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~Chapter 26~
“Nuna…?”
“It’s Theron.”
The two people were Aveline and Theron.
“You’re still here?”
Theron noticed young Lord Olber.
“Eek!”
As soon as Theron spoke to him, Olber’s face turned pale and he ran away.
“What happened to him? Why is he acting so weird…? Anyway, why are you two together?”
Ares’ eyes turned sharp as he looked at them.
“So you’re Ares’s twin sister, Lady Herolds.”
At that moment, Serio, who was standing next to Ares, greeted Aveline.
Aveline turned to see Serio’s face, and her mouth dropped open in shock.
Why does he look just like Edward from my favorite novel?
Ares’ face looked confused.
“Lady?”
Serio asked, noticing Aveline’s strange expression.
Suddenly, a tear rolled down Aveline’s cheek.
“Huuk…”
“Did I do something wrong?”
Serio asked Ares, flustered.
But Ares also didn’t know what was happening.
“Nuna, what’s wrong? Did Duke Ribes bother you?”
“No.”
“What? Are you sure?”
Ares kept asking until he got the answer he wanted.
“It’s nothing. I just remembered someone I know. I’m sorry, Your Highness, for my rudeness.”
“Someone you know looks like me?”
“…Yes, sort of.”
Aveline couldn’t exactly say the Crown Prince looked like a character from a novel.
Earlier, she hadn’t even noticed Serio’s face while focused on Theron at the banquet.
That was close.
If she had met Serio somewhere else, she might have blurted out her favorite character’s name in front of the Crown Prince!
“By the way, Theron, I didn’t know you were close to Lady Herolds.”
While Aveline was quietly calming down, Serio turned to Theron.
“We just met by chance while walking in the garden.”
“Do people usually wander this far into the garden by chance?”
“Yes.”
Theron answered shortly, clearly not wanting to explain more. He had a slight frown the whole time.
“It’s late. I’ll escort you to your carriage,” Theron said, moving to escort Aveline.
To a stranger, he looked polite, but to Aveline, it felt like he was saying:
Don’t forget, you can’t leave my side now.
Ugh…
Even though Theron didn’t say it out loud, that’s exactly how it felt to Aveline.
“I’ll escort my sister. Duke, you can go back on your own,” Ares cut in.
“Yeah, Theron. Since when do you escort ladies? Why not chat with me a little longer instead?” Serio added.
Before Theron could say anything, Ares quickly said goodbye to Serio and pulled Aveline away.
On the way home, Ares scolded Aveline the entire time.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay near the entrance? And why does Duke Ribes keep bothering you? Did he say anything weird this time?”
“One thing at a time…”
“Fine, then answer this first: Why did you cry when you saw His Highness?”
Aveline was embarrassed about crying without meaning to.
She buried her face in her hands at Ares’s sudden question about her “cringy” past.
“The Crown Prince looks like Edward.”
“Ed…who? Who’s that?”
“The blond sub-male lead I used to like in that novel.”
Ares looked at her in disbelief.
“You mean the one you cried your eyes out for?”
“Yes.”
“You think the Crown Prince looks like a character from a book?”
“He’s not just a character! Edward lives in my heart!”
“…Alright. But how can you be so sure if you’ve never seen the Crown Prince up close?”
Aveline hesitated, but she was certain.
Edward’s description in the book—shining blond hair, clear red eyes, tanned skin, and a handsome, relaxed look—was exactly like Serio.
The only difference was,
Edward was quiet, but the Crown Prince wasn’t.
“If you run into the Crown Prince again, he’ll probably ask about today. You’d better think up a good excuse,” Ares warned.
That night.
In bed, Aveline pulled out all the books she’d saved under her bed. By candlelight, she looked through them until she found the right one.
The Trees Bloom Flowers
She hadn’t touched this book since she cried so much at Edward’s death scene.
“I’ll check for myself this time.”
Now that she could enter books, she wanted to see her favorite character in real life.
She also wanted to see if he really looked like the Crown Prince.
Of course, there was Theron’s scary warning to consider, but…
Aveline shook her head.
“I’ll just check his face and come right out.”
She hugged the book and fell asleep.
—
Aveline woke to someone calling her.
“Miss! Wake up! Today is your engagement day!”
“…Who?”
“Oh my, who else? Your engagement is today. Hurry or Marquis Ailchin will be waiting for you.”
“Wait. Ailchin? Edward Ailchin?”
Hearing the familiar name, Aveline suddenly felt wide awake.
“Why are you pretending not to know?”
“Is my name Violet?”
“Would you be Violin instead?” the maid laughed.
Thanks to the maids’ skillful hands, Aveline was soon ready.
She took a deep breath in front of the mirror.
“So I’m Violet.”
In the mirror, she saw a beautiful young woman with deep purple hair and eyes.
In the story, Violet becomes engaged to Edward for family reasons but later falls for the male lead, who is the emperor’s illegitimate son.
Loyal Edward gives up Violet for her happiness and helps the male lead become emperor.
He goes to war for the male lead, is captured after killing the enemy general, and dies—a scene that made Aveline cry most.
Because of Edward’s sacrifice, the male lead becomes emperor and marries Violet, ending the novel.
She was lucky, Aveline thought.
How could you look away from a loyal man who loves only you?
“Miss, it’s time.”
Aveline followed the maid, trying to calm her racing heart.
I’ll finally see Edward in person!
The doors opened, and a bright light filled the room. The man inside turned and smiled at her.
“You’re here.”
It was the Edward of her dreams, but Aveline couldn’t answer.
He really looks just like the Crown Prince!
He looked so much like Serio, it was almost scary.
The only thing different was Edward’s quiet, serious air.
“Lady?”
Edward asked, seeing Aveline’s silence.
“It’s nothing,” she replied, shaking her head.
Edward smiled, relieved.
He’s so handsome!
Just having her favorite character next to her made Aveline’s heart pound.
“Do you swear?”
While staring at Edward’s smile, Aveline suddenly realized something was off.
When did I get this far?
She’d only meant to check his face, but now she was standing next to Edward, holding his hand and reading the engagement vows.
“Now that the vows are finished, I’ll ask formally. Does anyone object to this engagement?”
People laughed softly at the officiant’s words.
It was just a formality—no one expected an objection at a political engagement.
The officiant smiled, ready to continue.
“Haha, as expected, no one… Huh?”
Suddenly, he froze, staring at something.
Everyone looked to where he was staring.
Aveline and Edward turned too.
In the middle of the guests, someone was boldly raising their hand.
