Chapter 50…
Synthia’s feelings for Tession were clearly more than mere fondness.
After all, he was not only handsome and well-built, but also a high-ranking figure in the Dirotein Empire—and on top of that, he was kind to her.
“As expected of the story’s male lead… it’s like all the good traits in the world were shoved into one person…”
Still, the way Synthia thought about him wasn’t all that different from how she felt toward Adrian, her favorite character. In other words…
“I only think of Tession as the protagonist I adored from that novel, that’s all…”
She muttered under her breath and sighed softly.
Right now, her feelings toward him were not what one would call “love”—not that grand or serious of an emotion.
Besides, if she really were to fall in love with him for real, then after everything was over, betraying him and running away from his side would be anything but easy.
Maybe Tession knew that—and that was why he’d set such impossible contract terms for her.
“Haa… no, I’ll do it. Yeah, I’ll just do it…”
Grabbing her hair in frustration, Synthia murmured vacantly.
“Fine then. I’ll just pretend to be in love… once and for all.”
After all, she’d already managed to pull off pretending to be Elizabeth Bailey without much trouble. Pretending to love someone might actually be easier than perfectly imitating another person’s life.
Her plan was simple: act like she loved him, get the Ritemper Trading Company back, and then—sorry, Tession—proceed with the annulment as originally planned.
He was young, handsome, capable—he’d find another fiancée in no time!
Yes, exactly! He’d meet someone even better than her, so she might as well think lightly of it.
“Your Grace… starting today, I’m madly in love with you!”
Synthia declared into the air with a determined voice.
At this point, she decided to fully embrace her role as a servant of capitalism.
If it’s for money—there’s nothing I can’t do!
“What is this supposed to be?”
That night, when Tession was summoned outside his room, he raised an eyebrow at the sight before him.
Synthia, who had called him out so late, looked flustered as she awkwardly replied,
“Um… a night stroll?”
“Dressed like that?”
Tession’s eyes moved over the thin, sheer dress she was wearing, its sleeves nearly transparent.
“You’ll catch a cold. As I’ve said before, Lacrona gets quite chilly after sunset—”
“I just wanted to look pretty.”
Synthia cut him off quickly.
“The maids who came to my room said the garden here at your villa is quite romantic at night. So I thought… I’d like to take a walk with you. And if we’re going together, I might as well look nice.”
“Was yesterday’s walk not enough for you?”
Ugh, seriously!
Was he really that clueless, or just pretending not to get it? Maybe he was still sulking over their conversation from the day before.
“I’m trying to fall in love.”
She blurted it out before she could think twice.
“I’m trying to fulfill our contract.”
“Our contract?”
“Honestly, I want my Ritemper Trading Company back as soon as possible. So I don’t have much choice, do I? I have to fall in love with you.”
Tession stared quietly at her, while Synthia avoided his gaze.
“To fall in love, we have to meet often and spend pleasant time together, right? The mood here is perfect, so this is basically a date invitation. Would you like to join me?”
She held out her hand to him.
She planned to spend time with him like this—casually, harmlessly—and then start pretending she’d fallen for him little by little. That would be far less suspicious than suddenly claiming she loved him.
Once she reclaimed Ritemper, she’d say her feelings had changed. After all, young lovers’ hearts were fickle—and Tession’s might cool even faster than hers.
If nothing else worked, she could always act like a rude, unbearable girlfriend at the end and force him to dump her!
So go on, take my hand already!
“……”
Tession stared down at her outstretched hand for a long moment—then simply turned and walked back into the room.
His abrupt disappearance left Synthia blinking in confusion.
Wait—what? Did I just get rejected? Just like that?
Her cheeks were starting to burn when Tession returned, carrying his outer coat. Without a word, he draped it over her shoulders.
“You don’t need to wear something like candy wrapper material to look beautiful. It’s cold at night.”
“Ah, I-it’s fine…”
“Don’t worry. I’m just trying to uphold our contract too.”
“Huh?”
He smiled faintly and said,
“I’m going to try making you fall in love with me.”
Wow. You’re really serious about this, huh?
Synthia’s heart gave a heavy thump as she blinked at him.
Then, after wrapping her tightly in his jacket, Tession took her hand.
“Shall we go?”
“There are so many stars… it’s like they could fall any moment.”
Standing in the middle of the garden, Synthia lifted her gaze to the night sky.
Beside her, Tession tugged at the oversized jacket slipping from her shoulders and said,
“This won’t do. You should go inside and change into something warmer—”
“Let’s sit over there!”
She pointed excitedly toward a patch of flowers in the garden.
Seeing where she meant, Tession frowned immediately.
“The ground? Absolutely not.”
“Why not? The stars will look even prettier from there! Trust me.”
“The ground is cold.”
He shook his head, but Synthia tugged his hand and pulled him right to the spot anyway.
She plopped down between the flowers and patted the space beside her.
“Sit here! If you don’t want to sit directly on the ground, I’ll lay your jacket down—”
Before she could, Tession sat beside her and wrapped the jacket snugly around her again.
“Just a short while, then we’re going back in. We can walk again tomorrow.”
“But tomorrow, I’m returning to the capital…”
“Then we’ll wake up early and walk in the morning.”
Synthia looked up at him, who was watching her with gentle concern, and suddenly said,
“Your Grace, it looks like there are stars in your eyes too.”
“In my eyes?”
She nodded. Watching him closely, she thought again how glad she was to have made that potion that healed his sight.
To have brought those beautiful eyes back into the world with her own hands—it made her oddly proud.
His violet eyes truly sparkled under the night sky, as if tiny stars had been set within them.
Tession, still meeting her gaze, asked softly,
“Is that part of the contract, too?”
“Hahaha, no. That’s just the truth—and my honest impression of you.”
Synthia laughed.
That suspicious look on his face—it was kind of adorable.
Tession smiled gently back. Tilting his head slightly, he said,
“Synthia, you’re like a star.”
“A star?”
“Yes. Just by existing, you shine brightly enough to comfort me.”
Her smile slowly faded as she met his warm, tender gaze.
Sometimes, those eyes of his made her feel something strange and unexplainable—especially on nights like this.
“For your sake, I think I could even become the darkness that surrounds a star.”
“……”
The cool night breeze rustled the flowers, and the quiet chirp of crickets filled the silence.
The atmosphere had shifted—rapidly.
Her heart beat faster, pleasantly but uncontrollably.
Then, as he gazed at her, Tession leaned closer and whispered softly by her ear,
“May I kiss you now?”
