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"Not in any relationship? How can you be so sure?"
"Wh-what?"
"What if I have a relationship with Ayla that allows me to interfere, or rather, more than that?"
As Felix finished speaking, murmurs spread through the crowd.
"Fe, Felix."
Ayla grabbed his arm with a flustered face, but he was busy glaring at Kadin.
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Could it be... are they dating? Didn't they say no last time?"
Kadin bit his lip.
'A relationship that allows him to interfere? Are Ayla and that guy really dating?'
Kadin glared at Felix with an incredulous expression.
But Felix's face showed no wavering.
Only then did Kadin's gaze turn to Ayla.
In response to his gaze demanding an explanation, Ayla bit her lip as if troubled, then quietly nodded.
The moment he saw that, Kadin's mind went completely blank.
'They were really... dating?'
He could understand Ayla associating with commoners.
After all, she had become a commoner, and she probably didn't have many places to rely on right now.
However, he believed that her feelings couldn't go beyond dependence to affection.
Considering the affection and devotion Ayla had shown him, her heart couldn't have changed so easily.
But, was that just his own delusion?
Soon, Kadin's body swayed slightly.
'Really, Ayla has someone she likes other than me?'
Thud.
Even though the expensive gift he had prepared fell to the ground, he was too dazed to even notice.
Even in the midst of all this, Felix's unpleasant voice struck his ears.
"I don't know if you know, but I recently received a promise of full support from the Duke Argenta family on the condition that I become the Duke's disciple."
"……."
"If I join Kistar and achieve merits, I might be granted a suitable noble title someday."
Felix's calm voice sharply pierced Kadin.
Kadin gritted his teeth and glared at him.
However, the aura emanating from Felix's body was incomparably stronger than before.
"So, you don't need to worry about Ayla's affairs anymore. From now on, I will protect her."
After speaking, Felix gently wrapped his arm around Ayla's shoulder, who was standing next to him.
She looked slightly surprised, but soon quietly moved closer to Felix.
At the same time, Kadin felt Ayla's wrist slipping out of his grasp.
He wanted to grab it again, but strangely, his arm wouldn't move.
"Kadin... we'll be going now."
Ayla said calmly. Felix firmly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and slowly moved his feet.
The backs of the two looked as affectionate as a newly formed couple.
Kadin stood frozen in place, watching the two of them walk away.
Strangely, annoyance was boiling up inside him.
'Why am I so angry?'
Weren't his feelings for Ayla originally just a passing interest?
The engagement had been maintained for political reasons, so there was no need to get so worked up just because someone was taking her away from him.
He was originally a free spirit, and he had no intention of settling down with one person.
'Right, it's just unpleasant that a commoner dared to touch what I was aiming for.'
He tried to rationalize his feelings by repeating that to himself.
But regardless of Kadin's efforts to compose himself, the murmurs coming from behind only grew louder.
When he turned his head, he saw the students still standing at a distance, watching him.
"Having fun watching?"
At Kadin's cold voice, the students froze and hurriedly left the spot.
Listening to the sound of their departing footsteps, Kadin also slowly took a step.
But he still didn't feel refreshed.
He couldn't tell whether he was jealous of the fact that Felix had become the Duke's disciple, or whether he felt regret for losing Ayla.
'……It's probably because of Felix.'
Kadin ultimately blamed Felix for the cause of his displeasure and tried not to think about it anymore.
Only then would he be able to avoid admitting that he had truly lost her.
Once they had moved a certain distance away, Felix grabbed Ayla's wrist and hurried his pace.
The two soon passed through the academy's campus and entered a deserted corridor.
But Felix's pace did not slow down at all.
Ayla struggled to keep up with his long legs, calling his name with an anxious heart.
"Felix!"
But as if he didn't hear her, Felix continued forward with a stiff face.
"Felix, stop for a moment."
Even with her earnest voice, Felix still didn't respond.
Eventually, Ayla had no choice but to stop and shout even louder.
"I said stop!"
Only then did Felix stop a beat late.
He paused for a moment, shrugging his shoulders and sighing, then slowly turned around.
However, his appearance, standing there without saying anything while avoiding her gaze, seemed somewhat unstable.
"Felix."
Ayla slowly took a breath and then cautiously opened her mouth.
"What on earth are you thinking? Suddenly bringing up the fact that we're dating there."
Kadin wasn't the only one who was surprised by Felix's shocking statement.
'You're going to reveal this here? Are you serious?'
Ayla was also inwardly dumbfounded and flustered.
She had only reluctantly agreed because it would have seemed strange to deny it in that situation.
Originally, she had planned to announce that she was dating Felix at a later time.
For example, right after Kadin announced his engagement to Rosia.
'That way, people won't be able to say bad things about me.'
But Felix's impulsive remarks had messed up all her plans.
"We clearly said we'd announce it slowly later, didn't we? Don't you remember?"
She knew he did it for her sake, but it was a somewhat reckless act.
Kadin still seemed to have lingering feelings for Ayla.
In order to cleanly organize the relationship with Kadin, she had to avoid actions that would provoke him like today.
"And you know it too. We're commoners and Kadin is a noble. No matter how angry you are, you shouldn't provoke him like that."
Above all, Felix's attitude today was too emotional to be dealing with the Marquess's son.
She was worried that Felix might get caught in the crossfire.
Ayla sighed, rubbing her forehead.
"I'm grateful that you helped me when I was in trouble, but I hope you'll act more wisely if something like this happens in the future."
However, Ayla did not outwardly reveal any of those concerns.
Instead, she scolded him in a calm tone, as if she were reprimanding a child.
The problem was that the warning was received by Felix in a completely different way than Ayla intended.
Each of her words weighed heavily on Felix's mind.
'Am I wrong?'
The events of earlier were replayed in his head in order.
The sight of the two of them having a conversation he didn't know about.
And Ayla's appearance, desperately stopping him when he tried to reveal that they were dating.
Recalling that, he felt the years that he could not reach piled up between the two of them.
When he thought about it, Ayla had always treated him like a child, and in a way, she didn't even see him as an equal partner like Kadin.
'Does Ayla only see me as more immature than that guy?'
Just because of a one-year age difference?
Realizing that, Felix strangely couldn't control himself.
Just a little while ago, he had been excited to meet Ayla and give her a gift.
But now, he didn't even know why he was so angry, and an unpleasant feeling was surging up from within his heart.
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