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Chapter 11
“….”
Viscount Moldovan asked the question, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer.
He wasn’t wrong—yet he wasn’t entirely right either.
After hesitating over how to respond, I gave a faint smile and shook my head.
“Rather than that… it’s just that I don’t have the luxury for it right now.”
“Luxury… you say?”
“Yes. There’s something far more important I need to take care of. I want to devote all my energy to resolving that first.”
Finding the Tyeria flower.
Even as I reminded myself again, that was the most important thing to me right now.
Looking around at other things could wait until after I secured the flower. Letting go of my feelings for Ains, or meeting someone new—none of that was urgent.
Of course, it didn’t seem likely that someone new would be Viscount Moldovan anyway. Judging by how calm my heart felt now.
The viscount sighed, unable to hide his disappointment, but soon broke into a gentle smile.
“I see. That’s unfortunate, but it can’t be helped. I won’t cling to you or pressure you to reconsider my feelings.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No, not at all. But… would it be alright if we continued exchanging letters like now, and occasionally met to get some fresh air together? I mean…”
His words sounded no different from asking to date. Just as I was about to refuse, he continued.
“As friends.”
“Friends?”
“Yes, friends. That much should be fine, don’t you think?”
“Ah…”
Caught off guard by his suggestion, I hesitated for a moment before letting out a small laugh and nodding.
“Alright. Let’s do that. Friends.”
“Excellent. Then, since we’re friends, please call me by my name. I’ll do the same—if you don’t mind, Lady Marbes. What do you think?”
“I don’t mind.”
“Then call me Kadiya. I’ll call you Cecilia.”
“Alright… Kadiya.”
The sudden appearance of a new friend felt oddly unfamiliar, and I looked at him with a slightly awkward smile. Kadiya returned it with his signature bright grin.
Even though I had rushed to prepare, I felt it had been worth coming out today.
No—attending the ball hadn’t been such a bad decision after all.
“How ridiculous.”
If not for the man who appeared before us at that moment, I might have ended the day simply feeling excited about this unexpected new friendship.
“…Duke Graham?”
Kadiya’s expression stiffened as he recognized the newcomer. I turned my head as well to confirm the owner of the voice.
Ains stood there, accompanied by his aide, Jackson.
The headquarters of the Graham Merchant Guild was located in this alley. It seemed we had wandered here without realizing it.
Ains looked between Kadiya and me before fixing his gaze on Kadiya with disbelief.
“Viscount Moldovan, did my warning go in one ear and out the other?”
His voice toward Kadiya was sharp. Of course—it was because Ains believed Kadiya had approached me for my money.
Even though I had agreed to be friends with Kadiya, I still didn’t fully trust him either.
But at least this situation was nothing like what Ains was imagining.
“Duke Graham, it’s not like that. I was the one who asked to meet today—to apologize for what you did at the ball.”
At the very least, I wanted to prevent Ains from misunderstanding Kadiya right now.
Because at this moment, Kadiya was innocent.
Whatever he might do later, at this point he had done nothing wrong.
When I defended him, Ains stared at me with cold, hardened eyes.
“What did you say you met for?”
He let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t believe it. I spoke again to make it clear he had heard correctly.
“I said I asked to meet him to apologize for the rudeness you showed Kadiya. It was something you should have done yourself.”
“…”
Ains fell silent for a moment, looking back and forth between us.
“Who did what?”
Whether he couldn’t believe it—or didn’t want to—he repeated each word slowly.
It was an unusual reaction. Seeing the anger in him, I let out a quiet sigh.
In the end, I had no choice but to explain again why I had done this.
“I said I was apologizing for the way you misunderstood Kadiya and spoke to him carelessly.”
His gaze settled on me.
His sharp eyes bore into mine. Normally, I would have backed down under that look—but not this time.
As I held his gaze, Ains frowned slightly and spoke.
“I acted out of concern for you, Cecilia.”
“I understand that. And I appreciate the thought. But your method was wrong. Besides, I’ve repeatedly asked you not to involve yourself in my affairs.”
Ains remained silent, continuing to stare at me.
Once I started standing my ground, his gaze didn’t feel frightening at all.
The truth was, what I had feared was that he might once again betray my feelings.
But now, I didn’t need to worry about that anymore. I was already letting go of those feelings.
While my emotions toward Ains were settling, his behavior over the past few days had only confused me.
He was worried about me?
Ains—worried about me?
It was absurd.
If the man standing before me was truly the same Ains Graham I had known for ten years, there was no way he would worry about me.
I meant nothing to him.
If anything, I had been someone he found dreadful—someone he wanted to leave behind.
And now, after our divorce, he suddenly claimed to be concerned?
What could be more deceptive than that?
“I’ll take care of my own affairs. Even if something happens that concerns you, it’s something I’ll bear myself.”
Even after I said that, Ains didn’t budge. It didn’t seem like he would change his mind.
“Then we’ll be going now. You look busy, so please attend to your business.”
I took hold of Kadiya’s arm and pulled him along.
“Let’s go, Kadiya.”
“Yes…”
There was no point staying—nothing would come of it.
But just then, as I passed him, Ains grabbed my arm.
I was forced to stop. His grip was too strong for me to shake off.
“Duke?”
When I called out to him, he turned his head toward me.
“Why did you divorce me?”
It was a fundamental question.
And at the same time, a ridiculous one.
Why did we divorce?
More than anyone, Ains had been the one who wanted it.
I hadn’t wanted to divorce him—but in the end, I couldn’t overcome his stubbornness.
He hadn’t even known I was ill. He didn’t know I had been receiving mana stones to treat it.
Most decisively, I had asked him for help because I didn’t have the 300,000 gold needed to win the auction for the Tyeria flower—and he had refused.
That had been the final trigger.
But in truth, all of it stemmed from his indifference.
I simply couldn’t endure that indifference any longer.
And now, he was asking me why we divorced?
It was absurd.
“Why are you asking me that? You were the one who wanted the divorce more than anyone. I simply gave you what you wanted.”
If he had shown even a little interest in me…
If he had asked even once why I needed the money…
Would things have been different?
“So what—now that we’re divorced, do you want to ruin yourself right in front of me?”
“…What?”
“Or is this some kind of protest? So I can watch you self-destruct?”
“What are you talking about?”
Ains narrowed his eyes sharply and glared at Kadiya.
“Otherwise, there’s no way you’d associate with someone like him.”
I turned to see Kadiya looking troubled under Ains’s gaze.
“Duke, I believe you’re misunderstanding something.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Ains’s tone grew sharper.
“Do you perhaps think I’m someone who will lead Cecilia to ruin?”
“Am I wrong?”
“I don’t know why you think that, but you’re mistaken. Cecilia and I simply agreed to be friends.”
At Kadiya’s words, Ains turned his gaze back to me, as if confirming whether it was true.
I nodded.
“That’s right. We decided to be friends. Nothing like what you’re thinking happened.”
Kadiya had confessed his feelings to me before, but there was no need to mention that.
Ains seemed confused and loosened his grip. Only then was I able to free my arm.
Afterward, I faced him directly.
“Duke, let me say this one last time. Please stop involving yourself in my life. This isn’t what I wanted—it’s what you wanted. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t keep confusing things by acting otherwise.”
Rubbing the arm he had grabbed, I stepped back.
“We’ll be leaving now. It’s getting late.”
“….”
I gave him a brief bow. Kadiya did the same.
Then, without any hesitation, we passed by Ains and began walking toward the fountain.
