SILHCN 30

It was only natural.

A life I got to live over again—a second chance—and finally, a family I could call mine. People I cherished and loved.

And yet, was I supposed to trade myself for their safety?

Absolutely not. That would be absurd. It shouldn’t even be an option.

“…Don’t you think? Or maybe, if you just got married a little sooner…”

“No.”

“Why not? I mean, my big brother…”

“No.”

“If you came into the Cassline duchy, we could protect you properly!”

“Who marries for protection?! Divorce isn’t exactly easy either!”

“But my brother would be happy with it!”

That’s exactly the problem…

I sighed deeply. I mean, your brother hates me. He’s jealous, angry, clingy, and completely despised me after I accidentally got involved in an incident.

“Now that you finally understand why I looked at you like vermin… I can only feel pleased.”

He’s the kind of guy who would say something like that!

He danced with another woman at her debutante ball, abandoning his fiancée—and then didn’t even say a single comforting word to her when she cried her eyes out!

And just then—

“What’s this about me being happy with what?”

…Raymon walked into the room without warning. I stared at Vivi’s maid (former assassin) who had let him in without a sound.

But she looked completely indifferent, like she had done nothing wrong, and just looked at Vivi as if she had fulfilled her duty.

Vivi, looking triumphant, spoke with a big grin.

“Perfect timing, brother!”

“Vivi?”

“You know what? I told my sister I’d always be on her side! But she doesn’t want me to!”

“……”

Raymon’s lips parted, probably ready to spout something polite like “we must respect her wishes,” but then he closed them again, his face turning thoughtful as he looked between Vivi and me.

Why the heck is he even thinking about this?

“She said that if she became bait, then the Cassline family would be in danger too! So I thought—!”

Wait. Are you seriously ratting me out to Raymon right now?!

The way she’s saying it makes me sound like a noble benefactor, sacrificing myself for the duchy’s safety! I turned to her, flabbergasted.

“Vivi! That’s not what I meant at all!”

“So I told her you two should just get married sooner!”

What kind of little sister tries to sell off her brother’s marriage out of gratitude?! Vivi, this isn’t like you! And besides—we’re still years away from adulthood!

While I was sitting there in stunned horror, Raymon narrowed his eyes at her words.

“…That might actually be one way.”

“What way?! Are you insane?!”

“Though the imperial pact complicates things slightly… I imagine the Emperor would agree.”

“Would you please listen to me first?! I said no! I said it wouldn’t work! And even if we did get married, the Emperor could still—”

“The Cassline family is not so incompetent that we couldn’t protect the duchess.”

No, that’s not the point! I’m not someone worth risking all of that for, you people…!

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even speak.

Protect me? If I became the duchess?

For a moment, I deeply understood how the original Titania must’ve felt.

Right. She had threatened Vivi’s life, so naturally… she was thoroughly destroyed. They ignored her like a bug until she tried to poison their precious Vivi.

Now that I had saved that precious Vivi’s life, everything had flipped.

It was… just a little funny. And also a little sad.

So I lifted my head and looked at Raymon, whose golden eyes were unusually sharp, and at Vivi, who sparkled with hopeful anticipation.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t trust the Cassline family.”

And I smiled.

Sure, I saved Vivi. And yes, thanks to the family’s goodwill, I was eating fine meals, wearing fine clothes, and even had the maids who tormented me punished.

Maybe this was arrogant of me—spitting on the kindness I had received, trying to keep a sliver of favor to bargain for survival, planning to run away from the palace and live separately from them.

If the old me saw me now, she’d laugh.

It was easier to forgive Prince Adrian. It really wasn’t that hard. But as for Raymon…

“Everyone knows about the relationship between the current royal family and the Casslines. And everyone knows the villainous, foolish Princess Titania, who obsessed over her fiancé. So what gives you the confidence to bring someone like me into the heart of your noble house and declare I’ll be your future duchess?”

Vivi lowered her eyes sadly. I did feel a bit bad for her.

But to Raymon—this man who could speak so easily about marrying me—I had to say it. At least once.

“Why doesn’t Raymon like me the most?”

Since nearly dying, I couldn’t stop thinking about what young Titania must’ve felt.

That memory was the most vivid of all.

She couldn’t even have a debutante ball. She had no friends outside the palace. She was like a bird raised in a cage—pitiful and powerless.

Unable to leave the palace unless it was for an official banquet, yet every day she dressed up, wore makeup so heavy her skin barely showed, and styled her hair over and over.

Like a withering flower. Waiting for a reply that never came. Hoping. Waiting. Hoping again.

Naive, foolish, stubborn, and blindly devoted—but Titania loved Raymon.

She was proud of him, someone admired by everyone, unlike herself. He seemed to shine. Her first “fiancé”—the first person she could call her own.

“What a perfect match—the beautiful duke-to-be and his lovely bride.”

Where had she heard that? During their first meeting, maybe?

After hearing that, she must’ve thought: To be worthy of Raymon, I must always be beautiful. If I’m not, I’m not even worthy to be his fiancée.

Even if it was a foolish, blind crush, it was still love. Even if it was messy and naive, it was still real.

No matter how clueless, no one fails to notice when the one they love doesn’t love them back.

That must’ve been why—when she saw her fiancé dance with some other lady at her own debutante ball—Titania was crushed.

“Why doesn’t Raymon…”

It was meaningless.

That cold, indifferent gaze. The complete lack of explanation. It all hit her.

“I love Raymon the most…”

But none of it mattered.

Titania had nothing else. So even if it was a foolish love, it was still everything she had.

To deny that love was to deny her entire existence.

Hundreds of dresses. Hundreds of attempts to make herself beautiful. Even with all the finest flowers arranged in her hair—she couldn’t get a single smile from him.

Which meant the problem wasn’t the clothes, or the makeup, or the flowers.

It was her.

And so, she cried—uncontrollably—her makeup running.

Because it didn’t matter.

Raymon, the man she loved, her fiancé, didn’t care if she was beautiful or not…

Not even a little.

And maybe that’s why she finally turned toward her birth mother—lingering near the second-floor balcony.

Even now, she still clung to Raymon, craving his love. But deep down, she had already given up.

She had always lived as a pretty, foolish doll. A girl meant to be the future Duchess of Cassline. So she kept living that way—because that’s all she knew.

She had already given up on the one person she believed would love her. So maybe, just maybe… she turned her heart toward her mother in desperate hope.

When she cried and pleaded, she had been ignored.

When she recited unknown information during tea, they pulled a sword on her.

“You ought to be more cautious.”

Raymon’s expression wavered.

Even though it shouldn’t have—it looked like he was shaken. Maybe even… regretful.

Regret? What a joke. That would only be the dream of a dead Titania.

I wish, just once, my fiancé would regret losing me.

I wish he had held my hand. Loved me. I wish he regretted it.

A childish dream. Selfish. Blind. Foolish. Just like all dreams of the dead—one that would never come true.