Adeline tightly gripped Felyn's hand, her head resting on Felyn's shoulder, her rose-gold hair carrying a hint of sweetness.
"Sorry, Adeline. It seems like I messed up the celebration because of me."
Adeline shook her head and looked up at Felyn, "It's my fault. I originally thought that letting you meet Zervanie would make you happy, but I didn't expect something like this to happen."
Adeline didn't probe deeply into the relationship between Zervanie and Felyn.
She didn't care about the past.
As long as she was the one by Felyn's side in the future, that would be enough.
Felyn felt Adeline nuzzling his shoulder with her head, and suddenly thought of something.
After Adeline's contract ended, she wouldn't be like Zervanie, would she?
If something like this happened again, he really couldn't handle it.
She should be able to distinguish between reality and contract, right?
Felyn stole glances at Adeline, who kept drawing circles on her leg with her hand, thinking that as the eldest daughter of the Claude family, how could she not understand such things?
She definitely wouldn't pester me. Don't be presumptuous.
"Felyn, are you hungry? I've reserved a restaurant. I don't know if you..."
Adeline's voice grew quieter and quieter, her eyes very hesitant.
Getting to the restaurant would probably be after nine o'clock. Calculating from the contract ending at ten o'clock, they definitely wouldn't finish this meal.
Maybe they should just forget it—it would cause trouble for Felyn.
Felyn saw Adeline's concerns. He gently patted Adeline's shoulder, the corner of his mouth curving into a gentle smile.
"It would be my honor, Adeline."
Since something like that happened today, he naturally should compensate his client.
The vehicle crossed half of Seiwa and finally arrived at its destination.
The restaurant Adeline had reserved looked very expensive, and even the night couldn't hide its luxury.
Through the private room's floor-to-ceiling windows, they could see the entire imperial capital's night view, with starlight, city lights, and candlelight reflecting each other.
Silver candlesticks were placed in the center of the private room. The candlelight flickered, bringing a touch of softness to the room without affecting the beauty of the night view outside.
The freshest seafood, meat, and vegetables were transported through transmission seal devices, transformed into top-tier cuisine by a chef who had once served royalty, and served with elegant presentation.
Felyn cut a small piece of beef and put it in his mouth, savoring the rich texture.
Adeline hardly ate anything—she couldn't be bothered.
She propped her face with both hands, watching Felyn, who now belonged to her, show a satisfied smile because of the delicious food, her cheeks slightly lifting with a faint pink color.
"Adeline, aren't you going to eat something?"
Adeline shook her head.
Recently, it seemed like she'd gained a little more fat around her stomach.
Today she'd even had trouble putting on this dress!
If this continued, she wouldn't be beautiful in front of Felyn anymore.
"I generally eat less at night. You eat more—you're still growing."
In this intimate space, in this atmosphere of interweaving light and shadow, everything seemed so romantic.
Adeline enjoyed every second of the present.
"If Miss Zervanie doesn't come to the celebration, will there be any problems?"
Felyn was somewhat worried that because of him, all of Adeline's hard work on the planning would be ruined.
"It's fine. There are so many other songstresses and idols in Seiwa. At worst, we'll just invite a few more."
Adeline shook her head. She didn't want to mention Zervanie in this atmosphere.
"Besides, we have other options, like Serafina and Her Highness the Princess."
Felyn suddenly realized a rather troublesome possibility.
"You're not going to take me to communicate details with all of them, are you?"
"You even know that."
Adeline picked up her cup and took a sip of juice: "They're all prominent figures. It wouldn't hurt for you to meet them."
Zervanie was an exception after all.
Those two—one was the founder of [Serafina], the other an imperial princess—had extraordinary status.
Surely those two couldn't possibly pester Felyn like Zervanie did.
There couldn't be that many coincidences in the world.
Under the influence of good food and music, both Felyn and Adeline seemed to forget what had just happened. The atmosphere in the private room was very pleasant.
But someone would definitely not forget.
Zervanie still knelt on the carpet, her ice-blue eyes staring vacantly at the dancing flames in the fireplace.
The flames in the fireplace were about to die out. Darkness and cold occupied most of the space, and Zervanie's feet had long since gone numb.
Her carefully arranged hair had become somewhat disheveled, with a few strands clinging to her slightly sweaty cheeks.
If she knew that Felyn and Adeline were currently eating top-tier cuisine while looking at Seiwa's night view and talking about love, what would her reaction be?
"Miss Zervanie, would you like dinner?"
The maid had already reheated dinner for the third time. She stood at the door, asking cautiously.
Zervanie didn't respond. In her world, only that cracked mask thrown on the sofa remained.
"Miss Zervanie?"
"Get out!"
This was the first time Zervanie had lost composure in front of a maid.
She supported herself with both hands, moving her body to beside the sofa. With trembling hands, she picked up that mask and pressed it against her face.
She could still feel Felyn's warmth and scent remaining on it.
"Felyn, I won't give up."
Zervanie said this to herself.
She couldn't imagine what life would be like without Felyn in the future.
"Adeline is the student council president of Lanchester Academy, so Felyn, as her assistant, must also be a student at Lanchester Academy. I need to find him."
The flames in the fireplace flickered, illuminating the lonely figure of this empire's super popular songstress.
She who had once been the center of attention on stage was now kneeling on the ground, reminiscing about the past.
...
By the time Felyn finished dinner, it was already late at night.
Even though Adeline insisted on sending him home, Felyn still refused.
In the dark street, his house still had a solitary light on.
Felyn returned home, took off his shoes, and saw Daiyi sitting on the sofa with a blanket, reading a book.
"Welcome home."
She looked up and gave Felyn a smile that wasn't particularly large.
"Miss Daiyi, haven't you rested yet?"
Felyn sat down near the fireplace—the night wind was still somewhat cold.
Feeling his body temperature gradually rising, Felyn became mesmerized watching the dancing flames.
He didn't want to think about anything, completely emptying his brain.
"That outfit looks good on you."
Daiyi looked at the clothes Felyn was wearing, deducing that this was a new product from [Serafina].
"A gift from a client. This outfit should be very expensive, right?"
"It's handmade. This outfit costs about 300,000 crowns."
"That expensive?"
"[Serafina] products are all very expensive."
Felyn touched the fabric of his clothes. It seemed only money could calm him down.
Serafina, the famous luxury brand founder.
Unfortunately, she was also one of his clients.
Felyn felt like his world was surrounded by clients. No matter where he hid, he could see their figures and traces.
Daiyi closed her book and turned to boil water.
Only the sound of steam remained in the room, very hypnotic.
Felyn lay in the reclining chair, enjoying the warmth and tranquility.
"All that's missing is a cat," He suddenly said.
"What?" Daiyi tilted her head.
"When I was little, I really liked the idea of being a forest ranger. Outside there'd be a blizzard, and the world would be nothing but white. Inside, there'd only be the firelight, warming the whole house. I'd lie in a reclining chair, holding a cat, sleeping for an entire day."
Felyn spoke about his dream job.
"Give up on that."
"Why?"
"Wherever you go, that group of client young ladies will follow. Your little cabin would definitely be crowded and noisy."
The two smiled at each other.
"Would Miss Daiyi follow me too?"
Daiyi looked at Felyn, those dark green eyes clearly falling into fantasy.
"If there's still a place for me."
She slowly stood up, carefully wiping the milk cup that had been soaking in hot water with a tissue, and placed it in front of Felyn.
"Thank you."
Felyn didn't be overly polite—he needed this right now.
"Good night, sweet dreams."
She closed her book, nodded to Felyn, and returned to her bedroom.
A moment later, Felyn extinguished the fireplace and washed the cup clean.
The communication seal vibrated. He opened it to find another urging message from the hospital.
The content hadn't changed much—just asking him to find time to visit his sister soon.
"I haven't been to the hospital to see her in a long time. I happen to be free tomorrow, so I'll go tomorrow."
(End of Chapter)