Chapter : 63
“Selene, you don’t know that?”
Huh? I blinked for a moment.
‘Was I supposed to know this?’
Looking at the expressions of the two people staring at me, I realized I had made a huge mistake.
No, how would I know Viviana’s fiancé?
My heart sank.
‘What should I do?’
For a moment, a few faces that could possibly be the fiancé flashed through my mind, but I couldn’t speak them out loud, afraid I might be wrong.
“I… I have a really bad memory… haha.”
I had no choice but to bluff my way through.
Even if it didn’t work, nothing else came to mind.
I forced a awkward smile, and Eloi tilted her head and said,
“Did you not get along with Count Arcus?”
“Huh?”
What is she talking about all of a sudden?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Eloi burst out laughing.
“Haha, I know siblings sometimes don’t get along, but I didn’t expect it from the Weden family either.”
“Excuse me?”
What is she talking about…?
“Even so, she’s your brother’s fiancée!”
“Huh?”
I couldn’t believe my ears. A completely unexpected person had come up, and before I knew it, a dumbfounded sound escaped my mouth.
Viviana and Arcus?
I stared at Viviana, my mouth wide open.
Seeing my expression, she raised an eyebrow, and I realized my mistake.
“Huh? Ah! Oh, right! Yes, yes, that’s right. Oh my, I’m sorry. I completely forgot.”
I waved my hands around and babbled an excuse.
“I couldn’t believe Viviana was engaged to my brother, so I guess I subconsciously erased it from my mind. Oh my. I only heard they were engaged but never got the details… haha…”
Acting is clearly not my forte…
I rambled in stiff, awkward sentences that made no sense at all.
I even wanted to bite my tongue.
‘Did they catch on?’
I glanced at the two of them.
Eloi was smiling at me, and Viviana was quietly cutting her steak with no expression.
Ugh, damn guidebook. How can it be called a guide when it doesn’t even include something this important?
As I fixed my wavering gaze on my plate, Viviana spoke.
“It’s understandable that you didn’t know. I only found out recently myself.”
My eyes sparkled as I lifted my head.
“Really? But how did…?”
Objectively speaking, Arcus was a pretty decent fiancé candidate.
Tall, handsome… although surprisingly emotional for his size.
Still young, but head of his family, occasionally acting foolish, but that was fine.
Viviana’s status was higher, but it wasn’t impossible.
A slightly cold, serious beauty paired with a tearful big softie… actually a pretty good match.
I became extremely curious about their engagement story.
If it were the usual story where the families arranged it in childhood, Viviana couldn’t have known until recently.
Viviana shrugged her shoulders, possibly noticing my expression.
“There’s a bit of a story behind it.”
I immediately wanted to know the story. Dopamine! Give me dopamine!
Ding.
Just as I opened my mouth, an oblivious bell rang.
“Meal is ready.”
The dining room doors opened, and the servants began entering with food.
Ah, right at the fun part!
‘I’ll ask once these people leave.’
While cautiously observing, a plate was placed in front of me.
My eyes widened as I looked at the dish before me.
What is this? It looks delicious!
…Why am I so weak against food?
I excitedly ate the unfamiliar dishes, and the story of Viviana and Arcus’s engagement was quickly forgotten.
Now, it wasn’t a good timing to ask.
I decided to poke Arcus about it later at home, concentrating on moving my fork, when Viviana, having put down her fork and picked up a glass, spoke to Eloi.
“Eloi, have you chosen a partner?”
Eloi tilted her head and frowned slightly.
“No. My father found someone, but I refused.”
“Why?”
“I just didn’t want to awkwardly dance with someone I barely know.”
Eloi’s expression noticeably darkened. Viviana paused her fork and looked at her.
“But then you’ll have to stand by the wall.”
“So what?”
I couldn’t hide my surprise listening to their conversation.
I had heard of “wallflowers” at parties—girls left standing against the wall because no gentleman chose them, often ridiculed.
But that wasn’t what shocked me.
I lowered my head to hide my expression and stared at my plate.
‘Eloi…’
Eloi is the heroine of this story.
Even the guidebook without guides said so.
From my own experience, it was true.
Strikingly pretty face, lively personality… she had all the traits of a true heroine.
Wouldn’t a real heroine naturally have a few admirers?
At parties, wouldn’t there always be some guy showing up if she had no companion?
I looked at Eloi across from me.
Her lovely pink hair curled over her shoulders.
When I looked, her gentle pink eyes widened in curiosity, then folded into a pretty smile.
Even her slightly eccentric quirks were cute and lovable, so surely there were plenty of people who liked her…
‘Why doesn’t she have someone to go with?’
Pondering deeply, a thought suddenly hit me.
‘Could it… be because of me?’
I recalled the guidebook.
In the original story, there was no mention of who Eloi would end up with, but it described her struggling alongside Sirinyu and Noel.
Sirinyu and Noel were potential male leads, so eventually, Eloi would end up with one of them.
But because I suddenly got involved in their struggles…
Could that be why things turned out like this?
My mind grew chaotic.
‘They seemed to know each other, but there wasn’t any real connection…’
I shook my head.
Well, of course. I only got involved because of a chance encounter on the back hill.
If left alone, Sirinyu and Eloi might have bickered at first but gradually developed feelings for each other.
But I interfered… and things got really messy.
I felt so guilty toward Eloi that I couldn’t lift my head.
“Oh my, it looks like you’re enjoying your food.”
Unaware of my inner turmoil, Eloi said in a tone of wonder.
No, I’m not just burying my face in it…
I raised my head and looked at Eloi’s eyes, imagining Sirinyu standing next to her.
‘They’d make a perfect pair.’
I even imagined them getting married, like in those celebrity “virtual wedding” shows.
Bright, cheerful heroine and a wounded male lead.
Their faces would complement each other perfectly.
Noel seemed destined to be a secondary lead. Besides, he already had a girlfriend.
‘Then of course Sirinyu and Eloi should end up together…’
Thinking this, my appetite disappeared.
I left the steak I had been happily cutting and let my arms drop under the table.
Whether she knew or not, Eloi continued chattering.
“There’s no one I want to go with, so I want to chat with Selene~”
“Ha ha, yes.”
I laughed awkwardly, and Viviana said,
“Anyone can dance. People who ignore you for not having a partner are only showing off that they have one. Don’t mind their expressions.”
Only then did I notice the shadow behind Eloi’s forced smile.
As I opened my mouth to speak, Eloi laughed brightly and said,
“Ugh. Shall we stop talking about this here?”
I quietly nodded.
After finishing the meal and politely declining tea, I was seen off at Viviana’s mansion.
“See you at the party next time.”
“Can’t we meet before that?”
Eloi’s eyes widened.
‘Even being this cute doesn’t mean yes.’
I just smiled faintly, avoiding an answer.
Eloi hugged me tightly, smiling happily.
“I wish Selene were my older sister.”
Hearing that, I hesitated for a moment, then reached out to pat her head.
“Let’s play together again next time.”
Eloi hugged my waist tightly, looking up at me with her head. She was so cute that I couldn’t help speaking.
“Sure. But next time… can we play at our house?”
Viviana approached, smiling, and said,
“Please invite me too.”
I grasped Viviana’s hand and smiled.
‘Pajama party is still a party…’
The morning of the party I wished would never come had arrived.
The mansion was bustling from the morning.
The maids, apparently having slept little, woke me up at dawn and shoved me into the bathroom.
Half-asleep and freshly bathed, I screamed as soon as I stepped out.
“Wait! It’s coming out!”
“Nothing is coming out.”
