It’s Time to Stop Clinging to the Fake Guide - Chapter 38

Who would have thought she’d become this kind of person.
If Euphen were to find out about these tangled, chaotic emotions inside her, would he despise her?
Her feelings surged all the way up to her head, only to sink beneath the floor again.

The place she arrived at, following behind him, was the same reception room where the three of them had been together earlier.
The man sat down on the sofa, leaning deeply against the backrest. Tilting his head back, he closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips firmly against his eyelids.
“……”
A heavy silence fell.

Lynette lowered her head, touching her fingertips. Euphen, who had been still, reached out his hand.
Though he hadn’t told her to take it, she cautiously approached and held onto it. The familiar pain spread throughout her body.

“Is this what you want?”
His voice was low, almost like a sigh. Even though she hadn’t answered, as if he already knew what she would say, the man slowly continued.
“Then smile.”

Euphen slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. His fingers tightened their hold around hers.
The moment their gazes met, Lynette gave him a small smile.
It was strange how she could grow so easily numb to the pain in her body, and yet enduring the ache in her heart was unbearably difficult.

“That’s right. Just like that.”

His hand moved closer. When he cupped her cheek, the pain rang through her head so sharply that she squeezed her eyes shut.
His hand, which slowly caressed her face, slid to the back of her neck. As he pulled gently, she stumbled, and when she opened her eyes, she flinched at the blue eyes that had come so close.
Would he kiss her again? The thought crossed her mind, but Euphen did not come any nearer. He only gazed at her quietly.

“An illusion……”
His murmured voice sank low.

He remained like that for quite some time, only releasing her after the guiding was finished. Lynette stepped back, clutching her hand that still throbbed with a dull ache.

“I’ll… be going now.”

Euphen didn’t even look back once.
Just from a single action, a single word of this man, she would be delighted, then despairing. With her head bowed low, Lynette left the reception room.

Just as she was about to leave the palace with a heavy heart, someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.

“Were you so lost in thought you couldn’t hear me calling?”
“Mari.”

The woman, breathing hard as though she had just ran, raised her voice.
“Haah, hoo… Are you heading back to the Magic Tower?”
“Yeah.”
“Who was that woman?”
“Miss Eshar.”
“So who exactly is this Miss Eshar?” Mari asked again, raising her brows.
“Why would His Highness the Imperial Prince treat her so courteously?”
“She’s the heir of the Lera Merchant Guild, and also……”

She’ll be the Prince’s guide in the future.
Knowing she couldn’t say that, Lynette just smiled instead.

“Wasn’t she the one who came with you last time?”
“That’s right.”
“But now His Highness is suddenly treating her with such courtesy?”
“Because he loves her.”
“What? Where did that come from?”

Mari scowled, clearly baffled. She glanced around, then dragged Lynette into a corner, lowering her voice to a whisper.
“Weren’t you His Highness’s lover?”
“Is that the rumor?”
“Everyone thought so.”

Mari looked as though she couldn’t understand, as though something obvious had just been denied.
“So now he’s throwing you away? Is that it?”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what? Is it that he’ll keep you as a lover but marry someone else?”
“That’s not it either.”
“Ah, since she’s a merchant heir, she’s not a noble. Then it’s not a political marriage. So what is it?”
“The two of them suit each other.”

At that, Mari gazed at her silently. Lynette tilted her head at the strange look in her eyes.
“What?”
“You… like His Highness the Imperial Prince, don’t you?”

She should have laughed and said, ‘That’s a cruel joke,’ but her lips only moved soundlessly, no words coming out. After struggling for quite a while, she finally managed to speak.
“Who told you that?”
“Who else? It’s obvious just by looking.”

Had she really been letting her feelings spill so plainly?
Lynette sank down with a sigh. Her head throbbed.
So he had been watching her act like that. Was that why Euphen had treated her that way?

‘Ah, so that’s why Eshar said that.’
Now she understood why Eshar had demanded that as a condition. Asking him to love another woman, when it was so obvious she liked, no, loved the Prince. She had shamelessly begged another woman to love him instead.

“Ha…”
A dry laugh escaped her. She covered her face with both hands.
Pretending to be clever, acting like she could solve everything, yet in truth she couldn’t even control her own emotions. What a fool.

“Didn’t His Highness the Imperial Prince also have some feelings for you?”
“No.”
“Haah.”

Mari let out a frustrated sigh. Lynette slowly lifted her head.
“You can say no all you want… or do you still not know what your feelings are?”
“No one knows my heart better than I do.”
“Doesn’t seem that way to me.” Mari smirked.

Did she look like someone flailing around meaninglessly, letting her feelings show so clearly?
With a bitter smile, Lynette firmly cut her off.
“Whatever feelings I might have for His Highness the Imperial Prince, they don’t matter.”
“How could they not matter. At least until now……”
“His Highness will love Miss Eshar.”
“Lynette.”
“He has to.”

It was a vow she made to herself.

Still a complete mess, Lynette struggled to compose herself and fled the place as if running away.