‘What exactly are you so afraid of?’
That question felt like a blow to the back of my head.
It was true that I saved Adele from a calamity-class monster during the hunting festival. But I dismissed it, relying on the baseless belief that even without , she would have overco the situation alone through her infinite regressions.
What I failed to realize was that Adele feared death itself. Upon reflecting on the princess’ question, I finally understood the real issue.
Adele didn’t distrust .
‘Was it who lacked trust?’
I claid to want a trusting relationship with her, but I was the one who couldn’t trust her.
I could co up with excuses—she could ruin my plans anyti because of her ability to reset ti, or she was a larger variable than even the Emperor, forcing to distrust her.
But those were aningless words. Expecting soone to trust you while you don’t trust them is clearly my fault.
Perhaps that’s why, when she first heard of the rebellion from the princess, she didn’t co to directly. My distrust of her might have been the reason.
“You’ve realized it, haven’t you?”
The princess smirked.
“Ha… It was such a simple thing.”
“Simple as it may seem, realizing it is not easy.”
“Thank you for the advice.”
At my words of gratitude, the princess’ eyes widened slightly in surprise. I frowned at her expression, as if she hadn’t expected it.
“What’s with that face?”
“Oh, nothing… It’s just…”
She hesitated before continuing.
“I never thought I’d see the day the Duke would thank .”
Her tone seed genuine rather than sarcastic, which annoyed a little.
I wanted to retort but decided it would be a waste of ti and closed my mouth.
The princess cleared her throat and asked, “So, what will you do now?”
“I’ll address it directly.”
Satisfied with my answer, the princess nodded.
She was undeniably more skilled in human relationships than I was. Having read people’s minds since childhood, it’s no wonder she picked up on my distrust of Adele.
At tis like this, I wonder if it’s a lie that she can’t read my thoughts. Surely, if she could, she would have reacted imdiately to what I just thought.
“Good luck.”
With a slight nod, I activated a teleportation spell. Blinding white light filled the room, and my vision flipped.
The dazzling room from earlier was gone, replaced by the barren halls of the Duke’s residence.
Allen, unfazed by my sudden appearance, spoke.
“You’ve returned quickly.”
“Where is Adele?”
Before Allen could respond, Adele opened the door and stepped out. Perhaps she heard her na. She looked up at with a curious expression.
“Is sothing the matter?”
I paused for a mont at her appearance. She was more dressed up than usual, her face adorned with makeup, and she wore an elegant, ornate dress. I was montarily taken aback by her beauty but tried not to let it show.
“Do you have ti today?”
“Not right now… but later, I might.”
Adele lifted her dress slightly as she replied.
Now that I think about it, she had ntioned accepting Estelle’s invitation before. It seed today was the tea party Estelle was hosting.
“Let’s talk after you return. It’s sothing important about the contract.”
After a brief hesitation, Adele nodded.
“Alright.”
“Oh, your necklace is a bit askew.”
As I spoke, I approached her. She flinched at the sudden closeness but didn’t push away, as if trusting to handle it.
Her reaction made realize just how much her attitude toward had changed. In the beginning, she had been wary and prickly, retreating at every interaction. But now, she trusted enough not to withdraw.
While pretending to adjust her ruby necklace, I subtly cast a few spells I had prepared earlier. The gem glowed faintly red as the enchantnts activated, unnoticed by her.
“It’s done.”
“Thank you. It’s my first tea party, so I’m a bit frazzled.”
“It’s nothing. Take care.”
“Will do.”
Adele smiled as she responded. That smile brought back the princess’ earlier question, echoing in my mind alongside the realization: it was who had failed to trust her from the start.
‘I’ve changed so much.’
In my previous life, I wasn’t this cautious. Tis like this make marvel at how much I’ve changed. At the sa ti, I couldn’t help but notice Adele’s purity in contrast.
‘Was I ever like that?’
Now, having changed so thoroughly, I couldn’t say for certain.
****
[Adele’s POV]
“Ha…”
I was utterly exhausted.
It wasn’t just physical fatigue; the ntal strain was overwhelming. Even the three deaths I experienced yesterday had been draining enough.
But this so-called social gathering, a masquerade of veiled insults, was pushing to my limits.
As soone who had lived in modern society, I could never adapt to such an environnt. Subtle jabs disguised as polite conversation were the least of my problems.
Seeing a woman who had once spat on when I collapsed now flip-flopping and fawning over was…
My head didn’t just hurt—it was pounding.
“Ugh… damn it.”
Clearly, I lacked the talent for navigating social circles. So young ladies seed to thrive on subtly tearing others down, drawing energy from it.
But I couldn’t. I had detested gossip in my previous life, so it was even harder for to endure.
“The Duchess has quite a sharp tongue, I see.”
Startled, I whipped around to see a man in a deep navy uniform. If I rembered correctly, only the Tower Master was permitted to wear that attire.
His silver hair glinted in the sunlight, and his crimson eyes, reminiscent of blood, caught my attention. His face was familiar, but I couldn’t imdiately recall his na.
“Greetings to the Tower Master.”
“There’s no need for such formalities.”
Scratching his cheek awkwardly, he dismissed my polite greeting. His casual deanor and lack of noble etiquette made it easy to deduce his identity.
The Tower Master, Rev.
If I rember right, he was one of the male leads in the original story who had feelings for Estelle. In my previous life, a friend of mine had been obsessed with Rev, out of the three male leads.
If she were here, she’d probably be squealing and tugging at my arm, yelling about how he was her type—handso and insufferable.
“So, what brings you here?”
n weren’t allowed at tea parties.
Tea parties were defined as gatherings exclusively for young noblewon to bond. Yet here he was.
Misunderstanding my question, Rev replied nonchalantly, “I was curious about the person everyone’s been talking about.”
“I see.”
Judging by his casual attitude, he likely didn’t even know that n were prohibited from attending tea parties.
Given his commoner background, it wasn’t entirely surprising.
“By the way…”
Rev’s gaze swept over before he approached slowly, his interest piqued. He leaned in and inspected my necklace closely, making feel uncomfortable.
I raised my fan to block his view.
Unbothered by my reaction, he continued to scrutinize the necklace.
“Interesting. The Duke seems to care about you quite a bit.”
“What do you an by that?”
“Defensive magic, detection magic, teleportation magic…”
With a snap of his fingers, the necklace glowed red and began to float. Panicking, I grabbed the necklace before it could rise too high.
“And even a curse dispel magic? Isn’t that a bit overprotective?”
With another snap, the necklace dropped back down.
Fuming, I glared at him. No matter how skilled he was, tampering with soone else’s belongings without permission was crossing the line.
Noticing my expression, Rev waved his hands apologetically.
“Ah, sorry. It was just so fascinating. I didn’t an to be rude.”
“I’m glad you realized that.”
He let out an awkward laugh but quickly averted his gaze when our eyes t. After a mont of silence, he sighed and pulled a few gold coins out of thin air.
“Would this suffice?”
I nearly slapped my forehead in disbelief but restrained myself. For soone as powerful as the Tower Master, his ignorance of noble customs was astounding.
If I had been an ordinary noble, his actions could easily have been interpreted as an insult. Fortunately for him, I was an outlier, so I simply found the situation absurd.
“I don’t need gold coins. I’ll accept your apology, though.”
“But—”
“Rev.”
A sharp, frosty voice interrupted him from behind . It was colder than the dead of winter.
Turning around, I saw Estelle, arms crossed, glaring at Rev.
“What exactly are you doing here?”
Before I could say anything, she grabbed his arm and began dragging him away. Caught off guard, Rev didn’t even have ti to protest.
‘…He’s completely whipped.’
Well, he was in the wrong this ti.
Not only had he co to a tea party—a space ant exclusively for noblewon—but he also addressed informally and tried to compensate for his rudeness with gold coins.
The more I thought about it, the more justified Estelle’s actions seed.
‘So this is what they an by “instant justice.”’
For so reason, I felt an odd sense of satisfaction.
– – – The End of The Chapter – – –
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