<CHAPTER 15>
Did You Spy on Me or Something?
Unable to break the harmonious atmosphere of the student council meeting, Evelyn eventually left the cafe with her fiancé in tow.
She immediately led him between the buildings and pushed Aksion against a wall.
“How did you know to come here?”
At her question, delivered with narrowed eyes, the man shrugged his shoulders lightly as if it were no big deal.
“Did you think I was spying on you or something?”
‘You would be more than capable of that!’
In the original story, Aksion had done everything imaginable to win the heart of the female protagonist, Dahlia.
Eliminating men who approached her was just the basics; driven by the single-minded desire not to be abandoned by her, he courted her every single day.
‘Later on, he even tried to imprison her, going beyond mere obsession…!’
His actions from the original story welled up in her throat, but Evelyn deliberately swallowed her inner thoughts.
“So really, how did you know to come here?”
At her considerably softened voice, Aksion answered readily, as if it had never been something to keep secret in the first place.
“The young count told me.”
“What? Viaron?”
That damn older brother of mine…!
“Never mind my older brother, why did you come to see me?”
The nuance was a bit strange, but she thought there was no way Aksion would have come looking for her without any purpose.
Only then did the man seem to remember something he had forgotten, letting out a short sigh.
Then he lazily raised the corner of his mouth and pulled out a small case from inside his coat.
“I had something to return.”
Evelyn was not unaware of what was inside that case.
It was the hairpin from Countess Valentino that she had received as a gift not long ago.
‘No, what are you doing bringing back something you already returned!’
As she touched her forehead with an expression of clear dismay, Aksion unhesitatingly took the hairpin out of the case.
“W-what are you doing?”
Instead of answering, the man gently brushed aside her pink hair.
Then, somewhat clumsily, he pinned the hairpin in place.
Evelyn, unable to avoid his sudden action in time, wore a blank expression.
Aksion, watching her with interest, had a mischievous smile playing at his lips.
“There’s going to be a boat party soon. You can wear it then.”
“Why would I wear this…”
Before Evelyn could finish her response, he snapped his fingers once and vanished without a trace.
It was only late in the evening that Evelyn returned to the mansion, staring blankly into empty space.
Showing off her skills in front of the juniors after so long had been tiring, and the unexpected meeting with her fiancé had also taken its toll.
As she carefully touched the small case she had received from him, she soon furrowed her brow slightly.
“Aksion, what on earth is this guy thinking?”
Out of nowhere, he had processed a brooch and given it to her as a gift, and now he was pinning a hairpin in her hair himself.
Despite having known him for a long time, he had been showing uncharacteristic behavior lately.
“I’ll try to match your tastes.”
Perhaps because his casually thrown words from the coming-of-age ceremony came to mind, Evelyn shook her head vigorously.
There was no way Aksion thought of her as a romantic interest; there had to be another reason.
As she let out a deep sigh, she felt somehow melancholic in one corner of her heart.
‘It must mean the imprinting is that desperate.’
Thinking of her fiancé who would have to live his entire life carrying the pain of mana rampage, she felt uneasy.
How difficult a time he had gone through was sufficiently shown in the original story.
After experiencing pain as if his entire body were engulfed in flames, he would suffer from the aftereffects for days.
Of course, Aksion never showed this to anyone else.
“Ugh. I knew I’d be worried.”
Though it wasn’t her fault, Evelyn‘s mind grew scattered with unnecessary guilt as she let out a deep sigh.
Aksion had first experienced mana rampage about two years ago.
As Evelyn recalled him at that time, her green eyes quietly settled.
Inside the classroom where the bell rang loudly, Evelyn quickly rose from her seat after class ended.
As soon as the liberal arts professor left, she hurriedly packed her bag and approached the lectern.
“Professor, is Aksion absent again today?”
He, who had never missed a class until now, had been skipping for several days.
Wondering if something had happened to her fiancé, she went to ask his friends, but they also seemed unaware of the reason.
That was why Evelyn had decided to ask the professor of the only subject she shared with Aksion directly.
However, for some reason, the professor’s face showed confusion and awkwardness.
‘Did something really happen?’
“Hmm. Since you’re his fiancée, I suppose it’s alright for you to know.”
Evelyn asked in a slightly worried voice.
“Did something happen to Aksion?”
At this, the professor seemed to nod slightly, then lowered his voice so the other students couldn’t hear.
“It seems Aksion‘s ability rampage has begun.”
At these unexpected words, Evelyn‘s green pupils expanded greatly.
The professor suddenly seemed to remember something and took out study materials from his bag.
“He should have regained some stability by now after resting this much. Could you deliver this to Aksion?”
Evelyn, who had taken the study materials in a daze, nodded her head slightly.
“Yes, I’ll do that.”
Since today happened to be Friday, she had been planning to head to the count’s estate anyway.
Using the excuse that she had materials to deliver, Evelyn visited the Valentino Ducal residence.
Whatever had happened during that time, the servants’ faces showed deep, unspoken worries.
“My lady, I’m afraid it will be difficult to see the young duke today.”
At the butler’s polite yet somehow awkward words, she wore a puzzled expression.
“What do you mean?”
“It is… the young duke is not in good condition. There was a message that no one should be allowed into his room.”
“Still, please. I want to check on Aksion‘s condition.”
Whether her concern was conveyed, the butler hesitated before finally guiding her to the room.
Having arrived in front of her fiancé’s bedroom, Evelyn carefully knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
“Aksion, it’s me, Evelyn.”
As expected, no answer came from Aksion.
Undeterred, Evelyn knocked on the bedroom door with a bit more force.
Then, deliberately using a playful voice, she began calling out to the room’s owner.
“Aksion, if you don’t open up, I’m just going to come in?”
Thud.
As if flustered by her words, a sound like Aksion falling from his bed was heard.
‘Oh, it worked better than I thought?’
While she felt secretly pleased, he finally opened the bedroom door.
“What brings you all the way here?”
Ugh, you insolent brat,
To her fiancé who asked about her business without even greeting her, Evelyn tried to hand over the study materials.
“The professor asked me to bring this to you…”
But she couldn’t finish her words.
Though she hadn’t seen him for only a few days, Aksion‘s complexion had deteriorated considerably.
Lips without their usual color and pale-looking skin.
Moreover, as if he had a fever, he looked like even standing was difficult.
‘If only I had healing abilities.’
Unfortunately, during ability rampage periods, healing-type abilities were useless unless one was the imprinted partner.
It would take considerable time to suppress an ability that had just begun rampaging.
This also meant that Aksion‘s pain would continue until he met his imprinted partner.
Evelyn, who was in charge of the original story, couldn’t bring herself to tell him to cheer up.
Aksion, who couldn’t find his imprinted partner, had to live his entire life in pain.
Looking quietly at her haggard fiancé’s face, she let out a short sigh and spoke.
“Hey, are you eating your meals properly?”
Judging by the lack of any particular response, it seemed he had skipped meals for more than just a day or two.
Evelyn handed over a special remedy she took out from her bag and spoke coldly.
“Hmph, this isn’t something I give to just anyone.”
There was no better special remedy to invigorate a body with nutritional imbalance.
Aksion let out a short laugh and received the special remedy that she had personally brewed from medicinal herbs.
“I’ll make sure to take the medicine properly.”
Since when does he listen so obediently?
With narrowed eyes, Evelyn glanced at her fiancé and spoke.
“You’re not Aksion Valentino, are you?”
Then, as if finding it absurd, he displayed his characteristic insolent eloquence.
“Well, what do you think?”
Seeing this, the man before her was undoubtedly her fiancé.
