MILWTG 59

~Chapter 59~

He rubbed his neck with the back of his hand as if it was hot and suddenly asked,

“What about your last name?”

“Ah…”

“Pfft.”

“Sorry.”

“Do you like apologizing? At least you remembered my name among all the seniors. Here.”

He held out his hand for a handshake.

“I’m Hwang Sungmin. Nice to meet you.”

Dain wiped her hand on her clothes and reached for his hand.

“I’m Jung Dain. Nice to meet you too, Sungmin-sunbae.”

As he lightly held and released her hand, she noticed a big gold ring on his finger.

‘A couple ring?’

“It’s not a couple ring.”

His quick response made her nod, but he started explaining without her even asking.

“It’s a family ring.”

“Family?”

He said his family was just his mother and his older brother.

They had made the rings so they could think of each other and stay strong no matter where they were.

“Wow… Your family must be really close.”

The clunky gold ring, which she had thought looked out of place with his stylish clothes, now seemed to shine.

“Yeah. They’re precious to me.”

At that moment, Dain saw the unshakable trust behind his faint smile as he spoke of his family.

People with family they can trust and be trusted by… really do shine like that.

If she were with someone like him, if she became part of that family… could she smile happily and securely like that too?

Dain stared at the ring in a daze when Sungmin said,

“Your classmate went inside because she was feeling better, but you didn’t come in.”

“Huh?”

She was still wondering why his ears were red when he added,

“I went to the alley to find you.”

Now understanding, Dain’s face turned as red as his.

She opened her mouth but closed it again, then tried to hide her embarrassment by speaking bluntly.

“You’re… experienced, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

“You just seem experienced.”

“Haha…”

Sungmin rubbed his nose with the back of his hand.

“I thought about talking to you for a month before I finally did, but calling me experienced is a bit much.”

Damian, who had rescued Riden earlier when she was struggling among the drunken priests, walked ahead and spoke.

“Normally, the priests aren’t like that. They failed the promotion exam, so they’re acting like that now. I apologize for their disgraceful behavior.”

“I see.”

“Yes. Did you finish your business at the temple? You looked like you were leaving.”

“Yes, I just stopped by the archives on my way out.”

“Then I’ll escort you to where your carriage is. You might run into more of those who failed today.”

When they reached the Count’s carriage, he stopped and looked back at her.

“Now that I think about it, I didn’t even introduce myself—wait, my lady?”

Seeing Damian look at her with puzzled eyes, Riden was equally confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think some pollen got in my eye.”

He handed her a handkerchief.

“Oh, really? Thank you, but I’m fine. I have my own.”

Riden dabbed her eyes with her handkerchief.

Suddenly, tears that had been pooling there soaked into the cloth, leaving a faint mark.

‘Wait, was I just crying?’

Had she cried like a fool just because some old memories of her ex-husband resurfaced?

‘It’s because of him.’

Riden stared at Damian, who stood there with an unreadable expression.

His face and voice were completely different, but there was something about him that overlapped with her ex-husband, Hwang Sungmin.

And that was why those memories had resurfaced.

“You know, like I said before, you’re too quick to step in even when we’re strangers.”

“If that bothered you, I apologize.”

If he had tried to make excuses, she would have kept going, but his straightforward apology left her speechless.

“Is the pollen in your eye better now?”

“Yes, I’m fine…”

He kept smiling, but Damian had clearly noticed that she had been crying a little.

Riden felt wronged.

“Just so you know, I wasn’t crying because of those drunken priests teasing me.”

“Yes.”

“It’s just that… I was reminded of someone’s funeral for a moment. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“…Someone’s… I see.”

Damian looked like he wanted to ask who, but instead, he spoke in a deep, serious voice.

“It must have been someone you loved very much. You have my deepest condolences.”

Yes, it was someone she loved—herself.

Because of those bittersweet memories with her ex-husband, Riden couldn’t help imagining what he was doing now.

She shuddered at the thought.

What was the time difference between this world and the one where she had lived as Jung Dain?

If time passed similarly, then her ex-husband and in-laws would have already found her collapsed body and held a funeral.

Would they have done it properly?

Of course, they would have.

Her mother-in-law would have taken charge.

Her husband had always been indecisive. At important moments, her mother-in-law would push him aside and take over.

So Jung Dain’s funeral would at least look extravagant.

Madam Kim, her mother-in-law, always had to show off.

She would have rented the biggest funeral hall at the hospital and decorated Dain’s portrait with hundreds of white chrysanthemums.

‘Wait a second, that would’ve been with my money!’

Thinking that all the money she had earned—through branding, designing logos, freelancing, and drawing dozens of web novel covers—would have gone to her ex-husband and mother-in-law made her chest burn with rage.

‘My money! My mooooney!’

She wanted to gulp down water to put out the fire raging inside her.

“Ugh, I’m thirsty.”

“You’re thirsty? Please wait here.”

Damian quickly disappeared.

Riden’s imagination continued.

Her ex-husband Sungmin would be standing at her funeral as the chief mourner, greeting guests with a sorrowful face.

He’d bow to everyone, then eat spicy beef soup when he got hungry.

‘Enjoying the beef soup at my funeral, huh?’

She hoped there would be a cockroach crawling in that soup.

And she hoped he would see its half-bitten body stuck in his teeth.

But she couldn’t even taste that soup anymore, and the thought left her bitter with regret.

“Phew…”

Riden let out a long sigh.

‘No, Riden. You’re the only daughter of a count’s family, loved and cherished! Someone who’s been loved doesn’t cling to things like that. Focus on your own happiness.’

She tried to hypnotize herself.

She wouldn’t curse them. They didn’t even deserve her curses.

But despite that resolve, one last thought crept in.

‘Did he cry?’

Was he sad? What did he feel?

She remembered when her husband’s old friend had died in an accident shortly after they married.

He had shown no expression when he first got the call, but when he put on his black suit and straightened his tie in the room, he had swallowed his tears.

Through the slightly open door, she had seen his profile… and he had been crying.

Would he cry for her too?

Just as her thoughts began spiraling, Damian returned.

“Here, drink this.”

He handed her a glass of water he had somehow found.

Riden took it and gulped it down.

“This water is so cold. Thank you. This is the biggest help you’ve given me so far.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

He took back the empty glass and said calmly.

As she headed for the carriage, Riden looked back at him walking toward the temple.

‘I feel like he always helps me when we meet… is he just someone with a big heart?’

At the Duke’s mansion reception room.

Glenn had come alone without Riden, as requested, and sat politely with his head down.

Just like before, they had asked him to keep it secret from Riden, but the two people sitting opposite him were terrifying.

‘Why did they call me here?’

Merrick Kenwolf, sitting on the left, had his trademark smiling eyes, but Glenn knew from the last time that he could crush people with words while wearing that same expression.

And then there was the Duchess of Kenwolf, sitting on the right…

‘Eek!’

The moment their eyes met, he instinctively lowered his gaze.