🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 27~
“I object to this engagement.”
Aveline’s eyes went wide when she saw who it was.
How did he find me here?
But then she remembered—it wasn’t really hard for Theron, since she carried his magic.
“Excuse me, but who are you?”
The officiant, finally recovering, asked the uninvited guest.
“Do you know him?”
Edward quietly asked Aveline while everyone waited for Theron to answer.
Edward looked like he was ready to act if Aveline said no.
“Is he… your former lover?”
Edward asked, a little awkwardly.
He must have been considering every possibility since it was a political engagement.
“No, he’s not!”
Aveline shook her head quickly.
“That’s disappointing,”
Theron said as he slowly stood up and walked toward them.
No one tried to stop him—they were all too shocked.
Edward moved to protect Aveline, but Theron just stood in front of them, tilting his head to meet Aveline’s eyes. Then, he put on a sad face and drooped his eyes.
“Have you forgotten the promise we made not to leave each other’s side?”
The mood in the hall turned cold in an instant.
When did I make a promise like that?
Aveline protested inside, but Theron just kept looking sad.
“Or maybe… you don’t need me anymore?”
Someone even gasped out loud.
Aveline was just as confused.
Doesn’t it look like I’m the cheater, leaving my lover for my new fiancé?
Edward looked from Aveline to Theron, clearly not sure what was going on.
No way! If this goes on, everyone will think I cheated on my fiancé, even my favorite Edward!
“Violet! How dare you!”
Suddenly, a man jumped up from the crowd.
“How could you disgrace our family name like this?”
The angry man had the same purple hair and eyes as Violet—he was obviously Violet’s father.
“Do you know how hard I worked for this engagement…!”
In the story, Violet’s father was a baron in the countryside, but his land was so rich he was as wealthy as any city noble. Still, he wanted power, so he pushed for Violet to marry young Marquis Edward with a huge dowry.
Of course, Edward, ever the loyal man, accepted the engagement but refused the dowry.
Everything was supposed to go smoothly, but…
Who could have predicted this mess?
Even though Aveline wasn’t really Violet, she knew she did NOT want Edward to see her like this.
“Everyone, calm down.”
The person causing all the trouble—Theron—looked around calmly.
“I know I’m the one who crashed the party, so please don’t blame anyone else.”
Then, he dropped another bomb.
Theron turned to Aveline and gave her a sad, gentle smile.
Why do I feel like such a bad person?
Seeing Theron’s face, Aveline almost felt guilty, even though none of this was real.
“I see…”
Suddenly, Edward’s sad voice spoke beside her.
“If you two are already in love, then I can’t get in the way.”
“No, Edward, wait—!”
“Don’t worry about the land deal I promised your father. I’ll keep my word.”
Edward gave her a gentle, heartbroken smile.
“Your happiness is the most important thing to me.”
Aveline almost covered her mouth in shock.
It was the classic scene—the loyal second male lead letting go of the woman he loves for her happiness.
She’d finally witnessed this with her own eyes—her favorite character in real life!
Even worse, I’m the one who broke his heart.
A sting of guilt hit her chest.
Even though it wasn’t real, and she hadn’t actually cheated, seeing Edward’s hurt expression made her feel like she’d done something terrible.
“I’m sorry,”
Aveline said to Edward, truly meaning it.
It hurt her to hurt her favorite, but if it meant he could find happiness elsewhere, it was worth it.
Don’t look at me with those sad eyes. Or look at me more. Or—no, don’t look at me at all…
Her heart pounded seeing Edward’s sad face so close.
“Alright, then.”
As Edward and Aveline exchanged looks, Theron clapped his hands.
“Let’s wrap this up. Everyone, take care now.”
With that, Theron grabbed Aveline’s hand and led her away.
In the blink of an eye, everything changed—they were no longer at the engagement ceremony.
Aveline found herself standing on a wide open lawn, wearing her white pajamas from before bed, with her hair pink again instead of purple.
“Did you do this?”
Aveline asked, impressed.
But Theron, with his back to her, spoke unexpectedly.
“Is that your taste in men?”
“…What?”
What was he even talking about?
As Aveline hesitated, Theron turned to face her, his handsome brow furrowed.
“I didn’t think you’d dream of getting engaged to the Crown Prince after just one day.”
Suddenly, Aveline became the girl who fell for the Crown Prince at first sight and dreamed about marrying him.
“It’s a misunderstanding. Edward and the Crown Prince are nothing alike.”
“They looked exactly the same to me. But seeing him so quiet was new,” Theron said.
Well, Edward is pretty quiet…
But even if the Crown Prince looked similar, he was nothing like Edward.
“That’s why they’re totally different. Edward is just a character I liked from the start. It’s just a coincidence the Crown Prince looks like him.”
Even after her passionate defense, Theron still looked confused.
“Edward isn’t the Crown Prince. He’s just a character in a novel, my favorite side character… do I have to explain everything?”
Realizing she’d just confessed her favorite character, Aveline hurried to steady herself.
“So, in the end, that’s your ideal type?”
Theron said, summarizing.
“…Huh?”
Can your favorite character and your ideal type be the same?
Weren’t those two different things?
And if it was just looks, honestly—
What am I thinking?!
Aveline accidentally found herself staring at Theron’s face, then quickly shook her head.
“So, that’s your type…”
Theron, missing her confusion, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Is that really so important?”
Aveline asked, tired of how serious he looked.
“It’s not good for the girl who has my magic to marry the Crown Prince,” Theron answered bluntly.
“Marry?!”
Why was he jumping to that?
Aveline was flustered by Theron’s unexpected reply.
“If the Crown Prince heard that, he’d laugh—or get mad. We just met yesterday!”
Aveline protested.
Theron tilted his head, giving her a mysterious smile.
“You need to look at yourself more objectively.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Crown Prince is of marrying age. He doesn’t even have a fiancée right now.”
“So?”
“If he does get married, he’ll want a noble lady from a strong family who can help him keep power. Like…”
Theron looked right into Aveline’s face.
“A lady from a loyal Emperor’s faction—someone who would never betray him.”
