Chapter 209 : Bright Future

“I love you, Felyn.”

Bathed in the light of the fireworks, Adelina’s tear-streaked face shimmered with a soft sky-blue glow as each drop caught the light midair.

Felyn stood quietly, staring at her as she confessed.

A complex swirl of emotions rose within him.

Adelina was, without a doubt, perfect. Beneath the cascade of fireworks, she looked like someone who didn’t even belong to this world.

Before meeting her, Felyn had never believed a girl like this could exist—let alone that someone like her would confess to him with genuine feelings.

She was the kind of girl countless young boys would only dare imagine in their wildest dreams. The one they’d envision while lying in bed, staring at the ceiling—an ideal lover they’d never believe they’d meet.

Elegant and noble without arrogance. Proud, but willing to set aside her pride for his sake.

And now, such a girl was standing before him, pouring her heart out.

All he had to do was nod and pull her into his arms, and his entire future would change forever.

The immense wealth and influence of the Claude family would become his stepping stone.

He’d become the lover of the future head of House Claude—Adelina, a girl admired by countless nobles.

What a tempting proposal, wasn’t it?

A beautiful girl. A brilliant future. Just one of those things would’ve been more than enough fortune for someone like him. But here he was, presented with both.

Felyn reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief. He extended his hand and gently wiped her cheeks.

Her skin was soft. Her breath intoxicating. Even the act of wiping her tears felt like a privilege.

“Adelina… I’m sorry.”

He withdrew the handkerchief. In that instant, he saw her pale gray eyes widen in shock.

She staggered, like a leaf caught in the wind, as if she might collapse right then and there.

But she didn’t fall. She held her ground.

Her head hung low, and Felyn could only see her shoulders trembling.

“So it was all just in my head… from the beginning?”

Her voice was faint, barely audible in the quiet world around them.

“But I did a lot to make you misunderstand… I’m sorry.”

Felyn gave her back a gentle pat.

Become the lover of Lady Adelina Claude? Don’t make me laugh.

If he accepted her feelings, Adelina would face an onslaught of criticism and pressure.

And who was he now? A male escort—a companion-for-hire.

People called it “selling emotional value,” not physical intimacy. But to the world, there was little difference between the two.

The future head of House Claude in a relationship with someone like me?

Felyn didn’t even want to imagine the kind of ridicule Adelina would face. The mockery. The slander.

He wasn’t well-versed in politics, but even he knew that Claude’s rivals would seize this opportunity like vultures, using their relationship to smear her.

The radiant halo that the world had placed on her head—they’d rip it off without hesitation.

We could never be together, Adelina.

A world where “love is enough” isn’t the world I live in.

“Adelina. Earlier, you asked what I really thought of you… do you still want to know?”

Adelina clutched her skirt tightly and let out a small, broken hum. “Mm.”

“You’re perfect, Adelina. In every sense of the word.”

“Your beauty, your talents, your background, your character—I can’t find a single flaw in you.”

“No matter what you wear, it suits you. No matter how you style your hair, it looks just right. No matter what challenge you face, you overcome it.”

“I’ve been so happy spending time with you. I can’t believe I had the chance to meet someone like you… I feel so lucky.”

“I’ve felt your kindness, your care… Thank you, truly, for everything, Adelina.”

“I don’t hate you. Quite the opposite. I sincerely hope your future is like the fireworks in the sky tonight—bright, beautiful, and miraculous.”

Felyn looked up. The fireworks would continue until dawn, a never-ending spectacle.

“I hope you can shine like these fireworks, lighting up the faces of everyone lost in the dark. I hope you become their sun—one that never goes out.”

“Thank you for loving me, Adelina. But… we’re not meant to be.”

A strange melancholy settled in his heart.

The futures of the girls around him all shone so brilliantly.

They were phoenixes who had momentarily lost their way—but would soon soar back into the skies that belonged to them.

And his own future?

Just one of debt and quiet survival. A simple, uneventful life.

There’s no place for me in their world.

“I understand,” Adelina said as she wiped her face and slowly raised her head.

In that moment, Felyn’s breath caught.

She looked fragile and disheveled—her rose-tea colored eyes swollen from crying, her flushed cheeks still wet with tears.

And yet, seeing her like this reminded him of a single ray of light breaking through stormy clouds, falling onto a single rose blooming stubbornly in the ruins.

It was a delicate and tenacious beauty—one that stirred something deep within the soul.

“Thank you… for not lying to me.”

She gently tucked her loose hair behind her ear. Her lashes trembled beneath her reddened nose, and her sorrow-stricken face was heartbreakingly beautiful.

“I said some selfish things, didn’t I?”

“Not at all. I didn’t feel troubled in the slightest.”

She licked her dry lips and blinked furiously.

Tilting her chin up, her eyes glistened as she fought to keep the tears from falling.

She looked up at the sky where one by one, the fireworks faded into the night.

“…I’m sorry.”

Her voice cracked again with sobs as she repeated herself.

No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, her tears slipped down—staining the dress she had gone home to change into, ruining her carefully touched-up makeup.

“Adelina, I…”

Felyn tried to offer her the handkerchief again, but she pushed his hand away.

“Don’t look at me. I’m… not pretty right now.”

She turned her face aside, her slender figure seeming especially small in the rooftop’s open space.

“At the very least… for our last moment together, I want you to remember me at my best.”

Then, without waiting for a reply, she walked briskly past Felyn, disappearing from his sight.

Felyn leaned against the railing, letting the night wind slap against his face.

It didn’t feel good at all.

Ten minutes later, Adelina returned.

Her makeup had been fixed, the tears concealed. She looked as if nothing had happened.

As she passed by Felyn, she forced herself not to glance at him.

She was afraid that the calm she’d barely regained would crumble again. That her tears would fall once more. That her makeup would run again.

“Miss Adelina! The fireworks over there are beautiful!”

The noble girls spotted her and ran up excitedly, pulling her to join them under the lights of the sky.

They had no idea what had just happened.

“They are, Miss Molst. Tonight’s fireworks are especially lovely.”

“Right? Right? I feel like I’ll remember this night for the rest of my life!”

“Yeah… me too.”

To everyone else, Adelina was still the same—elegant, graceful, composed, kind.

Only Felyn… only he had seen her brief moment of vulnerability.

(End of Chapter)