Never Saved You - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Translator: Yonnee

—

‘Am I dreaming right now?’

She swallowed the mermaid scale, lost consciousness, then when she opened her eyes, she suddenly found herself in a place from the past.

Ophelia obviously knew where she was.

How could she forget?

A man with black hair stood under the chandelier, where he shone like a crystal, even more brilliant than the light.

At that time, he was the first person that caught her eye amidst this dull, monotonous gathering of high society. And it wasn’t hard to tell who he was.

“I heard that the Grand Duke of Ronen hates banquets.”

“The Emperor asked for his presence earnestly, and the rumor goes that this large banquet is being held just to invite him.”

From some distance away, Ophelia’s ears pricked at the conversation of the ladies who covered their lips with their fans.

“Should I go talk to him? We won’t get another chance to meet him again.”

“If you’re aiming to become the Grand Duchess, then just forget it. If you’re not an Imperial Princess, then you’re out of luck.”

“Well, it depends on which princess. If he’ll marry a princess, then shouldn’t it be the Second Princess?”

They were right.

The Emperor had more than just one or two children, but they weren’t equal. Some were properly taken care of in the Imperial family, while others couldn’t even bask in the same light even though they’re considered ‘stars’ of the Empire.

Compared to the Second Imperial Princess, whose mother was the Empress, there was an Imperial child who was considered to be even less than a humble aristocrat’s daughter.

In this case, it was Ophelia.

“If you don’t even have a palace like the First Princess, then it’s a different story.”

“I heard she’s being kicked out.”

“I heard it, too. To the East. Looks like she’s going to marry the Margrave.”

She was given the magnificent title of First Imperial Princess simply because she was born first, but no one respected her because she was an illegitimate child.

Ophelia Milescet.

As she approached the right age for marriage, she was bound to be sent off in a political marriage, but no one was willing to take in an illegitimate daughter.

She had been given the Imperial family’s name just because she had nowhere else to go, and she was appointed as an inspector and was ordered to travel around the surrounding territories.

If you looked closely at the Imperial family, it was clear that Ophelia, whose worth was just half a princess, was sent to the fief lords that were a pain in the Emperor’s neck so that they wouldn’t kick up a fuss.

And if it’s fortunate enough, maybe one of those nobles would take in Ophelia as a bride.

To put it simply, she had been abandoned.

So anyone could easily bring up Ophelia’s name and laugh at her.

Thanks to this, ever since Ophelia had come of age, she didn’t spend much time at the palace. It wasn’t until now that she returned when foreign people of importance came to the capital.

Ophelia met Ian for the first time at this banquet.

Truthfully, it was a stretch to say that they ‘met’.

Ian was surrounded by many people under that bright chandelier, and Ophelia was outside this crowd just listening to them talk about him.

But there was definitely one significant memory.

‘It was like he’s in a different world from me. That’s what I thought.’

She wouldn’t see him again anyway, so she quickly forgot about him, then she moved on to the next place she needed to inspect.

Until she met Ian again on the coast of Ladeen.

So although it was their first time officially meeting at the coast, Ophelia’s first memory of Ian was at this banquet.

‘I’ve forgotten about it.’

She never thought she’d remember again. The inside of her mouth tasted bitter.

Was this a hallucination created by the mermaid scale?

‘I don’t want to have this kind of dream.’

And it didn’t even feel like a hallucination or an illusion.

It was too vivid.

The humdrum of the banquet hall, the skirt of her dress brushing by her legs.

Moreover, she hated that she saw the vivid image of Ian shining under the chandelier.

Looking at him like this reminded her of the time she loved him wholeheartedly.

No, she remembered when she ‘believed’ that she loved him.

Those immature days of holding his hand and dreaming of happiness.

‘It was like a fairytale.’

The prince and princess from a fairytale book that she secretly read when she was young.

They met each other, overcame many hardships together, got married and lived happily ever after.

The tutor, appointed to Ophelia by the Imperial family, told her to study history or more vocabulary instead of wasting time on fairytales. But at that time, the only books she read from front to back, and then again, were those fairytales.

If she was like a fairytale princess, then she could endure everything.

Even when she was being beaten by her tutor. Even when she was being ridiculed for being an illegitimate child.

Because she was a princess.

The princess in the book had to endure such a hard life.

She could stop herself from crying if she thought about her.

Of course, she knew that the princess in the fairytale wasn’t her.

Immediately after she married Ian, there were times when she laughed at herself as she remembered the foolish way she comforted herself when she was a child.

‘And I realized once more that fairytales are just fairytales.’

The only good thing about this situation was that it’s a dream.

It was impossible for it to be real.

Ophelia turned her back on Ian.

She didn’t know anything about magic, but she knew one thing about waking up from a dream.

It didn’t matter if it was a hallucination or an illusion.

She needed to get out of here.

Thinking only of that, Ophelia opened the balcony door and went out.

She leaned against the railing—

Then let herself fall.

…Just before she fell, she might have met someone’s gaze.

* * *

Ian Carle Ronen, the Lord of Ronen, doubted his eyes for a moment.

If what he saw was right, there was a woman who jumped off the balcony.

It was a coincidence for him to see it. He turned his head only because he didn’t want to listen to the endless chattering next to him, then he happened to make eye contact.

Just before the balcony door closed, hair as red as a flame burned fiercely in his eyes, then vanished.

A woman jumped off the balcony.

Ian froze for a brief moment. He wasn’t sure if he was just seeing things.

“Your Excellency, I know that you find banquets tiresome, but please don’t make it so obvious.”

When his aide pointed it out, Ian asked adamantly.

“You didn’t see it?”

“What do you mean, sire? If you’re just looking for a chance to escape, then just know that I’ll try my hardest to stop you.”

“I won’t do that, so listen to me for a second. The balcony.”

“Balcony?”

The aide directed his gaze towards where Ian was looking.

“You want to run away and go there?”

“Damn it… How many times do I have to tell you that I won’t do that here at Milescet?”

“You did it last time. I saw it with these two eyes.”

Ian’s aide, Maniche, was determined not to let anything slide today.

Recently, rumors had spread that the Second Imperial Princess of Milescet was interested in Ian. It wasn’t a false rumor because the Emperor himself also secretly leaked out that he was willing to give up his beloved daughter to him.

It would be a marriage between the Empire and Principality. If this were to happen, the Principality of Ronen would not have to rely heavily on their maritime trade’s unstable funds.

Recently, more ships that sailed failed to return.

The sea had too many unknown elements, and the Principality, which relied heavily on maritime trade, was on the brink of collapse at any time, even though it seemed powerful now.

Fortunately, they were working together with the Magic Tower to use magic to navigate the waters, but it wasn’t enough to stabilize things.

Ian, the Principality’s Lord, also agreed.

That’s why he came all this way to Milescet to establish connections.

Besides, Maniche secretly sounded out Ian before they arrived at the banquet.

—Your Excellency, have you heard the rumor?

—What rumor?

—I heard that the Second Princess is interested in you.

—I’m honored.

—Today’s banquet will be hosted by the Milescet Imperial family. Are you going to meet her? The Second Princess.

Ian raised his brows slightly while he was adjusting his cuff button.

Whenever he saw Ian’s sharp features twisted strangely as if he were a sword cutting through the sea breeze, Maniche would unconsciously clench his hands into fists.

Others would say that Ian was frightening, but Maniche thought differently.

He didn’t know any other human being who wasn’t interested in anything in the world.

There were times when his silver eyes, which gleamed under the bright sky, felt as though they had the color of the sky just before a storm.

—If you want me to, then I’ll meet her.

—Alright. I won’t let you run away today.

—I’ll consider it.

It was an amiable answer.

It seemed like Ian was interested in the Second Princess as well. Maniche assumed as much. That’s why he arranged a meeting between him and the princess today.

However, this. f*cking. boss of his disappeared all of a sudden. Maniche looked around in panic, searching for Ian as he muttered where his ‘consideration’ went.

Ian once ran away from King Kschent’s birthday banquet after he deceived Maniche.

Since he was young, Ian had always hated banquets, so Maniche sometimes closed his eyes and let Ian leave. But not today.

Apologies, sire, but you’d have to do a bit of overtime today.

As Maniche strengthened his resolve, the banquet hall became noisy.

“Entering, Her Highness the Second Star of Milescet!”

The door opened, and a woman of high status entered the room.

The Second Princess, Cadelia Milescet.

The smile on Maniche’s lips almost reached ‘til his ears when he saw her.

“Sire, the Second Princess arrived sooner than we expected. Come on, let’s go greet her and…”

But the moment he turned around, Maniche’s smile crumbled.

“…F*ck.”

Ian, who was scanning his surroundings, was next to him until a second ago.

But now he was gone.