WAV 09

Vincent Leandro, one year older than Edith, was her childhood friend.

Unlike Ethan, who had a master–servant-like relationship with her, the two quickly grew close due to their families’ friendship and the fact that both were only children, sticking together like shadows since childhood.

But everything between them fell apart when the heroine appeared.

Despite all those long years, Vincent ended up falling for Lelynn and became the first to betray Edith.

‘Eighty percent of the reason Edith becomes a villain is because of this guy.’

That was because Edith had secretly harbored a long-time crush on Vincent, even thinking of him as a potential marriage partner.

On the other hand, Vincent, claiming he was protecting the heroine who was being bullied, didn’t hesitate to tear Edith down.

Because of him, even matters that could have been dismissed as simple girl-group conflicts were exaggerated into Edith’s supposed crimes.

“Ha….”

Just thinking about the man who had contributed so much to ruining Edith’s reputation gave me a headache.

But perhaps sensing something from me rubbing my forehead, the butler brightened.

“Could it be… that you remember something about the young viscount?”

“No.”

“Then how did you know his name…?”

“I think I might’ve heard it while asking Nancy about things.”

“Ah…”

The butler looked disappointed at my casual excuse.

‘Even if I know others, I absolutely shouldn’t act like I know this one.’

It was an open secret that Edith had once liked Vincent.

But that didn’t mean I needed to deal with this body’s embarrassing past as well.

Deciding to keep pretending ignorance, I asked indifferently,

“Why did he come?”

“Pardon? Well, of course… he came to visit you while you’re ill, didn’t he?”

Hmm. So he didn’t even bother asking why he came.

There was no way that annoying woman would suddenly show up just to politely visit the woman she almost killed her beloved heroine.

I calmly expressed my refusal to the butler, who was uselessly full of information.

“I don’t really feel comfortable meeting him right now since I don’t remember anything.”

“Even so, rather than leaving on a long trip immediately, wouldn’t it help your memory more to meet someone you used to be close with?”

“……”

“You’ve known the young viscount for thirteen years already.”

He wasn’t wrong.

It was only this morning that I had insisted on going out to recover my memories.

I didn’t want to meet him, but I couldn’t think of a way to avoid it.

‘Sigh. If I have to face him anyway, I might as well get it over with today.’

I sighed quietly and stood up.

“…Where is he now?”

“He is waiting in the reception room.”

“Guide me.”

Following the butler, I arrived in front of the reception room on the first floor.

Perhaps because he genuinely supported Edith’s feelings, the butler whispered excitedly.

“I will bring refreshments shortly, miss. What kind of tea would you like?”

“No need. I’ll be done quickly.”

“Oh? But it’s been a long time since he visited… The young viscount used to like cookies made by our head chef.”

The butler kept trying to drop hints as if concerned.

It seemed Edith had gone to great lengths to prepare for Vincent’s visits.

‘Who cares what cookies he likes.’

It was nothing but useless information to me.

Afraid I might accidentally do something unnecessary by getting involved, I quickly shut it down.

“More importantly, I’d like to speak with him alone, so make sure no one interrupts.”

“Yes, of course.”

After the butler left, I opened the reception room door.

But contrary to expectations, only an empty room greeted me.

“…What?”

Did he leave already?

While I stood in the doorway looking around, the window that had been shut suddenly burst open.

Bang—whoosh!

A strong gust of wind rushed inside.

Startled, I watched as yellow flower petals began swirling in on the wind.

Whoooosh…

The scattered petals soon gathered around the table in the center of the room, forming a slow vortex.

As if an invisible hand were sprinkling them, they decorated the table and chairs one by one.

The dull room was instantly painted beautifully with yellow petals.

I could only freeze and watch this magical scene unfold.

“Achoo.”

Whether from the cold wind or the sweet scent of flowers, I reflexively sneezed.

Thup.

At that moment, a single flower matching the color of the petals lightly tapped my forehead before falling away.

“Hello, Edith.”

A tall man suddenly appeared, as if he had been hiding behind the door.

“Glad you recovered.”

“……”

“You’re not going to accept this after I went through all this trouble?”

Thanks to the flower that hit my forehead, my stiffened body finally loosened.

I slowly lifted my head to look at him.

Blue curly hair, reminiscent of delphinium petals, swayed gently in the wind.

Bright golden eyes sparkled with mischief, and his gaze was refreshingly open.

If Edith was a sharp cat, Vincent was a typical puppy—an annoyingly pretty one at that.

‘…Why would anyone like a pretty-boy like this?’

Fortunately, he wasn’t my type at all.

Finishing my brief assessment, I reluctantly accepted the jasmine flower he held out.

His soft-looking eyes drooped downward slightly.

“I went out of my way to use my ability again after a long time to surprise you… was it that bad?”

I was more surprised by his casual behavior than by the swirling petals.

I already knew he possessed wind-based abilities.

In the original story, he used them constantly to shower flowers during dates with the heroine.

Still, the reason I had frozen wasn’t that.

‘Why is a guy who used to loathe Edith suddenly doing something like this?’

I couldn’t read his expression at all.

Feeling uneasy, I spoke.

“…No. I was surprised.”

“Then why do you look like that?”

“Well. Should we sit down first and talk?”

I walked past him toward the table.

Every step crushed the scattered petals underfoot, making them feel annoyingly in the way.

If this were the real Edith, she might have been thrilled by this kind of romantic gesture…

But I just felt uneasy.

‘Damn it. I should’ve just spoken formally like Ethan and taken control of the situation.’

I hadn’t expected him to pull something like this, so I lost my timing.

While sitting down, I wondered when I should reveal my memory loss.

“…?”

Vincent didn’t immediately follow me.

When I looked at him in confusion, he finally moved and sat across from me.

Then, with his eyes gently curved, he said,

“You look good, Edith.”

“Good that I look good… thanks for coming to vis—”

“I thought you were really going to die. Surprised you made it back alive.”

“…Huh?”

His tone was so casual I didn’t immediately understand.

Like a friend complaining after a long time apart, he continued speaking lightly, as if saying poison.

“I’m surprised you’re this fine. I thought you might’ve been seriously hurt…”

“……”

“But the funeral was pretty interesting, Edith. I almost believed it was real this time.”

“……”

“You couldn’t breathe and ended up crawling out of your coffin halfway through, right? Ah, what a shame. It would’ve been fun if I attended too. Because of you, Lelynn got sick…”

I stared at him blankly as he clicked his tongue, sounding genuinely disappointed that he had missed Edith’s funeral.

‘What the hell is this bastard saying?’

He thought she might have been badly injured but was surprised she wasn’t?

The funeral was “interesting”?

A hollow laugh escaped me.

‘You never said he was this insane!’

Of course, scenes like this did appear in the novel—Vincent smiling while stabbing Edith with words.

— Edith, do I look like a man to you after all these years? Ugh, don’t answer. It’s disgusting.

— Why are you so stupid, Edith? You’re only embarrassing the Duke more. No wonder he chose Ethan as heir.

Every time she was insulted by her unrequited love, Edith suffered deeply and took out her rage on Lelynn.

‘Seriously, what does she even see in a guy who likes someone else?’

Honestly, I had thought Edith’s villain role was pathetic and frustrating.

So sometimes Vincent’s lines even felt refreshing.

They were harsh, but maybe that level of bluntness was what it took to deal with Edith.

I even thought he was just giving honest advice as a concerned friend…

‘Honest advice my ass.’

If I had known he was just a trashy psychopath who treated even funerals like entertainment…

I would never have misunderstood him like that.

‘I was too naive.’

To the heroine, he was the charming male lead she could lean on.

But to Edith, he was just a bastard who didn’t care whether she lived or died.

It was ridiculous that I had believed the butler’s assumption that he came for a friendly visit.

Crinkle—

My grip tightened, crushing the flower in my hand.

“Why aren’t you answering, Edith? Are you angry?”

He asked innocently, like a child expecting a reaction.

Ah.

Maybe because of that—

The boiling anger in my head cooled instantly.

Now that I thought about it, I had no reason to be angry over something I didn’t even experience myself.

Besides…

‘He… actually enjoys it when Edith gets angry because of him, doesn’t he?’

It wasn’t about protecting a loved one or giving advice.

It was simply this:

If you push, she reacts. If you stab, she flinches.

He enjoyed watching her struggle when pushed to the edge.

That gold-lit gaze of his was full of expectation—that was proof enough.

‘What a childish bastard.’

I looked at the scattered petals around the table with cold eyes.

‘I thought he was here for revenge or something serious.’

Now completely unimpressed, I lifted my head and met his malicious gaze.

“Is that all you came here to say?”

“…Huh?”

“You came all this way just to say that?”

At my flat tone, his smile faded.

It might seem harsh, but dealing with this type of crazy person was simple.

“Are you angry? Hmm… I’m not sure what to say. Sorry I didn’t meet your expectations…”

“……”

“I’m not angry because I don’t remember you or how we used to know each other.”

I put on a mildly regretful expression.

He blinked slowly, like he hadn’t understood.

“…What?”

“Oh, didn’t you hear me? I’ve got amnesia.”

“…What do you mean?”

“If you’re done talking, should I get up now? I don’t really have anything to say to you.”

After all, isn’t it simple?

If you don’t feed a starving dog, it will eventually leave.