Chapter 27…
Three days had passed since the day good news and an unwelcome guest arrived side by side.
Early that morning, Clarissa went to the Mathias household, presented him with the finest jacket and a brooch, and urged him to hurry on his way.
Seeing Clarissa act so forcefully for the first time in a while, Aryan tilted his head in confusion, but still obediently let himself be led by her hand and boarded a carriage whose destination he didn’t know.
They passed through Rost Square and the market—famous landmarks of the capital, Mirga—until a vast white castle filled Clarissa’s and Aryan’s view.
But the carriage didn’t stop there. It continued onward.
When a massive castle gate finally appeared before them, Aryan’s blue eyes widened.
The way he hugged Hugh tightly showed his urgency.
“Miss Lisette, this place is…?”
“The Imperial Palace!”
Even at Aryan’s frightened question, Clarissa answered brightly, her voice utterly cheerful.
“Surprised?”
Despite her lovely smile and the playful question that followed, Aryan could only nod stiffly.
Hugh, equally frightened, let out a small whimper that reached Clarissa’s ears.
To her, the two of them simply looked like adorable puppies leaning on each other while waiting for their owner.
Holding back her laughter, Clarissa finally reminded him of today’s purpose.
“There’s someone I want to introduce to you, Aryan.”
“At the Imperial Palace…?”
“Yes!”
Clarissa replied with a beaming smile. She looked adorable, but Aryan only grew more confused.
And then, as if to push his confusion to its peak, someone suddenly knocked on the carriage door.
“Lady Clarissa, His Highness Prince Adria is waiting.”
Aryan could hardly believe his ears.
“Prince Adria, you say…?”
His jaw dropped, and his red tongue showed.
As if answering him, Clarissa stuck her tongue out playfully and said,
“Let’s go.”
The garden of Lua Palace, where crown princes had resided for generations. As marigolds swayed lazily under the autumn sunlight,
the three of them sat facing one another, wasting time by simply staring at each other’s faces.
The silence was eerie.
Clarissa swallowed her breath as she sat between the two boys, who were wordlessly locking gazes.
She wanted to speak first, but that would violate the damned imperial etiquette.
Of course, if it were only Clarissa and Adria sitting here, she would’ve thrown that nonsense to the dogs and talked her head off.
But today was meant to be an important day—for Clarissa, no, for Aryan. So Clarissa decided to exercise patience she had never shown before.
Say something, you idiots.
That didn’t mean she intended to sit quietly.
Clarissa glared with all her might at Adria, who seemed to be staging a silent protest.
You have to open that mouth of yours first so I can say whatever I want.
Perhaps her desperate wish worked.
Adria slightly furrowed his brows and finally broke the silence.
“I was curious what kind of person you were, since you seemed so confident.”
Something felt off. Clarissa sensed it at once.
No matter what he said next, it wouldn’t be what she was waiting for.
“Is this all?”
Her expectation was hit dead on.
That unbearably arrogant voice scraped every last nerve Clarissa had.
Aryan’s shoulders shrank at the harsh words hurled at him right from their first meeting.
She knew what kind of person Adria was.
But she had been certain that he wouldn’t act like this toward Aryan.
In the novel, the two of them were inseparable friends.
Clarissa clenched her small fists.
More than the shock of her expectations being wrong, she worried about how hurt Aryan must be.
After steeling herself in silence, Clarissa lifted her chin and spoke sharply.
“That’s not something I can just let slide.”
“Oh?”
So that was it—she’d wondered why he was so quiet today. With a dry exclamation, Adria shot her a piercing look, as if telling her to say whatever she wanted.
At his provocation, Clarissa didn’t hesitate. She stood up.
Aryan’s eyes trembled as he watched.
In an instant, Clarissa was standing beside him, looking like a shop clerk introducing a product.
“This beautiful silver hair, his handsome features, and those brilliantly shining blue eyes!”
Her golden eyes gleamed with resolve.
Her unwavering voice rang out as she praised Aryan without restraint.
If anything, the one flustered by her confidence was Aryan.
“M-Miss…?”
His cheeks burned bright red as he called out to Clarissa.
But she didn’t stop there and continued stubbornly.
“And his heart is just as beautiful—he’s gentle, kind, considerate, and so selfless it’s almost sad. He always thinks of others before himself. And above all, he’s pretty!”
A sound close to a scoff escaped Adria’s lips.
But that was all.
“In the end, it just circles back to bragging about his looks, doesn’t it?”
Even after hearing her fervent praise, he asked indifferently.
“So what if it does?”
Clarissa’s lips were already curling into a satisfied smile.
With her hands clasped behind her back and her chest puffed out, she looked as if she were saying, This is how great my kid is.
Adria replied with a twisted smile.
“There are plenty of problems.”
“Then let’s hear them.”
“I know him.”
“Then that makes things even better.”
Clarissa was filled with a strange certainty.
No matter what Adria said now, he would never truly deny Aryan, who would one day become his greatest support.
Adria had always been contrarian—surely he was just putting on airs for now.
Facing Clarissa’s sunlit smile, Adria twisted his lips once more and slowly opened his mouth.
“Well… we’ll see.”
The only one unable to smile, left in confusion, was Aryan.
A long silence followed.
It was Adria who shattered it.
“Aryan von Mathias. The eldest son of the Mathias family—and a dullard abandoned even by his own parents to the Lisette marquisate.”
But he shattered more than just the silence.
Aryan’s blue eyes spasmed violently.
Clarissa wasn’t any better off. She bit down hard on her lower lip.
She knew their meeting was happening far earlier than in the original story.
But he knew everything about what had happened to Aryan.
She knew the truth hidden in those deliberately sharp words.
How could you… when you know all that.
Clarissa trembled with a profound sense of betrayal.
Curses surged up her throat.
Her neatly trimmed nails dug sharply into her palm.
No matter who stood before her, Clarissa suppressed the pain and issued a sharp warning.
“Take that back. Now.”
“Why? This fact doesn’t pose any problem at all.”
“What did you say?”
Bang!
The tea table jolted violently.
Unable to hold back any longer, Clarissa slammed her palm down on the table, glaring fiercely at Adria.
If he spouted even one more twisted remark, crown prince or not, she was ready to shower him with insults.
It’d be even better if she could sneak in a flick to his forehead while she was at it.
Perhaps sensing the ominous atmosphere—three years with Clarissa had taught him how to read the future—Aryan tugged gently at her sleeve and spoke first.
“Miss, I’m fine—”
“You’re not fine!”
I’m not!
Now even her shoulders were shaking as Clarissa glared at Adria.
The tip of her nose burned hot.
The fiery emotions of adolescence were not something one could easily control.
Swept up in surging feelings, Clarissa lost her reason.
And in that moment—
“The biggest problem is you, Clarissa von Lisette.”
At the casually dropped words, Clarissa stared blankly, her mouth falling open.
“I really dislike you. And your fiancé goes without saying.”
Aryan was no different.
Half his mouth hung open as if he’d been struck by an invisible blow, struggling to process Adria’s words.
And then Clarissa realized the root of all this.
Damn it. He never intended to take this seriously from the start, did he? You foul-tempered crown prince.
From the very beginning, the crown prince hadn’t cared about the terms of the “bet” at all.
