Chapter 170…………………………………….
The golden aura bursting from Aldensis’ body collided violently with the red aura radiating from Zikren.
“……?”
Aldensis looked at his younger brother with his blue eyes full of confusion.
‘Why is he interfering?’
He wore a face that clearly showed he could not understand Zikren’s actions at all.
And that made sense.
From what I remembered, whenever the brothers faced a problem before, Aldensis’ judgment was almost always correct. Zikren would follow his older brother’s opinion without hesitation every time.
But this time, it was different.
Zikren looked straight at Aldensis and spoke.
“I know what you’re worried about. But our thinking might be wrong. No, it is wrong. It’s always been that way, hasn’t it?”
“But…….”
“There’s no time to argue.”
Zikren flared his aura, making it burn intensely, and attacked his older brother.
“I’m sorry, hyung.”
Huh?
Aldensis was surprised.
He never expected Zikren to attack so directly.
He wasn’t prepared to fight back and could only take the attack head-on.
The two auras collided directly.
Red lightning crackled, enveloping Aldensis’ body.
Only then did Zikren retract his energy.
“Convincing hyung is impossible. I’ve restrained him for a moment, so let’s use this chance to escape.”
“…….”
The next moment, my arm was suddenly grabbed.
In front of the stunned onlookers, Zikren hurriedly pulled me away.
We escaped from the main building and headed outside the royal palace.
‘He actually got us out of there.’
It was amazing.
For someone like me, who had to leave to survive, Zikren was like a savior.
I looked at him while running.
“Thank you.”
“It’s fine. I did it because I wanted to.”
Zikren said, taking something long and familiar from his sleeve.
I was surprised again.
“That’s my fan, isn’t it? The one I lost in the maze. Aldensis said he picked it up and then lost it…….”
“Yeah.”
Zikren replied bluntly.
“I stole it while hyung wasn’t looking. I wanted to give it back to you. I couldn’t just leave it—it made me jealous.”
“You……”
“That’s right.”
Zikren lowered his golden eyes slightly and said,
“I’m not the only one who likes you. I like you too. No, I probably like you more than hyung does.”
“Wasn’t that not true?”
I asked in surprise.
“Last time, when you asked me, I said no. I thought if I confessed, you’d freak out and run away. We hadn’t been on good terms for a while.”
Zikren answered.
“But I guess there’s no point hiding it anymore. I’ve liked you all along. Since we were kids.”
“…….”
So that’s how it was.
I watched Zikren, embarrassed and blushing slightly.
Until now, like Aldensis, I had drawn a clear line with Zikren too.
I thought he was just possessed by someone else.
‘But in the end, I was still me.’
I remembered the first time I met Zikren.
Another boy sitting next to the Crown Prince, who seemed like my ideal type come to life.
The red-haired boy who turned his head with a “hmph!” as soon as our eyes met.
‘Hmph, me too!’
I thought he was really annoying, but after meeting him a few more times, I realized he was surprisingly easy to talk to.
Probably because we were both fiery in personality.
So we played pranks and got into huge fights over proposals……
And he had liked me all this time.
‘But why did he act so contrary?’
I was baffled, but at the same time, a strange feeling arose.
I didn’t dislike Zikren. Even though we fought so much, I never truly hated him.
Actually, I might have liked him quite a lot.
‘But…….’
Even though he made a clumsy but sincere confession, enough to move my heart……
My heart didn’t respond.
Had it completely hardened?
Had my soul’s strange journey turned me into a ruthless person who only cared about survival?
Of course, I would repay him for saving me.
But I could not answer, “I like you too.”
Because it simply wasn’t true.
Just as I was about to speak, Zikren interrupted me.
“I’ve charged some magic into the fan. I think it was originally used as a weapon. It should be useful a few times.”
Without waiting for my response, he handed me the fan and spoke quickly.
“Hyung doesn’t get angry just because he wants to. Thanks to you, we’ve relieved a lot of our anxieties, and even the secret about Mother has been revealed, so the World Tree’s lullaby is no longer needed. But relying on humans—turns out it wasn’t such a good idea.”
Zikren shrugged.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps from pursuers came from the trees. He looked in that direction and said quickly,
“Anyway, good luck. I’ll do what I can from my side.”
Then he winked at me and disappeared like the wind.
“…….”
I stared at the spot where he had vanished.
‘Zikren to the end.’
My feelings were complicated, but there was no time to dwell on them.
I steadied myself and started moving again, when dizzying footsteps came from behind.
‘Ah, again?’
Just as I panicked and tried to hide, a frantic voice called out.
“Lady Aristina!”
Noble young ladies wearing pastel-colored dresses and floral crowns appeared in a flurry.
Serene, Lilives Ocleir, and other ladies I was familiar with.
They saw me and ran toward me, overjoyed.
“You escaped after all! Surprising, yet not surprising at all!”
“The situation moved so fast we were confused, but knowing your personality, if it was impossible, you would’ve stopped it. Seeing you proceed, we just went along! But in the end, you did escape!”
“See, everyone? I said Lady Aristina seemed soulless. Now her soul is back!”
While they all chattered around me.
“Wait!”
From the opposite side, someone came running in a fluster.
It was my royal aunt, wearing her ceremonial gown and white gloves.
I stiffened, knowing how much she cared for Aldensis and Zikren.
But……
“Let me join too!”
The royal aunt unexpectedly shouted and inserted herself into our group.
“Thinking of Aldensis’ feelings, I shouldn’t do this, but I’ve dreamed of a scene like this for a long time. I couldn’t at my wedding, so I’ll do it at someone else’s. This is a race against time. We have to escape before the guards surround us. Follow me!”
“That’s right! Quickly, remove all those cumbersome things first!”
The royal aunt, Serene, and the ladies dragged me into the forest, quickly removing my headpiece.
Then they helped me change clothes and shoes in a flash.
‘Ah…….’
I stared at them, half in shock.
Beautiful Serene, with black hair and sparkling sapphire eyes.
When I first thought this world was a novel, I believed Serene would be the protagonist.
How ridiculous that seemed now.
But thanks to that misconception, I had gained friends. Friends.
At first, it was to survive, but……
Yes. Honestly, I enjoyed being with all of you. And the royal aunt too.
Meeting such a kind elder who always supported me was a stroke of luck in my life.
“Thank you all so much! Thank you!”
I spread my arms and hugged them all. Serene’s eyes went wide.
“Oh my? Lady Aristina?”
The royal aunt and the ladies were surprised.
“Princess?”
“Princess?”
But their surprise was brief.
They all faced me with happy, joyful expressions.
Even in such a critical situation, sharing that warmth gave me courage.
After changing completely, we formed a formation under Serene’s command.
“We just need to escape the palace safely. We’ll form a protective circle around Lady Aristina.”
“Good. Very good. I’ll lead the way.”
The royal aunt gathered us like a mother bird leading her chicks.
Then she suddenly stumbled.
“Ah, my head…….”
“Are you okay, Royal Aunt?”
Pretending to support her in shock from the ruined engagement, I successfully avoided suspicion.
We managed to escape the palace and reached the carriage waiting spot safely.
Before parting, I gave them a brief hug again.
“I’ll come back with proof that I was right.”
“Yes. Yes. We’ll wish you all the luck.”
The royal aunt patted my back.
“Hurry and leave. Leave the rest to us. We’ll take good care of Duke Rozen, so don’t worry.”
Serene quickly closed the carriage door.
“…….”
The coachman stared at me with his mouth half-open, clearly unable to understand the situation.
Tightening the robe’s strings my friends had helped me put on, I gave the driver instructions.
“To Belmare Harbor.”
“Yes!”
The carriage set off immediately.
