Chapter 51: Chapter 27.1

“Haam~”

Yernia yawned with boredom.

Even though she covered her mouth to make it small, she could feel the attention of people around her.

Yernia closed her mouth and lowered her hand.

“You must be exhausted.” The woman sitting next to her whispered.

Yernia’s face grimaced with boredom.

Unafraid to show it to the woman, Yernia nodded fiercely.

“Yes, I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh, my. Do you have any concerns?”

The woman’s curious gaze made Yernia think that she would listen to her worries.

Her only concern was her marriage to Cassian.

“I’m concerned with getting married to my childhood friend.” She began. “He’s like my family….”

His destiny could not be erased.

She didn’t want to marry Cassian because she considered him as part of her family.

She didn’t  want to let him die, but she just couldn’t see a bright future together if they ever got married, either.

Yernia accepted it in the end, but it wasn’t easy.

“The young lady doesn’t want to get married?” The woman asked as if she divine her thoughts.

Yernia gave a slight nod.

“Yes, but what can I do? My family wants me to do it. In addition, there’s a valid reason behind the engagement.”

“You must be having a hard time. The situation didn’t go the way your mind would have wanted.”

The woman had sympathized as she listened to Yernia’s problems.

Arranged marriage was common in their society.

That must be why Yernia could have a deep conversation with her.

“I feel better now. I’ve been struggling with this problem alone because I don’t have someone to talk to about this. I would have like to drown myself in wine if I could.”

“Me too! Then let’s go drink!”

“I’m Yernia Cilliard.”

Yernia had no friends except Cassian.

She hadn’t thought about making friends in this boring reading group, but maybe,  she could recruit a nice drinking buddy from here.

Besides, she was able to communicate well with women.

“I…”

The woman was about to speak, but the air around them suddenly changed.

At the same time, the noises in the quiet, empty  space grew louder.

After Yernia graduated from the Academy, the Countess had formed this reading club because she wanted to be known as a knowledgeable and cultured person.

Established for that purpose, all of the members of this group were, of course, women.

It was one of the groups that Yernia didn’t like.

“Look over there.”

Someone pointed at a man dressed in a suit standing over at the sunlit glass.

He looked like he was waiting for someone in a rather lousy posture.

The man had a box of confectioneries in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other.

The man’s frown deepened as he glanced down at them.

His face… That familiar face… was bad.

“Who’s that? I don’t think I’ve seen him before.”

“Oh, that’s so romantic. I think he’s waiting for someone. I wonder who it is.”

“But I can’t see his face. That’s too bad.”

The quiet and cultured ladies in the reading club were in a massive uproar over the handsome man’s appearance.

More and more young ladies began approaching the glass while pretending disinterest.

“What the hell is going on?”

Before they knew it, Yernia stuck her head out to look outside while her pink hair blocked the rest of the ladies’ vision from the whole glass.

Every woman there was appalled by Yernia’s behavior.

“No. What’s wrong with her?”

Of course, Cassian had never gone to book clubs because it was for girls.

Then why was Cassian here?

‘Is he here to see me?’ Yernia thought.

However, Cassian had never been to this meeting to see Yernia.

Most importantly, she had another urgent question in mind.

Why did he look like that?

His dark hair looked fluffy and not straight.

He was wearing eyeglasses too.

For a moment, Yernia’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the perfect ideal boyfriend that she had been looking for all her life.

‘It’s Cassian. Cassian.’ She reminded herself.

What’s the point of doing this?

She was sure that Cassian meant this as a prank.

Her heart rate calmed down a little after convincing herself of the truth.

Phew!

“Do you know him?” The woman asked Yernia curiously, and she looked back at her.

Why? Can’t you recognize him?”

“You don’t know him?”

“Who is it?”

It seemed like she still had no idea.

“He is the Marquess. Duke Lecardo’s son.”

The woman’s eyes flashed as she jerked her head towards the glass.

As if on cue, Cassian raised his head and lifted the bouquet to tap, tap, tap her in the shoulder with it.

The sharp eyes hidden behind the glasses were now revealed.

“Oh?”

The woman covered her mouth, and Yernia followed suit.

What?

Did they just recognize him?

“Does the Marquess normally look like that?”

“I guess he changed his style today. I wonder why he did it all of a sudden!”

The vibe was completely different from the usual Cassian she had known.

Perhaps the curly hair and large glasses decreased his intimidating appearance.

“I guess that’s how he changed. I hardly recognized him.”

Yernia, who grew up watching Cassian all her life, recognized him at once.

“I do look like I had picked the short end of the stick.”

“Oh, you can’t say that. You’ll be in big trouble if someone hears it!”

“It’s okay. I’ve been living like this.”

Sensing a lot of glares behind Yernia’s back, Cassian looked at the glass.

The ladies sitting across the glass had stolen glances at his face while pretending to read.

When he narrowed his eyes at them, they turned their heads in fear of his scrutiny.