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~Chapter 28~
“Where on earth did you hear such rumors…?”
‘What’s the source, and why are you so confident when questioning me? Because it’s me, that’s why.’
But he couldn’t say that.
Ethan, fearing that making up too many details might get him caught, mixed in some true rumors he had heard.
“They say you were so sick that you were confined to your estate until you came here for your debut, and that you’re so extravagant you can’t stop talking about wanting the best. As for the source… well, from here and there.”
Riden looked at him with a direct, suspicious gaze but quickly remembered her position and corrected her expression.
‘I didn’t hear any wrong rumors, it seems.’
The rumors Ethan had heard about Riden were all accurate.
Still.
Who would directly tell someone bad rumors to their face?
Now, she understood why people sue for defamation when facts are spoken out loud.
Even though the original Riden had been like that, hearing such rumors about herself now made Riden feel a little offended.
“You’ve managed to hear only the rumors that match so well.”
“….”
“So, as per the rumors, I should be extravagant again tomorrow. Should I just go to bed now?”
“Of course. I should get some rest too.”
Ethan gave a quick response and turned on his heel.
Riden, standing behind him, offered her farewell.
“Rest well.”
However, he paused midway to his room and stood still as if nailed to the spot, turning to look at Riden after a while.
Why wasn’t he leaving?
Riden was puzzled by his actions.
There was no smell of alcohol, so had he been drinking and riding?
Ah, that would explain why he stopped abruptly earlier. Maybe he’s dealing with a hangover?
“Anything else you want to say?”
“Are you doing well?”
“……??”
“You seem to be doing well, so I wanted to ask.”
Riden tried to understand the meaning behind his words.
Was adding “you look good” after calling her extravagant a sarcastic remark?
Well, sarcastic it is.
Riden didn’t even feel angry anymore. She knew this would end soon, and then this would all be a memory.
She had already thought of how to pay the penalty fee, and now she felt like an employee with a resignation letter in hand.
She answered briefly.
“Yes, thanks to your concern, my Lord, I’m doing well. Goodbye.”
But Ethan added one more thing.
“According to the rumors, it seems like you’re worried about the family situation. I’m glad to hear you’re getting along with your brother. I hope the same for your mother.”
“Mother?”
“I hope you get along well with your brother and mother. You’ll probably spend more time with them than with me.”
His words stopped Riden’s feet as she was about to leave.
“What about me? I’m the one you’re supposed to marry, after all.”
Riden’s tone, which had slightly risen at the end, went unnoticed by Ethan.
“As for me…”
Even though Riden was with him as a form of sedative, it was only buying time, and the result would be the same.
A few years of marriage leading to decades of suffering was cruel.
“We don’t need to get along. This is just a political marriage, and we should just handle that properly. Nothing more.”
“…”
“You seem to be worried about life after marriage, but there’s nothing to worry about. Your mother is a bit unique, but she’s a good person.”
Riden’s mouth fell open.
“Don’t worry about what others say. Our mom is different. I don’t want you to be swayed by others’ words. I hope you get along with her. It depends on us, doesn’t it?”
Her mood immediately shifted.
That day in the forest and now, seeing his face again today, he looked much better than the last time, and she secretly felt relieved.
But… what now?
She tried to let it go. She wasn’t going to marry him, so she didn’t want to make things worse.
In her previous life, she never truly got angry in front of her ex-husband, who had always decided who she should get along with.
There was no reason to swallow her words today when she had swallowed them dozens of times before.
‘Again.’
Just a moment ago, the terrace transformed into the familiar interior of a car.
She suddenly found herself sitting in the passenger seat of her ex-husband’s car.
“Hey, are you alright? Why are you sweating so much?”
Riden felt a sense of dread and asked him.
“Can you repeat what you just said?”
“Why are you sweating so much?”
“Before that!”
“I hope you get along with our mother…”
‘Aaaagh!’
Every time he spoke like her ex-husband, Ethan’s face started to resemble his.
Seeing her ex-husband’s face again and again drove Riden to the brink of madness.
“Hey, you don’t look good. Let’s go inside.”
Was she seeing the ghosts of her former in-laws every time she heard their horrible words?
‘I need to snap out of it!’
If she didn’t break out of it now, this situation would repeat forever. With that horrifying premonition, she clenched her fist so tightly that her nails dug into her palm.
She instinctively knew how to break this terrible illusion.
Suddenly, Riden’s lips parted.
“I’m too busy loving myself.”
“…”
Ethan didn’t understand, but seeing Riden looking so unwell, he tried to help her inside.
But Riden slapped his hand away sharply.
Surprised by her unexpected reaction, Ethan stood silently, watching her.
“I’m going to be the Duchess, so why do you keep telling me to get along with your mother? What about you, my lord?”
‘Don’t you have a mother too?’
He had no idea that Riden had never had parents in either her past or present life.
‘Dammit!’
She wanted to yell at him about parents too, but he was the only one with them.
Finally, Riden took off the shoes Ethan had given her and shouted.
“If you want me to get along with your mother, treat these shoes with respect! If you treat them like your future mother-in-law, maybe I’ll consider it.”
“…Do I really have to do that?”
“I don’t have parents, so isn’t that fair?”
Riden used the reverse attack.
Caught off guard by the mention of parents, Ethan was stunned.
He knew she had lost both of her parents in a carriage accident not long ago.
Faced with Riden’s powerful trump card, Ethan had no reply.
“Alright then.”
“…”
“I didn’t mean it that way, but if it came across like that… I was careless.”
Riden lifted her head and looked up at the sky.
The dark night sky sparkled with tiny stars, glittering like jewels.
The surroundings returned to the terrace, and the face of her ex-husband that had been overlapping with Ethan’s was no longer there.
‘I’ve broken the illusion and returned.’
The joy of breaking free from it, the relief, and the refreshing feeling of rejecting those old words all swirled inside her, making her chest tighten.
She quickly put her shoes back on and hastily left the place.
“I’ll support you-”
“Don’t worry.”
She had rejected his outstretched hand too coldly without meaning to.
Trying to calm her trembling body, Riden bowed deeply.
“I apologize for being rude. Please forgive me, and I hope you have a peaceful night.”
With a polite bow, Riden didn’t hesitate to turn and walk into the building.
Baroness Dolomi Henji’s Room
“Ahhh!!”
A frantic scream echoed through her room.
Henji, still screaming in fury, threw the portrait she was holding against the wall in a rough manner.
The frame, containing the image of a local countryside nobleman, shattered into pieces.
These were the terrible arranged marriage proposals Henji had received, unable to debut in the capital.
“Do you know who I am, to be treated like this?!”
Unable to control her anger, she grumbled as she spoke.
She had devoted a long time serving the Kenwolf Duke family, known for their reputation, and had been the only one to receive the Duke’s love, Ethan Kenwolf’s.
Though her father had not yet achieved noble status in the capital, once she married Ethan, what would the capital nobility matter?
Beyond that, even nobles from the Western Empire would bow their heads to her once she married him, and yet they sent such a pathetic portrait?
‘It’s all because of that woman.’
The woman, who would be kicked aside once Ethan arrived, was already acting as if she were the Duchess, and Henji was furious.
Just then, Henji heard voices faintly from the entrance of the building and leaned out the window to see who it was.
‘Who’s that?’
A tall figure, standing above the average height of others.
Underneath his smooth, ebony-like hair, his dark eyes pierced through, making anyone who met his gaze feel a thrill.
‘It’s Ethan! He really came all the way here to see me! But wait, why is that woman with him?’
The woman was wearing a light blue dress, fluttering in the spring breeze.
It was the woman that Merrick had brought along.
‘At night, too! That fox is trying to seduce my Ethan!’
Henji stormed out of her room in a fury.
