Chapter 27

After many twists and turns, her life in Ferdinand began.

Living alone in the enemy territory was not easy, as expected. The people here did not like Ingelos, and she was also wary of them.

Fortunately, she was quick-witted and good at sensing the atmosphere. It was a skill she’d picked up when she was younger to avoid the ire of her cousins. She built a favorable impression by subverting the prejudiced expectations of the people of Ferdinand, who were amazed by even the smallest of courtesies.

As time went by, their gazes gradually changed. Alessia also felt more and more comfortable.

“Alessia.”

Well, with one exception.

“Kaon, are you going out now?” She skillfully concealed her stiff expression and clapped. “What a coincidence! Why don’t we have breakfast together?”

“Sure.”

While she knew that he’d been waiting for her as early as an hour ago, when he first sensed her presence through the curtain, she smiled and feigned ignorance.

A beautiful boy who was a full head taller than her, one who seemed to have a huge crush on her.

Alessia made it a point to be conscious of how other people felt about her, and Kaon Ferdinand was a candid person. It would have been harder not to notice that he really liked her appearance.

This was a great advantage. Ferdinand’s prince and her fiancé was an important figure whom she needed on her side.

But even before she’d done anything special, he showed interest in her first. It was a little ridiculous that it was only because of her face, but the outcome was in her favor anyway.

She knew she should be happy, but for some reason, it didn’t feel so good.

Because while everyone else was getting used to her, he didn’t seem to be.

“Have you experienced any inconveniences recently?”

“…No, Kaon. I’m doing very well thanks to your care.”

‘I feel the most uncomfortable with you.’

Alessia swallowed the urge to be frank and paused, deliberately making eye contact and smiling softly.

Kaon’s sky-like eyes ran away from her gaze bashfully. His cheeks were as red as they had been during their dance at the banquet.

The sight made her chest hurt a little, and she forced her face to keep its expression.

***

Her cousins had always told her that it was annoying that she always pretended to be nice. Even if she just wanted to pass the days without problems and obeyed people, they still cursed her for not being fun.

She’d never understood their reasoning, but now she did.

Otherwise, why else did she dislike Kaon Ferdinand so much when he was the one who liked her the most?

Alessia felt twisted inside when she saw someone who was loved by all—loved as if it was the most natural thing in the world—show her so much favor like it was a simple thing.

“Isn’t it too early? The mage from the Tower is expected to stay in the duchy until the end of the year. Also, even knights must be at least seventeen to participate.”

The night she had volunteered to join the forest inspections, his pleasantly, purposefully soft voice through the curtain was rife with worry.

‘You’ll be fine even if you do nothing but play and make yourself comfortable because you don’t have to worry about being kicked out.’

Unlike Kaon, she could not be at ease. She was worried about facing the monsters that she had only seen in books, as well as her performance with the ring.

She wasn’t a real mage, so she had to step up. There was a limit to how much she could do with words, so she needed to do something to endear herself further to people.

Alessia bit her lip, feeling horrible at the sarcasm that wanted to pour out of her.

Kaon Ferdinand was just concerned for her. He was just an overly transparent boy who was afraid of her getting hurt.

Because he liked her.

She knew that it wasn’t fair to blame him.

But she couldn’t help her resentment whenever she compared her situation with his.

How could their lives have been so different even when they were both children from ducal families? Why did he have everything she had never had?

Faced with the full force of Kaon’s concern, Alessia was overwhelmed.

She felt guilty and inferior.

‘You don’t even know what kind of person I really am.’

It was funny, in a way. The image of her that Kaon liked was not real. A sweet and lovely mage who was not really a mage and not really sweet at all.

He must have naively fallen for her persona.

If he found out the truth… It was clear to her that he would turn his back on her.

Alessia had already been abandoned once by her own parents for not meeting their expectations. She had lived a life that was worse than death for failing to become the mage they had hoped for.

It was funny to see Kaon Ferdinand eagerly, tenderly care for her, knowing that it would all go away forever.

‘He doesn’t know anything.’

She unclenched her jaw and closed her eyes. There was no need to get heated over the future anyway. It would be more beneficial for her to devise a plan to fit in with Ferdinand more easily.

‘Why is he so nice to me?’

Alessia almost preferred that he insult her and call her names like the mages of Ingelos did. She was the daughter of an enemy family, after all.

And it would’ve been easier for her to hate him that way. Hate the clumsy, affectionate prince who could live as he pleased.

But Kaon Ferdinand kept showing her favor.

Alessia, who had always wanted to look good to others but had never been genuinely liked, was put in an unfamiliar position.

She couldn’t afford to waste her time on such useless thoughts, but the boy who seemed to have it all kept trying to take her time.

So she disliked him just that much more.

***

“Alessia?”

She stepped back in surprise and chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“There were leaves in your hair, so I… I guess I surprised you, sorry.”

She’d been so preoccupied with her thoughts that her instincts had overreacted to Kaon’s approaching hand and had her own raised as if to block it.

She’d gotten too used to having things fly at her and being attacked from behind.

“No, I just overreacted. It’s not a big deal.” Alessia grinned, trying to change the mood, and checked his expression.

She didn’t want to expose her miserable past, and her mistake had practically advertised it. That much likely was not enough to infer anything from, but she didn’t want any loose ends.

“No, it’s my fault for moving so suddenly. Are you sure you’re okay?” Kaon looked to be more interested in her current state than what her reaction might have revealed.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she blurted out.

He looked down at her with raised eyebrows.

“I’m really grateful, Kaon. As you know, I’m from Ingelos, so I was very worried, but thanks to you, I was able to adjust very quickly. So I’m curious.”

Spilled milk couldn’t be put back in the glass, but it could be wiped up.

Her tone was friendly and casual in hopes that he would take the question lightly.

But unfortunately for her, Kaon was unwilling to do so.

He slowly opened his mouth, “You work hard on everything, so I thought it would be nice if I could be of any help…” he trailed off, oozing embarrassment.

“Did you not have any results today?”

“I can’t seem to sense her magic at all.”

Little Alessia would have died for even the slightest recognition. She didn’t eat or sleep properly and worked hard all day.

“Why can’t you do such an easy thing? I’m not asking you to do something great?”

“I can do it, Mother. Please give me one more chance. If you give me a little time, I’ll be sure to…”

“That’s all you can say?”

But she was unable to harness her mana until the end, and she didn’t become a mage.

Alessia was the only one in Ingelos who could not do what they all did. No matter how hard she tried, no one recognized her. Because she ended up as nothing, her efforts were also nothing.

Her parents, who could neither abandon nor be proud of her, left her alone. They didn’t care that she was being bullied by her cousins and wasting away.

No one had ever acknowledged how hard she worked.

Kaon Ferdinand had no idea how much she wanted to hear those words, even just once.

Why did he have to be the one to notice her?

Alessia’s head spun.

It was a good thing that he averted his eyes. If he hadn’t, he surely would have seen how close she was to tears.