Chapter 21
“Don’t speak so carelessly when you haven’t even met him!”
She nearly blurted out, “Then why don’t you marry Kashayn yourself?!”
“I assure you, he would have cherished and loved you with all his heart as the most handsome man in all of Elysion.”
“Really? Sorry, but I wouldn’t have.”
Elinne replied flatly, eyeing him.
“No matter how handsome he is, it’s not like you can live off his face. Not interested. What’s inside matters more.”
“…Elinne. Why are you speaking so harshly about someone you’ve never even met?”
His voice was tight, as if suppressing anger.
She flinched unconsciously and released the tension in her brow.
“Sorry. I guess I got a bit carried away without realizing it.”
Noticing Menelaon’s stiff expression, she quickly apologized.
Maybe she’d subconsciously let her hostility slip, knowing he was Vishtar’s beloved son.
Still, personal feelings aside, Kashayn was probably incredibly good-looking.
If even a mere mortal like Menelaon had such striking looks, then the son of the Goddess of Beauty, considered the most beautiful god of all, had to be even more exceptional.
But the statue she saw in the museum hadn’t been to her taste.
More than anything, the sculpted g******s… kept flashing in her mind for being too small.
Of course, it was said “The real thing is bigger than it looks”, but no one truly knows until it’s revealed, right? It could actually be smaller in real life.
This is exactly when you use the phrase, an apricot that looks ripe but tastes sour. [1]
Hiding her grimace quickly, she shrugged.
“Well, he’s someone I’ll never meet anyway.”
Her light, offhand tone made Menelaon’s expression grow even harder.
“…You can’t know that for sure.”
No, I kind of do. She argued silently.
As long as Kashayn was Vishtar’s son, there was absolutely no chance she’d ever meet him.
She had every intention of staying as far away as possible from anyone connected to Vishtar, now and forever.
“You’re right. Who knows what could happen.”
But Elinne smiled sweetly, hiding her true thoughts with ease. Then held out her hand.
“Anyway, our relationship’s settled now, right? Let’s get along as good friends.”
“…Who says it’s settled?”
Menelaon didn’t take her hand.
“You will become my fiancée. And you will fall in love with me.”
“No. I won’t.”
So long as you’re beautiful, there’s no way I’ll fall for you.
Elinne swallowed the words she couldn’t say aloud.
“You will never again know love! You will fall for a man the world sees as hideous and vile, and you will share your body with him for eternity, forever bound to him by love!”
The more she thought about it, the more real the curse seemed.
Even with this absurdly handsome man standing before her, she felt absolutely nothing.
And even if she did agree to an engagement with Menelaon, Vishtar would never allow it.
She’d already flown into a frenzy over the so-called insult, cursing her to a fate with a “hideous” man.
It would be fortunate if didn’t find them immediately, but she’d come after her and Menelaon both, ready to kill.
Elinne just wanted to live a quiet and long life.
Which meant she never, ever wanted to see that temperamental Goddess of Beauty again.
“…Sorry. There are some things I just cannot tell you. I just can’t…”
“Enough! This conversation is over.”
Menelaon cut her off, shaking his head stubbornly.
“I will make you my consort. Mark my words, Elinne.”
He declared it with folded arms and unshakable confidence.
Something about the haughty tilt of his chin sparked a strange sense of déjà vu.
“You are my fiancée.”
“And I said, I don’t want to be!”
“It doesn’t matter. You don’t have the right to refuse.”
With a voice like a nail being driven in, Menelaon turned sharply and strode off.
…Wow.
She was left speechless as she watched him walk away in wide, arrogant strides.
So what if he’s good-looking? He’s no different from the rest of those pushy suitors!
* * *
“Elinne! My Elinne!”
Her “morning alarm” had increased in number again.
“My songbird! I heard you turned down Prince Menelaon’s proposal!”
“Surely, it was for me? Ah, please tell me it was for me!”
Just where were these rumors leaking from?
Somehow, word had spread throughout all of Metis that she’d broken off her nonexistent engagement with Menelaon.
The number of suitors waiting outside the palace kept growing.
“My Linne.”
Among them was, without a doubt, the worst suitor of all.
The clingy, parasitic type.
“It’s been so long. Didn’t you miss me?”
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