The Forbidden Romance of Orion Dylan

“Orion, that son of a…! I knew he had a selfish streak, but I never imagined he’d make a choice this reckless. Do you know what the most mind-blowing part is? The person he brought home as his partner is a man. Not being a noble is a problem, and Isabel Rosebell is a problem, but a partner who can’t even produce an heir? I’ve never seen my father so furious.”

“Good heavens. Is he serious?”

“He must be serious if he brought the guy home. Damn it all, does this even make sense? Does he think he’s some protagonist in a romance novel?”

Finally losing his temper, Elliot demanded a drink from a servant. Thanks to Imperial law, which allowed alcohol even for minors, he easily obtained wine and lined up several glasses next to him. He looked like he couldn’t survive this ordeal sober. I could understand his feelings.

“Wouldn’t it have been better if he at least talked to the family first and got permission before introducing him?”

“That’s exactly what I said! He seems to think it’s romantic, but it’s just a nuisance to the partner. I felt so bad for the guy, standing there frozen while everyone was screaming, that I was the one who ended up showing him to a room. It’s not a joke.”

After knocking back three glasses in a row, Elliot finally calmed down enough to mutter a few curses. I was glad Helena had already left. In his current state, I doubted Elliot would have had anything kind to say to her, regardless of his true feelings. And since Helena was already piqued over the brooch incident, a fight could have easily broken out.

“Um… so, what’s he going to do?”

“What else? My mother threatened that if he goes through with this, he can forget about the succession. He just said fine, he doesn’t have any lingering attachments to the position anyway. Thanks to that, the target has moved to me.”

I silently patted his shoulder to comfort him. I didn’t even know what to say. A dream-filled eleven-year-old—Elliot Dylan’s dream had been to be a wealthy jobless man who inherited a decent amount of assets without the burden of being the head of the family.

“Llewellyn. Elliot, hello to you too. Your brother was standing over there looking like he couldn’t even approach. Should I call him over…? Oh…”

Abel appeared at just the right time, carrying chocolate-covered fruit, but stopped short when he saw Elliot’s face. Following his gaze, I saw a black-haired young man standing idly by. He looked away quickly the moment our eyes met. Looking at his face, I could see why Isabel Rosebell was so desperate to be engaged to him. While not exactly the “handsome man of the century,” he had attractive features that naturally drew the eye. Well, right now, he was just a fool blinded by love who had abandoned his duties.

“Hang in there, Elliot. I don’t know what you fought about, but it’s probably all his fault.”

Abel graciously handed one of the fruits in his hands to Elliot. Elliot gave a weak thanks and chewed on it. With a bit of alcohol and sugar in his system, he looked slightly better than when he first arrived, though his flushed face was definitely that of someone tipsy.

I gave Abel a brief explanation of what I had just heard. It was news that would spread soon enough anyway.

“Wait, Alan Caylus? Was the partner a brunette with blue eyes? Looking a bit… limp? No, I mean, refined?”

As Abel described him, a thoughtful Elliot nodded. Come to think of it, Abel would have been in the same Academy year as the eldest Dylan son.

“I knew those two would end up like that. Back at the Academy, they were practically… um, filming a romance.”

Judging by the context, I think he wanted to say, ‘they were acting like total idiots.’ Of the three brothers, the third one had the sharpest tongue. Even the second brother couldn’t hold his own against him in an argument. Are all mages like this?

“At the Academy?”

“Yeah. Alan used to beat the—I mean, he rejected Orion a lot. Alan was so good at swordsmanship that people said he should have joined the Knight’s Department instead. I didn’t know what happened after they graduated first, but I guess he succeeded in the end.”

Hearing Abel’s words, Elliot sank deeper into despair. It wasn’t just a fleeting madness; knowing it was a desperate love that had continued since their Academy days made him realize there was no turning back. Plus, learning that Orion Dylan had clung to him for dear life despite being rejected… I glared at his brother on behalf of poor Elliot. Orion Dylan, who was keeping his distance and hadn’t dared to approach, flinched.

If it’s such a great love, he should at least take care of it properly. How can he be so immature? At the very least, if he had waited a few years until his position as heir was solidified, Elliot wouldn’t be this stressed.

I understood why Abel constantly clicked his tongue at the second brother. Looking at Orion Dylan, I felt like doing the same.

Elliot seemed to find a bit of energy upon seeing the brooch and complimented how well it suited me. I had planned to grumble about how Helena had given me cold stares because of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it now. After comforting him again, I scanned the banquet hall. It was a struggle to peel Abel away, but after telling him to go deal with Orion, he finally gave in—after making me promise to find him immediately if any “weirdo” bothered me—and went off to tease Orion Dylan.

I searched through the crowd of similarly-sized children for purple hair. Sissi, Elizabeth Luxteal, where are you? It would be better to find her and hand over the necklace before the Imperial family arrived. Once the banquet officially started, it would be difficult to move around.

Finding a specific person in a banquet that occupied an entire hall was no easy task. From crowded areas to quiet corners, I felt like I had walked everywhere, but there was no sign of purple hair. Checking the time, I felt anxious. It felt like the doors could open at any moment to announce the Princes. No one was bold enough to commit the rudeness of entering after the Imperial family, so she had to be inside by now.

It was Lucia who noticed me wandering fruitlessly and offered help. Perhaps feeling guilty for telling Helena about me after promising to keep it a secret, Lucia apologized and then struck up a conversation with the young ladies around her while keeping an eye on me.

“I heard the Young Lady of Luxteal came to this banquet.”

“Luxteal? You mean that one?”

“Yes. They say no one in Robenus has the artistic insight of Viscount Luxteal. I was curious to see if his niece would choose a dress different from the capital’s trends.”

As expected, a butterfly pin decorated her half-tied hair. Lucia, wearing a heavily pleated cream-colored dress, blinked and asked, “Don’t you agree?” The friends gathered around her nodded, saying, “You’re right, Lucia.”

As expected of someone with two older sisters. Lucia’s skill in handling girls was incomparable to Helena’s. Without moving a single step, Lucia found out that Elizabeth Luxteal had arrived and was talking on the terrace. She smiled, covering her mouth.

“If she’s in the middle of a conversation, we shouldn’t interrupt. She’ll come to the central hall soon, so let’s mingle then.”

“Let’s do that, Lucia.”

“By the way, Sophie, that necklace is wonderful. Was it your mother’s choice?”

“Yes, my mother prepared it for me.”

Thanks to Lucia naturally shifting the topic, the girls around her were no longer interested in Sissi. In the meantime, I gave her a small nod of thanks—making sure no one else noticed—and headed toward the terrace. Lucia winked and raised her chin haughtily. I decided I could easily forgive her for letting the secret slip to Elliot.

Arriving near the terrace, I realized my hands were rubbing against my clothes—I was nervous. My god. Are you crazy? After insisting so much that it wasn’t a first love. I didn’t know why I was this tense just to deliver an apology gift.

I told myself it was nonsense. There was no way. The other party was just a ten-year-old child; it was absurd to harbor romantic feelings for someone like that. I’d rather bite my tongue and die, you trash! Right. This was just because I felt bad for suspecting she might be one of the crazy people involved with Llewellyn Edwill. I felt guilty for worrying that a perfectly normal child might be a cross-dressing pervert.

Having organized my thoughts, I carefully pulled back the curtain covering the terrace and stepped inside. Since we had exchanged letters often, the conversation shouldn’t be awkward.

On the terrace were a woman in a dress of a style different from what was common in the capital and a girl with purple hair. Was she just coming of age? Looking at her young face, she didn’t seem to be Rebecca Luxteal. Looking at the small figure from behind, I pulled the box from my coat.

“What on earth were you thinking? What if your mother finds out?”

“Auntie said it was fun…”

“If you live by her standards, you won’t even be able to step foot in the capital.”

“Um, excuse me…”

It seemed like they were in the middle of an important conversation, making it awkward to interrupt, but I thought it would be even more embarrassing to be caught standing behind them. The woman, who had been lecturing without realizing someone was there, looked startled, and Sissi slowly turned around.