ITETD 34

Chapter 34

“…That was fast.”

“You said you were curious about someone else besides me. How could I not be curious too?”

Calix said as he casually dropped down on the sofa beside me.

“So, who is it? Who’s got your attention?”

Everything was moving faster than I expected, and I felt a bit overwhelmed. Instead of answering, I turned my attention to the long guest list he had brought.

What was the female lead’s name again…?

The list was full of names I had never seen before.

Names like:

• Yelena Avriam

• Sophia Briston

• Luzen Coupin

• Yekaterina Glastin

• Nina Powell

• Terenia Powell

• …and so on.

There were so many names—but none looked familiar.

Not a single one I know!

It made sense, sure. But still—I thought I’d recognize at least one name.

Or at least see a familiar surname…

Calix was quietly watching me flip through the list rapidly, glancing over my shoulder.

“Do you recognize anyone?”

“Nope.”

I answered in complete defeat.

Was the heroine’s name not really “Lenia”? Was that just a nickname, and her real name wouldn’t even appear on an official guest list?

Or… what if she wasn’t even attending the party?

“No… she has to be.”

If she still planned to take revenge on the emperor, she wouldn’t miss this chance. And she had every reason to go after him.

Calix stayed silent while I kept flipping through the papers, deeply focused.

“Nothing.”

No familiar names. Not even one that looked slightly recognizable.

Have I really only ever known Calix?

I sighed in frustration.

“Why didn’t my parents ever teach me about people? I should’ve been meeting nobles instead of just studying magic…”

I picked up the next list: the male guests.

Not that I expect much.

Sure enough—still no familiar names.

Except one.

At the very top of the list:

Calix Axel Heretrio.

Figures.

Calix seemed amused watching me flip through the pages lazily and toss them onto the table.

“So, no one you know?”

“Nope.”

“Really?”

He subtly covered his mouth, but I definitely saw the smile he was trying to hide.

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Mmm.”

He didn’t deny it. That confirmed it.

I crossed my arms and leaned back into the sofa, annoyed.

Was I wrong about all this?

Could it be that this world’s version of the heroine had given up her goal from the original story?

That can’t be. She wouldn’t give up that easily.

She would have to be crazy to try and get close to Calix after he’d gone dark in the original timeline.

While I was lost in thought, Calix started looking through the list himself.

Why? He already knew what was on it.

“What exactly are you trying to find?”
He asked without looking up.

Uh… how do I explain this?

A rival from the past? Or maybe… future?

No—‘future’ doesn’t apply anymore.

There’s no chance Calix will fall for the heroine now. And “past rival” just sounds dumb.

While I was stuck overthinking, Calix was calmly scanning names one by one.

Unlike me, he probably knew all of them.

Right… That’s the difference between us.

I sighed. No point staring at these papers all day.

“Let’s go to the dress shop.”

Time to take a break, reset, and figure out a new approach.

Later that day…

Calix wasn’t quite the mind-reader Regiana thought he was.

She assumed he recognized all those names—but he didn’t. Not even close.

And she had no way of knowing the truth that day.

After they returned from the dress shop—where she tried on and took off dozens of dresses—Regiana was so exhausted that she passed out right after dinner.

Late that night…

Calix sat quietly, flipping through the same list she had looked at earlier.

The same one he had given her himself.

She had asked for a list of nobles attending the party.

But this list?

It wasn’t real.

It was a fake document Calix had carefully put together.

It had real noble names, yes—but also fake ones.
Some names were altered, others were obscure titles, and people with multiple ranks were listed under the least recognizable ones.

He even added completely made-up names.

It was all to prevent Lena from figuring anything out.
To test her.

He didn’t care who was really coming to the party. That wasn’t the point.

What he really wanted to know was:

“What exactly is she trying to find?”

Thankfully, Lena didn’t seem to notice the list was fake.

But actually… that wasn’t good news.

Calix had expected some kind of reaction—either that she’d realize something was off, or at least look confused.

But she’d done neither.

That brought him to a bigger question:

“What was she hoping to find from a list of names she doesn’t even know?”

If she couldn’t recognize anyone—and couldn’t even tell the list was fake—then maybe…

She didn’t care.

Or maybe…

She just didn’t know.

Calix leaned toward the second option.

If she really didn’t care, she wouldn’t have asked him to go through all that trouble in the first place.

And her expression as she looked through the list wasn’t fake. It was pure confusion.

She looked completely lost—and that wasn’t something you could fake easily.

“What exactly was she searching for?”

He sighed and threw the list into the fireplace.

The papers caught flame and burned quickly.

Calix sat in silence, staring at the ashes.

“Was she lying when she said she didn’t recognize anyone?”

But there had been no sign of deception on her face. If she was lying, she was incredibly good at it.

And what would she even gain by lying?

“On the surface… nothing.”

He still had no idea what Lena was really after.

Trying to clear his head, Calix opened the window.
The cold air helped.

He remembered what she said when they first arrived in the capital:

“It’s colder here than Heretrio.”

He closed the window again and thought of what he always thought about when he was overwhelmed.

Click.

A soft sound as a door opened.

Calix stepped inside a quiet room and walked toward the bed.

In the middle of the huge bed, curled up in a small ball, was Lena—the very person he’d been thinking of.

Her blanket gently rose and fell with each breath.

Without realizing it, Calix had pulled up a chair beside the bed.

Watching her sleep… it never got old.

The only sounds were the soft crackle of the fireplace.

Even with all the confusion in his head, this moment felt peaceful.

Just watching her sleep made him happy. It reminded him of that night by the ocean.

The first time they met, it had barely been a week. And yet, she had fallen asleep on his shoulder.

He was terrified she’d wake if he moved even slightly. He’d held his breath the whole night to avoid disturbing her.

If she hadn’t mentioned the sea that day, he never would’ve gone out to see it with her at night.

He didn’t know if she even remembered.

But that afternoon, he had seen her standing alone by the cliff, staring at the ocean.

He’d recognized her instantly—that coral-colored hair flying in the wind, a clear mark of the Troxia family.

He thought she would leave soon, but she stood there for ages, not moving.

Eventually, he approached her—even knowing she didn’t see him as a real person yet.

“Why that expression?”
He asked awkwardly.

“The sea scares me.”
“It does?”
“Yeah. I don’t know why—it just does.”

That was all they said.

She returned to the house shortly after, and so did he.

It could’ve ended as a meaningless moment.

But later that night, he couldn’t sleep. He found himself wanting to see the sea—the thing she said she feared.

He had no idea she’d catch him sneaking out.
And even less that she’d go with him, as if she’d read his mind.

After that night, something changed between them.

No one else would have noticed.
But they did.

And from that moment, Regiana Lohello Troxia found a place in Calix’s heart.

“That’s why you have to take responsibility for me.”

He whispered softly to the sleeping girl.

She wouldn’t hear him—but he said it anyway.

“You’re all I have.”

“So stay by my side. Don’t get sick. Don’t leave.”

“Take responsibility for me.”

“If you do… I’ll give you everything I have.”