***
I swung the door open in a rush, causing the kids who had been eavesdropping to stumble and fall with a loud thud.
‘Oops, sorry about that…’
I rolled my eyes.
‘But I couldn’t help it!
I was in a hurry.’
“Lili…?
Cedric…?”
Julianne rose to her feet, her face displaying a startled expression.
Cedric, who had been helping the kids up, wore a sheepish look and absentmindedly scratched his cheek.
I shifted my gaze from the perplexed Robain to Cedric, and then pursed my lips.
‘This is a complete mess.
Absolutely perfect.’
“Why are you here, Cedric?
Where’s Allen?”
“Old man Allen said he went to find you!”
Julianne tilted her head in response to my words, suggesting that Allen hadn’t even made it there.
‘Is he bad with directions or something?
Maybe that’s the case…’
Regardless, if I hadn’t come, it would have presented a significant problem!
I held my head high and directed a glare at Robain.
‘Right after I said he had no guts!
I can’t believe he stabbed me in the back like this!’
“So, what’s going on here?”
“…We were pretending to be on a secret mission.”
“I wanted to play!”
As I shouted enthusiastically, cutting Cedric’s words, Julianne let out a small sigh.
‘Hey, an eight-year-old can cause this much trouble!
I thought we were close.
Do you have to look that disappointed?’
I smiled and dashed over to Julianne.
Now that I had successfully infiltrated, it was time for me to incessantly interrupt them.
‘I extend my sincere gratitude to the three young gentlemen who participated and the kind gentleman who assisted us.’
Thanks to their cooperation, the parlor had descended into utter chaos, providing me with the perfect opportunity I had been seeking all along.
If I had simply burst into the room unannounced, Lia would have likely told me she was in the middle of a conversation with Robain and kicked me out.
“But what does that mean, Lia?”
“Huh?”
“Did that old man ask you to be his partner?
Are you leaving again, Lia?”
I tugged on Julianne’s finger, tears welling up in my eyes as I posed my question.
Meanwhile, Robain, seemingly recalling the previous incident, slightly narrowed his eyes and directed his gaze toward me.
‘Hey, this doesn’t seem like the right time to be looking at me like that.’
I couldn’t help but pout.
“Robain Cleoné.”
Cedric approached with a stern expression, like a predator fixated on its prey.
While he appeared gentle in front of Julianne, it was evident that he held the position of authority within the Order for a reason.
It was quite surprising, although Robain seemed accustomed to seeing Cedric in such a manner.
‘Like a salmon swimming upstream, only to encounter a bear.’
I glanced at Robain’s pale face and raised the corner of my mouth in a sly smile.
‘That’s why you should have played fair.
Attempting to make Lia pretend to be your fiancée?
How cheap!’
“Cedric, don’t intimidate Robain,” Julianne interjected, trying to diffuse the tension.
“I’m not trying to intimidate him.
I’m just glad to see him after such a long time,” Cedric replied, effortlessly maintaining his composure while blatantly lying.
‘The more I look at it, the more unexpected it is,’ I mused, noticing the chilling intensity in Cedric’s emerald eyes, which sent a shiver down my spine.
‘It looks like he’s really furious with Robain.
I wonder if that guy will even make it out alive today.’
That wasn’t any concern of mine, though.
I turned my head and glanced at Julianne, who was constantly scanning the surroundings, unaccustomed to the sudden chaos.
“Lia, Liaaa~!”
‘Look at me, not over there.
We still have unfinished business.’
As I shook Julianne’s hand back and forth to make her look at me, she sighed softly and opened her mouth.
“Lili, you can’t act like this in front of guests.”
“Are you going to be his partner, Lia?”
‘What kind of partner?
His business partner?
Dance partner?
Don’t tell me it’s his life partner.’
As I tugged on her sleeve and persistently questioned her, Julianne let out yet another long sigh.
‘I’m sorry for embarrassing you, but he’s really not the right one for you.
Not only does he misunderstand you, but he even goes around with other women in the middle of the story, you know?
I’m just trying to protect you from that jerk…’
“Lili…”
Eventually, Julianne couldn’t bear it any longer and spoke up.
“Today doesn’t seem to be the day, Julianne.
Can I just write to you later?”
Robain swiftly grabbed his coat and stood up from his seat, seemingly intimidated by Cedric.
‘Nice one, Cedric!’
I felt concerned because his cold expression didn’t match his actions, but it seemed like anger had triggered a change in him.
A smile formed on my face as our eyes met.
If it were Allen, he wouldn’t have been able to make Robain leave so swiftly like that.
“Robain, wait…”
“I’ll write you a letter!”
But before Julianne could utter another word, Robain bid a hasty farewell and hurriedly left the parlor.
Observing his choice to write a letter instead of returning, it appeared that Robain already knew about Cedric’s frequent visits.
‘Did that explain his absence for a while?
So he came today, thinking Cedric wouldn’t be here?
Look at this guy…’
I glanced around the now quiet room after Robain’s departure.
The three children stood there, clueless, while Cedric, as if nothing had happened, cautiously observed Julianne’s reaction.
‘He still has a long way to go, huh.’
I shook my head and then turned my gaze toward Julianne.
Julianne Blanchet, looking as beautiful as ever, had a stern gaze fixed on Cedric.
‘Oh, dear.’
“Even if you were playing with them, how could you bring the kids all the way here, Cedric?”
Soon, Julianne began sharply speaking.
Cedric didn’t offer a single excuse, instead immediately bowing and apologizing repeatedly.
‘But I’m the one who suggested it, Lia…
Cedric just followed along, he’s not at fault…’
Well, of course, I knew that Cedric, being the oldest, naturally had adult responsibilities.
“I was the one who told him to play with me, Lia…”
Cedric appeared on the verge of tears, so I quickly intervened, putting on a pitiful expression.
Then, Julianne, looking down at me, scolded me sharply.
“Lili, if you knew I was going to meet a guest, you shouldn’t have done that, right?”
Well, yes.
Of course, I knew that.
If it had been someone else, I would have happily been eating pudding…
but it had to be Robain.
Besides, if I hadn’t interfered, Lia could have become entangled with him in some way.
So, even if I had to endure Lia’s nagging, I had no regrets!
I was willing to give up desserts as many times as necessary if it was for her.
‘Still, maybe I should come up with some excuses.’
With droopy eyes, I opened my mouth, attempting to look as sad as possible.
“But I thought you would go far away if you met that person, Lia…”
“…”
“He was like that last time, and today he kept insisting that you become partners with him…”
‘You’ll end up falling into his trap if you keep going along with it, you know.’
Even if the story had a happy ending, it didn’t guarantee happiness for Julianne.
The same situation could arise again in the future, and every time, Julianne would be the one to suffer.
It would have been different if I hadn’t known how the story unfolded, but since I did, how could I just abandon her?
The more I pondered, the more it felt unjust.
I stuck out my lower lip, pouting as if on the verge of tears, and tightly sealed my lips.
In response, small ripples appeared in Julianne’s emerald eyes as they trembled.
“I’m not going anywhere, Lili.
Why do you keep thinking that…?”
Julianne gently pulled me into her embrace, her voice filled with concern.
It seemed that she had long forgiven my actions.
‘Why do I keep thinking that?
Because that’s how it was in the original story.’
I snuggled into her arms.
‘So, what exactly does it mean to be Robain’s partner?
I’m dying to know.’
“Um, Julianne.
Regarding what Cleoné mentioned…
if being partners is related to the Prince’s birthday celebrations next month…”
At that moment, Cedric, who had been sitting silently like someone who had committed a crime, cautiously spoke up.
His voice, as usual, carried a sense of caution, yet it also held a hint of determination.
Finally, he bit his lip and spoke with a tremor in his voice.
“Would you like to accompany me?”
‘Hey!
What the heck, dude?!
They do say it’s always the quiet ones, and it looks like that’s true!’
I widened my eyes and glanced at Cedric.
Not only were the tips of his ears red, but even his cheeks were flushed now.
‘Well, saying something like that openly must’ve been quite a challenge for Cedric.’
It was impressive how he unabashedly displayed his feelings.
And equally impressive was Julianne’s obliviousness to it all.
I stared at Julianne, who blinked slowly, then sighed and spoke.
‘Since you stood up to Robain for me today, I’ll do you a favor in return.’
“I want you to go with big bro Cedric, Lia.”
“Huh?
But earlier, Robain…”
“I don’t like him!
He’s weaker than big bro Cedric!”
‘He can’t even protect himself, let alone anyone else.
He just ran away!
He’s not worth worrying about!’
I firmly shook my head, and Julianne pursed her lips with a slightly troubled expression.
I immediately turned my gaze to Cedric, widening my eyes.
‘After everything I’ve done to help, you’re just going to stand there and do nothing?
Hurry up and say something, you idiot!’
“Well, s-since children can also attend this event, it would be nice if Lili and Josh could co-come along…”
Finally, Cedric managed to stutter out his words.
‘But why does he keep involving me and Joshua?
Enjoy your date with her alone…
What am I supposed to do with this novice in love?’
Just the thought of it was frustrating.
But just as I shook my head…
“Sure, that sounds good.
Lili will probably like it too.”
Upon hearing Cedric’s words, Julianne accepted immediately.
‘Well, if you two are okay with it, I’m okay too…’
I decided to stop thinking right then and there.