Bang!
The doors of the audience chamber slammed shut behind Ivyn.
She was still standing there, utterly dumbfounded.
If he was just going to talk about some meaningless, trivial nonsense, why bother summoning me all the way here?
“Seriously, what on earth is wrong with that man?”
She muttered under her breath, glancing back briefly as she turned down the corridor.
Thud! She collided with someone rounding the corner.
She hadn’t fully seen them yet, but their height and broad build made it feel like she’d smacked her forehead into a wall.
“Ah! I-I apolog—”
Rubbing her throbbing forehead, she looked up and gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.
They say you always find your foe in the direst situation… and here it is, of all places…
She glanced at the original male lead, who was looking down at her with a disgusted expression.
Gulp-
She swallowed hard.
A sudden chill traveled down her spine.
A strange tension hung in the air between them, and the first to break it was Theodore.
“Back then, we parted ways without a proper farewell, Ivyn Kinzell.”
“…”
“I came because there’s something I need to ask you.”
Something to ask me?
Could it be he wants to ask how on earth my family even found out about the underground prison?
Or he wants to know if my family and I are truly related to the Oath of Darkness?
As Ivyn mulled over these possibilities in her small, restless mind, Theodore’s low, calm voice cut through her thoughts.
“Those tears you shed the day you answered my questions… were they all an act?”
Huh?
Of all the questions he could ask her, that wasn’t one she had been expecting.
“T-tears…?”
Ivyn recalled the events in the underground prison a few days ago.
Back then, she had appealed to Theodore with tears.
It had been a calculated move, knowing his personality well.
Theodore Leitner, the male lead of this world, was fundamentally righteous and morally upright.
But, it wasn’t just that…
At first, the tears were meant to make her appear pitiful, but gradually, genuine emotions began to stir within her.
The fear, the dread, the sense of injustice she had felt in that moment all surged forth so vividly that it felt like the real Ivyn’s emotions were flowing through her.
But how could she possibly explain that?
It all started as a ruse, yes, yet the crying became real because she had empathized with Ivyn to the point her emotions had become authentic.
“Seeing your lack of reply, it seems I guessed correctly.”
As she hesitated, searching for the right words, the paladin came to his own conclusion and spoke coldly.
“N-no, that’s…”
“Next time we meet, you will never leave alive.”
Just as Theodore turned away, she shouted.
“It wasn’t an act!”
He froze mid-step.
Ivyn hesitated for a moment before continuing carefully.
“…It wasn’t an act.”
The man didn’t turn around as she continued speaking.
“Not a single word I spoke that day in front of Sir Leitner was a lie.”
“…”
“I just… somehow felt that you might actually listen, even to the words of a prisoner dragged in unfairly and without cause. That’s why I opened up like that.”
A moment of silence stretched between them.
Ivyn stared at the broad back before her, wondering what he might be thinking now.
Will he think even this is an act?
But the moment was cut by the sound of footsteps.
“Vyn!”
Dylan’s steps echoed through the corridor as he approached.
At that voice, the paladin, who had been standing with his back to her, abruptly turned in the opposite direction and strode away with long, purposeful steps.
By the time Dylan reached her, Theodore had completely vanished.
“That bastard you were talking to just now. Isn’t he a paladin from the Holy Nation? He was, wasn’t he? That son of a bitch came all the way here to harass my daughter—!”
“Dad, it’s okay! I’m fine!”
Ivyn threw her small body in front of him to block his path, deciding it was safer not to let the two of them face each other.
“We just happened to bump into each other, that’s all. Nothing serious happened, really! He barely spoke to me!”
“What? You sure? Those evil bastards aren’t the type to just chat.”
“We are inside the imperial palace, Dad! What could he do? Let’s talk about it at home, okay?”
Ivyn barely managed to calm Dylan—whose eyes were blazing blue with fury—and climb into the carriage.
That evening, at the Kinzells’ dining room.
“So… you really said that and left?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Of course! Our little squirrel’s the best! You gave him a perfect hit where it hurts! Our little princess is as nasty to others as she is at home!”
“…”
The Kinzells, gathered around the dining table for dinner, listened with rapt attention as Ivyn recounted her private audience with the emperor.
But despite the cheerful atmosphere, Dylan Kinzell’s expression remained far from happy.
TL Note:
Hello~ Elle here. I took my sweet time doing updates, I know.
Piaf, my baby princess kitten and soulmate, urgently needs surgery. The cost is far beyond what I can handle alone, so I’ve prepared some special challenges to turn every bit of support into hope for her.
💬 Challenge #1: Every 5 unique comments = 1 extra chapter
💖 Challenge #2: Every 10 NU votes = 2 extra chapters
☕ Challenge #3: Every $15 on my Ko-fi goal = 3 extra chapters
Every comment, vote, and donation brings us one step closer to her surgery.
Thank you, truly, for supporting us.
