<CHAPTER 29>
Because My Fiancée Ran Away
Pfft—
At her close friend’s sudden words, Evelyn spat out the tea she was drinking.
“Judging by your reaction, there must be something going on.”
Chloe, who handed her a handkerchief, twitched the corner of her mouth.
Evelyn, who hastily wiped her mouth, slightly furrowed her brows as if she had heard something she shouldn’t have.
“Something going on? You just don’t know, we’re not like that.”
“Well, no one knows that. Even the weather changes suddenly these days.”
Evelyn looked out the window following her friend’s gaze.
The weather that had been clear just moments ago had disappeared without a trace, and a drizzle was moistening the ground.
In other words, even the sky couldn’t predict what lay ahead, so how could they be certain about their future.
Of course, Chloe’s words weren’t wrong, but Evelyn shook her head with effort.
“Still… absolutely. Absolutely nothing like that will happen.”
Chloe, who had been looking at Evelyn’s serious eyes for a moment, muttered in a barely audible voice.
“You really don’t know, do you.”
“Huh? What?”
Chloe, who had picked up the cake before her with a fork, soon uttered words that were hard to understand.
“Well, you should consider the Young Count’s efforts too.”
What on earth was she talking about?
***
On the earth where the drizzle had fallen, mist rose, and warm air circulated here and there.
Evelyn, who had been sitting by the bedroom window enjoying the breeze, smiled contentedly as she thought of her close friend.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Chloe shy.”
At the tea party in the afternoon, Chloe’s lover had timely appeared at the venue.
Lest she get caught in the rain, he brought an umbrella, and all the ladies looked at him with envious eyes at the man’s consideration.
Though pretending otherwise, Chloe, who blushed as if welcoming her lover, was truly lovely.
‘So this is what they call love.’
Evelyn, who had been thinking of her friend who looked happy, sparkled with clear eyes.
Chloe had developed from being the close friend of her brother, whom she had known for a long time, to being lovers three years ago.
As the two families were close, she heard that they were seriously discussing marriage.
In the eyes of the two looking at each other, affection and preciousness always coexisted.
“I’m really glad she looks happy.”
Meeting someone she truly loved, and having someone completely on her side.
Evelyn seemed to feel relieved at the sight of Chloe shining warmly.
On the other hand, it was true that she envied such a friend.
‘Someday, I wish I could meet someone who loves me too!’
Of course, dreaming of a fated love might be a vain hope.
Especially considering her setting as a villainous supporting character in the original story.
But after breaking off the engagement with Aksion and protecting her family, Evelyn wanted to find her other half too.
‘Someone who becomes completely on my side…!’
Just like the true love of her closest friend and beloved parents.
She was wearing a faint smile as she thought of her precious people, when she suddenly stopped smiling.
“Wait, am I really that unattractive?”
Evelyn lightly touched her face and slightly furrowed her brows.
Thinking about it, she had never once been confessed to by the opposite sex.
Even though she was engaged, she had never received that confession that others supposedly received once or twice.
Was it because she acted differently from the original?
The original Evelyn had used this man and that man without discrimination to get what she wanted.
But she had absolutely no intention of acting in ways that didn’t suit her personality…
“What is this feeling of defeat?”
Suddenly feeling like she had fallen behind someone she considered an enemy, Evelyn felt strangely wounded in her pride.
And with good reason, as she had witnessed several scenes of Aksion being confessed to at the Academy.
Ugh, so annoying!
Evelyn, who had run to her bed and buried her face in the pillow, clenched her fists tightly with both hands.
“This is all Aksion’s fault.”
Looking back, her school life hadn’t been smooth because he was always by her side.
With her eyes blazing with determination, she recalled her Academy days.
***
In the midst of spring where colorful flower petals scattered.
The Coxen Academy auditorium was bustling with students for the entrance ceremony.
The tension felt in an unfamiliar environment was momentary, and everyone seemed to hold their own excitement.
It was a perfect day with a warm atmosphere announcing a new beginning.
Except for the Dean’s long speech being a bit boring.
Of course, there was someone among the freshmen who shone with exceptionally clear eyes…
“Goodness. Isn’t this endless speech boring?”
“Right. Maybe this is what it takes to be the top student?”
Good, very good!
Evelyn, who had pricked up her ears while pretending not to care, smiled with renewed pride at her reputation.
Coxen Academy, renowned as a prestigious school not only in the Valtian Empire but also in other countries.
She had entered that place as the top student.
‘See, all that studying through winter was worth it, right?’
It seemed that receiving special tutoring from the eccentric genius Viaron had been quite effective.
Could she graduate as the top student at this rate?
As the corners of her mouth kept turning upward with baseless confidence, she firmly sealed her lips.
In fact, Evelyn was in an extremely excited mood.
Because for the next three years, she would be able to cut off the tiresome ill-fated relationship with her fiancé.
Thinking of Aksion whom she had left in the capital, a conversation with him suddenly flashed through her mind.
“Ahem, I got into Coxen Academy.”
“Really? That’s good.”
“What, that’s all?”
“Why, do you want congratulations from me?”
On the day she received her acceptance letter, Evelyn had proudly announced her Academy admission to her fiancé.
But Aksion only showed a relaxed smile as if it wasn’t surprising at all.
‘On this good day, of all days, his face comes to mind!’
For some unknown reason, Evelyn couldn’t shake her uneasy feeling.
His name was definitely not on the entrance ceremony list…
‘Yes, it’s just needless worry.’
She decided not to ruin her mood unnecessarily, having come to the Academy through bloody effort.
“The freshman representative, please come forward and give a speech.”
“Ah. Yes… yes!”
***
She definitely hadn’t been nervous just moments ago…
Perhaps because she had safely finished her speech before the entire student body, Evelyn’s legs trembled as the tension left her.
When she came down from the podium with a pale complexion, a nearby professor spoke worriedly.
“Oh my, are you alright, Miss Evelyn?”
“Yes, I suppose I was a bit nervous.”
“It’s an occasion worth being nervous for. But you did very well.”
As there was time before the next schedule, the professor suggested it would be good to get some fresh air, and Evelyn nodded.
“Then I’ll be back shortly.”
Enjoying the gentle breeze in a sparsely populated place, her trembling heart finally seemed to calm.
“Ugh. I feel like I can finally breathe.”
She wondered how Viaron had stood in that place around this time last year, it was simply amazing.
Anyway, just as she was taking a deep breath with the relief of having safely finished the immediate task.
“At this rate, the ground might collapse.”
Huh— was there someone else here?
At the sudden voice of someone, Evelyn turned her head with an awkward smile.
“Haha, with just this much, the ground…”
At that moment, as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have, her green pupils expanded greatly.
Was she seeing things now?
As a being who shouldn’t be here was right before her eyes, Evelyn rubbed her eyes several times.
But no matter how much she denied it, reality didn’t change.
“What, why are you here…?”
To her astonished question, Aksion answered in a composed voice.
“Hmm. That reaction is hurtful.”
Contrary to his words, the man’s face didn’t look hurt at all.
Spit on your mouth and lie, you rascal.
Evelyn, whose patience had run out, held her throbbing forehead and glared at her fiancé.
“I’m asking why on earth you’re here?”
Then the man, with an expression as if she were asking the obvious, pulled his lips into a languid smile.
“Because my fiancée ran away without a word.”
