In a large garden, a 9-year-old girl sat quietly, waiting for someone.
She had blue hair and blue eyes, her cheeks puffed in anger.
"When is he going to come? I've been waiting for a whole minute now," she muttered.
Just then, she spotted a boy walking toward her.
The boy had black hair, black eyes, and a cute face.
"Cassian!" she shouted, her face lighting up.
But the next moment, her smile faded as she noticed him holding the hand of a girl with white hair and red eyes.
'Helda? Why is she with him? And why is he holding her hand? He can only hold my hand!'
Her thoughts raced as she stared at the pair.
"Vivienne," Cassian called, waving his hand in front of her face as she was lost in her thoughts.
She jolted, snapping out of her thoughts, and looked at him.
Suppressing her frustration, she scolded him, "Why are you late?"
Cassian groaned. "Come on, you're just early!"
Vivienne puffed her cheeks and turned away, clearly upset.
Cassian sighed and hugged her. He knew this was the only way to stop her from being mad at him... and she looked too cute for him not to.
Vivienne smiled as he hugged her, though part of her joy came from the fact that he was no longer holding Helda's hand.
Helda, however, stood to the side, glaring at them, though neither noticed her expression.
When Cassian let go, Vivienne asked, "You didn't tell me Helda was coming too."
"Helda came to my house just as I was leaving, so I brought her along. I couldn't just leave her alone," Cassian replied casually.
Vivienne turned to Helda, forcing a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Why did you come to his house?"
Helda returned the smile, her tone light. "I came to play with him."
'He can only play with me,' Vivienne thought, but outwardly, she nodded.
Afterward, the three of them started playing, though Vivienne couldn't shake her displeasure at Helda's presence.
Still, she reminded herself, 'She is my friend.'
-----
Three years later~
One day, Vivienne heard that Cassian had left for training far away.
Vivienne cried because he left her... without even saying anything.
She asked her mother many times when he would return, but there was always hesitation in Aurelia's tone, as if she was hiding something.
Three months later, Aurelia finally told her that Cassian had come back.
Vivienne was overjoyed.
'Now I can play with him, spend time with him, and do everything together again!' she thought.
And this time, she resolved not to let him leave her again.
But days passed, and he still hadn't visited her.
Frustrated and upset, she asked her mother, "Why hasn't he come to see me? Why is he avoiding me?"
Aurelia smiled gently and said, "He's not avoiding you. I think you should go visit him."
Vivienne nodded and decided to visit him the next day.
When she arrived at his home, she asked Elisa, "Where is Cassian?"
Elisa crossed her arms and pouted. "He's always in his room. Hmph, stupid brother!"
Vivienne's mouth twitched. 'She's his sister, so it's fine for her to say that,' she reasoned.
Standing in front of Cassian's door, she knocked.
There was no response.
After knocking three more times, she decided to open the door herself.
"I'm his friend. I can do this," she reasoned to herself.
After entering, she quietly closed the door behind her.
Cassian was lying on the bed, fast asleep.
But he looked completely different.
His once-black hair had turned stark white, and his creamy white skin was now pale.
'Why does his hair look more like Helda's?'
That was the first thought that came to her mind.
She reached out to touch his hair, and he jolted awake.
Cassian looked around frantically until his gaze landed on her.
Vivienne was shocked by his reaction, but before she could say anything, he hugged her tightly.
Vivienne was stunned for a moment but then felt ecstatic.
Hot tears soaked her dress as Cassian cried while hugging her.
"Did you miss me?" she asked softly, hugging him back tightly.
Cassian nodded but said nothing.
"Don't leave me ever again, okay?"
Cassian nodded again.
She comforted him, unaware of the turmoil he had gone through.
-----
Two weeks later, on Vivienne's 9th birthday~
After cutting the cake, Vivienne walked toward Cassian.
Her gaze fell on Theon, who was among the group with Felix, Helda and Elisa..
When Cassian had left for training, she had spent her time playing with Theon and the others.
'Though he's not as cool as my Cassian, he's a fun guy to be around,' she thought.
Cassian noticed her looking at Theon, and a pang of jealousy hit him.
Though Theon was his friend, Cassian had heard about his rising popularity, and it gnawed at him.
Vivienne immediately noticed Cassian's sour mood and thought to herself, 'Is he jealous?'
She was very familiar with that look.
'He looks so cute!' Vivienne thought.
She approached him and held his hand.
Cassian looked at her and smiled faintly.
'He looks so damn cute,' Vivienne thought again.
From then on, Vivienne started doing this intentionally.
Every time she met Cassian, she made sure to bring Theon along, talking to him more than to Cassian.
Her goal was simple... to make Cassian jealous.
Later, she would comfort Cassian with hugs and sometimes kisses, enjoying his reactions.
But over time, her teasing escalated.
She pushed Cassian's jealousy to its limits, until eventually, he became possessive and angry whenever she approached anyone else.
And she loved every part of that.
Three years later~ Auction Day.
Vivienne had already planned many ways to make Cassian jealous today.
When she arrived outside the auction hall, she saw Cassian and Elisa standing together.
Vivienne called out excitedly, "Cassian!"
Cassian turned to look at her, but she didn't see any trace of happiness in his expression.
'Huh? Wh… why isn't he happy? He should be.'
One by one, everyone gathered for the event.
Vivienne decided to cancel her jealousy plan for the day after noticing Cassian's strange reaction.
As they moved inside, she interlocked her arm with Cassian's, trying to lift his mood.
But Cassian gently removed her hand and said, "I'm not feeling well."
Before she could say anything, Theon interlocked his arm with hers.
Vivienne frowned. She didn't want Theon right now near her... this wasn't about making Cassian jealous anymore.
Then the auction began.
As the final segment arrived, everyone received their own beast companions.
Finally, the last beast was brought out.
It looked like a normal snake at first glance.
Vivienne didn't know why, but something about that snake seemed oddly familiar.
'I should win this for Cassian. It would make a perfect gift.'
She placed her first bid.
But the moment she did, a suffocating pressure filled the room.
Everyone froze in place.
"If any of you bid on that snake," Cassian said coldly, his voice sharp and cutting, "I will kill all of you."
The oppressive aura left no room for argument.
Vivienne felt her heart sink as she nodded along with everyone else in the room.
Cassian continued bidding without interruption, while Vivienne struggled to hold back her tears.
'He shouted at me… I just wanted to gift it to him.'
When the auction ended, everyone began to disperse.
---
The day before Vivienne's birthday~
She came In her room,
Vivienne overheard a conversation between her mother and father.
"They're planning to make Cassian my fiancé," she whispered to herself in shock.
Her heart swelled with happiness.
'After this, he'll always be with me!'
But then a thought crept into her mind, one that would lead to her own despair.
'What if I say I want Theon to be my fiancé instead? That'll make Cassian jealous. And when he protests, Theon and my Cassian will have to duel. Of course, my Cassian will win.'
-----
The next day, at her birthday party~
Vivienne tried to make Cassian jealous again, but he didn't react the way she had hoped.
Finally, the moment she had been waiting for arrived.
Her father stood before the gathered crowd.
"As the party is nearing its end, I would like to make an important announcement."
Vivienne smiled brightly.
"I would like to announce that my daughter, Vivienne Lightspire Dane, is officially becoming the fiancée of Cassian Evros Myr—"
"Wait, Father!" Vivienne interrupted.
"I don't want to become Cassian's fiancée. I want Theon to be my fiancé."
The room fell silent as her father's expression tightened.
He seemed to deliberate for a moment before responding.
"I can't simply change my decision now, but we should hear what Cassian has to say."
Vivienne's smile widened as she turned to look at Cassian.
But her smile froze.
Cassian stood beside his father, his expression calm and unreadable.
Then he spoke words she never wanted to hear.
"As a friend of Vivienne, I respect her wishes. It's better not to force her into something she doesn't want. If she wishes to be with Theon, I have no objections. His Highness may proceed with Vivienne's decision."
"Huh?" Vivienne muttered, her voice barely audible.
'How? He's letting go of me? No, he can't do that! He must be joking. Yeah, he's joking!'
Her thoughts spiraled as Theon's father burst into loud laughter.
'Why is that bastard laughing? I'd rather die than marry his son!'
As the crowd cheered for Theon and Vivienne, the noise was cut short by the sound of Callista clapping her hands.
The room fell silent again as Callista spoke gleefully.
"We had previously discussed betrothing Helda to Cassian. However, we refrained from finalizing the arrangement due to His Highness's prior decision."
Her grin widened as she continued, "But now that Cassian is free, we would like to announce that Cassian and Helda will be fiancés!"
She paused, then added, "Of course, we won't proceed without hearing what Cassian and Helda have to say."
Turning to Helda, Callista asked, "What do you say, dear?"
Helda nodded eagerly.
Then Cassian's father asked him the same question.
Cassian seemed to think for a moment.
"N… no, you can't…" Vivienne muttered, her voice trembling.
Cassian nodded in agreement.