By Zephyria 
‘So, it was you…’
‘…….’
‘Oh my god, Noah. Yes, it was you…’
‘…….’
Whenever I thought of that emotional voice, my ears still felt strangely hot.
Carlisle just sighed and whispered in front of me, who was dumbfounded at the words that a whole week had passed when it felt like only a few hours had passed. Instead of resenting me for not recognizing him, for being deceived by Allen, he just nodded slightly. That was enough. I already knew that he had not really failed to recognize me, nor had he loved Allen.
‘Why did I… why, what have I been doing…!’
His arms, which could not even hug me tightly for fear of breaking me, were trembling pitifully. The back of my neck was hot. Because the tears that fell in sorrowful clumps never seemed to stop.
“……”
If I glanced to the side, I would immediately meet the eyes of the man who had been silently shedding tears while looking at me just a few minutes ago, who had suddenly notified Allen of the breakup and expressed his intention to propose to me, shocking everyone. The dark-toned eyes looked as gentle as ever. The only difference was that this time, that gentleness was directed at me, not Allen.
“Is there anything you need?”
“Ummm, ah, no…”
Being moved was one thing, and being awkward was another. As for me, I couldn’t help but be quite embarrassed by the sudden change in attitude of someone I had thought of as someone else’s property (to be exact, it was mine in this Iteration, and it was a property I wanted to have, but anyway). Moreover, just looking at the Countess, who was glaring at me as if she would kill me with her eyes at the sight of Carlisle Graham, who had changed his attitude…
“Hahaha, it’s strangely hot…”
It was the same now. I didn’t know what kind of threats Carlisle had made during the week I was gone, but not only my father but even the Countess couldn’t say anything regretful even when Carlisle suddenly changed his position. They just glared at me like this, thinking that I was the only one they could easily pick on.
“Are you hot? Please wait a moment. I’ll go get a fan and…!”
The breeze from the fan that the Grand Duke Graham himself would fan would be cool, but if I really enjoyed that coolness, I felt like the Countess would try to assassinate me. I hurriedly grabbed the hem of Carlisle’s clothes, who was trying to get up. Then, I turned my face to an angle where the Countess couldn’t see and repeatedly whispered for him to please stay still. A faint smile spread across the noble Duke’s face.
“Ever since we properly met again like this, you’ve always told me to stay still. Well… if that’s what you want, I understand.”
Carlisle, freed from the brainwashing, instinctively sensed that Allen had used some trickery on him. After calming down a bit, he quietly burned with rage, vowing not to let Allen off the hook. I calmed Carlisle down, telling him that even considering our parents’ feelings, we couldn’t put Allen, the biological son of this house, in a difficult position. It wasn’t truly for Allen’s sake. Even if Allen had lost his ‘originality’, the protagonist was still the protagonist. A cornered rat could bite a cat, and I hadn’t yet fully grasped what kind of reaction might occur if I pushed the protagonist too hard. I couldn’t put Carlisle in danger. Especially not with Allen as the reason.
Thinking about what Allen’s next move would be after losing Carlisle already gave me a headache, but I still wanted to enjoy the joy in front of me, even if only for a moment.
“I swore I would do anything for you, as long as you were alive. That’s really all I need.”
I simply wanted to savor, even for a moment, the warmth of this affection that I had finally regained, like a sun-dried blanket without a single wrinkle.
“Carlisle…”
“I missed you always, Noah.”
If his dark eyes were the night sky, I wanted to fall into them without a second thought. I really felt like I could.
“Young Master! Y-y-you need to come out for a moment!”
If it weren’t for the visit of an unwelcome, tactless guest.
“H-h-his Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince, has come all the way to Bartolo!”
It was a dazzlingly bright day, yes, a day that was disgustingly perfect in terms of brightness alone. When I opened the window wide, a humid breeze gently blew in, caressing my sweaty bangs. Somewhere, I could faintly hear the clear laughter of children. It was like the sound of pure bells wrapped in velvet. The wine in the chilling bag was perfectly chilled for sipping, and the biscuits topped with rich cream were perfect for soothing my bland palate.
Ah, peaceful. I took another sip of the crisp white wine, smiling faintly.
Because if I didn’t forcibly distract my mind like that, it would be impossible to endure this situation.
“Ha, what? Until recently, the whole country was buzzing with rumors that he couldn’t live without Hamilton’s youngest, and now this. He truly loved Noah Hamilton? Are you kidding me?”
Clang! Dropping the butter knife with a clatter, the elegant man with thin lips wore a perfectly crafted sneer on his face. Adrian Pearson, with his dazzling blonde hair and bewitching violet eyes, was my unofficial fiancé number one.
The Crown Prince’s face, which I hadn’t seen in a while, was still gorgeously beautiful. He always compared me to a rose, but Adrian’s appearance, full of venom and brightly ridiculing his opponent, was like a blooming flower garden. The problem was that the flower garden was full of Venus flytraps that would leave you with no bones to pick if you got caught.
If an ordinary person were facing his sneer, they would have immediately shrunk back and lowered their head. Fortunately or unfortunately, the man sitting across from Adrian, sipping his wine, was no ordinary person either.
“How could that be, Your Highness. Whose safety are you talking about. I admit my past mistakes. But I cannot retract my intentions.”
He was calmly cooling his cheeks and neck with a towel soaked in cold water, with black hair and gray eyes. Compared to the flamboyant and bewitching Adrian, he was like a heavy, elegant darkness lurking in the depths.
The sole heir of the prestigious Grand Duchy of Graham, as if proving the superiority of his bloodline, politely but firmly expressed his defiance.
Carlisle Graham and Adrian Pearson. With those two excellent Alphas on either side of me, I was sitting right in the middle, not leaning to either side, desperately trying to think about something else, when he casually wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. The Crown Prince wouldn’t let that go unnoticed.
“Don’t even dream about it. Noah Hamilton has long been chosen as the Crown Princess.”
Bang!
The Crown Prince, jumping up from his seat, rudely shook off Carlisle’s hand on my shoulder as if throwing it away. Then, he yanked my wrist towards him.
“News to me. Did you hold a national wedding while the Grand Duchy was asleep? Let go of that hand.”
My wrist was free again, and my shoulder was yanked again.
“Are you hard of hearing? I said chosen, chosen. I decided that way, so what’s the problem? You let go.”
My shoulder was lightened again, and my wrist was yanked again.
“Your Highness first…!”
“You first…!”
Hmm, mountains are mountains, water is water… I decided not to think. I also decided not to try to stop them. I had long given up on useless attempts.
It had only been two days since the Crown Prince, who had taken time out of his schedule as quickly as possible after receiving a report from his informant that something had happened to me, had come down to Bartolo. It had only been two days, but as soon as he found out that Carlisle had officially proposed to me, the Crown Prince couldn’t leave Carlisle alone, as if he had made up his mind.
Two Alphas, second to none in terms of excellence, were bickering like this with me in the middle. It was definitely not bad. It wasn’t just not bad, it was a situation I had dreamed of and hoped for. But why? Why was I so drained?
“Young Master.”
Just as I was about to bring the wine glass to my lips again with a small sigh, a large hand reached out from behind and gently covered the back of my hand, as if dissuading me.
“…Sir Kyle.”
“You’ve been drinking too much since noon. How about stopping here?”
That’s right. He was here too?
Adrian Pearson and Carlisle Graham were busy barking in front of me. And Kyle Gray, who was sticking to my back like a loyal dog, protecting me. Wow, except for Lennox, who wasn’t here, I had gathered all the love interests from the original story in one place.
“Okay, I understand.”
I lightly tapped Kyle’s hand, which was still covering the back of my hand, with my remaining hand. Kyle squeezed my hand once and then gently let go.
“Heeeuuuum……”
“……”
As expected. The Crown Prince, who seemed very uncomfortable, and the Little Duke Graham, who didn’t have a pleasant look in his eyes either, were eyeing Kyle, who was standing behind me, with displeasure. Oh, my head.
‘Adrian Pearson’ Favorability (Desire): 77%
‘Carlisle Graham’ Favorability (Pure Love): 81%
‘Kyle Gray’ Favorability (Pure Love): 75%
I hadn’t intentionally gathered them, but since they were all in one place, I checked their favorability, and it was quite a sight. I seemed to have been struggling, caught up in various situations that I had expected or not expected at all, but when I thought about how these plump harvests had appeared in front of me, I felt quite proud of myself.
“You. Have you ever thought about changing your escort knight? You’ll be coming to the Imperial Palace soon anyway. I’ll give you anyone you choose from the Royal Knights.”
“It would be better to correct that way of speaking, Your Highness, as if you were calling something that hasn’t been confirmed as confirmed. Of course, as a loyal subject of the Empire, I don’t mind at all, but I’m afraid that someone else might hear it and have impious thoughts in their heart.”
“An unconfirmed fact?”
“Then has it been confirmed? Not only has the national wedding not been held, but there is still no official record of the future of Noah, son of Hamilton…!”
The problem was that the love interests were acting so differently from the original story or the previous Iterations that I was getting drained even if I stayed still.