Chapter 12: The Unexpected Answer

Neo sat stiffly on the couch, his hands clenched tightly on his lap. He kept his eyes lowered, mentally preparing himself for the storm that was about to hit him. He had blurted out something ridiculous in front of the entire nobility of the empire, and now both sets of parents were sitting around him with serious expressions.

’Here it comes. The scolding of a lifetime. Maybe they’ll even ground me from cake for a whole month. That would be way worse than any punishment.’

He braced himself, waiting for his mother’s sharp voice or his father’s disappointed sigh. But instead, silence stretched on for a few seconds. When he finally dared to peek up, he was met with something he hadn’t expected at all.

Sylvia wasn’t glaring at him. She wasn’t even frowning. Her lips were pressed together, but they were twitching, like she was fighting off a smile. Cassian looked equally strange, his silver eyes wide with something that looked suspiciously close to amusement.

"Neo, did you really mean what you said back there?" Sylvia asked.

Neo blinked, caught off guard by the gentle tone. He had expected fire and thunder, not this.

’Wait, why does she sound so calm? Shouldn’t she be furious? I basically declared myself engaged to another kid in front of the Royal Family!’

He glanced toward Liam and Elara, expecting at least one of them to look offended on Nora’s behalf. But Elara had a hand pressed over her mouth, her shoulders shaking slightly, clearly trying not to laugh. Liam had completely given up trying to hide it and let out a low chuckle.

"Oh gods, the look on their face when you said it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone’s smile crack that fast."

Neo sat there, completely stunned. He had braced for anger, and instead, he was getting laughter.

’Wait, hold on. Why does everyone seem happy about this? Shouldn’t there be at least a little bit of concern? I basically proposed to a five-year-old in front of hundreds of people!’

Cassian finally spoke, resting a hand on Neo’s shoulder. "You surprised us, that’s for sure. We didn’t expect you to think that fast under pressure. Honestly, I was ready to step in myself if things got worse."

"But you handled it well," Sylvia continued, brushing a strand of hair from Neo’s forehead. "You got us out of a very difficult situation without causing any real trouble. That woman won’t be able to push the topic again, not after you said it yourself, in front of everyone."

Neo let out a slow breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

’Oh. Oh, I see. They’re not mad because it actually worked. Well, that’s a relief, but still... this is getting way out of hand.’

"So... you’re not angry?"

Sylvia laughed softly, shaking her head. "Why would we be angry? If anything, we’re a little surprised. We didn’t think our shy little boy who barely talks to other kids would suddenly announce something like that."

Neo felt his cheeks heat up slightly. He wasn’t exactly shy; he just didn’t enjoy babbling nonsense with toddlers. But he wasn’t about to explain that.

"Well..." Cassian rubbed the back of his neck, glancing toward Liam with a considering look. "Since the boy already said it in front of half the empire, it would be strange to just brush it off now, wouldn’t it?"

Liam raised an eyebrow, a slow smile spreading across his face. "Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting, old friend?"

"An engagement isn’t exactly a bad idea," Cassian said, crossing his arms. "Our families are close. Neo is also a talented child who awakened so early for his age. And clearly, our son already has his eyes set on her. So i don’t mind Neo making his own choices."

Neo’s whole body went rigid.

’Wait-WHAT? Hold on, hold on, I was just trying to dodge a plot! I didn’t actually mean for this to turn into a REAL arrangement! This was supposed to be a temporary excuse, not an actual binding contract!’

"Wait, Father, I—" Neo tried to interject, but Sylvia cut him off with a gentle pat on his head.

"Don’t worry, sweetheart. No one is forcing anything on you right now. You’re still far too young for anything official. We’re just talking about the possibility for the future, that’s all."

Elara nodded in agreement, her eyes warm as she looked between Neo and her daughter. "It would actually be wonderful, wouldn’t it? Our two families have always been close. If Nora and Neo got along and eventually decided to be together, I couldn’t ask for anything better."

Neo wanted to scream. He wanted to explain that he hadn’t meant a single word of what he said, that it was purely a desperate escape plan from a much bigger political trap. But looking at the four adults now smiling and nodding at each other like they had just settled everything, he realized his protest would probably fall on deaf ears.

’This is bad. This is really, really bad. I just traded one problem for a much bigger one!’

He turned his head slightly, glancing toward Nora, who was sitting quietly beside her mother the entire time, staring at nothing in particular. Her expression hadn’t changed once through this whole conversation. She looked just as blank and unaffected as always, poking absentmindedly at the hem of her dress.

’At least she doesn’t seem to care. She probably doesn’t even understand what marriage means at this age. Maybe this whole thing will just die down naturally, and everyone will forget about it eventually.’

That small thought gave him a sliver of comfort. But that comfort didn’t last very long.

Elara suddenly turned toward her daughter, her expression softening. She reached into a small pouch at her side and pulled out a little notepad along with a thin writing stick. Neo remembered now; since Nora couldn’t hear anyone’s voice, her parents always carried something to communicate with her through writing.

Elara knelt down in front of Nora, holding the notepad steady so her daughter could see it clearly. She wrote something quickly, her handwriting neat and careful.

Neo couldn’t see exactly what was written from his angle, but he had a bad feeling settling in his gut.

’Wait, what is she writing? She’s not seriously asking her that, is she?’

Elara held the notepad up in front of Nora’s face; the message read.

[Nora, would you like to marry Neo when you grow up? Everyone here thinks it would be nice if you two stayed close.]

Neo’s heart practically stopped in his chest.

’No, no, no, don’t ask her that! She’s just going to ignore it like she ignores everything else! This whole thing is going to fall apart on its own, please!’

Nora’s lavender eyes flicked down toward the notepad. She stared at it for a long moment, her expression as unreadable as ever. Neo held his breath, silently praying she would shrug it off, or better yet, completely ignore the question like she ignored almost everything he had said to her earlier today.

Then, without any change in her expression, without even the tiniest flicker of emotion crossing her face, Nora nodded.

Just once. A small, simple nod.

The room went dead silent for a second.

Neo’s brain completely short-circuited. He stared at her, his mouth slightly open, utterly speechless.

’WAIT-WHAT?! She actually nodded?! Just like that?! No hesitation, no confusion, nothing?! She wouldn’t even look at me earlier today! She called me annoying and ignored every single word I said, and now she’s just casually agreeing to marry me like I asked her what her favorite color was?!’

Elara’s face lit up instantly, a bright, delighted smile spreading across her features. "Oh, she said yes! Did you all see that? She actually agreed!"

Sylvia gasped happily, clasping her hands together, while Cassian let out a hearty laugh, clearly pleased with how smoothly everything had fallen into place. Liam simply chuckled, shaking his head at his daughter’s blunt, straightforward reaction.

Neo, meanwhile, sat frozen on the couch, staring at Nora like she had just grown a second head. She wasn’t even looking back at him. Her attention had already drifted back to the hem of her dress, completely unbothered, as if the massive, life-altering decision she had just made was nothing more than picking out what to have for dinner.

’Why does she look so calm about this?! I basically got death-glared for squeezing her cheeks earlier! I got the silent treatment for trying to be friendly! And now she’s agreeing to an ENGAGEMENT without even blinking?! What in the world is going on inside that head of hers?!’

He glanced between the four beaming adults and Nora’s completely blank face, his mind spiraling into a whirlwind of confusion and quiet panic.

’This can’t just be a coincidence. There has to be some reason behind this. Villainess don’t just casually agree to things without a plan. Is she planning something? Does she already know something I don’t? Or does she seriously just not care either way?’

No matter how many possibilities he ran through his head, none of them made him feel any better.

Sylvia reached over and pulled Neo into a warm hug, completely unaware of the storm brewing inside her son’s mind. "Isn’t this wonderful, Neo? It looks like you two are already getting along much better than we thought."

Neo forced a stiff, awkward smile, nodding along despite the chaos swirling inside him.

’Getting along? She hasn’t said more than one word to me all day, and that one word was an insult!’

As the adults continued chatting excitedly about the future, exchanging pleased glances and already discussing little details neither Neo nor Nora had any say in, Neo stole another glance toward the quiet violet-haired girl beside him.

She still hadn’t reacted. Still hadn’t looked at him. Still sat there like none of this concerned her in the slightest.

’Why the heck is the villainess agreeing to marry me?’

The question echoed in his mind over and over, refusing to settle, as the warm glow of the chandeliers above cast long shadows across the now quiet banquet hall.