Chapter 15
The silence was first broken by Carlos’s hearty laughter.
“Of course. You’re absolutely right, Maribel.”
“Brother!”
“I must do my best to be a fitting match for Gabriella, despite my shortcomings.”
“Your Highness, those words are far too much.”
Startled, the man who had been quietly sipping his drink in the corner paled and waved his hands in denial.
The Crown Prince laughed again at the sight.
“Marco, are you serious?”
“The young lord of Puerto speaks the truth. Gabriella is indeed beautiful and precious, but no woman could possibly be of greater worth than a son of the royal family. Such words are unbecoming, Your Highness.”
The one who interrupted with that sharp tone, clicking his tongue, was the red-haired man.
What an insufferable person.
I sighed, and the Crown Prince, finding the whole trivial commotion amusing, turned his attention to the platinum-haired beauty sitting across from me with a languid expression.
“Duke Romero. What do you think?”
“Well… I don’t know if saying one would strive to be a worthy spouse is something so shocking.”
He stroked his handsome jaw once, then shrugged.
“I also don’t think it was such a profound statement that it warrants discussion.”
A perfect answer. Honestly, why was everyone even debating such a remark from the Crown Prince?
But then, the hideous redhead beside me, face flushed scarlet, lashed out.
“Lady Maribel of Sephardi may speak so out of ignorance, but Duke Romero—you sound rather disloyal to the noble House of Bernau.”
“Did I? Then I apologize. It’s been years, yet I still haven’t grown accustomed to holding the ducal seat.”
A strange silence settled over the table.
What now? There’s something more to this, isn’t there?
Even though I had read the original story, matching the faces before me with their characters wasn’t easy, and that made it confusing.
The silence faded with the Crown Prince’s smile.
“There’s no need to apologize, Arius.”
Ah—so that flawless man was Arius.
Arius Romero.
‘In that case…’
Carlos Bernau was the Crown Prince. The timid man in the corner was Marco Puerto. The dazzling beauty was Arius Romero.
Which meant that the only one left to be Pedro was none other than—
“We are ever indebted to Your Highness’s magnanimity.”
—this arrogant redhead beside me.
Endlessly fawning over the Crown Prince now, only to commit treason later.
It all stemmed from his inferiority complex.
All this overacting was just to mask his ugly insides.
I suppressed another sigh and raised my cup.
‘Even when reading the original, I thought Arius would’ve been better!’
Now I had one more person to resent.
Even if Yun Gabi didn’t understand my sister’s taste, the Sephardi Duke—what on earth was he thinking, trying to marry me off to the grotesque villain Pedro instead of the reasonably decent Arius?
‘Seriously, would he hand over his own flesh and blood to that man?’
I glared at the Duke with all my strength.
But he simply clapped his hands, drawing attention.
“What matters is that everyone here is serving Bernau and the Empire of Naparo. On this joyful day, I hope you will all enjoy the feast prepared for you.”
At his signal, attendants filed in, filling our cups with wine from ornate bottles.
“Ah, this is apple wine that Lord Pedro of Esquia prepared especially for our Maribel and Gabriella.”
“Because you two are as ripe and lovely as apples.”
His nauseatingly greasy tone made me grip my cup tightly.
If I had one redeeming trait, it was a sharp instinct.
And with that instinct, coupled with my knowledge of the original story’s future, I could conclude easily.
That man was absolutely not the one.
Even before he poured the wine himself into my cup—ignoring the attendants—it was unpleasant.
“I don’t handle alcohol well.”
Yet he still filled it to the brim, just short of overflowing. Revolting.
“Please, don’t spurn Esquia’s goodwill. Drink to your heart’s content.”
Tacking on talk of “goodwill” only made him more insufferable.
And when he sneakily glanced at my and Gabriella’s chests before chuckling, I wondered if he was insane.
It was obvious.
The man destined to be my future husband in the story was irredeemable.
A hypocrite who feigned loyalty, but in truth desired nothing more than the Crown Prince’s throne—a coward through and through.
So the only thing I could do now was keep as far away from him as possible.
Pedro must fall—stripped of wealth and power.
That way Gabriella, with the Crown Prince, could live a first life of happiness, free from rebellion.
“Excuse me.”
Now that I knew exactly what I wanted to do here, I spoke again.
“I must thank you, Duke Romero, for earlier.”
I smiled as I raised the cup of apple wine toward Arius across from me.
Pedro’s face instantly twisted in anger, but I didn’t care.
A flicker of surprise crossed Arius’s beautiful face.
“What are you—”
“Oh, am I not supposed to say such things here?”
I looked around, feigning guilt as if I’d revealed some forbidden secret.
Of course, that only made it look more suspicious.
“Seems there was something between Duke Romero and Lady Sephardi.”
Since I’d already spoken to the Duke and Duchess, and since I bore the black hair and dark navy eyes of foreign blood, Pedro had likely assumed I was an easy conquest. And now, like a child robbed of his toy, he glared heatedly at Arius.
But Arius only shrugged.
“It wasn’t significant enough to warrant such thanks.”
He wasn’t wrong.
My father had asked him to help, and he couldn’t very well refuse when tasked with carrying a fainting lady.
But details didn’t matter to me.
“It was a great help to me. And I hadn’t properly thanked you until now.”
I smiled shyly, then reached out and clinked his glass.
Clink—a clear, bright sound.
After that toast, I drank a few sips of apple wine.
By now, everyone should have noticed. This was me, openly sending a signal.
Most at the table looked taken aback.
Jose shook his head as if witnessing something outrageous. Pedro’s face burned with barely contained fury.
“How typical of you, Lady Maribel.”
Cecilia, who had only just met me today, snapped bitterly, her voice sharp with jealousy.
I didn’t care. What mattered was Arius’s reaction.
He showed almost none. He merely stared at his cup for a moment before wetting his lips with a small sip.
“Duke Romero, isn’t it a fine wine?”
Adding that overly friendly remark made things a bit more blatant.
He looked at me quietly, then turned his head and answered slowly.
“…Indeed.”
His haughty expression hadn’t shifted, but the tips of his ears were slightly red.
Was that from the wine, or…?
I studied him closely.
The banquet was dull and lifeless.
After Duke and Duchess Sephardi excused themselves with claims of fatigue, it only grew worse.
“Try this, Gabriella.”
“Thank you.”
The Crown Prince and Gabriella were lost in their own world, radiating soft pink light like two lovebirds.
“Arius, could you tell me about the Battle of Eguhean again? No matter how many times I hear it, I never tire of that glorious victory.”
Princess Cecilia clearly had great interest in Arius.
“Maribel, won’t you drink some more?”
Pedro kept filling my glass, pressing himself on me, though we had barely met.
“One more drink, Marco.”
“I—I think I’ve had enough…”
Marco was already drunk, exchanging cups with Jose and swaying in his seat.
“I’m fine with wine.”
Arius remained nearly silent, giving only curt replies when addressed.
I too minimized my words, sipping apple wine and recalling the events of the original story.
The more I thought of it, the more disgusting Pedro’s flattery became.
“Your Highness and Lady Gabriella, truly the most perfect pair imaginable.”
“Pedro, you too will surely meet someone wonderful soon.”
“Your kindness brings me great joy.”
Pedro’s leering smile made me sigh and avert my eyes.
Then suddenly, he raised his voice for all to hear.
“Maribel! In that case, would it be acceptable for me to gift you some jewels I’ve brought from Esquia? I don’t know if they’d meet your standards, but…”
It was clear he was testing me.
From the way he spoke, Pedro must have already known that Maribel had been secretly earning a fortune through Muara and those jewels.
Feigning innocence, I widened my eyes.
“My standards? What do you mean?”
