Chapter 21
“…A date? I’m sorry if it looked that way. My lady, Allen and I weren’t on a date—we were just preparing for a school event.”
Viana quickly explained, worried that her fiancé, Roni, might misunderstand.
‘I know. The festival’s coming up soon.’
The festival was one of the few times when Allen and Viana had cute, romantic moments together in the story… But now? Things were different.
Roni thought about the upcoming festival and sincerely hoped Allen would fall for Viana and charge straight ahead.
To make that happen, it was best for her to step away now. She resolved that when she met Allen again, she’d shower him with compliments about Viana and cheer on their love. That would be the happy ending of Allen’s life, after all.
‘Yes, just look at those gray eyes! How could you not fall for her?’
Roni glanced between Viana and Allen, who were both smiling brightly. Viana, still full of heroine energy, sparkled even in her school uniform.
‘If it’s for you, I, Roni Shalligan, will gladly yield Allen!’
Seeing the two of them together got Roni excited. It felt good to finally meet a couple she had always rooted for. At the same time, a sharp, stabbing pain pricked at her chest. Maybe she really had indigestion.
Allen, on the other hand, looked genuinely happy to see Roni. Meanwhile, Roni awkwardly smiled, not sure what she was doing between these two.
Allen didn’t seem to want to let go of her hand. At this rate, she’d be tagging along with their entire schedule.
“I should probably go now…”
Just when she found a decent excuse to slip away, Allen suddenly spoke to Viana with a meaningful smile, as if he had just realized something.
“Wouldn’t it help to have someone who’s good at drawing for the event prep?”
“Huh? Not just help, it’d be a lot of help. Wait, Allen, you know how to draw?”
“No, not me—her.”
Allen proudly raised the hand still holding Roni’s. Roni shot him a look as if to ask what the heck he was doing.
One glance at his innocent smile told her exactly what his intentions were.
Viana, looking troubled, replied, “But, um… outsiders aren’t allowed in our school, right?”
“Oh, my fiancée’s an exception. She has a pendant.”
“Ah…”
Viana nodded in understanding. Why wasn’t anyone questioning why she had the pendant? That’s a clear abuse of power by the Shalligans!
‘I was going to leave, you know. So let me go and you two can just have a sweet, romantic time together!’
Realizing how things were turning oddly against her, Roni tried to pull her hand away, but Allen wouldn’t let go.
At this rate, she’d end up helping out with the festival whether she wanted to or not. She could only pray that Viana wouldn’t assign her any tasks out of consideration for her noble family.
But of course, hopes like that never come true.
After thinking over Allen’s words, Viana turned to Roni and beamed brightly. That smile was ominous.
“Wow, then would you help us, my lady?”
Why are bad premonitions always spot on?
Her vacation meant to avoid Allen had been completely hijacked by him. Once again, she found herself caught in Allen’s schemes. No—not caught—she was currently in the middle of being caught.
It was too perfectly timed to be a coincidence—she had just happened to run into the two protagonists.
Was it because she’d been carrying the entrance pass in case Allen showed up? Or because she happened to take that particular path?
No. The problem was that she brought Sasha with her. Roni glared at Sasha, who was being doted on by Allen. Sasha, completely innocent, just wore a sweet expression.
‘You little traitor. You’re always so affectionate with me—so you’re in cahoots with Allen now? Helping him like this isn’t fair!’
No matter how much she tried to deny it, the facts in front of her were unchanged.
‘How did it come to this? My precious holiday!’
Somehow, Roni had ended up becoming a one-day helper for the Magic School Festival. She didn’t have the courage to shake off Viana’s bright, trusting smile and just leave.
And Allen still had no intention of letting go of her hand.
Come on, Allen. You’re not supposed to be looking at other girls in front of the heroine.
Feeling uncomfortable with the situation, Roni tried to wriggle her hand free, but Allen didn’t budge.
‘Ugh, whatever. Do what you want.’
In the end, she gave up on running away. The more she tried, the tighter Allen seemed to cling. And he looked very pleased with himself.
‘Yeah, easy for you to enjoy this.’
Annoyed by Allen’s smug expression, Roni turned her head sharply away.
Soon, the student council office came into view. It seemed that’s where they had been preparing for the festival.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and a red-haired man stepped out to greet Allen and Viana.
“You’re late.”
“!!!”
Roni nearly screamed when she saw the man.
It was Guinness.
What was Guinness doing here? Did he know Allen?
Her eyes flickered with confusion. Guinness spotted her and greeted her with a wink.
Yep. It was definitely him.
‘You haven’t shown up once until now! What are you doing here?! Are you planning to help me or not?!’
She had a lot to say, but with so many people around, she couldn’t ask outright. Her expression kept changing with her thoughts.
Noticing the strange vibe between her and Guinness, Allen frowned and subtly moved Roni behind him.
Seeing this, Guinness chuckled as if thinking, “This is getting interesting.” A heroine and the male lead, with another woman supporting them—it was quite the dramatic setup.
“She’s my fiancée.”
Allen glared at Guinness, clearly annoyed that he kept staring at Roni.
His eyes said he’d cut him down if he didn’t stop right now. Guinness waved it off with a joking gesture.
“Ahh, a misunderstanding! I just stared too long because I saw someone unfamiliar. So she’s your fiancée, huh? Allen, you romantic. You even brought her all the way here.”
Guinness patted Allen’s stiff shoulder playfully. Allen still looked unhappy but didn’t say anything more.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Hadelio Lucine.”
Guinness introduced himself to Roni. So he hadn’t been one of her characters but someone from Allen’s side of the story.
‘No wonder I never ran into him. Hey, I still have so many questions for you!’
Though fuming inside, Roni gave him a polite greeting.
“Roni Shalligan.”
“…But, Lady Shalligan, what brings you here?”
“Oh, I asked her to help us since she’s good at drawing,” Viana answered in her place.
Guinness nodded like that made sense.
Inside the student council room were not only Hadelio, but also Iyan Vernick and Riche Portman. Riche brightened up immediately upon seeing Roni.
“We meet again, my lady.”
She clearly remembered Roni from Sharon’s birthday party.
“Indeed. Looks like we’re fated to cross paths,” Roni replied.
She felt like she’d been fully sucked into the plot of the manga without even realizing it.
‘What do I do now…’
She glanced at the grinning Hadelio. Now that she knew Guinness had entered the story as Hadelio, she needed to find a chance to meet with him alone.
‘I was going to pretend to help and sneak away to the estate. Why am I working so hard now?’
As she drew a festival poster, Roni couldn’t help feeling conflicted.
Maybe it was all the praise after such a long time, but she was in unusually high spirits.
Riche and Viana knew exactly how to handle Roni. Every time she created something, they reacted with excitement and admiration, so she kept agreeing to make more and more.
“My lady, you’re amazing!”
Riche and Viana looked at her with admiring eyes.
‘Ugh… If you keep praising me like that… it makes me too happy!’
Like a child excited by compliments, Roni showed off her skills and basked in the two ladies’ affection. The saying “praise makes even whales dance” couldn’t be more fitting.
Allen, meanwhile, didn’t do any actual work—he just stuck to Roni like glue, fetching anything she needed. Roni made no effort to stop him and put him to work.
Iyan watched Allen in disbelief.
“I thought he’d drop off the supplies and run. Is Allen actually helping us right now?”
Even seeing it with his own eyes, Iyan found it hard to believe.
Hadelio shrugged casually.
“Who knows? Looks more like he’s just playing with his girl.”
“Huh. That… makes sense.”
Iyan nodded. To him too, it looked like Allen only had eyes for Roni.
It was honestly fascinating to see such a big guy fawning over a lady like that.
Guinness—no, Hadelio—watched each character’s reactions with great interest, a mysterious smile playing on his lips.
