Chapter 34
At that moment, Adrian tried to leave the arena, but Aslan grabbed him by the waist.
“Hey! If you leave now, it’ll be a forfeit!”
“Move! Is the race really that important right now? Our Delly’s with some wolf bastard—!”
Adrian, half out of his mind, exploded in rage.
Alferen, who should have been the one restrained, flushed red and placed a hand over his chest, as if offering a gentle prayer.
“Hey, damn it! Are you both completely insane? What’s wrong with you?”
It seemed like they’d eaten something off today—the players were in terrible shape.
Fortunately, Adrian didn’t manage to leave the boat.
Alferen had suddenly snapped back to his senses and used magic to bind him to it.
“Hey, untie this!”
“We have to win.”
“Who cares about—!”
“We have to win.”
At Alferen’s repeated emphasis, Adrian grumbled irritably.
“We’ll finish as fast as possible.”
Adrian, desperate to rush to his sister’s side, burned with determination.
The race began, and the boat carrying Adrian, Alferen, and Aslan surged ahead at a speed no other team could match, crossing the finish line first.
It shattered the all-time record.
* * *
After the race ended, people reflected on the events before and after.
“That was truly impressive.”
Right before the start, Alferen Ainluk’s display of affection and Lady Peris’s public acceptance of his confession.
As if in repayment, the Duke of Ainluk’s team turned all the other competitors into mere background scenery and claimed victory the moment the race began.
Just a month ago, there hadn’t been even a whisper of scandal between the two, so everyone was buzzing with excitement.
“The princess must be feeling a bit of a stomachache. Especially since it happened right after the engagement was broken off…”
“Well, the princess doesn’t have much room to stand tall, does she? That’s probably why she couldn’t say a word earlier and just fled.”
“I found it a bit satisfying, honestly. Last time, because of the princess, our family…”
Many had already seen Nanael Barnard scurrying away after losing to Rodellia’s sharp tongue.
“Anyway, the pairing of the Peris and Ainluk families. There couldn’t be a bigger scandal than this, could there?”
Contrary to Nanael’s hopes, people were positive about the news of their romance.
Except for one person.
“What is all this nonsense?”
Having finished the race, Adrian doubted his own ears.
Alferen had confessed to Delly?
The guy who gave her that ring was Alferen?
So, he’d ridden in the same boat as a potential enemy and won the trophy?
And Delly had accepted him? …Why?
Overwhelmed by too much information at once, Adrian plunged into confusion.
It was only natural, since something he’d thought absolutely impossible had happened.
A moment later.
Adrian confronted Alferen.
“Alferen, explain this yourself. What is all this talk about?”
His face was dead serious.
His tone urged him to deny it, to say the circulating stories weren’t true.
Despite the silent pressure, Alferen replied succinctly.
“There’s nothing to explain.”
As he indifferently gathered the oars, a ring that hadn’t been there before adorned his hand.
It looked like a match for the one Delly had been wearing as a necklace today.
Pretending not to notice, Adrian pressed him.
“Hey. Say it’s not true.”
Yes. Just those words, and all this chaos would end.
But Alferen sent a dry, emotionless gaze.
That look alone confirmed the rumors were true.
“It’s just as you heard. I confessed to Delly, and she accepted—”
Thwack—!
Alferen’s head snapped to the side before he could finish.
In an instant, the atmosphere around the winning team turned more vicious than that of the losers.
“You bastard…!”
The skilled fighter could have easily dodged, but he took the hit on purpose, and Adrian’s eyes went wild.
As Adrian lunged again, Aslan stepped in to block him.
“Hey, hey, hey! Use words! Alferen, why are you just standing there like an idiot taking it? Can’t you see he’s lost it because you’re letting him hit you?”
“Move aside, you.”
Ignoring Aslan, Alferen stepped in front of Adrian.
He calmly met the green eyes of Adrian, who was charging in a frenzy.
“It’s not casual for me.”
“If it were casual, don’t you think I’d have thrown you into the Shuri River long ago?”
“It’s been a long time coming.”
“I’m not curious about your feelings at all?”
“Delly chose this. You have no right to interfere in our relationship.”
Alferen displayed the ring with the leisurely expression of someone who’d been chosen.
As if to say, there’s already so much between us that you don’t know about.
Adrian’s rationality snapped.
“What are you saying, you bastard! I’m Delly’s guardian and her only brother! No one touches even a fingertip of Delly’s without my permission! Delly promised to live with me forever!”
It was then, as Adrian huffed and puffed, spouting words that would make anyone else gasp in shock.
“Darling, did you hear that? Our Lian just openly declared he’s blocking Delly’s future.”
“Yes, I saw. He’s grown up splendidly, just like his father.”
“And that father is you.”
The familiar voices shattered the pre-fight tension in an instant.
“Mother, Father?”
Spotting his parents, Adrian blinked in confusion.
In their last letter, they’d said it would take quite a while to return…
Facing his parents in this unexpected place, his surging anger vanished at once, replaced by a hollow, aggrieved feeling.
At that moment, Alferen greeted the Duke and Duchess of Peris in place of the frozen Adrian.
“It’s been a while. Lady Jasmine, and Your Grace, Duke Peris.”
“Pleased to see you, Alferen. I thought you were always so aloof, but you’re quite the opportunist who doesn’t miss a chance. You sure swooped in on our youngest while we were away.”
Jasmine Peris extended the back of her hand with an amused expression, and Alferen paid his respects properly.
Beside her, Duke Kianu Peris revealed his discomfort.
“I’m not pleased at all.”
The air threatened to turn chilly.
“And what if you’re not pleased? It’s Delly getting married, not you.”
With Jasmine’s retort, the duke responded in a coquettish voice that chilled the room in a different way.
“Whine, darling! Marriage? It’s way too soon. Our Delly is only twenty!”
Having dropped his public facade, Duke Peris wailed shamelessly.
Fatigue piled on Jasmine’s face, having heard this endlessly on the way here.
She shot back more sharply than usual.
“Too soon? Do you even remember how old I was when you took me away?”
“It was a blissful moment. It’s already ten thousand and two hundred fifty days since you came to me. The day I first fell for you was…”
As specific dates poured from the duke’s mouth, Jasmine’s expression grew colder.
Who would recognize that man as the iron-blooded knight, Duke Peris?
Before marriage, he’d been the object of every lady’s admiration, but after, his popularity had plummeted.
His once-heavy words became light as a feather in front of his wife.
When Kianu finished speaking and made a face begging for praise, Jasmine ignored him cleanly.
She turned to her son, whose expression was dark.
“You’ve still got a long way to go to act like an adult, Lian.”
“Mother.”
Adrian looked conflicted. It was just his little sister’s romance, yet he wore the face of someone who’d had the world stolen from him.
It was good that the siblings were close, but this was a bit of a problem.
“Did you think about how your punching Alferen would look? Didn’t I always tell you to act like a gentleman?”
At the stinging rebuke, Adrian’s shoulders flinched.
He hadn’t realized in his frenzy, but now the surroundings were filled with whispers.
Seeing Rodellia’s shocked face from afar, he grasped what he’d done.
“I’m sorry, Mother.”
Having quickly lost his fighting spirit, Adrian declared surrender.
To clear the chaotic atmosphere, Jasmine brightly addressed the dazed staff member.
“Come on, now! Let’s proceed with the award ceremony.”
