DDD 34

Chapter 34…

Claryssa felt a little flustered at the unfamiliar look in Aryan’s eyes.

Finally, she could leave this dreadful place, but why didn’t she feel happy?

“Claryssa, is it that way?”

“Aren’t you happy?”

Aryan asked politely as always, but there was no warmth in his voice.

Hearing the unmistakable hint of anger in his tone, Claryssa replied calmly, almost instinctively.

“He…”

He had insulted you. Aryan swallowed the rest of the words.

No, it was more accurate to say he couldn’t bring himself to say it.

Compared to the painful memories from before, or rolling down the stairs, this moment hurt far more.

Still, Claryssa interpreted his silence simply as a result of their awkward first meeting and hurriedly began making excuses to Adria on his behalf.

“What I said to Aryan back then… I didn’t know… I said something I shouldn’t have! Of course! No matter what, it was wrong of me to say it that way, but isn’t it rather right to give him another chance?”

Her voice was overly agitated, and her golden eyes avoided his.

Instinctively, Aryan realized she was lying.

And he also understood why.

“Did you bring me to meet His Highness for this?”

To make me the Rasheed of the Crown Prince. Claryssa’s kindness wasn’t in question; if anything, it might have been less painful if that had been the purpose.

“Shall we start as friends?”

“From today onward, I’ll come to see Aryan every day.”

He recalled Claryssa’s voice, which had been his salvation in every moment.

Even if he became the Crown Prince’s Rasheed, there was no guarantee Claryssa would leave him.

Still, if the moment came when he had to choose between the two…

‘Friend or anything else, you alone are enough for me.’

His head fell limply.

Claryssa was confused.

She didn’t seem to have made any mistakes. She had thought she had done well.

Aryan’s attitude was beyond what Claryssa could understand.

‘Could it be that he doesn’t want to leave home? No, that can’t be it… Though gaslighting is a terrifying thing.’

She recalled how, even in the original story, Aryan had struggled to handle Belisa easily.

And now, Aryan was even younger, which made his judgment more prone to error.

“Aryan.”

Claryssa clenched her fists, gathering courage to speak the truth.

“I… I know what I’m about to say might hurt you. But… I want you to know my true feelings.”

She took a deep breath.

Seeing his pale cheeks, disheveled silver hair, and slightly wavering blue eyes, Claryssa began to speak.

“Your stepmother will ruin you.”

Aryan’s eyes trembled violently. His small hand clutched his chest.

Claryssa thought he was simply shocked.

Though a part of her heart ached, she resolutely continued.

“You already know… what she’s done isn’t ordinary. It’s wrong.”

Tears threatened to spill. She felt guilty.

For giving him this environment as the author Kang intended, and for being such an incompetent Claryssa.

“If you become Rasheed, you can fix it all.”

She had tried her best, but it wasn’t enough. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, it was true.

A heavy silence fell between them.

Over the silence came Aryan’s wet voice.

“Claryssa…”

Aryan struggled to continue, taking a shallow breath.

Even knowing that speaking would only hurt her more, he spoke.

“Do you… pity me?”

“I…”

Claryssa’s shining eyes trembled.

That was her answer.

Even after hearing it, Aryan barely held together his crumbling heart, staring at Claryssa’s lips.

“I hope Aryan won’t hurt.”

She probably didn’t know.

If she were by his side, he could endure a lifetime of pain. Even if it was childish or impulsive, it was enough.

But that single feeling was Aryan’s true heart at that moment.

Aryan did not convey his feelings.

Instead, he bit his lips tightly and accepted the pain he was given.

Because it too was from Claryssa.

Tears fell before they could even form.

The last light of the sky scattered across Aryan’s cheeks.

Looking at the darkening sky, Aryan chuckled softly.

“…I’ll do as Claryssa wishes.”

A few days after Aryan shook off the moment, he became the Rasheed of Crown Prince Adria, just as Claryssa had predicted.

Belisa was extremely upset that the position would go to Aryan, not her son.

But how could she refuse the royal family for any reason?

She could not risk damaging the reputation she had built over the years.

So Belisa sent Aryan off as if she were a proud mother seeing her son succeed.

She subtly suggested he visit often, but Aryan barely registered her words.

Since that day—and even today, as he was to depart—Claryssa did not come.

‘As expected.’

She wouldn’t come anymore.

Aryan swallowed a bitter smile and lifted Huey, who had been anxiously wagging his tail since earlier.

He looked at the white carriage in front of him, surrounded by golden light, waiting for him.

Once he got on that carriage, it was natural that meeting Claryssa would become difficult.

He would always have to stay by the Crown Prince’s side, and it would be nearly impossible for a young noblewoman to freely visit the prince’s palace.

His steps were heavy.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince’s aide, Daniel, urged him forward.

“His Highness the Crown Prince is waiting.”

“…Yes.”

Aryan replied like a sigh. Daniel shot him a disapproving look.

It was a familiar feeling.

Surely, there had never been such an inexperienced Rasheed in Asgard’s history.

Still, Aryan straightened his chest as much as he could and moved forward.

Though it was hard that Claryssa hadn’t come and that he had to officially become the Crown Prince’s “friend,” it was all the result of Claryssa’s efforts.

True, it was a position he received with tears, but he wanted to do his best.

He didn’t want to disappoint Claryssa. After doing well, he wanted to ask her:

“Thanks to you, I don’t hurt anymore. Still, can you stay by my side?”

Adria began to like Aryan quite a lot.

At first, she was frustrated: how could someone who grew up tucked away in a corner act like a bug on the floor, still not understanding imperial history or basic math? But that was only for a short while.

Aryan studied late into the night in the study, and his diligence soon caught him up to Adria’s class.

More than that, seeing him correct his mistakes perfectly the next day made her wish even the palace servants were half as capable.

But that alone didn’t make him worthy of being Adria’s Rasheed.

Aryan was excessively quiet and seemed to not truly understand what it meant to be a “friend.”

Not that Adria fully understood it herself, but the wall between them remained unbroken.

Adria, exhausted by the subtle tension, called out to Aryan, who walked a step behind her.

“Hey.”

“Yes.”

She had called him, but had nothing to say.

She had no desire to talk about the lessons, and surveying likes and dislikes now felt even worse.

Aryan didn’t urge her; he simply waited.

The pressure was so overwhelming that Adria blurted out something close to a slip of the tongue.

“Why… can’t I see it?”