Previously
Evgenia recovers from her fainting spell and finds her father and brothers gathered by her bed, mistakenly believing she collapsed out of emotional distress over their neglect.
I only asked because it felt like Melissa had been stealing glances at me all day.
Startled, Melissa dropped the teacup she was holding.
The tea spilled across the table and dripped onto my dress.
Flustered, Melissa sprang to her feet.
Since I had left Anne outside, I took Melissa’s handkerchief and blotted the wet stain on my dress myself.
Melissa’s face tightened as she watched me.
Melissa was always nervous around me, but today she seemed even more on edge than usual.
I narrowed my eyes at her and asked,
I explained calmly to the stunned Melissa.
I told her she had turned down an offer from the imperial family, and that the Duke had conveyed her wishes to them on her behalf.
At that time, the Duke had hinted at sending a proposal to the Duchy of Rodion to gauge whether my feelings had changed.
He was probably trying to see if I wanted to marry after Melissa’s refusal, but my resolve would never waver.
In fact, obtaining that information allowed me to keep a polite distance from Evgenia’s family, even if I hadn’t been able to avoid their visits entirely until now.
‘I’ll just have to bear with it until the marriage proposal.’
Regardless, Melissa’s refusal had followed the same path as the original story, so I hadn’t thought much of it.
Yet her reaction now made me wonder if she was still worried about me despite my reassurances.
Before I could finish my sentence, Melissa cried out loudly,
Of course she wouldn't. Melissa was probably in the midst of her forbidden first love.
I nodded to signal my understanding.
Melissa hesitated for a moment, as though I had struck the mark, and then slowly nodded.
Apologize? What could the heroine possibly have done wrong to the villainess?
Perplexed, I watched as Melissa set her expression with resolve and began to speak.
“…”
When I called her name, Melissa flinched, seemingly assuming I was angry.
Yet I wasn’t angry at all.
It wasn’t even something I had been unaware of; I just hadn't expected…
‘I didn’t think Melissa would bring up Richard first.’
I was somewhat taken aback by her unexpected confession.
Even though the situation had been fairly tense, I believed my involvement with Richard had ended the moment I sent him away from the estate.
Perhaps I only wished to believe that, but I honestly hadn’t expected him to be brought up again.
Gathering my thoughts, I told Melissa,
Realizing I had merely feigned ignorance, Melissa froze.
Thinking that was warning enough, I whispered softly,
Melissa’s eyes went wide in shock.
Really now? Reacting like that was enough to make even this villainess feel a little offended.
I answered rather coolly with a faint frown.
Hearing Melissa let out a sigh of relief, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Melissa answered vigorously, clearly comforted by the assurance that Richard would be fine.
Of course, if Richard ever returned one day, Melissa wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye to him…
Still, hearing her answer gave me a small measure of relief for now.
Feeling a little more at ease, I asked,
As a commoner, she would have enjoyed far more freedom, but at the Duke’s estate, that liberty was restricted. On top of that, there might be people outside she wished to meet.
Her reply carried a trace of disappointment.
Upon my mention of places like the temple, I saw Melissa’s face brighten.
Yet it lasted only a heartbeat; she then remarked mournfully,
“”””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””””
I asked casually, thinking she might have already looked into visiting the temple on her own.
Words that I couldn’t simply ignore followed one after another.
When I asked, Melissa nodded, casting a cautious look around.
Ah, no wonder.
I had heard that even though Melissa had rejected the marriage offer, the Crown Prince had let it go without much reaction.
I assumed it was because the time hadn’t yet come for the narrative to deepen their bond, and his interest in her was merely fleeting curiosity. But it seemed there was more beneath the surface.
At Melissa’s sigh, I nodded in agreement.
Then, despite the fact that we were completely alone in the garden, Melissa peered around warily before asking in a hushed voice,
At first, she had been uneasy at the mere mention of the Crown Prince in my presence.
Perhaps because I had severed all ties so decisively, she now asked without much hesitation.
I blinked slowly and replied,
I had never taken a particular interest in the Crown Prince, so I couldn’t say for certain, but the lore from the original novel came to mind, and Melissa seemed to understand immediately, nodding along as I spoke.
And he had become the youngest sword master in history.
Melissa let out a heavy sigh, murmuring that even if this war ended, another might soon follow.
Watching her like that left me feeling strangely unsettled as well.
Just then, Anne came hurrying into the garden and announced,
“My Lady! His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!”
…Wait, what? Speak of the devil and he shall appear, but why now of all times?