Chapter 2

No matter what others said about the achievements she had earned through her own efforts, as long as Ikanuel believed in her, Isabella felt she could endure all the malicious rumors and prejudice directed at her.

Holding on to that small hope, she arrived at Minerva Hall, where the academic conference was being held. Because she had come early, only a handful of people had arrived.

“Whew. This time, I’ll say it properly.”

To calm her nerves, Isabella stepped out onto the terrace and leaned against the wall, placing a hand over her chest. Just thinking about speaking with Ikanuel again after so long made her heart pound wildly, as if she had just run a marathon.

How long had she stood there in the winter wind? Long enough for her pale cheeks to turn rosy from the cold.

At this rate, she felt she might catch a cold.

The conference was about to begin, so she pushed herself away from the wall.

At that moment—

Familiar voices drifted through the tightly closed glass doors of the terrace.

“I heard Junior Lady Redia was invited to this conference too.”

“…”

They belonged to none other than Ikanuel, the man she had been waiting for, and his close friend, Jenard, the second son of House Glarium.

The moment she realized Ikanuel was on the other side of the glass, a smile unconsciously spread across Isabella’s lips.

The heart she had struggled so hard to calm began racing once more.

Unlike her hands, chilled numb by the winter wind, her cheeks burned warmly at the thought of seeing the person she loved.

Should she greet him first when she went inside?

No, maybe asking how he had been would be better.

Just as her hand reached for the door handle, the conversation continued, freezing her in place.

“Judging by that look, you really didn’t know. Then why did you even become student council president?”

“Being president doesn’t mean I have to memorize the invitation list for every conference.”

“Hey. There are only thirty participants in this conference. Why are you always so cold to her?”

You may be academy seniors and juniors, but you’re still engaged, aren’t you?

As if reading Jenard’s unspoken thought, Ikanuel let out a deep sigh.

“If you had a younger sister the same age as Hailey who kept following you around because she liked you, would you enjoy it?”

“Could you stay indifferent in front of someone you like?”

“She’s seventeen. She’s old enough to understand how the world works. She should know what kinds of rumors are floating around about her and me.”

His voice carried unmistakable irritation.

“Only a two-year age gap, and listen to you making excuses.”

“I never wanted an engagement in the first place.”

For Isabella, every moment of this relationship had been sincere.

To him, it was nothing more than a forced arrangement made by their grandfathers.

She felt as though she had been rejected before she had even confessed.

Every swallow felt painful, as though a thorn had lodged itself in her throat.

Pressing a trembling hand against her chest, Isabella struggled to keep herself from screaming.

Jenard looked equally horrified.

“What if someone hears you? At least think about how hard she worked to earn an invitation to this conference and behave yourself today.”

“Stop nagging me like my grandfather. I don’t need to hear that from you too.”

“That’s not nagging. I’m pointing out your terrible behavior. What exactly did she do wrong?”

I don’t want to hear it.

She didn’t want to hear Ikanuel’s answer.

Unable to bear it, Isabella sank to the floor and covered both ears.

But unfortunately, his cold voice cut through her defenses like a blade slicing flesh.

“Her very existence feels burdensome to me.”

The moment she heard the man she loved deny even her existence, Isabella could no longer hear the rest of their conversation.

The floor beneath her feet and the wall supporting her hand seemed to sway.

Only then—after hearing it directly from his own mouth—did she finally understand.

Their relationship had always been two parallel lines that could never meet.

Even three years later, Isabella still remembered the winter she was seventeen as the worst season of her life.

And now, in the spring of her twentieth year, on the eve of Harta Night—the grandest festival of summer—

Something unexpected happened.

For some reason, her illustrious fiancé had been the one to request a meeting.

Was she curious about what he wanted?

…A little.

Just a little.

But she had no intention of admitting it aloud.

More than anything, she wanted this meeting to end quickly so she could return to her estate.

“You said there was something you wished to discuss with me.”

“Yes.”

Lifting her gaze, Isabella looked at the man she had once loved with all her heart.

Her fiancé.

Or rather, her soon-to-be former fiancé.

Unlike before, she could now meet his eyes without hesitation.

Human hearts were truly fickle things.

The love that had once consumed her entire being had melted away like snow under sunlight, leaving behind neither excitement nor nervousness.

For ten long years, she had never been able to look him in the eye or speak properly whenever she stood before him.

Now, for the first time, she faced him calmly.

His deep blue eyes, clear as the sky, seemed unusually bright today.

Ikanuel was acting strangely restless.

Like a nervous man, he repeatedly clenched and unclenched the hand resting on the table.

What could he possibly want to say that had him so tense?

Probably ending this dragged-out engagement.

Honestly, Isabella couldn’t blame him.

Compared to Ikanuel, she really was lacking, just as everyone said.

There were countless noble ladies throughout the Empire who were far more accomplished and far more suitable for House Laselles.

Now that Isabella had reached adulthood, there was no reason for him to continue this hollow engagement.

The irony was almost amusing.

For someone who had always been so skilled at ignoring her, he seemed strangely incapable of bringing up the topic of breaking off the engagement.

Did he know how exhausting it was?

How painful it was to smile through years of rejection and indifference from the person you loved?

Of course not.

A proud young duke like him would never understand.

Perhaps he was finally reflecting on all the ways he had mistreated her.

Maybe she should take this opportunity for one last small act of revenge.

If ending a ten-year unrequited love was her responsibility, then she should be the one doing the rejecting.

A relationship that could have ended the moment she let go had dragged on far too long.

“Since it’s come to this, I think we should break off the engagement—”

“We should begin discussing the wedding schedule going forward—”

…

Silence fell between them.

The people around them, however, were anything but silent.

“Gasp!”

“Did Lady Redia just mention breaking off the engagement?”

“My goodness, seriously?”

Unfortunately, they had chosen a café in the Imperial Capital as their meeting place.

Countless eyes were already fixed on them.

Within moments, news of their completely mismatched conversation spread like wildfire.

But Isabella no longer cared what anyone thought.

One person was talking about ending the relationship.

The other was talking about marriage.

As shock spread across her face, confusion appeared on his as well.

“Marriage?”

“Breaking off the engagement?”

Ikanuel’s brow furrowed deeply.

He looked as though he had just heard something he absolutely did not want to hear.

Even though, if anyone had the right to be upset, it should have been Isabella.

Still, she no longer cared about his feelings.

The only thing that mattered now was ending this engagement.

No matter what happened, she had to make it happen today.

“You heard me correctly, Young Duke.”

“You wish to break off the engagement?”

“Yes. Frankly, I’m the one who’s surprised. Do you really think marriage between us makes any sense?”

“Lady Redia.”

There it was again.

Even after ten years of engagement, he still addressed her only by her family name.

Not once had he called her Isabella.

From the day they met until now, nothing between them had changed.

If anyone had changed, it was her.

The formal titles.

The awkward relationship.

The difference in status between their families.

No matter how she looked at it, the engagement arranged by their grandfathers had benefited neither of them.

The more she thought about it, the firmer her resolve became.

“Would you like me to repeat myself if you didn’t hear properly?”

“There’s no need. I’ll pretend I never heard what you just said.”

The shameless response arrived exactly as expected.

As if breaking off the engagement were simply not an option.

A mocking laugh escaped Isabella’s lips.

“I always thought you weren’t the type to enjoy jokes, Young Duke.”

“A joke?”

She calmly nodded.

Immediately, his perfectly groomed brows twisted.

While Isabella leisurely sipped her lukewarm tea, Ikanuel’s displeasure became increasingly obvious.

His gaze followed every movement she made so intensely that it almost made her skin sting.

Click.

The sound of her teacup touching the saucer echoed through the silent café.

“I should be the one asking questions,” Isabella said.

“Marriage? Why?”

“…It is our families’ agreement.”

“Our families’ agreement?”

She burst out laughing.

The man who had treated that agreement more lightly than anyone else was now using it as justification?

If he had at least apologized, would her decision have changed?

No.

Perhaps it would have only taken longer.

The outcome would have remained the same.

In truth, she had never expected him to apologize for all the ways he had treated her.

That was why she wasn’t disappointed.

“No, Young Duke Laselles. Let me ask one thing of you—just this once, and for the last time.”

Rather than changing her mind, his answer felt like the final period at the end of her long, painful one-sided love.

“One, two, three! We are! The Venus! Hello, I’m Haeyoon, leader of Venus!”

To meet the beloved idol who had helped her finally move on from her miserable crush.

To go to the Republic of Korea, where that idol awaited.

For that reason, Isabella decided that today, for the first and last time, she would speak honestly.

Without hesitation.

“Isabella Redia formally requests the dissolution of her engagement to Young Duke Laselles.”

After all, before leaving for South Korea—the land where her beloved idol lived—

The very first thing Isabella had to do was break off her engagement.