Because the hour was late, they agreed to leave for the final location the following day.
Neigh…
The ivory carriage pulled up in front of the red brick villa.
Stepping lightly down from the carriage, Rodi spoke.
“I didn’t expect you to actually bring me home.”
Yubar, who stepped down right behind her, retorted.
“I don’t resort to the petty behavior you might expect.”
He glanced inside the carriage.
“Father, please go ahead to the inn. I have a few words for this woman.”
“Understood.”
The carriage rattled off into the distance.
Rodi wore a look of genuine surprise.
“I didn’t think you’d ever feel like speaking with me.”
Yubar sneered.
“Your actions are far too suspicious for me not to ask.”
Then he added,
“What are you really scheming?”
Rodi tilted her head.
“What am I scheming? I didn’t do anything today that could possibly harm you or Mr. Noien.”
“That is precisely why I’m asking.”
Yubar fixed her with a grave stare.
“Don't you hate me?”
“No.”
“I knew you would say th—pardon?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected answer, Yubar wore a dumbfounded look.
“I don’t particularly hate you.”
It wasn't a lie.
If anything, since he was one of the male leads, she actually liked him reasonably well.
‘Even the real Rodi didn’t particularly hate Yubar either.’
The only reason the original Rodi had constantly picked fights with Yubar was pure jealousy.
While high society looked down on her for being a bastard, even the haughtiest nobles couldn’t treat Yubar carelessly, despite his commoner blood, because of his colossal wealth.
“…Haven’t you picked fights with me until I was sick of it?”
Rodi briefly pondered whether she should tell him the truth.
‘It’s not an insult, and for now, clearing away Yubar’s distrust will work to my advantage.’
Having reached that conclusion, she let it out casually.
“I was envious.”
“Wh-what?”
Rattled to his core, Yubar let out a rare, dimwitted gasp.
“I wanted to be like you.”
Rodi continued calmly.
“As you can see, I’m despised for being half-blooded noble trash, but even though you were born a commoner, nobles fawn all over you. On top of that, you have a dependable, capable father.”
Slowly, she unraveled the knotted feelings nestled deep within the real Rodi’s memories into spoken words.
“It’s not as if… I wanted to be born with such a background. It’s not as though I wanted to live this way.”
The lingering heart of Rodi inside her mind seemed to cry out, making it impossible to stop her words.
“Whether they are nobles or commoners, others have harmonious families. Why couldn't I have been born into one of those?”
I hate myself like this too!
But what could I have done?
Everyone hated me from the moment I was born. They despised me.
Those were the only things they ever taught me, weren't they?
And yet, expecting me to become a good, sweet child is just cruel.
…I wanted to learn how to be loved, too.
‘Yes, Rodi.’
She raised her head.
“That’s why I acted that way. Out of envy.”
Yubar struggled to maintain as stern an expression as possible.
“…That still doesn’t excuse the things you’ve said and done to me.”
“I’m not asking for your understanding, nor am I trying to apologize. You asked for the reason, so I merely gave it to you.”
Rodi offered a bitter smile.
“You were born with all the qualities to be loved, while I, in the end, was not.”
A strange expression crossed Yubar’s face.
“Me?”
Hmm, was he genuinely asking?
Rodi graciously counted them off on her fingers.
“You’re handsome, rich, capable, and have a decent personality…”
For the record, among the four male protagonists in Utopia, Yubar was the most sensible.
‘His attitude toward Rodi was also relatively gentlemanly, along with Likens.’
As for the other two, well…
‘I’d rather not cross paths with them if I can help it.’
The stern mask Yubar fought to maintain cracked slightly.
“To think the day would come when I'd hear a compliment from your lips…?”
“It’s not a compliment, just a statement of fact. Would you only believe it if I named all the young ladies in high society who harbor feelings for you?”
He became flustered.
“No, no. That won’t be necessary.”
Well, if that was enough for him.
Rodi gave a small nod.
“…”
By contrast, Yubar still hadn’t settled the bewildered flutter in his chest.
‘Could Rodi Evant truly say something like this?’
It felt thoroughly unsettling.
She did not feel like the woman he had known until now.
It wasn't as if she had suddenly turned into an entirely different person…
“Yubar, you once told me,”
she spoke up again out of the blue.
“that I am a wicked villainess who brings misery to everyone around her.”
In an instant, Yubar felt the breath catch in his throat.
“You weren't wrong, exactly.”
Rodi, on the other hand, remained serene.
“I don’t know how to make other people happy. No one ever taught me such things.”
She gave a transparent smile.
“Never having been loved in an ordinary way, let alone having loved anyone, I suppose I could never make anyone happy.”
“…”
“Even so, I will live.”
Her eyes locked directly onto Yubar.
“I’ll live grandly, proudly, for all to see. So much so that the people who despised and looked down on me will writhe in bitter envy.”
That was the only tribute Yunseo could offer to the Rodi who had vanished.
“…”
Utterly at a loss for words, Yubar stared down blankly at Rodi.
Suddenly, the words his father had spoken that afternoon surfaced in his mind.
[People often define others so flippantly, so foolishly.]
Father.
[Without caring in the slightest about what that person holds inside, just because they don’t cater to their tastes.]
You might have been right.
[Didn’t you label that woman a ‘villainess’ simply because she didn’t act the way you wanted her to?]
“…”
Unlike his chaotic turmoil, Rodi Evant's face remained peaceful.
“So everything I’m doing right now is purely for my own sake. I don’t harbor any strange ulterior motives.”
Yubar managed to squeeze out a question.
“…How does chasing down letters about my mother serve your own interests?”
“Why, because—”
Smiling brightly, she tapped her fingers against the signboard staked in front of the house.
“Once this short journey ends, Mr. Noien will absolutely need this house.”
“…That is a statement I truly cannot fathom.”
Yubar blinked.
“Unfortunately, this house isn't valuable enough for my father to spend his twilight years in.”
Spoken like a true merchant.
“Yubar, did you see Mr. Noien today and still not understand?”
“Pardon?”
“Have you still not caught on to what your mother prepared for your father?”
“Pardon?”
At his repeated, obtuse reactions, Rodi cast him a look reserved for simpletons.
“You really know nothing about your father, do you?”
“…I believe I know as much as necessary.”
“Knowing only as much as necessary is the exact problem.”
Rodi curled her lips into an unreadable smile.
“Your mother, on the other hand, knew everything about him.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The next day.
The three of them arrived at the final destination indicated by the letters.
“This place is…”
The coordinates pointed to a gorgeous field of flowers blooming across a hill.
“Yes, it was here.”
Yubar asked,
“What connection does this place have to Mother?”
“This is where I proposed to Renda.”
“Ah…”
As if struck by a memory, Noien stepped slowly into the flower field.
Then, taking his trowel in hand, he began digging into the earth.
Thunk…
A few minutes later, the edge of the trowel struck something solid.
Noien gingerly lifted a small box from the shallow pit.
Creak.
When he opened the box, it held the same bright yellow envelope as the ones before.
Yubar murmured,
“The final letter, at last…”
Noien carefully tore open the envelope.
At that very moment—
Whoosh…
In an instant, thick mist rolled in, enveloping their surroundings.
“What on earth is this…?”
To the bewildered Yubar, Rodi said calmly,
“Illusion magic.”
“…!”
She fixed her gaze on the letter clutched in Noien’s hands.
“She cast a spell directly onto the letter itself, turning it into a magic tool.”
Within the dense fog, the silhouette of a woman emerged.
“Noien.”
Hearing his name called, Noien slowly raised his eyes.
“…Renda.”
She smiled.
“If you’re seeing this illusion, it must mean you’ve found all my letters.”
Renda slowly took in her surroundings.
“Do you remember this flower field?”
“Of course I do.”
“It’s where you asked me to marry you.”
“…That’s right.”
Because the illusion magic was merely a recording, there was no need to answer.
Yet Noien desperately wanted to feel, if only for a fleeting moment, as though he were talking with his wife.
“Back when we wed, we were such a poor couple. You carved a wooden ring with your own hands and slipped it onto my finger, promising that one day, you’d give me a real diamond ring.”
“I did.”
“Do you remember what I told you back then?”
“…I remember now.”
It felt as though he were opening a faded album. Closing his eyes, he gently traced his memories.
[Renda, I swear I’ll become successful. And when I do, I’ll place a diamond ring on your beautiful finger.]
Renda shook her head with a laugh.
[No, Noien. There’s no need for that.]
[Why not?]
[Because there’s something I want far more than a diamond ring.]
[Tell me anything. I’ll make sure it happens.]
[In that case, for me…]
Renda offered a serene smile.
[Please build an orphanage.]
[Why an orphanage? Isn't it enough for just the two of us to eat well and live comfortably?]
[It’s precisely because you say things like that that I’m asking for this promise. Because someday… the day will surely come when you regret thinking that way.]
Noien opened his eyes.
The illusion of Renda was still smiling gently.
“You act as though you’re cold and calculating, but in truth, you get lonely more easily than anyone else.”
She continued with tender affection.
“The reason you feel such a terrible emptiness right now is that you’ve realized all the gold and silver held in your hands can no longer make you happy.”
Renda softly added,
“Because human beings cannot live alone.”
