Chapter 24
Melina Sroon blinked repeatedly, unable to easily escape the experience of putting herself in Aveline’s shoes.
In truth, Aveline didn’t even know what Melina Sroon’s younger brother looked like.
She only knew that his name was occasionally mentioned among the young ladies.
‘Judging by Melina Sroon, her brother might be quite cute too?’
If so, she could understand why he was sometimes talked about.
“Well… it is a bit disconcerting. There are sometimes girls who make a fuss about liking him, and I really couldn’t understand it.”
Melina Sroon naturally introduced herself.
“That’s exactly what you’ve been doing to me.”
“……”
Melina Sroon’s face, which had covered her mouth in shock, once again turned bright red.
“B-But Lord Ares is…!”
Melina Sroon’s lips moved a few times as if trying to make an excuse, but she soon gave up.
“…Alright. This time, I’m truly sorry. For everything I’ve done to you. I knew I was being childish, but I couldn’t help myself.”
“Isn’t this apology coming too quickly compared to your attitude earlier?”
“Why are you making a fuss even when I apologize!”
Melina Sroon, who had been reacting immediately to Aveline’s words, let out a big sigh.
“Actually, Count Herolds came to our mansion at that time and was furious, telling me to apologize to you. But because of my pride, I kept putting off the apology.”
“…What?”
Aveline’s mind went blank at the sudden mention of her father.
“I said I was holding off on apologizing because of my pride!”
“No, before that. What do you mean my father visited your mansion? What are you talking about?”
“The day after your debut, Count Herolds barged into our mansion early in the morning. He then threatened my father, saying that if something like this happened again, he wouldn’t let it slide. I didn’t know because he always seemed expressionless, but when he’s angry, he’s really scary.”
“…My father did?”
“Yes. Anyway, my mother and I were called by my father that day and got scolded terribly. I heard later that Count Herolds had desperately pleaded with His Majesty the Emperor to prevent you from being disciplined. Because you’re supposed to be automatically punished for causing a disturbance at an imperial party, you know.”
“…”
“I heard he couldn’t even come home for a while because he was busy looking up precedents for punishments related to imperial parties? Later, I heard from my father that His Majesty agreed to let it slide on the condition that Lord Ares would join the imperial faction. Well, thanks to that, I got off scot-free too… What? Did you really not know any of this?”
These were all things Aveline was hearing for the first time.
‘Father went to the Sroon mansion and got angry?’
And for her sake, of all people?
‘Then, when he came home a week later and immediately started taking Ares to central council meetings, was it all…’
As things started to fall into place one by one, she was struck speechless by the tremendous shock.
She had thought her father wouldn’t return home for a while because he didn’t want to see her.
She had assumed he immediately took Ares to central council meetings because it highlighted her incompetence in comparison to Ares.
‘I always thought Father disliked me.’
But the story she heard from Melina Sroon was something she never could have imagined, even in her dreams.
“…I had no idea.”
When Aveline mumbled blankly, Melina Sroon made an expression of disbelief.
“You came here today armed to the teeth with such incredible things, and you really didn’t know?”
“What does this have to do with anything?”
“What do you mean? It’s clearly a message not to lay even a finger-nail sized scratch on you!”
Melina Sroon exclaimed, as if frustrated.
“Do you know how much my mother scolded me until I was in tears when I thoughtlessly criticized your outfit earlier? She said Countess Herolds is an incredibly formidable person. She said if I offended her wrongly, it could be the end of me in high society.”
“Really?”
“Yes! So she scolded me, saying Count Herolds must have sent you with full intent… Ah! I shouldn’t have said that!”
Melina Sroon, who had blurted out her true feelings in the heat of the moment, hastily covered her mouth.
However, Aveline didn’t have the capacity to pay attention to Melina Sroon right now.
She had thought she was just wearing her mother’s things because she had nothing suitable to wear, but she had no idea there was such meaning behind it.
Barging into the Sroon estate.
Even negotiating with His Majesty the Emperor to avoid her punishment.
‘Perhaps… Father cares for me more than I thought?’
Thinking that her father, whom she thought didn’t even care about her, had done all those things for her sake, her heart swelled with emotion.
“…Are you angry because I said I badmouthed you?”
Misinterpreting the long silence, Melina Sroon started to gauge Aveline’s mood.
In truth, Aveline’s anger had already dissipated after hearing about her father from Melina Sroon, but she maintained a stern expression.
After all, as the person responsible for Aveline’s seclusion over the past four years, she wasn’t inclined to forgive her easily.
“Yes, I’m angry.”
“No! Please forgive me, okay? If my father finds out, I’ll be in big trouble this time.”
“Then you’ll have to make up for it with your body.”
“What? How? I’ll do anything as long as it’s not too difficult!”
As Melina Sroon looked at her with a terrified expression, Aveline’s eyes gleamed with a wicked smile that didn’t match her gentle face.
“You did say you’d do anything, right?”
* * *
In the royal resting area set up in the hallway of the banquet hall, the Crown Prince and Theron sat facing each other.
As befitting two of the top three handsome men in the empire, both the Crown Prince and Theron were showing off their good looks.
Unlike Theron, who always maintained a refined image, the Crown Prince exuded a relaxed and leisurely atmosphere.
“So, who is it?”
Crown Prince Serio, with his golden hair and red eyes, asked Theron.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know. I’m talking about the young lady you were staring at earlier.”
At Serio’s provocation, Theron’s expression, which had been pretending to be relaxed, stiffened slightly.
However, he quickly regained his original expression, trying not to show it.
“Young lady? I was looking at the young master next to her.”
“…Young master? Who was… Don’t tell me, Ares? Really?”
As Serio asked in disbelief, Theron nodded shamelessly.
“You’ve already finished investigating me and know the rumors, don’t you? That I visited the Herolds mansion recently.”
“Yes. I’ve been losing sleep for days wondering about that. Why on earth did you go there?”
Serio admitted frankly, showing interest.
“And I’m dying to know about the article in today’s newspaper. Who on earth is this mysterious lady? Who is she that’s causing such a commotion among Casey Viscount, Ares, and even you?”
Serio’s eyes sparkled, unable to resist an interesting story.
“It’s amazing that there’s still something in this empire that I don’t know about.”
While Serio didn’t often show his face at imperial events, he held all the gossip of the empire in his hands.
He even had a separate person collecting rumors circulating in society, in addition to subscribing to newspapers from different companies.
“I’m sometimes amazed at Your Highness’s diligence in acquiring all the information.”
“When I open my eyes in the morning, I first check what happened the night before. Interesting things usually happen while I’m asleep.”
Serio said, leaning back comfortably on the sofa.
“Anyway, it’s interesting that there are rumors about you having a special interest in Ares. Honestly, I thought you two were like oil and water. Ah, poor Ares.”
As Serio spoke in a teasing tone, Theron immediately stood up.
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll take my leave now.”
“How cold.”
Theron, ignoring Serio’s complaint, bowed and immediately opened the door and left.
“Well, who do we have here?”
As soon as he came out into the banquet hall, someone approached Theron familiarly.
“Duke Casey.”
The one who spoke was Logan’s father, Duke Casey.
Duke Casey had silver hair and purple eyes, just like his son.
“I was just hoping to have a chat with you after seeing today’s article. What on earth happened yesterday? And who is this mysterious lady? I tried to ask young master Herolds, but he’s hard to find.”
“Hasn’t he already left?”
At Theron’s words, Duke Casey shook his head.
“I saw young master Herolds entering the Emperor’s reception room alone earlier, but it seems he hasn’t come out yet. I was going to ask Miss Herolds, but where has she gone?”
Theron paused at Duke Casey’s continued words.
“…Miss Herolds is not in sight either?”
“My wife said she saw her heading towards the garden earlier. I’m worried that Miss Herolds, still unfamiliar with the imperial palace, might get lost.”
“I’ll take my leave now.”
“Ah, wait? Duke Ribes! You haven’t answered my question…!”
But Theron had already left.
Theron came outside, pushing through the people trying to approach and speak to him.
Soon, a white light caught his eye from inside the garden.
It was the light coming from Aveline.
More precisely, it was Theron’s magic power circling around Aveline that was emitting light.
It wasn’t a lie when he said he could recognize Aveline anywhere.
The aura of the magic stone that Aveline had swallowed was visible to Theron, its original owner.
This was also related to why he was shocked when he discovered Aveline in the banquet hall earlier.
The magic power of his that enveloped Aveline was shining much brighter than before.
He had been trying to figure out what had happened during the night, as his attempt to enter Aveline’s dream last night had failed, and now her magic power had even amplified.
From Theron’s perspective, he needed to find out the reason as soon as possible.
As he moved towards the light, Aveline appeared as expected.
But Aveline wasn’t alone.
