“Have you all heard that news?”

“You mean that news?”

“I heard that Her Majesty the Empress also hurriedly returned to the Imperial Palace because of that rumor.”

“Oh my, is that true?”

“……”

Aria was very uncomfortable with the current topic of conversation.

She had already experienced an unpleasant incident recently.

She had always believed without a doubt that she would marry Admund.

There was no one else by Admund’s side except for her.

She also thought there was no one else she could marry except Admund.

But then someone else appeared between her and Admund.

‘Why wasn’t it me?’

She thought.

It was hard to understand why he had chosen Clea Odoi over her.

‘What did she do to me? And you, who saw it all, why!’

Who was Clea Odoi?

She was a vicious woman who had bullied Aria throughout their academy days.

Already fragile due to the influence of the curse, she valued herself above all else.

That’s why Aria strongly disliked Clea.

She was afraid of getting seriously hurt by Clea’s excessive bullying.

So she was greatly shocked.

By Admund, who smiled at the side of the person who had always bullied her, a smile he had never shown before.

“What does the lady think?”

Someone threw a question at her, who had been quiet.

Suddenly, the place became completely silent.

Everyone was looking at Aria.

Aria bit her lip at their gazes.

She knew why they were deliberately singling her out to ask.

Until now, people had thought Admund’s marriage partner would be Aria Hersher.

The reason for thinking so was simple.

Aria was the only woman who could be considered to have a close relationship with Admund.

People had subtly promoted her as the future crown princess or tried to get on her good side.

Although there were clearly people who were uncomfortable with this, Aria didn’t point it out.

She, too, firmly believed that she would become the crown princess.

“I’m not sure. What rumor are you talking about?”

Aria asked the young lady who had questioned her, smiling calmly.

Even though she clearly showed that she wanted to avoid answering, the young lady spoke while trying to hide her smile.

“You haven’t heard, I see. The news that His Highness the Crown Prince had a secret meeting with someone.”

Realizing that she couldn’t avoid it after all, Aria tried her best to maintain a bright expression.

If she frowned here, it would reveal that she was also concerned about it.

“It’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire, isn’t there?”

“If it were true, the Imperial Palace would have announced it.”

“Isn’t there a reason why they’re not announcing it?”

“What kind of answer do you want from the lady?”

The atmosphere completely sank at the clearly intentional question.

In the sunken atmosphere, gazes of concern, worry, and curiosity intersected.

Those who were close to Aria were glaring at the young lady who had asked the question.

On the other hand, those who weren’t usually close to Aria remained neutral in this situation.

They weren’t worried about Aria, but they were curious about the truth of the rumor.

“It’s widely known that the lady has the closest relationship with His Highness the Crown Prince. I just wanted to ask if you knew any details about the rumor.”

Despite the sharp gazes pouring from those close to Aria, the young lady remained calm.

Others felt strange about her calm attitude.

Even if the rumor was true, Aria was still a lady of the Hersher family.

They thought there weren’t many who wouldn’t fear a lady of her standing.

“I haven’t seen you at tea time before. Are you perhaps the daughter of a newly rising viscount or baron family?”

“That’s right. We haven’t seen you before. How long has it been since you’ve been to the capital?”

“It seems to have been a few years.”

“Visiting the capital after a few years. How exciting that must be.”

It seemed she was from a powerful family in the provinces who had just moved to the capital and didn’t know her place.

They approached her with a haughty attitude, intending to put the young lady who didn’t know her place in her proper position.

But the young lady was still smiling and laughing.

She hadn’t thought that the atmosphere would have changed like this in the few years she had been away from the capital.

Tired of watching this unsightly scene any longer, she stood up from her seat.

“I won’t have any reason to come here again in the future.”

“Young lady, let me give you a piece of advice.”

When the young lady who had been asking uncomfortable questions tried to leave on her own, Aria’s close associates seemed completely displeased and openly showed their displeasure.

Seeing this, Aria called out to stop the departing young lady.

The young lady turned to look at her, wondering if Aria was going to answer the question she had posed.

Then Aria, with a coldly hardened expression, left one last word for the young lady.

“I hope you realize that the social circle is not so generous that you can survive alone.”

‘Hah, is that all she has to say?’

Though she didn’t show it on her face, the young lady found it hard to hide her disappointment.

That all she had to say was a threat to be careful in the future.

‘Well, it doesn’t matter since I can ask elder brother Oberon if the rumor is true.’

She hoped the rumor was true.

Because Aria, whom she had observed with her own eyes, was less suitable to be the crown princess than she had thought.

‘But still, even if I’ve been away for a few years studying abroad, how is it possible that not a single person recognized me?’

She was dumbfounded that not even one person had recognized her.

She had just arrived in the capital the day before and was dragged to the tea time by her mother.

Even so, it was ridiculous that even the host of the party didn’t notice her presence.

“Despite this, I’m a young lady from a family no less prestigious than the Hersher family.”

Her name was Rupia Philip, a young lady of the Philip family and Oberon’s younger sister.

* * *

“Clea, do you have a moment?”

“Are you sure you have time?”

“I just finished most of my work, so it’s fine now.”

“I see.”

Recently, she had been thinking.

That he was visiting her room too often.

‘Is it alright to visit this frequently? I heard he had a lot of work to do.’

Oberon had said that he was quite a busy person.

She had been asked to tell him to go back to work if he came, as he was someone without leisure time, but.

‘Still, I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.’

She approached Admund, who had come to see her, with a smile on her lips.

When she reached right in front of him, she took his hand.

“It’s warm.”

“Your hands are cold.”

“I suppose you’re right.”

As she had no particular intention to refute, she held his hand.

Admund shivered for a moment at the cool sensation, but he didn’t pull his hand away.

Admund carefully applied pressure, as if afraid Clea’s hand might break.

“Would you like to have some tea?”

As usual, she suggested having a cup of tea.

Clea was satisfied just talking face to face with each other.

However, Admund was not.

“How about going outside this time?”

“Outside?”

He didn’t want her to stay in this gloomy palace for too long.

Although Clea didn’t find the Crown Prince’s palace gloomy at all, Admund was very concerned.

Thinking that it wasn’t good for one’s mental health to stay indoors too much, he suggested going outside.

“Let’s go out. Let’s enjoy a casual date outside.”

“But we’ll be seen by people.”

“Let them see. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Admund no longer cared about that aspect.

Rather, it was what he wanted.

He wanted to go outside and create good memories with her.

While he didn’t think it was entirely bad to keep her safe by staying in the secure palace, he still wanted to see her smile in a bright place.

“Is that really okay? Our relationship isn’t anything yet.”

The person he loved, the one he would share his future with, was already firmly decided.

“It’s too late to try to escape from my side with words like that, Clea.”

Admund briefly and carefully pressed his lips against hers.

Despite the sudden approach, Clea embraced him at his gentle kiss.

When their lips parted, Admund looked somewhat unsatisfied.

Clea smiled at Admund’s expression, but then briefly looked at the back of her hand.

‘Not today, I suppose.’

She had been thinking like this more often lately when looking at the back of her hand.

Thinking that today wouldn’t be the day this happiness ends.

Thinking that she still had a lot of time left.

“Alright. Let’s go on a date.”

Hearing Clea’s answer, Admund hugged her with a joyful smile.

In fact, he had been a bit nervous, thinking she might refuse. He was happy to have received her approval.

On the other hand, seeing Admund’s innocent joy, she felt elated.

She felt her troubled heart calming at his warm presence.

Thinking about the enjoyable time she would spend with him, Clea swallowed the words she had wanted to say.

‘I don’t want to let you go either.’

Before death could separate their relationship, Clea resolved to break free from this curse using everything she knew.

It was a moment when she found the will to live longer, to be with him a little more, and to spend time like this.