The Male Lead’s Father Refuses to Break Off Our Engagement

Chapter 132 

Side Story Chapter 3 : Ruth and Aria

 

Unlike in the original novel, Ruth grew up to be a warm and compassionate young man, thanks to the love he received from Evelia and Cassis.

Not only that, but he also knew how to give the love he received to others. He was kind and caring to everyone.

Evelia was proud of Ruth, who had grown up with the same pure heart he had when he was young. She was also glad that she couldn’t see Ruth’s lonely and dark figure in the original novel.

But there was one person who didn’t appreciate Ruth’s kindness.

“Again?”

Arya muttered bluntly, staring out the library window.

Ruth and a female student were standing under a deserted tree.

She hadn’t been looking at them on purpose, just trying to figure out where Ruth had gone when he’d suddenly left the room they were studying in.

‘I shouldn’t have looked.’

Despite grumbling to herself, Aria couldn’t take her eyes off the two.

I could immediately recognize who the brown-haired female student was. It was Rachel from the swordsmanship department.

I heard that she is popular not only with male students but also with female students due to her pretty face and cool personality.

It was a familiar sight. After entering the academy, Ruth received many confessions that she forgot to count.

It had to be that way. From Aria’s perspective, Ruth was a perfect child in many ways.

He is the heir of one of the few Ducal families in the Empire, has a handsome appearance and friendly personality.

As if that weren’t enough, he had excellent magic skills that had gotten noticed by the Tower and the Imperial Knights from the time he entered academy.

In short, there was no woman in the world who would ever want him.

Even though she knew that, Aria felt bad every time she saw Ruth receiving a confession.

Even now, my stomach felt like it was twisting and I felt nauseous.

Rachel’s back was turned, so she couldn’t see her face, but Ruth’s expression was right in front of her. And Ruth was smiling kindly.

‘Idiot. What are you smiling about?’

She pouted.

Aria pouted her lips.

Aria has been alone since she was young, without any friends.

Suffering from a mysterious illness, she was a walking time bomb. They didn’t know when her fever would rise or she would have a seizure, so not only Marquis Denoa and his wife were worried about her, but also her older brother, Samuel, with whom she had a lot of separation.

Even if I was in good physical condition, my fever would rise unexpectedly, making it virtually impossible for her to leave the house.

Another reason was that Aria was born late in life.

The Marchioness mainly interacted with middle-aged noblewomen who were her own age. Their children were, of course, the same age as Samuel.

Their grandchildren were younger than Aria, so Aria had little interaction with children from other families.

The Marchioness tried to interact with a young woman who had a child around Aria’s age for her daughter, but they did not get along well.

Moreover, the Marquis’s financial situation was not particularly good, so she could not go out often.

Naturally, Aria grew up in the mansion surrounded by piles of books and seeing the world through the books.

That’s when Evelia and Ruth came into her life.

At first, Aria considered Evelia like an older sister and followed her around, but she gradually began to take interest in Ruth, who was her age.

From that point on, Ruth was always by Aria’s side. We met three or four times a week, studied together, went out every time, and even went to the villa to play together.

They even entered the Imperial Academy together.

Even at the Academy, the two were always together. Ruth and Aria each made new friends, but no matter what anyone said, their first friends were each other.

But since when?

I got a strange feeling every time I saw Ruth.

‘Was it spring this year…?’

It was now full summer, so it felt like it had already been three months.

Even before that, Aria had been a little clingy with Ruth; she’d rather be with the familiar friend than a new friend, and Ruth had been happy to stay by her side.

But when she got older and became a teenager, I couldn’t just stick around with Ruth.

Then, a few months ago, I heard a strange question from a female student in another department.

 

-Hey, what is your relationship with Lucius?

Aria confidently answered the carefully asked question.

-We’re childhood friends. We’ve known each other since before we entered the academy.

And we are also each other’s first friends. And we were each other’s first friends. Aria didn’t go there, saving her words for last.

As if that answer wasn’t enough, the female student continued to ask questions.

-Are you just friends?

-What are you talking about?

-No, I mean… Are you dating…

-No, It’s not like that!

Aria was startled and waved her hands.

-What do you mean, we’re not dating, we’re just friends.

-That’s good thing.

Aria didn’t understand the girl’s shy smile for a moment.

-What do you mean, it’s a good thing?

-Actually, I’m interested in Lucius. But everyone said Lucius was dating you, so I suffered alone. So it’s a relief to hear you’re just a friend.

-Yes…

-Then is it okay for me to confess to Lucius?

-A confession…

At that moment, Aria was overcome by a strange feeling. It was an unfamiliar feeling that I felt for the first time, not even I could tell what kind of feeling it was.

-Why, I can’t?

-No, it doesn’t mean you can’t… You don’t have to ask my permission first.

I wanted to tell her not to do it.

It was childish, but I wanted to scream, ‘Don’t touch Ruth, he’s my friend!’ It was ridiculous jealousy, like I was a kid meeting him for the first time.

However, when I thought about it objectively, Aria was not in a position to argue with her. And she couldn’t tell her to go ahead and do it.

-That’s your decision, and it has nothing to do with me.

-I see. But thanks for telling me.

 

From then on, Ruth began to receive confessions from girls. Similarly, Aria received confessions from boys.

 

-Why are they doing this all of a sudden?

One time, I asked a friend from the same class as if I was complaining, and she responded as if I was asking something that was obvious.

-Everyone thought you and Lucius were dating.

-Me? Why?

-You’ve always been with him since entered the academy. Moreover, Lucius took special care of you. Even the Adelhard Since the Denoa family was so close, there was speculation that the family had been talking about marriage since you’re young.

-… Was that true?

-Yes. That’s why everyone was shy even though they had a crush on you and Lucius. But I heard you confirmed that you and Lucius are not in that kind of relationship. So everyone started rushing to confess.

-Yes… That’s right.

Aria reflected on what she had said to an unknown female student in the past.

If I had known things would turn out this way, I would have been vague.

‘But why am I thinking like this?’

What’s wrong with Ruth getting a confession? Ruth always says no .

No, even if Ruth accepted it and started dating someone, it had nothing to do with me.

Because Ruth has to live his own life too.

Although I stick with Ruth now, we won’t be able to be together all the time once I graduate from the academy and become an adult.

When they met someone they loved, got married, and started a family, they naturally had no choice but to grow apart.

I knew it in my head, but it felt like a distant future that would never come.

But as I listened to my friend’s explanation, all the future I had been ignoring felt like reality.

Was this jealousy, then, born of not wanting to lose an old friend?

Because Ruth has played a huge role in her life.

My parents, Samuel, and Evelia.

No, maybe Ruth was more important than other people.

The friend, who had no way of knowing Aria’s complicated feelings, continued to explain.

 

-To be honest, there’s no boys in the academy who didn’t like Lucius. I’m sure everyone wanted to make friends with him when they joined the academy.

-… Really?

-Yes. Although he is an illegitimate child, the Duke of Adelhard declared Lucius to be his successor, and the Duchess adores him. Lucius’ younger sibling also follow him a lot. I’m sure there’s a lot of people who would love to meet him, even if they don’t date him.

-……

-Honestly, I think Prince Adelhard would be hard to approach, but Lucius is friendly to everyone, so it’s easy to talk to him.

-I see. Thanks for the explanation.

Aria fled the scene, a confused look on her face.