The Young Male Protagonist Who is Destined for Ruin Fell for Me - Chapter 31

After the engagement ceremony, I moved into the Chaield estate, sharing a room with Kyle. I once suggested separate rooms, claiming the need for personal space, only to see Kyle’s face turn as if the sky had fallen. I withdrew the idea—it made him so happy.

According to Head Steward Haeld, my presence had brought about numerous changes, big and small, to the estate. As embarrassing as it was for me to admit, the staff seemed to be genuinely pleased. Apparently, when only Kyle and Claire were present, the atmosphere was so tense that even breathing felt like a disruption.

…Now, even if a major accident, like a burst water pipe, occurred, it would be shrugged off with a laugh. It made me feel like some sort of cult leader.

Another change was that Kyle, Claire, and I started having breakfast together. Having read the original story, I knew just how monumental this was for them. Kyle detested even seeing Claire, while Claire despised being involved with Kyle, preferring to stay in her private annex. The fact that they now shared breakfast because of me was nothing short of miraculous.
Yes, it was the perfect time to nudge them toward some emotional interaction. I didn’t expect them to become close, but I did hope for a level of understanding where, if they were the last two people left in the world and one needed bl00d, the other would at least offer a transfusion. Assuming, of course, that Chaield couldn’t just procure it from somewhere.

“Sister, does it not suit your taste?” Kyle asked.

“No, it’s wonderful,” I replied, savoring the dessert topped with gold leaf. I had just learned that people could eat gold. When I poked at the gold leaf with my spoon, Kyle’s face softened as he asked, “Do you like gold?”

“Sure, who doesn’t? I’ve been meaning to ask, does Chaield have a lot of gold?”

Claire, finding my question adorable, laughed before giving me an answer that left me speechless.

“Amel, Chaield holds 90% of the continent’s gold mines.”

“Gold mines, as in places where they extract gold?”

“Yes, and we own many gold-processing companies as well.”

Gold mines. It had never crossed my mind. Asking if Chaield had a lot of gold was something only someone from my background would do. This family’s wealth consistently outstripped my imagination.

“I should gift her a gold mine,” Kyle’s grand thought drifted into my awareness.

“Pardon the interruption, but a letter has arrived from the royal palace,” Haeld said, approaching with a silver tray holding an envelope embossed with the royal seal. My mind immediately jumped to the matter of the invitations, and I instinctively leaned in close to Kyle.

“Kyle, may I open that letter? How often does one get to open mail from the palace?”

With wide eyes, I made my request as sincere as possible. My plan was to open it and, if it turned out to be a certain prince’s invitation, accidentally drop it into the nearest candle.

Kyle’s hesitation to hand over the letter surprised me. Time for a different approach.

“I’m part of Chaield now, aren’t I? Is that… not okay?”
“Of course it is,” he answered without pause. I opened the letter while listening to Kyle’s inner monologue of “Amelia Chaield…Amelia Chaield…” repeating in the background.
Good news: it wasn’t the Crown Prince’s invitation. It was an invitation, but not addressed to Kyle.

“Oh, my apologies. This one’s for Claire,” I said. Opening someone else’s letter was rude, but Claire just beamed at me.
“Oh, Amel, you open letters so well! How precious. I’ll have to reward you.”

She treated it as if it were the most endearing thing, as if I were a kindergartener. Still, if she offered a gift, I’d graciously accept it.

Claire’s red eyes scanned the lines of the letter. The smile in her eyes faded, hardening until her entire expression was stiff.
It was no wonder, given the contents of the invitation.
It was an imperial summons to a banquet for unmarried women in the capital, under the guise of discussing the hardships faced by women of all statuses and drafting new policies. But everyone in the empire knew the real reason. The emperor, a notorious lover of women and wine, had a different motive for hosting such events.

“That old fool… Cutting budgets for women’s welfare only to gather them with political funds? With no rank restrictions?” Kyle’s smile turned strained as he ground his teeth. The emperor’s true intention was simple: to ogle at unmarried women under the pretext of policy-making.

Even I found it infuriating, so Claire, who had received the invitation merely for being a single woman in the capital, must have been livid.

“Claire…” I murmured, hugging her shoulders in sympathy. My tough and fearless favorite character let out a silent curse in her mind.

“Damn it… Can’t even get angry with Amel here.”

Her unfiltered expletives were thrilling; this was why she was my favorite. Claire crushed the invitation under the table, weighing her options. It was a ridiculous request, but it was still from the emperor. Known for being attention-hungry, he obsessed over who attended and who didn’t at his events.

Skipping it was not an option. Which meant she’d have to go…
“…I don’t want to go alone. But I can’t ask Amel to come to such an indecent event.”

Since I was now engaged, I hadn’t considered attending. But as I thought it over, I remembered that Claire wasn’t the only eligible single woman in the capital.

Vanessa Mavibrante, the protagonist of The Magnate’s Downfall and What Followed, might have also received an invitation.
If Vanessa didn’t receive one, she would have secured it somehow—she loved parties.

Since this was a gathering for unmarried women, Kyle couldn’t interfere. That meant I could go with Claire as backup, sneak into the event, and find out if Vanessa was attending.

“Kyle, I have a favor to ask…”

“Would you like the gold mine now?”

“No, I want to attend that banquet.”

“How many days should it be held for? And whom would you like to invite?”

“I don’t mean a banquet hosted by Chaield. I want to go with Claire to the emperor’s banquet.”

Kyle and Claire both froze. They didn’t need to voice their thoughts; the outrageousness of wanting to attend such an event was clear.

“Amel, no. I’ll go alone.”

Claire was the first to step in and stop me.

“But… I really want to attend the banquet with you,” I said, putting on my best pleading look.

“…”

Great, one obstacle down. Now, how was I going to convince Kyle? If I were him, I’d be just as wary if my partner wanted to attend an event hosted by a notorious womanizer.

“Kyle, please. Just this once?”

“This time, absolutely not.”

“But…”

Even my most heartfelt plea wasn’t working. Had he grown immune to it after seeing it too many times?

Left with no other choice, I decided to use an embarrassingly bold line.

“Do you really think anything would happen to me? I’m going to be the wife of Kyleian Chaield.”

“…”

Kyle started to respond but seemed to catch himself, shaking his head to regain composure. I added another layer of sweetness to my voice for the second attempt.

“I’m the future Duchess of Chaield, you know. Don’t you trust me?”

“…”

“I’d like to show off my husband to the other ladies, too. Please?”

Emphasizing husband did the trick. Kyle’s mind seemed to spiral into chaos.

Husband…

Did she really just say husband?

Duchess of Chaield…

His face turned so red, even his ears were glowing as if they might emit steam.

“If it’s what you truly wish, then go, my lady,” Kyle finally said, clearly flustered by the word lady coming out of his own mouth.

I felt a small thrill at having gotten him to say something out of character. I smiled mischievously.

“Thank you, Kyle. Please get the invitation for me today.”

＊＊＊
Not long after, dressed in one of the 99 dresses I hadn’t worn for the engagement, I climbed into the carriage beside Claire.
“Amel, you seem more confident these days.”

“Do I? It’s all thanks to your teaching, Claire.”

Even if one of those lessons nearly led to me throwing the future of the Haile Empire into chaos with an ill-timed scandal.
As the carriage rolled on and the palace came into view, my thoughts drifted to her.

Vanessa Mavibrante, the heroine of The Magnate’s Downfall and What Followed.

Despite being the main character, her past was barely touched upon in the original story. All that was known about her personality was how gentle and warm she was toward Kyle—almost suspiciously so.

Well, most heroines are like that. Vanessa would be the one to heal Kyle’s wounds and become his one true partner, sharing everything with him.

The author’s preferred theme of forget the past and pursue happiness together was clear in her characterization.
And that’s why Vanessa’s background remained even more of a mystery. What was certain about her? Only that she was the leader of Aretists, the most powerful mercenary group in the story.

Aretists, based in the Haile Empire, only allowed those gifted with Arete to rise to leadership positions.

In the original, when Kyle was gearing up for war, one of the mercenaries he hired was Vanessa, the leader of Aretists. She accepted his commission and brought him the destruction he sought. But during that time, she became disillusioned with her life in Aretists, left the group, and found happiness with Kyle. That was her story arc.

All right. Step one: find a platinum blonde beauty.

But the emperor’s banquet wasn’t making it easy. With beautiful women from all walks of life invited, there were quite a few platinum blondes in attendance.

The sight of the emperor, leering as he moved through the throng of young women, only added to Claire’s annoyance.

“Amel, stay here. I need to have a word with that old fool.”
With that, my dependable Claire strode off to confront the emperor. I slipped into a quieter corner, where young ladies stood speaking in hushed tones, and was about to ask if anyone had seen a platinum blonde with blue eyes.

“Oh, isn’t that Lady Diane?”

It was Countess Reyna, who never missed an opportunity to approach me with thinly veiled barbs. She and her friends sidled up, making my search more difficult.

“Hello, Lady Reyna. It’s lovely to see you. By the way, have any of you—”

“Congratulations on your engagement, Lady Diane.”

“Thank you. Now, about a platinum blonde—”

“I heard the Duke of Chaield gave you an impressive gift?”
“Yes, he did—a lake. Speaking of lakes, have you seen anyone with eyes as blue as—”

“With such a grand gift, one has to think about heirs, don’t you agree?”

And so it went. Every time I tried to ask about Vanessa’s appearance, Lady Reyna interrupted with intrusive questions that bordered on rude.

There was only so much I could laugh off.

“Heirs?” I repeated, straining to keep my smile.

“Yes. After all, it becomes difficult for women to have children as they age, doesn’t it?”

Excuse me, I’m only twenty-four! Sure, in this world that’s a bit late for marriage, but it’s hardly time to worry about that!
It was clear that Lady Reyna was enjoying cutting me off and dominating the conversation. The other, more timid ladies fell right in line with her chatter, ignoring my questions entirely.
“Lady Reyna, just for a moment—”

“Oh, but weren’t we just having such an interesting
conversation? Do you have an even better story for us?”

I reached the end of my patience. If she wanted something entertaining, I’d give it to her—something that would silence her and draw the attention of everyone around.

She did all this because she had feelings for Kyle. Fine. I’d serve her a story that would sting, but also captivate the others.

“An interesting story for Lady Reyna, who’s never received a proposal, let alone been married?” I said with a sweet smile.
“How about I tell you about the wedding night?”