Chapter 56
‘You never know when my unpredictable fiancée might wake up and scamper off somewhere.’
‘She’s this sick—how could I just leave? So lie down already. Don’t make me worry.’
…Ha. I shouldn’t be thinking things like this.
Lately, Ethan had been acting completely unlike himself—practically starring in “Our Ethan Has Changed.”
And because of that… just a little, really just a little, my heart had begun to waver.
Why are you suddenly being so soft when you’re supposed to be a rabid mad dog? Why are you making me overthink things?!
“…Miss Servita?”
“Ah—ah, yes.”
Pulled out of my spiral of thoughts by Julius’s puzzled voice, I looked up at him.
I should have realized right then that this wasn’t okay—but the fact that I hesitated for about three seconds was a shock in itself.
Of course, Julius wouldn’t know that. He seemed to interpret my silence in a completely different way.
“This may be an impertinent thing to say, but Ethan Clovis will never make you happy.”
…It really was impertinent.
If I truly loved Ethan, it would have been—without question.
So I’m fine.
I should be fine.
“…How can you be so certain?” I asked.
“Pardon?”
“How can you be so sure that Ethan won’t make me happy?”
I couldn’t tell why a corner of my heart felt so strangely unsettled.
Perhaps he sensed the discomfort creeping into my voice, because Julius replied without hesitation.
“You don’t look happy when you’re standing beside him.”
“…You can tell that?”
“I may not look it, but I’m rather perceptive. You smile so brightly over something as small as this little cake—yet beside him, you look like a frightened rabbit, frozen and unsure.”
“……”
“Besides, that man doesn’t exactly seem like the type to be warm and affectionate just because someone happens to be his fiancée.”
I flinched.
I froze, unable to hide my surprise.
…This is the first time.
The first person who knows Ethan is a foul-tempered mad dog!
It felt like finding a comrade in the middle of a long, lonely war.
I straightened up, eyes sparkling as I looked at Julius.
Though clearly taken aback by my sudden reaction, Julius listened patiently.
“Wow. Your Highness, you knew too? That man’s awful temper—well, prickly personality?”
That was definitely a mistake.
I was supposed to be playing the role of a blissfully happy fiancée, yet here I was practically celebrating the fact that someone recognized my fiancé’s terrible personality.
If Julius were as sharp as I thought, he might have found it suspicious.
Unfortunately, I realized that far too late.
At this point…
“How could I not? I’ve known Duke Clovis for a long time.”
“Wow. I thought I was the only one who knew…”
I was just happy to have found an ally.
Julius, seemingly pleased that I acknowledged it too, brought up something he normally wouldn’t have asked.
“I’m curious. How did the two of you become so… deeply involved?”
“Ha… If I start telling that story, even staying up all night wouldn’t be enough.”
“That’s fine. As you know, we still have…”
A predictable lead-in.
But the look in his eyes afterward was completely unexpected.
Julius lowered his gaze slightly, glancing at the half-eaten slice of cake.
“We still have plenty of desserts left.”
Only then did I remember that he’d boldly declared, ‘Everything from here to there, please.’
I let out a soft laugh.
“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to tell a story you can’t hear without shedding a few tears.”
Because it’s scary enough to make you cry a little.
I swallowed the rest of the sentence.
“I look forward to it.”
Carried away by the joy of finding someone I clicked with, I let my tongue run free once again.
If Julius had truly wanted to hear about Ethan and me, he certainly proved it—he listened in silence the whole time.
When the audience listens closely, the storyteller can’t help but get more animated.
“And that’s what I mean! He’s good at everything else, so why is he so unbelievably oblivious in moments like that?!”
“Oh dear. That must have hurt.”
“Right?! I mean, honestly! How can someone with a face that dazzling propose in such a completely unromantic way? That’s just unfair!”
Encouraged by Julius’s sympathetic responses, I rambled on like an excited child.
Julius occasionally let out a low “Oh?”, clearly intrigued.
“This is surprising. I thought Ethan Clovis’s emotions had long since dried up and disappeared.”
I stiffened.
At his genuinely astonished tone, I flinched without meaning to.
…I’m sorry, male lead.
Yes. This was all heavily edited. Completely dramatized.
No matter how enchanted I was by Julius’s handsome face and sweet desserts, I wasn’t about to tell our story exactly as it was.
I’d merely… adjusted it slightly.
The part where my life was held hostage by Ethan, forcing me into the role of a fiancée who adored him with all her heart—
“I can’t believe it. A man who seemed utterly indifferent, desperately courting someone…”
I reframed it as: Ethan fell in love with me at first sight, pursued me earnestly, and I eventually accepted him.
And the subtle tension Julius had noticed between Ethan and me—
“They say people change when they’re in love, but perhaps that’s an old saying. He’s still just as prickly.”
“And yet you accept that? There must be many men who would cherish you far more.”
“Because he’s handsome!”
“…?”
“The gods are fair to everyone. They gave Ethan stunning looks—and took away his humanity.”
In other words, I was generously overlooking his flaws because of his face.
Honestly, if this were a novel, readers would complain it was too unrealistic.
I discreetly pressed a hand to my chest, calming my racing heart so Julius wouldn’t notice.
But truthfully, what frightened me more than the ridiculous lies I was spinning was—
I’ll have to make Ethan go along with this story later…
Confessing this nonsense to him later was far scarier.
“Hm. I’m not convinced the gods are quite that fair.”
“Pardon?”
“If they were truly fair, they wouldn’t have given you to Duke Clovis. You’re far too good for that man.”
“Oh my, you’re right! And yet the person in question doesn’t even realize what an incredible stroke of luck he has!”
That was something to worry about later.
Julius calmly played along, encouraging my reactions with his gentle tone.
“Honestly… if he weren’t my fiancé, I’d love to smack him on the back of the head just once.”
Swayed by his kindness, I spoke cheerfully.
But when I actually imagined hitting Ethan like that, my mood turned bitter instead.
Hng. Maybe that was a bit too much.
Lately, he had been acting like a reformed man—“Our Ethan Has Changed.”
He’d even been gentler with me, in his own way.
I was about to say something in Ethan’s defense when—
“What a shame.”
Julius spoke first, having only nodded along until now.
The words he chose were unsettling.
All I could do was stare at him, confused, waiting for him to continue.
And when he did, the words only tangled my thoughts further.
“If only I had met you before Ethan Clovis…”
His voice carried an emotion I neither could nor should understand.
The sentence was incomplete.
Yet I knew exactly what he meant.
Normally, I could have brushed it off with a joke. Julius would have done the same, and we’d pretend nothing happened.
But the moment I heard him, I froze—unable to respond at all.
It was a sense of dissonance I shouldn’t have felt from the angelic male lead.
And yet… it felt familiar.
‘You must not get engaged to Ethan Clovis, Miss Eunice Servita.’
‘Ethan Clovis is a dangerous man.’
Yes. That feeling.
It was the same unease I’d felt back when Julius tried to stop my engagement to Ethan.
I couldn’t understand the depth of Julius’s emotions—nor did they seem entirely pure.
Was I imagining things?
Why did this feel so unsettling?
I steadied my wavering heart and instinctively touched my neck.
It was a habit—something I did whenever I felt anxious.
But today, even that didn’t help.
Ah… I lost the magic stone.
My fingers brushed against the empty space, and I slowly lowered my hand.
Realizing the talisman that had always protected me was gone drained my strength.
And yet—
Instead of my anxiety growing, another image surfaced.
…Ethan.
I didn’t know why he was the one who came to mind.
All I could think of was the way he’d calmly comforted me, reaching out his hand.
For the first time, I realized I missed him.
I had only just thought it—
Tap.
—as if he’d heard my heart, a familiar hand settled on my shoulder.
Startled, I flinched—but my body recognized the touch before my mind did, and relief washed over me.
“That would never have happened, so there’s no need to worry. Eunice is my fiancée.”
Of course, that sense of security didn’t last long.
…I’m dead.
I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was.
After spending day and night together for days, there was no way I wouldn’t recognize that deep, familiar scent.
Forgetting the anxiety that had plagued me just moments before, I slowly lifted my head as if entranced.
And the crimson eyes that met mine—
“I came to find my fiancée, who ran off without a word, completely unaware that her fiancé was burning with worry.”
…It was despair itself.
