His composed demeanor, calm words spoken in a low voice, and restrained expressions made his kindness less apparent to others. Yet Alice deeply respected his sincerity and humility, marveling at how such a noble figure could remain so unpretentious.
Initially, their interactions were limited to brief greetings. However, as Alice focused on assisting with miscellaneous tasks without disrupting him, Lidio began speaking to her more often. By the third month, they had grown comfortable enough to have casual conversations.
“You’re always working hard, even when no one’s watching. You helped organize the storage room recently, didn’t you?” Lidio said.
“Oh? How did you know?” Alice asked, surprised.
The storage room reorganization was something she had done alone after the other council members had left. She hadn’t reported it to anyone, as she merely returned items to their original places.
“Heh, that’s a secret,” Lidio said with a rare playful smile, one so innocent it made Alice’s heart skip a beat.
* * *
By the time Alice turned fifteen and entered high school, she had served as the student council president during her final year in middle school and joined the student council again in high school.
Before joining, she had braced herself for Lambert’s reaction. Yet, all he said was a sulky “You’re joining again?”
The monthly tea parties at the Marquis’ estate, which Lambert dutifully attended, had devolved into mere opportunities for him to vent his grievances and boast.
By this point, Lambert seemed to have lost all interest in Alice.
(Wait… Could it be safe to propose breaking off the engagement now?)
Alice pondered this as Lambert seemed distant enough that he might accept the dissolution of their engagement without flying into a rage.
However, just as she opened her mouth to speak, another vision of the future stopped her cold.
Lambert stood with blood streaming from cuts on his face and body, his eyes vacant. His gaze was fixed on Alice, who was writhing on the floor, engulfed in flames.
Speechless, Alice’s expression became blank, and once again, she abandoned the idea of suggesting an end to the engagement.
After Lambert left, she returned to her room and silently pounded her cushion in frustration.
“What is wrong with that man… He doesn’t even love me…”
She couldn’t suppress her fury at his absurdly fragile ego and towering pride. As her anger subsided slightly, she recalled the injuries Lambert had in the vision.
Judging by the context, those wounds were likely caused by Alice’s wind magic as she tried to resist him. Yet, her power had been insufficient to stop his reckless behavior, given his superior magic reserves.
“This is unbearable… How am I supposed to tolerate someone like that as my fiancé?”
Alice thought bitterly that he was a disgrace to the royal family and that the world would be better off without him.
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