Chapter 38
On the day she had sent the news to Aryan, Clarissa remembered his expression when he had asked if it was her request.
At the time, she had been too flustered to clearly deny it, but she didn’t want to give the impression that Adria had been forced to become his friend.
However, this crown prince, who tried to act clever in every way, was utterly clueless when it came to picking up on subtle hints.
He looked down at Clarissa coldly and spoke in a voice tinged with irritation.
“I dislike that side of you.”
“Adria.”
Aryan called out to Adria with practiced ease, a skill clearly honed over more than a few occasions.
Clarissa had to strain herself just to adapt to the sudden change before she could even revel in the fact that Aryan had defended her.
No matter how hard she tried, the shock didn’t fade easily.
It had only been a little over a month and ten days since then.
Yet, seeing the two boys looking so friendly, Clarissa couldn’t help but puff out her cheeks.
‘It took you a whole month to even say my name properly, and now…’
No, it wasn’t that she resented their closeness…
It just hurt to see Aryan treating Adria with such ease and comfort, so different from how he treated her.
Frustrated for reasons she didn’t fully understand, Clarissa raised her voice and snapped sharply at Adria.
“Who asked you? I never said I wanted you to like me!”
“Aryan, maybe you should quiet your fiancée.”
“I think it would be quicker for her to just return to where she came from than to shut her up, Your Highness.”
“This is the royal palace. You’re the one who should go back.”
But Adria didn’t let herself be easily swayed.
Unlike before, she responded with a calm, measured tone, countering Clarissa’s words.
As a result, it was Clarissa who first found herself cornered.
“It seems it might be a bit difficult for me to make Your Highness understand. I just thought it wasn’t appropriate for the guest of honor to spend time here so unnecessarily, Your Highness.”
She had a talent for controlling the flow of conversation.
Adria tilted her head, giving Clarissa, who was already confident of her victory, a fresh, radiant smile in agreement.
“That’s true, I suppose.”
Yes, just leave quickly! Perhaps sensing Clarissa’s silent wish, Adria pretended to turn and step away.
At that moment, Clarissa issued an order to Aryan behind her:
“Aryan, go.”
Her eyes widened in alarm. She grabbed Aryan’s arms with both hands.
“Wait, if you’re going, go alone!”
She pressed herself close and shouted:
“What are you talking about? Aryan is Rashad.”
“And my fiancé as well!”
Aryan’s cheek met the gaze of the two once again.
Feeling the intensity of their eyes, hotter than before, Aryan slowly blinked.
Watching the quarrel that moved almost mechanically, without pause, Aryan dropped a large bomb he had been thinking about for some time in front of them.
“You two… get along well, don’t you?”
Their jaws dropped in shock, bordering on fear.
“Are they crazy?”
“…Aryan, you’re not hurt, right?”
The two different voices, both questioning his sanity, blended into an unexpectedly harmonious chorus, causing both to fall silent without even thinking.
Aryan, unaware of the bomb he had dropped, swallowed his feelings of envy as he observed the two quietly maintaining their silence together.
In the end, Clarissa was the first to leave.
Vestas had spotted her and hurriedly pulled her away.
No wonder her attire was so modest—she had sneaked out again.
Thinking about it, even the proud Lisette Marquis wouldn’t have the nerve to bring her daughter, who had already caused incidents in the royal palace, along.
Thus, Adria couldn’t help but feel amazed at how lax the royal guards were when it came to her.
“Tch.”
Adria clicked his tongue while still leaning on the balcony railing.
A soft chuckle reached him from beside, breaking his frown.
Turning his head, he saw Aryan, who had been dazedly following Clarissa’s retreating figure, now looking at him with a gentle smile.
“Laughing?”
“Haha, sorry.”
Aryan lightly apologized to Adria’s low, warning-like voice.
Unlike his stiff demeanor earlier, he now looked completely relaxed, like a dog that had finally found its master.
If someone asked him to fly over, he would have nodded eagerly.
Curious and slightly annoyed, Adria couldn’t help but ask:
“Do you like it that much?”
“Huh?”
Though her tone carried a teasing note, Aryan seemed completely unaware of the intent behind the question, tilting his head in confusion.
“Stop pretending you don’t understand.”
Adria, who had yet to experience her first love, still had a rough idea of the teasing tension in the air.
Even so, Aryan blinked innocently in response to her remark.
Sighing, Adria reluctantly added what she hadn’t wanted to say:
“You said you weren’t even my fiancé before, didn’t you?”
“Ah.”
A short exclamation slipped from Aryan’s lips.
His blue eyes flickered slightly.
Clarissa had found him, yet he realized he hadn’t asked the question he most wanted to hear.
If, by chance, her feelings hadn’t changed, did she remain his friend?
But the answer his mind conjured plunged Aryan into a deep darkness.
The answer he imagined Clarissa giving was “no.”
“That’s…”
Clarissa had only come to check, to see if Aryan was doing well, if he hadn’t fallen into unhappiness.
“Clarissa is just being considerate.”
She was such a kind person, and because of that…
Watching Aryan’s face darken with each passing moment, Adria realized that his thoughtful new friend was overthinking again, but she didn’t feel the need to point it out.
Adria herself hoped Aryan and Clarissa remained on neutral terms.
Even though things were already tangled enough, she had no desire to get involved further.
‘Well, it’s none of my business anyway.’
Adria shrugged and offered a casual response, unaware of how Aryan’s insides were burning:
“Is that so? If you say so, then I suppose that’s how it is.”
A fragile smile appeared on Aryan’s lips, as though it might crumble at any moment.
Only his eyes desperately searched for the traces of Clarissa that had vanished.
In the peaceful Lua Palace, a girl with brown hair that seemed to carry a sweet fragrance crossed the pristine white grounds.
The girl, with golden eyes brighter than the sun, was growing into a young woman. She hummed a tune with each light step.
The round-eyed palace maids and tired knights who had trained all night looked at her, their gazes warming her cheeks.
“That’s the daughter of Marquis Vestas…”
“Ah, Rashad’s…”
Yet, the whispers of others could not bind Clarissa’s steps.
After persistent requests following the Crown Prince’s fourteenth birthday banquet, she had finally secured a visit—one week in the making!
‘…Finally!’
And today was an even more historic day: Aryan was about to begin learning the sword!
Recalling the moment she first heard this, Clarissa hugged the large basket in her arms tightly.
Her racing heart made her steps quicken in tandem.
As the scenery gradually changed and a large courtyard came into view:
“Twenty-seven!”
Over the sharp, weighty voice of a woman, Aryan swung a sword awkwardly, his movements catching her eye.
