“……”
“……”
In a completely unexpected place and time, Eze and Heidi ran into each other in the most unexpected way, both staring blankly at the other.
Though their minds were in turmoil, thanks to their excellent control over their expressions, both as shrewd as they were, Sean didn’t notice anything unusual at all.
After introducing one side, he even turned to Heidi, beaming as he said:
“Allow me to introduce you, Your Highness. This is Miss Vivian Chrysler, a Noble from the Empire. Due to certain circumstances, she’s temporarily staying here. Beside her is her husband, Mr. Ayn.”
The Empire—another human superpower besides the Kingdom, a long-standing ally with formidable strength.
When disguising her identity, Vielrian had deliberately relied on the mansion, the Succubi’s information network, and her own mentalist skills to make others believe she was a Noble from the Empire, not the Kingdom.
That way, it was less likely to be exposed.
Of course, none of that mattered right now, because Heidi’s mind had gone completely blank in an instant.
What did he say?
Husband?
Whose husband?
Her husband?
Isn’t that MY husband!!?
The princess’s mind buzzed, and her legs nearly gave out, almost sending her tumbling to the ground.
But years of navigating social occasions helped her regain her composure quickly.
If you thought about it, how could this be possible?
Eze, the one who always listened to her, who solved every problem for her, who was completely in her grasp—how could he possibly be someone else’s husband?
It must be someone else, yes, a hundred percent someone else!
Just happened to look a little similar, had a similar name, and just happened to appear in the same city as Eze—there’s no way it’s actually him—
—Like hell it isn’t!!!
Unable to stop herself from escaping reality, Heidi almost convinced herself, but she shook her head hard, barely avoiding falling for her own delusions.
While she was tangled up in her thoughts, Eze had already composed himself, and, as if nothing had happened, smiled and bowed his head:
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. I have long heard of your name. To meet you today is truly a great honor.”
Hearing that, Heidi felt as if she had swallowed a fly.
But no matter what happened, for now she had to play along.
Eze probably thought the same.
So, clutching her aching stomach, she returned the greeting:
“You’re too kind, Mr… Mr. Ayn.”
“And don’t forget me. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. Isn’t it a beautiful night?”
With a tone full of mockery, the woman standing beside Eze proactively reached out her hand.
The shock of the earlier situation had been so great that Heidi’s attention was entirely on Eze. Only now did she shift her gaze to the woman.
Purple hair, purple clothes, and that infuriating smile.
No doubt about it, it was the woman she’d seen yesterday.
She’d gotten what she wanted—she’d found her. So why couldn’t she feel happy?
What was her name again? Vivian? A Noble from the Empire?
Never heard of her.
How could some random nobody dare to shamelessly claim to be Eze’s wife?
And Eze, just what was he thinking, going along with this woman’s act?
Heidi really wanted to grab this wretch by the hair and show her what a real hero’s brawl looked like.
Unfortunately, now wasn’t the time.
“Who wouldn’t agree, Miss Vivian—”
With a smile that was getting harder and harder to maintain, she grasped the outstretched hand.
Vivian looked Heidi up and down, her gaze pausing at Heidi’s chest, her smile growing even more pronounced:
“I’ve long heard that though Princess Heidi is a Noble, she always stands at the front lines, using her delicate yet unbreakable body to block the advance of the Demon Army. Now that I see you, you’re indeed as sturdy as they say~”
Key words extracted—short, skinny, flat, hard.
And as she said this, Vivian even deliberately puffed out her own chest, as if to prove something.
“You—”
That not-so-subtle personal attack nearly broke Heidi’s composure, but she forced herself to smile back:
“Not at all, you flatter me. The Empire and the Kingdom have a long-standing alliance, there’s no need to be so formal, hahahaha……”
Go ahead and show off for now. Let’s see how I deal with you later.
“Let’s go, Vivian. See you in a bit, Your Highness, Viscount Edgar.”
Afraid the two would start a catfight right there, Eze seized the moment, taking the purple-haired girl inside the mansion, leaving Heidi at the door, fists clenched.
Soon, all the guests had arrived.
As the host, Sean once again introduced Heidi to everyone, explained Eze and Vielrian’s fake identities, and spoke of the victory at the Anlin Plains. With that, the banquet officially began.
Wine and laughter mingled, guests gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing.
As always, Heidi became the center of attention, quickly surrounded by people.
A fallen royal is still royal, after all.
Not to mention, she also had the title of Hero.
But today, Heidi’s attention was fixed on Eze not far away. She couldn’t enjoy the party as usual; even the wine in her glass tasted bland.
As a newcomer to the Tafia social circle, Eze had plenty of people around him thanks to the host’s personal introduction—he wasn’t left out.
But compared to the crowd around the princess, it was still much less.
Normally, Heidi would have been thrilled by this difference.
But not today.
Because that woman was stuck to her fiancé like a leech.
Several times, Heidi nearly crushed the wine glass in her hand.
The agonizing wait dragged on for over an hour before Heidi finally caught a chance—when that woman left Eze to touch up her makeup. She quickly dispelled her own crowd and hurried over, dragging Eze to a quiet corner of the banquet hall.
“Eze, what’s going on!?”
They were far from the other guests, so it didn’t matter if she raised her voice a bit. With her pent-up anger about to explode, Heidi’s voice was several pitches higher.
“What exactly are you doing!? What’s with that woman!? And… what’s with this husband and wife business that Viscount mentioned!?”
In Princess Heidi’s mind, this basically counted as catching him in the act—an hour-long, live-action husband-and-wife affair.
Even someone as calm as Eze should have some kind of reaction now, right?
So, getting a little angry was fine. She wanted to take advantage of his guilt, and then hit him with a moral attack.
But it was all for nothing—Eze’s expression was unusually calm.
“Nothing happened. I just came along to the banquet. As for the husband and wife thing, it’s just pretend. If my former Hero identity is exposed, it’ll be a huge problem.”
When dealing with all sorts of factions, making enemies was inevitable.
Some of them hated Eze to the bone and wanted him dead. If they learned of his current situation, they’d surely make a move.
Heidi didn’t care about any of that, but upon learning their identities were fake, she finally breathed a sigh of relief—at least she hadn’t been dumped.
But then came the anger.
Fake or not, they were still acting all close—what difference did it make? Wasn’t this just another form of cheating?
He clearly had no interest in her, but the moment that woman got close, he started playing hard to get—what, did he really like those useless lumps of fat!?
And that woman too—knowing he was engaged, even after promising she was just letting him recuperate at her place, she kept getting handsy—what was that about!?
Absolutely unforgivable.
“I’m asking you, Heidi.”
Eze’s voice snapped Heidi out of her thoughts.
“Can you answer me honestly?”
“Of course. What is it?”
“Did something happen at the Anlin Plains?”
“…Huh!?”
The unexpected question hit the mark, leaving Heidi stunned.
Eze, unhurried, swirled his glass, took a sip of what looked like wine but was actually juice, and calmly said:
“If nothing happened, why would you go to such lengths to come find me ahead of schedule?”