TVBO 33

Chapter 33

After I fainted in that crowded place, Chester began meeting me only in quiet areas—
not shady or dangerous, but secluded and beautiful spots. Or sometimes, cafés.

“Yulia, I want to marry you as soon as possible. Even one day sooner.”

Every time we met, he would whisper those sweet words of love to me.
But in a corner of my heart, a seed of unease had begun to sprout.

That ominous feeling—there was no proof, no evidence—yet my instincts screamed that something was wrong.
Up until now, the story had already strayed far from the original novel…
but one key event still remained.

The decisive moment when Chester became obsessed with the heroine had been after her father’s death.
He had told her that her situation reminded him of his own—
that since they shared the same pain, they could understand each other.

“You really want to marry me soon?”
“Yes. Because when I wake up every morning, I want to see you sleeping beside me.”

“……”

“I’ve been holding myself back, you know.”

What… what is he holding back?

While I was stammering at his sudden confession, Chester reached out and brushed his fingers against my lower lip.
Then he gave a smile that could have bewitched anyone and whispered softly:

“You have no idea how hard I’m trying to restrain myself… or how deep my desires go.”

“Chester. Let’s get married after my brother does.”

“……”

I thought he’d smile and say, “Of course, I can wait.”
But instead, his face suddenly turned serious.
He didn’t answer for a long while, as though lost in deep thought.

“Chester?”
“Ah… I was just thinking.”
“Thinking? About what?!”

What could he possibly need to think about?

“I was calculating how much longer I’d have to endure.”

“What?! Why are you even calculating that?”
“It’s important. No matter how I think about it… I’m not sure if your brother will ever get married in this lifetime.”

“Uh…”

“I want to marry you as soon as possible—so I can have all of your time to myself.”

The hand that had been touching my lip slowly slid down to my neck.

“You sound like you want to delay our marriage. Am I mistaken?”
“O-of course not! It’s just… it feels weird to get married before my brother does.”
“That’s what’s bothering you?”
“Huh?”
“Then if your brother gets married, you’ll move up our wedding date?”
“Uh… I guess so?”

He gave me a meaningful smile.
What on earth was going on in his head?
That look on his face was full of suspicious intent.

“Chester.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t do anything weird.”
“I would never do anything weird.”
“Don’t you dare mess with my brother!”

Why isn’t he answering?! Wait—don’t tell me he actually was planning something!?

“I was only thinking of urging your brother to marry sooner, that’s all.
So don’t make that face, Yulia.”
“……”
“I’m more sensitive than I look. You’re hurting my feelings.”

Liar. You don’t look sensitive at all!
And what’s wrong with my expression, anyway?

I slipped my hand out of his grasp, picked up my fork, and took another bite of cake.
The sweetness spreading in my mouth helped calm me down a little.

“Yulia, does it taste good?”
“…Yes. It’s good.”

Chester smiled lazily and stared at me—
so intently that I started to feel uncomfortable.

When someone that handsome looks at you like that,
your heart can’t help but start pounding.

Surely my face isn’t actually turning red, right?

“Why are you smiling like that?”
“Because you’re beautiful.”

My face instantly burned up.
To hide my embarrassment, I stuffed more cake into my mouth—
but strangely, the cake that had been so sweet moments ago now had no taste at all.

“And adorable.”
“Cough—cough!”

Startled by his sudden words, the cake got stuck in my throat.
As I choked and coughed, Chester quickly patted my back.

Ugh… so embarrassing I could die.

“Yulia, are you all right?”
“Ugh… I’m fine now.”

Well, “fine” except for wanting the ground to swallow me up.

Chester was laughing. Laughing!

“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you’re cute.”
“Chester!”
“You’re just… so cute I could eat you up.”

There was danger flickering in his eyes. My body froze.

“Don’t worry. I won’t eat you. Not yet.”

I reached up and covered his eyes with my hand.

“Then could you at least not say that while looking at me like that?”
“Yulia.”
“I can’t trust you at all when you look at me like that!”

Even with his eyes covered, he was still too handsome. Dangerous to my heart!

“You don’t trust me?”
“It’s not that… but promise me you’ll behave, okay?”
“Yes.”

I slowly lowered my hand from his eyes.

“Ahem… I should get home before it gets too late.”
“I don’t want to say goodbye.”
“But—”
“I just want to marry you soon. Then we could be together every day.”

This man, seriously!

How am I supposed to keep my heart steady when he says things like that,
with those soft eyes and that gentle smile?

He had a face that could make feelings bloom out of nothing.
No wonder the original Yulia had fallen head over heels for him.
Although… come to think of it, was it really love at first sight just because of his face?

A few days after my date with Chester, my brother’s marriage was suddenly arranged.
Something about it felt off, but curiosity drove me straight to his office.

“Brother!”
“Yulia?”
“I heard you’re getting married! Who’s the bride?”
“Ah… so the news reached you already.”
“What? Were you trying to hide it from me?”
“No, it’s just—if you know already, that means everyone must.”

Wait. Am I that slow and oblivious?

“So who is it you’re marrying?”
“Your friend.”
“My… friend?”
“Yes.”

My only friend is Cecil.

“Cecil Chloe?”
“Yes.”
“What?! Seriously?”
“Well… Yulia, I don’t know how you’ll take this, but—”
“Why? Why are you marrying my friend?”

I needed to know.

“Is it for political reasons?”
“Mostly, yes. And besides… Father is weak when it comes to the Blair Duchy.”

I didn’t know much about politics,
but I knew our family’s influence wasn’t as strong as the Duke’s.
It made sense—they probably wanted to balance power by marrying into another faction.

There weren’t many noble ladies my brother’s age,
but for a Crown Princess candidate, at least a Marquess’s daughter was required—
which Cecil happened to be.
And since she was the heroine, she was already the center of social circles.

“…I think it’s great!”

I was surprised, but it didn’t take long to decide.
If my brother really married Cecil, then the story’s ending would change completely.
That would mean our fates would change too.
Maybe none of us would die—me, my brother, or Father.

“Well… if you’re okay with it, then I’m glad.”
“But are you really marrying Cecil?”
“If you don’t want me to, I won’t.”
“No! I want you to get married.”
“Heh. That’s too bad. If you’d told me not to, I wouldn’t have.”

“Oh come on! Would you really not do it just because I said so?”

In the novel, my brother never got married.

“Yes. If you asked me not to, I wouldn’t, Yulia.”

Maybe, in the original story, Yulia had begged him not to marry.
But if he really marries Cecil now—
then he won’t die alongside me as an extra character.
He’ll become the male lead.

The scene from my dream replayed in my mind.
At the same time, a sharp pain pierced through my head.

“Ugh!”
“Yulia?”

It felt like memories were resurfacing—
memories that belonged to the extra, Yulia, not the heroine.
But why show them to me now?
Why force me to relive those awful things?

Was it a warning—
that such a future might happen again?
Or a challenge—to fight harder to avoid it?

“Yulia! Are you okay? Should I call the royal physician?!”
“No… I’m fine.”
“You’re not! Mother always said she was fine too, and then…”

He stopped mid-sentence.

I looked up at him.
He still couldn’t bring himself to talk about our mother in front of me.

I’d already moved past that pain,
but my brother hadn’t yet escaped from it.

He pulled me tightly into his arms.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry, Yulia.”
“Brother, I can’t breathe!”
“Ah… sorry.”
“It’s fine. Just—don’t overreact.”

I patted his back.
Despite being older and taller, he was like a child sometimes—
the same fragile boy he became after our mother’s death.

“Brother, I’m not sick. I’m perfectly healthy.”
“Yeah…”
“I’m not going to die easily.”
“Yulia… promise me you’ll never leave me.”
“I won’t. I won’t leave you or Father.”

So please—
neither of you leave me.
Don’t sacrifice yourselves for me, like in that horrible dream.

All I wanted was for everyone to live happily.

That dream felt too real to ignore.