I shrugged off Kaelen’s hands and went to Julian’s side, standing so close our shoulders brushed. The dang- erous glint in Julian’s eyes softened.
I whispered to him, my voice a soft, petulant whine. “What took you so long?”
Julian, with no regard for our audience, reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, his voice
a warm, low murmur.
“I was delayed by matters at court.”
20
My mother, sensing something was amiss, couldn’t stop her eyelid from twitching. She pulled Julian aside. “Julian, you are like an older brother to Elara. Help me look at this. Do you think this marriage to Kaelen is a good idea?”
Julian replied with slow, deliberate calm, “I cannot.”
“Because… I also intend to marry Elara.”
My mother was stunned. She slowly let go of his arm, unable to process his words. “Julian, what are you saying?”
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Chapter 2
He waited patiently for her to recover before repeating himself. “Rather than marrying someone else, it wou
Id be better for Elara to marry me.”
“She would still be under your watchful eye, Aunt. And I would never bully her. Isn’t that for the best?”
My mother stopped staring at Julian and turned her glare on me. “Elara is stubborn and clumsy! She can’t even do simple embroidery! How could she possibly… be the Chancellor’s wife?”
The comments chuckled.
[All mothers are the same. Fiercely protective one moment, listing all your faults the next. The perfect child s always someone else’s.]
[Don’t say that about Elara! So what if she’s a little clumsy, a little naive, a little clueless… she’s still adorab e!)】
[Hey, you’re not sparing her either!]
Seraphina’s face went pale, a shimmer of tears in her eyes. “Lady Elara is truly special, to command so much
attention.”
‘First Lord Kaelen begs for her hand, and now the Chancellor himself bows for her…”
Kaelen finally seemed to snap out of his stupor. “Elara, didn’t you say you hated him? You said he was a raud, cold and heartless! You said you were afraid to even stand in his presence!”
Julian lifted an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over Kaelen with faint amusement.
‘I had no idea Elara felt that way about me.”
That mouth of his! I tugged on Julian’s sleeve, forcing him to look at me.
‘No, that’s not true! He’s lying!”
‘My feelings for you are real!”
A small smile touched Julian’s lips. “Elara. You said it yourself.”
My mother finally saw the truth of it. “A daughter can’t be kept. You wretched girl, when did you and Julian get together? And you kept it a secret from me!”
wrinkled my nose. “Well, it hasn’t been that long…”
And it really hadn’t. If I hadn’t seen that strange, glowing text, you couldn’t have paid me to knock on his door
n the middle of the night, shamelessly begging him to be my antidote.
‘He is your husband now. You choose!” My mother threw up her hands in defeat.
21
On our wedding night, after we shared the ceremonial wine, he finally asked.
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