ATPL 43

“Sigh…”

Only after Cesar had fully left did Anais slump down and remove her mask.

Now she understood what it meant to be completely drained. She had never met anyone quite like him…

“Are you alright for a moment?”

As she lay sprawled out, Elliot, who had returned after seeing Cesar off, called from outside the door. Too exhausted to speak, Anais simply nodded.

Elliot sighed as well and undid a button at his uniform collar. He looked uncomfortable.

As far as Anais could remember, this was the first time he had ever unbuttoned that collar in front of someone else. Even the ever-disciplined Lord Resaloniki had been rattled.

Cesar Rezaie really was something—if you could even call him that.

Or maybe he was just insane…

“My lord, are you alright?”

At Anais’s question, Elliot straightened up.

“I’m fine. I’m more concerned about how Miss Fleur is doing.”

“…Are you actually worried about Anais?”

It was meant as a casual joke. Elliot furrowed his brow and repeated,

“Me?”

“I know you’re definitely not the type to worry about Anais, of course.”

“…Me?”

He said the same word, but this time with a different weight. Anais tilted her head and slowly sat up on the sofa.

Elliot’s brow remained slightly furrowed.

“…I do worry.”

“Wow.”

Anais instinctively wrapped her arms around herself.

“I told you not to like Anais…”

“I don’t like you.”

Elliot spoke seriously, his forehead tense.

“Miss Fleur is stubborn, says whatever she wants without filter, and is sometimes so baffling it’s hard to believe you’re real.”

“…I told you not to like me, but I never asked you to insult me…”

“I haven’t even started insulting you.”

“You’re being too harsh…”

Anais lowered her hands, slightly embarrassed. Elliot, unfazed, continued.

“But this is different. It would be… devastating to learn you’d unknowingly hurt others or acted improperly.”

“…”

He was right. Anais knew she could be stubborn and sharp-tongued. She just liked to pretend otherwise in front of others.

But what she’d done to Cesar was shocking—regardless of whether she had been Number 33 at the time.

Of course, it was surprising that someone like Cesar, with those preferences, even existed. But that wasn’t really her concern. That was his personal business.

“And then there’s the engagement.”

“Isn’t there any way to cancel it?”

“Since it’s a notarized engagement… it won’t be easy to undo quickly.”

Elliot stroked his chin, deep in thought. But no clever solution came to mind. Breaking this kind of engagement could damage reputations regardless of the participant’s wishes.

After all, noblewomen rarely had marriages that reflected their own desires.

“I’ll take responsibility and find a way to resolve this somehow.”

“…Why?”

Anais surprised even herself with that question. Here was the Captain of the Azure Dragon Knights offering to help cancel her engagement—and she asked why?

Sure, there were plenty of possible reasons. Maybe it was part of cleaning up the mess that Number 33 had caused.

Maybe he just couldn’t stand to watch Cesar blackmail someone with a fraudulent engagement certificate.

But his firm declaration still caught her off guard.

Most people, even if Cesar weren’t in line for the throne, would probably say, “Since it’s come to this, you might as well go through with the marriage.”

And in Anais’s opinion…

‘This person is a bit… old-fashioned…’

How should she put it? In her mind, Elliot seemed like the type who would say something like, “It’s a good match—why not consider it?”

So his sudden talk of “responsibility” surprised her. And what surprised her even more was how visibly flustered Elliot became after her question.

An odd silence settled between them. Then Elliot spoke, with an unusual intensity in his eyes.

“Ah, well…”

…Did he just choke on air? Why is he struggling to speak?

“Originally, Miss Fleur and Count Rezaie would never have crossed paths, especially not as fiancés.”

Ahem. Elliot cleared his throat and continued. Oh, is that what he meant? Was he suggesting Anais wasn’t good enough?

“We can’t know that for certain, can we?”

“But you two don’t even know each other.”

“Even so, for a beauty like Anais—”

She stopped mid-sentence and turned toward the mirror. In Anais’s private chamber stood a large, ornate mirror, reflecting her taste for beautiful things. And of course, the mirror reflected her face with perfect clarity.

But unfortunately, the face staring back wasn’t the same as before. Her lustrous blonde hair and porcelain-like skin were gone.

Anais went silent.

“…”

Seeing her stop so suddenly, Elliot cleared his throat again. He seemed to understand what she had been about to say.

If it were Abelard, he might have teased her with something like, “Ha! What beauty are you talking about?” but Elliot said nothing.

Perhaps because he felt responsible for her burns.

“What I meant was that, had things remained as they were, Miss Fleur might’ve fallen in love with someone else entirely.”

“Ah, yes…”

But Anais’s voice sounded lifeless. She began fidgeting with her mask.

“Then, as the Dragon Lord said, just as we’re looking for Lord Abelard’s first love and arranging the Northern Duke’s contract marriage… nullifying Miss Fleur’s engagement could also be part of restoring the world.”

“I suppose…”

Of course, it wasn’t much comfort. Anais became gloomy and fidgeted with her mask.

Could she pretend the engagement never happened? Even if she could… who would ever want to be engaged to her now—with this face?

Watching her, Elliot remained quiet for a moment. Then, he spoke suddenly.

“Though I’ve been harsh with you in many ways, Miss Fleur… the truth is, you’re not an unreasonable person.”

“…Are you insulting me again?”

“…”

“I’m joking…”

Seeing his eyes narrow, Anais quickly added that last part. Elliot sighed and continued.

“What I mean is… I’ve seen a lot of people in this line of work. In my opinion, Miss Fleur, you’re a decent person.”

“Why are you suddenly saying this…”

“…It’s not easy to join a journey to fix a world you didn’t break. Especially not willingly.”

“‘Willingly’ is pushing it. If I don’t, the Dragon Lord will kill me…”

Anais rolled her eyes. Elliot cleared his throat yet again.

“No, Miss Fleur is a good person.”

“…”

“I may not know what your face looked like before. But.”

He paused, clearly choosing his words with care.

The Dragon Knights’ Commander, rigid, formal, and known for being emotionally reserved, understood that appearance could be a sensitive subject.

It wasn’t just insults that hurt. Sometimes, even compliments, especially false or forced ones, could cut just as deep.

So he took a long time before speaking again.

“…There must have been more to you than just appearance for people to call you the Princess of Belfast.”

Those words took courage.

It was the first time Elliot Resaloniki had offered sincere praise to a woman, purely out of goodwill.

And with it, he held onto a quiet, unfamiliar hope.

Maybe, just maybe, despite the rocky start to their relationship, they could build something wholesome. A perfectly proper friendship between a man and a woman…

“…Ha! I knew you’d fall for all of Anais’s charms! Didn’t I say Anais’s appeal isn’t just about her looks? I told you not to fall in love!”

A wholesome friendship…

“Oh, Grandfather. What should I do? Anais never meant to break so many hearts…”

Well. So much for that.

“…Miss Fleur, perhaps you should review the concept of polite conversation.”

“You nobles are always hiding behind polite words. But if you want, I can give you a full list of men who claimed they were just ‘being polite’ with Anais—”

“I’ll be going now!”