Chapter 5

Judith realized about three months ago that he really only thought of her as a good friend.

‘Judith. I have something to tell you.’

Axel opened his mouth with a face that somehow looked shy.

‘I’m actually engaged.’

‘…What?’

Judith dropped the pen she was holding. The pen rolled across the floor.

Axel bent down to pick it up. Then he gently placed it back in Judith’s hand.

His long, straight fingers lightly brushed against the back of Judith’s hand.

Perhaps interpreting Judith’s reaction in his own way, Axel smiled softly and took out a photo from his pocket.

He showed it to her. In the photo was someone Judith knew well.

Riana Zernias, as famous as Axel at the academy.

The cherished daughter of the Zernias Ducal family.

A stunningly beautiful woman with luscious purple hair and captivating eyes that drew admiration.

In front of that photo, Judith felt endlessly small and insignificant.

Axel whispered to Judith as if embarrassed.

‘Besides our parents, no one else knows yet. You’re the first I’m telling.’

‘…’

Judith wanted to argue and ask why he was telling her this.

She bowed her head deeply to hide her tear-filled eyes. But Axel seemed to misinterpret her reaction as being moved.

‘There’s no need to cry, Judith. Anyway, if something like this happens to you, make sure to tell me first.’

With a bright smile, Axel drove a nail into Judith’s heart.

‘You’re very important to me… I want to be the first to know about things concerning you.’

After that, Judith began to despise the words “friend” and “important” whenever they came from Axel’s mouth.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by Chase’s firm arm wrapping around her shoulders.

Through the thin shirt, she could feel the finely honed muscles, proof of a life spent wielding a sword.

“If you’ve been rejected, don’t keep lingering. You’re just an ex-boyfriend.”

Judith was more surprised by those words than Axel.

“There’s no way Axel is my ex-boyfriend! Axel is…”

Judith trailed off a bit before finally speaking.

“He’s the son of the Fedelian Ducal family and already has a fiancée.”

“I know that too. No matter how much I don’t want to hear it, I can’t ignore the gossip that’s everywhere.”

Chase muttered indifferently.

“But that’s how this place is. Even if they’re engaged, it’s a den of beasts who have eyes for others.”

Judith blinked, not knowing how to respond to his harsh tone. Suddenly, the arm around Judith’s shoulder was released.

Chase hadn’t released it of his own volition; Axel, who had walked over, gently loosened his arm.

“Judith is listening. Be careful with your words, okay?”

Axel said in a soft yet somehow firm tone, fixing his pale gray eyes on Chase.

“And Chase Cardandy. I didn’t ask you.”

“I just answered because she seemed uncomfortable answering.”

Chase shrugged as if wondering why Axel was upset, but his eyes burned fiercely.

A brief exchange of glances occurred between the two.

But it didn’t last long. Axel quickly broke his gaze from Chase.

Instead, he looked at Judith.

Before she knew it, Axel filled Judith’s view.

Axel, with a pitiful and forlorn expression, like a puppy caught in the rain, with his eyebrows drooping.

“Judith, is Chase really your fiancé?”

“Yes.”

At Judith’s confirmation, Axel looked even more shocked. His voice was moist with emotion.

“I thought you would tell me such news first…”

As expected, Axel was shocked, just as she predicted.

Not because Judith was engaged to someone else, but because she hadn’t informed him of the engagement beforehand.

Both were engaged, but the reasons for their shock were so different. The stark contrast made Judith’s heart ache.

Meanwhile, Chase, who seemed to dislike Axel from the moment he first saw him, asked provocatively.

“Why should she tell you first? Who do you think you are?”

Judith looked up at Chase in surprise.

She hadn’t expected someone who seemed indifferent to everything to speak up for her, a total stranger.

Did he originally not like Axel? Or was he simply not pleased that his fiancée, even if it was just a formal relationship, was associating with another man?

Whatever it was, it was fortunate for her. Because she couldn’t help but be soft on Axel as she was now.

But she couldn’t just leave the two of them alone. Their voices were gradually getting louder, and they were starting to draw attention from people in the cafe.

Of course, it could simply be that they were being stared at because they were tall and handsome young men.

Judith hurriedly intervened in the conversation to calm the situation.

“Axel is just a friend.”

“I know that too. It was famous from the time Axel Fedelian entered the academy that he followed some pink-haired girl around.”

Was there such a rumor?

But Axel, seemingly already aware of the rumor, wasn’t bothered at all and answered.

“Yes. I’ve been friends with Judith since before we entered the academy. I knew her much earlier than you did.”

Saying so, Axel looked intently at Chase as if to say, “Step aside now.”

However, Chase merely smirked, lifting one corner of his mouth.

“Hmph. Just a friend? Judith and I are about to get married and will become family, so what does it matter how close you are?”

Chase emphasized “just a friend.”

Axel’s serene, ocean-like eyes trembled slightly as if he had nothing to say. After a moment of opening and closing his lips, he spoke again.

“To me, Judith is no different from family. She’s that precious…”

“Enough!”

Judith had no choice but to cut Axel off mid-sentence.

From “friend” to “family.”

She couldn’t bear it any longer. Her heart was torn to shreds, beyond repair.

“Stop it, Axel!”

Axel widened his eyes in surprise when Judith shouted.

In that moment, she quickly asked.

“Why are you here? Did you come to buy dessert?”

After saying that, she realized. Axel, who disliked sweets, wouldn’t come to buy dessert.

Then…

As expected, Axel gave the anticipated answer.

“I came to see you. I have something to say.”

“…”

“I came to apologize.”

Axel was really too kind. To the point of being foolish.

Even though he had been unilaterally insulted by Judith, Axel watched her carefully.

Like a dog wagging its tail at its owner after doing something wrong.

It wasn’t the kind of behavior expected from the heir of the Fedelian Ducal family, one of only two ducal families in the empire. Especially not towards someone like her.

“I’m sorry about last time. I must have done something wrong, right?”

“……Why do you think you made a mistake?”

“Because you wouldn’t get angry at me for no reason.”

In his pale gray eyes, which were staring at Judith, there was solid trust and belief.

Judith avoided those eyes. She traced the wood grain on the floor as she spoke.

“I really did get angry for no reason.”

By saying this, Axel might detach himself from her.

Of course, Judith’s heart ached as she spoke, but it was time to gradually distance herself.

However, Axel asked again in a worried voice.

“Were you in a bad mood that day?”

“…”

“Did something happen?”

Axel shook Judith again. Her resolve, which she had barely held onto, was shaken to its core.

Of course, he wouldn’t know, nor did he intend to.

Judith barely managed to steady her wavering heart.

Instead, she recalled Madame Fedelian. She always smiled warmly at Judith and stroked her hair.

Whenever she received that warm touch, Judith would close her eyes and smile. She would think that this must be what a mother’s warmth feels like.

But one day, she overheard Madame Fedelian’s thoughts.

It was a day when the spring breeze rustled the leaves, and the bright sunlight cast long shadows.

That day, Madame Fedelian had invited other ladies to the garden for tea time.

The harmonious laughter spread throughout the garden.

Judith, who had picked a yellow rose from the flower bed, was quietly walking toward the garden to present it to Madame Fedelian.

The laughter paused for a moment, and Madame Fedelian spoke in a gentle tone.

‘Oh my, Axel is a smart child. Although he plays freely with Judith now, he will learn to conduct himself properly as he grows. The only heir to lead the Fedelian family in the future should be able to do at least that.’

Judith stopped in her tracks. Then she began to back away.

When she was far enough from the tea table that she couldn’t hear the laughter, Judith ran.

As if trying to escape from something terrifying.

That was when she first realized.

That she wasn’t someone who belonged with Axel.

Madame Fedelian cherished Judith, but only to that extent.

At best, she was treated as a cherished item, like a pet dog, not as an equal. Even the kind and generous Madame had her limits.