After living together for six months, the words ‘Mother’ and ‘Father’ now came to me without hesitation.
Fortunately, they were people who truly loved their daughter and gave her ample affection.
The man who was my father had a fiery, hot-blooded temperament befitting the head of a fire-wielding family, whereas my mother was calm and positive in everything.
But perhaps because I played the part of the real Belita so well, they didn’t even notice that their daughter had changed.
Having observed them for six months, I was glad that neither of them was particularly quick-witted.
‘Still, I’m glad they are good parents.’
I sincerely thought so.
‘In novels, you often see people meeting cruel parents or having none at all…’
It would have been sad not to have any. Though it wasn’t that way from the start, the two of them were now my family.
Seeing them treat me well, believing I was their daughter, I would occasionally feel a sudden surge of guilt, and at times, a sense of distance.
However, as we continued to interact, my heart gradually opened, and we were becoming a family.
I rested in my room for a while, organizing in my head what I would say to my parents.
Regardless of the fact that the deed was done, breaking an arranged marriage established between two families was a serious matter, so I had to tell my parents properly.
And it was entirely my responsibility to persuade them and create a situation favorable to me so that I could set the groundwork for a comfortable life ahead.
As I was lost in thought, losing track of time, I heard a knock on the door followed by Mary’s voice from outside.
“My Lady, it is time for dinner.”
“I understand.”
I went down to the dining room for dinner.
When I arrived, my parents were already seated at the table.
I sat in my place and looked at them for a moment.
My father was a handsome man with blond hair and green eyes, and my mother, with her red hair and blue eyes, was a strikingly beautiful woman at a glance.
Belita had inherited a mix of her father’s golden hair and her mother’s blue eyes.
In my opinion, her appearance took after both of them, but fortunately, she resembled her mother more, so while she wasn’t quite at her level, Belita could be called a beauty.
Soon, the food was served one by one.
I engaged in light conversation with the two of them as I ate.
The food always had a similar taste, but perhaps because of the significance of the day, it felt like the most delicious meal I had ever had.
However, because I was in front of my parents, I never let it show and kept repeating “delicious” only in my mind as I ate.
“Did you have a good visit to the Maxius estate today as well?”
My mother asked me just as I was about to tear off a piece of bread to dip into my soup.
Since she knew I went there every day, it was a routine question for her to ask during dinner, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.
“Yes. I had a good visit. But…”
I paused for a moment, letting my expression darken slightly.
It was time to start acting again.
“Why, is something the matter?”
“Belita, what is it?”
As a shadow fell over my face, my mother and father pressed me with worried tones.
“…I have something to tell you after dinner. I would appreciate it if you could spare me some time.”
At my serious and subdued voice, the two of them nodded slightly, saying they understood.
After that, I deliberately continued to maintain a visibly gloomy expression as I ate, and seeing me like that, my parents didn’t talk to me any further.
After finishing dinner, I headed to the office where my parents would be.
Knock, knock.
“It’s me. It’s Belita.”
“Come in.”
My mother’s soft voice came from inside.
I opened the door and stepped in.
My parents were waiting for me, sitting side by side on the sofa.
I sat down carefully in the seat facing them and let out a weary sigh at the same time.
“I’m sorry… Mother, Father…”
I started by apologizing to them first.
“What happened to make you say that?”
“Belita, speak up now.”
“…I have decided to break my engagement with Duke Kane Maxius.”
At my unexpected bombshell, both of their faces were instantly colored with bewilderment.
“…Break the engagement?”
“Yes.”
“Breaking the engagement…! By whose authority!”
True to his hot-blooded personality, my father sprang up from his seat and shouted, his face looking as though he had heard the unthinkable.
At my father’s loud voice, I acted visibly intimidated and withdrawn, pretending to be pitiful.
Seeing my cowed appearance, my mother hurriedly restrained my father.
“Dear! Calm down.”
“How can I be calm! They say the two of them secretly broke the engagement without a single word of consultation with the parents!”
“Calm down and let’s hear Belita’s explanation first. Would our daughter have done such a thing for no reason?”
My calm mother managed to settle my father down and added words signifying her trust in me.
I felt a slight pang of guilt at the thought of deceiving such a person.
“Belita, tell us properly. I simply cannot understand. You like the Duke of Maxius, don’t you? You were supposed to be married soon, so why the sudden breakup?”
To say that everyone in the capital knew Belita liked Kane would be a slight exaggeration, but not by much.
So her parents also knew exactly how much she liked him.
Therefore, leaving Kane aside, the fact that I had decided to break the engagement was unbelievable to them.
“Yes… that’s what we decided.”
I tried to answer calmly, but I didn’t hide the surge of emotion and started to sob bit by bit.
I was preheating my sorrow and the pain of a broken heart.
“…Why did you do it? What on earth happened between you two?”
Seeing me sobbing pitifully, my
father seemed to calm down a bit as he sat back on the sofa and asked.
It meant he was ready to hear my story.
“The Duke… the Duke says he loves someone else…”
“Wh-what?!”
“What on earth is this!”
But as soon as he sat down, my father leaped up from his seat again.
The veins were bulging on my father’s fists, which were clenched so tightly it looked as if he were about to smash something.
Looking at him, I could tell how angry he was.
Meanwhile, my mother’s voice also rose significantly at my unexpected words.
Since it meant her precious daughter had been dumped, it seemed difficult for her to maintain her composure as well.
“So I decided to break the engagement with the Duke…”
As I spoke, I tried to portray the most pathetic and sorrowful person in the world.
“How dare he! To have an affair while leaving my daughter aside?!”
My father, his face flushed red with rising anger, spat out his fury through gritted teeth.
“Do you know who the other person is?”
“…It’s Lady Adela Bayon.”
“Bayon? Are you talking about the House of Bayon?!”
“Yes, that’s right…”
“The House of Bayon! The House of Bayon is…!”
“Dear…!”
I didn’t know what my father was about to say regarding the House of Bayon, but my mother hurriedly called out to him and cut him off.
At that, my father also looked startled and quickly shut his mouth.
‘What is it?’
Seeing how obviously my mother stopped my father, it was clear he was about to say something I wasn’t supposed to hear.
However, I couldn’t press him about it in this situation, so I suppressed my curiosity for now.
And for now, I decided to think only about what I needed to do.
“Belita, as you probably know from what you’ve seen and heard, it is common for nobles to see other people behind the scenes. And above all, your marriage is a union between two families. It is not a trivial promise that can be broken by such matters. Of course, it would be wonderful if the two of you loved each other. However, though it is unfortunate for me to say this to you, marriages between nobles are not that romantic.”
My mother, who was the first of the two to calm her excitement, explained quietly why the engagement should not be broken.
“I know too. I know what this engagement means. But the Duke’s heart has already completely turned away. There was simply nothing I could do…”
“Did the Duke ask you to break the engagement first?”
“Yes.”
“That rascal of a Duke…!”
“Dear!”
When my father’s language became harsh, my mother cautioned him once again.
“Ahem… Still, a breakup is not allowed. I will resolve this by speaking with the Duke, so do not worry about a thing.”
In an instant, I snapped to attention at my father’s words that he would undo the breakup.
‘That won’t do.’
After all I did to get that breakup and my mine…!
This matter must never be overturned or brought up again.
“…I don’t want to anymore, either.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”
At my words that I didn’t want to anymore, both of them looked at me with startled eyes.
“I don’t like him anymore either! For over ten years, I was the only one who liked him, the only one who was anxious, and the only one who looked at him. But now that he says he likes another woman, how long am I supposed to endure? I cried and wailed and made a fuss saying I wouldn’t break it when he asked, but the Duke didn’t budge. So I said fine. I told him I’d break the engagement, that I’d let him go now.”
With that, I immediately slumped onto the sofa and buried my face.
And just as I had done in front of Kane, I secretly poked my eyes like crazy with my fingers.
‘Come out, tears…!’
Fortunately, poking the same spot I had touched earlier made the tears burst out immediately.
