🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 5
I had to steel myself just to avoid taking a step back as Ains slowly approached.
It was still hard to look at him.
I had to admit it. I still liked him.
It wasn’t possible to cut off emotions in an instant, like slicing them with a knife—so perhaps it was only natural.
But it wasn’t just that feeling that remained. The resentment and anger I felt toward him also had a place in my heart, which was why I could stand my ground in this moment.
When he came almost within reach, he scanned me up and down with his cold, sharp eyes. Each time his gaze brushed past me, my heart skipped irregularly.
Unable to stay still, I clenched my fists tightly and looked him straight in the eyes.
“I don’t understand—what exactly do you not understand?”
“Why, Cecilia, you suddenly decided to look for mana stones. I just can’t understand it.”
Suddenly? I let out a small, bitter laugh at his words.
Of course. He had never cared about why I was seeking mana stones, or when I had started looking for them.
To him, I was probably less significant than a wildflower growing by the roadside.
“Are you trying to learn magic or something?”
“Why? Is it so wrong if I try to learn magic?”
“…Well, it’s not exactly forbidden.”
Ains seemed to realize how ridiculous his question sounded and accepted it without protest.
“Then, Duke, I don’t understand why you’re suddenly acting like this toward me.”
“Well…”
“May I ask how you even came to this Replen Auction House?”
Ains quickly understood the implication of my question and frowned.
“Do you really think I sent someone to follow you?”
“Then how could you have come to this auction house and intercepted the item I was going to buy?”
“Today’s encounter was a coincidence. I came because there was something I needed among the items listed here, and I just happened to see you, Cecilia.”
He spoke to me as if making an excuse.
I knew it. He wasn’t the type to lie or make excuses over something like this. It really had been by chance that he came here.
But still, his actions were suspicious.
“So the item you needed was a mana stone?”
“…”
Ains didn’t answer.
Even if his actions were purely out of curiosity, it seemed he finally realized that others wouldn’t see it as just curiosity.
“Even if the item you wanted wasn’t a mana stone, it doesn’t matter. But I hope you reconsider how your actions today appeared from another’s perspective.”
“Again, I didn’t come to get a mana stone. Meeting you was a coincidence.”
I stayed silent, staring at him, prompting him to continue. Ains ran a hand through his hair and let out a small, awkward laugh.
“Yeah, I know. It looked strange. But let me make this clear: I came to the auction, saw you, got curious, and just joined the same auction you were in.”
“You suddenly became interested? You never cared what I did before.”
“Still the same. I have no meaningful interest in you.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Ains stated it definitively, leaving no room for misunderstanding.
I looked at him quietly, then chuckled and nodded.
“Right. That’s who you are, Duke.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“I mean exactly what I said. You would never take an interest in me. I painfully realized that after watching you for ten years.”
Once, I had hoped he would show some interest in me. Not as a wife, but as a friend, or at least as someone who had grown up alongside me.
It didn’t matter if he didn’t see me as a woman; I just wanted him to care.
But in the end, he ignored me, refused to care, and ultimately forced a separation. That was the Ains Graham I knew.
“So, no matter what I do from now on, I hope you won’t take interest in me. Just like you’ve always done. And we’re not in that kind of relationship, now even less so.”
After our divorce, it meant I didn’t want him to waste any unnecessary attention on me.
I expected it would be hard to smile in such a situation, but surprisingly, I managed a small smile.
“Then I’ll go ahead.”
I smiled brightly at him and started to walk, then paused, turning to look directly into Ains’s eyes.
“I’ll take the mana stones. Since you’ve given them up.”
After saying this, I turned my body and began walking again. As I moved slowly, I didn’t hear his footsteps behind me.
Just as I told him not to care about me, I too had to break my attention from him.
Soon, I saw one of the auction house staff. Our eyes met, and she approached.
“What is it, ma’am?”
I smiled faintly, considering how to ask my question.
“I’m supposed to receive the mana stones that were won by client #204 today. How should I collect them?”
“Oh! Then would you follow me for a moment?”
Following the staff, I reached the waiting area, separate from where the items were normally collected.
“Please sit here and rest. We will verify and bring the items to you.”
She said this and left. They intended to check with Ains before providing the mana stones.
Before long, she returned with boxes containing twelve superior mana stones and one containing the highest-grade mana stones.
“Verification is complete. Duke Graham has already paid, so please just sign the receipt and you’re done.”
I first opened the boxes to check the mana stones. They were just as I expected.
After confirming the items, I signed the receipt, and the staff bowed politely.
“And I have one more favor.”
“Go ahead.”
“If Tyeria flowers are registered as auction items here, could you let me know?”
“You mean Baron Marves? I’ll make sure to send the pamphlet to your manor once the item is registered.”
“Please do.”
After saying this, I picked up the boxes and left the auction house.
Outside, a servant took the boxes from me and guided me to the carriage.
As the carriage moved away from the auction house, I looked out the window at the streets around me.
Our conversation reminded me again how indifferent Ains had been toward me. He probably didn’t even know that I had been receiving mana stones regularly from the Mage Tower while I was still the Duchess of Graham.
No wonder we had to part ways.
It was probably for the best. Everything had now returned to its rightful place.
“Ma’am! An invitation from the royal family has arrived!”
I was enjoying a leisurely tea time in the warm sunlight when the maid, Rivet, hurried up to me. In her hand was a letter sealed with the royal emblem.
I placed my teacup on the saucer and took the letter from her.
Given the timing, I had expected a ball to be held.
The Emperor’s birthday celebration ball, always in spring. When I had lived at the Graham residence, I had received an invitation every year, so it was not unusual.
But now, I was no longer the Duchess of Graham—I was the Baron of Marves. After divorcing Ains, I had no influence at all, a mere head of a minor noble family.
Typically, such balls were attended only by nobles with considerable influence in the empire, so I hadn’t expected an invitation for myself.
I opened the invitation with a letter opener another maid had handed me. As I expected, it congratulated the Emperor on his birthday and requested attendance at the ball, if it wasn’t inconvenient.
“Will you attend?”
Rivet asked cautiously. I understood her concern.
Everyone in society knew about my divorce from Duke Graham. They had surely gossiped about me, the divorced Baroness of Marves. The main narrative was easy to predict.
Rivet’s question reflected her concern about whether it was wise for me to attend a place filled with such gossip.
I remembered when I had participated in the Replen Auction House. People had whispered as they watched me.
When I had been the Duchess of Graham, they had restrained themselves from saying anything offensive. Once they realized I was no longer in that role, they immediately started whispering, which was unpleasant.
“It’s probably best not to go…”
Recalling that memory, avoiding the ball seemed like the safest choice for me.
But living in the capital meant I couldn’t avoid them forever. I couldn’t keep evading balls, and eventually, I would have to face them.
When that time came, I wasn’t going to run away. If it had to happen once, I wanted it over with quickly.
Besides, in my experience, gossip always diminishes a little in front of the person involved.
“Shall we prepare a small apology gift for not attending?”
“No… I’ll go. Can you help me get ready?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I wanted to enjoy a little more tea, but I got up to avoid delaying the schedule.
I quickly prepared and got into a carriage for travel. It was a luxurious carriage, so the ride was comfortable.
Ideally, the manor should have at least one carriage, but the cost of horses, coachmen, and maintenance was a burden, so I hadn’t purchased one yet.
After securing the Tyeria flowers, it would be fine to get one then.
“Where to, Baroness?”
“Take me to Baron Xavier’s tailor shop.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
The carriage began to move at a leisurely pace. I closed my eyes briefly amid the gentle bumps.
Ains would likely attend the ball, too, which meant we would inevitably cross paths again.
Yet strangely, I didn’t feel nervous or scared about seeing him. Since our conversation at the Replen Auction House, I felt completely at ease.
Perhaps because I had thoroughly realized our relationship. Letting go felt so liberating. Why had I held on to my feelings for Ains for so long?
