Yet, the moment I confirmed the existence of Laura Anastasia, the female protagonist, I felt my breath catch.

How could she radiate such brilliance? I had a strong feeling that the power of the original story couldn’t be simply ignored. Just seeing the two of them together made me feel like the ground was crumbling beneath my feet.

‘I don’t want to go back in there.’

I regretted bringing Zachary here. He too was a man who radiated light for all to see. I became conscious of each and every gaze directed at him. Even though we had tried to dress him modestly, so many people were still staring. And as if that wasn’t enough, we even met Laura, the female protagonist.

‘Not only is Laura acquainted with Genevieve, but her younger brother’s name happens to be Kale as well.’

Laura appeared at the banquet as if on cue. Moreover, didn’t she show interest in Zachary as if drawn by fate? It seemed like the world was trying to bring them together somehow. Maybe that’s why my insides were twisting like this.

‘Why am I suddenly remembering that the original work had a high level of mature content? This is driving me crazy.’

And it wasn’t just the mature content. What about their narrative in the original work? Wasn’t it a story of them becoming each other’s salvation?

If only I hadn’t known about the original story, I wouldn’t be feeling like this.

The contents of the original work, which I couldn’t remember well otherwise, suddenly seemed to come vividly to mind. In my head, I could see in detail how the two protagonists became entangled and how they spent their passionate days together.

Of course, everything has changed now. Zachary didn’t go berserk, and the people of the Solaris Kingdom are fine. And the relationship between Zachary and me, our story too…

‘It’s a completely different story from the original.’

This world has now become a completely different story from the novel I knew.

Thinking like this, my churning feelings started to calm down, but the anxiety remained.

“Lord Oscar. Lord Erhan has sent you a spare set of clothes.”

Just then, I heard a knock. Along with a polite knock, a servant spoke from beyond the door. It seems Erhan had already prepared clothes and sent them my way.

“Please leave them here, and I’ll put them on.”

“Yes, understood.”

The servant quietly entered through the gap in the door and placed the clothes. I looked at my clothes. Fortunately, the wine had only soaked the outer garment, while the inner clothes remained dry.

‘Instead of staying here, I should go out.’

I sighed deeply and got up. Having left in a hurry, my companions must be worried about me.

After looking in the mirror and tidying up my disheveled appearance, I took a deep breath and opened the door. Immediately, I saw a man leaning against the side of the door.

I froze, unable to hide my agitation for a moment.

“Why are you… here?”

When did he arrive? I hadn’t sensed his presence at all.

At my words, the large figure leaning against the door stared at me intently.

“Did I perhaps…”

A sunken voice, eyes depressed and gloomy.

“Do something wrong?”

Zachary couldn’t hide his anxious expression, just like me a moment ago.

Was it because it had been so long since I’d seen Zachary with such an expression? For a moment, I couldn’t say anything. To be precise, it was because of those piercing eyes within that face mixed with depression and anxiety.

The hidden obsession and possessiveness mixed with madness had revealed themselves after a very long time.

“No. What could you have done wrong? I just wasn’t feeling well. You know, I’m often like this.”

I hurried to answer. I had a feeling that if I didn’t respond quickly here, something would happen. So I spoke with a forced smile, but Zachary’s expression still didn’t lighten.

“…Really.”

I couldn’t speak honestly.

‘How can I say, “This is a world inside a novel, and in the original story, you and Laura end up together. That’s why I’m feeling twisted inside”?’

He would surely think I was crazy. I couldn’t even gauge where to begin explaining.

“I’m feeling a bit better now.”

Fortunately, Zachary’s expression had softened compared to earlier. His piercing gaze had once again become docile as I knew it, and his tense expression had relaxed. However, it bothered me that he remained silent, his lips tightly pressed together.

“I made you worry unnecessarily, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I really am fine now. I noticed earlier that there were lots of delicious food and drinks. Let’s go quickly and…”

I needed to cheer him up quickly. There was no need for him to ruin his mood at the banquet he had attended for my sake.

Trying to think rationally and comfort myself, I grabbed Zachary’s wrist and tried to step forward. However, Zachary didn’t move an inch. Standing still without any sign of movement, Zachary slowly opened his mouth.

“Really.”

I widened my eyes. The corner of his eyes, gazing at me intently, briefly flashed blue.

“Do you think that woman is beautiful?”

“…What?”

“You usually don’t like touching people, but earlier you didn’t let go of her hand.”

Zachary firmly grasped my hand that was holding his wrist.

“You even let her touch your face.”

He pulled me towards him swiftly and reached out to rub my face. As if trying to erase a trace, his persistent rubbing focused exactly on the parts Laura Anastasia had touched.

“Could it be… do you like that woman?”

They say when people are at a loss for words, they can’t say anything, and I was experiencing that firsthand. My mind went blank, and I couldn’t utter a word. Zachary pressed his lips together, then no longer hid his sharp tone.

“Everyone there is looking at you. They’re all watching your every move.”

Even as he muttered irritably, his hand didn’t stop wiping my face repeatedly. Despite there being nothing left to wipe away. After rubbing my cheeks for a long time, he finally frowned deeply and pulled me into a tight embrace.

Holding me, Zachary pushed the lounge door behind us and stepped inside. My body swayed in his grip, but he held me firmly. Once we were alone, he revealed an even stronger possessiveness, as if he had never intended to hide it.

“…Ah!”

Zachary hugged me tightly, leaving no gap, and buried his nose in my neck. His breath on my neck tickled. As my body instinctively curled up, Zachary mumbled.

“Can’t we go back quickly?”

The hand gripping my waist felt almost desperate.

“I hate this so much.”

Only then did I realize that I wasn’t the only one feeling anxious. Zachary felt the same way. Watching Zachary sigh deeply, I felt my churning stomach and throbbing head start to settle down a bit.

However, there were still some lingering thoughts floating around. After pondering for a moment, I carefully opened my mouth.

“Zachary, I have something to ask you.”

I was a little afraid.

“Do you believe in fate?”

I wondered how Zachary would answer.

On the surface, it might seem like an utterly childish question, but not to me. In fact, I think I might have been unconsciously thinking about this while being connected with Zachary in this world.

That I had twisted the fate of the two who were originally meant to be together. So I thought that Zachary might eventually meet the female protagonist and leave.

“Then, if you originally had a fate…”

“There’s no reason to dislike fate.”

My heart sank. Zachary immediately answered positively before I could even finish speaking. But his following words left me with a blank expression.

“My fate has always been you.”

His eyes, which had now turned blue, were looking at me, asking why I would dislike that. As if studded with stars, those sparkling eyes were full of life and focused solely on me.

Only then did I understand. In Zachary’s mind, I was his fate. I couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the absurdity of it.

It felt like all the tension suddenly drained away. To Zachary, who didn’t know about the original story, I was his fate. I had been wandering alone in an anxiety that only I could understand. Perhaps he had sensed my anxiety and felt anxious along with me. Just like how he had come to find me now.

“Oscar?”

Zachary called out to me, puzzled by my sudden laughter. But I just kept laughing.

“That’s right, indeed.”

I felt relieved. No more complicated thoughts arose. I reached out and hugged Zachary’s neck as he gazed at me as always.

“Actually, I was jealous.”

The honest truth finally came out. Zachary, who had been hugging my back in return, froze.

“…Everyone is only looking at you.”