Chapter 75
When Adrian burst through the door shouting, Alperen frowned deeply.
His nerves were already on edge — Rodelia had been ignoring every one of his messages for days.
Who cares what you found? Some of us are dying of heartbreak here!
His tone sharpened without meaning to, thinking Adrian must’ve come bragging again.
“So, what is it this time? Did you find another legendary sword or something?”
He assumed it was just another of Adrian’s “rare-weapon discoveries.”
But Adrian ran straight up to him, grabbed both his shoulders, and said excitedly,
“Not a sword — a woman.”
“A woman?”
You?
Alperen pointed at him, eyes wide in disbelief.
Adrian Ferris — rumored as much of a stone statue as Alperen himself — had never shown interest in women.
People even joked the two of them might secretly be dating each other.
Even while Alperen had been pining after Rodelia, Adrian had never once fallen for anyone.
“Who is she?”
Alperen’s question was genuine curiosity.
Who on earth had managed to melt this unshakable man’s heart?
Adrian blushed like a shy schoolboy.
“You might know her. She’s a professor from the Academy, here to collaborate with the Tower.”
“…Don’t tell me—Summer Clophen?”
Alperen’s eyes flew open.
He’d just been thinking about how to get rid of that woman.
“Yeah, that’s right! Her name’s Summer. She’s just like a forest fairy — even her name means summer!”
Adrian gushed, shamelessly lovestruck.
The talk of “forest fairies” wasn’t even new — Alperen had heard similar rambling from Rodelia before.
And at that, Alperen’s mind began racing.
Rodelia wanted to set him up with Summer Clophen.
But he only wanted Rodelia.
Now, if Adrian liked Summer…
Then Rodelia wouldn’t be able to keep pushing Summer toward Alperen, would she?
You can’t exactly match your brother with your ex-fake-boyfriend’s crush.
“Ha-ha…”
Alperen ran a hand through his hair, laughing darkly.
Lack of sleep and heartbreak made that laugh sound almost menacing.
He hadn’t seen Rodelia for days.
He was reaching his limit.
The withdrawal symptoms were bad — no sleep, no appetite, barely hanging on.
And now, Adrian’s “first love” news was a golden opportunity.
With a decision made, Alperen said smoothly,
“Want me to introduce you?”
The hidden intent behind his words didn’t even register to Adrian.
“Really?”
“Yeah. As it happens, Summer Clophen and I went to the same school.”
“What?! And I didn’t know that?”
“If you ever went to the library, you’d know.”
“Ahh… right. That explains it.”
Adrian smacked his forehead in realization.
Being a special-admission student for the swordsmanship department, he’d spent most of his time training — not studying.
That was how he’d become close to Alperen in the first place.
“So how are you planning to introduce me?”
“However you want. If you prefer something natural, I’ll find you an excuse to visit the Tower.
If you’d rather something direct, I’ll just set up a meeting for you.”
Adrian squinted suspiciously.
“Hold on. Since when are you this nice, Duke Ainrook? That’s… suspicious.”
Ah, there it was — the instinctive wariness of a man who’d seen too much of Alperen’s Rodelia obsession.
Alperen turned his back with a deadpan face.
“Forget it, then.”
“Wait-wait-wait! Who said no?! Please! Do it, Master of the Tower, great Duke of the mighty Ainrook family, I’m begging you!”
Adrian immediately switched to groveling mode, grinning like an idiot.
Alperen felt oddly conflicted looking at his lovestruck face.
After sealing the promise to “help,” Adrian finally revealed the real reason he’d come.
“By the way… things seem tense between you and Rodelia lately. Did you two fight?”
Ah, so that’s why he was here.
Alperen’s expression stiffened.
“…We didn’t fight.”
But you can’t fool Adrian Ferris’s eyes.
“You totally fought.”
“I said we didn’t.”
“Remind me — what did I say I’d do if you ever made our Deli cry?”
His playful smile vanished, replaced with a cold stare that said he wasn’t joking.
In truth, Adrian had noticed the rift between them before anyone else.
The moment Rodelia, who usually loved lazing around, suddenly threw herself into work — he knew something had happened.
He’d come here planning to scold Alperen for making her upset.
But seeing his friend so pale and thin, all the anger faded.
Maybe Rodelia had misunderstood something again and shut herself off.
Especially after hearing about Jessica Miranda — that could’ve made things worse.
So instead of punching him, Adrian decided to help — as repayment for the “love introduction.”
He draped an arm around Alperen’s shoulder and said firmly,
“Hey. I don’t know what happened, but just apologize. No excuses. Say you’re sorry first.”
The Duke of Ferris’s ultimate winning strategy — simple and effective.
But Alperen only sighed bitterly.
“It’s not that simple.”
“My dad says that works for almost everything.”
“If it could work, I’d have done it a hundred times already.”
Hmm. Complicated, then.
Adrian crossed his arms, pondering for a moment.
“So what now? You’re just gonna sit here like this?”
His pointed tone earned a long exhale from Alperen.
He was already agonizing over it, and now Adrian was just making noise.
“Ha… if you’re not here to help, get out.
If you came just to tease me, definitely get out.”
Alperen flicked his hand, magically opening the door — effectively kicking him out.
But then Adrian casually dropped a bomb:
“I thought you’d be more curious about Jessica Miranda.”
“…”
“Should I really go, then?”
As Adrian stepped toward the door, Alperen immediately slammed it shut again.
Moments later, he sighed and gestured toward the couch.
“Sit. Let’s talk.”
* * *
[Confidential Report — Ferris Family Records]
Rodelia Ferris developed severe psychological trauma and aphasia after her fall.
The Duke of Ferris and Count Miranda signed a private agreement, and afterward the Miranda family left for their territory. The incident was covered up.
The written agreement was reportedly destroyed in last year’s flood.
To protect his daughter’s mental health, the Duke later used memory-erasing magic to remove all recollection of Jessica Miranda — a spell still in effect.
Nanael smiled in satisfaction as she read the report her spy within House Ferris had sent.
“Memory-erasing magic, huh.”
So Rodelia Ferris was even more fragile than she’d imagined.
To use such magic just because of a little bullying?
Well, her cotton-candy-soft looks did make her seem like she’d melt away in the rain.
At that last tea party, her face went white the moment she saw Jessica Miranda.
I thought she remembered her, but maybe that reaction was just instinctive fear.
Either way, summoning Jessica to the capital had been the right move.
The Ferris family had likely pressured the Mirandas in a mild, discreet way to protect their daughter.
Whatever deals the two families made back then didn’t matter to her.
And since the original contract was lost — all the better.
Funny… I never even heard about any such agreement.
Apparently Jessica herself had no idea that her father had signed anything with the Duke.
Not that it mattered.
Even if such a document still existed, Jessica Miranda and her father were merely temporary pawns — tools to be used and discarded.
Nanael had no intention of sharing their risk.
“So basically, almost no one knows about this.”
That meant even if the girl remembered nothing, the Ferris family wouldn’t easily move against her.
“Bring Jessica in.”
At her command, Jessica entered the bedroom.
As the maids finished arranging Nanael’s hair, the princess spoke casually.
“Did you finish packing?”
