My Will Did Not Mean This

Vivian looked around, wondering if she had taken a wrong turn. But this place was near the Eleonora family barracks. There was no reason for Aslan to be here.

“Vivian.”

Aslan’s shoulders slumped subtly after being rejected. Vivian was just imagining her execution when someone appeared and surprised her, but he seemed to understand her actions in a different way.

“I know I did you wrong. And your anger hasn’t resolved yet.”

“…”

“But when I heard that the Empress had called you, I became worried. I couldn’t bear it because I thought you might have gotten sick.”

When there was no answer from Vivian, Aslan’s thick shoulders slumped even further. But the reason she couldn’t give her answer was no different.

Aslan had an affair with the royal family. His growing up was filled with harsh memories that he could not bear to open his eyes to, and the Empress was at the center of them all. But there was no way she could calmly say that she had been called to him, had tea, cookies, and cake, and was even introduced to her doctor.

‘I don’t know if I didn’t know anything like everyone else, but I know that’s not the case…’

Aslan tried to make such a shameful proposal to himself. He was preparing an engagement ceremony without consulting her. He was so obnoxious that she wanted to hit him with a nail-studded baseball bat, but seeing him fidgeting around made her feel better. 

As Vivian took a step closer, Aslan’s gaze fell helplessly.

“Do you know what you did was wrong?”

“Huh.”

Vivian looked up at Aslan. His shoulders were wide enough to feel like weapons, his muscles were tightly packed, his waist was as tight as a beast, and his hips were firmly raised. Even though he was wearing a pitch-black uniform, his deep-cleaved body was clearly visible. It was the body of a warrior trained to the limit.

‘Am I weak for handsome men?’

She felt a little more angry than before. Vivian grabbed his hand, which she had rashly shaken off earlier. In fact, it always bothered her that she couldn’t do anything about leaving his rejected hand in the air.

“Tell me what you did wrong.”

“I almost brought you great embarrassment. Next time, a proposal that will really make you happy…”

It was an unsatisfactory answer. Vivian coolly let go of his hand.

“…”

But seeing Aslan frozen, not knowing what to do, she felt uneasy. Because she knew that the way he had built relationships up until now was very different from that of ordinary people.

Vivian decided to give it one more chance.

“Take your time and think carefully. My whole life, I have been swayed by the words and rumors of others. You really don’t know what I’m upset about?”

Aslan, who had been considering her hint carefully, opened his mouth.

“It’s a relationship between the two of us, but you tried to follow the words of a third party to make it easier.”

“And?”

“Vivian, you…”

Aslan looked carefully and held Vivian’s hand. The distance between the two had become closer than before. His hot breath falls on Vivian’s forehead. She could clearly feel the heat radiating from his body.

“I failed to be considerate of you. Although Alex is your only brother, he wouldn’t be the first to hear about our engagement plans.”

“That’s correct.”

Vivian’s mouth twitched. It was at that moment that Aslan’s gaze fell on her lips, as if fascinated.

“But there’s no point in forgiving like this, right? So make a bet. For the remaining two days, kill the most beautiful beast for me.”

In the original, Aslan wins the championship by catching four wild animals weighing over 500 kg during the hunting festival for the female lead. But now Aslan had not gone hunting for four days. It was now the fourth night, so there were only two days left for the hunting festival. The victory was already gone. However, since Aslan killed the white deer on the fifth day, she thought it would be okay to ask for this much.

“If only I could ask for your forgiveness, I would willingly sacrifice not only the most beautiful beast but also the honor of winning.”

“Hmm, isn’t that too much of a braggart?”

“Then let me make a bet too. If I win, will you kiss me?”

Aslan’s voice cracked low like a seducing snake. The hunting festival kiss was a long-standing tradition of the empire. The winner was honored by his or her lover or spouse and received a kiss in front of everyone.

‘No matter how great Aslan is, winning is difficult. A 600kg kill has already been caught.’

Vivian nodded without thinking.

Two days later, Aslan became the winner of the hunting festival. In addition to a beautiful white deer, he caught a very large wyvern whose weight was impossible to estimate. As a rough estimate, it was an object that weighed well over 5,000 kilos. Aslan, the winner who was cheered by everyone, gave the honor to his fiancée, Vivian.

‘Oh, it’s ruined.’

Aslan jumped down from the high platform and pinpointed Vivian who was hiding among the people. Aslan’s long, thick fingers gently lifted her chin. A rare bright smile appeared in his eyes.

“Will you forgive me now?”

“Hey, it’s a promise.”

Vivian, steeling her resolve, rose on her heel, clutching Aslan’s cheek with both hands. People’s enthusiastic cheers rang out across the blue sky.

* * *

From the attempted poisoning of the Empress to the breaking of Aslan’s hunting record, the hunting festival that has entertained countless entertainers has finally come to an end. But Vivian, who had come to the capital, still had no time to rest. Her eighteenth birthday, her coming of age ceremony, was approaching.

“There was an order from His Highness the Grand Duke to tear down and replace all the walls and floor of the banquet hall.”

“The hall’s chandeliers and windows need to be changed to match the latest trends, and the garden landscaping needs to be updated as well.”

“If you don’t see what you like in the catalog, why not go for something more exotic? These are all top-quality products imported from overseas…”

Vivian’s peaceful daily life was in turmoil. She was currently being roasted to a golden brown color by the merchants who had been summoned by Aslan. They rushed in as if they were determined to uproot the Blackford family. Of course, she knew it wasn’t the root of a pillar to be uprooted to this extent, but Vivian was starting to get a little scared of the merchants’ fierce appeal.

‘I’m the type of person who doesn’t feel comfortable talking to a store clerk when I’m shopping!’

She didn’t want to but it was so easy to buy the final five…

Vivian lifted her handkerchief and coughed loudly. Then, as expected, Dylan, the guard, stopped the merchants and prostrated himself at Vivian’s feet.

“Ma’am, would you like to call a doctor?”

“I just want to rest for a bit.”

“I will tell the merchants to come back another day.”

She tried to yell for him to stop calling her forever, but Dylan’s actions were faster than the wind. Perhaps because he was aware of his sin, he had been crawling at Vivian’s feet ever since the proposal incident. The living room of the Grand Duke’s residence, which had been a mess with all kinds of materials, was cleaned up in the blink of an eye. As Vivian, relaxed, leaned against the back of the sofa, a boy of about six years old was seen hesitantly entering the crowd of busy users. Dylan also seemed to have spotted the boy and blocked his path.

“Who are you? I haven’t seen a kid like you among the assistants brought by the merchants.”

“Oh, hello! I am an employee of Madame Scarlett Dressmaker. I came to take detailed measurements of the dress you ordered.”

“It’s late today, so come another day. Ma’am, you need to rest.”

Vivian’s eyes, who had been casually watching their conversation, opened wide.

‘Why is he here?’

It was Jesus, the head of the wizard guild. However, he looked different from the twelve-year-old boy she saw last time. If it were not for the emblem that Jesus wore on his belt, ‘Eye of Truth,’ he would certainly not have been recognized.

“It’s okay, Dylan. I’m the one who called you, so send it up.”

Vivian got up before Dylan could actually kick Jesus out. Of course, Jesus was not the type of person to be kicked out easily.

“Are you okay?”

“If I want to wear Madame Scarlett’s dress, I have to endure this level of inconvenience. How long is the wait?”

“Thank you, ma’am!”

Jesus quickly bowed his head and stood proudly behind the width of Vivian’s skirt. The way his eyes sparkled made him look like a really innocent commoner boy. Vivian went up to the dressing room with Jesus. She changed into a thin slip to pretend he was taking measurements, and sent all her maids out to do other tasks.

Jesus, who had bright eyes even then, sat down on the sofa and crossed his legs as soon as the door was closed and the two of them were alone in the room.

“Ah, it’s hard to pretend to be nice.”

If he had said such a line like a young boy, he would have seemed like he was in the final stages of his second year of middle school, but Vivian put aside his sincere advice and sat across from him.

“What’s going on here? No, more than that, why did you come like that?”

He had requested something, so she thought she would hear from him sooner or later. However, since he was an archmage, she thought he would use a more sophisticated method. For example, by appearing out of nowhere with magic, or by sending a tool imbued with magic.

“It’s fun, isn’t it? The insignificant people seeing me as beneath their feet. You know what I will do if you fail.”

“Wow, that’s really twisted.”

“This is an additional reason…”

He continued, with Vivian’s admiration flowing from one ear to another.

 

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