I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 83

Odette hid behind a shrub and put on the mask that had been dangling from her neck. Now, she just had to slip out of the hotel as if nothing had happened. She brushed through her hair with her fingers and stood up. Just as she began walking toward the exit, a voice stopped her.

“May I have this dance?”

A man’s smooth voice drifted from behind her.

“Me?”

Odette stopped and turned around. She realized instantly that she should not have.

Cae… Caesar?

The eyes shining behind the mask were purple. His hair was silver. Even his voice sounded different. But the man standing before her was undoubtedly Caesar.

No matter how perfect his transformation, it was impossible for Odette not to recognize him. It would be like saying one didn’t know it was midday just because a cloud covered the sun. His tall stature, his sturdy build, the curve of his Adam’s apple beneath a sharp jawline, and the scent that belonged only to him gave him away.

Oh, what should I do?

It was scary enough to imagine waking up from a faint to find Caesar staring at her, but seeing him transformed and pretending to be someone else was a terror beyond imagination. Odette shifted her eyes toward the exit. Whether she ran or rolled, she could never make it through that door faster than Caesar.

The only remaining option was to use her divine power to knock him unconscious.

Do I even have a chance?

She would only know if she pushed her divine power to its limits and fought him, but she had no desire to try. Even if she had leveled all of Demuna, Caesar was a knight among knights who had roamed battlefields for seven years. Picking a fight with a man who had mastered the art of winning was inviting disaster.

Ultimately, she realized she had to accept his request for a dance as he demanded.

“I… I never learned how to dance.”

“I am a good dancer.”

Caesar took a long stride toward her and held out his hand. He really intended to dance with her.

“Hurry and take my hand.”

Odette squeezed her eyes shut, opened them, and reached out. Caesar gently enveloped her hand in his and led her toward the other dancers. To the melody of beautiful string instruments, Caesar wrapped one hand around her waist.

“Move as I lead you.”

“Yes.”

In truth, Odette had learned to dance from her mother. It was a lesson from a long time ago, but the movements she learned as a child had not been forgotten; her body moved naturally.

However, a realization hit her.

He knows that I recognize him.

Though they were both smiling as they looked into each other’s eyes, sweat began to pool in the palm of her hand where it met Caesar’s. Even Caesar’s eyelashes were trembling slightly. Yet, it seemed Caesar wanted to keep up the pretense that neither of them knew the other’s identity until the very end.

“I heard that during the Water Festival, people splash water while offering words of blessing.”

She had no idea why he was doing this. It couldn’t be that he simply wanted to dance with her. He wouldn’t have used magical eye drops to change his eye color and altered his hair color just for a dance.

And yet, why did her heart ache so much? It was truly a strange feeling.

Caesar spoke. “Shall we offer each other words of blessing? Since it is a festival. I will go first.”

“Would you like to?”

Caesar nodded and spoke. “I hope you find someone you love.”

Love me, Odette.

The memory of the words Caesar had once said to her made the tip of her nose sting.

I will give you everything I have. Then I will have you, who has everything.

Back then, her heart had fluttered for a moment while listening to him. Perhaps among the things he offered to give her, what Odette truly wanted was his heart? Not to be used, not as a tool for revenge.

I love you.

Perhaps there had been a sliver of truth hidden within the lie Odette had once told him. Caesar looked into her eyes and said, “Now, give me your blessing.”

“I hope you stay healthy. I hope you are happy. And I hope that whatever it is you truly wish to achieve, you succeed.”

As Odette offered her words of farewell, the corners of Caesar’s mouth quirked downward. As the dance neared its end, the string instruments repeated the bridge, gradually lowering their volume.

Suddenly, bang! Fireworks began to explode in the night sky. The dancers let out cries of admiration as they watched the sparks embroider the heavens. Amidst the people hugging, kissing, and laughing brightly, Odette and Caesar stared at one another.

After a moment of silence, Caesar whispered in her ear. “Love me, Odette.”

A realization flashed through Odette’s mind that she must not be fooled by his incredibly desperate voice.

“I am sorry. I cannot do that.”

If Amelia had not run away from home, Caesar would never have looked for Odette. It was true in the original story, and it was true in reality. The words Caesar had spoken at his mother’s grave—that he would catch the person who stole him and make them pay—he had finally fulfilled that promise today.

If I hadn’t run to the South, he wouldn’t have kept that promise.

Through his mother’s blessing, Caesar had overcome a terminal life. He likely held onto gratitude for that. The same applied to the guilt of having absorbed all the divine power remaining in his mother’s body. He must have made the promise to protect Odette because of that.

But that was merely his sincerity at the time. In the end, Caesar’s own goals always came first.

“Odette.” Caesar pulled her even closer, speaking in a voice full of anguish. “Why won’t you accept me?”

“Because I am a substitute, not your real partner.”

“Then just kill m—”

She could not listen to any more. Odette released a short, intense burst of divine power, striking his temple. Without even knowing what had happened, Caesar collapsed to the side. Screams erupted as his large frame fell like a log.

“Eek! Someone fainted!” “Oh my, what happened?” “Hurry, call a doctor!”

Watching the hotel staff rush over, Odette slipped away and walked out through the exit.

I am sorry, Caesar. I do not know how to strike a vital point gently.

When Odette stepped outside the hotel, Trisha’s carriage pulled up.

“Odette, are you safe?” “Yes.” “And Caesar?” “I hit him. He will wake up soon. Please help me.”

Hot tears streamed down Odette’s face. She had used her power to ensure he would never chase her again. She wanted to make him realize that he could no longer hold her back by force, by words, or by emotions.

“I have to leave. As far away as possible.” “I will help you.”

Trisha opened the carriage door. “My carriage will be faster than the Dowager Marchioness’s.”

“Father is dead? What are you talking about so suddenly?”

Leorahil had become an Imperial Guard and was assigned to the Crown Prince’s palace. He had worked hard today, driven by the pride of protecting the future Emperor and the responsibility of raising the status of the guards. On his way back to the guardhouse for a shift change, Maxcalion was waiting for him.

Maxcalion approached with a smile as usual, putting an arm around Leorahil’s shoulder, and abruptly delivered the news of their father’s death.

“He was beheaded by a vigilante group in the South, in the Belmonte territory.”

“What? Beheaded?”

“Shh!” Maxcalion led Leorahil to a quiet, empty lot. “A group of Imperial traffickers tried to kidnap children during the Southern festival.”

“What does that have to do with Father! Brother, are you sure he is dead?”

“Yes.”

“But how can you be so calm?”

“Leo.” Maxcalion’s expression hardened. “Listen carefully. Father was a human trafficker.”

“Wha… what?”

“He was a man who kidnapped and sold women and children to fund his gambling. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that he was our father. But fortunately, this incident will be buried.”

If the crimes committed by an Imperial noble in Belmonte were made public, it would only incite more resentment among the Southerners. Leorahil stared blankly at Maxcalion as he explained the situation, then suddenly slapped his own cheek. He did it because none of what he was experiencing felt real.

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