After escaping the underground prison, we made our way back up to the surface.
Peeking out from under Sion’s collar, where I had been hiding, I scanned the surroundings with curious eyes.
In the open-air corridor, a crowd of servants and palace guards had already gathered.
“What’s going on?!”
“What happened down there?”
A chorus of confused voices rippled through the group.
“We definitely heard something collapse underground!”
Amid the chaos and murmuring—
“Move! Out of the way!”
Advisor Luman appeared, forcefully pushing through the crowd. He stormed over to a nearby servant and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him violently.
“What do you mean the underground collapsed?! What kind of nonsense is this?!”
“Well, we’re not quite sure either…”
Despite being a disregarded illegitimate son and someone imprisoned under the Grand Duchess’s orders, any harm that befell him would still ultimately be Luman’s responsibility—hence the color drained from his face in panic.
Just then, Garen stepped forward.
“I’ve just returned from personally inspecting the site. Due to poor maintenance, a portion of the underground prison’s inner wall collapsed. As a result, the young lord had no choice but to evacuate the area.”
All eyes turned to Sion, who stood covered in dirt and dust.
“N-No way!”
“Oh my god!”
“L-Lord Sion!”
Advisor Luman stumbled forward, gasping.
“Young lord! You’re safe!”
Tears streamed down Luman’s face as he clung to Sion’s robe. Sion looked down at him coldly and said.
“Advisor Luman.”
“Y-Yes, my lord!”
“Go repair the prison. Make sure no one gets hurt from any further collapse.”
“Y-Yes, of course! Right away!”
Luman quickly wiped his tears and dashed off in a hurry. No matter how you looked at him, he seemed far too timid to be a proper lackey for the villain.
Once the tension settled a bit, Garen addressed the crowd.
“Given the situation, the young lord will be resting in his chamber for the time being. Please make way.”
The servants and guards glanced at each other awkwardly before quietly parting to create a path.
Leaving the uncomfortable silence behind, we walked away from the scene with dignity.
***
Clack—
The sound of the door closing echoed softly.
That was my cue.
Bursting from Sion’s collar, I launched myself into the air.
“Woooow!”
With a fluttering heart, I zipped through the air, excitedly flying around the room.
“So this is Sion’s bedroom!”
But then—
“…Huh?”
What greeted me was an incredibly spacious yet shockingly bleak and shabby room.
There was no way this could belong to the young lord of a grand duke’s household.
“What the heck is this…?”
I stared in disbelief at the collection of old, worn-out furniture, the fraying carpet, and the faded wallpaper.
Cold wind whistled in through the gaps around the modest terrace door.
“What the actual—?!”
My sudden outburst startled Sion and Garen, who were just stepping into the room.
“They seriously shoved Sion into a dump like this?!”
“.……”
“…A dump, she says…”
I ignored Garen’s stunned mutter and continued fuming as I surveyed the room.
There wasn’t a single spot that looked clean or properly maintained.
“My precious Sion’s been living alone in this frozen, sunless room for ten years?!”
Shivering with indignation, I snapped.
Garen awkwardly scratched his head.
“…Well, technically, the room faces south, so it does get decent sunlight. It’s just that today, the snowstorm’s particularly—”
“Shhh!”
I raised a hand to cut him off.
“Hey, Sir Garen. Let’s not get bogged down in pointless details, alright? How about you focus that energy on actually taking care of Sion’s living space? There’s no way he’s been sleeping well in this cold, broken-down place, is there? Huh?”
At that, Sion let his robe fall with a sigh and spoke coolly.
“I don’t know why you’re getting so worked up, but that’s enough. Garen is a knight, not a servant.”
“……!”
“And how long are you planning to stay here, anyway?”
Without hesitation, I zipped over and latched onto Sion’s left shoulder.
“I’m staying until this awful room is completely redone from top to bottom! From now on, Sion’s going to eat well, sleep well, and wear only the finest things. That’s final.”
“…..…”
“By the way, on my way here from the main building, I saw all those fancy servants and retainers—you know, the ones living it up while Sion’s stuck in this mess? Just thinking about it makes me mad all over again! I swear, if I get my hands on them—!”
As I punched the air in frustration with some intense shadowboxing, Sion quietly muttered.
“…Even in the prison, I thought your personality was… intense.”
“It’s not intensity—it’s love.”
I corrected him.
That’s what being a fangirl is all about.
Sion then turned to Garen.
“Garen, inform everyone that no servants are to enter my room for the time being. Just say I need time to recover from the recent incident—they’ll get the message.”
“I’ll deliver the order, young lord.”
After Garen left, only Sion and I remained in the room.
With his arms crossed, Sion stared down at me with an unreadable expression.
Or well, on closer inspection, it looked more like a ‘What do I even do with this?’ kind of face.
So I spoke up first, preemptively.
“Ahem. Just so you know, Sion—I’m not leaving, no matter what you say. I’m staying right here.”
Sion raised one eyebrow slightly.
“And why is that?”
“Because I have a very, very important mission to fulfill.”
“A mission? What kind?”
“Well, it’s… um…”
It’s called Operation: Fulfill the Tragic, One-Sided Love of My Ultimate Bias and Sub Male Lead, as Decreed by This Story’s Canon… or something like that.
Of course, I couldn’t just say that out loud, so I gave him a bright smile and shrugged.
“Let’s just say… it’s something like that.”
Sion narrowed his eyes, clearly suspicious.
“Heh.”
“.……”
I ignored everything and allowed my brain to switch off as I admired my favorite character’s close-up face.
Honestly… every time I looked at him, I was stunned all over again by just how breathtakingly handsome he was.
He still had traces of boyish youth in his features, but even at eighteen, his beauty was already jaw-dropping. And just thinking about how he’d eventually grow into the broad-shouldered, powerful man from the original story? I couldn’t wait.
“Hehehe… hehehehe…”
As I stared at him like an unspooled idiot, Sion’s expression grew more and more confused.
“…Fairies.”
He asked, a little awkwardly.
“…Are fairies always like this?”
“Hmm? Like what?”
Sion hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Are they always so… whimsically affectionate toward complete strangers they’ve just met, with no real connection?”
“What.”
Whimsically affectionate, he says?
Excuse you, I have been on Team Sion since the very first chapter of the original work and remained loyal through all 100+ chapters until the end! My outrage was real.
“How dare you. That’s a very unfair accusation. A fairy’s heart isn’t that light, you know.”
“Then what is it? What’s the real reason you suddenly appeared and started hanging around me like this?”
I looked up at Sion with a sincere expression.
Then, forming a heart with my fingers, I declared.
“I’m a fairy sent to help you find love and happiness.”
“…..…”
Silence.
After a moment, Sion muttered with a sigh,
“…Shouldn’t have asked.”
Clearly, he didn’t take my answer seriously.
But the thing is—it’s actually true.
“Whatever your reason is—it doesn’t concern me.”
Wrong. It totally concerns you. Like, a lot.
“Fine. I’ll allow you to stay here until your so-called ‘mission’ is complete. But on two conditions.”
“Conditions? What are they?”
“First—don’t let anyone else discover your existence.”
That wasn’t hard at all.
It’s not like I planned on chatting it up with anyone besides Sion anyway.
“And second—don’t cause any more trouble or chaos like you did in the underground prison.”
Also manageable.
Assuming Sion and I had the same definition of ‘chaos,’ of course.
Because let’s be honest—I was planning to stir things up and rewrite the original story in a big way from here on out.
“Okay! Got it. I promise!”
I beamed up at Sion with the most harmless, trustworthy smile I could muster.
In response, Sion gave me a long, skeptical look that clearly said he didn’t buy it for a second.
“So this means I get to live with Sion now, right? This is amazing~!”
“……”
Bursting with excitement, I flitted around him in circles.
Behind me, I could’ve sworn I heard a sigh.
