Episode 78

Thump, thump, thump.

My heart pounded relentlessly.

A mere fist-sized bundle of flesh and muscle, yet it felt as if it could shatter my ribs and collarbone at any moment, bursting out of my chest.

A vision I had once glimpsed flashed through my mind.

Chris, walking away with Aria, hand in hand, laughing in happiness. The crown prince’s sneering apparition, watching me as he whispered—

‘For Aria’s sake.’

The memory of that voice sent a shiver down my spine. And with it, realization struck.

So this is what they all meant.

The murmurs I had heard on my way here resurfaced in my mind.

For some reason, there was a scandal circulating about Chris and Aria.

The maids had once mentioned a few unsettling rumors, but lately, I had been too distracted by my engagement to keep up with my informants’ reports.

Rather than gathering important intelligence, I had wasted time worrying about how to conduct the engagement ceremony.

Seduced by a ridiculous, romantic fantasy.

This was my own negligence.

…Honestly, it’s not surprising such rumors exist.

Standing before them now, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

Chris and Aria, standing together in the center of the temple garden, truly made a picturesque pair.

Their contrasting auras only seemed to complement one another, as if they were destined to complete a perfect whole.

“……”

My hands curled into fists before I even realized it.

A sharp, unidentifiable emotion stabbed at my gut—anger, sorrow, something else.

And yet, it felt like an undeserved emotion.

Chris has been clear with me before.

He had told me, unwaveringly—

That the only Reinhardt he needed by his side was me.

That he had chosen me.

But a quiet voice inside me whispered that maybe I had misunderstood.

Maybe, all along, he had only ever been speaking of alliance.

Maybe I had been the one to twist the word lover into something more than it was.

Chris is not the kind of man to abandon an alliance once he’s formed one.

For a moment, I had forgotten that.

For a moment, I had let myself be deceived by the sweetness he had given me—

And foolishly believed we were something more than allies.

Right on cue, light poured in through the glass ceiling of the garden, illuminating Chris and Aria.

From all around, the spectators watching us let out awed murmurs.

“How breathtaking.”

Then, the weight of their gazes shifted to me.

Curiosity. Amusement. Malice.

All mixed together in the eyes that watched.

More than anything, I suddenly felt that this was not a place where I belonged.

It’s fine.

Hadn’t I prepared for this?

Hadn’t I spent all this time gathering allies outside of Chris, just in case he truly fell for Aria?

But logic and emotion were two separate things.

The garden, once fragrant and warm, now felt unnervingly sharp.

I thought I had grown used to these scrutinizing eyes, to being measured and evaluated.

Yet standing here now, for the first time in so long—

I felt utterly alone.

As if I had been abandoned, left behind in a world where I no longer belonged.

I should leave.

I should go back, sit on that bench, and wait for Chris to return from his meeting.

That was the thought that crossed my mind—

But at that moment—

‘Please, do not let go of the hand you are holding so easily.’

‘You may lose the flow.’

The priest’s cryptic words resurfaced in my mind.

The moment I had heard them, I had wanted to reach for Chris’s hand.

The flow.

But more than the fear of losing that so-called flow, the simple truth was—I didn’t want to leave Chris.

The priest’s words were just a convenient excuse.

Just as I was about to turn away, I stopped and looked at Chris again.

“Lady Aria Reinhardt, I…”

Chris was speaking to Aria in his usual calm tone, but when he noticed her gaze shift to me—when he saw her smirk—he turned to look at me as well.

And then, ever so faintly, he smiled.

It was the same smile he had given Aria in that vision.

Chris.

A nameless emotion crashed into me, sending a chill down my spine.

My ears, which had been ringing in silence, filled with the pounding of my own heartbeat again.

It wasn’t as if my ribs would break and my heart would burst out of my chest this time—

But it was enough to shake me to my core.

And then, he reached out his hand.

“Mindia.”

The moment I heard his voice, everything else faded away.

The watching eyes, the calculations, the necessity of moving with intent—none of it mattered anymore.

I just want to hold his hand.

I stepped forward, as if compelled by his voice, and he moved toward me in turn, as if coming to meet me.

Slowly, deliberately, he reached for the hand I had raised toward him—

And carefully took hold of it.

His warmth seeped into my skin.

Whatever emotion had been twisting inside me—anger, sorrow—was now replaced by a powerful wave of relief.

I let myself lean into him, allowing him to pull me closer, until I was almost entirely in his embrace.

I felt his hand rest gently at my waist.

And then, while still holding me, Chris spoke to Aria.

“I appreciate the gesture, Lady Aria Reinhardt,” he said smoothly.

The slight crack in Aria’s expression was almost imperceptible.

“But I cannot accept this wine.”

“Why not?” Aria asked, her voice trembling slightly. “I had it consecrated solely for you, Your Grace. It’s truly a rare and precious gift.”

I unconsciously tightened my grip on Chris’s hand.

Chris, in turn, squeezed mine reassuringly.

“That is precisely why I cannot accept it,” he said firmly. “I am no longer in a position to receive congratulations alone.”

There was clear emphasis in his words.

“Especially from an unmarried lady. I have no desire to invite unnecessary misunderstandings.”

“…W-why would you say that?”

“However, if it is an engagement gift for both me and Lady Mindia, I will gladly accept it.”

Chris made his stance unmistakably clear.

“…E-engagement?”

“The ceremony will take place around the Harvest Festival.”

For the first time, Aria’s gaze shifted to my hand—the one wearing the ring Chris had given me.

Her face turned deathly pale.

The rosy glow that had always made her look so lovely drained away.

If I were just a bystander, I might have rushed to comfort her.

But Chris remained utterly composed as he delivered the final blow.

“We are here today to confirm the priest who will officiate our engagement.”

A ripple of hushed excitement spread through the crowd.

“The Reinhardts and the Elzerians are really getting engaged?”

“This is… unbelievable.”

“And His Grace’s attitude toward Lady Aria… that’s not how you treat a mistress.”

Chris lowered his gaze to meet mine.

His violet eyes—those breathtaking, abyssal depths—held something that, for a fleeting moment, almost seemed… gentle.

Was that just my imagination?

“Would you agree, Mindia?”

It was only then that I realized how pale I had become—just as pale as Aria.

I had been so caught up in the moment that I had even forgotten to breathe properly.

This wasn’t the carefully practiced expression I had honed for the social scene since my regression.

I let out a slow breath, the color returning to my face, and smiled faintly.

“…Yes. Of course.”

“……”

“It just turned out that way, Aria.”

“…What about our promise?”

At Aria’s question, an old memory surfaced.

‘Mindia, if you help me with His Grace…’

‘I’ll help you with the Crown Prince.’

Aria’s voice echoed in my memory, her face adorned with a sweet and affectionate smile—like a girl woven from the softest cotton candy, gentle and warm.

But when I truly thought about it…

“Aria, I never agreed to that.”

“…What?”

“Before I even had a chance to respond, you ran off to get the jewelry fitted.”

That’s how it had been.

“You just assumed. That I would, of course, help you.”

“……”

“I’m sorry for not making it clear sooner. But I never intended to accept your request.”

“Why? You always care about a man’s status.”

“…Did the Duke tell you that?”

“No matter how I look at it, the Crown Prince is the better match—”

“The golden corsage was given to you, Aria. And besides…”

I tightened my grip on Chris’s warmth as I quietly declared,

“I have no intention of letting this person go.”

“……”

“I don’t care about rank, family, or any of that anymore.”

The words left me before I even realized it.

“This man… is my whole world now.”

The moment I said it, my heart slammed violently against my ribs. A heat unlike any other rose within me, as if I had swallowed fire.

Had I sounded too sincere?

Would Chris be angry, demanding how I could dare feel this way about him?

But instead of pushing me away, he pulled me in tighter, his arms firm around my waist.

Then, with a voice dipped in smoldering warmth, he murmured,

“…That pleases me.”

My ears burned.

Unable to look at Chris, I turned my gaze back to Aria.

“The golden corsage is an immense honor, Aria.”

I meant it.

You shouldn’t be standing here like this.

She needed to return to the Crown Prince—to become his.

Once he truly fell for her, he would become a man who saw nothing but Aria.

Even if the Duke’s household collapsed, she would be protected.

And when the emperor died, no matter what anyone said, the Crown Prince would make her his empress.

He is the perfect man—for you.

His status, wealth, and power were absolute.

If anything, we were the ones in danger—because once he became emperor, he might torment the Grand Duchy of Elzerian beyond imagination.

And yet—

Aria looked at me with an expression I had never seen before.

Her once bright, innocent green eyes darkened, sharp with something far more venomous.

“…I never knew you were such an ungrateful child, Mindia.”