Chapter 14
At the sound of that voice, Serret turned around. With a relaxed smile, Regan approached her.
“Your Grace.”
“If it wouldn’t be a bother, may I join you?”
Regan asked with gentlemanly courtesy.
“It would be the honor of the Inohater family.”
Serret bent her knees in a polite curtsy. Regan was one of the few people who had left her with good memories in her past life.
Back then, Regan had often visited Yuhan at the mansion in the capital or at his estate. They had dined together several times.
And whenever he visited the Prectuster family, Regan never forgot to bring some sweets or flowers for Serret.
Even when she had been upset and downhearted because of Yuhan and Lydia, Regan had often been a great source of comfort to her.
To Serret, Regan had always been a good person.
Thanks to those past-life memories, she felt no discomfort in his presence now—even if, in this life, they were meeting for the very first time.
“I was just about to speak ill of your fiancé.”
Regan stepped closer to the balcony railing, looking out over the rose garden as he spoke. At the familiar tone, Serret let out a small laugh.
In her past life, Regan had used that same lighthearted manner whenever he wanted to ease her spirits.
‘Permit me to badmouth your husband a little.’
‘Your husband is truly a scoundrel.’
Recalling those memories, Serret’s lips curved into a warm smile. A man who was always kind and constant.
“Don’t you think he’s too much? Thanks to the Duke of Prectuster, I’m the only one who ended up receiving my elder brother’s glare.”
Turning back from the rose garden, Regan leaned casually against the railing, his gentle brown eyes fixed on her.
“The Duke…”
Serret bit her tongue.
Should she speak honestly? Or say something befitting a proper fiancée? She hesitated.
“Shall I guess what you were going to say?”
Regan spoke first, smiling brightly.
“The Duke made a wise decision. Isn’t that right?”
He added with a grin. That radiant smile was strikingly handsome.
Even after what Yuhan had done, could he really think that way? Serret couldn’t help letting out a dry chuckle at Regan’s response.
“It sounds less like my opinion, and more like yours, Your Grace. It seems you truly believe the Duke was wise.”
“That’s exactly why I like Yuhan, that friend of mine. He didn’t take sides—neither with His Majesty the Emperor, nor with His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Regan looked genuinely pleased with Yuhan’s decision.
“Even if it meant selling out his friend.”
Serret smiled faintly, chiming in with his words.
“Even if it meant selling out his friend.”
Regan repeated after her, laughing softly. Serret laughed with him.
Whenever she was with Regan, her tension always melted away. Even in her past life, whenever he came, she always ended up laughing at least once.
“I think I understand why Yuhan became engaged to Lady Inohater.”
Regan’s smile turned gentle as he looked at her. At his words, Serret smiled weakly.
He had meant it as a compliment, but she couldn’t accept it as one—because she knew the real reason Yuhan had chosen her.
Turning toward the rose garden with a bitter expression, Serret let her gaze wander. Naturally, Regan’s eyes followed.
“It must be beautiful in the daytime.”
Serret spoke at last.
“You mean the rose garden?”
“Yes.”
She nodded.
“Having tea there feels like drinking roses themselves—the fragrance is so strong.”
“I can imagine.”
“You should come with Yuhan. Though it’s not my home, I can at least serve you tea.”
“Your words alone are enough. Thank you.”
Serret politely declined his suggestion. She had already booked a ticket for the train leaving tomorrow afternoon. After breakfast, she planned to leave the capital.
“Don’t refuse. A lady’s rejection can wound a—”
“Serret.”
Regan was cut off. A voice called from behind.
Serret flinched at the sound of Yuhan’s voice—speaking her name.
It was the first time he had ever called her by name. Even in her past life, Yuhan had never done so.
“Yuhan.”
While Serret remained frozen, Regan turned around first. His face lit up with a smile as he greeted him.
“Grand Duke Popplewell.”
But Yuhan’s voice, though addressing a friend, was stiff and cold. His tone was overly formal.
Gathering herself, Serret slowly turned as well. The moment she did, her eyes met Yuhan’s.
His face still carried that fierce, stormy expression.
“What are you doing here?”
His voice was flat, devoid of warmth.
“It was hot inside, so I came out for some air.”
Serret met his cold gaze head-on, refusing to look away.
“With the Grand Duke?”
One corner of Yuhan’s mouth twisted as his hand slipped into his pocket. Clearly displeased that she was with Regan, his expression did not soften.
“Lady Inohater was alone, so I simply struck up a conversation.”
Regan spoke lightly, watching Yuhan’s reaction.
“Then I’ll leave you two to your discussion.”
Even at his words, which sounded more like an excuse, Yuhan’s glare remained sharp. Feeling the tension, Serret quickly excused herself.
She could feel the prickling heat on the back of her neck, but she did not look back.
* * *
Yuhan’s mood could be summed up in one word: vile.
“The most detestable existence in the world. Someone you can’t bear to be near, not even for a moment.”
“That’s how much I despise you, Duke.”
Even while exchanging pleasantries with others, Serret’s earlier words kept echoing in his head.
That beautiful voice—how easily it had uttered such cruelty. Compared to that, her request for him to annul their engagement was nothing at all.
He wasn’t shaken simply because his fiancée had said such things. No, it wasn’t shock—it was the seething irritation that he couldn’t suppress.
It was hard to accept that Serret truly rejected him from the heart. And harder still to admit how much his pride was wounded.
Eventually, Yuhan stopped making polite conversation and made his way upstairs—where Serret had disappeared.
Climbing the steps at an unhurried pace, he resolved that their marriage should be moved forward. Since they were bound to wed anyway, why not hasten it? Nothing substantial would change.
But upon reaching the second floor, he had found her with Regan.
The two were laughing together like lovers in a secret tryst. The way they looked at each other, warm and fond, hardly seemed like two people meeting for the first time.
Yuhan’s lips curled into a crooked sneer. So she had fled from him—only to be with another man. His betrothed.
Slowly, he approached the pair. His steps were measured, but his thoughts were anything but calm.
“Serret.”
He called her name.
Not “Lady Inohater,” as always—but her actual name. At once, she flinched.
That honesty made him smirk faintly. We aren’t close enough for me to call you by name.
But he had to. He needed to remind both Serret, who was laughing with another man, and Regan, his friend, that she belonged to him.
“Yuhan.”
Regan was the first to turn, greeting him warmly.
Regan was a good friend. More accurately, Yuhan had never once been displeased with him. And so, he had been a good friend.
But now… now he wasn’t so sure.
That fond gaze was directed squarely at Serret. Regan himself probably didn’t realize it.
“What are you doing here?”
Yuhan’s eyes bore into his lovely fiancée—who had sought refuge from him, only to spend time with another man.
His expression was hard, his eyes sharp as blades, his lips twisted into a forced smile. He had no idea how menacing he looked.
“Then I’ll leave you two to your conversation.”
Seeing that savage expression, Serret thought it best to leave. Better to escape.
She slipped away once more, almost running. Yuhan silently watched her retreating back, debating whether to chase after her and catch her. But then, Regan’s voice cut in.
“So she really is just a simple, innocent young lady.”
That affectionate tone grated on Yuhan’s ears, forcing him to turn.
Regan went on cheerfully, a bright smile lingering on his lips.
“If that’s what counts as innocent, then what sort of place is Mosheli, I wonder? I’ll have to spend my summer holiday there with my brother.”
“Grand Duke Popplewell.”
Yuhan’s voice came out harsher than intended, cold enough to sting.
“So stiff, calling me Grand Duke.”
Regan gave a light laugh, turning his body back toward the rose garden. His expression was breezy, touched with the warmth of spring.
Yuhan, however, looked anything but pleasant. If Regan carried the air of spring, Yuhan’s face was the dead of winter.
But Regan continued blithely, ignoring the chill.
“Among all the ladies attending tonight, she must be the most beautiful.”
On that point, Yuhan couldn’t disagree. Serret was radiant enough to draw every gaze.
Which was why he regretted having granted her request for a new gown.
Until marriage, she should have remained the rustic country girl—so men like Regan wouldn’t drool over her.
“No wonder you spurned the most prominent noble ladies to become engaged to Lady Inohater. I understand it completely now.”
Regan laughed lightly, in high spirits.
“You’ve understood something that doesn’t need understanding.”
Yuhan leaned against the railing, his voice cool.
But Regan either didn’t notice the tone, or ignored it—he continued talking about Serret.
“Those eyes of hers—they shine like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
“Enough. That’s enough, Your Grace.”
Finally, Yuhan spoke up.
Staring directly at Regan, he continued:
“I suggest you put an end to your interest in my fiancée.”
A moment of silence hung between them.
Then Regan blinked, looking momentarily stunned—before bursting out into laughter. He laughed freely, then said:
“So the Duke of Prectuster knows jealousy.”
“Do you take this for a joke?”
Yuhan’s expression remained icy. And yes, it was jealousy. He wouldn’t deny that he disliked another man’s attention toward Serret.
“Hah… I see. Not a joke then. I understand, Duke Prectuster.”
Regan’s smile faltered at Yuhan’s wintry face.
“In that case, I should pay my respects to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Yuhan turned away, leaving the balcony. Regan watched his back retreating into the distance and murmured softly:
“… I envy him.”
Turning back toward the rose garden, Regan let the spring breeze wash over him, chuckling under his breath.
Why wouldn’t the image disappear? The sight of Serret’s smile, the fiancée of his friend Yuhan.
Rubbing his forehead with a troubled look, Regan’s lips still curled upward again in spite of himself.
The spring that lingered on his face refused to fade.
(To be continued…)
