You… Are you running away now?

The man looked surprised as I uttered his name.

“Do you know me?”

He smiled.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m Zion.”

He really was Zion. For the 5 years since I had been transmigrated here, it was the first time I encountered a protagonist other than Leo.

As Zion noticed I recognized him, his smile deepened. It seemed very natural.

The ends of his lips, which pulled upward, shaped like a crescent moon. Zion’s smiling face was flawless and captivating.

My heart pounded for a moment.

If I didn’t know that Zion would love the female lead, I would have surely begged him for love.

“…Zion? Are you really the one?”

Michael, whose arm had been grasped, reaffirmed Zion’s identity with a crumpled face. Zion nodded in a relaxed manner.

Michael, struggling, shook off his arm which was held by Zion, and jerked around. Surprisingly, the hot-tempered man left calmly…

Zion, who appeared like a prince charming, seemed to be recognized by Michael. It seemed he knew he’d be no match against Zion.

Besides, Michael wasn’t the type of person who would easily acknowledge his loss.

Meanwhile, Zion did not leave until Michael disappeared completely. He was likely preparing in case Michael returned.

I wanted to applaud Zion for his great manners. As expected of the lord of the tower, who was  known for being a playboy.

I glanced at Zion. No matter how I look at it, he resembled the novel’s description perfectly.

Zion, who became the lord of the tower at an early age, was often described as a ‘fairy-looking playboy.’ He was like a mysterious fairy who lived in a deep forest with an unknown name.

Maybe that’s why. I wonder if he would vanish elsewhere if I touch his face.

Apart from that, Zion was also described as a sorcerer with great skills which were enough to make the hot-tempered Michael lower his tail at once.

Indeed, the rumors were true.

Even though my eyes were gazing at him, Zion didn’t seem to feel uncomfortable. The smile on his face didn’t disappear.

I expressed my gratitude belatedly.

“Thank you for your help.”

He nodded slightly and asked me.

“Were you in the middle of breaking up with him?”

I answered without hesitation.

“Yeah. I was breaking up with him.”

“You seem so natural talking informally with me. Isn’t this our first meeting?”

“I’ve never seen you before, but you spoke informally first. If you had spoken with honorifics, I would have treated you formally.”

Although Zion was the lord of the tower, there was no reason to use honorific title on him. I was not a member of the tower, and I didn’t have a relationship with him.

In the original novel, there was little interaction between Erica and Zion. I thought it would be the same since I became Erica.

As if my answer was funny, Zion chuckled cheerfully and pointed his finger at a certain place.

“Would you like to go inside and order something to drink? I’ve come all the way here so I’m thirsty.”

The place that Zion pointed at was the banquet hall where I had been with Michael a while ago. I nodded my head.

“Okay.”

It was an immediate acceptance.

As soon as we entered the hall, terrifying silence fell amidst the hall. The reason for such silence was because of Zion, who was standing next to me.

He was dressed in a comfortable shirt, a jacket over his shoulder, and black plain pants, yet he stood out more than anyone else in the banquet hall. Thanks to his fine-grained silver hair and beautiful golden eyes.

Handsome faces are the best.

Everyone was glancing and gossiping at Zion, however, he didn’t pay any attention to the party. He just picked up two wine glasses on the table.

“Let’s go to the balcony.”

Soon, he led me to the balcony in the corner. I followed him silently.

The door of the balcony was wide open when I arrived. This was because Zion, who entered first, left it open.

I closed the door of the balcony and looked at Zion, who was leaning against the railing. He stood on the edge of the railing as if he would fall anytime.

Zion’s silver hair gently ruffled by the warm summer wind. Over his half-closed eyelids, his long eyelashes glittered intermittently. The relaxed smile around his mouth was also pleasing.

As expected, a handsome face is the best.

As if I was possessed, I crept closer to him. However, I heard a small noise that sounded like glass breaking.

I glanced down under my feet. There were fragments that seemed to be from a broken glass bottle. Between the broken pieces, a mysterious blue liquid that resembled the sea leaked and damped the floor.

What is this?

Who dropped this?

Zion, who noticed my delay, asked me.

“Beautiful lady, what’s wrong?”

He called me out again with the cringey title. I replied with no intention of showing the cringe that I felt.

“It’s nothing.”

Breaking a small glass bottle was not a big deal. Walking towards the railings, I picked up the wine glass that Zion had handed me.

“Zion, why did you attend the banquet? Shouldn’t you be in the tower?”

Zion gave me a small sigh of ‘Ah!’ at my question. He seemed to have recalled his original purpose.

“I heard the news that the woman who dumped my friend participated in this banquet, I came to find her then… I saw you were in trouble.”

“The girl who dumped your friend?”

“Yeah. Would you like to hear the story?”

I nodded my head. Then I remembered Zion’s best friend in the novel.

Don’t tell me it’s him.

“It was three years ago. A friend of mine, who had never drank alcohol, came to see me after drinking Apsant. You know Apsant, right? It’s a very strong alcohol.”

“Yes.”

“He was drunk when he shouted my name in front of the tower like ‘Zion!’. He shouted ‘Zion!’ in a drunken voice. Did I feel excited? No, I was scared. A few days before, I took an antique heirloom from his house. I was worried he was going to make me pay for using it.”

“You used it?”

Zion drank all the wine before he continued.

“When I left the tower, my friend was crying. The boy who was unlikely to cry even if he were to be stabbed, was crying in front of me. Alright. Then I realized. This kid, he has a woman problem.”

I laughed breathlessly at his words.

Right. This is the image of Zion in the novel.  He seemed like a precious young master whenever he didn’t open his mouth, but the moment he opened it, it’d be damned. His eloquent words were the evidence.

But then, this flaw was also Zion’s charm. His charm was so great that when ‘Yuliana’ was serialized, readers chanted ‘Zion’ rather than Leo.

There were so many readers who shed tears when Zion did not end up with the female protagonist.

Actually, I was one of them. While I was thinking about that, Zion’s continued the story.

“So, I put my arms around my friend’s shoulder and asked him ‘Hey, what’s going on? I’ll listen to everything. I will even give you a solution. If it’s about women, I’m an expert.’ Then, he answered in tears.”

“What?”

“‘Zion. I got dumped.’ So, I answered back. ‘Hey, bear. You had a girlfriend?’ I almost got punched at that time.”

“Puhaha.”

I laughed aloud. Zion smiled while observing me. While laughing, I kept thinking that his smile was beautiful.

“But he really looks like a bear. He has almost no facial expression. He always became bored with everything. At first, I thought he was a person without feelings. But then, that bear met a woman? He even got dumped. Uh-huh. That bastard, I knew women would like him… he’s all grown up afterall. Good job, my little baby. Woosoo. I almost got hit again when I patted his ass.”

I couldn’t help but giggle. My laughter, which showed no sign of ending, was taken over by Zion’s words.

“I’ve heard a story about his lover, and it was quite interesting. Unexpectedly one day, she just wanted to break up with him. I heard she said they should separate before it gets deeper, what did she even mean? Oh, she’s a terrible woman.”

“…”

“So, I said, ‘Hey, forget about that pretty girl. Oh my god, she’s not the only woman. There are plenty of women who are prettier than her. If you want, I’ll introduce you to a woman from the tower.’ Even though I comforted him, he cried for a long time.”

Ah…

This sounds familiar to me. Soon, my laughter completely stopped. Then, I chewed my lips several times.

“Sadly, my good friend didn’t even hold a grudge against her. What the hell was he thinking?”

Tsk tsk, Zion clicks his tongue.

“Pretty lady. Do you know my best friend’s name?”

The golden eyes of Zion, who was standing beside me, were staring at me. Instinctively, I took a step backward while smiling awkwardly.

Then I recalled the fact that I was trying to deny. Zion’s best friend in ‘Yuliana’ was Leo. And three years ago, I was the one who asked Leo to break up.

When I broke up with him, I recall saying to quit before it got deeper. This is because the true love of Leo, the male lead, was ‘Yuliana,’ the female lead.

Of course, there would be a long awaited period before Leo would meet her. If I see him again, I think I’ll love him too much. So, I bid my goodbye to him. I was afraid that I would cling to him like Erica, the evil woman in the novel.

Because at the end, Leo would definitely choose Yuliana, the female protagonist.

I answered Leo’s name, hoping it would not be him.

“Your friend’s name is probably… Grand Duke Leonardo?”

Looking surprised, Zion shaped his mouth round.

“Oh! How did you know?”

Damn it. It was really about Leo and me.

I answered awkwardly.

“With my senses. Haha.”

“Then can you guess the bad girl’s name?”

“By any chance… Erica Kernels?”

“Awesome! You have great instincts! That’s great!”

I swallowed my dry saliva in silence. My mouth was dry for some time.

I have no idea why Zion only found me now after three years since I broke up with Leo. Somehow, I didn’t have a good feeling.

There were only a few options that I could do here. Right now, I could only think of two ways.

1.       Run away.

2.       Admit that I’m the bad girl.

With all my might, I smiled sweetly as I waved at Zion.

“Zion, I’m going to leave first. I just remembered I had an appointment. Thank you for your help. If I happen to see you again next time, I’ll treat you.”

I chose number 1.

Let’s run for now.

“I’m not done talking yet.”

Zion titled his head.

“Do you have more to say?”

“You, are you running away now?”

“What do you mean running away? Why would I?”

Pretending to be calm, I took a step backward. At that moment, Zion’s pretty lips moved slightly. Meaningful words escaped from his mouth.

“Because you’re Lady Erica.”

Oh boy, he smiled. He seemed confident about my identity.

Watching his smile over and over again, I felt a chill run over my spine in spite of his beautiful smile.

I stood there firmly and opened my lips slightly. I must have looked like a fool but I had no time to bear that in mind.

Zion gently grabbed my wrist, preventing me from escaping.

“Don’t think about running away. I knew you were Erica from the beginning.”

Zion, you bastard, from the beginning, you knew who I am.