Chapter 30
He was the illegitimate son of the Range marquisate, abused by the marquis Range since childhood.
The moment the marquis discovered his magical talent, he turned the boy into a cash cow—anything that made money, Edwin had to do it.
Unfortunately for Edwin, his greatest gift lay in manufacturing magic—the most lucrative, most war-profitable branch of magic there was.
The marquis exploited him without mercy.
The one who saved him from that hell was none other than the heroine, Summer.
She found him half-dead after a beating, nursed him back to health, and treated him with a kindness he had never known.
Years later, the entire Range family perished in a “tragic accident,” and Edwin became marquis far too young.
In truth, he had poisoned them all.
The reason no one dared whisper his name in suspicion was the empress dowager’s shadow looming behind him.
He would do any dirty work the empress dowager ordered without blinking.
Then Summer reappeared in his life, and everything went to hell.
His obsession—if he wanted something, he took it, no matter the cost—pushed Summer into constant danger.
The trigger was the fact that she didn’t even remember him.
He tormented her with his warped love, protected her with the next breath, and suffered from his own contradictions.
That unbearable contradiction was exactly why readers couldn’t fully hate him.
Especially with his chronic chuunibyou speech, the way he shouted about loyalty yet left gaping holes in every plan, and the terrifying gap between his goofy main personality and the cold-blooded shadow assassin he became for the empress dowager—he was an insanely popular villain.
He might even be the one who brewed the poison that killed Alferen.
Normal poison wouldn’t have gotten past Alferen’s defenses, after all.
The novel explicitly stated Edwin was one step ahead of Alferen when it came to curse potions.
So it wasn’t just paranoia on my part.
Poison and antidote are only a hair’s breadth apart.
Because I had skimmed the later volumes while the series was still serializing, I couldn’t quite remember who the final mastermind was.
If I had done proper rereads, I’d have it memorized by now.
But I followed it week-to-week, so everything was a jumbled mess in my head.
Still, one thing I remembered clearly: Edwin genuinely cherished the Magia family.
That was the lifeline I was betting on.
Joining the club was my insurance policy against the poisoning ending.
The friend-of-a-friend-is-my-friend strategy.
For a man who lived and died by loyalty, there was no better shield.
And if I get to raise cute magical plants and creatures while I’m at it~ bonus.
I flashed a bright smile.
“I’m Rodelia. Just call me Delly.”
“Lucky me. I wasn’t sure I could remember four whole syllables. Nice to meet you, Jelly.”
“It’s Delly.”
“Sure thing, Celly.”
You never intended to remember it in the first place, did you?
Whatever. Jelly, Celly—as long as he doesn’t forget my face, we’re good.
The moment introductions were over, Sierra lunged for the back of his head like she’d been waiting years for this moment.
Edwin dodged nimbly and hid behind Lottie.
“Your hands are way too quick to violence, Vierra.”
“Guys who can’t stay put things back where they found them deserve to be hit.”
Sierra ground her teeth.
Lottie already looked like she wanted to teleport home.
I hadn’t expected Lottie to be here at all.
For a second I wondered if she followed me, but that felt like terminal princess-disease thinking, so I dropped it immediately.
Our eyes met; her cheeks flushed scarlet.
“I look forward to working with you. I’m Lottie Beige.”
Edwin answered with the enthusiasm of a dead fish.
“Yeah, got it, Jetty.”
This man genuinely has no intention of learning anyone’s name.
Seeing him even more hopeless than in the novel made me realize adapting to Magia was going to be… a journey.
But that could wait. First things first.
“So,” I said, waving my checkbook like a battle standard, “what should we do with this?”
Every pair of eyes locked on me.
I grinned.
“Let’s start by doing something about this filthy hideout, yeah?”
* * *
The day of the court tournament finally arrived.
I had tossed and turned all night agonizing over the ring, so I was pressing an ice-cold crystal orb to my swollen eyes when Adrian burst in, fresh as spring morning.
“Good morning, Delly! You didn’t forget you’re coming to cheer for your big brother today, right?”
He had already gone for his dawn run and showered; he smelled like clean soap and sunshine.
I dropped the now-tepid orb and answered listlessly.
“You’re going to win anyway.”
“Grahhh! That trust fuels me! I’m bringing home the trophy! This vacation’s on me!”
He scooped me up like a barbell just because I gave him the bare minimum of encouragement.
“Put me down, you oaf, I’m heavy!”
“Hahaha! Heavy? I could lift you with one hand, my little feather.”
He spun me around until morning sickness rose in my throat.
“Urk.”
“You really should stop, young master. The lady is going to faint.”
If the butler Liam hadn’t appeared right then, I might have passed out for real.
I glared at Adrian, face pale, coughing.
“I’m drilling holes in your boat.”
“Sowwy.”
He made the saddest puppy face imaginable—zero damage taken—and held out his hand.
“But you did prepare your big brother’s victory badge, right?”
Shameless as ever.
I declared proudly, without taking it out of my pocket, “Nope.”
“No way! How am I supposed to win without my goddess of victory?”
“The goddess of victory isn’t here for you today. She’s only for big brother Ren.”
I spun on my heel.
Adrian muttered darkly behind me.
“I’m your actual brother… Fine. Then I’ll just steal Alferen’s.”
As if.
I jogged away from him, stuck out my tongue—and crashed straight into someone coming the other way.
“Oof.”
Thump.
The body was so solid I bounced off like rubber. I was about to topple backward when an arm snaked around my waist and stopped me cold.
A cool, woody scent—like walking through pine after rain—mixed with a deeper, masculine cologne that made my head spin.
Alferen looked down at me and smiled softly.
“Energetic for so early in the morning.”
He steadied me, then let his hand linger a second longer than strictly necessary before releasing.
This was our first meeting since he proposed the fake relationship.
The man who had kept me awake for days stood in front of me without warning, and my brain went completely white.
I couldn’t even remember how I used to act around him.
He tapped the dark circles under my eyes gently, as if he found my panic adorable.
“Didn’t sleep well, I see.”
The way he said it made it sound like he knew exactly why.
His gaze dropped to my hand for a split second, then back up, voice laced with regret.
“Too bad.”
The delayed delivery made my face ignite.
I secretly touched my chest—thank god the ring on its chain was hidden beneath my clothes.
I was just sighing in relief when—
Why is my heart trying to punch through my ribs?
The moment I saw Alferen, my pulse went haywire.
He looked perfectly calm, same as always.
It’s just surprise from running into him, that’s all. First time since that day—of course my heart’s racing!
And why is he wearing cologne he never wears? And that outfit—is he entering the tournament or a fashion show?
While I stood there opening and closing my mouth like a goldfish, Adrian swooped in and snatched the badge from my hand.
“Ah!”
“Thanks, Delly. For my goddess of victory.”
He kissed my cheek with knightly flourish and bolted.
Any other day I would have slapped his mouth off, but—
“Delly, don’t I get one?”
Alferen smiled sweetly and held out his palm.
Of course I had one for him.
I had prepared it long before he gave me the ring.
I had even slipped it into my pocket this morning after agonizing whether to give it or not.
I clutched the badge in my pocket, torn.
Do I give it to him?
Or not?
He watched me with gentle expectation, absolutely certain I had made one for him.
The certainty that I was completely wrapped around his finger hit me like a slap, and in pure panic I blurted,
“I did… but I lost it!”
And hurled the badge I was clutching straight to the floor.
