Chapter 38
It was only supposed to be a temporary fake relationship, but Alperen’s tenderness had already gone far beyond the lethal dose.
My face burned, and I could only keep my head down as we walked.
When we reached the carriage, Alperen asked,
“By the way, why didn’t you come out in the carriage? The weather’s hot today.”
“Because my brother bribed the coachman.”
If I had ridden out, Adrian would’ve heard from him instantly and probably ditched his knightly duties just to chase me like a jealous ex-boyfriend.
“Ah, I see.”
“And somehow he even roped Mei in too. It was nearly impossible to slip out today.”
Maybe it was because of the morning’s battles, but I couldn’t help whining to Alperen.
“Don’t you think my family’s overreacting? It’s just dating, not marriage.”
The word marriage made his shoulders flinch ever so slightly, though I was too distracted to notice.
“Honestly, maybe I should just tell them the truth. That this is all a fake relationship. That we’re just cooperating for Adrian’s broken engagement and because of the princess.”
But at that, Alperen’s expression hardened.
“That’s not a good idea, Deli.”
He pulled me closer, until I nearly stumbled into his arms, and only then did I realize—we were still holding hands. My heart pounded wildly.
His voice dropped low, pained.
“If you tell him, Adrian will feel betrayed again. He’ll think his little sister and his best friend lied to him twice.”
“…”
“He might even believe I was just using you, and then… he’d never want to see me again. If that happened, our friendship—already strained—would be broken beyond repair.”
He wasn’t wrong.
Adrian had already been shaken to the core by my public acceptance of Alperen’s confession.
If he learned it was all fake?
As his sister, he might forgive me—but Alperen? He might cut him off completely.
And that meant the story’s original “official bromance” would collapse because of me.
My stomach twisted.
“If that happens, I’ll be left with no friends at all. No way to undo it.”
His lowered gaze was so sorrowful, his expression so tragically soft, that my chest tightened.
Why was he suddenly looking like the heroine of some tragic play?
My eyes caught on his lip, still bruised from Adrian’s punch.
Now that I thought about it—Adrian had never hit Alperen first before.
Even in the original story, the two had always been allies, side by side.
Alperen had been the steadfast fool who supported the protagonist no matter what.
For someone like him, who valued Adrian more than romance, to take a hit like that… it had to hurt deeply.
And it was my lie that had driven a wedge between them.
A guilty pang struck me.
If anyone could mend this rift, it had to be me.
I decided—for now, I’d keep our secret.
Without thinking, I reached out and brushed my fingers against his injured lip. He flinched but didn’t move away.
“It must hurt.”
“Not at all.”
“So it’s fake, then?”
“…Actually, it hurts.”
A weak smile slipped across his lips as he leaned his cheek into my hand.
The fragile look in his eyes squeezed my heart painfully.
Somehow, he felt softer, more languid than usual.
Normally he was polite, calm, reserved—but now, letting himself go like this, the atmosphere shifted entirely.
“Alright. I’ll keep it a secret. I won’t let you lose your only friend. And… I’ll try to arrange a chance for you to reconcile soon. Right now, though, I’m not really on good terms with him either.”
“Thank you. Deli, you’re always so kind.”
With a sly smile, Alperen laced his fingers with mine again, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
And little by little, I found myself getting used to it.
Before I realized it, the carriage rolled to a stop.
The destination was none other than the Ainruk ducal estate.
Ever since the previous duke had fallen into a coma, no guests had been allowed inside.
His condition had been too severe, and the atmosphere of the house too heavy.
The young heir who inherited the title at eighteen had been surrounded by enemies.
From the moment his father’s protection vanished, assassins came for him daily.
Through countless struggles, Alperen finally won the Council’s recognition and became the official Duke.
Yet even as Duke, he never reopened the estate to outsiders. The servants kept silent, and little was known.
Only those who had worked in the household for years knew the truth of the old Duke’s condition.
“It’s as if time itself stopped. He doesn’t eat or drink, yet he hasn’t weakened.”
One maid whispered as she stepped out of the Duke’s chambers.
“He’s been that way since I arrived here.”
The previous Duke had been struck down by a monster six years ago—and remained unchanged ever since.
“That’s magic for you. Still unbelievable, even now. A spell that stops aging…”
Like a frozen statue, his hair never grew, his nails never lengthened.
It was like the tale of a princess asleep in an endless dream, waiting for her prince.
But six years had passed, and no prince had come.
The princess was being forgotten.
“What’s the point, though? He’ll never wake. All he’s done is make our young master suffer. If only he had passed away back then, maybe the Duke wouldn’t have had to—”
“Watch your tongue! The head maid might hear you.”
As the maids descended the stairs, a figure rushed toward them, face bright with excitement.
“Girls! A guest has arrived!”
“A guest? After all this time? Who?”
“I don’t know. They said it’s the Duke’s lover.”
“What?! But didn’t he just break off his engagement?”
“Yes, and then he publicly confessed to Lady Rodelia Ferris. They’re together now, apparently.”
In a single day, Rodelia’s dramatic “acceptance performance” had morphed into the rumor that Alperen had confessed to her.
The staff were thrilled.
After all, this was the first formal guest in six years.
“She’s in the drawing room right now!”
And with that, the maids swarmed toward the reception hall.
Alperen had brought me to the Ainruk estate.
The very place that had barred outsiders since the old Duke collapsed.
In the original story, this was where the heroine Summer had visited—becoming the first guest in six years, and the one who comforted Alperen’s lonely heart.
Wait—why am I the one he’s showing this to first?!
This was supposed to be Summer’s scene.
Here, she was the one who saw his pain and offered words that awakened him.
“It’s not your fault, my lord. What your father did to you was abuse. The fact that you grew into such a fine man despite it all—that’s what’s truly amazing.”
In the novel, Alperen’s heart had been a battlefield of love and resentment toward his father.
Under the man’s harsh teachings, he had lived every day under suffocating pressure.
Then his father’s half-living, half-dead state had kept him trapped in endless conflict.
As a son, he wanted to save his father. As Duke, he needed to move forward. The contradiction tore at him constantly.
Summer’s visit had been the trigger that awakened him.
That day, Alperen finally gave up on reviving his father.
He realized that clinging to hope was just hypocrisy. It was enough to let the man linger, suspended by magic, and honor him in that way.
From then on, the Duke was forgotten—until the day news of his death finally came.
And with it, another painful revelation.
It hadn’t been hypocrisy at all. He had simply been exhausted from years of watching over him.
He hadn’t realized, until his father’s last breath vanished, how much strength it gave him just to know the man still lived.
And when he did, it was too late.
That was Alperen’s tragedy.
