Chapter 1

Just as the engagement party was about to begin, I was sitting alone on the windowsill in my room, lost in thought.

My mother took this banquet very seriously. Early in the morning, she kept reminding me to "be even more radiant than usual" and "absolutely not miss this opportunity," urging me to put on makeup and get dressed. She also nervously asked me several times:

"You won't cause any accidents along the way, will you?"

I have never let her down, so I don't know why she has such worries.

"No, Mom," I whispered assuring her.

After asking me several times and receiving the same answer each time, she walked away with some doubt.

Before leaving, she didn't forget to give a few instructions to the bodyguards guarding the door.

I was left alone in this empty room.

There was no wind in the room, so I walked to the window, opened it, and looked outside.

There used to be a large, leafy tree outside my window, whose leaves would rustle when a breeze blew by.

Someone once jokingly said that if a thief broke into Adrian's house, the thief might be able to climb up this tree and get through my window.

That was truly a tree that was growing very vigorously.

But a few years ago, my mother ordered the tree to be cut down, and there was nothing left outside my window except for a small, bare stump when I looked down.

I stared at the tree stump for a while without realizing it, and when I came to my senses, I found that someone was sitting on the small tree stump at some point.

He was a man in a suit and tie, with smooth, shiny red hair, broad shoulders, and a relaxed and casual posture. He was holding a deck of cards in his hand. Noticing my gaze, he picked up an Ace of Hearts with two fingers, showed it to me, and greeted me.

...a frivolous man.

I took a step back and closed the window.

Just then, there was a knock on the door. I turned my ear and heard the bodyguard respectfully say:

"It's your turn to make your appearance, Miss."

I said okay, then straightened my back, lifted the hem of my skirt, and walked out the door.

...Are you really getting engaged?

Even now, I still feel a sense of unreality.

Although I had a vague feeling that my mother would make a fuss about my marriage, I never expected that she would make me get engaged to the eldest son of the Zoldyck family.

The Zoldyck family are notorious assassins, and most people wouldn't want to associate with them.

Our family isn't much better off.

My mother made her fortune by selling intelligence.

Information brokers and assassins are a perfect match in a way.

From as far back as I can remember, she often had contact with the Zoldyck family. Thanks to her, I went to Kukuroku Mountain several times and could barely be considered a childhood sweetheart of the young master of the Zoldyck family.

Before that incident, I always liked him quite a bit, regardless of whether it was romantic or not... Objectively speaking, the Zoldyck kids all have pretty faces and are all incredibly clever. Unless they deliberately try to annoy people, very few people would have a bad impression of them.

The first time I met the eldest son of the Zoldyck family, he was a clean-cut young man, always wearing a white shirt and black suit pants. His profile, with his eyes half-lowered, looked like a work of art. I didn't like talking to the people on Kukuro Mountain, but when he came to ask me questions, I would turn around and chat with him for a few minutes.

But then he did something that quickly strained our relationship... Come to think of it, we probably haven't communicated for several years since then.

Unexpectedly, when they met again, they suddenly became engaged.

It's truly amazing how fate can be so unpredictable.

The engagement party between the daughter of an intelligence dealer and the young master of an assassin was destined to be clandestine. Although it was called a banquet, not many people actually attended today. As soon as I went downstairs, I quickly spotted my fiancé and mother among the mostly familiar faces.

He stood straight beside Mrs. Zoldyck, watching my mother and Mrs. Zoldyck exchange pleasantries with a blank expression.

I stepped forward.

My mother held my hand and smiled, "I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. I was thinking of having Ray greet you."

Mrs. Zoldyck let out an exaggerated laugh, saying there was no need for that, and then took me from my mother's arms.

She didn't use much force, but she still managed to pull me over in one go, trapping me so I couldn't move.

“You’re still so beautiful, just like when you were a child,” Mrs. Zoldyck said.

"You flatter me, Madam," I forced a smile and returned the greeting. "You are the true embodiment of beauty, radiant and dazzling."

She laughed happily for a while, then casually tossed me into her son's arms: "Alright, you two go chat over there, Mrs. Adrian and I have something to say."

I stumbled awkwardly.

A hand gripped my shoulder, supporting my swaying body.

I leaned against my fiancé, with whom I hadn't even had a chance to say a word, and said thank you.

"You're welcome," he said.

His voice was very pleasant, but it always had an inexplicable ethereal quality, just like his appearance. Ever since that incident, it has involuntarily frightened me.

I didn't say anything more.

Mrs. Zoldyck and her mother walked away.

My fiancé, who has always been handsome and well-mannered since childhood, suddenly leaned down and looked me closely into his calm, dark eyes, and softly asked:

"Ray, what are you thinking?"

I didn't understand why he suddenly asked that question, and I was forced to tilt my head back to look at him, staring at my own reflection in his black pupils.

"It's been so long since we last met, don't you miss me?" he asked again.

I snapped out of my reverie and chimed in, "Ah, it seems so."

It has indeed been a long time since we last met.

I struggled to think: "It's been four or five years, hasn't it..."

“Five years and three months,” he said.

I could only offer a pale smile and sigh, "It's been so long."

"So you still haven't figured it out?" he interrupted my musings and asked directly and crisply.

I fell silent.

At first glance, the question seemed abrupt, but considering the scene of our last meeting, it was clear that he was asking me if I had figured out the question from back then.

Five years ago, he asked me out, and on the way there he pointed to a poster and told me he wanted to go to this person's concert.

The concert was sold out, but luckily one of the cellists was a friend of mine, so I made a phone call and brought him along.

Halfway through the performance, he killed the conductor right in front of me.

I always knew he was an assassin, but I never imagined he could get so close to me.

He didn't consider at all whether it would make things difficult for me in front of my friends afterwards.

We had a huge fight that day.

It was called an argument, but it was actually me who started it all. He just listened quietly, as if my accusations had nothing to do with him.

When I couldn't continue, he replied, "You seem to have misunderstood something."

I asked, "Didn't you do it?"

He said, "We'll talk again once you've calmed down."

I can't calm down.

After that, I never went to Kukuroku Mountain with my mother again, nor did I speak to him.

I thought our contact had ended there, but who would have thought that only five years later, I would be back to getting entangled with him again.

My mother told me not to cause trouble, so I lowered my eyes and pretended to be stupid: "What are you talking about? I don't remember."

This statement wasn't very effective.

He looked at me silently for a while.

I will not respond.

Time seemed to be frozen, each second melting away very slowly.

My feet are a little sore from wearing high heels.

"Oh dear~" A sticky, mushy voice coiled around me affectionately like a snake. I looked up and saw the red-haired man I had seen outside the window earlier emerge from behind my fiancé.

He was talking to my fiancé, but his eyes were fixed on me without blinking.

"So you were here, darling~"

His head was ruthlessly pushed to the other side.

My fiancé ignored him completely, not even glancing at him, and reached out his hand to me:

"Let's cut the cake first, I'm hungry."

Me: "There's a procedure."

He thought for a moment: "Really... That's too much trouble."

The red-haired man puffed up his cheeks in anger at being ignored.

I only glanced at him once before my view was blocked by my fiancé's broad chest.

He stepped between me and the red-haired guy and said:

"Then go see my dad first and talk to him. He hasn't seen you in a long time."

...a dizzying reason.

I had no excuse to refuse, so I reluctantly took his hand and went over.

The Zoldyck family head is nearly two meters tall. I was terrified of him when I was a child, and I still feel uneasy around him now that I'm older.

After rambling on about topics they themselves didn't even know they were talking about, it was finally time to cut the cake and exchange rings.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd, I secretly grumbled to myself, "It's just an engagement ceremony, why all this fuss?"

Is there anyone who genuinely looks forward to this ceremony?

I watched listlessly as my fiancé put the ring on my finger.

After the show ended, he lowered his head and gently kissed the ring.

His lips brushed against the ring briefly, and I felt nothing. I numbly let him get up, put his arm around my waist, and walk off the stage.

“Don’t take off the ring, Ray.” I heard him whisper in my hair between our steps. “No matter what you do in the future, as long as you don’t take off the ring, I won’t be angry with you.”

I did not answer.

To be precise, I haven't had a chance to answer yet.

The red-haired man sitting below the stage, whom I had only met once, seized the opportunity the instant I looked up and showed me his playing card again.

Ace of Hearts.

The temperature around me suddenly dropped a bit.

I vaguely sensed danger and quickly looked away, averting my gaze.

Overall, the engagement party was a success.

After the most important part was over, everyone started eating, drinking, chatting, and laughing.

My phone, which was on the table, suddenly vibrated and the screen lit up.

Her fiancé keenly turned his gaze over.

I looked at the lit screen with a clear conscience and did nothing.

The unread message came from a friend I hadn't seen in a long time who was studying abroad.

You're engaged.

"Your boyfriend has grown his hair long."

"Wait, why is the name 'Illumi' misspelled on the background wall?"

After seeing the third message, I calmly turned the screen upside down onto the desktop.

No typo.

She probably confused my fiancé's name with someone else's.

This is really a headache.

--------------------

Just by reading the synopsis, you can tell it's a novel about a popular female lead. If you're not into this kind of thing, don't read it.

Writing about the Hunter x Hunter felt like returning to my happy old home.

Each character perfectly matches my mental state.

I was brutally beaten down by society a while ago, and I felt like a corpse. I was so badly hurt that I felt completely at ease. As soon as I got a holiday, I couldn't wait to return to my happy hometown.

Princesses, please eat. I'll eat first as a sign of respect. (chewing sounds)