Silver hair with highlights of ice blue glistened as it was brilliantly hit with the rays of the sunshine. It reminded one of the desolate ice lands in the north with hints of the blue sky just peeking over a corner. His face which was looking over the sight of the beautiful garden was one to applaud. With a smooth and pearly skin that complemented his dark-blue eyes with touches of golden sparks—it reminded Artemis of a sapphire gem as she looked over at him. At this moment, he was only thirteen years old yet he was already beyond handsome, like an impossible touch of magic showered over him and made him stand out among others. Others who see him would surely stop at their track as they bask in his looks.
Artemis stared at the man in front of her with widened eyes, not blinking. In all her life, she never had a problem of being immediately smitten with someone who had good looks since she never cared about appearances but their abilities instead. But, the man in front of her… His countenance was just too praiseworthy to ignore. Her previous dream which vaguely showed off his distinct features did not compare to this one which showed extreme details.
As Artemis was sitting starstruck, Ian finally noticed her gaze and turned to look at her. He raised an eyebrow seeing her eyes open wide, like looking at someone for the first time. That gaze was just like how others had reacted to him meeting for the first time.
The uncomfortable feeling that Ian had whenever he was with Artemis further deepened and he pursed his lips into a thin line, "Lady Francia? What's wrong? You look as if you just saw a ghost."
"Oh."
Artemis was brought back from reality as soon as he talked and she was confused. Was she dreaming but consciously now? It seems as if her dreams are becoming too realistic for her own liking. Everything happening was just gradually unveiling as if it were the most natural thing to happen that Artemis had a hard time differentiating whether this was even a dream or her reality at some point.
Artemis took a sip of tea from her cup to calm down her nerves as she felt a cold sweat roll down her back. While Ian may look pleasing to the eyes, his aura and the pressure he emits really makes a person who saw him for the first time break down. His astute eyes sharply glancing at her made Artemis' hands tremble yet she somehow managed to form sentences to reply to him, "No, Your Highness. I'm sorry, but I must have been caught off-guard looking at you. You must have heard this a thousand times now, but you are simply too good-looking."
"…?" Ian froze in his seat and raised an eyebrow at her response. Normally, he wouldn't be taken aback by such straight-forward remarks since he was used to it. Especially since it was Artemis he was talking about which was known for her bold attitude—but Ian thought that something was off about her sentence. He stared at Artemis, trying to find something suspicious but just dropped it in the end. No use being dramatic over such conversation.
"…thank you. But, I must remind Lady Francia the reason I am here. You must have heard about our upcoming engagement, right? I am here to discuss it today."
Artemis contemplated his words as she took another sip of tea, trying to remain composed as she thinks about what to say next. Right now, she was playing as Artemis of the Love Me novel. She knew each sequential plot of the novel and it was easy to deduce just what this familiar scene of the plot was.
If she was not wrong, this dream of hers had specifically reproduced a scene from their childhood days where Ian visited Artemis, got drunk when he accidentally drank wine meant for the adults and told her how he felt being pressured by the imperial family to seize the crown prince title and become the next emperor in line. This certain event had been the main reason why the Artemis of Love Me became obsessed with making sure that Ian's life is comfortable and free of pressure without having to worry about the throne. As a child with naïve thoughts, she convinced herself that she was capable of doing this by marrying him and gladly take over all work-related and official matters of the imperial court just for him. Artemis blindly believed that Ian trusted her enough to reveal such deprecating thoughts that not even his relatives knew.
'I have to applaud my brain's ability for conjuring this up. Who knew I'd be able to witness the handsome Ian in person and even be able to act out the plot in the novel? This is exciting.'
Artemis smiled behind the teacup before lowering it to the saucer, her body naturally exuding a graceful behavior—like that of a butterfly slowly fluttering its wings amidst the ocean of beautiful flowers. She glanced at Ian and in the corner of her eyes, watched as a maid enter the vine-twirled gazebo with a bottle of grapefruit juice. If this is truly according to the novel, the maid had accidentally switched the fruit juice for the wine meant to go to her father—Duke Raynhart.
What was laughable about such accidents like this was that if this were in real life, such uncanny coincidence would not even happen. Yet for the sake of the plot development, this happened.
But it's not like Artemis was complaining. Compared to real life, the world of a novel was definitely much more fascinating.
"Yes, Your Highness. I have heard about the engagement, is there something troubling you?" Artemis asked while eyeing the maid pour the wine over Ian's cup. Having read both the novel and the webtoon, nothing could compare to this real-life experience of actually seeing the male lead move and interact with her.
"About the engagement… I'm really sorry about my father's sudden decision. I'm sure that this may come fast since we didn't ask your opinion first—but please, I hope you respect his decision, and let's get along well for his sake," Ian bitterly smiled. He grabbed the cup and drank it all in one gulp as if he were extremely nerve-wracked.
"…!"
The moment the wine touched his tongue, Ian furrowed his eyebrows in extreme displeasure as the strong acidity of the red wine burned his throat and he violently coughed. He kneeled over the table in shock and dropped the cup as he choked from the sudden intense burn. His pitiful sapphire eyes started to tear up and his skin gradually turned red.
"Your Highness—" Artemis awoke from her fuzzy thoughts and widened her eyes seeing his unexpected reaction. She immediately stood up when she saw him kneel over in pain. Artemis felt something press down her chest as she hurried over to his side, quickly wiping off the wine that rolled down his mouth and stained his crisp-white cravat.
This was not the reaction she was expecting at all. At most, she had believed that he would only furrow his eyebrows at the foul taste. In the novel, it was only stated that Ian had gotten very drunk from the process and passed out, leaving him in the Francia household for a few days. And while still drunk, talked to Artemis and spilled his feelings.
Thinking of this, Artemis harshly berated herself. She should have known better not to let him take everything in one take as the wine that Duke Raynhart usually drink is high in acidity and bitter taste. Artemis felt like a jerk as she watched Ian try to calm down and pretend as if nothing happened yet his pale face suggested the opposite. For the sake of her own entertainment, she had hurt someone innocent. What a horrible feeling.
As Artemis frantically wiped off the wine in his face, Ian grabbed her wrist and tried to push her back. His face flushed red from intoxication and he tried to speak, "Was… that wine?"
As soon as Ian asked, her face paled from disgrace. Yes, it was wine. She wanted to admit badly. Artemis felt ashamed of her own actions and had a hard time answering his question. It would be foolish of her to answer yes as the Artemis of Love Me had never known it was switched until Ian pointed it out. Answering yes would only incur his suspicions. And even though this was a dream, Artemis had a feeling deep inside her that she should never ruin her reputation in front of him. The only way out of this was to stick to the lines of the novel, pretending as if she had never known it was switched. Guilt washed over Artemis as she quickly thought of her lines just like in the book.
'I'm sorry…'
"I'm truly sorry, Your Highness. But, was your drink perhaps not the grape juice I ordered?"
"Obviously, Lady Francia. I have been served wine instead of grape juice. Please explain this to me," Ian had a cold look on his flushed face. Even while drunk, he was still able to speak coherent words. Perhaps it was his anger that was making him like this. He quickly stood up from the ground with Artemis still holding onto his unstable body. Even for someone strong and perfect like Ian, the wine had a huge impact on him and he wasn't even able to stand for long without shaking. Additionally, Artemis also knew that Ian had one weakness that would prove to be detrimental if others knew.
He had serious weak alcohol tolerance. It had been his main weak point throughout the novel as he often attended balls and parties that required him to drink. But with the female lead's help, he was able to avoid drinking often.
"It was a grave mistake on my part, Your Highness. I'll be sure to talk to that maid later. I'm truly sorry," Artemis sweated, bowing deeply. She watched Ian who was now in his seat once again, a blank look on his face. He was staring at the garden, yet his eyes showed a blank gaze.
"It's no use apologizing for something that already happened, Lady Francia. For now, I think it would be best for me to stay here for the day. I… don't think I can go home at this state," Ian sighed, sweat rolling down the side of his face. As soon as he turned his head to look at Artemis, his head pounded and a wave of nausea threatened him to pass out at that moment.
"Please prepare a room for me to rest immediately, Lady Francia. I'm not feeling too well at this moment."
"Yes, Your Highness. I'll escort you there right now."
After hearing that Ian wanted to rest, Artemis immediately ordered a room to be quickly cleaned. She wanted to at least pay him back with quality service. She stood up from her seat and gently held on to his shoulder and guided him to walk down the hallway. Ian leaned on her shoulder as he sighed in pain. In his blank mind, he didn't even care about decorum at this point. The splitting headache he had was enough to wash over everything.