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Chapter 6
“Originally, I used the entire floor alone, but it seemed you didn’t really have a proper place to stay, so I quickly renovated and split the space. Do you like it?”
“…?”
“I did my best to be considerate. If you don’t like it, you can switch rooms with mine.”
After finishing his explanation, he added that the view from Liris’s room was actually better.
She became slightly confused.
Now that she thought about it, the faint smell of new furniture and fresh paint everywhere suddenly made sense.
‘No, but…’
Edreon was the commander of the Imperial Knight Order, the Royal Guard.
He was also the only younger brother of Empress Aitana, the head of the Ashad family, and a powerful political figure with enormous authority.
Why would someone like him go out of his way and endure inconvenience for her sake?
What was she to him…?
As if he had read her thoughts, Edreon gently took her hand.
“I am your fiancé, Liris. As a man responsible for your entire life, I didn’t want to let a fragile lady like you stay in a cramped guest room.”
“Fiancé?”
“Yes, your fiancé.”
“But… we already broke off our engagement.”
Liris recalled her childhood.
After realizing she had been reincarnated into a novel, she had devoted all her time and effort to breaking off her engagement with Edreon.
‘Because, in the original story, Liris was…’
She had married Edreon according to her family’s arrangement, but people who held grudges against her husband framed her for causing the World Tree to wither—and she was torn apart and killed.
Even though she had been a pitiful woman who only lived a quiet life of sewing in her quarters.
Later, only after the real culprit was caught did they realize she was innocent—but what could they do after she was already dead?
At best, they would just add a line on her grave saying, “Actually, she wasn’t the culprit.”
‘If I follow the original and marry him, my limbs are in danger. I have to break off this engagement no matter what.’
That had been Liris’s only goal when she was young.
The problem was that their engagement was a contract made before either of them was even born.
A child’s stubbornness alone could not break a noble family oath.
So Liris turned her greatest weakness as a noble lady into her weapon.
‘Is the young lady feeling unwell again today?’
‘Yes, it seems she may have trouble attending the tea party.’
Liris pretended to be sick and spent her days lying in bed, relaxing freely.
Instead of grooming herself and showing off like other noble ladies, she stayed locked in her room and never showed even a strand of hair outside the mansion.
After several years, her plan worked—Ashad family began to doubt her health.
Edreon was the only heir of the Ashad Duke family.
If Liris were unable to bear children, the Ashad bloodline would end.
The wait took longer than expected.
But in the end, everything went exactly as she planned.
“I’m sorry, Liris…”
“It’s alright, Duke. I’m actually happy. Cough, I’ve been feeling guilty all this time. I felt like my illness was holding back the young lord of Ashad, cough cough!”
When she was twelve, the Ashad family finally requested the engagement break.
After proper procedures, Liris signed the breakup documents in front of both family heads.
Feeling like she was finally free, she trembled with joy and relief—but forced herself to stay composed since many eyes were watching.
She handed the documents to the Duke.
Seeing this, the Duke avoided her gaze and instead gave her a large sum of compensation.
‘That was quite profitable.’
After achieving her goal, Liris left the mansion under the excuse of recovery and never looked back.
Returning from her memory, Liris looked up at Edreon.
“I didn’t know. That day… I didn’t know my father went to you and requested the breakup.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“After hearing about it later, I chased after him. But by then, he had already taken the signed documents and gone to the court.”
“….”
“I argued with my father. I insisted that his son was not just some breeding stallion.”
Edreon let out a bitter smile.
He exhaled softly and continued.
“My father told me to think about what was best for the family and left the breakup document with me.”
“You didn’t submit it to the court?”
“My father probably wanted me to organize my feelings and submit it myself…”
Liris could guess what came next.
Soon after, the Ashad family collapsed under Emperor Lazer’s tyranny.
The Duke and Duchess of Ashad were executed on the spot, Aitana—fiancée of Crown Prince Kairos—was reduced to slavery, and Edreon became a fugitive.
He would not have had time to even think about submitting the documents, let alone actually do it.
Liris stared blankly, mouth slightly open.
‘Oh my god.’
She never imagined the breakup had never been officially completed just because the document was never submitted.
Normally, the party requesting the breakup would immediately take the papers and file them.
‘So the document was just floating in limbo…’
What on earth happened?
There were so many things wrong that she couldn’t even begin to respond.
Whether he noticed her shock or not, Edreon continued calmly.
“I wanted to meet you and talk, but at the time, Emperor Lazer’s forces were pursuing me heavily, so I couldn’t approach you.”
“Of course.”
Liris nodded without thinking.
If Edreon had contacted her and the tyrant Lazer found out, her peaceful academy life would have ended that very day.
“But I still needed to see you. I wanted to return the right to decide our relationship to you.”
“….”
“So I risked everything and went to the academy once.”
“When?”
“Four years ago.”
What?
Liris racked her memory, and suddenly a chill ran down her spine.
It was winter when she was fourteen, preparing for early graduation.
‘Young lady, a letter has arrived.’
‘What does it say?’
‘It says someone wants to meet you. They ask you to come to the academy garden at midnight because they have something important to deliver personally.’
‘Personally? Why? They could just leave it at the door.’
‘Maybe it’s very important. There are many students passing through the hallway, and thefts sometimes happen.’
‘How important could it be… Who sent it?’
Jenia had shaken her head, saying there was no sender name on the letter.
Liris had frowned.
‘This is suspicious. Maybe someone who hates me is plotting something…’
‘It does seem suspicious, but it sounds interesting. You should go.’
‘So you also hate me deeply, huh.’
Liris ignored Jenia’s suggestion.
But that day, Jenia had acted strangely.
She, who always obeyed without question, had actually asked twice.
Looking out the dark window with a meaningful gaze…
‘Are you really sure you don’t want to go?’
‘Yes, I’m fine.’
‘You won’t regret it?’
‘I’m starting to regret bringing you to the academy.’
So that was it?
Meeting Liris’s gaze, Edreon smiled awkwardly.
“It was a document that could prove I had contacted you, so I couldn’t let it fall into anyone else’s hands. If it reached Lazer, you could’ve been in danger.”
“….”
“So I waited in the garden until dawn.”
“That night there was a massive snowstorm…”
“It helped erase my traces, so that was fortunate.”
Edreon had risked his life while being hunted by the emperor just to meet her.
But she had treated it like spam mail.
And he had waited all night in a raging blizzard for an engagement partner who never came.
The fault was clearly on her side.
‘I think I might be screwed…?’
