ISTV 18

I accepted the apology as if it were nothing.

“If you’re saying it like that, then I’ll accept your apology.”

“Really?”

“Honestly, I was glad too. It’s the first time I’ve met someone my age.”

Jermiel gave a sly grin.

“That’s the first time I’ve heard someone say that.”

“You’ve never heard that before?”

“Well, you know how it is. Most people find me hard to approach.”

“Do you not like that?”

“It’s not that I hate it… but I guess it’s a little disappointing.”

Liar.

Jermiel wasn’t someone who formed emotional attachments to people. He was a character obsessed only with the female lead, constantly yearning for her love.

There’s no way he’d be disappointed just because people found him difficult.

In fact, he thought it was natural — even necessary.

Jermiel had studied imperial leadership from a young age and had received rigorous training as the heir to Bigung.

“Sayla, don’t you feel disappointed?”

“Well… I don’t know if you’ve heard the rumors about me, but I think being feared is better than being ignored.”

“Ignored?”

“Yeah. People used to look down on me.”

Jermiel chuckled, finding my comment amusing.

I didn’t have time to fully understand his true feelings, but I got the sense that he felt a strange sort of kinship with me.

“Usually people hide things like that. It’s a weakness.”

“True.”

Jermiel wasn’t the type to exploit weaknesses people admitted themselves.

He had a twisted instinct for digging into the vulnerabilities he discovered on his own.

So even if he became my enemy one day, I was sure he wouldn’t attack me using the past I had openly confessed.

Looking at Jermiel’s bright face, I smiled in return.

Whenever I saw that face, my lips couldn’t help but stretch sideways — if I lacked decorum, I probably would’ve grinned like a fool.

He really was one of the male leads in The Lady and the Gentleman.

Masking my excitement with composure, I replied gracefully,

“Maybe I’m just excited to have made a friend.”

Jermiel’s eyes curved again in a soft smile.

Garen had been sitting at his desk for an hour, frowning deeply.

“Ugh, this is hard.”

Solving problems at a desk was pure torture for Garen.

After fidgeting with his toes and letting his mind wander for a while, he suddenly stood up.

“I’ll just ask Sayla for help.”

As he headed toward Sayla’s room, he couldn’t help but hum a tune.

He didn’t quite know why, but spending time with Sayla had become quite enjoyable these days.

Even though he got scolded from time to time.

While walking down the corridor, he practiced what he’d say.

“I seriously thought about this for over an hour. I didn’t just bring it over. I really tried, and I’m asking for help because I need it.”

But when he got to Sayla’s room, she wasn’t there.

Instead, he ran into her personal maid, Mary.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

Mary hurriedly ran over and bowed before Garen.

“Where’s Sayla?”

“She said she was going to the garden.”

“The garden?”

Garen frowned.

“We have a garden?”

“…Yes.”

“Seriously?”

Yes, you do. And it’s enormous.

“Show me the way.”

Though Garen’s tone with Mary was rather high-handed, there was no real malice behind it.

In the world of The Lady and the Gentleman, that kind of behavior was considered normal.

‘Why’d she go to the garden?’

Could it be… she’s planning to give me another bouquet?

“She really doesn’t have to do that. Hehe.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Just lead the way.”

The Devernon estate was vast. After walking for quite a while, they arrived at the garden in the rear of the mansion.

Garen looked around with amazement.

We actually had a garden?

The flowers didn’t particularly move him.

“Sayla~”

As he wandered around looking for Sayla, he suddenly heard a voice.

“I formally apologize. Jermiel, first son of the Bigung House, was rude to Sayla Devernon, the third child of House Devernon, and I truly regret it. I was simply excited to meet someone my age, and that led me to act thoughtlessly.”

Garen flinched at the words.

‘First son of the Bigung House?’

A wave of unexplainable irritation surged within him.

What’s the Bigung heir doing here? Why’s he trespassing in someone else’s home?

Then he heard Sayla’s voice.

“I was really happy too. It’s the first time I’ve met someone my age.”

She was happy to meet someone her age?

Garen had trouble understanding those words.

‘We’re only a year apart, Sayla and I.’

Aren’t we friends?

Garen felt a strange sense of hurt.

And that hurt morphed into frustration as he marched toward the direction of the voices.

‘Weird.’

The voices sounded close by, but no matter how far he walked, he couldn’t see Sayla anywhere.

Now that he thought about it, Mary had disappeared too.

It felt like he was going in circles.

Then it hit him.

‘That bastard from Bigung did something!’

He’d heard somewhere that the people of Bigung were sly, shady, and snake-like.

Some even said they were the most dangerous humans in the world.

The thought that something might’ve happened to Sayla made his mind go blank.

“SAYLA!!”

Magic began to gather in his hand.

Mary was even more confused than Garen.

‘Wh-Where did the young master go?!’

He had just been there a second ago — and now he was gone.

But then she heard voices.

‘F-First son of the Bigung House?!’

Wasn’t he the one they said was a dragon? That he eats people?

Her body started trembling.

“L-Lady Sayla!”

She was scared out of her wits, but her mind was consumed by one thought — she had to protect Sayla.

Calling out frantically, she ran toward the voices.

“My lady! Where are you? It’s Mary!”

The voices had been so clear just a moment ago, but now they had vanished.

Once fear took root in her mind, it turned everything white.

Anxiety bred more anxiety, and soon, it became sheer terror.

“My lady! Please answer me!”

And then — she heard Garen’s voice.

“I’M PISSED OFF!!”

Boom! Boom!

A loud noise shook the ground.

It felt like an earthquake. Mary covered her head and dropped to the ground.

Boom! Boom!

The sound and the shaking continued for quite some time. Only after a while was she able to look around again.

“Oh, dear heavens!”

Crack — crack —

The world was cracking.

She had never seen anything like it before.

And then, shatter! The entire world seemed to break apart.

When Mary opened her eyes again, she saw Garen breathing heavily and Sayla sitting in the flowerbed.

‘And that person… who is he?’

Mary found herself staring blankly at Jermiel.

His beauty was so overwhelming, it made her forget her fear of dragons.

Jermiel asked me,

“But what brings you here?”

That should’ve been my line as the daughter of this house, but his tone was so natural I just answered without thinking.

“I came to find a flower. A blue rose.”

“A blue rose? Why?”

“I heard the Lady of Bigung likes blue roses. I wanted to give her a gift.”

“Really? I’m sure my mother would love that.”

“Will you help me?”

“I’d like to, but…”

Jermiel’s gaze shifted behind me.

What’s he looking at?

I turned around to look too.

“I didn’t expect someone to break through Bigung magic with brute force. I guess even brute strength works sometimes.”

What the—? Why is Garen here?

“Brother?”

Garen looked furious — and he was marching toward us with a tense, sharp energy.

What’s with his fists?

Dark energy was flickering around his hand.

The destructive magic of the dark attribute — the most powerful kind.

This was my first time seeing it in person…

And it gave off a seriously dangerous vibe.

The birds and small animals around us fled in all directions.

Garen spoke with absolutely no courtesy.

“Hey. Who the hell are you?”

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, you. You damn parasite.”

Garen, who was usually thoughtless, never used language that crude on anyone.

What on earth had gotten into him?

‘Huh.’

Honestly, Garen getting angry wasn’t anything new. He usually cooled off pretty quickly.

‘But this is different.’

I could now feel the scent of “imminent death” in the air — the kind that shows up before a major turning point.

‘Looks like this might be the trigger that kills me.’

My head grew heavy with conflicting thoughts. Garen looked ready to explode.

And Jermiel, watching Garen, was quietly amused.

“To think such a barbaric fellow shares the same blood as Lady Sayla.”

“What?”

“Not even a grain of noble grace in you.”

Jermiel had a soft, refined exterior. He rarely initiated conflict.

But if someone started it first — he never backed down.

On the contrary, he was the type who delivered precise and ruthless retaliation to anyone who provoked him.

‘There were tons of villains who got wiped out by Jermiel.’

Taking a deep breath, I stepped between the two of them.

“Jermiel, stop. Brother, you too. I don’t know why you’re so angry, but please, stop.”

Sparks flew between the two boys.