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~Chapter 25~
“I didn’t know there was such a beautiful lady in the empire. If you don’t mind, would you walk with me in the garden?”
What is this now?
Aveline thought to herself as a man approached her after Melina Srun left. The man slicked all his hair back and tried to smile at her as if he was handsome.
He might have looked good at a glance, but since Aveline saw Ares—one of the empire’s three most handsome men—every day, she wasn’t impressed at all.
If it was someone like Theron, maybe she’d care.
I’d better just respond politely and get away.
She planned to leave without being rude, since she had just returned to society.
But the man didn’t look like he would give up easily.
Just as Aveline was about to use looking for Ares as an excuse, someone stepped out from behind the tree.
“Personally, I think people who aren’t good-looking should have a limit on how many words they’re allowed to say. What do you think, my lady?”
It was Theron, saying something completely out of place.
How did he find me here?
But Aveline quickly realized it was a useless question.
If he could follow her into dreams, a palace garden was nothing.
“D-Duke Ribes?” the man said, looking surprised. He clearly never expected to meet Theron, the empire’s famous crazy man, here.
“Oh, you just said seven words,” Theron said, counting on his fingers with a cool smile. But his smile felt cold.
“So, the not good-looking person you meant is…”
Is it me?
The man swallowed, shocked by Theron’s words.
“Hmm. That’s twenty words,” Theron said as the man kept talking, and his smile faded more and more.
“I’ll have you know, people say I’m handsome!”
“Probably only your parents told you that,” Theron replied.
“That’s not true!”
“Then maybe your grandmother on your father’s side.”
“Well, didn’t you hear the same from your family?”
Theron stayed calm. “I lost my parents when I was young, so I don’t remember hearing that. My grandparents too. Oh, and the aunt who loved me a lot was poisoned early on.”
“…!”
The man had touched on Theron’s painful past by accident and turned pale.
“Anyway, don’t you think you’ve been talking way too much?” Theron said.
“S-sorry!”
“You are,” Theron said, tired.
“…Sorry!”
Theron looked so obviously bored that the man hurried away.
“Finally, he’s gone.”
Now that they were alone, Theron looked at Aveline, as if waiting for praise.
“Did you come looking for me?”
“Yes,” Theron answered confidently.
“Why?”
“You didn’t appear in my dreams last night.”
Again?!
Theron said something anyone would misunderstand with a straight face. Shocked, Aveline quickly looked around.
Luckily, there was no one nearby.
“I couldn’t sleep well last night. Are you even searching my dreams now?”
“Anything related to my magic is my business. You said you didn’t sleep well—did something happen?”
Aveline hesitated.
Well, something did happen.
She tried to use her magic and scared Ares, which kept both of them up all night. Then, she tried to faint in a tough situation and made her father faint instead, which ended up with her having to attend the party.
“The light from my magic stone around you grew a lot in just one day. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Oh.”
Now that Theron explained, Aveline understood what he was really asking.
If the light around her had increased, something must have changed in the magic stone she absorbed from him.
Aveline decided to be honest since she couldn’t hide it anyway.
“I think I used a little of your magic last night.”
“…My magic?”
“Yes.”
Aveline nodded and explained everything.
“So, you used my magic, and the mark on your wrist disappeared?” Theron asked seriously.
Aveline nodded again and looked at him. Theron’s face was also clear—no scars or wounds.
“I healed that myself,” he answered when he saw her staring.
So he didn’t heal it on purpose all this time?
Aveline remembered how Theron walked around with scratches on his face, and now it seemed silly.
Before she could say anything, Theron changed the subject.
“Your control isn’t perfect, but you can use magic now.”
“I think so.”
“That explains why the light increased. The problem is…”
Theron stopped and tilted his head, staring at her.
His blue eyes suddenly looked like a hunter watching its prey.
“Now, I’ll never be able to get my magic stone back.”
“What? Why?”
“Because…”
Theron leaned in close.
“You absorbed all of it.”
What?
Aveline was stunned for a second by his handsome face coming so close.
She’d absorbed the magic stone.
What would Theron do, when before, he had joked about cutting her open for it?
“Isn’t that a big problem?”
“It is, but not so bad,” Theron said with a calm smile.
But he looked almost a little out of his mind, making Aveline’s heart pound.
“Except now, you can never leave my side again.”
“Where did she go?”
Ares finished his audience with the Emperor and escaped into the garden to avoid people who tried to stop him.
No matter how much he searched, he couldn’t find Aveline anywhere.
“I told her not to go too deep.”
She didn’t even know the paths well—how far did she go?
Ares grumbled and walked deeper into the garden. Suddenly, someone called out from behind.
“There you are.”
“Your Highness, the Crown Prince?”
It was Serio.
“I thought you’d come find me after seeing your father, so I waited.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize. By the way, where are you rushing off to?”
Ares hesitated, then answered.
“…I’m looking for my sister.”
“Your twin, right?”
“Yes.”
Serio thought for a second, then clapped.
“Alright. I’ll help you.”
“…You will, Your Highness?”
“Of course. I also wanted a better look at your twin sister. I think I saw her from a distance, but not up close. A girl who looks just like you—I can’t even imagine.”
“We’re fraternal twins.”
“Haha. Let’s go.”
Serio ignored Ares’s correction and led the way.
“I didn’t know you’d get so close to Theron,” Serio said after a while.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“Don’t pretend. Theron himself told me before he left that the rumor about him visiting the Herolds’ house to meet you was true.”
Ares’s face twisted in annoyance. He was clearly holding back some words because Serio was royalty.
“Don’t worry. As long as it’s interesting, I’m open-minded about most things,” Serio said with a laugh.
Just then, something jumped out from the bushes.
“Ahh!”
“Are you alright?”
Serio stepped in front of the startled Ares to check on him.
Serio didn’t care that Ares looked shaken.
“You’ve always been easily scared since you were young.”
“…Sorry.”
“It’s fine. I don’t expect people younger than me to protect me. Besides, I’m the commander of the royal knights, you know.”
Serio shrugged his shoulders, joking a bit.
He was both the Crown Prince and the commander of the royal knights.
It was partly because he was so skilled, but also because the imperial family wanted to keep military power in their hands.
Serio turned to see what had jumped out in front of them.
“Hmm. Aren’t you young Lord Olber?”
The young man called Olber was holding his leg and rolling on the ground, as if he’d been hit.
“I kicked you by accident when you jumped out. Can you stand?”
Serio helped him up.
“You look awful. Why did you jump out like that?”
“…Sorry!”
But Olber seemed a little strange. His eyes weren’t focused, and he spoke too casually for someone meeting the Crown Prince.
“You’re being rude to His Highness,” Ares pointed out.
Olber looked like he was about to cry.
“S-sorry, p-please forgive me…!”
But he couldn’t fix his strange way of speaking.
“What is going on…” Ares started to say, but then they saw two figures appear deeper in the garden.
