On the same day, around 12:03 P.M.
“Oh my! Are they done popping champagne?”
Having finished cleaning up, Carl returned to Madam Maquil’s birthday banquet, four hours away from the hunting ground. This was possible because he was the owner of the last holy relic.
“Ah… That’s my favorite part.”
Ganimede. Why is the holy relic of the ‘location’ that the high priest of the neighboring kingdom had in his hand? In fact, it was a complex matter that was related to the reason why he wanted Europa. However, it was easy to explain why he took the place of Fanora’s revenge.
I can’t help it because he has taken an innocent hostage.
Back at the tea table, Carl agonized over his tea. But originally, I was planning to wait a little longer…
The surroundings were noisy with the sound of celebrating Madam Maquil’s birthday. Fortunately, Fanora was too focused on the ceremony and didn’t bother to look at Carl’s complexion.
Aloken has only threatened me with words so far, but he hasn’t actually harmed me before.
Carl thought as he rubbed the fine blood stains from his wrist.
…I wouldn’t do this according to my usual standards.
The reason Carl used the holy relic wasn’t because Aloken was taking people around him as hostages, nor was he threatening Andras’s family.
Still, I couldn’t stand hearing Lady Fanora’s words.
He already knew the reason for his unusual behavior. He’s not good at studying but wasn’t stupid enough not to know this much.
Other people’s tears don’t affect me at all, so why does it hurt me to see her cry?
Carl turned his eyes and looked at the person sitting next to him. He saw the profile of Fanora with her black hair.
I want to talk to her every day, and I feel like I’m going to die if we’re apart.
He again made his own conclusions with his eyes facing forward.
This must mean falling in love.
He was calmer than he thought. He didn’t say it, but in fact, it was also a feeling he was vaguely aware of from some time ago.
“Carl, didn’t you wear gloves today?”
“I must have left it when I was doing my business earlier.”
“Aha, I see.”
Even after that, Carl acted in a natural way.
At Madam Maquil’s birthday banquet, a person was watching Fanora, so there was nothing good about revealing that he was the culprit of dropping the duke into the river. Still, someday, he was going to reveal the truth only to Fanora.
Carl thought she would be delighted if he told her that he had brought her enemy’s head as she wished. He didn’t even know that this was his own big delusion.
* * *
It was two weeks later. A proper funeral was finally held after the chaos in the family was settled. In the meantime, the succession to the vacant dukedom passed. According to traditional principles, it passed to Aloken’s cousin. Many other things had changed, but everything seemed to be in order on the surface. However, an atmosphere of uneasiness still circulated among the nobles.
“I heard he fell off a cliff while being chased by a fox…”
“Perhaps it’s about replacing the troublesome leader of the noble faction within the royal family. The new duke being appointed this time seems to have longstanding ties with the royal family…”
“From what I know, there’s talk of his uncle who aims to take the Jalier family away…”
Even though it was clearly announced as an accident, people whispered that someone must be behind his death.
“…”
Fanora felt that all the noise was far away. Although her engagement was broken due to his death, Fanora’s position in the world was still ‘Duke Jalier’s fiancée.’ So she had the right to see her fiancé on his final journey.
When it was her turn, she stood in front of the coffin with a white flower in her hand. “Aloken…”
Fanora swept the coffin lid with her dry eyes, laid the flower in her hand, and turned around. She walked helplessly, like an empty shell without a soul. Everyone who saw her thought she was a woman grieving the loss of her fiancé.
“Tsk, tsk, I feel sorry for her. I thought she could get into the eyes of the duke and raise her position.”
“Now, there is no reason for Jalier to have a relationship with the Celsius family.”
Standing on the side of the funeral, Carl overheard the whispers of the nearby nobles and thought. Her expression is really bad. He was sure she would be delighted with this. But far from being happy, he had seen a shadow on Fanora’s face since that day.
Why? Is she that sad that Aloken died? Did she love her enough to mourn him even after being betrayed?
Carl was originally going to reveal the truth at the funeral. But when he saw her expression, he didn’t readily say that it was done by him. It seemed as if Fanora would hate him if she knew about it. So Carl kept his mouth shut and put on a puzzled expression, unable to do this or that.
“…”
But the reason Fanora’s expression looked like that wasn’t because she was grieving over Aloken’s death.
It’s really over. She just felt empty.
While she swore she would never fall in love, she felt like an idiot as she almost ruined her life with love, even for a moment. In addition, Aloken died without her being involved in it at all, so all her revenge now began to seem futile.
“…”
After all, everyone grows old and dies. So, what’s the point of this?
Fanora felt even more depressed when she met Vasago.
“…”
Upon hearing the news of Aloken’s death, it was Vasago who comforted her first. Vasago had taken great care of Fanora in the meantime. She also protected Fanora from getting caught up in the strange gossip. It was a sincere loyalty different from that of ordinary nobles.
Fanora couldn’t believe she tried to poison someone like this. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know if Vasago really committed a sin that deserved to be killed.
Everything went wrong.
But now, she couldn’t remember what to do except revenge… If she couldn’t kill Aloken or Vasago, then why is she doing this regression…
“…”
Fanora didn’t shed any tears, but she looked like she was crying.
That person had already passed away. Nevertheless, Aloken’s betrayal left a deep scar on her.
* * *
It was after the funeral. Fanora rode back in her carriage to the Celsius Mansion. In the meantime, she had been living in the royal castle where the funeral was located, so it had only been a few weeks since she had returned home.
“Sigh…”
She had lost her fiancé, so what should she do? Of course, she had to find a new fiancé quickly so that the countess wouldn’t be the one who did it. Fanora understood her problem, but her thoughts didn’t develop beyond that. She just watched the situation helplessly.
How many days has it been since I didn’t sleep properly?
Her brain wasn’t working. Even when she stayed still, her whole body felt numb and throbbing. She tried to sleep to get out of this situation.
My brain is not working now.
My whole body was numb and throbbing even when I stayed still. She tried to sleep to get out of this situation. After some sigh and nap, her body will feel better.
“L-Lady.”
“Yes, Cecil. Hello.”
However…
Fanora came up to the second floor as usual, and without thinking, she went into her room. But the place she entered when she opened the door differed greatly from the room she knew.
“That’s Lady room…”
There was nothing in her room. The bed was worn out and made unpleasant noises every time she woke up, the drawers looked old-fashioned after a long time of fashion, and the long table she used to write letters on was nowhere to be seen.
“Madam said it will be used as a new dressing room…”
Inside, all the furniture that had been used for her lifetime was missing.
“…”
The only thing left is a cold floor and roof.
Fanora scanned the room, where even the curtains had been ripped off, and suddenly raised her voice. “When was that?”
“Pardon?”
“When did you clean up the things in this room!”
In the meantime, Fanora’s room was a kind of safe zone. Her family never came to her room, so they wouldn’t find out no matter what she hid in her room. Until now, they had never paid any attention to this little room.
This happened while I was looking at Aloken.
There was something important in this room that had not been cleaned up. First, a diary that recorded the midnight novel. The second is…
“I-It’s been a while since you left the room, Lady.”
Fanora recalled the ink bottle she had hidden in the drawer of this room. One of the inks contained deadly poison prepared to poison Vasago. So Fanora tried to find Hanar right away.
“Fanora, you’re making a fuss as soon as you return.”
“Mother.”
Fortunately, she was able to save her trouble. Because she raised her voice, the mansion’s owner discovered her first.
“How can you make my room like this? Without saying a word?”
As soon as she found Hanar Celsius, she questioned her. The young daughter raised her voice, but Hanar answered with a peaceful face on the contrary.
“First of all, it was you who ignored the family’s will. You stayed at the Jalier family’s mansion without consulting it.”
“…”
“I’m just organizing a room that won’t be used in the future because the wedding date has been set.”
Fanora was dumbfounded by that remark. There are vacancies left in this huge count’s mansion. But you can’t leave this small, insignificant room?
“Then please return to my room now. Didn’t my engagement with the duke return to a blank page?”
“…”
“And what about my things?”
She was accustomed to being treated like this anyway. Prior to the regression, she suffered worse than this.
Fanora maintained a surprisingly calm attitude. She felt sick of sadness and anger; now, she felt as if the corner of her heart had worn out.
“There must have been something valuable in it.”
“Yes.”
“I knew you’d say that. Don’t worry, I’ve kept all of your belongings.”
Hanar looked coldly at her daughter, who had already caught up to her height. And she gave her a suggestion.
“But before that, could you change your clothes and come to the dining room?”
What? Fanora wondered if she had heard the sentence correctly.
“This is what I wanted to say before you left the mansion. You’re of the age of marriage soon, so I’d like to have a meal while seeing your face for the last time.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’ll return your belongings after dinner.”
Hanar repeatedly made the same suggestion. Fanor’s voice went up to her throat, wanting to ask if she had gone crazy. She wondered why Hanar did this when she always hid herself and ate alone in this room.
Whenever she appeared in the dining room, Hanar always blatantly expressed that she didn’t like to see her. Every time she used a fork or knife and every action she made, Hanar would say it was wrong. Even when she showed a perfect manner, Hanar looked down on her cleaning up her meals, saying that her food seemed to have gone bad while glaring at her disapprovingly.
“…”
So the young Fanora couldn’t stand it and hid in her room. It wasn’t a memory that would be forgotten after a single regression. Nevertheless, Hanar was still insisting on it.
“Alright, Mother.”
But again, Fanora took a docile attitude.
“I’ll get ready and go down.”
She was already tired of the situation. There was no benefit in fighting Hanar over this. In the end, Fanora skipped over this event as if she had been drunk.
On the same day, around 12:03 P.M.
“Oh my! Are they done popping champagne?”
Having finished cleaning up, Carl returned to Madam Maquil’s birthday banquet, four hours away from the hunting ground. This was possible because he was the owner of the last holy relic.
“Ah… That’s my favorite part.”
Ganimede. Why is the holy relic of the ‘location’ that the high priest of the neighboring kingdom had in his hand? In fact, it was a complex matter that was related to the reason why he wanted Europa. However, it was easy to explain why he took the place of Fanora’s revenge.
I can’t help it because he has taken an innocent hostage.
Back at the tea table, Carl agonized over his tea. But originally, I was planning to wait a little longer…
The surroundings were noisy with the sound of celebrating Madam Maquil’s birthday. Fortunately, Fanora was too focused on the ceremony and didn’t bother to look at Carl’s complexion.
Aloken has only threatened me with words so far, but he hasn’t actually harmed me before.
Carl thought as he rubbed the fine blood stains from his wrist.
…I wouldn’t do this according to my usual standards.
The reason Carl used the holy relic wasn’t because Aloken was taking people around him as hostages, nor was he threatening Andras’s family.
Still, I couldn’t stand hearing Lady Fanora’s words.
He already knew the reason for his unusual behavior. He’s not good at studying but wasn’t stupid enough not to know this much.
Other people’s tears don’t affect me at all, so why does it hurt me to see her cry?
Carl turned his eyes and looked at the person sitting next to him. He saw the profile of Fanora with her black hair.
I want to talk to her every day, and I feel like I’m going to die if we’re apart.
He again made his own conclusions with his eyes facing forward.
This must mean falling in love.
He was calmer than he thought. He didn’t say it, but in fact, it was also a feeling he was vaguely aware of from some time ago.
“Carl, didn’t you wear gloves today?”
“I must have left it when I was doing my business earlier.”
“Aha, I see.”
Even after that, Carl acted in a natural way.
At Madam Maquil’s birthday banquet, a person was watching Fanora, so there was nothing good about revealing that he was the culprit of dropping the duke into the river. Still, someday, he was going to reveal the truth only to Fanora.
Carl thought she would be delighted if he told her that he had brought her enemy’s head as she wished. He didn’t even know that this was his own big delusion.
* * *
It was two weeks later. A proper funeral was finally held after the chaos in the family was settled. In the meantime, the succession to the vacant dukedom passed. According to traditional principles, it passed to Aloken’s cousin. Many other things had changed, but everything seemed to be in order on the surface. However, an atmosphere of uneasiness still circulated among the nobles.
“I heard he fell off a cliff while being chased by a fox…”
“Perhaps it’s about replacing the troublesome leader of the noble faction within the royal family. The new duke being appointed this time seems to have longstanding ties with the royal family…”
“From what I know, there’s talk of his uncle who aims to take the Jalier family away…”
Even though it was clearly announced as an accident, people whispered that someone must be behind his death.
“…”
Fanora felt that all the noise was far away. Although her engagement was broken due to his death, Fanora’s position in the world was still ‘Duke Jalier’s fiancée.’ So she had the right to see her fiancé on his final journey.
When it was her turn, she stood in front of the coffin with a white flower in her hand. “Aloken…”
Fanora swept the coffin lid with her dry eyes, laid the flower in her hand, and turned around. She walked helplessly, like an empty shell without a soul. Everyone who saw her thought she was a woman grieving the loss of her fiancé.
“Tsk, tsk, I feel sorry for her. I thought she could get into the eyes of the duke and raise her position.”
“Now, there is no reason for Jalier to have a relationship with the Celsius family.”
Standing on the side of the funeral, Carl overheard the whispers of the nearby nobles and thought. Her expression is really bad. He was sure she would be delighted with this. But far from being happy, he had seen a shadow on Fanora’s face since that day.
Why? Is she that sad that Aloken died? Did she love her enough to mourn him even after being betrayed?
Carl was originally going to reveal the truth at the funeral. But when he saw her expression, he didn’t readily say that it was done by him. It seemed as if Fanora would hate him if she knew about it. So Carl kept his mouth shut and put on a puzzled expression, unable to do this or that.
“…”
But the reason Fanora’s expression looked like that wasn’t because she was grieving over Aloken’s death.
It’s really over. She just felt empty.
While she swore she would never fall in love, she felt like an idiot as she almost ruined her life with love, even for a moment. In addition, Aloken died without her being involved in it at all, so all her revenge now began to seem futile.
“…”
After all, everyone grows old and dies. So, what’s the point of this?
Fanora felt even more depressed when she met Vasago.
“…”
Upon hearing the news of Aloken’s death, it was Vasago who comforted her first. Vasago had taken great care of Fanora in the meantime. She also protected Fanora from getting caught up in the strange gossip. It was a sincere loyalty different from that of ordinary nobles.
Fanora couldn’t believe she tried to poison someone like this. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t know if Vasago really committed a sin that deserved to be killed.
Everything went wrong.
But now, she couldn’t remember what to do except revenge… If she couldn’t kill Aloken or Vasago, then why is she doing this regression…
“…”
Fanora didn’t shed any tears, but she looked like she was crying.
That person had already passed away. Nevertheless, Aloken’s betrayal left a deep scar on her.
* * *
It was after the funeral. Fanora rode back in her carriage to the Celsius Mansion. In the meantime, she had been living in the royal castle where the funeral was located, so it had only been a few weeks since she had returned home.
“Sigh…”
She had lost her fiancé, so what should she do? Of course, she had to find a new fiancé quickly so that the countess wouldn’t be the one who did it. Fanora understood her problem, but her thoughts didn’t develop beyond that. She just watched the situation helplessly.
How many days has it been since I didn’t sleep properly?
Her brain wasn’t working. Even when she stayed still, her whole body felt numb and throbbing. She tried to sleep to get out of this situation.
My brain is not working now.
My whole body was numb and throbbing even when I stayed still. She tried to sleep to get out of this situation. After some sigh and nap, her body will feel better.
“L-Lady.”
“Yes, Cecil. Hello.”
However…
Fanora came up to the second floor as usual, and without thinking, she went into her room. But the place she entered when she opened the door differed greatly from the room she knew.
“That’s Lady room…”
There was nothing in her room. The bed was worn out and made unpleasant noises every time she woke up, the drawers looked old-fashioned after a long time of fashion, and the long table she used to write letters on was nowhere to be seen.
“Madam said it will be used as a new dressing room…”
Inside, all the furniture that had been used for her lifetime was missing.
“…”
The only thing left is a cold floor and roof.
Fanora scanned the room, where even the curtains had been ripped off, and suddenly raised her voice. “When was that?”
“Pardon?”
“When did you clean up the things in this room!”
In the meantime, Fanora’s room was a kind of safe zone. Her family never came to her room, so they wouldn’t find out no matter what she hid in her room. Until now, they had never paid any attention to this little room.
This happened while I was looking at Aloken.
There was something important in this room that had not been cleaned up. First, a diary that recorded the midnight novel. The second is…
“I-It’s been a while since you left the room, Lady.”
Fanora recalled the ink bottle she had hidden in the drawer of this room. One of the inks contained deadly poison prepared to poison Vasago. So Fanora tried to find Hanar right away.
“Fanora, you’re making a fuss as soon as you return.”
“Mother.”
Fortunately, she was able to save her trouble. Because she raised her voice, the mansion’s owner discovered her first.
“How can you make my room like this? Without saying a word?”
As soon as she found Hanar Celsius, she questioned her. The young daughter raised her voice, but Hanar answered with a peaceful face on the contrary.
“First of all, it was you who ignored the family’s will. You stayed at the Jalier family’s mansion without consulting it.”
“…”
“I’m just organizing a room that won’t be used in the future because the wedding date has been set.”
Fanora was dumbfounded by that remark. There are vacancies left in this huge count’s mansion. But you can’t leave this small, insignificant room?
“Then please return to my room now. Didn’t my engagement with the duke return to a blank page?”
“…”
“And what about my things?”
She was accustomed to being treated like this anyway. Prior to the regression, she suffered worse than this.
Fanora maintained a surprisingly calm attitude. She felt sick of sadness and anger; now, she felt as if the corner of her heart had worn out.
“There must have been something valuable in it.”
“Yes.”
“I knew you’d say that. Don’t worry, I’ve kept all of your belongings.”
Hanar looked coldly at her daughter, who had already caught up to her height. And she gave her a suggestion.
“But before that, could you change your clothes and come to the dining room?”
What? Fanora wondered if she had heard the sentence correctly.
“This is what I wanted to say before you left the mansion. You’re of the age of marriage soon, so I’d like to have a meal while seeing your face for the last time.”
“Are you serious?”
“I’ll return your belongings after dinner.”
Hanar repeatedly made the same suggestion. Fanor’s voice went up to her throat, wanting to ask if she had gone crazy. She wondered why Hanar did this when she always hid herself and ate alone in this room.
Whenever she appeared in the dining room, Hanar always blatantly expressed that she didn’t like to see her. Every time she used a fork or knife and every action she made, Hanar would say it was wrong. Even when she showed a perfect manner, Hanar looked down on her cleaning up her meals, saying that her food seemed to have gone bad while glaring at her disapprovingly.
“…”
So the young Fanora couldn’t stand it and hid in her room. It wasn’t a memory that would be forgotten after a single regression. Nevertheless, Hanar was still insisting on it.
“Alright, Mother.”
But again, Fanora took a docile attitude.
“I’ll get ready and go down.”
She was already tired of the situation. There was no benefit in fighting Hanar over this. In the end, Fanora skipped over this event as if she had been drunk.
