Chapter 55 – Could It Be That He Likes You?

Evelyn stifled a smile that kept threatening to break across her face and cleared her throat quietly.

“Ahem, I do hope the new book is released soon.”

“Well, it’s a most desirable novel, so I daresay the publishers should hurry.”

Catching her meaning, one of the young ladies nodded with a satisfied smile. She even added that she would plead with her grandmother, if necessary, to help speed things along. The suggestion made everyone’s eyes sparkle with anticipation.

“By the way, have you all read 《 Roses Blooming in Paradise 》?”

“Of course. Isn’t it the most popular romance novel these days?”

Chloe, her eyes alight with interest, coyly hid her smile behind her fan, while another young lady let slip a bashful grin.

“So, which of the gentlemen did you all prefer?”

The novel they were discussing, 《 Roses Blooming in Paradise 》, featured two male leads vying for the heroine’s heart. One was gentle and warm as sunlight, while the other was brooding and obsessive.

‘Hmm, both of them were certainly captivating in their own way.’

With the group divided in their opinions, the next question was turned to Evelyn herself.

“Lady Inevasel, which of them did you prefer?”

“Well, if I had to choose, I suppose it would be Lennox.”

‘Yes, the second one really was more my type.’

Even if Lennox wasn’t the main male lead, her tastes leaned more toward the possessive type than sweet gentlemen. She could never quite forget those moments when, pretending not to care, he secretly looked after the heroine from behind the scenes.

Still, Lennox failed to express his feelings in time, and in the end, the heroine chose the other man. In matters of the heart, trust was every bit as important as love.

‘Come to think of it, it’s not so different from the situation Axion will soon face.’

The two characters shared one trait: neither could bring himself to openly confess his feelings to the female lead. Even now, the way Axion behaved toward her was nothing more than a string of empty jests, entirely lacking in sincerity.

‘But perhaps, after meeting Dahlia, his mind will change.’

Trying to shake off a lingering sense of unease, Evelyn gave her cheeks a gentle tap. For some reason, the young ladies who had heard her answer were all smiling to themselves, as if her reply was exactly what they’d expected.

Perplexed, she tilted her head and asked.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

“It’s just that your tastes are so delightfully consistent, my lady.”

“Pardon? What do you…”

Only then did she realize what they meant, and her words trailed off unfinished.

‘Surely they’re not comparing my tastes to Axion, are they?’

Lately, the social circles have been awash with the most ridiculous rumors.

Supposedly, Young Lord Valentino was said to cherish his fiancée far more than society realized. The talk had begun after Axion personally came to fetch her during her visit to the orphanage, a small event that somehow became the talk of the town. How word of what happened on the outskirts of the capital ever reached the gossip columns was anyone’s guess.

At the time, Evelyn had simply laughed it off, dismissing it as idle nonsense for the society pages. Yet, it seemed the rumors surrounding them had grown much more sensational than she had anticipated, all based on a relationship that was nothing but a charade.

‘If word ever gets out that this was just a contract romance, the fallout will be considerable…’

Already planning how to handle the aftermath, Evelyn pressed her aching temples. No matter the truth of their arrangement, she only wished to keep things as quiet as possible until her engagement to Axion was officially dissolved.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

Before long, the conversation had drifted to another figure of interest.

“By the way, have you heard about the newcomer who’s recently joined the Count’s household?”

“Oh, you mean Lady Lorenheim?”

Perhaps because Dahlia had come up unexpectedly, a flicker of unease flashed in Evelyn’s eyes.

“I hear she’s a rather renowned priestess from the North.”

Just as the rumors had said, Dahlia, blessed with immense divine power, had been making a name for herself in the North. The gossip had even reached the point of suggesting that a saint, long thought vanished, might have finally returned. Dahlia Lorenheim’s standing within the Baltian Empire was rising with each passing day.

“I heard she recently set out on a monster subjugation campaign with Duke Rikeran, didn’t she?”