Chapter 24
Who on earth would have the nerve to trick someone known as the strongest being in this world into buying things?
It would be a miracle if Aletheia didn’t go back later—after regaining his memories—and destroy that shop.
“They say engagement gifts are necessary before marriage.”
Ah. Is that so?
“The other items needed measurements, so I just placed the orders and left.”
“…”
Mio stood there with a blank, soulless expression, like she was listening to someone else’s story. But little by little, seriousness crept into her face.
‘This bastard… now that I look at him, he’s actually preparing for marriage.’
A sense of crisis rose up to her throat, making it hard to breathe. She needed some way—any way—to stop that thought process. Without realizing it, Mio grabbed and tugged at her own hair.
“At least it’s good timing. I can give you this now that you need a bag.”
With his free hand, Aletheia handed her a woman’s handbag of a reasonable size. Mio instinctively checked whether it was big enough to hold food, then awkwardly set it down.
“Ahem.”
“If you don’t like it, there are others. Open them.”
“With this many, that’d take forever.”
If these were truly free gifts, she would have accepted them gladly. But thinking of them as engagement gifts made it impossible.
Mio indirectly expressed her refusal and stepped back. But Aletheia showed no particular reaction—his attention seemed completely absorbed by the boxes filling the room.
He spoke with regret.
“Ah… they said gifts are more fun when you open them, so I added that option. I’ll skip it next time.”
So the shopkeeper even upsold him on gift wrapping. I’m actually curious what that salesman looks like.
“Then I’ll unwrap them. Take your time looking around.”
Aletheia began opening the packages himself. Watching from a distance, Mio realized he really had swept up everything that didn’t require size measurements. Cosmetics, jewelry, accessories—everything imaginable. It was like he’d bought out an entire store.
Mio stood frozen, weighed down by complicated emotions.
‘How am I supposed to refuse all this?’
If she outright said she didn’t want engagement gifts, it would backfire. If she provoked him unnecessarily, he might skip all procedures and drag her straight to the wedding hall—just like the insane Aletheia before his memory loss had written the Arkmel Oath.
‘For now, pretending I’m willing to marry and buying time is the best option.’
It was clear that persuasion through words was no longer possible. She’d already tried countless examples today, and none of them worked.
“At least this should be enough for you to attend tonight’s banquet.”
Right. The banquet. There was a banquet!
‘If we go to the banquet, the villainess pattern is guaranteed to activate at least once.’
The awkward villainess pattern at the Kelt estate that morning had definitely happened because Aletheia interfered midway.
If he witnessed the villainess’s pattern from start to finish, there would be no avoiding it. Eventually, Aletheia would have to break the prenuptial agreement.
‘If it comes to that, I’ll show him a proper villainess act today.’
Usually, she just tossed out one nasty remark and waited for the pattern to complete itself automatically. But if it meant shaking Aletheia off, she was willing to play the villainess properly—just for today.
Clinging to that thin strand of hope, Mio looked up at Aletheia. Their eyes met suddenly, and Aletheia quickly looked away. He spoke softly.
“…If you need a partner—”
“Alright, Aletheia. Please be my partner at today’s banquet.”
Aletheia’s expression visibly brightened. Seeing that, Mio smiled to herself.
Let’s see. How long can you endure without calling me a villainess?
* * *
“There wasn’t a suitable servant at the estate, so preparing must’ve been inconvenient.”
“No, it was fine. Jamie helped me.”
In the first place, this was her first time ever having someone help her prepare for a banquet. Having assistance really did make things easier.
“Still… it looks like none of the jewelry appealed to you.”
“Ah, haha…”
She couldn’t bring herself to admit the truth—that she felt burdened by it. She’d always waited for a chance to wear expensive jewels freely, but knowing these were engagement gifts made her deeply uncomfortable.
Mio forced an awkward smile and made an excuse.
“I’m not used to wearing them, so they feel uncomfortable.”
“…I see.”
Dressed in formal attire, Aletheia answered quietly, leaned back against the carriage wall, and closed his eyes.
That reaction was unexpected.
Mio looked at him with curiosity.
‘He seemed really eager to attend the banquet. Why does he look like that?’
His face, which initially just looked stiff, grew noticeably paler as they drew closer to the venue. Unable to ignore it, Mio gently shook him awake.
“Are you feeling unwell? You don’t have to force yourself to go.”
“…Is it that obvious?”
Yes. Extremely obvious.
Mio nodded firmly, and Aletheia lowered his gaze.
“I’m not very used to places like that.”
Thinking about it, Aletheia had never been someone who frequented banquets. Otherwise, Mio—an unwilling party addict—wouldn’t have only met him a few weeks ago.
“But it’s fine. I went to the Kelt estate earlier today without any problems. As long as you’re with me, I can go anywhere—”
Come to think of it, was this his first official public appearance since losing his memories? With the public proposal incident, attention was already guaranteed. Bringing him to a banquet now might have been too hasty.
But Mio quickly brushed away the regret.
‘What can you do? This is your karma, Lete.’
Who told you to propose in public? No one forced you—and I’m the victim here.
Still, as she watched his bloodless face with a colder eye, Mio was soon forced to react.
“Urgh—”
Aletheia suddenly covered his mouth, like someone suffering from severe motion sickness.
“Wh—what’s wrong?!”
“Sorry… I feel a bit nauseous…”
He barely answered, wiping away cold sweat. Mio stomped her feet in panic.
“Let’s go back! Aletheia! I’ll go to the banquet alone!”
“That won’t do. After a public proposal, sending you alone would look ridiculous…”
You don’t know this, but villainess Mio Northam already looks ridiculous by default.
“That doesn’t matter. If you’re sick, you should go back and rest.”
Despite her objections, Aletheia remained stubborn. When Mio tried to stop the carriage, he stopped her.
“We’ll be late. Just go.”
Being late wouldn’t hurt a villainess at all. Mio froze, both hands raised in the air. Bringing Aletheia in this condition would make it impossible to trigger the villainess pattern.
More importantly—what if something happened to a sick person she dragged around? How was she supposed to deal with that afterward?!
‘Should I just skip the banquet?!’
From the sound of it, Aletheia wouldn’t let her go alone either.
‘Skipping tonight might affect the final stage, but it’s still better than creating a problem involving Aletheia.’
As Mio teetered on the edge of panic, Aletheia unexpectedly offered a solution.
“Then… would you hold my hand? I think I’d feel better. It’s too loud…”
He said this weakly, rubbing his forehead. Mio grabbed the hand resting on his knee without hesitation.
Just like at the Kelt estate, his hand was damp with cold sweat. Mio unconsciously rubbed his chilled hand and thought—
‘That’s strange. Was he like this before he lost his memories?’
When he constantly interfered with her life, she’d never imagined he was physically weak. She’d only thought he was insane—not unwell.
‘But now that I look closely… he does seem kind of sick.’
Was mind-reading really that exhausting of an ability?
