~Chapter 45~
Serio smiled and pointed at the well-prepared tea table.
“As you can see, I was treating them well.”
Everyone looked over, but the sunlight reflected off a silver plate on the table and was very bright. Serio moved, blocking the light and returned with a relaxed expression.
“But you—how dare you come here without my permission or invitation? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you show this much emotion before.”
Even though Serio’s tone sounded teasing, Theron didn’t seem bothered at all. Even the hot sunlight in the glass conservatory didn’t seem to affect him.
“At the last banquet, Lady Herols already said she had an appointment with me. Did you forget?”
“You never said when that was. Are you always going to insist she already has plans with you?”
“That’s right, of course.”
Theron’s lips curved gently.
“No matter when it is, I’ll always be meeting with her.”
“Are you serious?”
Even Serio seemed surprised now, his eyebrows pulling together.
“Can’t you believe it after seeing her come to your palace on her own?”
Serio thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“You’re right. You’ve never come looking for me first before.”
Serio let out a soft laugh, as if he’d found something amusing.
“So it really is because of that young lady.”
Serio’s red eyes turned to Aveline. Surprised by the prince’s gaze, Aveline quickly lowered her head. Still, she could feel his intense stare on her skin.
“I’m curious how far you’ll go. Then I’ll be serious, too.”
“I’m surprised. You’re going to openly chase after the girl your cousin is courting?”
Theron raised the corner of his mouth in a cold smile.
“Shameless.”
Aveline and Ares both seemed shocked by Theron’s words. But Serio just smiled, looking even more amused.
“Ha. Let’s just say we’re rivals in love, and that’s why it’s shameless. That’ll be easier for people to believe and gossip about.”
“But after today, I think Your Highness already got what you wanted.”
‘Got what he wanted?’
Aveline perked up at that suspicious word.
‘So the Crown Prince had another reason for inviting me here?’
While she was lost in thought, Serio shrugged with a smile.
“What reason? I just wanted to see your face again. Because…”
Serio’s smile grew even brighter.
“I’m serious.”
Even as he spoke playfully, Serio’s face was full of joy. He seemed to have decided to fully play the role of someone who really likes Aveline.
“…I’ll be taking Lady Herols with me now.”
Theron didn’t seem interested in going along with Serio’s game. He turned to leave with Aveline.
Serio just raised an eyebrow and didn’t object or stop him.
‘What is going on?’
Just being in this strange glass conservatory was confusing enough, but now the two men were acting like they were in a serious love triangle over her. The biggest problem, though, was that neither of them actually meant it.
‘Is this what it feels like to be caught between fighting whales, only to get crushed?’
While Aveline tried to process this, Ares, who’d also been out of it, snapped back to reality.
“Why are you trying to take my sister away without asking?”
“If you really care about her, the first thing you should do is get her out of here.”
Theron cut Ares off and led Aveline out of the conservatory.
“Let’s get as far away as we can.”
Theron didn’t stop walking, like he thought the conservatory was filled with poison. Luckily, Serio didn’t follow. Ares also seemed to still be stuck with Serio.
Once they were outside, it was much easier to open their eyes.
“What is all this?”
After putting some distance between them and the conservatory, Aveline finally pulled away from Theron’s hand and asked.
“Are you alright?”
But instead of explaining, Theron just asked her a question.
“Huh?”
“Do you have a headache, or does your stomach hurt?”
He looked at her closely, like he was really checking her health.
“I was fine, but after what just happened, I do feel a little headache and stomachache coming on.”
Even with Aveline’s sharp answer, Theron’s face stayed serious.
“You need to be more careful.”
“No one knows how to take care of me better than I do.”
“You walked right into a place filled with mana stones, didn’t you?”
“That’s…”
This time, Aveline was at a loss for words.
‘It really did surprise me.’
She’d nearly lost control of her expression when Serio said the conservatory was powered by mana stones.
“Even if you’re good at absorbing magic, it’s still unstable.”
“If I hadn’t noticed your magical aura as I passed by, you would have been exposed to other types of magic even longer.”
“And besides that, the mana stones in the garden might have reacted, too.”
If that happened, it would be like announcing to the Imperial Family that Aveline had magic.
Seeing Aveline finally realize how serious this was, Theron sighed softly.
“Do you understand now why I said we should spread rumors that we’re dating?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It does matter.”
Theron interrupted and looked Aveline right in the eyes, their faces suddenly very close. His handsome face filled her view and she stopped breathing for a moment.
Theron’s blue eyes seemed to follow every little move she made.
“It’ll be much easier to protect you that way.”
Someone might call that romantic if they heard it. But Aveline herself didn’t think so.
“Not because of your magic?”
Aveline stared straight back into his eyes.
She knew Theron was being much more patient with her than his reputation suggested. He’d even appeared messy and flustered today when he heard she was at the Crown Prince’s palace, and said he liked her right in front of Serio. Now he was saying he wanted to protect her.
But that was only because part of Theron’s magic was inside her.
‘Still…’
Aveline felt an old, hidden wish stirring up—a desire to be someone important to another person.
‘Get a grip.’
Normally, she would never have met or talked to Theron at all. So even knowing he wasn’t doing all this for her sake, she shouldn’t feel disappointed.
While Aveline tried to get her feelings under control, Theron finally spoke again after a long pause.
“I never want anyone to get hurt because of me again.”
‘Again?’
What did that mean?
“Sister!”
Just as Aveline wondered about Theron’s words, Ares appeared from behind.
“I was worried when I couldn’t find you. Why did you come this far?”
Ares grumbled as he came closer.
“The Crown Prince said you could leave now—he doesn’t want to cause any more trouble.”
“He just told us to go?”
Aveline turned and met Serio’s eyes at the conservatory entrance. Now, away from the harsh sunlight, he looked much more relaxed and waved at her.
“He said to leave before he changes his mind.”
Ares added, sounding nervous that Serio might try to stop them again.
‘Makes sense.’
After being stuck between Theron and Serio, Ares’s reaction was understandable.
Even though she wanted to leave right away, Serio was the Crown Prince, so Aveline had to say goodbye politely. She knelt and bowed as she’d been taught, then left the garden.
“Just so you know, don’t try to follow us or do anything weird in the name of escorting.”
Ares glared at Theron, warning him.
Theron stepped back as if he had no intention of following.
“Hmph. Let’s go, Sister!”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
Aveline let Ares pull her away. When she looked back, Theron was already gone.
“Miss, the investigation you asked for is finished.”
When Aveline returned home, the butler approached her with a stack of documents.
After separating Lisa into an empty room, Aveline had asked the butler to investigate her background.
“I have the list of the orphanage where Lisa’s siblings are, the families who run or sponsor it, and this is Lisa’s letter of recommendation.”
“A recommendation letter?”
“Yes, it’s from her previous job before she came here.”
“She came here pretty young, so she must have worked even when she was younger.”
Aveline felt sorry for Lisa’s situation, even though it didn’t excuse what she’d done.
The butler left, and Aveline relaxed on the sofa, reading through the documents. Then she suddenly sat up straight.
To her surprise, the recommendation letter had the name of a family she never expected.
