Ch 5.6
On the other hand, Duke Bayon had asked me what happened, so I thought it might be easier for Adela to handle things in the future if I told her that he was suspicious.
While I was deliberating for a moment on what would be better, Adela was staring at me with a face full of curiosity.
“Did something happen?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I decided to keep my mouth shut for now, as I felt her recovery should come first.
“By any chance, did my father ask about what happened at the banquet?”
However, at Adela’s sudden question, I failed to control my expression for a moment and ended up making an incredibly surprised face.
And that was enough of an answer.
“……Yes, that’s right.”
“What did you say to my father, My Lady?”
“Um, I didn’t say much.”
“To be honest, I didn’t tell my father properly about what happened that day. I was afraid of what might happen if he found out……”
It was a wise decision.
Based on our earlier conversation, it seemed Duke Bayon cherished his daughter every bit as much as my own father cherished me.
If he were to find out that his daughter had been emotionally wounded at a banquet to the point of losing consciousness, it was clear that, as she said, there would be trouble.
‘My father probably would have done the same.’
Especially if Kane was the cause; this wasn’t just a guess, it was a conviction.
‘Then is Adela hiding it because she wants to protect Kane?’
“I understand. I thought there was a reason why you didn’t tell him, so I didn’t say anything specific either. Although, it didn’t seem like Duke Bayon believed me.”
“Did he seem that way?”
“Yes.”
“Sigh……”
Adela let out a deep sigh.
“I’m quite a fool, aren’t I?”
“…….”
Because I couldn’t say no, I simply remained silent.
“I know. I know I’m being a fool. But I don’t know why I can’t let go of this feeling.”
Tears welled up in Adela’s eyes.
“Ah, I’m sorry. You told me not to talk about this, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry.”
Remembering what I had said last time, she apologized to me repeatedly.
‘Is her illness of the heart so deep that it won’t heal?’
It certainly seemed that way.
The feelings she couldn’t confide to anyone, the frustration she felt toward herself, and the helplessness of being unable to do anything despite that—it seemed her illness was not easily cured because of these things.
“It’s alright. I’ll listen to you just for today.”
Seeing a sick person suffering right in front of me, it was impossible to remain cold-hearted.
“Pardon?”
Adela’s eyes grew wide at my words.
“I’ll listen to Adela’s story just for today, so say everything you want to say.”
“Belita……”
And so, for today only, I decided to listen to their story for the first and last time.
The real story of their lives, not the novel titled ‘Love and War of the Three Houses’ that I had read.
“Shall we start from the beginning? Um, where did you meet Duke Maxius? As far as I know……”
Even though I was the one who opened the door, Adela appeared hesitant at first.
But as I continued to encourage her to speak, words began to pour from her mouth in an instant, as if something that had been tightly blocked had suddenly burst.
Their story was similar to what I knew.
They fell for each other at first sight at a banquet, fell in love, Kane demanded a breakup from me, and after I left for my travels following the breakup, the two became engaged.
Yes, it was similar up to that point.
It was after that where the story diverged.
At first, when talking about the good days they spent after falling in love, Adela’s expression wasn’t bad.
It wasn’t just not bad; she was filled with ecstasy like someone falling in love all over again while reminiscing about that
time.
However, around the time she mentioned that Kane’s attitude and behavior had changed, her expression began to sink gloomily.
“I didn’t know the Duke would change. He said he loved me, that there was only me……”
However, the timing of when Kane changed was a bit earlier than what I had heard from him.
‘Did he lie to me?’
No. Judging by that man’s expression and attitude, it wasn’t a lie.
If so, speculating based on his words, Kane’s heart was likely already cooling down slowly before he read my letter.
Then, he happened to read my letter and, as he said, realized something.
Thinking of it that way, things roughly clicked into place.
‘Well, it isn’t easy to love only one person for such a long time.’
I had felt that Belita was amazing too.
Even if it was a love containing a fanatical obsession, it was not easy for one’s heart to remain unchanged for so long.
“Ah, I’m sorry, Belita.”
“No, it’s fine. Keep going.”
Adela continued her story while apologizing in the middle of speaking.
And the story ended with Kane’s words asking for a breakup.
“He said he didn’t love me anymore. No, he said he never loved me in the first place. He said he was mistaken, that he thought it was the emotion of love but it wasn’t, that something like this could never be love, and so he said we should stop. I thought it was a lie. I thought he was just going through something difficult for a moment and that I should give the Duke some time, but…… the moment I heard at the banquet that it was just a passing whim, the thought that it was truly the end…… Sob.”
After listening to Adela’s words, I shook my head inwardly.
‘He’s really doing the most, truly.’
To me, he said what? That it was the first love he ever felt?
It’s been some time so I don’t remember exactly, but I recall him acting like the ultimate romantic, saying Adela was his everything.
When there was no sign of the tears stopping in Adela’s eyes, I took a handkerchief from my bosom and handed it to her.
“Wipe your tears.”
“Thank you, Belita. Sob.”
“There’s no need to cry over someone like that. Adela, you asked me last time, didn’t you? Whether I had moved on from everything. My answer is the same as then. Time solved everything for me. Adela, you can do it too.”
“Do you really think I can……?”
“Yes. I liked him for a whopping ten years. And yet, it didn’t even take a year for me to forget him.”
What do you mean, a year? It didn’t even take a second.
Of course, it was possible because I didn’t like him in the first place.
“But even so, if Adela wants to keep liking Duke Maxius, I won’t stop you. Because those are Adela’s feelings alone. No one can intrude upon them. However, if keeping someone in your heart is agonizing, difficult, and unbearably painful, letting them go is also a way.”
If someone were watching the two of us, they would think it was quite a sight, wouldn’t they?
The person who was dumped first, giving advice to the person who was dumped by the very same man who caused the first breakup.
Even I thought it was a rather funny sight.
But it didn’t matter.
If I had cared about such things in the first place, I wouldn’t have thought about forming relationships with Adela or Eden.
Of course, I was a bit annoyed by what
Adela said when we met at the banquet, but even so, my feelings weren’t greatly hurt.
And unlike that time, I was sincerely worried about her now.
“Thank you, Belita. My heart feels much lighter thanks to you.”
Adela was wearing a sorrowful smile.
“I’m glad.”
Still, her expression certainly looked better than before.
“Belita, you are truly strong. You are a strong and solid person. I want to become a person like that too. Once I overcome this period, do you think I can become a person like Belita?”
“No.”
“Ah…… as I thought, it’s a bit……”
When I answered sharply, Adela’s spirits immediately dampened.
“Adela can become an even better person.”
This was also sincere.
“Ah…… Belita.”
Perhaps moved, Adela looked as though she were about to tear up again.
“Thank you, thank you.”
She simply repeated her thanks to me over and over.
A few more days passed.
Today, I planned to take Lian to the orphanage where the children he stayed with in the circus were located.
Since it takes at least three hours to get to Hemoa, the morning was busy from the start.
I had promised the children last time that I would give them presents.
So yesterday, I went to the downtown area myself and bought gifts to give to the children, and those gifts were currently filling the carriage.
“I think the children will really like them!”
Mary said as she looked over the gift boxes.
“I hope so.”
“I think you especially like children, My Lady.”
“They’re pretty and cute.”
“That’s true. You said the orphanage we’re going to this time is the place where the children who stayed in the circus with Lian are?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Before leaving for the orphanage, I gave
Mary a brief explanation of why we were going and what kind of children were there.
“But back then, surely Young Lord Bayon…… right?”
“Right, it’s an orphanage sponsored by Eden.”
Lian, Mary, and William knew that Eden had rescued the children from the circus and sent them to the orphanage.
But as for why he was doing such a thing, it was a secret between the two of us that only I among them knew.
“It seems you’ve become quite close with the people of the House of Bayon, My Lady. To be honest, I haven’t said it to you, but every time I saw them, I felt a bit upset and indignant. But because you were completely fine with it, I was a bit confused.”
Mary was Belita’s closest aide.
Therefore, I could understand the emotions she was feeling.
“You know. I’m fine now.”
I said it with a smile to show that I was truly fine.
“But the reason the Lady’s engagement was broken was also because of Lady Bayon—”
“Mary.”
For almost the first time, my face hardened and I looked at her with a stiff expression.
“The reason my engagement was broken was not because of Adela, but because of Duke Maxius’s change of heart. Even if she hadn’t appeared, if he hadn’t changed, our engagement wouldn’t have been broken. So don’t say that.”
If I had to point out something Adela did wrong, it was that she couldn’t bring herself to refuse a man who had a fiancée and accepted him.
At first, for that reason, I also thought Adela was no different from Kane.
But after experiencing Kane’s mad obsession and behavior, I could clearly see how he must have treated Adela.
Actually, in the novel, the parts where Kane wooed Adela were described in detail.
But like any other reader, I had simply thought it was ‘romantic’ as I watched the male lead strive to win the female lead’s heart.
‘Romantic, my foot.’
The results were good, but if you look at it rationally, it was at a level where you could never use the word ‘romantic’.
I should have known then.
‘To think he was a man who would go through fire and water for his own purposes.’
I’ve only now come to know firsthand that when such a person goes crazy, they become even more tenacious.
