Chapter 86
She recognized it the moment it caught her eye.
Deep pink hair flowing like a rose. Eyes that shone like stars.
“-!”
The winding, wavy hair fell past the chubby cheeks and down to her waist.
The hem of a white robe wrapped around a small body, and a small hand was holding the hand of a certain mage.
A shiver ran down her spine at the bright smile that threatened to smudge the sun.
‘It’s Chloe.’
The heroine of the novel.
She had only seen her in illustrations, but somehow she recognized her at a glance.
If she’s not the heroine, then who is?
“Arel?”
“Ah.”
She must not have realized she hadn’t been breathing.
She blinked rapidly. The dreamy, hazy feeling didn’t go away. She could still see Chloe in her eyes.
“Why, why, why here…”
She had known Chloe would show up at the collection, and she had prepared herself mentally for it, but the devastation of seeing her in person was different.
It’s Lovely.
A smile as fresh and clear as the petals of a flower, fluttering and coveted, caught her eye at once.
It was a smile that seemed to gather all the brightness in the world and burst into a blossom.
It was a smile that she could never replicate…
“Arel, are you ill…”
“Mehen, just wait a minute!”
She couldn’t let Chloe disappear over the pillar. She let go of Mehen’s hand and ran.
She could hear voices calling after her from behind, but she didn’t care.
Perhaps Pession’s health care had worked, for after a short run she was no longer fainting.
She rounded a corner with a renewed sense of urgency.
“Aah!”
She bumped into Chloe, standing alone in the corridor.
“…”
“Uh, sorry!”
She was the one who bumped into her, but she was speechless as watched her hand Arellin an apology.
It’s real.
A living, talking, heroine.
Her head is spinning. Was there still time for Chloe to appear, or had something else changed?
Would Chloe come to the collection meeting after the Founding Festival?
None of the questions that filled her head could be answered.
She choked on the feeling that her death, vaguely conceived, had arrived.
“Um, hey, are you okay?”
A pair of deep golden eyes, twinkling like stars, asked Arellin with good intentions.
She looked down at the small, white hand extended to Arellin, still, and bit it.
“I’m fine.”
Maybe.
It will be okay.
It wouldn’t change anything.
The feeling of floating and flying up into the sky came crashing down in an instant. The reality of being thrown back to the ground hit her hard.
She stumbled backwards, backing away, and turned to Mehen. Mehen stood where he was, waiting for her.
“Arel…?”
He asked. He asked softly, and she buried her cheek in the hand he held out to her.
She walked over and pulled Mehen into a hug.
“What’s wrong?”
“Wait a minute, let’s stay like this for a minute.”
***
“Chloe, what’s wrong?”
Chloe snapped out of her daze at the sound of her teacher’s voice.
“Oh, I met someone.”
“Who? Do you know anyone here?”
Chloe’s teacher, the red-haired wizard, Robert, shook his head, though she knew it was possible, given his Imperial nobility.
Chloe laughed.
“I just bumped into her.”
“You bumped into her and she looked like that, like you was mesmerized by something.”
“Well, she was so pretty.”
She had never seen a child so beautiful in her life. She was like a sugar doll. When you got close to her, you could smell her sweetness.
“She was so beautiful that I almost touched her without realizing it.”
So there are such children in the Imperial Palace.
Chloe smiled shyly.
“I guess I was right to come as the Master said!”
“Yes, I brought you here early to show you around. Let’s enjoy ourselves until the Sky Tower arrives. I’ll be busy when it comes.”
“Yes!”
Clasping her Master’s hand, Chloe looked back, for some reason bothered by the girl from earlier…
‘Will I see her again?’
She hopes they see each other again.
***
“Valar, what’s wrong?”
Valar turned at the sound of a voice calling out to him.
Ever since Mehen and Arellin disappeared from the ballroom, Valar’s desire to socialize had been at an all-time low.
Duke Sperom, who had been whining about the disposition of the remaining dragon by-products, was now in tow, and Duke Mubisk was with the knights surrounding him.
Valar was clinging tightly to Emperor Edward’s side, ignoring everyone’s approach.
“Your Majesty.”
“Yes, Archduke.”
“I can already see the Star Mages of the Sky Tower.”
“A few of them wanted to come as individuals and enjoy themselves.”
“I see.”
He didn’t have a problem with the magic in the air, he just didn’t like it.
Valar shook his head, then narrowed his eyes. Emperor Edward gave him a pin glass.
“What’s with your expression, it’s such a nice day.”
“What is my expression?”
“Well, look how it immediately says there are no other nobles.”
Emperor Edward was miffed, but he couldn’t blame him.
He was the Archduke of Halbern, after all.
“Smile a little,” he said, “you’re always smiling, but why are you so glum today?”
“Because my daughter and my wife have neglected me.”
“…?”
What did he just hear?
“Wealthy?”
“You won’t have any problems with the Imperial court, will you?”
“A wife? You have a wife?!”
“I’ll leave you for a moment.”
Leaving only questions and confusion in his wake, Valer turned around.
“Valar! The Archduke!”
Emperor Edward called anxiously, but Valar had already disappeared.
‘No, you mean the Archduchess of Halbern?’
‘You bastard, you owe me an explanation!’
***
The room Mehen took them to was in another separate annexe, connected to the palace where the banquet was being held.
“If you’re having a good time, I’ll pick you up.”
There was no way the children could have stayed up all night at the banquet, which ran late into the night and into the early morning.
So any children playing here would be sent back before midnight, or sent to sleep in the guest rooms.
“See you later.”
She greeted him cheerfully, but Mehen couldn’t help but think that she had been strange earlier.
There were a lot of kids in the room.
Many of them were new to her, not just the ones she’d seen at the collection meeting.
‘There they are.’
Sure enough, there were the twins and Aaron.
At any other time, she’d be happy to pretend to know them, but today she wasn’t in the mood.
She tucked herself into a corner and kept to herself, as she had always done before her chance encounter with Pession at the Crown Prince’s.
Luckily, there were a lot of kids around, so it was possible to remain inconspicuous.
“Ha.”
She thought to herself, ‘I came here to see Pession, not to look like this.’
But I don’t want to see Pession in this mood.
The voices of the children chattering amongst themselves soothed her like white noise. Still, she is uncomfortable with the glances she get every now and then.
‘…I wonder if I should go out to the garden.’
Pession would be returning to the Crown Prince’s Palace later in the night, and it didn’t seem like a bad idea to stay in the garden until then.
Carefully, she stepped out into the garden, avoiding the eyes of the palace maids.
It wasn’t dark at night, thanks to the light balls floating around like fireflies. Summer was coming, so it wasn’t cold.
“It’s quiet.”
She breathed in the cool air.
“Why am I doing this?”
She can’t believe she got herself into this mess just because she met a bitter gourd. She already knew that.
But…
She was overwhelmed by the shock of the real thing. She looked down at her hand, still trembling slightly, and realized. She realized what she had seen.
‘If she was like that, she would be loved by everyone.’
Unlike her.
It should be obvious, a fact she already knew better than anyone else, but why did she feel the pain clenching in her chest?
She doesn’t like it.
She sat down on the bench, drew her knees together, and buried her head.
“—Arellin.”
A voice she thought she couldn’t hear came from the corner of her head.
No, no, no.
She must be hallucinating.
“Arel.”
Her breath caught in her throat at the sound of Pession’s voice so close. She could barely feel her hands on the sesame seeds.
Slowly, she lifted her head to see the face she’d missed so much.
“Why are you here alone?”
Why does Pession always show up at moments like this?
