15
The antidote worked faster than Eden had anticipated.
Feeling a sudden pang of regret, Alferen spoke to Rodellia.
“How are you feeling?”
“Huh? Oh, um.”
Rodellia awkwardly sat up, putting some distance between them.
Her expression betrayed her confusion.
Fiddling with her hair, she asked with a dazed look, “Why was I sleeping with my head on your lap? I was definitely just waiting here.”
It seemed the memories from her time under the potion’s influence had vanished.
If I’d known this would happen, maybe I should’ve savored it a bit more.
Alferen silently scolded himself for the fleeting, selfish thought and put on the gentle, brotherly facade he always wore.
“Sorry, Rodellia. My aide mistook an experimental potion for tea. You were under its effects and lost consciousness for a bit.”
“Oh, that blue tea.”
Rodellia’s face lit up with understanding, though she kept frowning.
She seemed to be struggling to recall something that wouldn’t come.
“It was only temporary,” Alferen reassured her. “It’s in the past, so don’t strain yourself trying to remember.”
“I didn’t say anything embarrassing, did I?”
“Embarrassing? Got some secrets you’re hiding from me?”
“No, it’s not that…”
Rodellia’s eyes darted nervously. Afraid she might recall something and retreat in embarrassment, Alferen swiftly changed the subject.
“So, what brought you all the way to the Magic Tower to see me?”
“Oh!”
Rodellia straightened up, as if suddenly remembering her purpose, her posture rigid with the gravity of someone about to make a monumental statement.
“I have a confession to make.”
“…A confession?”
Alferen adjusted his posture, sitting up straighter.
He hadn’t expected the word “confession” to come from Rodellia’s lips.
His throat tightened with nervous anticipation as she spoke.
“Just like you suspected, I did provoke Princess Nanael on purpose. I didn’t want you to marry her.”
Rodellia’s gaze turned resolute.
Her determined demeanor made even Alferen tense.
She continued.
“But I never meant to put myself in danger. I didn’t expect Nanael to push me down the stairs. If it hadn’t been for you, I could’ve been seriously hurt. Thank you for saving me.”
Rodellia gave a slight shudder as she recalled the moment.
The memory alone was enough to make her dizzy with fear.
Alferen’s expression hardened as well.
His suspicions were confirmed: Nanael had indeed intended to harm Rodellia.
And after witnessing her behavior today, it was clear Nanael’s fixation on Rodellia would only intensify.
The thought alone exhausted Alferen, but he apologized sincerely.
“I’m the one who should be sorry. I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”
“Oh, come on, it’s not your fault. Strictly speaking, my partner that day was Adrian, not you.”
“True enough.”
“Anyway, the reason I’ve been warning you about redheads since we were kids is because of Nanael. I saw her from a distance when we were young, and she was… intense, to say the least.”
Nanael had been a troublemaker among the royals even as a child.
She was notorious for picking on those around her, singling them out for exclusion.
At one point, Rodellia had been a candidate to be one of Nanael’s attendants, but fortunately, she wasn’t chosen.
Nanael preferred to torment girls from unremarkable, docile families.
“I think of you as family, so I just wanted you to end up with someone good. If my actions came off as childish, I’m sorry. I just thought you deserved better.”
Alferen paused, then asked, “You think of me as family?”
Her response left a strange tightness in his chest.
“Of course. I told you I’d be your little sister, didn’t I?”
Little sister.
If he’d known that word would sting so much, he never would’ve let her call him “oppa.”
A bitter taste lingered in Alferen’s mouth.
Once a relationship was set, it seemed even adulthood couldn’t change it.
He’d thought he was content just being by her side.
But apparently, he was greedier than he realized.
“So, in the end, it was all for my sake. To keep me from getting hurt by some bad woman.”
“That’s right! That’s exactly it!”
Rodellia thrust both thumbs up as if she’d heard the perfect answer.
Just as Alferen, sparked by a sudden surge of determination, moved toward her, a loud cry broke the moment.
“Dellyyyyy!”
With a boisterous shout, Adrian burst into the study.
His voice calling for her had been echoing even before he barged in.
In a single bound, Adrian rushed to Rodellia and grabbed her face.
“They said you drank the wrong potion! Are you okay? Your stomach? Your head?”
“Uung, I’m fine.”
Rodellia’s cheeks were squished, her words coming out slurred.
Adrian meticulously checked her condition, ensuring she was alright, before shooting a glare at Alferen.
“How do you even manage your subordinates? What would you have done if something happened to our Delly?”
As expected, it was the reaction of someone who doted endlessly on his little sister.
Alferen, unfazed, replied calmly,
“Then I’d have taken responsibility.”
“Who gave you permission!”
Adrian, now riled up, shouted back.
“You’d better make this right, especially for Rodellia!”
“Alright.”
“Oppa, I’m fine. If anything, I’m the one who caused trouble by showing up unannounced.”
“Oh, Delly, with a heart this kind, how are you going to survive this cruel world?”
Adrian’s expression softened as he gazed warmly at Rodellia.
Then, sharpening his eyes again, he issued a warning to Alferen.
“Ten recovery potions.”
“Funny, that sounds like something you want.”
“Tch. Rodellia and I are one and the same. She’d agree, right?”
Adrian looked at Rodellia with smug confidence.
Rodellia, however, spoke up.
“I don’t need recovery potions.”
“Delly, not you too…”
Adrian’s face crumpled as if betrayed, but Rodellia cleanly ignored him.
Turning to Alferen, she said,
“Oppa, my wish has always been the same, then and now. Just that one thing is enough!”
Her eyes sparkled as she spoke, and Alferen let out a soft chuckle.
He knew she was talking about breaking off his engagement with Princess Nanael.
Though the reason behind it didn’t entirely sit well with him.
“Alright.”
If it was her wish, he had no choice but to grant it.
“Alright? Wait… you’re serious?!”
Rodellia’s eyes widened as she asked again.
“I’ll let you know soon.”
“Hmm-hmm-hmm~.”
From early morning, a bright hum filled the Ferris estate.
It was Rodellia, singing as she strolled through the garden.
“Oh my, our young lady seems to be in a great mood today.”
“It’s just… the weather’s so nice.”
“Well, it is lovely out today.”
Mei responded without suspicion, and Rodellia playfully flicked a leaf.
Then, as she began to twirl and dance, Mei burst into laughter.
The world seemed impossibly bright today.
In this mood, Rodellia felt she could even laugh off getting hit by bird droppings.
‘Alright. I’ll let you know soon.’
Finally, Alferen had decided to break off the engagement.
He wasn’t the kind of man to say one thing and mean another.
For eight years, she’d followed him around, chanting about breaking off his engagement, and he’d never once agreed, not even as an empty promise.
Maybe I can finally avoid that bad ending.
“Hehe.”
A mischievous giggle slipped out. Seeing this, Mei paled.
“That look just now was so unsettling. Like you’re about to cause some trouble. My heart’s already racing.”
“What, you think I’m some kind of troublemaker?”
“Well, you are a bit unpredictable. Just this month, you’ve caused trouble twice already.”
“Tch.”
Rodellia pouted, shooting Mei a sidelong glance.
A moment later, Mei spoke up.
“Miss, just to be sure, you know there’s the regular meeting for the ladies who debuted today, right?”
“Oh, right. There was that, wasn’t there?”
