Valentine encouraged Cecilia with a bright smile and sent her to the stage, then chose a seat somewhere in the back to sit down.

Cecilia gracefully ascended the stage, which was raised by three or four steps. She greeted the audience by lightly lifting the hem of her dress, then sat at the grand white piano and placed her hands on the keys.

The opening piece was a light and lively etude.

‘Indeed, such a bright and refreshing piece is good for the start.’

Valentine interlaced his fingers and rested them lightly on his knees, closing his eyes to concentrate on the melody flowing through the air. The touch on the keys was excellent.

Since childhood, Cecilia had loved the piano and played it well, often leading Valentine to spend much time with her in the music room. Back then, Valentine would often reluctantly carry a violin case and spend time playing duets with her. The nostalgia for childhood suddenly made his heart feel warm and fuzzy.

After the lively etude ended, Cecilia composed herself again and started the second piece.

The piece started with a charming two-octave E chord. It was a choice typical of Cecilia.

[Valentine, let’s make this our duet piece.]

One day when they were about 10 years old, Cecilia came to the practice room waving a new sheet music, showing it to Valentine.

[Why? This is completely different from what we usually practice.]

[I love how it starts in E major! In do-re-mi, ‘mi’ represents loveliness.]

Cecilia insisted that Valentine listen as she pressed the keys with her small hands.

Valentine was often told he was unique when drawing, and Cecilia was the same. Who else would understand that uniqueness if not someone who also pursued art? At that time, Valentine had no choice but to practice this new style of piece as Cecilia insisted, different from what they had been practicing before.

‘I always found myself being dragged along by Cecilia’s strong insistence.’

Somehow, he couldn’t help but chuckle. Meeting a childhood friend after a long time and hearing familiar yet beautiful music in his ears naturally led him into a journey of memories.

“So you know how to laugh like that.”

A low whisper with a breath reached Valentine’s ear. It was very, excessively close.

‘What?’

A chill ran down his spine from where the voice touched his ear.

Feeling an alien and unpleasant dampness, Valentine hurriedly leaned back. He distanced himself even before confirming the owner of the voice.

As he turned around in shock, the first thing he saw was fiery red hair.

The 3rd Prince, Clifton Leopold.

It seemed he had quietly entered after the concert began and whispered behind Valentine.

‘…!’

If he had been careful with his steps, he should have quietly sat down and enjoyed the music, not make such a familiar gesture. Once again, Valentine felt anger and irritation as if meeting an enemy on a narrow bridge. The left side of his ear where the prince’s voice had touched still tingled.

Whether aware of Valentine’s frowning face or not, Clifton, with the characteristic impassive face of royalty, quietly sat down next to Valentine. It was so natural and smooth that there was no chance to refuse.

‘Why is he sitting here…?’

He must be crazy…. Valentine muttered only in his heart.

Back in the day when Valentine used to follow him around saying he liked him, Clifton had never once allowed him to sit next to him. The only thing permitted to Valentine then was to sit across the table during tea times arranged by the Empress. Even then, he was so obviously ignored that they had never made eye contact for long. At that time, Clifton, perhaps because he was going through his teenage years, was even sharper than he was now as an adult.

Valentine couldn’t hide the shock rising to his face. His eyes and mouth opened wide and round, very noticeably.

Clifton, having fully seated himself in a comfortable position, glanced at Valentine’s expression, smirked, and then whispered:

“Why don’t you focus on the performance?”

Clifton raised his index finger, touched Valentine’s cheek who was staring at him in shock, and turned his head towards the front.

Just like last time, it was truly an impertinent finger. Valentine was even more shocked by the subtle skinship performed as if they were close. At the same time, his whole body bristled.

“Don’t touch me.”

Sharpness and contempt appeared on the omega’s face as he defended himself.

“What’s between us.”

“We are nothing to each other.”

“Why? Weren’t we almost engaged?”

Valentine never dreamed that Clifton would bring up the engagement himself and act friendly.

‘Is he in his right mind…?’

Wasn’t Empress Beatrice’s confidentiality agreement supposed to apply to both sides? Valentine couldn’t understand why Clifton was mentioning the engagement that had already ended with his own mouth.

Now that the engagement had come to nothing, did he feel regret? Is that why he’s pretending to be close like this now?

A reasonable question popped up in his head. Valentine rubbed his chin where Clifton’s finger had touched until the skin might peel off. It would have been better if a snake had brushed against his cheek instead.

‘It truly gives me the creeps.’

On the day they met in front of Empress Beatrice’s palace, Clifton had intentionally hinted to Valentine that they were still engaged, but Valentine had thought he would be happy with the result.

Because that’s how the protagonist, the 3rd Prince, was in the original novel.

He was wise, stern, and just. That’s how he had the power to lead the masses.

He had no idea why such a person deliberately didn’t break off the engagement and remained silent like a sacrificial lamb for a political marriage.

Why was there such a discrepancy with the original work? Shouldn’t there be no changes in character even if there were changes in the story…? Could a person’s personality change like this for no reason? Or did the original work only describe the ‘protagonist-like’ personality that was visible on the surface? It was impossible to know.

Until now, he had thought that Clifton didn’t welcome the engagement and marriage with Valentine. The protagonist Clifton in the original work was someone who deviated from the set path and carved out his own life. Therefore, even if the current Clifton was running along the path set by those around him, Valentine didn’t think it meant he was content with that state.

‘This is completely unexpected…?’

So that he could have more freedom and live his life autonomously as in the original work, and to reassure the heart of his beloved Evener Luwin. Valentine thought Clifton would be satisfied if he stepped down from the position of a nominal fiancé on his own. He thought Clifton would be able to go his own way more easily than in the original work.

‘Isn’t this good for both of us…?’

You can have your beautiful love, work hard to inherit the throne faster than in the original work, and I can find my own life! It truly seemed like a win-win situation.

It was a perfect plan and the best scenario, so why on earth is he acting like this…? He really couldn’t understand it at all.

‘Moreover, this slimy approach….’

Now that things had worked out well, he had thought, ‘Now he won’t look at me with contempt when he meets me in public, right?’ Rather than avoiding each other as they had in the past when they were on bad terms, he had never thought that Clifton would come looking for him and speak to him, pretending to be friendly like this.

Valentine had been steeling himself to face Clifton squarely if he picked a fight again today….

‘But he’s talking about our relationship?’

It was beyond ridiculous; it gave him the creeps.

‘This guy must have finally gone mad.’

Valentine couldn’t concentrate on the concert at all and sat leaning as far as possible to the opposite side. Sitting like that on the opposite side of Clifton, he looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, precariously tilted. Moreover, afraid that even their clothes might brush against each other, he sat with his knees together and arms tightly crossed, compressing his body as much as possible. As if demonstrating how much a person could compress their body.

How long had he been sitting so uncomfortably like that?

With Cecilia’s performance, now changed to a dazzling and passionate piece flying across the keys, as background music, Clifton began to speak to Valentine in a low voice.

“The nullification of the engagement. What trick did you use?”

It wasn’t a tone of displeasure. It was as if he was genuinely curious.

Valentine was taken aback by the question, which was purely curious without any malice, from someone who usually didn’t show emotion. Did he approach today to ask this?

“What do you mean by trick? Didn’t I tell you that day?”

He had clearly declared that he would break off the engagement. When Valentine answered in a low voice so as not to disturb the performance, Clifton smirked.

“Ah, was it that day?”

He didn’t seem to believe it at all.

Unlike his pure curiosity earlier, as soon as he heard the answer, he smiled crookedly like a deflated balloon, raising one corner of his mouth, which made Valentine even angrier. He had even lost his manners.

He asked out of curiosity, so I answered honestly, but he doesn’t believe me? What an infuriating alpha.

“Although I couldn’t meet Her Highness the Empress directly that day, I perfectly rejected our tiresome ongoing engagement. I conveyed it clearly in writing.”

To Valentine’s quiet explanation, spoken while gritting his teeth, Clifton again made a deflating laugh.

“What on earth did you include in that document?”

“Pardon?”

“Did you offer to give up a diamond mine to the royal family in exchange for letting you go? Did you include a mine transfer contract?”

“What did you say?”

A diamond mine? It was insulting how he mocked indirectly by giving such a ridiculous example.

Seeing Valentine’s crumpled expression, Clifton deliberately put on a harmless smile as if to calm him down and said. As if trying to reassure and soothe him.

“Anyway, although I can’t know what you did, I have to admit that it worked.”

“That’s right. You should thank me.”

It was an uncharacteristic acknowledgment and agreement. Valentine, no longer feeling the need to retort, snorted and turned his gaze to Cecilia on the stage.

“It’s unexpected…”

Clifton kept staring at Valentine with strange eyes and muttered.

“If you’ve taken the time to come, focus on the performance.”

Only then did his head turn back to the piano.

He hadn’t thought rumors would spread everywhere, but the royals must be people who keep secrets extremely well. Did neither the 2nd Prince nor Empress Beatrice, nor anyone else, open their mouths? It seemed they had kept the reason for breaking off the engagement secret.

‘Surprisingly, they all have tight lips….’

Although it’s said that in the palace, one wrong word could lead to your head being chopped off and your life flying away, that was a story from hundreds of years ago. It’s not even the era of absolute monarchy anymore, yet a brief admiration passed for the still thoroughly secretive royal family members.