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Chapter 4
After exchanging a few polite words out of courtesy, I left the audience chamber.
Perhaps because I had spent an entire day waiting, my body felt as heavy as waterlogged cotton.
“Miss, did everything go well?”
“Yes.”
Not only was I exhausted, but As, who had spent the entire day standing in the corridor, looked far from well herself.
“Are you very tired? You don’t look well.”
As insisted she was fine, but I ignored her.
“You should go rest in the carriage as soon as possible.”
I also needed to think about what I would tell the Count.
He would surely be curious whether I had succeeded in seducing Diego.
As we hurried across the imperial palace gardens, As cautiously asked,
“…Would it be rude of me to ask what you talked about?”
She was my maid now, so I couldn’t keep everything from her.
Of course, that didn’t mean I had to tell her everything. It would be better to leave out the unnecessary details.
“His Majesty has given his permission, so the wedding will be held soon.”
“…What?! Surely not with that baron…?”
“As, that man is suspected of murdering both of his wives.”
I let out a hollow laugh.
“On top of that, he’s a shameless old man in his seventies who wants to marry a woman who has only just turned twenty.”
I’d rather die than marry someone like that.
“Th-Then who in the world…?”
I smiled gently at the flustered As as her eyes darted around in confusion.
It was miserable that I had to choose the better of two murderers, but I had no other option.
The moment the Emperor forced that ridiculous marriage upon me, I had already been left with very few choices.
And now that he had even declared he would prevent me from leaving the country, it wasn’t much of a choice anymore.
Take Louis’s hand and help him get his revenge on the Emperor.
Along the way, I would deal with Diego as well.
And when everything was over, I would divorce Louis and live on my own.
Rustle… Crack…
Just then, a shadow emerged from behind a hedge, and a familiar man stepped into view.
…What is it with today?
Brilliant red hair, mysterious violet eyes, healthy color in his cheeks, and strikingly handsome features.
No matter when I saw him, his appearance was impeccable.
Suppressing my fatigue, I gave the man I hadn’t seen in quite some time a polite bow.
“Greetings, Marquis Rigen.”
He was my former fiancé and the Emperor’s illegitimate son—
Diego Rigen.
“Diego? What are you doing here…? Oh!”
The woman walking behind Diego froze when her eyes met mine.
The traces of the passionate time they had just shared were obvious all over her.
Meanwhile, Diego and I continued speaking as though nothing was out of the ordinary.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve just finished meeting with His Majesty.”
Diego frowned.
He hated having to ask the same question twice. Whenever he asked something, he expected a complete answer immediately.
In the past, I might have indulged him.
But now?
Why should I?
“You look as healthy as ever. I’m glad. Then, if you’ll excuse me.”
I tried to brush past him.
Instead, he grabbed my wrist.
“I’m not finished talking.”
Without giving me a chance to protest, he turned to the woman beside him.
“You. Leave.”
“…Pardon?”
“Can’t you understand? I said leave.”
“Y-Yes!”
Caught off guard by the sudden dismissal, she looked around in confusion before hurrying away.
Still just as rude as ever.
I remembered always fearing that one day he would cast me aside just like that.
In reality, he had something far worse planned.
She only got dismissed.
I was supposed to be murdered.
With a sigh, I told As to go wait in the carriage first.
“Leoina Bellasi.”
At Diego’s call, I looked back at him.
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
“I believe I explained everything clearly the day I handed you the annulment papers.”
That day, I had declared that I was ending this suffocating relationship.
I never imagined he hadn’t understood.
“Forget that. What do I have to do to make you come back?”
…I’m not coming back.
But I doubted he would understand no matter what I said, so I casually pointed toward the tallest tower in the imperial palace.
“Jump off that tower. Then I’ll think about it.”
Of course, I only intended to think about it.
“…Are you insane? What exactly are you telling me to do?”
Unfortunately, Diego had no intention of accepting my condition.
“If you don’t even have that much courage, then stop trying to hold on to me.”
“You think you’re something special just because I’m bothering to keep you?”
Diego always told me I should be grateful that someone as extraordinary as him had chosen me as his fiancée.
There had been a time when those words left me anxious and desperate.
Now they only made me laugh.
“Yes. Which is exactly why it’s so amusing to see someone as amazing as you so desperate not to let me go.”
Then a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“…Do you actually like me? Is that why you can’t let me go?”
“…Don’t be ridiculous! Like someone like you?”
I had only said it casually, but Diego exploded.
“Know your place. It’s just irritating to watch something that’s been in my hands end up belonging to another man.”
“I know my place. That’s why I broke off the engagement. Someone as insignificant as me shouldn’t stand in the way of the future Sun of the Empire.”
At this point, I truly wished he would move aside.
Between my accumulated exhaustion and dealing with Diego, I felt like I could collapse from fatigue at any moment.
“I don’t know what gives you so much confidence, but His Majesty isn’t changing his mind. Your marriage was my personal request.”
His words instantly snapped me awake.
So it really was you.
“I told you, going to His Majesty was pointless. If anything, you should be begging me instead.”
Stepping closer, Diego grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him.
“Get on your knees and beg. Then I’ll stop you from being sold off as that old man’s wife.”
“…”
“Of course, I still won’t marry you. Breaking off our engagement without knowing your place is something you’ll have to pay for.”
“So what? You’re saying you want me as your mistress?”
“What? Is being the wife the only position you’d accept?”
We were clearly speaking the same language, yet somehow nothing he said made any sense.
“Considering your current situation, you should be grateful even to become my mistress.”
“That’s not it. There’s already someone I’ve set my heart on.”
I calmly lied.
Since I intended to accept Louis’s proposal soon, it would be less troublesome later if I planted the idea now.
That had been my simple calculation.
But Diego merely twisted his lips into a mocking smile.
“Someone you’ve set your heart on? Don’t make me laugh. Other than me, who could you possibly—”
“I’ll introduce him to you soon.”
I had only said that much.
Yet Diego’s expression crumbled completely.
At first, I thought he was simply furious that I had interrupted him.
Instead, he asked something I never expected.
“…You’re serious? You really fell for another man?”
“Yes.”
When I answered without the slightest change in expression, he clenched his teeth.
That was unexpected.
I had assumed he would simply scoff and ask what difference it made.
Pulling my wrist free from his grasp, I drove the final nail into the coffin.
“If I ever marry, it will be to him.”
“Not you, Marquis.”
The moment the carriage started moving, overwhelming exhaustion washed over me, and I closed my eyes.
Seeing Diego’s distorted expression at the end had been satisfying.
But overall, dealing with him had cost me far more than I had gained.
I need to meet Louis soon… but arranging it immediately will probably be difficult.
Once I returned to the Count’s estate, leaving again for a while would be nearly impossible.
“Miss, someone asked me to deliver this letter to you.”
“A letter?”
“Yes. I checked it first to make sure it wasn’t dangerous. It’s just an ordinary letter.”
I had been trapped inside the palace for an entire day.
It wasn’t strange that someone who knew where I was would send me a letter.
I unfolded it and read its contents.
Just as As had said, there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.
Yet after reading it to the end, I immediately changed our destination.
The letter itself was completely ordinary.
Like most letters exchanged among nobles, it was filled with empty pleasantries about the pleasant weather and how a clear lake reminded the sender of me.
The only useful thing in it was the address of a shop written at the bottom.
Even so, I couldn’t ignore it.
Because of the seal stamped beneath it.
A rose-shaped seal.
It wasn’t the official crest of any noble house.
However…
The same emblem had been embroidered inside the coat Louis had lent me before.
It was worth thoroughly examining that coat after all.
Jingle.
As the café door opened, the cheerful ringing of the bell welcomed us.
“Miss, where are we?”
“It’s a café my sister Alice and I used to visit often.”
It was also the place Louis had chosen for our meeting.
“The lemon tarts here are famous, so make sure you try one.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you, Miss!”
I told As to order whatever she wanted under the Bellasi family’s name before showing the employee the letter bearing the rose seal.
“This way, please.”
The employee guided me to a table on the third floor.
It seemed Louis had rented out the entire floor, as no one else was there.
“Lady Bellasi has arrived.”
Louis, who had been reviewing documents, finally looked up at me.
“My apologies. Something urgent came up.”
“It’s quite all right.”
