As always, the [N O V E L I G H T] Ringaarden estate greeted the morning with an air of eerie chill.
“Wh-what on earth is going on...?”
“...Shouldn’t soone go check on her?”
“I-I an, if soone from outside sees this, it might cause serious trouble...”
The servants, who should have been preparing the estate for the day, were instead gathered in the yard with tense expressions on their faces, murmuring amongst themselves.
“.......”
And the cause of this gathering was none other than redia Embergreen, who had arrived nearly thirty minutes ago and had been standing motionless in the rain just outside the estate’s entrance ever since.
Despite the servants’ repeated attempts to bring her inside—bringing coats, trying to reason with her—redia only shook her head and stubbornly held her ground.
“This looks like the Count’s family just stood up a noblewoman...”
“Y-yeah... Let’s just hope no scandal cos out of it.”
With journalists lately flocking to the Ringaarden estate, drawn by the scent of juicy rumors (though the servants wisely refused to speak a word to them out of self-preservation), it wasn’t far-fetched to imagine this scene being photographed.
And if that happened, tomorrow’s imperial newspaper headlines were practically guaranteed. The gossips would take it and twist it beyond recognition.
But as servants, they couldn’t simply drag redia inside against her will.
“Why is she doing this...?”
“M-maybe... maybe she wronged the young master sohow, and she’s waiting for an apology?”
“C-co on, that can’t be it...”
As the maids continued speculating about the reasons behind this strange scene, an ominous silence crept over them.
“...Actually, if it’s the young master, I could totally see him standing up a duchess.”
“Yep, sounds just like him.”
“But would Lady redia really stand there in the rain over just a lovers’ quarrel?”
Soon, their whispers began devolving into conspiracy theories.
“I’m telling you, the young master has sothing on her... He has to.”
“I-I heard rumors too... The engagent was all part of so plan orchestrated by the Emperor...”
“Sh-shut it! You’ll get yourselves killed saying stuff like that.”
“B-but still. That situation is not normal.”
As their conversation heated up—
“...Hey, isn’t that the young master?”
“Huh!”
“It is!”
Suddenly, they spotted Whitney Ringaarden walking up behind redia.
***
“Lady redia? What are you doing out here?”
As soon as I caught sight of her figure, I rushed toward her, calling out.
“Lady redia?”
“.......”
“Excuse ?”
But there was no response.
“Why are you just standing here like this?”
“...Ah.”
For a mont, I wondered if I was seeing a ghost. But when I placed my hand on her shoulder, she flinched slightly—thankfully, she was real.
“Whitney...”
But sothing was clearly wrong. Her entire body trembled, her face had gone pale, and her expression was stiff with fear.
She was soaking wet from the rain—but no, that alone couldn’t explain this. Not for soone like redia.
“Are you feeling unwell? More importantly, why have you been standing out here alone in the rain?”
“.......”
“Have you been waiting for all this ti?”
“...Y-yes.”
Worried by her condition, I gently shook her shoulders, and finally, she gave a trembling answer in a faint voice.
“I was waiting for you...”
But... it didn’t sound sincere.
“...Y-you ca back sooner than I expected. That’s a relief.”
Her gaze wasn’t fixed on , and her voice was still quivering.
‘What the hell happened to her?’
For soone who never lost her composure no matter the situation, this was utterly unlike her.
“Lady redia, can we talk while looking at each other?”
“...Ah.”
Trying to et her eyes, I took a step forward—but she quickly averted her gaze again.
“Lady redia.”
“.......”
“...Why are you acting like this?”
Eventually, I held both her shoulders and made her face . And then—I saw it.
Her eyes were filled with unmistakable fear.
But why?
Why would Lady redia be afraid of ?
“Let’s go inside and talk, shall we?”
“...Uh, ah. I...”
“You’ll catch a cold like this.”
Sothing was very off about her today. Still, I couldn’t leave her here.
“From the looks on the servants’ faces, it seems you’ve been standing here a while...”
“...Whitney.”
Just as I gently tugged on her arm to guide her toward the house—
“You said you love , didn’t you?”
“...Pardon? Where is this coming from?”
“Just answer .”
Her heavy voice echoed from behind .
“Of course I love you.”
“...You said you could love no matter what.”
“Yes. So?”
Her words were too serious for to brush off, so I stopped walking and turned to face her fully.
“Did you an it?”
“...What?”
“If I did sothing terrible to you... could you still love ?”
Her words were becoming stranger by the second.
“...Didn’t you already try to kill once?”
“.......”
“Even if you betray tomorrow and try to kill again—I’m confident I’ll still love you.”
I didn’t know why she was asking such things, but I gave her my honest answer.
“.......”
She bit her lower lip tightly and started trembling again.
“Lady redia...?”
Only then did I realize she had been crying quietly, the rain masking her tears.
“...Ugh.”
But suddenly, her pale face tensed, and she took a step back from my approaching arms.
“What if it was sothing even worse?”
“.......”
“What if it’s sothing completely unforgivable—sothing I’ve already done?”
As I listened closely, I began to piece it together.
She must have realized... sothing she did in the past—sothing that hurt .
“Even then, I can still love you.”
“...I thought you’d say that. Honestly, I expected it.”
I repeated my feelings sincerely, but instead of relief, my words seed to terrify her even more.
“I... I’m scared. That’s why I’m even more afraid.”
“.......”
“Your sincerity and your smile... what if one day they just disappear...”
What could I say to her in a mont like this?
Maybe it was ti to change the subject.
It wasn’t what I planned to talk about here, but... now might be the right ti.
“Lady redia, please listen carefully.”
I slowly approached her again, to prevent her from retreating.
“I’ve found a way to lift your curse.”
“......!”
“...Isn’t that good news?”
I smiled softly as I watched her face shift from shock to confusion.
“Of course, the thod won’t be easy. I might... have to dirty my hands a bit.”
“What...”
“But no matter what, my sincerity—and my smile—won’t break.”
“.......”
“No matter what you’ve done, I will save you.”
At those words, her tears finally stopped.
“...Don’t tell .”
But her face now showed a different kind of shock.
“You already know everything?”
“...Sorry?”
“If you know how to break the curse... that ans you know how it was ford, don’t you?”
Her sudden questioning made scratch my head.
“No, not really. I only heard about the solution—not the cause.”
“...R-really? Is that all?”
She stepped in close, cold sweat on her face, and muttered with a faint sigh of relief.
“Ha... haha... Thank goodness. I an, not that it’s a good thing...”
“.......”
“...A-anyway. Good job. I knew you could do it.”
After a mont of flustered rambling, she looked at seriously.
“Hey... can I ask a favor?”
“...Of course.”
Her next words took real courage—especially after how frightened she’d been.
“If that solution... won’t hurt you... please tell before you use it.”
“.......”
“...And then, even after hearing what I have to say—decide if you really still want to save .”
“Is that really necessary?”
I tilted my head. I wasn’t going to betray her, no matter what she said. But redia’s expression remained firm.
“Yes. It’s necessary.”
“...Then why not just tell now?”
“T-that’s...”
Now I was genuinely curious about her secret. As I cautiously asked, she lowered her gaze and finally spoke in a shadowed voice.
“...I’m sorry. I really must be selfish.”
“I just... like you too much. I can’t end this happiness just yet.”
Her face twisted in complete self-loathing.
“So... please let delay it just a bit longer.”
“.......”
“I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry...”
Seeing her again break into tears, I couldn’t just stand there.
“If there’s sothing you want to say, you can take your ti.”
“.......”
“I’ll always be waiting for you.”
This ti, I gently pulled her into my arms and whispered.
“.......”
She trembled slightly as she leaned into —but she didn’t resist.
“...Phew.”
“Did... did that solve it?”
Behind us, the servants whispered with wide eyes. I let out a small, bitter smile where redia couldn’t see.
‘Yeah... I definitely can’t tell her what the “solution” actually is.’
With that thought, I quietly looked up at the slowly clearing sky.
“Master, sorry to interrupt your lovely mont...”
“...Parsha?”
“But we’ve got an urgent situation.”
I turned at the voice behind us—and found Parsha, her expression unusually grim.
“What is it?”
That soone like her—normally all smiles—looked like this ant it was serious.
“The Duke of Embergreen has returned.”
As expected... her words were not trivial.
“He’s about to enter the Embergreen territory as we speak. You need to stop him, no matter what it takes.”
“...Get the carriage ready.”
Looks like today... rest would have to wait.
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