# 128
When Endean left the banquet hall, the atmosphere quickly began to shift in favor of the First Prince.
The one who led this atmosphere, without a doubt, was Deyarin.
“At that time his name was Sirius, who would have expected that he would suddenly turn into His Highness the First Prince? It’s a good thing I chose my friends well!”
"Ah, ah! So he's my best friend…!"
Although those close to the Third and Second Prince withdrew, a good number of nobles remained in the hall.
Not everyone was so supportive of one party.
Many nobles who did not live in the Imperial Palace also attended.
They were excited because they witnessed with their own eyes the historic “first prince’s return event.” It was natural that they could not take their eyes off the First Prince, the hero of this event.
“How wonderful!”
“Even though he spent a long time on the battlefield, he still maintains his splendor!”
There was nothing to say about Sirius other than praise.
His distinguished appearance was in stark contrast to the fall of the Second Prince, making him look magnificent in everyone's eyes.
In fact, under the brilliant lights of the Imperial Concert Hall, Sirius shone brighter than ever.
'I made it, me!'
Deyarin's shoulders danced with pride as she heard the praise from those around her.
I have been patient and endured all those difficult days for this moment. And it was totally worth it.
“No way! How did you hide this from us too?!”
The “Morning Drinking Session” group made their way through the crowd and approached.
“Back off.”
Dearyn wiped away her expression and extended her hand in front of her.
“I would accept anyone, except you. Do not spoil the purity of our clean and polite prince.”
Before, alliances had to be built, so she was lenient, but now? impossible.
She stared at them with a look of stern disapproval, and Count Holian was moved and his eyes almost filled with tears.
“This is too harsh...what about our friendship?”
“It doesn't exist.”
How long has it even been around?
“Our Highness will live a righteous and clean life from now on.”
Dearyn stared menacingly, but Count Holian continued to court as he approached with tears in his eyes.
“And this cup I so graciously offer?”
“But it's a happy occasion, shouldn't we be drinking?”
“And on sad days we drink because we're sad, right?”
Dearen asked him coldly, and Count Hulian smiled embarrassedly, but he was not really embarrassed.
Honestly, these people are amazing in their own way.
Whether it was Sirius or the First Prince, their actions did not change.
“We were friends even before he came back as First Prince, so… we remain friends, right?”
“Huh!”
So this is what they were after?
Deyarin stared at them angrily.
'They want to get closer this way and get past others...'
“Do you realize how hard it is to find someone who drinks like the First Prince? He is the perfect drinking buddy!”
“…”
So...that was the point.
People live their lives randomly and constantly in chaos.
But it seems that their opinions were not uniform. Some members of the drinking session group did not appear, such as Greylind, who disappeared into a corner.
“They seem to have enough conscience to at least avoid confronting him.”
The fate of Greylind will remain one of the tasks awaiting Ceres to solve later.
Although Sirius had survived the battlefields and killed many, killing another person was not easy.
Dearyn hated the weight that was beginning to pile up on Sirius's shoulders.
“But... what about the love wound?”
"Yes."
What annoying and meticulous people they are.
They had everything planned for Sirius in the war, but they overlooked this little lie. They thought that these details were not important in an event as big as the return of the First Prince.
But people seem to find these “details” very important.
As soon as the words “love wound” were said, even those not in the drinking group showed sudden interest.
"Oh! The love of my destiny he met on the battlefield?"
“Or a love he found on the way back from the war?”
“A burning love in a short period of time, a love that almost kills him?!”
Deyarin underestimated the palace people's interest in love stories.
They care about scandals and romantic relationships more than anything else.
Even their interest in the details of the war was not as strong as this interaction.
Cold sweat began to drip from Deyarin's back.
‘If you stutter now, it will be a disaster.’
Emotional relationships are a small matter, but the credibility of words is a big matter.
And if it turns out that there is a contradiction? Or did someone notice a mistake in the conversation? Everything Diaren said could be considered a lie.
There was no time for deep thought, and if I delayed in responding, suspicion would increase.
She started to move her lips to say something, but it was Sirius who spoke first.
“Left.”
“?!”
Dearyn's lips froze as she slowly opened her mouth as if stuck.
“W-W-What are you going to say?!”
Her mind completely blanked out.
It is true that what he said is true, but to what extent will he speak? Will he admit that he received a strange confession from her that did not even make sense and called it “love” and then was rejected?
That was not love, but rather it was just a pathological attachment similar to the disposition of a duckling when it imprints on its mother the first person it sees!
Of course, all of this was an internal scream that she couldn't say.
"Oh, my God! How did that happen? Where did you two meet? Who was she?"
People couldn't wait to take a breath and started bombarding them with questions.
One by one, Sirius answered calmly.
“We met after I returned from the battlefield.”
"Oh! Coincidence? How did that happen?"
“I was in bad shape because of my long stay there... and she was the one who took care of me.”
"What a fateful meeting! Isn't it? Isn't it?"
Dearyn listened anxiously to Sirius' words.
So far, he hasn't said anything that might cause a disaster. And everything he said was true.
Because she had set up the story in advance as a “friend from the war,” she escaped suspicion that she might be the one in question.
“So, you fell in love?”
"Yes. I really fell in love. I still love her now."
"Aaah! Waah!"
Dearyn felt a slight tremor and lowered her head. If their eyes met now, everything would be over.
Sirius' frank confession was enough to arouse everyone's enthusiasm.
"Oh my God! And you're still in love with her even now? Who is that woman?!"
“She...”
Sirius looked into the distance with a dreamy look, while Dearyn stood beside him.
Dearyn looked at him with an expressionless face.
'I am here, in front of you. Don't imagine and create this dreamy aura of nonsense.'
“She was strong.”
“Oh, strong woman!”
“But she was radiant, like sunlight sneaking through the leaves of trees... She dazzled me every time I looked at her.”
At that moment, everyone fell silent, gagging their mouths and eyes shining with tears.
Deyarin bit her lip, trying to hold on. Fortunately, her features didn't differ much from others. But she could hardly bear the feeling of nausea from the intensity of exaggeration and excessive emotion.
“I'm going to lose my mind!”
Although she knew that this expression came from his sincere feelings, hearing him say it in public was a nightmare.
She had never imagined that people would say things like this, nor had she ever heard anything like it in her life.
"She was good to everyone, and very emotional... so, she was always being let down. I hoped she would only focus her eyes on me, but she always cared about others."
“Ah…what a tragedy…”
"But, that's the way angels are, isn't it? They can't belong to just anyone."
And so I became an “angel.”
Deyarin held on to what was left of her sanity as she resisted a psychological breakdown. Just standing in this place had become a challenge to her will.
But the curiosity in people's eyes did not subside.
“Did she know you were the First Prince?”
“She didn’t know. However, she sacrificed herself for me. Thanks to her, I was able to recover quickly.”
“Ah... what a great sacrifice...”
It was clear how people interpreted the word “sacrifice.”
She really sacrificed a lot. From staying up late and working excessively, to physical injuries, and even fainting due to overuse of her spiritual energy.
Is there a nobler sacrifice than that?
But people were imagining a more dramatic sacrifice, like her dying at the end.
“She can't see now how wonderful the First Prince is...”
“She sees.”
“Yes, definitely... she's watching from somewhere... definitely!”
“She's watching from here, from around the corner.”
Sirius turned to Dearyn.
“She's a good watcher.”
It was clear what he wanted to say.
“Yes, great.”
“Hmm.”
Only then did Sirius turn to the others, looking satisfied.
The audience began to raise their glasses, and their tears fell from the impact of the story.
“Let us toast to the one who passed away, the one who left behind an eternal love and glowed like the sun’s rays among the leaves, that beautiful angel.”
“…”
Dearyn couldn't raise her glass.
The whole world must have conspired to humiliate her.
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