Chapter 19: Chapter 19

The news that Leriana Ashford and Rachel Cassius were now dating quickly spread throughout the academy.

This was even more sensational than the disclosure of the princes' identities. Few people stayed away when this topic came up on top of all the discussions.

No one understood how someone as noble as the daughter of the Archduke of Ashford, who until recently was widely respected among the students, would get involved with someone like her.

And even more so, I even started dating her…

This was akin to an anomaly that occurred once every thousand years.

Because of this, certain rumors began to circulate among the students that Rachel possessed dark magic and forcibly subdued the girl's will. Only, if they found out that it was quite the opposite, they would be very surprised.

After all, it was I, Leriana Ashford, who suggested this fake relationship.

There were three main points in the contract I drew up, which Rachel willy-nilly agreed to when she signed the paper.

First, in order to maintain the illusion of a harmonious relationship, we had to go out together at least twice a week. I decided that we would start with shared meals in the cafeteria, which would perfectly show our affection for each other.

Second, and last but not least, Rachel had to refrain from any insults or humiliations directed at me. Otherwise, no one will believe that the girl really treats me differently.

And finally, the third. Premature breach of contract was punishable by a penalty on the part of the other party. In other words, if at any point Rachel wanted to leave, I had every right to demand damages. And what exactly was behind this refund is a completely different story…

In general, everything was clear.

I didn't know how I'd managed to do it, but Rachel had actually given in to me. As she reread the document I'd written by hand and looked at each item, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of displeasure. But then, she still agreed to all of the above.

I had no idea if this contract was official, so I put the Ashford family seal on it just in case. Therefore, from this moment on, we were inextricably bound by these conditions.

Rachel was my girlfriend now, and everyone knew it. Even though it was still a difficult thought to wrap my head around, I thought that eventually I would start to take it for granted.

Most likely, rumors about our relationship will soon reach my father. I couldn't imagine his possible reaction, but I hoped he could take it right. After all, I couldn't even tell him that this relationship was just a deal. Therefore, I could only hope for the full love of my parents.

I had to endure only three years to finally find the long-awaited freedom. And I hoped that the result would be worth the effort.

After all, dating Rachel was really difficult. And I understood this from the very first days of our contractual relationship.

"Come on, say a-a-a!"

"If you keep doing this, I'll stick this fork in your eye."

...Since Rachel managed to break the second rule from our contract on the second day.

We were having lunch in the common dining room, and since I'd already had a hard time getting the girl in here, she was also sitting there with a sullen expression on her face. All the students were looking at us, and to fix the situation, I decided to use a special trick.

I've often seen this in movies and books: couples feeding each other from the same appliance, and it seemed cute. Thinking of doing it again, I stuck my fork in my food and tried to feed Rachel that way.

But she resisted.

"Open your mouth! Don't you see that everyone's looking at us?"

"I won't," Rachel turned away, "who do you think I am?"

I exhaled noisily.

"We signed a contract! Why don't you do it?"

"So I came here. What else do you need?"

"What's the point if you're sitting there with such a scary face! Everyone thinks I'm forcing you."

"Well…"

Rachel didn't finish, but she obviously agreed in her heart.

I had to force myself to keep my composure so that I wouldn't start fighting with her right now. Of course, I was too naive when I thought it would be so easy.

Signing the contract was only half the battle, because it was much harder to establish a normal relationship with Rachel.

Even though she agreed to become my fake girlfriend, her behavior remained the same. At least she'd come here today. Obviously, I will spend a lot of time before I can make our relationship look like a real one.

The students of the academy looked at us as if we were an outlandish performance. However, none of them dared to approach or say anything, so it was all within the scope of observation from afar. It was the least of my worries. After all, these people could not influence my future in any way.

Out of the entire crowd of aristocratic children sitting silently at the tables, my eyes only caught on one of them. Raise Blanche. I wonder how long he's been here watching this?

Our eyes met. I frowned and turned away. My resentment that he didn't tell me anything hasn't gone away yet.

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Naively believing that I had made my first friend at the academy, I received such an unexpected stab in the back. Now, I didn't want anything to do with this guy.

Since Rachel refused to play along in any way, I had to resign myself and finish the meal in silence.

Rachel hated being in public places, so she left almost as soon as she finished eating. I didn't hold her back and decided to meet her later at the library.

Five minutes before the end of my lunch break, I left the cafeteria and thought about taking a walk down the hall. There were too many thoughts running through my head, making it difficult to focus on what was happening.

My life was getting harder every day. I couldn't even imagine what might happen tomorrow. And who says that minor characters have fewer difficulties?

Sighing, I turned in the opposite direction, intending to return to the classroom where the class was being held. But whether by chance or not, I bumped into Razor, who was standing behind me.

I didn't look surprised.

"Good afternoon, Your Highness," I greeted him primly, "I'm sorry, I don't have time to talk to you. I will go."

I was about to pass by, but the young man called out to me:

"Leriana."

I had to freeze. Ignoring the second heir to the throne was clearly not the best idea in my position.

"Did you want something, Your Highness?"

"You can call me the same as before," he suggested, "just Blake."

I chuckled.

"Come on," I said sarcastically, "how can I be so ignorant about 'empire moon'?"

I purposely called Razor by the nickname he received within the walls of the palace. But his face didn't move a muscle. Unlike Philip, he reacted much more calmly.

"Are you still mad at me?"

Angry? That was putting it mildly. The person I'd saved and thought was such an innocent and sweet guy turned out to be the one I should have avoided the most. After all, he also told me absolutely nothing about his origin. And he knew exactly who I was.

My dislike for Razor grew proportionally, and the fact that he was the one who was going to kill me in the future was also the reason why I didn't like him. It is Razor who will stage a coup and throw this empire into chaos. So how could I act as if nothing had happened?

"I don't want anything more to do with you," I said coldly, "and you can stop trying. I don't like you. And... I originally planned to reject your offer."

The second time I tried to leave, Razor said, "I'm not sure what you're talking about. I already know you're dating Rachel Cassius. So you don't have to worry. I'm not going to force myself on you."

I frowned.

"Then what do you want from me?"

"I wanted to warn you," Razor Blanche said, "to be careful… With the daughter of Duke Cassius."

I couldn't even hide the look of annoyance on my face. Would he, like Philip, start telling me about the danger of the curse? Do they have such a fraternal feature or something?

"If you're going to tell me about these rumors…"

"I know there's no such thing as a curse," the boy said calmly.

"What...?"

"Even if it did, it wouldn't be nearly as dangerous as its owner. You need to be afraid of a person, not a fictional legend."

I stared at the second Prince in shock. In this world, this was the first person who openly stated such a thing to me. Someone other than me who believed Rachel wasn't a demon.

"What… What do you mean?"

"I said what I had to say," Razor said simply, "and the choice is yours."

"…"

"If you ever want to know the truth, come to me."

With that, he just turned around and walked away.

I was left standing in a daze, staring with shocked eyes at his retreating back.

For the first time, I wondered if I knew exactly who Razor Blanche was in the original novel.

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