Secret Love Affair between a Former Saint and a Dark Hero - Chapter 25
Lately, the Crown Prince has been visiting here almost every day. Thanks to that, just like before, Iora was occasionally invited to their conversations. Truthfully, the atmosphere was terribly uncomfortable. Whenever she accidentally lifted her head and met the Crown Prince’s gaze, she felt an urge to flee.
Nevertheless, it was essential for Ovid to hold Arcanda in such high regard. Naturally, one would assume that his partner would be Arcanda.
‘Does Ovid miss Arcanda that much even after seeing her every day?’
It was a little bittersweet. It felt like when one falls in love, nothing else is visible. The annulment request from the prince had been submitted to the court and was still pending. No one thought the palace would lose. Therefore, despite Iora’s presence, people acted as if Arcanda had become the prince’s new betrothed. Even though Iora was still the prince’s fiancée.
“I confessed to Ovid first, asking him to be my partner at the debutante ball!” As expected, a brief smile crossed Arcanda’s lips.
Iora tried not to stutter as she spoke, as talking to Arcanda no longer felt entirely frightening. “Oh, I see. Congratulations, Arcanda…”
“Oh, I’m so embarrassed. Thank you for congratulating me.”
As Arcanda gently cupped her face, torn between nervousness and happiness, Iora could easily imagine how Ovid would respond. Of course I will, he would have said. He probably hadn’t even considered that he should ask the person he was still betrothed to. Not even a thought to seek forgiveness from his fiancée or extend an apology out of courtesy.
‘But he must have thought it was okay. After all, it’s someone he’s going to break the engagement with anyway, someone who doesn’t matter at all to him. Ovid seems like the kind of male lead who is affectionate only towards his chosen one.’
Iora felt a twinge of self-loathing, but that was it. This was a world meant for the heroine, with Ovid finding fulfillment with Arcanda and herself remaining a pitiable figure unable to even be a supporting character. She could only nod quietly.
“And you, Iora? What about your partner?”
She couldn’t answer that question. Arcanda, who had been scrutinizing her for a moment, seemed to recall something, clapping her hands together and laughing cheerfully.
“Oh, I get it! Iora has an older brother. There was no need for you to find someone, but I kept pestering you without knowing. How annoying of me.”
Her smile was uncharacteristic of a girl who had just taken someone’s fiancé as his partner in front of her. It didn’t even seem to cross Arcanda’s mind that it might have hurt Iora. And the funny thing was that despite the rudeness, there was a certain air about it that didn’t feel offensive at all. Lovely, cute, and pretty. Iora brushed her tongue against the inside of her cheek, feeling rather awkward.
“I wish I had an older brother too. How well would he treat his own younger sister?”
For a moment, Iora almost let out a hollow laugh. An older brother who treats his younger sister well? As if such a thing existed in this world. Her own brother fell far beyond the bounds of typical sibling relationships. If she were to tell Arcanda that he called his sister a bug, how startled she would be by that. Iora chuckled, twiddling her fingers.
“Oh, I didn’t offend you, did I?”
“No.”
“I forgot, Iora. You were Ovid’s…I mean…”
“It’s okay. He was probably going to choose you anyway.”
Iora blinked slowly. Not at all. There was no reason to feel upset. She shook her head gently and took a bite of a crunchy grain cookie, its taste bland. She hadn’t expected anything, so she wasn’t hurt.
“Iora, are you really okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine…”
“Really?”
“I know that too. The Crown Prince would have chosen you anyway, Arcanda.”
She didn’t see the twisted expression on Arcanda’s face upon hearing that frank response. A look that told her something was wrong—very suspiciously wrong.
