised, he seemed less upset. Seizing the opportunity, she stepped closer, reducing the distance.

“Of course. I’m so sorry I don’t know what to do.”
“Really?”
“How can you believe me?”

Tears welled up as she looked into his cherry-red eyes.

She acted as if she were overwhelmed by remorse, struggling to express how sorry she was.

Even fully focused like an actor receiving direction, his expression didn’t change much.

There was still 15% more affection to gain, and with this reaction, it wasn’t enough. She considered hugging him in front of him.

“If you’re that sorry, then kiss me.”

Fleur frowned, forgetting to act sad.

“…What?”
“I’ll forgive you if you kiss me.”

What? Did he think every problem could be solved with a kiss?

“Who does that with a friend?”
“Even if nothing happened before, now that we’re engaged and then broken off, it’s possible.”
“What? That’s even weirder.”
“Then just think of it as friends.”

His nonsensical logic made her scowl.

“I won’t do that.”

Her firm refusal made Aidan’s eyes sharpen.

“You wanted forgiveness.”
“I don’t want it like this.”
“To show a sincere apology, you have to do what I want.”
“I apologize as a friend, not like a lover.”
“Nowadays, friends kiss each other casually.”
“Where do you keep hearing such nonsense when you don’t even have friends?”

Finally, she blurted out everything she had been holding in.

She knew his cautious and extremely shy personality well.

But demanding physical contact while inventing imaginary friends was ridiculous.

“You’re just trying to satisfy your desire by inventing friends… ugh.”

Seeing his expression change, she hurriedly covered her mouth.

His previously sulky face flushed red, especially around the eyes. His eyes glistened as if tears might fall at any moment.

Instead of calming him, she had struck a vulnerable point.

“Ah, Aidan, I didn’t mean that… ugh.”

She tried to explain, but he forcefully pushed her hand to the other side. The strength, showing his hurt, made her stagger slightly.

Alert!

Aidan’s affection dropped sharply.
Current Aidan affection: 25% → 15%

Even before she could steady herself, his affection had plunged.

She finally noticed he was striding toward the gate.

“No…!”

She rushed, reaching out to grab the hem of his coat.

Surprise Quest
You failed to raise all romanceable characters’ affection by 10% before the party ended.
Because the quest was not properly executed, some data will be reset.
The error is restored and the double-affection event ends.

Aidan left the mansion a beat too quickly.

Fleur’s hand, awkwardly suspended, fell limply.

Feeling anxious that something else might reset, she quickly turned and looked at the sky above the back of the mansion.

Many torches had been lit for the party, keeping the area bright. She couldn’t take her eyes off it, worried that the party might reset if it became too dark.