Chapter 67
Editor : Aru
Yerine, who said she would get drinks for everyone, did not return no matter how long he waited.
Cassius thought strange, so he went to a table with a mountain of pink glasses, but there was no sign of her existence anywhere.
Except for seven unclaimed glasses, filled with drinks.
‘Where did she go?’
At first, he wondered if she went to the bathroom, but it was too long for it.
There was no way she went to the bathroom, leaving alone the drink she had not finished.
As the thought reached that point, some unknown anxiety enveloped inside Cassius’s mind.
“Hey, Yerine is not coming back for a drink. Has anyone seen her?”
He hurried back to the place where the seven heirs were gathered and asked as calmly as possible the whereabouts of Yerine.
“Oh, come to think of it, she’s still not here. Where’d she go?”
Cassius’s words cast doubt on the Ale Club’s successor as if it were strange. Only then did the rest of the people seem to have noticed Yerine’s absence.
“Wasn’t she with you? You two came out together in the beginning. I thought you were the only one who had something to do with Yerine so you came out in a hurry and alone.”
Erica Blothea asked Cassius with a slight frown and a serious look on her forehead.
Cassius initially said he would go with her, but said he returned to the hall first because Yerine declined him.
“Huh? But Yerine went out to the banquet hall with someone earlier?”
When he saw the heir of Jacqueline’s family, who opened his mouth wide with astonishing blue eyes, Cassius hurriedly asked.
“Exit the banquet hall? With whom?”
“I don’t know. The person wrapped in black lobes all over his body…….”
“Lobes?”
After hearing Astra’s words, Cassius’ anxiety grew much stronger than before.
‘I’m sure she’ll go with that person.…….’
When Cassius saw the man covering his whole body with a thick lobster with only his mouth and nose exposed, he was subtly irritated.
There was no reason why the person wants to come to such a place and reveal his existence if his back wasn’t dirty.
The doubt did not die easily until he saw the suspicious man settle down in the VIP seat.
“I’ll be right back. Everybody’s waiting here.”
“Come on, hold on, Prince!”
Already, his legs were instinctively moving.
Cassius knew that Yerine was not weak.
Rather, he knew she was stronger than himself.
Nevertheless, the fact that she was with the suspicious creature came to him with great uneasiness.
Cassius himself did not know the exact reason, but he knew instinctively that he had to keep Yerine away from him.
And his instincts were not wrong.
As he circled the main building and reached the dark corridor with the terrace, he heard a familiar voice that sounded faintly.
“……isn’t it the right time to raise the status of the Spade family at once.”
It was very faint because it was a sound from afar, but the voice instantly caught Cassius in the ear.
And as soon as he heard the voice, Cassius realized what caused the anxiety he felt.
“………Yerine.”
He ran like crazy calling her name.
He had to stop it.
Somehow, he had to stop his brother from talking to Yerine.
When he finally turned the corner and saw the shape of the two standing in front of the terrace, where the white moonlight came down, Cassius heard clearly the sound of the formulation.
“I really like it….”
The blood running from head to toe seemed to cool down.
He couldn’t remember what happened after that.
When he opened his eyes, Yerine, who looked surprised, came into his arms and looked at him, and Iker was smiling with his shoulder held.
He asked him why he was in such a hurry.
Calling out Cassius’s name, with the eyes of a snake enjoying its prey.
“……brother.”
Cassius managed to move his lips and said.
In the meantime, the hand that held Yerine by her shoulder was stronger.
“I came here without any contact. It’s sad that you treat me like nobody and only takes care of Spade.”
Disappointed, it couldn’t have been.
It was Iker, who has not seen him at all.
A friendship between brothers, it was like a story of a distant country to them.
In fact, it was Iker, not Cassius, who treated him as nobody in the imperial palace.
“I’m sorry, brother. I didn’t see you.”
To prevent Iker from noticing, Cassius talked, pulling Yerine further towards him.
“Why didn’t you contact me? Then we could have met first and had time to solve the problem.”
If he had known Iker was coming to the school banquet, Cassius would never have left Yerine alone.
Then there would have been no mishap like today.
“Are you busy at The Academy? I didn’t want to interrupt. You must have had a hard time doing magic that didn’t suit your aptitude.”
Usually, it didn’t feel much, but today the word “magic doesn’t suit your aptitude” scratched Cassius’ nerves.
Because it sounded like he wasn’t good enough to protect Yerine.
“Yes. Ah, but Yerine, no, Miss Spade, is busier than I am. If she doesn’t hurry back to the banquet hall, the professors will get angry.”
“Oh, is that so? Well, I took too much time.”
Only then did Iker release Cassius’ shoulder.
Then, taking advantage of the gap, Cassius quickly dropped Yerine with Iker and pulled her to his side.
“Oh, wait, Cassius!”
“I’m sorry, the professors are asking you to come quickly.”
Yerine shouted quietly, but now the priority was to leave quickly.
“Miss Spade. I enjoyed talking to you.”
Iker said, rolling up the corners of his mouth.
“I hope you will consider my offer.”
Cassius hesitated at the remark.
It was clear that Iker was already planning to do something with Yerine.
“Cassius, take care of yourself, too.”
For Cassius, it felt like the voice of Satan.
Satan is happy to see a small man struggling with pain.
“………See you again soon, brother.”
With a really minimal greeting, Cassius turned right back and started running with Yerine.
Unknowingly attracted by Cassius’s hand, Yerine recalled his words that the professor was calling and asked for her.
“Well, which professor is calling?”
But Cassius was not listening to her words.
Only the thought of having to stay as far away from Iker was hovering in Cassius’ head.
He could have gone back to the banquet hall and run into him.
A space Iker wouldn’t know.
Cassius was desperately looking for the place.
“Cassius?”
He could give him everything else.
Already, a lot has been taken away by him.
But it didn’t matter much if it weren’t.
A red ball, an orgel where a ballerina dances when spring is turned, and a wooden stick that twirls around. Parents’ attention, the expectations of the imperial people.
Even when he gave it all to Iker, Cassius was able to live on enough.
But not as much as Yerine.
Even if Yerine fell in love with Iker, he could not give her to him.
“Cassius, hold on!”
It was not until Yerine held Cassius’ hand and waved and shouted loudly that Cassius stopped running.
Looking back, Yelin was breathing heavily. Only then did Cassius realize that he ran too fast.
“I’m so sorry, Yerine, I’m in a hurry that I don’t know…….”
Cassius bent over and examined her condition carefully.
Still, out of breath, Yerine closed her eyes and pressed her chest with her hands.
The sight of it made Cassius feel sorry to think that he had already made her more tired.
“A little bit, just a little slow.”
Looking at her strugglingly opening her eyes and answering, Cassius was seized with melancholy emotion.
‘Why am I this shape?’
He was far short of protecting his most precious person in the world.
Far from defending her, he could not stand beside Yerine.
Every time there, he was making her suffer.
Even today’s banquet hall incident occurred because he thought ahead of Yerine’s dignity.
He took Yerine’s hair off her forehead and put it behind her ears, chewing his lips hard.
In that hand, Yerine lifted her head, and smiled slightly, looking at Cassius with star-like violet, and red-coloured eyes.
“Thank you.”
She is lovelier than anyone else.
A strong, very warm person.
So someone who’s afraid of getting hurt.
“Cassius?”
His heart ached even though she only called his name.
It was warm and painful.
Feeling the pain of a deep, soft heart, Cassius opened his mouth.
“Yerine”
And called her name.
The name of the person he wants to cherish the most in the world.
***
“A fool. Still not enough.”
Standing on the moonlit terrace, Iker murmured.
His golden eyes were fixed upon the shadows of two men and women, rapidly disappearing across the eastern corridor of the castle.
“Yerine Spade.”
I thought the name itself was quite ordinary.
Yerine was a cute name that was not appropriately common but would fit the Duke.
That was it. And, Spade told him that she was from the bottom of the seven families that had fallen.
Iker was also told that the successor from Spade appeared like a comet and showed great magic skills.
But he was not very interested in the rumour until he saw her in person.
Of course, after he saw her, he realized that he had to take her on his side right away.
Recalling the distorted expression of Cassius when he saw her with him, Iker burst into laughter.
“Casius the Stupid.”
and murmured, clutching his belly.
“You’re not headed for the banquet hall.”
The voice of the cunning snake rang out, as the wind swept through the leaves.
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