What the hell…
Felyn suddenly felt like this scene was ripped straight out of a soap opera—one of those classic “caught cheating” clichés.
Spending a wonderful night with a new lover, only to be caught the next morning by the wife or girlfriend or whoever.
Except, he didn’t have a wonderful night last night. He literally just slept on a wooden board.
And Adeline was his client. As for Zervanie, their relationship didn’t go beyond both being citizens of the Sivius Empire.
It’s not like either of them were his girlfriend or anything.
“Felyn, why are you here?”
Zervanie’s legs wobbled forward a couple of steps, barely believing what she was hearing and seeing.
Felyn had just walked out of Adeline’s house early in the morning.
And Adeline… she was still wearing that shameless nightgown, yelling something about how she’d been wrong last night.
Did she… did she force herself on Felyn last night?!
Was Adeline really that kind of person?
Zervanie felt her whole worldview shatter.
Just a while ago, she was sitting on a bench at Saint Andros Academy saying, “Miss Adeline, help me put in a good word with Felyn, please.”
And now what?
Maybe last night Adeline was straddling Felyn, moaning something like, “Felyn, call Zervanie’s name—I love hearing it.”
That kind of thing.
Oh god!
Why, O Divine Ones, why are you doing this to me?
I came here for love advice…
Well, forget that. No more love advice.
It’s war.
Zervanie stomped forward a few steps, then collapsed weakly into Felyn’s arms.
She hoped that by doing this, Felyn would pay attention to her.
“Zervanie? Are you okay?”
Felyn caught her, his hands carefully keeping a gentlemanly distance.
“Last night, Adeline and I were busy with student council work. We lost track of time, and she kindly let me crash here.”
Felyn hadn’t planned on explaining anything. But the contract did say he had to help protect his client’s reputation in public.
It would be bad if Zervanie ended up misunderstanding Adeline.
Even though, in truth, nothing happened last night. Zervanie’s lips twitched. Felyn’s gentle smile made it hard to keep herself together.
“Felyn, could you at least come up with a better excuse to lie to me? I want to be fooled by you, but this one’s just too hard to swallow. Isn’t that right, Miss Adeline?”
Felyn turned to look at Adeline.
Whether the excuse was good or not didn’t matter.
As long as Adeline stuck to the story that they were working on student council stuff, Zervanie would have nothing to say.
After all, only the two of them knew what actually happened last night.
If she were her usual, socially savvy self, Adeline would’ve handled it easily.
All she had to do was say, “Yes, Felyn and I worked late into the night, and since his home is far, I let him sleep on the couch.”
The misunderstanding would’ve been cleared up—at least on the surface.
But Adeline stayed silent.
Though her face wore that usual gentle and composed expression, she gripped the doorframe tightly with one hand clutching her chest.
Adeline knew Zervanie liked Felyn.
And just now, when she caught the look in Zervanie’s eyes, she felt that hostility and competitive spark.
Something inside her flared to life—her desire to win.
And she couldn’t control it.
“Miss Zervanie, I don’t care if you like Felyn. But what was that look you gave me just now? You see me as your rival? How ridiculous. You’re not even sitting at the same table. What right do you have to fight me for Felyn?”
“You’re the one who told me you did something selfish that made Felyn mad. Just look at him—do you see him paying attention to you?”
As for why Zervanie showed up at her door this early in the morning, Adeline never imagined she came for love advice.
In her mind, Zervanie had come to declare war.
Maybe she found out that Felyn spent the night, and rushed over to stake her claim.
Trying to steal him from me?
You think you’re Viloti or something?
Adeline put one hand on her hip and forced a little smile at her lips.
“What dedication, Miss Zervanie—standing outside our door at the crack of dawn just to see Felyn.”
Adeline wasn’t worried that Zervanie would spread rumors afterward.
She knew where she stood with Felyn.
And she had a card in her hand—Zervanie’s feelings for Felyn.
If it came down to it, she could spill it all.
She could handle the fallout. Maybe she even looked forward to it.
But Zervanie was a beloved imperial pop idol—she absolutely couldn’t afford a scandal.
“Oh no, not at all. It was you who took such great care of Felyn yesterday, Miss Adeline. And the things I told you before—it seems you’ve taken them to heart quite seriously.”
Zervanie responded with a syrupy sweet smile, like a gentle and understanding little sister.
But internally, she was screaming.
I told you I liked Felyn—and you’re still trying to steal him?
Shameless!
If you’re going to be shameless, then fine—I won’t hold back either!
Zervanie flared up with rage.
And then immediately… deflated.
She realized she couldn’t do a damn thing!
What was she supposed to do?
Cling to Felyn and shout, “Felyn’s mine! You can have a night of fun, but don’t even think about touching him again!”?
Felyn would probably deck her for saying something like that.
Maybe she could just start screaming at Adeline?
But Felyn already spent the night at Adeline’s place, while she and Felyn hadn’t even kissed yet.
What if he sided with Adeline?
What if he put his arm around her waist and pointed a finger at Zervanie’s nose, saying, “Zervanie, go back where you came from. This is between me and Adeline—it’s none of your business?”
No! She couldn’t take that!
Zervanie could only look at Felyn with puppy-dog eyes, begging him to give her some explanation.
Felyn saw the fire about to explode between the two and calmly looked at his watch.
“Well, now that the misunderstanding’s cleared and you two are getting along so well, I’ll be heading off. I’ve got school.”
He was going to be late.
And honestly, what was the point of sticking around for their catfight?
It was clearly a personal grudge between the two.
He’d already fulfilled the duties outlined in his contract. Standing here any longer was pointless.
What, was he supposed to just stand around and watch the drama unfold?
Felyn blatantly ignored the meaning in Zervanie’s eyes that screamed, “The misunderstanding’s not cleared up at all—in fact, it’s way worse now!”
He waved at them and turned down the street, heading home.
And just like that, Felyn left.
Left behind on the steps were Adeline in her strappy nightgown and Zervanie at the door in a polka-dot short-sleeved top with a red butterfly ribbon.
Their faces didn’t show a hint of anger, but deep down, they had already clashed countless times.
Yet there was one thing they both agreed on.
Now that Felyn was gone… they could finally go all out.
“Miss Zervanie, would you like to come in for tea?” Adeline asked gently.
The voice of the ever-polite, publicly adored student council president.
“Sure, as long as you’re not going to poison the tea, Miss Adeline,” Zervanie replied with a sweet smile of her own.
The same charming expression loved by fans of the nation’s most beloved pop star.
(End of Chapter)