The fourth day of the Congress rolled up.
I didn’t sleep a single wink.
My thoughts kept drifting back to the events of the day before, and each time they did, a sense of restlessness grew in my mind.
‘Why did she react like that…? I mean, she was present. How much did she hear? I was clearly joking. I didn’t think she’d react like that.’
My thoughts continued to spiral with each second that passed.
“…..”
I stood up and took a look at my own reflection in the mirror.
I looked disheveled. One of the few times I had seen myself like this.
“I can’t go like this.”
Furthermore, considering how the event was going to start in an hour, I had to quickly get ready.
But it was just that…
I really didn’t feel like going. Every part of me felt drained, and all I could think about was trying to find a way to clear up whatever misunderstanding had occurred.
I had lost count of the number of times I had simulated the scenario in my mind.
Each time.. I found myself explaining clearly and in detail. That the only reason I said I was tempted was because of the problems I had with those from the Church of Oracleus and so on. I wasn’t actually interested.
….I wasn’t.
‘Yes, I have to make that part clear.’
“Ugh.”
I ruffled my hair into a mess before leaning closer onto the sink and staring at my own reflection.
“Why am I even thinking so much? This should be easy.”
I was acting like an idiot for nothing.
I took a deep breath and calmed myself down. The lack of sleep was really starting to affect me.
“There’s no need to overthink things.”
Delilah was going to be at the venue of the Congress. Before the event started, all I needed to do was walk up to her and explain things to her.
At the end of the day, she was still the Chancellor of my academy. Even if I walked up to her, nobody would really bat an eye.
“Yes, that’s the plan.”
I looked down at the sink and washed my face.
Then, slapping my cheeks, I headed out of my room.
*
‘It’s crowded like usual.’
Upon arriving at the white palace of the Congress, I was greeted by a long line of people, each one waiting their turn to enter the venue.
Considering the lapse in security that had occurred, they had made security even stricter. For that reason, entering the venue took a lot longer than before.
‘Ah, maybe I should’ve asked Leon to help me out here.’
He was a Prince after all.
Wait, Aofie to…
‘But she’s kind of useless.’
“Next.”
Thankfully, the line was rather quick, and it was soon my turn. I did a couple of turns as they searched my entire body before finally letting me in.
I was greeted by the same familiar hall, and I quickly scanned my surroundings in search of Delilah.
‘She should be here somewhere.’
No matter how hard I looked, I couldn’t find her. Given the size of the crowd, it wasn’t too surprising, but she usually stood out so much that missing her felt almost impossible.
In fact, her presence usually garnered as much of a reaction as the Saintess did during the first day she came.
‘Has she not arrived yet, or is she deeper into the palace?’
I looked around before heading deeper. Towards the main hall, where several people were already present.
“Ah.”
And soon, I saw her.
Standing in front of her father, she appeared to be talking with a few other people.
I sighed in relief once I saw her.
At the very least, looking at her, she looked normal. As if what had happened the day prior had never occurred.
I was just about to walk up to her when a certain voice reached my ears from behind.
“Well, well, well…”
It was an annoying voice. One that made me frown as I turned around to see a pair of gray eyes in the distance.
I froze the moment I caught sight of him.
‘What in the world…?’
Leon strode toward me, dressed in a lavish black outfit adorned with intricate golden patterns that likely cost a small fortune. Each step he took seemed to draw the eyes of everyone around him, and as he stopped in front of me, I covered my mouth.
“Oh my god.”
“Impressive, right? These clothe—”
“And here I thought you couldn’t look dumber. Holy shit, now I can’t even tell if you really just look stupid or are stupid.”
“…..”
There was a clear look of hatred in Leon’s eyes as he looked at me. He looked like he a murderer.
“Did you forg—”
“Don’t give me that nonsense. The two of us both know you can’t execute me. It would be a diplomatic mess.”
“…..”
From murder to serial killer.
Leon’s eyes changed that much.
I looked him up and down.
“Well, at least it looks like you’re being treated right.”
“Haa.”
Leon sighed, scratching the back of his head. He almost seemed troubled.
“…Not just a little. It’s to the point where it feels uncomfortable.”
“I can imagine.”
The Emperor and the Empress were probably trying their best to make up for missing all those years with Leon.
I couldn’t even blame them.
But that was besides the point.
I turned around and checked in Delilah’s direction. She was still there, talking to the same people from before.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this life. Once this is over, I’ll just return with you in disguise. It’s what they suggested, especially with the chaos in the Empire now that I’ve been publicly announced.”
“….Oh, sure.”
I nodded absentmindedly, agreeing with his words.
The entire time, my attention was fixed on Delilah. I was trying to find he right time to slip in and talk to her.
“The only issue is that I’ll probably no longer be your knight.”
“Sounds good. I support you.”
“What? Really…?”
Leon almost looked touched. But at the same time, he also seemed to realize that something was wrong.
“Wait, are you sick? Did something happen while I wasn’t here?”
“That’s great. I’ve always known you could do it.”
“…..”
“Nice, really nice.”
“….The Academy exploded yesterday. What do you think about that?”
“That’s absolutely insane.”
“Everyone in the Academy died, including your brother.”
“You have my condolences.”
“…Does my face look—”
“It does. Absolutely.”
“You—”
“Sorry, I have to go.”
Seeing the people move away from Delilah, I took the chance to move away from Leon and walk towards her.
“Hoo.”
I took a deep breath as I made my way towards her.
‘It’s not a big deal. Just have to clear the misunderstanding. That’s all.’
This wasn’t a misunderstanding that was hard to clear up. All I had to tell her was that I was merely joking and I wasn’t going to get married.
At the same time I neared her, I reached out for my pocket, the tips of my fingers brushing against the chocolate bar I had saved up for her.
Soon, I managed to reach her, and as her back was turned towards me, I hesitated. It was during that brief pause that a certain head turned and spotted me.
“Oh, you look familiar.”
My stomach dropped the moment I saw the Central Head greet me, his long white hair neatly arranged in a ponytail, as Delilah similarly turned, finally taking notice of me.
Our eyes crossed for a moment as I opened my mouth to speak, but was cut short by her father.
“You created quite the commotion yesterday. I’m surprised they even let you in today.”
“…I got lucky, I guess.”
I answered politely while addressing Orson. Not only was he the head of Central, but he was also a Duke. I had no other choice but to be polite.
“Lucky…?”
Orson looked at me, a certain glint flashing across his features.
“Maybe so, but you do seem to have quite a few intriguing ties. You almost remind me of your father.”
“Is that so?”
I thought about the family head and almost shook my head.
I was nothing like that man.
“Talking about your father, I see that he’s not here. Did something happen? Well, I did hear that the situation there is quite troublesome. How about…”
The Duke was especially chatty. Changing the flow of the conversation continuously, making it almost impossible for me to try and talk with Delilah, who stood by the side with an expression I couldn’t read.
I looked at the time and saw that it would soon be almost time for the Congress, and realizing that I didn’t have much time left, I prepared to speak up when he suddenly brought up a certain incident of the past.
“Oh, right.”
Orson smiled and looked at Delilah.
“….Didn’t I tell you about the incident before? About how the one who wanted to get engaged with you?”
The Duke suddenly chuckled while looking at me.
“I know you were just looking for an excuse to get out of any engagement, but I still find myself laughing every now and then when I remember how you brought up Delilah—completely unaware of who I really was.”
“Ah, yes…”
He seemed to get a real kick out of that situation as he turned to Delilah and jokingly nudged her.
“Say, what do you think about him? You’ve rejected all of your suitors so far. Would you consider him as your fiancé?”
Though he said it as a joke, I couldn’t help but feel my heart race as I turned to Delilah—who had finally shifted her attention to me.
What was she going to say? Did she forget about what happened yesterday? Is—
“…..”
All thoughts stripped away from my mind the moment our eyes met.
It was then that I saw the look she gave me.
It was… the same look she gave all the other people I had seen her interact with before.
Alienation.
And as if that wasn’t enough, her lips slowly parted, her soft voice whispered in the air.
“…That’s impossible.”
And that.
It fucking hurt way more than I expected.
Especially when it made me realize… just how much I had fallen for her.