Chapter 5. Allen’s Way of Loving
Unlike me, who was clearly shaken, Allen—who had just done something outrageous—remained completely calm.
I pressed my hand against my pounding chest. This was truly a dangerous temptation.
‘Even if I had two hearts, both would’ve broken by now…’
When we arrived at the castle, Allen was the first to get off the carriage and offered me his hand. As I took it and stepped down, he pulled a pendant from his pocket as if he’d been waiting for this moment and handed it to me.
It was a pendant with the face of a lion—symbol of the magic school.
‘Is he bragging that he goes to the magic school or something?’
I tilted my head, not understanding its meaning. He spoke briefly.
“It seemed like you’d need it.”
“What is it?”
“An access pass.”
“Access pass?”
“With this, you can come and go from the magic school anytime you want.”
“Hmm, I doubt I’ll need it. You can take it back.”
I hardened my expression and tried to hand it back, but Allen took a step back and refused to accept it.
As far as I knew, the magic school strictly prohibited outsiders.
‘How in the world did he get this?’
As if he could hear my thoughts, Allen answered like it was nothing.
“I got it easily thanks to my capable fiancée, but I was holding onto it because I was annoyed you mentioned breaking off the engagement.”
He didn’t… threaten the headmaster or anything, right?
Something about Allen’s smiling face creeped me out. In the original novel, Allen used his abilities to blackmail several people—just to torment Bienna.
Why did this feel so familiar?
This scene wasn’t even in the original story, yet the pattern felt oddly recognizable.
No way. That can’t be it… right?
Trying to shake off the unease, I answered coldly.
“I’m busy with school. Even if I weren’t, I wouldn’t go.”
Worried I’d been too harsh, I glanced at him—but Allen didn’t seem hurt at all.
On the contrary, he smirked triumphantly, as if to say, ‘Your opinion doesn’t matter.’
Oh? Did you just scoff at me?
His unusually smug attitude made me even more uneasy. Then Allen spoke.
“No need to be so wary. Through Gale, ‘Roni Shaligan’ expressed interest in visiting the magic school, so I got approval from the school. If you don’t want to use your power, you can throw it away.”
Excuse me, let’s be clear here. You and Gale are the ones abusing power, not me.
I stared at him in disbelief as he shifted the blame for something I hadn’t even done.
‘So this is how you want to play it?’
He was smiling like it pleased him to paint me as some noble lady who abused her power just to get a tour of the magic school.
Like he was enjoying my embarrassment. Are you having fun messing with me? Too bad—I’m not going.
But it felt like this would drag on if I didn’t accept the pendant, so I let it slide. Still, annoyed, I snapped at him.
“Go home already. Good kids go back to their dorms early.”
I was about to turn him around and push him away when Allen suddenly turned back, and I ended up stumbling into him.
“Wah!”
“You’re very forward today, Roni.”
I quickly stepped back to regain some distance, but then Allen cupped my face with both hands and kissed my forehead.
“!!”
“I was already planning to go, so don’t get all worked up. If you keep acting like this, I’ll want to tease you more.”
He chuckled gently, clearly enjoying himself.
‘Ugh, my heart can’t take this. This is cheating. You’re the one being too forward!’
After being kissed twice in one day, I could barely think straight. Flustered and shy, I stared blankly at Allen.
I had completely missed my window to protest or respond. Allen leaned in and whispered softly in my ear:
“You’ll end up using that pendant eventually.”
“…What?”
By the time I came to my senses and asked, he was already walking away.
—
Once inside the castle, I headed straight to Gale’s office. He hadn’t slept—still buried in work.
In the original story, the duties Roni should have handled were passed on to Gale. Because of that, he delayed his enrollment at the magic school, saying he wanted to focus on his training as an heir first.
He probably planned to enroll once he was confident in fulfilling those duties.
Even if that weren’t the case, with a brilliant mage like Leo Shaligan as his father, he likely didn’t see much point in investing time in formal schooling.
When I stormed into the room without knocking, Gale looked up, already bracing for the storm.
‘Do you know what you’ve done wrong?’
With a cold smile, I approached him. He backed away and cried out,
“W-Wait, sis! I-I didn’t even really want to help Allen!”
“But you did, in the end.”
“T-That’s because I had no choice!”
“What do you mean, no choice? If you don’t have a good reason, you’re dead today.”
“Ugh—then you shouldn’t have looked at him like that when he was leaving!”
Are you blaming me now?
Why was everyone passing the blame today? His deflection was infuriating. Sensing my irritation, Gale quickly added,
“After Allen left, you stopped smiling and acted cold again—just like five years ago! Like you were about to disappear!”
He looked at me as if to say, ‘It’s not my fault! I did it for you!’ I shut my mouth tightly, ready to scold him—but held back.
Because he was right. I had started shutting everyone out like I was preparing to leave.
Even when Gale tried to talk to me, I only gave him formal responses, subconsciously putting distance between us. He must have felt it.
But I did it for the people of this world. Even if I was lonely, I believed it was better if only I suffered.
More than anything, I didn’t want to write the story the way Guinness intended.
‘Would you believe me if I said I did it so you wouldn’t get hurt?’
I had assumed everything would resolve as long as I stepped away. After all, in the original story, Roni wasn’t close with Allen, and Gale was just a tool.
So I thought if I forced some distance, they’d move on quickly.
But now I wondered if that distance had only hurt them more.
So what should I do? If every option leads to pain, what’s the least painful one? I couldn’t even predict the future.
Suddenly, Allen came to mind. Had he already met Bienna at the magic school?
Could his delayed enrollment have erased his connection with Bienna? Did I treat his feelings lightly and push him away just because I didn’t understand mine?
Couldn’t I just go back to hanging out with Allen like before, doing whatever I wanted?
No—that would only be good for me. What would happen to him once I left this world and returned to Earth?
He’d likely be tormented, left behind with no memory of the vanished “Roni.” Maybe he’d never even know what he lost.
That thought made my chest tighten.
‘It’s so suffocating…’
Meanwhile, seeing Roni frowning in silence made Gale anxious.
‘Why does she try so hard to hide how she feels?’
The Roni he knew was always honest with her emotions and never tolerated injustice.
Well, not always. But at some point, she changed. And Gale liked the changed Roni a lot.
In the past, she used to talk about “noblesse oblige” while lording over others. Gale himself had been arrogant just to imitate her.
But over time, Roni embodied those ideals. She became someone who led by example.
She began by learning the names of every servant, even the ones she had no reason to remember. She never hesitated to help people like Becky when they were struggling.
Maybe that’s why, though the servants used to fear her, they now adored and respected her.
Especially with her personal maid Vivi leading the way, Roni had gained a number of loyal followers. Her transformation wasn’t something only he noticed.
But recently, she had changed again. Now she treated the servants formally, no longer listening to their problems or offering help.
It was like she didn’t want to exist. As if invisible glass surrounded her, keeping everyone—including her own brother—out.
Gale wondered if she was hiding some secret she couldn’t talk about. But he never found the courage to ask. It seemed like she was afraid of it herself.
He just wanted her to live freely and happily, in her own way.
Even if that meant being with Allen, whom Gale didn’t particularly like. Because right now, Allen was the only one who could break through her iron defenses.
Gale, wearing a pitiful expression, said softly:
“Sis… Just live the way you want.”
