Chapter 50: 50

***

For the first time in a long time, I had to think back to my childhood. It was that time when I attended social gatherings once a week.

I had to force myself to smile and talk.

Fortunately, the Debutante went smoothly. There was no such thing as a royal palace battle that I was worried about.

In fact, not as many people were paying attention to us as I had thought.

Since the main purpose of a “debutante” was to find a fiancé, there didn’t seem to be much interest in me who already had one.

Of course, there were still some whispered conversations among both men and women.

For example, one of them was this.

“Is it true about the rumors that His Highness is aiming for the throne?”

“If not, why did he come to the capital when the curse was lifted? Why the debutante? It must be a declaration of war.”

“There were rumors that as soon as he returned, he went to the Crown Princess’s palace and made a scene.”

“What power does he have? He’s so brazen.”

“But isn’t he handsome?”

As soon as someone said that, the chatter, which seemed to be unstoppable, died down and silence fell.

More eyes started to glance at Devan.

Then one of them broke off the conversation again.

“…… Didn’t you say earlier that Lady Diego was here for the wedding?”

“To begin with, it doesn’t make sense. How can the young lady who went missing for 2 years suddenly get married? Who doesn’t know how she was found?”

“I think it’s shameless.”

“I think so. I heard that the eldest son of the Diego family is the captain of the Kingsguard, and he’s been in a panic for the last two years to find his missing sister.” 

“That Captain of the Kingsguard is also handsome.” 

“By the way, why hasn’t he gotten married or engaged?”

“Is it true that he’s still alone? I’m sure he has a hidden lover somewhere.”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

These words continued until one man, blinded by jealousy, changed the subject for no reason. Eventually, the conversation that had started with us as a topic ended with their search for their fiancé.

Because of this, we missed the right moment to correct the rumors, but we weren’t too worried. Devan wasn’t interested in the throne, and we would soon divorce.

The rumors surrounding Devan and me would soon die down. 

“What are you doing cooped up in a place like this?” 

Standing on the terrace, far away from the noisy banquet hall, Devan approached me as I gazed blankly outside. He had spent his childhood in the imperial capital, and because of his status as a member of the royal family, many people approached him in the banquet hall more than me. 

I managed to sneak away from a topic that had nothing to do with me, or more precisely, with Devan: the war and the economic situation. 

“I was really bored.” (Evelyn)

“I knew it.” (Devan)

He leaned his arm against the railing as he handed me a glass of wine.

I could hear the noise of the banquet hall in the distance. We didn’t talk about anything. We just stared at the same place.

Before we knew it, the sun was setting and the terrace had only a small light on it.

As I looked at his profile in the faint light, I couldn’t help but admire him.

“Handsome.”

Devan turned around and looked at me.

His lips were slightly raised, and I realized I was speaking my mind.

My face flushed and I looked up at the sky.

“I guess today is the only day you can’t make eye contact.” (Devan)

He took another step closer to me.

I looked around for some reason, not that I had done anything strange.

“I don’t think so, I’m just tired.” (Evelyn)

“Are you going to say your shoes are uncomfortable again this time?” (Devan)

“What?” (Evelyn)

With a pout, I turned and looked at him.

Devan seemed to have figured out from the beginning that I had made a bad excuse when we got into the carriage this morning.

I glanced sideways at him in frustration.

“…… Yes, you’re right. My shoes are uncomfortable. Are you ready to hear it?” (Evelyn)

Hahaha, Devan laughed.

I opened my eyes in surprise, because it was quite rare for him to laugh, and not in a malicious way. 

Then Devan suddenly played with my hair randomly.

“What are you doing?” 

I ruffled my bangs, and my neatly swept hair was back in place. Devan shrugged his shoulders.

“How about now?”

“……. What?” 

My voice was a bit raspy. Devan dropped his gaze to my feet, which were hidden by the hem of my dress. 

“It’s not the shoes. I think it’s your head that is uncomfortable. Right?” (Devan)

I fell silent, not even denying it.

“The butler advises that you should look decent anyway.”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

“It’s fine that you prefer this look, but it’s still easier to talk eye to eye.” (Devan)

“I didn’t ask you.” (Evelyn)

“I’m talking to myself.” (Devan)

He chuckled again. I couldn’t look at him properly, even though I was pretty sure it was the Devan I saw every day. I dropped my gaze downward. Just because he let his hair down doesn’t mean that his beauty I once perceived is going away.

Rather, the messy hair that others don’t see, it seems more….’what am I thinking?’ I furrowed my brow.

“You’re annoyed and frustrated again. Your facial expressions are so varied that I have no idea what you’re thinking.” (Devan)

Devan turned his gaze to the front again. The wind on the terrace ruffled his hair a bit. The sun was setting. 

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His red eyes were tinged with an equally red sunset. It was like a perfect round sun. The one with the swaying black shape was like a pitch black night sky.

“Your eyes….”

“What is it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while, I think your eyes are beautiful.”

I praised him, but Devan turned his head away with an unpleasant expression. I gasped in vexation for no reason. 

“I’m serious. It’s like a red sun. The black one is like the night sky…..Of course, the sooner we get rid of it, the better.”  (Evelyn)

“You’re so good at saying embarrassing things. You only picked things that I didn’t want to hear.” (Devan)

“What do you mean you don’t want to hear? You’re not the type to hate compliments.”

“…I don’t know.”

Devan turned his gaze again to the other side of the terrace . I noticed that his expression was similar to the one he had shown in the carriage as we entered the banquet hall. Could it be that this was also related to his past?

Devan’s past and his eyes…he had been wearing a blindfold since he was cursed, so if it has anything to do with his eyes, it’s a story about when he was younger.

The child, the red eyes, and the detached palace………….

I remembered the original story I read in my previous life.

In the original, Devan’s childhood was depicted in a different way. So, I couldn’t remember it exactly either. 

However, I did remember one thing clearly.

He was the red-eyed prince who lived in the detached palace.

That was Devan’s nickname.

He was a red-eyed prince who appeared in the imperial family where the emperors had golden eyes for generations.

He was criticized for being cursed. So he had to stay in the detached palace because of the discrimination against his eyes?

The child with red eyes………..?

At that moment, my mouth dropped open as a thought flashed through my mind.

Wait a minute.

I forced Devan’s body to turn towards me as he was looking at the sky.

Devan looked annoyed at first but his expression turned serious perhaps it was because my expression looked unusual.

“What’s going on?” (Devan)

I backed up a few steps.

‘Hold on, stay right there.” (Evelyn)

Devan wrinkled his brow. I slowly widened the distance between me and him. Finally, I was close far to see him from head to toe.

“Evelyn?”

Devan moved closer to me, perhaps impatient.

I stepped back again as he approached. Devan wrinkled his brow.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Are you avoiding me?” (Devan)

“…that kid.”

“The kid?….You mean the kid from earlier? The child with the daisy flower that you said you saw?”

“Yes, that kid.”

I raised my head and faced him straight on.

I stared at his tangled, dark hair that covered his brow and his beautiful red eyes.

I slowly compared the scene to my memory.

The pitch black hair, the red eyes, the thin body, his clear features, the old but expensive clothes.

It was the only clue I had, but I was sure of it.

“It was you………….”

“What the hell?”

The look in his eyes changed while mumbling something ridiculous.

He seemed to understand what I was talking about.

“That kid….”

This time Devan faltered and stepped back.

This time he squirmed and stepped back .

Devan’s large hands gripped the railing of the terrace tightly, veins bulging and bloodshot in his widening eyes.

I stammered.

“It was you when you were a child.”

Despite it being more than a decade, the red-eyed little prince with the daisy flower and the man in front of me still looked exactly alike.

***

Devan Lantimos. When he was just five years old, Marciotellios XVII sent a messenger to the Imperial Palace.

The people all held their breaths, as the direct action of the High Priest was unheard of.

Perhaps others realized his fate sooner than Devan did.

The messenger met the emperor face to face and delivered only one line of message.

‘Astrilla will take the qualifying exam in the year she turns five.’

There was no care or suggestion in it. It was just a notification.

Devan’s sister, Astrilla, the hero of the message, was born less than a day after.

When Devan heard that short message from the emperor, he had a hunch.

It will not be him who will inherit the throne, but Astrilla.

The trust was too biased in her favor, even a five year old could see it.

It was not the year Devan turned 10, but the year Astrilla turned five.

It wasn’t just the trust. It was everything.

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Everything was biased towards Astrilla.

No, to be precise, no one put Devan at the center.

Not since his mother died.

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