Chapter 20
As if reacting to the sudden voice that cut in, Ethan stopped threatening me.
‘…Now’s my chance!’
I tried to retreat without missing that split second.
But Ethan was faster. He grabbed my hand and pulled me firmly to his side.
As if that weren’t enough, he wrapped a strong arm around my waist and practically dragged me into his embrace.
Guided by his grip, I ended up standing right next to him and turned to look at the owner of the voice that had intervened between us.
“…Wow.”
The moment I saw him, a soft gasp escaped me without my realizing it.
Judging by the sudden chill radiating from Ethan beside me, it seemed he’d figured out exactly what emotion was hidden in that exclamation.
‘…Wow. He’s seriously handsome.’
A man with blond hair that looked like it held warm sunlight and fresh green eyes was looking at us.
It was clearly our first meeting, yet I knew exactly who he was.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Eunice Servita. I am Julius Reinhardt, Crown Prince of the Reinhardt Empire.”
Even as his gentle voice offered the greeting, I could only stare blankly at Julius.
There was clear confusion in the eyes watching me—but I knew there was also something faintly sorrowful and wistful in the way I was looking at him.
Still, I couldn’t tear my gaze away.
Julius Reinhardt.
The angelic male lead from the original story who built a beautiful love with the heroine, Rose Licetta.
Now…
Because Rose was dead, he was a tragic male lead who could no longer follow that beautiful original story.
‘…What are we supposed to do about our angelic male lead?’
Even in the original, he only ever had eyes for Rose.
Now he was kind, gentle—and heartbreakingly pitiful, on top of that.
If you really looked at it, our main lead had everything a second male lead could want.
So what gave that damn second male lead the right to stand so confidently in front of him?
Anyway, my heart hurt thinking that such a good male lead never got to achieve his love.
…All because I avoided my original fate.
Of course, I couldn’t exactly accept a death sentence either—but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
‘…Our poor angelic male lead.’
Unable to even think of responding to his greeting, I just kept looking at Julius with a sad, aching expression.
Lost in thoughts about the original story’s fate, I forgot—if only for a moment—who was standing beside me.
“The Crown Prince is greeting you. Hmm, Eunice?”
Ethan, who had been quietly observing Julius and me, reached out and gently wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
Still wearing my sorrowful expression, I lifted my head and looked at him.
Ethan frowned slightly, apparently realizing something was off about my expression.
Only then did a quiet “Ah…” slip from me.
‘This isn’t the time for this.’
The original story’s two protagonists were standing right in front of me—what was I even thinking?
I pushed my gloomy thoughts aside and faced Julius with the calmest expression I could manage.
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Julius waited patiently for my greeting with a warm smile.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness. I am Eunice Servita of House Servita.”
The moment I finished my polite greeting, the arm around my shoulders tightened.
Before I could react, I was pulled helplessly into Ethan’s chest.
And without giving me even a second to process it, Ethan dropped a bomb.
“You should introduce yourself differently now, Eunice.”
“…Pardon?”
“As the fiancée of Duke Clovis.”
I lifted my head in shock, unable to hide my expression.
Ethan glanced at me briefly, then lowered his head slightly.
“Stop talking nonsense and stay still. I’ll handle this.”
That was unmistakably Ethan’s voice.
Ironically, hearing that savage tone made me feel relieved.
When I pressed my lips tightly together, Ethan lifted his gaze to Julius standing before us.
No—more accurately, he seemed to be gauging his reaction.
Julius, apparently noticing, simply smiled faintly.
“You look good together.”
His gentle voice defined our relationship in the most unexpected way.
Reacting instinctively, I looked at him with sparkling eyes.
‘…Please. Save me.’
I sent him a desperate, pleading look—but either he didn’t notice or chose not to, because he merely smiled softly.
“You really do.”
“….”
“And Duke Clovis.”
I froze.
For a moment, I felt a chill run down the back of my head.
‘Isn’t this usually when people just say we look good together?’
Had he noticed my silent plea?
Maybe being around a suspicious mad dog had made me overly sensitive to weird things.
I kept my lips tightly shut, suppressing my unease.
Unaware of my thoughts, Ethan responded to Julius in an annoyingly composed voice.
“If you see it that way, I can only be grateful.”
With that cool conclusion from Ethan, the tense conversation finally ended.
‘I heard that Duke Clovis and Lady Servita had arrived at the palace, so I came. Please, follow me.’
That’s when Ethan and I realized that our “chance encounter” with Julius had actually been part of his larger plan.
Under Julius’s guidance, we were personally escorted to the office of Emperor Reinhardt.
As a result, Ethan and I now stood face-to-face with the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
“Haha! I thought Duke Clovis had no interest in women at all! To think you’d be this close with the mysterious Lady Servita!”
…Oh. Is this what they call a double kill?
I thought he was just teasing Ethan, so I stayed quiet—only to realize I’d been smacked in the back of the head instead.
“Y-You flatter us, Your Majesty.”
“Flatter you? Nonsense! Lady Servita has breached the iron fortress that even the Emperor of Reinhardt couldn’t crack!”
“Ah, haha…”
“I’m curious. Is there some secret, my lady?”
He came at us first. I didn’t even have time to run.
Swallowing my last thought, I forced an awkward smile.
The Emperor seated Ethan and me before him and proceeded to say only the things Ethan would hate most.
Only then did I fully understand the discomfort Ethan had been hiding behind his poker face.
‘There’s an old man who’s damn interested in my business.’
Now I get it.
Just sitting here was uncomfortable for me—so how bad must it be for Ethan, bearing all this attention?
I sent him a sympathetic glance, though whether it reached him or not was another matter.
Not that Ethan ever listened to me anyway.
“Hm. A young lady who melted Duke Clovis’s heart…”
“…Excuse me?”
“That’s quite interesting.”
But when the Emperor’s attention shifted from Ethan to me, the mood changed instantly.
“Shall we hear Lady Servita’s side of the story now?”
All eyes turned to me—Ethan beside me and Julius standing behind the Emperor alike.
“So tell me, Lady Servita. What kind of man is Duke Clovis?”
“…Pardon?”
What kind of man is he?
Obviously—
‘He’s a complete nightmare. The worst possible nightmare. An unholy nightmare squared.’
I said it four times in my head, and it still wasn’t enough.
But I couldn’t say that out loud. I laughed awkwardly instead.
“H-He’s… a good person.”
Damn it. I stuttered.
Not even having time to regret it, I hurried on to avoid suspicion.
“This morning as well—”
“This morning?”
He threatened me and told me to come quietly if I didn’t want to die.
“…He personally came to escort me. He’s very considerate.”
I had wrapped “a tactless bastard who barges into a noble lady’s home at dawn” in the politest wording possible.
Unfortunately, the only one who understood it—
“I’m glad you see it that way, Eunice.”
—was that damn Ethan.
‘I’m dead. I’m absolutely dead.’
It was only then that I started worrying about the aftermath, but the water was already spilled.
Unaware of my despair, the Emperor burst into hearty laughter.
“What a close couple you are.”
…He even added blessings we didn’t deserve.
Once the pleasantries finally wrapped up, the Emperor stroked his chin and smoothly shifted to the real topic.
“Since you’ve gone to the trouble of visiting, Duke, I’d like to discuss the Dublin mine we spoke of earlier.”
As he lightly introduced the main issue, the Emperor glanced at me.
Of course.
The engagement was bait—his real goal was dragging Ethan into imperial affairs.
Making no effort to hide it, the Emperor smiled gently at me.
“Lady Servita may find this conversation dull…”
Trailing off, he turned his gaze to Julius.
“Julius, why don’t you show Lady Servita around the palace?”
Caught off guard, I stared between the Emperor and Julius with wide eyes.
My gaze wavered anxiously before finally landing on Ethan beside me.
When I glanced at him, his red eyes flashed sharply as he glared at me.
‘Refuse. Tell them you don’t need that nonsense.’
‘Do you think I’m you?! How am I supposed to say that?!’
‘Shall I step in? Perhaps they want to see a devoted fiancé who’ll stop at nothing?’
‘T-That’s not it!’
As we exchanged a silent, dizzying conversation through our eyes, an unfamiliar hand suddenly appeared before me.
Ethan and I turned our heads at the same time.
“Would you accompany me, Lady Servita?”
Seeing Julius standing so close, I froze.
I looked at Julius once—then at Ethan.
And finally, I looked back at Julius again.
“…It would be an honor, Your Highness.”
…I decided to worry about the consequences later.
