I looked at Ascan with a bewildered expression. I couldn’t have imagined he would come out of nowhere and say something like this.

“Don’t move away without permission,” he said. I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m saying you can’t just move away as you please.”

“Move away?!”

I’m not some fugitive.

I couldn’t understand what he was thinking to say such a thing. But there was certainly a point that needed addressing.

“Who said anything about moving away?”

“Are you avoiding me?”

“Not really, I just needed some time to think, so I avoided you for a while… But it doesn’t mean I want to move away from you.”

It was just embarrassing.

Even though I was intoxicated, I kissed Ascan without his consent. I needed to pull myself together to avoid making such a mistake again.

In short, I needed time for self-reflection.

Ascan’s expression was strange. While he seemed angry a moment ago, he suddenly turned his head with a softened expression.

“…So, you say such things. Do you think I’ll forgive you if you say that?”

Huh?

I had never thought that avoiding Ascan in the first place required asking for forgiveness.

He seemed nonchalant, but upon hearing my answer that I didn’t intend to move away from him a moment ago, he seemed somehow embarrassed.

“But does it really bother you that much because I’m not in sight? I didn’t expect you to chase after me into the carriage like this.”

Ascan’s expression stiffened at my words. As if trying to hide the embarrassment he felt a moment ago, he responded in a seemingly indifferent voice.

“…Because of the imperial decree. Since I have an obligation to protect you, I judged that it would be better to ride together.”

“That damn imperial decree. If the emperor didn’t order you to protect me, I wouldn’t be here, right?”

At my words, Ascan couldn’t respond for a moment. He looked at me with eyes filled with complex emotions.

After maintaining silence for a while, he opened his mouth with a subdued voice.

“…I told you not to attend the party if possible. Why did you accept the invitation?”

I tried to change the subject, but his question struck too close to home, so I couldn’t avoid it.

There was only one reason why I attended the party. It was Ascan’s sword, Calpelliber, which appeared in the original novel “”

Regardless of Ascan’s psychological state, it was more important to me than anything else, even if Empress Seruna and the Manoco family had some kind of trick up their sleeves.

I needed to know if he wanted to bring about the destruction of the world. But since I couldn’t honestly say that, I came up with an excuse.

“Rejecting the party wouldn’t solve anything. It’s just buying time. I wanted to confront it head-on.”

“It might have been better if you met after rejecting the emperor’s proposal.”

“You’re treating me so well because of the imperial decree, and if I reject it too quickly, it might be regrettable.”
It was a casual remark without much thought, but Ascan’s eyebrows twitched.

“Just for such a reason, you’re delaying it?”

“Anyway, unnecessary worries are to be avoided. Depending on the person, half a year might not be a long period to contemplate receiving such a proposal.”

It was not uncommon for some to deliberately postpone their response to a proposal to secure better conditions. I was simply trying to resolve things quickly because I had no intention of marrying Helsion, and from a conventional perspective, it wasn’t unusual.

For some reason, Ascan’s gaze darkened.

“Stop unnecessary thoughts and sort it out quickly.”

“It’s my business. Don’t concern yourself.”

“Are you planning to keep leaving room for other men while liking me?”

“Wh-what are you saying?!”

Denying that I liked him in frustration, he looked at me with a chilling gaze and said,

“You like me.”

“I don’t know who…!”

“Start liking me.”

Wh-what?

I stared at Ascan in disbelief for a moment. However, he quietly continued with a mischievous expression.

“It’s too late to turn back now. If you’re going to swing me around as you please and now say you don’t like me, did you think I would easily let you go?”

“No, when did I…!”

“So don’t entertain such thoughts. In your heart, there should be only me.”

I was speechless.

If someone heard, they might think it was an authoritarian command to like him.

The strange thing was that the Ascan in my memories was kind and pure, and the current appearance somehow overlapped with the past.

The Imperial Palace of the Kalua Empire.

Seruna was sitting in front of a large mirror.

She was a woman who exuded a pure beauty like a white lily.

In fact, judging solely by her slender appearance, it was hard to believe that she possessed the ability to manipulate people at will with hypnosis.

Clunk, clunk.

An old man approached Seruna, who was quietly looking into the mirror.

With white hair that revealed his age, short stature, and a plain appearance, he seemed unimpressive. However, his gaze was as sharp as ever, strangely intimidating.