The Unpredictable Fiancée
As the grand banquet drew to a close, I held out the mask, its surface cool to the touch. Soleia stared at me intently. What kind of sentiment was hidden behind those scarlet eyes? Was it the bewilderment that comes when contempt is expected but not found, or was it a strange curiosity sparked by my behavior? Soleia gazed at me with a complex expression I couldn't quite decipher. It was as if she were constantly comparing the Cassian of the past, who overlapped in her mind, with the me of the present.
Eventually, Soleia slowly reached out and took the mask. When our fingertips brushed, her skin felt as cold as the night air. I suspected it was because she had been exposed to the northern chill for too long. I wasn't much different from her. After handing over the mask, I pulled my cold hand back. Soleia didn't put it on immediately; instead, she scanned my face as if confirming it once more under the moonlight. Blue butterflies still flickered in the garden, hovering around us, and in that silence, I waited for the next words to fall from her lips.
Soleia toyed with the mask and parted her lips. "Interesting. Truly interesting."
Soleia said it suddenly. I couldn't understand what was so interesting. I knew from reading the webtoon that she had a capricious personality, but facing it in person was, as expected, a chore. Having someone like that in your circle is exhausting. I didn't particularly want to get involved, but since we were to be engaged for a while, I didn't want to force a hostile relationship like the previous Cassian had. Perhaps because I knew her character from the webtoon, I felt that even more strongly. How on earth did the original Cassian manage to ignore such a personality and speak so sharply? It was truly a mystery.
Soleia approached until she was right in front of me, still holding the mask. We were close enough that I could catch her scent. "To think a person could change so much..."
At a distance where our noses almost touched, the scar on her face was clearly visible. But I didn't look away. "It's cool."
Soleia let out a soft, dry laugh and pulled back. Then, she put the mask back on and smiled. I felt a bit awkward at the sudden compliment. I couldn't understand what was "cool" about me at all. I just assumed Soleia was feeling another one of her whimsical moods.
"Today's meeting wasn't bad."
That must mean I handled it better than the previous Cassian. I felt a sense of relief. At least I wouldn't end up in the worst-case hostile relationship like in the original story. If that happened, I would be the one to suffer. So, Soleia's words were a good sign.
"That is a relief."
It was an answer that contained my honest relief. Since Soleia said our meeting was decent, there seemed to be a glimmer of hope for improving our relationship in the future. Soleia turned on her heel and began to walk away. The blue butterflies still accompanied her, casting a faint glow on the dark path. Watching her retreating figure, I realized that this tense confrontation had finally ended.
However, she stopped after only a few steps. "Oh, right."
Soleia tilted her head and looked back at me. It wasn't a horror movie, but her sudden turn startled me. On top of that, I tensed up, wondering what troublesome thing she would say now. When someone as inscrutable as Soleia stops and turns around, they usually throw out something hard to counter.
Moonlight was blocked by her standing figure. Blue butterflies fluttered around her shoulders, and the silence grew heavier than before. I swallowed hard, watching the shape of her lips.
'I don't want any more whims. I'm tired...'
The scarlet eyes behind the mask curved playfully. "I heard you became the heir to the Margrave. Congratulations."
I had expected her to say something strange again, but this time, it was a normal congratulation. With that, Soleia really left without a trace of lingering attachment. I stood there blankly, watching the direction she disappeared for a long time before sinking onto the bench, leaning my back against it. The sensation of the backrest was cool.
Thinking about her last words, it felt like she was teasing me. 'Congratulations?' Did she know my inner thoughts? Or was I just jumping to conclusions? Soleia was such a volatile person that, honestly, there wasn't much I could know for sure. I just had that feeling.
"Ha..." A sigh escaped me. White breath scattered into the cold northern wind. How nice it would be if I could fly away as lightly as that breath. Why did the heavens create me, and why did they create Soleia? I kicked the dirt in frustration. Dust rose from the dry ground.
'Is she really the same ten-year-old as me?'
There's a limit to being precocious. Living in the imperial palace and having a scar on her face must have had a huge impact on her personality, but still. My mind is that of an adult, yet I felt a bit wounded in my pride to be so helplessly swayed by a child. Next time we meet, I'll... well, I might not be able to give her a piece of my mind, but I'll at least act more confident than I did today. Today was just too sudden. Besides, given the rudeness the previous Cassian had shown her, I had inadvertently been swept up in Soleia's pace.
I comforted myself and rested my arms on the back of the bench. "I came here to rest... but I feel even more tired now."
Soleia eventually decided to believe the fact that Cassian had lost his memories. In truth, there was no other way to understand the current situation unless it was amnesia. Changing a person's soul was the realm of black magic, touching upon immense taboos. Such large-scale magic usually required the lives of people on a national scale as sacrifices. Soleia, who had accumulated quite a bit of knowledge about black magic to heal her own scar, quickly erased that slim possibility from her mind. She had reached a reasonably rational judgment.
Soleia now erased that thought. However, even though she looked mature, she was still just a child. "That look in his eyes... I've never seen it before." Soleia was muttering to herself, feeling bewildered without realizing it. It was proof that she had felt a sensation so fresh and strange. Those eyes, which held neither disgust nor fake pity. Soleia felt a sense of wonder that the cold eyes she had felt when they first met could feel so different now.
"Since this meeting was decent, can I look forward to the next one? Escorting a lady is..." Soleia trailed off and let out a small, soft laugh. She was already curious about the reaction Cassian would show at their next meeting. Beside her, the blue butterflies flew high into the night sky, as if representing her excited mood.
The grand banquet ended in success. The ordeal of having to show my face to people for several days had finally come to an end. I returned to my room and buried myself deep in front of the desk. Reflecting on the times I had been busy without a break, a sense of liberation spread thrillingly through my entire body. Now, for the next few years, things would go on peacefully without any major incidents. The grand banquet was held every year, so I couldn't skip it entirely, but at least the need for me to be at the forefront like this would be significantly reduced. This time, because the heir designation and the Ability Selection Ceremony overlapped, I had to stand out more than usual. Normally, it would have been right for my father or mother to lead it.
"Now, I'll have some easy time until I go to the academy. Probably."
However, this shitty world of romance fantasy was never friendly to me. What a world of extreme discrimination. It pours all sorts of luck onto the protagonist and fawns over her, but how can it be so stingy to me, who has possessed the male lead who is supposed to be the main character? The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get, but there's nothing I can do. I just remember the transcendent being I met before who said they hoped I would fail. I don't know what the transcendent meant, and I don't know much about them either. But from what I heard, I thought that if I made things fail, I might be able to trouble whoever brought me into this world. So, I decided to become a troublemaker. Even though I don't know how to make things fail.
To do that, first, I need to go to the academy.