Chapter 20
Now it was my turn to step in.
I still didn’t understand why His Majesty had barged into my blind date, and I was still in shock… but first, I needed to show my face to those two.
I was clutching my skirt, about to speak, when—
“But you know… if the Imperial Family didn’t allow the reports, doesn’t that mean they don’t actually consider Aira to be his fiancée?”
“Huh?”
“I mean, think about it. What if His Majesty, irritated after being pestered by Aira for so long, simply planned this as revenge? Just to torment her?”
Revenge?
“Noona, that’s ridiculous.”
Elphain groaned in protest. But Bianca shook her head stubbornly.
“It’s not completely impossible. I don’t think His Majesty is that kind of person, but let’s be honest. Aira chased after him for twelve years. Maybe this is payback. Look—he called her his fiancée and crushed Marquis Shoden’s son’s shoulder. Then why didn’t he publicly announce it in the newspapers? He’s thorough. What if he just wants to make Aira suffer?”
Right.
That did happen.
My head spun. My heart pounded violently. The sound of my pulse felt louder in my head than in my chest.
There was no way His Majesty had called me his fiancée out of pure affection. If he truly cherished me—if he loved me—he wouldn’t have humiliated me like that in front of everyone.
Twelve years.
For twelve years, I lingered at his side. If he had feelings, he could have shown even the slightest sign once during those twelve years.
Only then could I believe this absurd situation.
But… revenge?
His Majesty?
Against me?
Because he hated me?
Tears threatened to spill.
After my one-sided love ended, I thought that at least he would support me from afar.
Come to think of it… when I saw him in the Great Forest before, his reaction had been strange.
When I told him I was over my feelings, that I would cheer him on quietly, and that I would be careful with my words.
Back then, he had been cold. So businesslike.
Calling me “Lady Wildenbiston.”
Don’t tell me he’d been planning to mess with me since then?
My whole body trembled.
I had never been this angry in my life.
I clenched my skirt tightly.
Rubellus de Zahard—no matter what, did you really have to go this far?
Yes, I followed you around and probably annoyed you.
But I always tried not to interfere with you.
I avoided doing things you disliked. And if I made a mistake, I apologized and paid the price—like with Timothy.
If you hated me that much, you could have confronted me directly. You could have demanded an apology first.
But instead, you barged into my blind date—
That’s too much.
Now that I’ve finally let go. Now that I’ve decided to choose someone decent and live an ordinary life, loving and being loved.
You rejected me harshly before. And now this is revenge?
Elphain must have seen the look on my twisted face, because he jumped to his feet.
“No, Aira. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s a misunderstanding. It has to be—”
“I-I’m fine, unnie, oppa.”
I cut him off.
I didn’t want to hear it.
I just wanted them to know I was fine.
“And I know what day it is. I remember everything that happened.”
And I wanted to storm into the Imperial Palace.
“So… I’ll just step out for a bit.”
I was going to the palace.
I would look at that handsome, infuriating face and hear the explanation directly.
After humiliating me like that, the least he could do was explain why he did it!
I gritted my teeth and gripped my skirt tighter.
“Wait, Aira!”
Elphain called after me, but I was already racing down the stairs.
I couldn’t hear anything.
“Aira, wait! At least put on a coat—where are you even going?!”
Bianca shouted, but I didn’t care.
I sprinted toward the front door.
Just you wait.
***
“Aira!”
Elphain rushed after her—but it was too late.
Aira had already bolted out of the ducal estate.
She must have taken the back alley toward the palace.
She was fast.
Elphain bit his lower lip.
For the first time, he regretted her natural speed.
He shouldn’t have trained her.
He shouldn’t have made her run five laps a day around the training grounds while teaching her self-defense.
“How is she already gone?”
Bianca called from behind him, holding Aira’s coat. She had clearly intended to make her wear it.
“This is bad.”
Elphain rubbed his forehead and hurried to the corridor, ringing the chime bell four times.
A footman would bring his formal clothes.
“I need to prepare and follow her. I’m going to the palace.”
“To the palace? Don’t tell me Aira is going to the palace right now.”
“Noona, have you forgotten? From the age of four, Aira commuted to the palace alone for twelve years. The only times she used a carriage were when she was officially invited. So when she wasn’t invited, how do you think she got there?”
“…No way.”
Bianca’s face drained of color.
Elphain nodded heavily.
Bianca adored Aira, but they were eight years apart. While Aira ran around covered in dirt, Bianca was attending debutante balls and navigating high society.
She knew Aira loved His Majesty.
But she didn’t know how thoroughly Aira had explored the palace.
“Please understand this now. Aira knows every shortcut in the palace. She even bragged about it. From our house to the Crown Prince’s room takes exactly twenty minutes, she said. I still don’t know that route. She’s definitely heading there now. If we go the normal way, we’ll be too late.”
Bianca’s mouth fell open.
“How does she even know that? Unless she’s a spy, no noble could possibly know the palace layout in detail! If that gets out, she won’t even be able to travel abroad! That’s absurd—”
“His Majesty taught her.”
“…!”
“When she was very young.”
Bianca looked like she might faint.
“That makes no sense. Why would His Majesty personally? Does Aira understand what it means to know the palace’s secret passages? Before this, I thought His Majesty disliked her—wait. Don’t tell me…”
Bianca was a Wildenbiston, too.
She quickly grasped the implication.
“Are you saying His Majesty has harbored feelings for Aira for twelve years? And hid it from everyone?”
“So your earlier guess was wrong. It’s not that he doesn’t recognize her as his fiancée. He’s just been waiting.”
“What does that even mean? You—ah…”
Bianca swayed.
This wasn’t dramatic exaggeration. She was genuinely dizzy.
Elphain steadied her and called for a maid.
“Please sit down. I’ll head to the palace. And what you just heard must remain a secret. Almost no one knows. Not even Aira.”
“Do Father and Mother know?”
“…Probably. I have to go.”
There was no time.
Elphain rang the bell for the groom and hurried to his room.
Three minutes for the horse to be prepared.
If he rode at full speed, he might reach the palace in under twenty minutes.
Could he stop Aira?
“Please let me catch our youngest.”
Elphain muttered desperately, closing his eyes.
