Chapter 55
The place Julius led me to with unmistakable confidence was a dessert café said to be quite famous even within the capital.
Because we stood out in a rather different sense, I pulled him toward a secluded corner and sat down.
Even so, I couldn’t shake my anxiety and ended up speaking to him.
“Um, Your Highness. You’ve got something on your face.”
“Pardon?”
“Your handsomeness?”
“……?”
“I’m joking. But seriously—are you really confident you won’t be recognized?”
“What do you mean?”
Even while I worried, Julius was smiling broadly, looking utterly relaxed.
Perhaps the reason he felt so different was… that his appearance had changed slightly.
“Changing your hair color doesn’t make your good looks disappear, you know.”
I deliberately met his gaze.
The eyes looking back at me were a deep, inky black.
“Well, that look suits you too.”
“I’m glad you think so, my lady.”
To conceal his identity, Julius had changed his bright golden hair and warm green eyes into ordinary black hair and black eyes before coming here.
“Haha. There’s no need to worry. My record of sneaking out is just as impressive as yours.”
In other words, he knew how to enjoy himself discreetly.
“Ah, haha. And how did you know I slipped out without Ethan noticing?”
“Isn’t it obvious? The Grand Duke of Clovis, who seemed so devoted to his fiancée, would hardly let you wander about alone—especially when you’re not in perfect health.”
“Huh?”
“And forcing out powerful magic makes recovery all the more difficult.”
“Haha… You saw right through me. That’s exactly what Ethan said, too…”
The confidence I’d had when starting the conversation fizzled out, and I trailed off, tilting my head slightly.
Did I ever tell Julius how hard things were for me in the Forest of Magical Beasts?
Officially, Ethan had gone there as Claude, the magic tower’s favored disciple, so Julius couldn’t have heard it from him.
And yet, if Julius knew the situation so well… there was only one possible explanation.
“Um, you know…”
“Yes. Go on.”
“Do I… really look that unwell?”
Even to Julius, did my condition look that bad?
Did I really look so sick?
“What do you mean?”
“You immediately noticed I’d been struggling these past few days because of my magic.”
Under Ethan’s excessive care, I’d been recovering diligently—I thought I looked perfectly fine on the outside.
Genuinely curious, I looked at Julius.
But instead of answering lightly, Julius wore an unusually flustered expression.
What is that reaction? Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?
His sensitivity only made me more curious.
Come to think of it, even if I looked unwell, it wouldn’t be easy to tell that magic was the cause.
If that was the case…
“Oh dear. It seems I’ve given you the wrong impression.”
Before I could finish my thoughts, Julius gently drew my attention back to him.
“Your mana felt somewhat unstable compared to usual, so I merely guessed.”
“Ah… I see…?”
“As I mentioned before, I’m a mage as well.”
Only then did I let out a low “Ah.”
It seemed that perceptiveness, too, was a kind of skill.
When I finally relaxed my expression and nodded, Julius smiled softly in return.
“Have all your questions been answered now?”
“Y-Yes. Thanks to you.”
“Then shall we properly enjoy some dessert?”
Julius casually summoned the waiter and said with confidence,
“Please bring one of every cake you have.”
“…Excuse me? Can you really eat all that?”
Startled, I asked—and Julius grinned as if to say I should trust him.
“Serve two slices now, and please wrap the rest so the young lady may take them with her when she leaves.”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
I’d never seen someone say ‘Give me everything from here to there’ with such impeccable manners.
Noticing how my eyes sparkled, Julius shrugged.
“I thought you might like desserts.”
“You’re absolutely right!”
I nodded enthusiastically, unable to hide my delight.
As I hummed cheerfully, a smiling Julius handed me something.
The thin paper wrapping had been torn open, fully revealing what was inside.
“It seems you’re interested in magic stones, Lady Servita.”
My heart skipped.
What Julius handed me was an old book.
[Everything About Magic Stones – What Are Magic Stones?]
With a title as trite as could be, it was nonetheless one of the few remaining books on magic stones.
Oh no. This is bad.
I didn’t need to desperately hide it, but it wasn’t something I wanted openly exposed either.
Anything connected to Ethan’s curse had to be handled carefully.
Unable to hide my dismay, I quickly slipped the book into my bag.
Only then did I cautiously glance at Julius.
I tried to retreat and smooth things over naturally, but his unusually persistent gaze made even that impossible.
Unsure what to say, I poked at my cake with my fork instead.
“Well, it’s just… personal interest. As you know, my mentor is rather eccentric.”
“Hmm. So the Master of the Magic Tower is researching magic stones.”
“Y-Yes. He’s so eccentric that it’s hard to know what he’s really thinking.”
Despite his earlier intensity, Julius responded lightly.
Right. How was I supposed to explain this, anyway?
Without even the chance to sigh in relief at having brushed it off, I clamped my mouth shut and speared a strawberry atop my whipped-cream cake.
If I don’t obtain a magic stone, I might end up dead like this strawberry—by Ethan’s hands.
I popped the abused strawberry into my mouth, signaling that I didn’t want to continue this topic.
Perhaps sensing that, Julius’s expression briefly grew subtle.
But only for a moment—soon, he wore his usual genial smile again.
Still, the silence felt strangely uncomfortable, so I hurriedly changed the subject.
We had a perfect topic right in front of us.
“By the way, I didn’t expect Your Highness to know this place. I’ve heard about it often at the Clovis estate.”
“…Is that so.”
I spoke in a deliberately light tone, and Julius replied politely.
But I knew.
He’d subtly brushed the conversation aside.
…Is Clovis the problem?
Every time I mentioned Clovis, a faint crack appeared in Julius’s gentle smile.
He seemed to try to hide it from me, but knowing about the subtle tension between Ethan and Julius, I couldn’t miss it.
Unable to endure the awkward atmosphere, I stopped tormenting my cake and cautiously asked,
“May I ask you one thing, Your Highness?”
“If it’s you, Lady Servita—anything.”
“Is your relationship with Ethan… no, with Grand Duke Clovis… not very good?”
It was an uncomfortable, intrusive question.
Even now, with the original heroine gone, I didn’t know why their antagonism persisted.
Which meant there was another reason their relationship was strained—one unrelated to the original heroine.
“Hm. That’s a… rather surprising question.”
Julius looked genuinely startled, as if he hadn’t expected me to ask that.
Then he let out a low sigh and laughed faintly.
“I knew you weren’t one to beat around the bush.”
“…Is that a compliment?”
“Half of one.”
Coming from you, that’s pretty blunt too.
I didn’t say it aloud—just let out a small, dissatisfied hum instead.
Julius chuckled silently. His smile looked a little sad.
“If I had to choose between good and bad… I suppose ‘bad’ would be closer to the truth.”
“…I see.”
So there really was something between them.
I was dying of curiosity.
But still…
“Thank you for telling me.”
I didn’t press him further and quickly looked away.
This time, he regarded me with a puzzled expression.
“Why stop there?”
“Because it’s interesting.”
“Interesting how?”
“Earlier, you asked me very directly about something I was trying to hide. Yet when it comes to something truly important, you don’t ask and simply withdraw.”
His voice sounded genuinely curious, and I answered without much thought.
“I’m not so tactless as to pry into what someone wants to hide. And what you already told me was more than enough.”
“……”
“Well, if you want to tell me, I won’t stop you.”
That didn’t mean I was demanding it.
I lowered my gaze, pretending not to care.
For a while after that, Julius said nothing, as if deep in thought.
It was Julius who finally broke the heavy silence.
“When the time comes…”
“Yes?”
When I lifted my head at his voice, his expression had grown grave.
“When the time comes, I’ll tell you.”
“…I see.”
“When that day comes… will you listen to my story, my lady?”
There was an earnestness in his voice.
I didn’t know what had made him so unsettled, but there was only one thing I could do here.
“Then will you eat cake with me again that day?”
Holding onto our shaken angelic male lead after he’d lost the original heroine.
As if understanding my intent, Julius smiled brightly—sincerely—for the first time in a while.
“Of course. Didn’t I say I’d do anything for you, Lady Servita?”
“Then I’m in. Anyone who buys me food is a good person.”
With that, the uneasy atmosphere between us eased a little.
I really do hate heavy moods.
Lighthearted ones like this are so much better…
“Then, may I ask you something this time?”
“Huh?”
“Shouldn’t we finish the conversation we left unfinished last time?”
…Of course it couldn’t last.
Before I could gather my thoughts, Julius struck, and I couldn’t stop him—pressing my fingers to my forehead.
Unlike my now-heavy expression, Julius looked utterly relaxed as he watched my reaction.
Whether or not he noticed my discomfort, he casually rested his chin on his hand and waited for my answer.
I almost wished I couldn’t remember what he was referring to.
But there was one unfinished conversation that immediately came to mind.
“He’s not someone as fragile as you can handle.”
“I don’t know how Ethan Clovis seduced you, but it would be best to let go of his hand right now.”
He’d warned me not to marry Ethan—his voice dangerously intense.
Recalling that voice, I forgot to hide my thoughts and winced, my face betraying my dismay.
I instinctively knew it.
If I talked about this with Julius, I would definitely lose.
Especially when he’d just made it clear he didn’t like Ethan—if anything, he seemed to dislike him.
I deliberately avoided Julius’s gaze and feigned ignorance.
“W-What do you mean?”
“It’s exactly the topic you’re thinking of.”
Julius clung stubbornly to the subject, clearly unwilling to let it go.
Unhappy with my attempt to joke it away, he looked resolute as he spoke.
“Are you truly going to marry Ethan Clovis?”
The voice I’d always thought gentle and warm sank to a dangerously low register.
His cold tone felt like it was slowly wrapping around my body, and I shivered without meaning to.
No! Are you crazy?!
He’s already tormenting me this much when I’m only a fiancée in name!
If I marry that mad dog Ethan and spend my life with him, I might die just from watching his mood every day!
That’s exactly what would happen.
And yet—
A faint, uncomfortable feeling slowly began to rise within me.
