Veronica looked at Asher, who was pretending to be friendly, with an indifferent gaze. Asher smiled awkwardly at her cold aura.

Veronica moved her feet, which had stopped for a moment, and passed by him.

“Wait a minute.”

Asher hurriedly grabbed Veronica’s hand and stopped her.

As she silently glanced at him, he let go of her hand in surprise and stepped back, showing an expression full of apologies for his rudeness.

“I just parted with His Highness Cassian a moment ago.”

“I waited because I have something to say to Lady Hardness.”

“Do you have some business with me?”

As she spoke, Veronica tapped the wrist that he had touched a moment ago.

Tap, tap, as if shaking off something dirty on her wrist. Watching her, Asher asked,

“Lady Hardness. Did I possibly do something to upset you?”

“What do you mean? If it’s about rejecting the marriage proposal…”

“No, no. It’s not about that. It’s just that your attitude towards me seems to have changed recently. It feels like… you’re very angry with me.”

“……”

“If I have been rude to you in any way, I think I should apologize. If there’s a misunderstanding, I want to explain.”

“A misunderstanding…”

Veronica laughed.

“What misunderstanding could I possibly have about you, Your Highness?”

“But…”

“It’s not that I misunderstood, it’s that I didn’t know.”

“……”

“I just didn’t know about Your Highness.”

Loving him made her think she knew everything.

Her feelings for him were inferior to none, so she believed she knew him best. She thought no one knew him better than her.

Like a fool.

“So there’s nothing Your Highness needs to say to me, nothing you should say.”

“Lady Hardness.”

“And it’s inappropriate for us to be alone like this. I heard there are rumors circulating about me, Prince Cassian, and Prince Roel. I don’t want to add fuel to that story.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

“Please be careful next time.”

If you’re done talking, I’ll be going then. Veronica turned her body.

“Veronica.”

At the continuing call, she had no choice but to stop again.

Veronica turned around fiercely. Asher smiled brightly, receiving the shattered light on his body.

“I asked you to call me by my name, but I never got to…”

“Don’t call me that!”

A sharp cry burst out. Asher looked surprised.

Veronica panted.

“Don’t call me that anymore. Don’t do it. We… we’re not close enough to call each other by name. We were never in that kind of relationship from the beginning.”

“…Lady Hardness.”

“Don’t call me like that.”

As if she was precious, affectionately. Like lovers. Veronica closed her mouth and clenched both fists.

“So you are angry with me after all.”

“Why would I be angry at you, Your Highness?”

She wanted to laugh as if it was nothing, but it was difficult. The forcibly pulled lips twisted into a strange face.

Emotions, anger, they couldn’t be controlled. She didn’t want to act childishly in front of him. Especially in front of him.

“Do you have anything else to say to me?”

She spat out, trying hard to compose her emotions. It seemed like he still had something to say.

Asher seemed to be struggling with his words. After a moment’s hesitation, his voice flowed out cautiously.

“Do you truly love Cassian?”

She wondered what he was trying to say to do this. Veronica finally let out a hollow laugh. With that question, she finally understood why he had come to see her.

“Are you doubting my feelings?”

“It’s not like that, but…”

“Yes, I love him. I truly love him with all my heart. Because I love him, I’m going to marry him. I’m going to be by his side. These feelings will never change, forever!”

Only after shouting in excitement did she realize she was saying something pointless.

Even though she knew it was meaningless to say this to him now. Even though she knew it never reached him no matter how many times she shouted it.

He was so precious that she was careful even holding him in her hands.

It was also something he had trampled mercilessly. Look now, the man who only rejected her when she wanted him so badly had personally come to find her.

It wouldn’t have been possible if she had accepted his proposal. The reason was simply because of his younger brother.

He suspected that there might be another reason behind her loving Cassian. Just as Cassian had done to her, that man was also worrying about his younger brother.

She saw a surprised, flustered face looking at her.

The emotions she had hidden well in front of Cassian leaked out helplessly in front of Asher. Not yet, she couldn’t. Meet that man.

“Are you satisfied with your curiosity now?”

Veronica gave a twisted smile.

“If your curiosity is satisfied, I’ll be going now.”

“Lady Hardness, I…”

“I have nothing more to discuss with you.”

Veronica, who had cut off his words, turned around hurriedly.

“My father is waiting for me, so…”

The sound of her heels echoed loudly in the quiet corridor. Her hasty demeanor betrayed her anxious heart, and the presence behind her back felt more vivid than ever.

Veronica put strength into her whole body. So as not to look back. To not be swept away by the faded brilliance, quickly.

There were few memorable moments to recall with Prince Cassian Theron Diastara.

In the repeating time, their relationship was never good, and they were too busy criticizing each other to have proper conversations.

Asher had tried to improve their relationship at times, but it only got tangled up until the very end.

There was no interest in each other in the first place for the relationship to be resolved.

Nevertheless, there was one unforgettable memory.

‘A woman like you is not suitable for Asher.’

It was something Cassian said to her one day. That day, the sky was unusually clear, the warmth was gentle, and the flowers were blooming beautifully, so a man with a face that didn’t suit such a good day was particularly etched in her mind.

Around that time, Veronica went to see Asher almost every day.

Before their engagement, she would go see him whenever she had the chance, but after becoming official, she met Asher more confidently.

Then Asher would always welcome her without any sign of annoyance, and they would spend a happy time together. And usually, Cassian, that man, was there.

The man who had been silently staring at her finally spoke to her, taking advantage of Asher’s brief absence.

‘I don’t know why you’re suddenly saying this to me, Your Highness. Have I done something wrong to deserve hearing this from you?’

‘…You know nothing.’

She asked what she didn’t know, but Cassian just glared at her silently.

His gaze was so fierce that it was definitely not the way he would look at the precious future wife of his older brother.

‘There were widespread rumors that the precious daughter of Viscount Hardness was bedridden with lovesickness. Who the object of her affection was also a hot topic among people. Did you intentionally spread the rumors? So that Asher, upon hearing them, would eventually have no choice but to change his mind. Because Asher is not cold-hearted enough to turn away from someone who is sick because of him. In the end, it’s a result obtained through threats.’

‘You are truly rude!’

Since Cassian was the only person always by Asher’s side, she ended up seeing him often even if she didn’t want to.

He was very obvious in his gaze towards her, making it difficult to pretend not to know what emotions he harbored.

She thought it wouldn’t be easy to get along with him. She even pondered over how to befriend him. Unlike her usual self.

But to think he would be this rude.

When Veronica got angry, he even added sarcastically that he knew she would be such an impatient woman. Veronica could no longer endure it. She retaliated against his sarcasm with her own.

‘No matter how much you hurt me, Your Highness, I am your brother’s one and only fiancée. I will marry Prince Asher someday, and then the one left alone will be you in the end.’

Yes, such a thing had happened.

She noticed his distorted lips. Even though he tried hard to hide it, his trembling fingertips were visible.

At that time, she felt that Cassian was hurt by her words. His face, contorted as if he was about to cry at any moment despite his angry panting, made it seem so.

It must have been an excessive misunderstanding to think he was hurt and on the verge of tears.

Even after that, Cassian growled whenever he saw her and looked at her like a plunderer who had stolen something precious from him.

And she must have had a similar gaze until the very end of each repetition.

‘Veronica Hardness!’

The blade drawn without hesitation slashed in front of her eyes. She was cut, stabbed, and sometimes even her heart was pierced through.

There were times when Veronica tried to rush and kill Asher but occasionally failed, and it was when Cassian was by his side. He was Asher’s faithful guard.

Veronica rubbed her neck. The neck that had been cut countless times by the cruel blade was now intact.

The cold face of the man looking down at her, like a light going out in an instant, also came to mind. Another unforgettable memory.

Veronica stared blankly at the black head in front of her. As if sensing her gaze, Cassian looked back.

When she smiled brightly as their eyes met, he frowned and quickly turned his head away.

That jerk.