Chapter 27
Dodging Adrian’s wariness was a stroke of luck, but whether he could truly win Delly’s heart like this remained anyone’s guess.
Doesn’t matter. There’ll be plenty of chances. From now on, I just need to show her how I feel.
Alferen adjusted his cravat and called out to Rodellia.
“Rodellia.”
In that instant, the green eyes that had been fixed solely on the cake turned to him.
“Huh? Ren-oppa? What brings you here?”
Genuine delight shone in her innocent gaze.
How long had it taken to erode those walls of hers?
Alferen offered his usual impeccable smile and extended a hand.
“I came to pick you up in Adrian’s place. He suddenly came down with a stomachache.”
From the moment he’d appeared, every eye in the café had converged on them.
This was the first time he’d ever flaunted his closeness to Rodellia in such a public setting.
And with rumors of his broken engagement swirling, their connection was bound to raise eyebrows.
Perhaps sensing as much, Rodellia rose hastily from her seat.
Once they were aboard the carriage, Rodellia surprised him with an unexpected question.
“By the way, Ren-oppa, have you found someone you like?”
His heart plummeted—had she seen through him?
But when she mentioned hearing it through the grapevine, relief washed over Alferen, and an excuse to hold onto her sprang to mind unbidden.
Tucked in his inner pocket was the pink diamond ring, meticulously crafted by the master jeweler Digri.
“Whoever it is, they’ll need your approval before I can date them. Got it? Especially someone as handsome as your brother—they tend to attract all the weirdos.”
Rodellia, who had nagged him to break off his engagement without cause since childhood.
Yet she’d always excluded herself from the pool of potential partners.
Alferen sensed instinctively that this was the moment to play his hand.
If he let it slip away unresolved, she’d only drift further from him.
“You’re right. You’ll have to vet them thoroughly—for your sake.”
With his resolve hardened, Alferen drew the ring case from his breast pocket and held it out to Rodellia.
“What do you think? Like it?”
“It’s beautiful. Whoever gets it is going to love it, I bet.”
Confirming that the ring pleased her, he added a captivating smile.
“Then it’s yours.”
“Huh?”
“This belongs to you now.”
“…Wh-what?”
There was no need for the moment this ring slipped onto her finger to feel like an engagement.
“Rodellia Peris.”
The circulating rumors were plenty to prick at Rodellia’s kind heart.
Alferen played his card.
“Would you mind pretending to be my girlfriend for a while? Just until I find someone good, like you said.”
Like a predator sheathing its claws before the hunt.
His face wore an air of poignant vulnerability, as if he were in dire straits.
I was speechless for a long while.
From the moment Alferen held out the ring, I’d sensed something was off.
What the hell is this guy talking about?
Finally steadying my trembling hands enough to speak, I stammered.
“Y-you’re asking me to stand in as your girlfriend?”
No, right? Huh? I must’ve misheard.
I pleaded with my eyes for him to deny it.
But he met my gaze steadily and affirmed it without hesitation.
“That’s right.”
“N-no, no, no, no way! How could I possibly…?”
I pressed myself against the carriage wall, babbling incoherently in a panic.
Yeah. This was utterly ridiculous.
I’d only been playing the part of the loyal friend’s little sister to avoid that prison ending.
Sure, I’d spent eight years doggedly trailing Alferen, lighting a fire under his engagement…
But I’d thought my role ended once I got him safely out of it!
The heroine’s due to show up any day now. If I pretend to be his girlfriend, Summer will write him off immediately!
I could practically hear my own stocks crashing in my head.
I was scrambling for some way to turn him down when Alferen spoke in a voice heavy with defeat.
“I see. If you’re saying that, then maybe I should just call off the broken engagement right now…”
“Aaah! You’ve got to be kidding me—you can’t say stuff like that! Take it back, quick—pfft, pfft, pfft!”
I screamed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking them furiously.
How could I undo the broken engagement I’d worked so hard for—with my own hands, no less?
What was I supposed to do? How?
Why was this guy suddenly dumping a trial like this on me?
Whether he knew my turmoil or not, a smile crept across Alferen’s lips.
It was the picture of smug leisure, as if he’d known I’d fluster like this.
Our eyes met, and he lowered his gaze mournfully once more, prodding at my heart.
“No, but why—why does it have to be me?”
“I told you. Nanael saw everything that happened at the tower.”
“So what exactly did she see at the tower…?”
‘Is this some kind of emergency? To me, it just looks like a rendezvous.’
In that instant, Nanael’s sharp voice flashed through my mind.
‘Delly, please don’t do this.’
And Alferen’s pleading tone, his face flushed as he begged.
‘Wh-what? What’s this memory?’
Bewildered by the sudden recollection, I barely registered Alferen leaning in, closing the distance between us.
“Looks like you still don’t remember.”
“O-oppa?”
“I thought it’d come back to you by now.”
Was it my imagination, or did his frank stare prick at my conscience?
That refined face of his only made me feel guiltier.
“Wh-what did I even do?”
Part of me wanted to know, while the rest dreaded it.
Even the fragments I’d recalled were enough to turn me into a hot potato of shame.
Alferen let out a soft chuckle, then brushed his fingertip against my cheek.
Already in the confined space of the carriage, the intimate contact set my heart hammering.
“You said I was your type.”
“…”
“You said you liked how handsome I am.”
His gaze drifted to my lips. They parted slightly, tempting as ripe fruit, throwing my vision into disarray.
He tapped the edge of my mouth with his finger.
“That day, you clung to me like this and even tried to kiss me. You’re really going to keep pretending you don’t remember a thing?”
Under Alferen’s interrogation, my jaw went slack.
It was as if a switch had flipped—the events of that day unspooled in my mind like a panoramic reel.
‘Oppa, you’re not human, are you? Where’d you hide your wings?’
‘I heard the prince’s curse can only be broken with a kiss. If we kiss, will your wings come out?’
My voice, coquettish in a way I’d never heard from myself before.
Lines that made me sound like a shameless temptress, luring an innocent Alferen into a kiss.
Then the scene of me starting to undress, and Alferen trying to stop me—it all came rushing back, setting my face ablaze.
The most shocking part? That I’d done all this right in front of Nanael.
Boom—!
In my head, it sounded like a gavel slamming down, and the judge of my conscience delivered its verdict.
‘For the crime of seducing the sub-male lead in front of the villainess!
For the crime of enticing an innocent sub-male lead and trying to steal a kiss!
Taking all these sins into account, the final judgment is hereby passed.
Rodellia Peris: guilty! Death by poisoning!’
Bang bang bang.
Oh no…
Overwhelmed by unbearable mortification, I buried my face in my palms and doubled over.
I want to die of embarrassment. What on earth did I do…?
The worst of it was that Nanael had witnessed the whole spectacle.
I’d dodged the prison ending, only to land myself a poisoning one.
This was no time to be thrilled about Alferen’s broken engagement.
Swallowing a scream, I trembled, and Alferen wrapped an arm around my shoulders.
“Delly?”
I seized his hand and muttered.
“…Wh-what if Princess Nanael tries to kill me?”
Yeah. This was poison-bait level.
To openly seduce her fiancé in front of a woman with pride like that.
She’d have no choice but to assume I was the reason for the breakup.
And after getting dumped on top of it, she’d have every reason to hold a grudge.
‘Dodged the prison to become the villainess’s target.’
What kind of webnovel title was this situation?
