Chapter 13
Chapter 13
After Aslan and Vivian left, the outdoor garden fell silent. Johannes, left alone, glanced down at the disarranged table.
The spot where the Princess had been just moments ago; a teacup with a half-finished Darjeeling, marked with a light pink lipstick stain.
“I went to the trouble of preparing it because I heard the Princess liked dogs, but I didn’t even have the chance to win her favor.”
It was just a trivial prank.
[Likes furry, cute puppies with four legs.]
Since such information was written in his subordinates’ reports, he simply wanted to see how the Princess would react.
“If she reacted suspiciously, I would have just killed it. Even if not, I thought I could at least find a weakness.”
The Princess’s face naturally came to mind.
Doll-like, large eyes and soft, tender lips. A delicately defined jawline. Milk-white skin and a frail demeanor. The sound of her labored breathing as she coughed up blood.
And…
Was she always like that?
‘I am not disappointed. Aslan was merely trying not to abuse his power as a Prince.’
‘I know Aslan has a bad reputation in the world. But I believe in him. Aslan is a man of noble and lofty ideals. Of course, I’m sure His Highness the Crown Prince is well aware of that as well.’
How confident the Princess’s eyes were as she asserted that. Moreover, she didn’t forget to praise himself, the Crown Prince, while defending Aslan.
“Could it be that she was hiding her true colors?”
Johannes slowly pulled the teacup Vivian had been drinking from closer to him.
Originally, he had intended to drive a wedge between Aslan and the Princess.
After all, the connection between the two was thinner than a strand of silk. Aslan kept Vivian by his side solely out of political necessity.
The love she craved was something he obviously couldn’t give.
“Do you know why Aslan is so attentive to the Princess? It’s because of the Princess’s wealth and the Eleonora Family’s political standing.”
Johannes’s thumb slowly traced the light pink lipstick on the teacup.
“What kind of face will the Princess make when she finally confronts the truth she has been desperately avoiding?”
Johannes rubbed the lipstick-stained finger on his lips.
His lips twisted into an expectant smile, revealing the face of a man consumed by desire.
＊ ＊ ＊
Returning to the mansion, Aslan stayed by Vivian’s bedside all night as she lay unconscious.
When she didn’t wake up easily, he summoned every famous doctor from the South. But the answers he received were all the same.
‘Her body has become too weak due to the rapid progression of the disease. In this state, she won’t be able to withstand any medication.’
‘For now, palliative care is the best we can do. Unfortunately, it is impossible to improve her condition.’
‘You must take extra care to ensure she doesn’t overexert herself. If she faints again like this time, it will be difficult to guarantee what will happen next.’
Fragments of shattered furniture littered the floor at Aslan’s feet as he stood there like a statue.
Vivian’s bedroom was a mess, as if a monster had rampaged through it. It was the result of Aslan’s inability to contain his seething anger.
Nevertheless, the area near the bed where Vivian lay was spotless. Even in his irrational state, he couldn’t bring himself to touch anything that might harm her.
No, rather, he couldn’t even dare to approach her, as if he himself were a filthy germ.
“Vivian…”
He called her name, but no answer came back, no matter how long he waited.
It felt like he was being strangled.
He already knew that Johannes had come down to the South. But when he heard that Vivian was with him, Aslan couldn’t help but be suspicious.
Was that why she had insisted on going out alone? He had trusted her and hadn’t assigned anyone to accompany her, but had he been wrong?
‘Should I make Vivian’s eyes only ever hold me for the rest of her life?’
If it was hers, he would swallow even resentment laced with poison sweetly.
‘Even if there are many excellent doctors in the Empire, can they compare to the Imperial Physician? Aslan only needs to say one word, but he’s such a heartless fiancé. Aren’t you disappointed?’
Johannes’s voice, which he heard when he arrived at Adrian Palace, was clearly mocking.
His head burned with anger. He wanted to kill them all and take Vivian away. He intended to deprive her of sunlight for the rest of her life as punishment for deceiving him.
But the voice he heard next was clear and resolute.
‘I know Aslan has a bad reputation in the world. But I believe in him. Aslan is a man of noble and lofty ideals.’
She believed in him.
Without wavering at Johannes’s plausible whispers, she said she believed in him.
“How can you do that? What have I ever done for you…”
How many cruel words had he spewed at her until now?
‘The position of Grand Duchess will never be yours, no matter what. A notice of annulment will be sent soon, so wait quietly.’
He had said that to her at the banquet, as she coughed up blood in agony.
When she returned to the mansion and received the diagnosis of Consumption, what must Vivian have been thinking?
“Even so, I can never let you go.”
Aslan, who had been pacing near the bed as if an invisible line had been drawn, finally moved.
The sleeping Vivian was dazzlingly beautiful.
It was disgusting and repulsive that he could only think such thoughts while his collapsed fiancée lay before him, but what could he do?
He was a filthy beast from the start.
“Consider it the price for messing with someone like me.”
Covered in all the evil and hatred of the world, even Vivian would surely run away if she knew his true nature…
Such a monster.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was early morning, with bluebirds chirping.
Vivian, who woke up from her sleep, was first surprised that she was still alive, and second surprised that all the furniture in the bedroom had been replaced.
She considered the current situation very carefully and rationally.
‘Could this finally be the afterlife? I must have died for such a pitiful reason that the gods took pity on me?’
Death due to being squeezed by her fiancé’s muscles and unable to breathe.
This was almost at the level of an ocean sunfish. Frankly, it was a reason she would be too embarrassed to even mention if anyone asked.
But Vivian’s happy (?) delusion didn’t last long. A maid from the Grand Duke’s residence cautiously opened the door and entered.
The maid screamed when she saw the awakened Vivian.
“M-Madam!”
“I’m not Madam.”
“Oh my goodness, Madam has woken up!”
“I said I’m not Madam!”
Where in the world would someone treat their mere fiancée as Madam!
But the impact of the maid’s shout overwhelmed Vivian. The surroundings became noisy, and soon Aslan appeared.
The fierce glint in his eyes, like that of a wild beast, melted away as he entered Vivian’s bedroom.
“Vivian, you’re not feeling well, why are you out of bed?”
“Well…”
Vivian, who was about to answer casually, closed her mouth.
The extremely developed chest muscles were clearly visible beneath his unbuttoned shirt. The very muscles she had almost been crushed to death by yesterday.
‘Um, I’m definitely not scared.’
Vivian obediently crawled back into bed. Aslan sat down at her bedside with a satisfied expression.
“How are you feeling?”
“I think I’m okay. Maybe it’s because I got a good night’s sleep, but I feel good.”
“I see. I’m glad you’re feeling well.”
Aslan, who gently curved his lips into a smile, added.
“Although it wasn’t a day, but a week.”
“A week?”
“I felt guilty because you didn’t wake up for so long. I feel bad because it seems your condition worsened because I let you go alone.”
You should say it right. The culprit who made me like this is your biceps!
Vivian ignored the clamoring thoughts in her head and simply blinked her eyes prettily. Because…
“It would be best to stay at the mansion until you recover.”
“Yes? I’m fine…”
“It would be, best.”
Aslan’s eyes were flashing dangerously. Moreover, the servants standing behind him were wringing their hands at Vivian as if begging her.
The premonition that she would not be in good shape if she ignored the suggestion strongly struck her frontal lobe.
“Of course. I’m sick, so where else would I go but to be by your side?”
Only then did Aslan’s expression relax as if he was satisfied. But this time, Vivian became uneasy.
‘What is it? What’s going on? Could it be that the misunderstanding at Adrian Palace hasn’t been resolved? I didn’t badmouth you, did I? Didn’t you hear me defending you?!’
Vivian had never thought deeply about the events of the original story.
She was a villainess with a limited lifespan who would soon exit the stage. If events were to come crashing down, they would crash down on the female lead, who would have thought that something would happen to a supporting character?
But Vivian had to admit it. She had no choice but to admit it.
‘My intuition has rotted away.’
Two messengers had come down from the capital at the same time.
One from the Imperial Palace to Aslan, and the other from the Eleonora Duke’s residence to Vivian.
Vivian opened hers first.
[Your half-sister has returned, so come up to the capital immediately.]
Aslan’s expression was also not good.
[The marriage between Aslan Rezef Astalot and Vivian Eleonora is not permitted.]
It was a premonition of turmoil.
