Chapter 60

“Are you really okay with this?”

“You’ve asked that three times now.”

Wearing a wine-colored dress, Sabina spoke as calmly as possible. Ashton turned her toward him and looked her straight in the eyes.

“You know who’s coming, right?”

“I do.”

“This isn’t a party I’m hosting. For me…”

“And I know you don’t have the right to keep me from meeting him this time.”

“Huh. Even though you know?”

“But you asked me.”

“That was more to prove ‘I reached out, I tried,’ rather than anything else.”

Sabina ignored Ashton’s words and got out of the carriage on her own. By Reedblon’s standards, which valued age as a mark of beauty, Duchess Rebella’s mansion was the most beautiful in the capital. It had been thoroughly renovated, removing almost all the discomforts of an old house, but the exterior’s antique charm was perfectly preserved.

“And I don’t care.”

Handing the invitation to the footman at the gate, crossing the garden, and entering the mansion, Sabina whispered to Ashton,

“The prince is trying to avoid you. I just need to stay close to you.”

Ashton sighed. He couldn’t stay by Sabina’s side the whole time. If she had to go up to recite poetry, she wouldn’t even think to say such things.

But the die was cast. He resolved to stay by her side unless absolutely necessary. In truth, in a place with so many eyes, what could Reyes do to Sabina? Still, he wanted to avoid Sabina becoming sensitive after meeting her enemy.

Unlike the tense Ashton, Sabina appeared composed. She exchanged elegant, thorny greetings and hugs with Duchess Rebella.

“To think you would visit, Miss D’Vialis! I never expected it. Well, Miss D’Vialis, you are always so busy, after all.”

“Yes. This person brought a good opportunity, so I managed to attend.”

Sabina’s reply—‘If not for Ashton, I wouldn’t have come’—was a calm, expressionless retort to the offense of her previous refusals. It was the first time Ashton saw her use noble speech so politely, and he kept glancing at her profile.

“Oh, Ash. Thank you so much for accepting the invitation.”

“I should thank you for inviting me. I never imagined I’d get such an opportunity.”

‘Ash?’

After Duchess Rebella greeted Ashton and moved on to other guests, Sabina suddenly asked,

“Are you close?”

“Officially, we’re meeting for the first time. You know that, right? Why?”

“I just wondered why she called you Ash when she barely knows you.”

“Haha. Nobles call me whatever they like.”

Both Sabina and Ashton were unusual guests, so people kept glancing at them. That odd atmosphere was clearly felt by Reyes Brinita, surrounded by crowds on the other side of the hall, enjoying the attention.

Reyes’s gaze naturally followed the direction of the people’s eyes. He saw Sabina, standing upright in a wine-colored dress, poetry book in her left hand.

‘What’s going on?’

His first thought was confusion.

Sabina had never attended Duchess Rebella’s invitation in this timeline, obviously avoiding Reyes.

Why the sudden change of heart…

Reyes’s gaze slowly shifted from Sabina’s face upward.

That man.

Reyes’s expression twisted.

He was instantly furious—not just because Sabina had brought Ashton to the event.

He could see right into Sabina’s mind.

‘This wretched woman… She knows I’m uncomfortable with him and is using him as a weapon.’

He was unbearably offended. Seeing Ashton Bryant’s handsome face made it worse. Remembering his conversation with Kenneth, Reyes’s mind spun.

An unregistered mage deceiving all of Reedblon and claiming Sabina.

People noticed Reyes’s face growing cold and quietly distanced themselves. It was obvious why he was angry, and some attendees inwardly lamented that Duchess Rebella’s carelessness was chilling the atmosphere.

Sabina was using Ashton like an insect-repelling incense. She thought, as long as she kept him nearby, Reyes wouldn’t approach. That strategy had worked so far, but once Reyes could read her mind, things changed.

‘Did she think I was afraid of that man?’

The path opened up. Sabina and Ashton also realized the surroundings were oddly quiet. Their gaze turned to Reyes.

‘Did she think she could ignore me with such a shallow trick? Did she think he was an absolute shield?’

The more he thought, the angrier he became.

Now that Helio was somewhat under his control, logic whispered there was no need to bother Sabina herself. But his warped inferiority complex devoured that logic.

Actually, it would be better not to provoke her. Let her forget Reyes Brinita even existed, then strike.

But Reyes was not one to tolerate such disrespect and humiliation.

Ashton Bryant’s worry about bringing Sabina here was exactly that.

As Reyes approached, Ashton instinctively hid Sabina behind him. Sabina let him.

The prince smiled broadly and spread his arms.

“Oh, who do we have here? Ashton Bryant.”

“Your Highness, the Prince.”

Reyes’s voice was silky, but with needles hidden in the threads, ready to wound.

He glanced between Ashton’s face and Sabina’s dress hem, trembling at the corners of his mouth as he smiled.

He offered his hand to Ashton first. He wore leather gloves as always.

Ashton smiled calmly and took the hand.

The smiles on the two men’s faces were as sharp as daggers, making Sabina and Duchess Rebella’s earlier exchange seem harmless.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Ashton said, but Reyes did not respond.

“Will you not greet me, Miss D’Vialis?”

Ashton’s grip tightened, as if to say, ‘Can’t we just move on?’ Reyes, sensing Ashton’s discomfort, felt a strange sense of victory. He released Ashton’s hand.

Sabina appeared before Reyes. It had been quite a while. But just moments ago, Reyes had been in a good mood—seeing Sabina’s expression, it soured again.

The tension, anxiety, and contempt Sabina used to show when meeting him no longer seemed to control her.

Sabina appeared calm. The man beside her seemed to stabilize her emotions.

“Your Highness, the Prince.”

She spoke and even offered her hand first. Reyes kissed the back of her hand, feeling endlessly annoyed.

He was a man with the privilege of not hiding his irritation anywhere. That privilege was fully exercised.

“I wonder who decided to invite a merchant to the recital.”

Not knowing the details behind Ashton and Sabina’s joint attendance, Reyes assumed Sabina was the invitee and Ashton her companion. So, it was a criticism of Sabina for bringing a man everywhere.

Sabina inwardly mocked the man who tried to win her heart but resorted to petty insults.

“I’m sorry to say, Your Highness,”

Ashton replied with a bright smile,

“I received the invitation. Miss D’Vialis kindly agreed to accompany me.”

He now wore an expression that said, ‘Are you going to insult your cousin, Duchess Rebella, for inviting a merchant?’ But Reyes wasn’t so easily defeated.

“Aha… Now I see how things went. My dear cousin Ramiel must have set the condition of a respectable companion when she invited you, right? She’s a discerning woman.”

Ashton’s face wore a picturesque smile. Reyes wanted to crush that face, which had never faltered before him.

“Haha, you’re not very good at reading between the lines… Maybe because you’re a foreigner.”

There was malice in the second sentence. Ashton sensed the subtle nuance—Reyes’s lips trembled as he said ‘foreigner.’

“You’ll need to be more perceptive. For your own sake.”

Reyes skipped all explanations, speaking with relaxed gestures as he patted Ashton’s shoulder. Ashton couldn’t help but smile. Reyes grew even more irritated. Responding to every move of the opponent meant he was already caught in their game, but he didn’t realize it.

“So, bringing Miss D’Vialis means you needed her. But as a mere merchant, you lower the dignity of the recital…”

He scanned the nobles dressed simply and neatly—very different from their carnival attire.

“So, should I have sent Miss D’Vialis alone and withdrawn? Oh, surely not. Duchess Rebella wouldn’t be so cowardly and sly. Ah, my mistake. My Brinita is poor. I suppose because… I am a foreigner.”

Ashton smiled warmly, forcibly shaking Reyes’s hand with both hands. Acting uncultured had always been his weapon since entering Reedblon.

“I never even imagined it. But if that’s the case, Duchess Rebella, since it wasn’t intentional, please…….”

“That’s not it.”

Not wanting to be a coward, Duchess Rebella quickly denied it. She glanced at her cousin behind her fan, as if to say, ‘Why say things to create this atmosphere?’

But Reyes had no intention of backing down. As he opened his mouth again, before he could speak, someone else spoke first.

“Your Highness, the Prince.”

It was a gentle, quiet, but firm voice. Sabina D’Vialis, for the first time in this timeline, spoke to Reyes first. She quietly removed Ashton’s hand from Reyes’s, then stood protectively in front of Ashton, looking calmly at Reyes.

“It was my choice to accompany him. If it was a problematic action, the responsibility is mine.”

“Huh?”

Ashton gently held Sabina’s hand from behind. He didn’t want her to deal with discomfort. Sabina quietly squeezed his hand, then let go.

“So, if this man has offended you, Your Highness, please scold me.”

Sabina didn’t think Reyes would actually scold her—not in front of so many people. Reyes Brinita wanted to be recognized as royal material and thus avoided vulgar actions in public.

But she overlooked how easily defeat could ignite Reyes.