My New Love That Isn’t Fated - Episode 16

After escorting Lilia home, Owen returned to his apartment near Transit Square.
His room was on the third floor of the building.
The first floor was a flower shop, which closed at night. The second floor served as storage for the shop, so rather than a typical apartment, it felt more like renting an empty room above a storefront.

After taking a shower in the room he only ever returned to for sleep, Owen threw on a robe and lay down on the bed.
On the bedside table, under the lamp, sat the handkerchief Lilia had made, embroidered with an adorable owl.
Tracing the little owl with his fingers in the dark, Owen narrowed his eyes.

Even now, at twenty-six years old, he sometimes remembered his childhood.
They were foolish, nightmarish memories.

Owen had been entrusted to the Linhardt family before he was old enough to understand anything.
He thought of them as his real parents.
But as he grew older, he realized something felt wrong.
The woman he called Mother treated him with a kind of distant politeness, while the man he called Father treated him more carefully than his real siblings.
Only Owen had special clothes and food.
While his younger sister clung to him affectionately, his older brother glared at him with cold hatred.

“Father, why am I the only one eating fancy meat, when everyone else only has bread and soup?”
“Owen, you are a blessing sent to our family by the heavens. You are the child of the King and your mother’s sister.”
“I… I’m not your real son?”

The shock was undeniable. But at the same time, it made sense.
Everyone in the Linhardt family had silver hair and blue eyes, while Owen alone had black hair and golden eyes, like no one else.

“Of course, I think of you as my son, but no—you are different. The King promised that you would inherit the throne. If that happens, our Linhardt family would become kin to the King. In these times, the title of viscount means little. But being related to the royal family would change everything.”
“…Then why am I here? Did the King and my mother abandon me?”
“No. The King has many children. If you stayed in the castle, someone might harm you. That’s why you were hidden here. You will become King one day, Owen.”

Was that really true?
Owen couldn’t bring himself to believe it.

When he turned ten, his uncle brought him to the capital.
There, his uncle begged Owen’s mother to get him a seat on the Senate.

He claimed he deserved it because he had raised Owen all these years.

It seemed Owen’s mother did appeal to the King—arguing that although she had sent Owen away to protect him from political games, if she didn’t support the Linhardt family now, Owen would never be treated like a prince.
If the Linhardt family gained power, they could become Owen’s backing.

The King, who adored Owen’s mother, agreed.
Of course, there were plenty of critics.

Every Senate meeting, Owen sat beside his uncle.
He noticed the sneering looks from the other noblemen.
They saw how his uncle treated him as a future king—and likely mocked him for it.
His cousin, who acted like a future bride, must have been ordered to do so.
His other cousin’s hatred was clear.
He hated them all: the selfish King, his mother who had abandoned him, his opportunistic uncle, and the nobles who only used him.

Owen had become a child who always wore a fake smile, constantly watching others’ moods.
Because he had nowhere he truly belonged.
He thought if his uncle abandoned him, he wouldn’t survive.

“…Lilia. You can be free, too.”

He could never truly escape the past.
He still had nightmares, and unwanted memories would sometimes hit him like they had just happened yesterday.

Owen was deeply grateful to Harvey, who had reached out and saved him.
Without Harvey’s protection, he wouldn’t have been able to break away from the Linhardt family.

Thanks to Harvey, Owen could now live like a drifter, free from the bloodstained power struggles.

Lilia—she reminded him of his younger self.
Tied down by her household, unable to breathe.

No… that wasn’t quite right, Owen thought as he lowered his eyes.
He recalled how she had danced so freely in the library.

She was alive.
She was searching for her own path.
Unlike Owen, who had merely gone with the flow.

That was probably why she seemed so dazzling, so precious to him.

The next day, Owen did something unusual—he went to the castle.

Normally he would just visit the research wing and return home, but today he entered the main palace, heading toward the inner quarters known as the Flower Palace, a place reserved only for the royal family.

Harvey only had one queen.
The Flower Palace, once bustling with seven queens during a former king’s reign, was now a quiet and peaceful place.

“Owen! It’s rare for you to come here yourself!”

Seeing Owen, Harvey, who had been playing in the garden with his daughter, came rushing over.
Harvey was now over forty years old.
He had one son who had already reached adulthood, plus three younger children.
At the moment, he was doting over his youngest daughter, who had been born later in life.

“Uncle, it’s been a while.”
“Brother Harvey, Princess Narvira. I apologize for the sudden visit.”
“We’re family. You don’t need an excuse. Come now, have some tea.”

Princess Narvira grabbed Owen’s hand and pulled him along, while Harvey patted him on the back.

Letting himself be led, Owen made his way to the garden terrace.