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Chapter 13
Brynhildr flinched.
“Two days? Just two days?”
“Now that I think about it, maybe not two days, but three…?”
“Ha, three days?”
“I met him a few more times after that, so maybe four?”
“Ah. Four days?”
Brynhildr’s lips twitched a few times before she finally pressed them tightly shut. No matter how hard she racked her brain, it seemed she couldn’t come up with more than that. Four days—even if they met every day, that was only four times. Just four times.
Four times at age eleven. I couldn’t understand why she was making such a fuss over that.
I shifted my weight to my uninjured foot and stood crookedly. Brynhildr, who had been staring straight at me, rolled her eyes toward the sky and muttered something.
“What? I can’t hear you.”
My words didn’t come out nicely. I figured it didn’t matter if I spoke informally too, since she was already doing the same.
“…It’s not the duration that matters when becoming friends. What matters is the heart.”
“Heart, schmart. You said four days. Making such a big deal over four meetings when you were eleven… No, forget it.”
I let out a hollow laugh in disbelief, and Brynhildr looked at me with anxious eyes.
“What? What’s the problem? I can explain everything.”
“Why would I need an explanation? Never mind. Nice meeting you, four-day friend. Goodbye. If we run into each other again, I’ll pretend to recognize you.”
“You need to clear up the misunderstanding. That’s what I—”
Brynhildr’s words were cut off by a sharp voice from behind.
“Good heavens? Surely not here?”
I quickly turned around. Lady Hilde, her face deeply furrowed, was walking briskly toward us.
Oh no. I was trying to stay out of sight. Of all people, I had to run into a strange person and mess things up. She’s someone I have absolutely no reason to be happy to encounter.
Just then, Brynhildr carefully tugged at my wrist.
“Hey, you don’t like that person, do you?”
When I didn’t answer, Brynhildr smiled with amusement.
“I’m right, aren’t I? Then it’s also true that you like me.”
“How does that follow?”
“Because you don’t avoid me. But you’re trying to avoid her.”
What nonsense. I just couldn’t escape. My ankle hurt. And the only reason I was standing still while Lady Hilde approached was that it was already too late anyway.
Too annoyed to explain, I gave her a sullen look, but Brynhildr paid no mind.
“Why are you trying to avoid her? Who is she?”
“…Someone who dislikes me.”
“Why?”
There were plenty of reasons, but I wasn’t obligated to tell her. By Brynhildr’s own logic, we had only seen each other four times. But Brynhildr’s red eyes sparkled brightly.
“Do you know why I came here?”
I shook my head at the sudden question, and Brynhildr giggled, flipping a lock of her hair aside.
“To save you.”
“…”
This is my fault for trying to talk to her. I glared at Brynhildr with cold eyes and shook off her arm.
“I’m joking. The reason I came here is because Lefgaen proposed a betrothal to me.”
At the word “betrothal,” I stared blankly at Brynhildr. Already? How? It hadn’t even been a week since I signed the annulment papers. Did they prepare this in advance? Who sent it? Jes?
‘No. Since the annulment was forged, the betrothal proposal Brynhildr received is likely fake too. It must be Lady Hilde.’
Yes, that made sense. Besides, in my past life, Jes never got engaged to anyone else after breaking it off with me. The reason I remembered that clearly was because Jes had no ties to anyone, which allowed him to approach Liuvel more aggressively.
‘So this is a farce. It’s nothing. It’ll pass.’
Brynhildr doesn’t get engaged to the North. Since it wasn’t even mentioned in the original story, she probably didn’t stay in the North long. I forced my pounding heart to calm down.
“But from what I know, Lefgaen has only one heir, and he already has a fiancée. And here’s the funny part—I even know who that fiancée is. And that fiancée really likes me.”
“I do not.”
“Oh my, just as I thought. So you’re the fiancée, Linea?”
Realizing I’d fallen for Brynhildr’s shallow trap, I quickly shut my mouth. But Brynhildr had already heard everything and smirked.
“Good, let’s settle this quickly for the sake of our friendship. First, I’m not interested in your fiancé. I’ve never seen him, but I’m sure he has no charm whatsoever.”
At that, I was so dumbfounded I glared at Brynhildr.
“Are you joking? Jes is charming even when you just glimpse him passing by in a carriage.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s true! Jes is so—”
I was about to go on about how kind he was, but then I realized I didn’t need to explain Jes’s charms to Brynhildr. She wasn’t going to marry him anyway, so why bother?
“Well, anyway. It’s a shame you’re not interested, but I won’t say more.”
I quickly wrapped up the conversation. Brynhildr was still smiling.
“Linea, don’t worry. I’m not interested in other people’s men. I really don’t like love triangles. Especially when I’m not the center point. I don’t want to be an unconnected line. If I’m going to live, I ought to be the main character.”
At that, I wanted to shout that this was actually a novel and the real main character of this world was someone else. But I held back. Who would believe that kind of talk anyway?
“So leave it to me. I’ll firmly refuse, and I’ll take care of the rest too.”
That was even more unsettling. From what little I’d seen, I had no idea what went on in Brynhildr’s head, so I couldn’t begin to guess what she might do. By then, Lady Hilde had approached and shot me a glare before smiling at Brynhildr.
After the commotion a few days ago, Lady Hilde had been desperate to get rid of me, but seeing her manage her expression now, she must have wanted to make a good impression on Brynhildr.
“I heard you passed through the gate, but you didn’t arrive, so I was looking everywhere for you, Count Ehrengard. Welcome to Lefgaen Castle.”
“Count?”
I stupidly echoed without meaning to. Not the eldest daughter or second daughter of some house, but Count?
Wow. I gaped in shock without realizing it. She’s a Count? What is to become of our empire’s future?
And in that moment, I had an epiphany.
‘So this is why the world was destroyed.’
Because someone like this was a Count. When the world was on the brink of destruction, no one could stop it. It was obvious.
Unaware of what I was thinking, Brynhildr winked playfully at me.
“Nice to meet you. Usually when I visit other castles, they send someone to greet me at the gate, but here there was no such thing. And the castle is so vast that I ended up lost and wandering.”
At Brynhildr’s blunt criticism, Lady Hilde’s lips trembled.
“R-right. I hadn’t thought of that. Welcome. Shall we go inside first?”
“But who might you be? Are you the lady of the house?”
“No, I’m, um. I’m Hilde Lapare.”
Lady Hilde, who was shorter than Brynhildr, lifted her chin slightly and introduced herself. That was Lady Hilde’s pride.
Just by using the surname “Lapare,” Lady Hilde carried herself with confidence wherever she went. Even if she was from a collateral branch.
But surprisingly, it didn’t work on Brynhildr.
“Oh.”
Brynhildr trailed off with an indifferent expression, then leaned her head toward me and asked.
“So who is she? Your maid? Can I follow her?”
Brynhildr’s voice was loud enough that everyone nearby could hear.
Which meant Lady Hilde, the maids who followed her, the passing servants, and the guards on watch all heard it.
“I, me… You’re calling me a maid?”
Lady Hilde’s eyelids fluttered. Though the sun hadn’t set yet, the breeze that passed by was chillingly cold. I kept my lips as closed as possible and whispered low.
“You’re a Count, right? Don’t you know the Lapare family?”
“Lapare. Hmm. Well. Do I need to?”
I took a step back from Brynhildr. She looked at me with a puzzled expression, but I pretended not to notice. That answer confirmed it for me.
I must not get tangled up with her. A Count who doesn’t even know the only five ducal houses in the empire? There’s one in each direction—north, south, east, west—and one in the center. How could she not know? I put on my most carefully crafted smile and moved farther away from Brynhildr.
Then, lightly grasping the hem of my dress, I greeted her as if meeting a stranger. After all, we’d known each other for less than an hour anyway.
“Oh my. So you’re a guest visiting Lady Hilde?”
“Huh?”
“I wish you a pleasant stay.”
“Hey? Linea?”
“I’ll take my leave now.”
I quickly dodged Brynhildr’s hand as she tried to grab me. I’d played along enough to save face. I had come out here because I had things to do, and I couldn’t waste any more time.
After giving a courteous bow to Lady Hilde, who was glaring at me as if she wanted to kill me, I glanced briefly at one of the maids standing there expressionlessly.
The maid I had been secretly following all this time—the one who had boldly infiltrated Jes’s office. Around the maid’s neck hung a blue topaz necklace shaped like a water droplet.
That is mine.
