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Chapter 50
“Mel, have you been well?”
—Aside from missing you, Juhee, I’ve been fine! I’m really glad Lord Aspel came to the forest.
“What kind of person is Aspel, exactly?”
—Lord Aspel is an elder of the elf village.
“An elder?”
—Yeah! He manages the elf village. But more importantly… Juhee, you were a half-elf? Did you know?
“Not at all.”
At that moment, Mel tilted her head and asked:
—Juhee, then is Rowen coming with us too?
“…No. Rowen has to stay here.”
—Why can’t he come? Can’t you ask him to come with us?
“No. He’s a busy person, and he has to protect this place.”
—Protect this place? Something this big?
“Yeah.”
Even if she told Mel that Rowen was the emperor, it didn’t seem like Mel would understand, so Juhee glossed over it.
Worried that Mel might bring him up again, Juhee quickly changed the subject.
“There’s a place you might like. Want to go together?”
—Really? Let’s go! Hurry!
Fortunately, simple-minded Mel immediately brightened up, grabbed Juhee’s finger, and tugged her along.
Juhee led Mel and Lu toward the garden.
As they came out through a side path, Mel beamed.
—This place is so nice! Let’s come every day!
“Sure.”
Mel fluttered her tiny wings and darted forward, with Lu chasing after her.
Lu seemed happy to see Mel again after so long, wagging his tail energetically.
At that moment, they heard rustling footsteps behind them.
Thinking it might be Rowen, Juhee turned around—but it was someone else entirely.
“I had no idea a place like this existed. Well, it’ll be mine anyway.”
Evelyn spoke loudly to herself, glancing at Juhee.
She emphasized the words “mine” on purpose, yet Juhee remained expressionless.
It almost felt like she was looking down on her, as if such a day would never come.
Since they had run into each other, Juhee felt she should greet her—but she couldn’t remember her name.
As she stood there trying to recall it, Evelyn mistook it for being ignored, and her lips twitched.
“How can you be so rude? Do you not know how to greet people, my lady?”
“…I’m sorry, but I forgot your name. Could you tell me again?”
“What?”
Evelyn clenched her fists.
To her ears, it sounded like Juhee was saying she was too insignificant to remember.
She had never felt so humiliated before.
She wanted to crack that unchanging expression somehow.
Suddenly, Evelyn broke into a bright smile.
“Oh, by the way—did you know?”
At her sudden remark, Juhee tilted her head.
With a confident smile, Evelyn said:
“After my coming-of-age ceremony, I’ve just finished discussing marriage with His Majesty.”
“….”
“So I’d like you to leave the imperial palace soon. His Majesty shouldn’t get caught up in unnecessary rumors. You understand, right?”
Evelyn cupped her cheek and smiled prettily.
‘Come on, show me your expression breaking already!’
She stared at Juhee with anticipation.
Though it was a lie, it didn’t matter—because it would become true eventually.
But even after several minutes, Juhee’s expression didn’t change.
Instead, she calmly replied:
“Congratulations.”
“W-What did you say?”
“I said congratulations on your marriage. Is there a problem?”
Evelyn trembled, clenching her fists.
Her teeth ground together involuntarily.
She knew it was unladylike, but she couldn’t suppress the boiling anger otherwise.
“Why…?”
“Yes?”
“Why are you so calm? You don’t have to act in front of me! Just tell me how you really feel!”
Startled by the sudden outburst, Juhee took a step back.
Evelyn’s eyes burned as she glared at her.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“You’re jealous! You’re dying of jealousy! You’re such a good actress—but you can’t fool me. So just admit it!”
Juhee let out a deep sigh.
Evelyn had probably said that to make her jealous, but unfortunately, Juhee felt nothing at all.
Thinking it would be easier to just pretend to be jealous and send her away, Juhee hesitated—
Then suddenly, a loud voice rang out.
—That witch is bullying Juhee! Wolf, charge!
“Woof!”
Lu came charging toward them like the wind.
At his bark, Evelyn flinched and looked around.
“W-What is that?!”
Only then did she notice Lu rushing toward her.
“D-Don’t come! Aah!”
Backing away as if he might pounce at any moment, Evelyn finally turned and ran down the side path.
—The witch has been defeated! Wolf, good job!
Mel jumped up and down, beaming.
Lu panted happily, his tongue out, wagging his tail wildly.
As if asking for praise, he looked up at Juhee, who eventually patted him.
“Thanks for helping me. That could’ve been troublesome.”
—Just leave it to me! I’ll protect you, Juhee!
Mel puffed out her chest proudly.
While petting Lu, Juhee fell into thought.
‘Marriage…’
Since the story was supposed to end with the two main characters getting married, it wasn’t surprising.
Still, she felt a little sorry for that noble lady earlier.
‘Rowen will marry the female lead anyway.’
But that was all.
Juhee cleanly pushed thoughts of Rowen’s marriage aside.
She was leaving in a few days anyway—she didn’t want to cause any unnecessary trouble.
After going out together, Juhee no longer avoided him.
They ate meals together, sat facing each other, and drank tea like now.
She didn’t ask him to remove the bracelet anymore.
It was a good thing—but something about it felt off, so Rowen kept a close eye on her.
However, he found nothing particularly suspicious, and felt somewhat relieved.
As the coronation approached, Rowen became extremely busy.
Juhee only saw him for a few hours a day at most.
Whenever she saw him, he looked exhausted.
Dark circles lingered under his eyes, as if he hadn’t been sleeping well.
After dinner, while they were having tea in his room, Juhee spoke softly:
“Rowen, the coronation is tomorrow. Shouldn’t you sleep early?”
“Hm? Ah… yes. But I just can’t seem to fall asleep.”
He smiled awkwardly.
After fiddling with her teacup for a moment, Juhee stood up, took his hand, and pulled him up.
“Juhee?”
“Come lie down.”
She led him straight to the bed.
Rowen shook his head awkwardly.
“No, it’s okay.”
“I’ll hold your hand.”
She gently waved their joined hands.
In the end, Rowen lay down.
Juhee dragged a chair beside the bed and sat.
Then she carefully held his hand.
He flinched slightly, not expecting her to really do it—but Juhee pretended not to notice.
“You look like you could collapse any moment, you know.”
“Haha… do I?”
“So sleep early today.”
Rowen hesitated, then squeezed her hand tightly.
But she didn’t pull away.
Out of habit, his gaze drifted to her wrist.
As always, a platinum bracelet was there.
For a moment, it almost felt like he could hear faint jewel-like clinking.
Juhee didn’t sing a lullaby or pat him—but strangely, sleep came easily.
After the coronation, he planned to go out with her once more.
His eyes slowly closed.
“Juhee… don’t go…”
“Yes.”
“You promised…”
“Yes.”
His eyes shut completely.
The room fell silent, filled only with the sound of his breathing.
After sitting still for a long time, Juhee carefully waved her hand in front of his face.
No reaction—he was truly asleep.
Just in case, she brought his hand to the bracelet—but nothing happened.
She hadn’t expected it to come off easily, so she wasn’t too disappointed.
Her gaze shifted from the bracelet to his face.
With his eyes closed, he looked like an angel.
This would be the last time she showed him kindness.
After the coronation, when he came to her room, she would be gone.
His anger would be brief.
Soon after, the female lead would appear and comfort him with love.
And then, he would forget Juhee completely.
At least—that’s what Juhee believed.
But she didn’t realize that the gears of fate had already gone off course long ago.
The day of the coronation dawned.
From early morning, the palace was bustling.
Looking outside, she saw people rushing around.
Then came a knock, followed by Rowen’s voice.
“Juhee, it’s me.”
When she opened the door, Rowen stood there in a splendid uniform.
It was dazzlingly ornate.
If exaggerated a bit, even a single button from his outfit looked like it could support a lifetime.
He smiled warmly.
“As I said before, I’ll probably have to be on my own today. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime coronation. Are you heading there now?”
“Ah, not yet. I’ll go early to check preparations and rehearse.”
After hesitating briefly, he asked:
“Do you want to come watch?”
“Thanks for asking, but I didn’t sleep well yesterday, so I’m a bit tired.”
“Ah… then get some more rest.”
“I’ll come when it starts.”
“Alright.”
She had promised to attend the coronation, though not the ball.
“I’ve already told the maids—they’ll come get you later.”
“Okay. See you later.”
After squeezing her hand one last time, Rowen left.
Watching his retreating figure, Juhee quietly closed the door.
