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Ayla hastily dredged up past memories from her mind.
In the original story, Kadin clearly held an engagement ceremony with Rosia immediately after breaking off his engagement with her.
And after tormenting Ayla, who had become a commoner for a while, he quickly lost interest and returned to his original irresponsible life.
It was said that he neglected Rosia and went around meeting this woman and that woman as before.
The fact that he was still not engaged meant that something was definitely wrong.
“Why on earth?”
“Do I have to say it in words for you to understand?”
Kadin wore an ambiguous smile. But inside, there was anxiety and frustration swirling.
Also, his gaze was desperately following her, as if trying to gauge her reaction.
‘Could it be.’
An ominous premonition flashed through Ayla’s mind.
‘Isn’t this a common trope in novels?’
How many times had her ex-boyfriend suddenly become clingy and begged the female lead, saying, ‘I’ve only just realized my feelings’?
And if things didn’t go his way, he would change and cause trouble, saying, ‘Why won’t you accept my feelings?’
Ayla shook her head firmly, as if she couldn’t tolerate such a situation.
‘There’s no way that jerk has genuinely fallen for me. He’s probably just feeling some pathetic sense of ownership because things aren’t going his way.’
She looked at Kadin and suddenly paused.
She used to feel her heart flutter just by looking at him like this, but now it felt strange that she didn’t feel anything at all.
There was a time when she believed she loved him and dreamed of a future with him.
But now, all those memories felt as meaningless as old books covered in dust.
‘…Well, I already know exactly what kind of person he is. There’s no way I’d be swayed by something like this.’
Ayla smiled faintly.
She felt quite proud of herself for not being swayed by past emotions, but at the same time, she also felt bitter.
Soon, she opened her mouth gently.
“Whatever your intentions are, I don’t want Rosia to get hurt. So I can’t accept your gift.”
“……”
“And I don’t really want to have conversations like this in the future. I’m not happy about you coming to see me either.”
“…You’re not happy to see me?”
“Yeah, I’ve rejected you countless times. But if you keep doing this, it’ll reflect badly on you to others.”
Ayla’s voice was firm, but she remained gentle and calm to the end.
She continued in a soft voice.
“The reason I accepted this conversation is to ask you one more time not to do this.”
She already guessed the purpose of Kadin’s visit.
The fact that he had publicly requested a conversation, even at the cost of his pride, clearly meant that he intended to put a new scandal on her.
That way, Ayla wouldn’t be able to leave him. So that no one else would dare to covet her.
Ayla could now see through his inner thoughts.
“So Kadin, please go back now. If you really care about me.”
Ayla’s tone was gentle, but there was a strange power within it.
Perhaps that was why Kadin’s insides began to boil.
He was incredibly annoyed by the situation not going the way he wanted.
He had thrown away his pride and prepared an expensive gift to come and find her, but instead of restoring their relationship, he was being told to go back.
‘Ayla clearly still doesn’t know what her situation is.’
Kadin gritted his teeth and tried to maintain his composure.
But the dissatisfaction he had built up inside was overflowing, and he couldn’t help but open his mouth.
“What are you going to do without me?”
“…What?”
Ayla’s expression hardened.
But Kadin didn’t seem to care about her reaction, and continued more sharply.
“Even if you graduate from the academy with your grades, the jobs you can get are obvious. How are you going to live in the future with that meager income?”
Ayla’s lips were tightly shut.
Kadin was finally showing his true colors because she had refused his gift.
‘I knew it. Coming to cheer me on for doing well on the exam was bullshit.’
While she swallowed the anger that welled up inside her, Kadin let out a short sigh.
Then, pretending to be genuinely worried about her, he continued his hypocritical attitude.
“And you’re being hated by your Fre… I mean, your fellow students, right? What if those kids secretly harm you after you graduate? Do you think the Princess will stick by your side and protect you until then?”
Kadin twisted the corners of his lips.
“I guarantee that once you graduate from the academy, she’ll lose interest in you.”
Ayla didn’t say anything and just stared at him.
But inside, there was contempt and indifference that couldn’t be expressed in words.
Whether he knew it or not, Kadin frowned and shook his head.
“Ayla, I don’t want to bring up your sore spots. But you need to face reality. About how you’re going to live in the future without my protection.”
There was no need to listen any further.
Ayla quietly turned around and started walking away.
She knew that this wasn’t a smart response.
But unless she was an idiot, there was no reason to stand there and endure those insulting words.
Kadin became even more anxious at her disregard.
The fact that Ayla, who had seemed within his grasp, was moving away from him was driving him even harder.
“Ayla!”
In the end, Kadin, who had run out of patience, hurriedly followed her.
Then, his hand firmly grabbed her wrist.
He had used so much force that the area he grabbed was throbbing with pain. It was so hard to shake off.
Kadin forcibly turned her around and growled in a low voice.
“Answer me, Ayla. What are you going to do?”
Instead of answering, Ayla twisted her arm to break free from his grip.
“Please let go.”
But Kadin didn’t budge. Rather, he only tightened his grip.
“You’re not treating me like this without thinking, are you?”
Ayla avoided his gaze and was wondering what to do when.
At that moment, an unexpected voice cut in between them.
“Let go of her hand, Kadin, senior.”
Ayla turned her head in surprise.
At the same time, Kadin’s expression twisted unpleasantly as he recognized him.
It was Felix.
‘Is it this guy again.’
Kadin gritted his teeth inwardly.
His face, which was unusually slick for a commoner, was always an eyesore.
“You haven’t changed at all, even after losing in the sparring match last time.”
Felix said that and stood in front of Ayla, intentionally blocking his gaze.
Kadin spat out a sneer at his presumptuous attitude.
“What?”
“What are you doing, grabbing someone who doesn’t want you to?”
“Ha.”
Kadin burst into laughter at the absurdity.
He might have tolerated his impudence if they were alone.
But not now.
Most of the students watching them were nobles.
They were very sensitive to commoners who didn’t know their place.
In fact, some of the nobles’ gazes became sharp at Felix’s rude behavior.
“Felix is daring to stand up to Kadin?”
“He’s really presumptuous. Did he get cocky because he received Duke Argenta’s patronage?”
Encouraged by this atmosphere, Kadin sneered at Felix.
“Did you ask what I’m doing? I asked Ayla how she’s going to live in the future.”
“Why are you so interested in Ayla’s future, Kadin, senior?”
“Isn’t that none of your business?”
“……”
“After all, you’re nothing to Ayla. Unlike me, who was once her fiancé.”
Kadin glared at Felix with a condescending look.
He had heard rumors that the two were close, but he didn’t think that a commoner could dare to interfere between Ayla and him.
No matter how much he had become a disciple of Duke Argenta, the fact that he was an uneducated, lowly commoner had not changed.
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