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Chapter : 18
This time, I’ll change the male lead
“In that case, it would be best if you also attended the upcoming festival.”
Eil said, clutching the contract tightly to his chest.
“With so many distinguished guests present, it’s the perfect place for a formal introduction.”
“Well, I suppose so.”
When Leon nodded, Eil’s face lit up even brighter.
“Then please move in by tomorrow.”
“Huh? Tomorrow?”
I couldn’t help widening my eyes.
If the festival they were talking about was the upcoming Summer Celebration, then yes—preparations would already be tight…
But tomorrow? Really?
“No, that’s impossible. That’s way too soon.”
“And why is that?”
“Milady! You don’t have to worry about a thing. Do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this day!”
Leon questioned, and Eil jumped in.
“The quarters you’ll use are in the Inner Palace, supported by three hundred pillars that hold up the Crystal Drop chandeliers and the domed ceiling. The garden, complete with parterre flowerbeds, boasts scenery that is both mysterious and antique. For your comfort, the eastern greenhouse is filled with rosemary fragrance, and we’ve secured a tea set from the Marbas Salon, a house with five hundred years of tradition. Hah!”
“……”
“Everything is ready, so my lady only needs to bring herself… huff… that’s all.”
“Um. Amazing… really…”
Eil sounded like he’d truly been waiting for this day—he barely stopped to breathe.
“Mm, but that’s not really the issue here…”
Father may have given the final decision to me, but I should still talk to my family first.
Of course, something like that wouldn’t work on Hyperion—better to act shamelessly with him.
“I have a lot of men to sort out.”
“…What?”
“Gasp.”
Eil and Leon’s faces twisted—this time for an entirely different reason.
“M–men… Ah. Ahem. It’s already quite late. The, uh, Duke must be worried, so I’ll prepare the carriage. Please continue your conversation.”
After glancing at Leon, Eil bolted from the room.
Finally alone, I felt more relaxed as I looked at Leon.
“So just give me a few more days. I need to settle things and prepare.”
“This is giving me a headache.”
Leon pressed his temples as if a migraine had hit him.
“Fine. But make sure you clean up properly.”
“I will. Perfectly.”
See? Sometimes teasing him is too much fun.
“It’s late. I should head back now.”
Holding back a laugh, I stood up.
I’d sent word to Emma, but thinking about how worried my family must be made me impatient.
“Oh—one last thing.”
“……”
When I turned, I locked eyes with the man who had been following behind me.
Wow, he really is handsome.
Maybe it was because of the sunset spilling over his shoulders, but his red eyes looked strangely gentle—not a harsh blood-red, but almost…
“What now.”
His expression clearly said: If you have something to say, say it and go.
“Why me?”
I hesitated, then forced myself to ask.
The encounter had been completely unexpected, yet everything had progressed as if it were planned long ago.
To the point where I could almost believe Leon had known I’d be there that day.
“You rejected every proposal from every noble house. Even the Temple’s offer.”
“……”
I—Kaella Veritas—was meant to be a side character.
Despite being the only daughter of a powerful duke family, despite helping Karl rise to where he was, I was someone who crumbled before the protagonists’ love.
The nobler Kaella was, the purer Karl’s devotion looked when he abandoned such a fiancée for the heroine.
The more miserable she became, the more radiant the main couple’s love shone.
There was Lady Lutas, but she was deeply involved and backed by her house’s influence.
The Veritas duchy stayed neutral, and Kaella rarely appeared in public—of course her presence would be weaker.
In the end… I was the perfect disposable pawn.
“I know you chose a Crown Princess to keep the Temple in check. The ‘role’ you mentioned fits that logic.”
“……”
“It would be nice if we helped each other, but I can’t promise I’ll be able to.”
“……”
My heart got heavier with every word.
“As you know, Father insists on neutrality, and—”
“Stop.”
Leon, who had been silently staring down at me, cut me off.
“Who told you that.”
“…What?”
“Marquis Vastian? That senile old fossil?”
His reaction caught me off guard.
With the Emperor unconscious and the current Empress coming from the Lutas family, it was obvious there’d be a power struggle.
Which meant the Crown Princess’s family and stance mattered…
“Still, there’s no reason I have to be the one.”
“People really do talk nonsense, don’t they.”
He laughed quietly as he walked toward the door—so relaxed it made my worries feel foolish.
Could it really be… that he chose me simply because he met me that day?
“So there’s no other reason?”
“A reason…”
Hand on the doorknob, Leon turned back to look at me.
“You were pretty.”
“…Sorry?”
“Pretty enough to show up in my dreams.”
My grip on my dress tightened.
“That’s all.”
A cool late-summer breeze slipped in through the door.
“So stop overthinking and just prepare.”
His golden hair fluttered, eyes curving lightly beneath it.
“Well then…”
Unfair. Completely unfair.
I had to turn away quickly and hurry out before I lost it.
“See you in a few days.”
That smile tickled my heart far too much.
* * *
Hyperion stared at the carriage leaving the palace for a long time.
The starlight in the night sky dragged him back to that day.
The night when even the torrential rain couldn’t wash away the smell of blood…
Unconscious and consumed by madness, Hyperion had dreamed the same dream over and over.
It always began with the ruined Garden of Light, staring at Ignis.
Where was this? Why had the garden Mother loved become like this?
Had everything truly ended?
—
—I’ve waited so long for you, Hyperion.
—
A flash split the darkness, and a voice spoke.
—
—Who are you?
—
And every time, the same woman stood before him.
Ash-grey hair cold as moonlight, blue eyes flowing like a stream.
—
—Tell me now.
—
No matter how many times he asked, she only smiled.
—
—Even if everyone forgets me, you must remember.
—
And light bloomed in the ruined garden, like dawn chasing away night.
—
—Because I’m not a dream.
—
That was where the illusion always ended.
The days he dreamed it, he didn’t even need the temple’s Raviel medicine. Sometimes he could endure the heat even without the dream.
Whenever the fever drove him mad, he ran to that garden, and the chaos subsided—just like when he met that woman.
That day was no different.
—
—Excuse me.
—
The day the dream became real.
—
—Would you like to go out with me?
—I’ve waited so long for you, Hyperion.
—
Grey hair fluttering in the wind, eyes shimmering like moonlight layered over reality.
Who was this girl who barged into his garden?
—
—Why me?
—Because you were pretty. Pretty enough to appear in my dreams.
—
“I gave the wrong answer.”
Recalling his conversation with Kaella, Leon chuckled quietly.
“She’s even prettier than in the dream.”
