For My Birthday, I Was Gifted Five Husbands - Chapter 168

Because it was Carter—her very first friend—who had given it to her, Eugenie had worn the flower crown and replied with complete sincerity.

“Then, from now on, I’ll make this my favorite flower.”

And Eugenie had kept that promise ever since.

But there was a time when she was afraid their relationship might change from ‘friends’ to ‘something more.’ The thought of a handsome boy, especially one as gentle as Carter, frightened her.

If he was kind and good-looking, it was even scarier.

That was exactly what Peregrin Norton was so good at. Winning women over with his charming smile and tender attitude. And when Theodora Norton had tried to hand him divorce papers, he’d emotionally tormented her, making her believe he’d suddenly become a better man starting tomorrow…

‘And so, when I looked at Carter back then, I thought of my biological father.’

He might be sweet to her now, but would that change if they became more than friends? Could that kindness last forever?

After all, her father had kissed other women while still married to her mother.

That’s why, at one time, she’d even avoided Carter. Even though she’d once thought of him as her soulmate. And now that she looked back, she realized she’d never truly apologized for that, even after they’d reunited.

It was also the first time she’d ever seen Carter cry with such sorrow.

But did that mean Carter had the right to hurt her this deeply?

…No, not really.

If she hadn’t seen Percival’s memories, she might have accepted Carter’s pain as some kind of penance—felt she deserved it, even.

But now, it was different.

‘Now, I want to talk to you properly.’

She was done running away from hard things.

If Carter’s real problem was that he loved her and hated the idea of her being with ‘five men’…

‘Then even if we can’t figure everything out perfectly, that’s okay.’

She wanted to be honest, to talk things through. Whatever her mother had done for Carter, if he was in pain, she wanted to say sorry for putting him in this situation.

‘Sometimes just talking it out can bring comfort.’

Not like with her mother, who never had a real conversation and only shared her heart through letters, much too late.

‘Just wait till I get up…’

Whether it was to talk, or to beat Carter with a textbook for making her feel like this, she’d have to get up first.

Groaning inwardly, Eugenie forced her eyelids to flutter open. But her thoughts about Carter quickly tangled with the memory of a voice outside her door.

‘And then there’s Napier.’

What would he think if he knew she’d been with Carter after inviting him first? It wouldn’t be surprising if he was disgusted. After all, she’d already embarrassed herself at the hunting festival.

That painful thought sent another crack through her already fragile heart and gave her the strength to finally open her eyes.

“…What?”

But as she opened her eyes, she was met with a completely unfamiliar scene.

The last place she remembered was Carter’s room at Troys Castle. Yet now, it was late at night, and she found herself outside. Her clothes were tattered, but otherwise just as she remembered.

She got up from the dirt and tried to speak.

“It’s so warm…”

Unlike the cool winds of Troys at summer’s end, here a familiar summer breeze was blowing. Beyond the black forest, the horizon was a landscape she recognized.

“Where am I…?”

Mouth dry with disbelief, Eugenie stared at the dazzling spires of the Imperial Palace glittering in the dark. It could only be Tintagel Palace, right in the heart of the capital.

“How… How did I…”

Had she cast some kind of teleportation magic while she was unconscious?

She’d sometimes wished for teleportation on snowy, rainy days, when she’d wanted to skip straight to her academy lab. But suddenly crossing the week’s journey from Troys to the capital? That was something else entirely.

‘Damn it, what now? I don’t even have Cassius’s earring…’

So much for contacting anyone with black magic. Maybe it would be best to head to the newlywed house, surely the staff were still there.

She wasn’t sure what Empress Sylvea was plotting, but it wouldn’t hurt to check out the situation first.

Just as Eugenie managed to stagger to her feet, a familiar, amused voice sounded behind her.

“It’s been a while.”

“…!”

“Hello, Eugenie Norton.”

Bathed in the thin crescent moonlight, a figure with shimmering silver hair and golden eyes—dull and ancient like tarnished jewelry—was looking down at her.

All her husbands were nowhere to be found. Instead, the tree pervert was the one approaching her.