WHCTA 04

Chapter: 04

Leaving the café with all those burning stares behind me, I finally let out the breath I’d been holding.

“I can’t believe breaking up was this easy.”

It was almost laughable. I had died because I couldn’t do something so simple.

But what should I do from now on?

Now that I had broken up with Delos, I felt relieved, yet a vague anxiety slowly crept into my heart.

I had lived my entire life for Delos. I could proudly say there had never been a single thing in my life that was truly for myself.

I stood absentmindedly in the middle of the street, staring blankly at the ground, lost in thought.

“Dahlia?”

Someone called out to me.

When I turned toward the voice, I saw a man with the same silver hair and blue eyes as mine.

“Cesar?”

It was my twin brother, Cesar Feldrolang.

“W-Wow! What a coincidence! Running into you in a place this huge!”

Cesar approached me with exaggerated gestures.

The awkward smile plastered across his face only made it more obvious.

After quietly observing him, I asked,

“You’re right. But what are you doing here, Brother?”

Cesar had been spending every day busy learning the ropes under our father, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

So what business could have brought him to the city center in broad daylight?

“Ah, well… um. I just came out to take care of something. Then I happened to run into you. Hahaha…”

The moment I asked, he visibly panicked, stumbling over his words while avoiding my gaze.

I narrowed my eyes.

Anyone could tell he was hiding something.

Did Father send him?

Maybe Father had become worried after seeing his daughter suddenly acting so strangely.

Otherwise, Cesar—who hated crowded places—would never have come somewhere like this without a reason.

“Ahem. The wine cellar happened to run out of wine, so I personally stopped by the tailor before heading back.”

“If you’re buying wine, why would you go to a tailor?”

“No, I mean—the brewery!”

Realizing his slip of the tongue, Cesar forced a calm smile.

Watching him, I couldn’t help smiling to myself.

He’s exactly the same as when we were kids. Whenever he lies, it’s written all over his face.

“Well, this works out. Let’s stop by the brewery and go home together.”

“Huh? O-Okay. Weren’t you out because you had plans?”

As he naturally fell into step beside me, he cautiously glanced at me.

“Yeah. It was just something that ended quickly.”

He looked like he had countless questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

An awkward silence settled between us as we walked side by side.

We used to get along better than most siblings.

As twins, we fought plenty, but we had also been closer than anyone else.

Things started to change after I began dating Delos.

Every time Cesar saw me lowering myself and walking on eggshells around Delos, he hated it more than anyone.

“Dahlia, please! Can’t you just break up with that bastard? Look at yourself! A man who truly loves you would never treat you like that!”

It was something Cesar had said long ago after finding me heartbroken because Delos had once again tried to break up with me.

Back then, however, all I had done was criticize Cesar for insulting Delos.

Because of that, the two of us—once inseparable halves of each other—had become so awkward that even having a simple conversation felt difficult.

Thinking back on those days left a bitter smile on my face.

Only after losing everything had I realized what was truly precious.

How pathetic.

I’ll never do something I’ll regret again.

As we walked home together, I clenched my fists and made that promise to myself.

That evening, just as I had planned, I told my family that Delos and I had broken up.

“I broke up with Delos today.”

The reaction I received was far more dramatic than I had expected.

Crash! Clink!

The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the dining room one after another.

Looking up, I saw Father and Cesar frozen in place, their faces pale as though they had just seen a ghost.

“What did you just say? You broke up? You and the Second Prince?”

“Yes. We broke up.”

Seeing the determination on my face, Father exchanged glances with Cesar.

The two of them looked as though they were trying to figure out whether I had suddenly lost my mind.

“It’s true. We’ve decided to end things.”

Those final words drove the point home.

Both of their eyes widened.

“I’m truly sorry… for everything. Father. Brother.”

I sincerely apologized to them.

Seeing me bow my head in apology, neither of them could find the words to respond.

The first to recover was Cesar.

“…Wow. You finally came to your senses?”

His eyes sparkled brighter than I had ever seen before.

“Ahem. Yes… Well… hearing that you’ve broken up is certainly… wonderful—I mean, surprising news.”

Father answered while subtly covering his mouth with one hand.

It sounded like his true feelings had slipped out by accident, but I decided to pretend I hadn’t noticed.

The rest of dinner felt less like a meal and more like a celebration.

“Head Butler. Bring out the wine we received as a gift.”

Father eagerly drank the precious wine that had been stored in the mansion’s cellar.

“Tonight everyone eats their fill! Today we comfort Dahlia’s broken heart after her breakup!”

Cesar ordered enough food and alcohol for every servant in the ducal estate to feast.

Officially, it was a party to comfort me after my breakup.

Several days had passed since I broke up with Delos.

From that day onward, the atmosphere in our house completely changed.

I turned my gaze toward my desk.

It was piled high with gifts Father and Cesar had given me over the past few days under the pretense of cheering me up.

“I’m grateful, but…”

As I looked through them, I let out an awkward murmur.

There were especially a lot of books, and every single title was something else.

101 Ways to Live a Fabulous Single Life, Trash Is Still Trash Even If You Look at It Again, and other painfully obvious titles filled the stack.

I knew exactly what they were trying to say, so I couldn’t even refuse them.

Remembering how Father had also stuffed all kinds of self-defense items into my hands along with the books, I let out a small laugh.

Who could have imagined that the icy atmosphere in this house would change so completely?

“It’s so peaceful…”

It was a feeling I had never once experienced in my previous life.

Closing my eyes, I quietly savored the peace for a moment before standing and walking over to the desk.

Lying on top was an invitation embossed with an ornate seal.

It was an invitation to Delos’s birthday banquet.

I absentmindedly ran my fingers over it before letting out a complicated sigh.

Of course, Delos wasn’t the reason.

“That man will definitely be at the banquet too, won’t he?”

High-ranking nobles were required to attend any banquet hosted by the imperial family.

Which meant the Duke of Baleshtein would certainly be attending tomorrow’s banquet as well.

The next day, inside the carriage on the way to the Imperial Palace.

Unable to endure the burning stares directed at me any longer, I finally spoke.

“I’m really fine, you know?”

The moment I turned my head, the two pairs of eyes fixed on me hurriedly darted away.

“Ahem. I didn’t say anything.”

“M-Me neither. I was just looking out the window.”

Like father, like son.

Their attempts to act innocent were practically identical.

I stared at the two of them before eventually shaking my head.

It wasn’t as though I didn’t understand why they were acting this way.

Only a few days had passed since my breakup, and they were clearly worried about me having to face Delos again.