Ch 3.6
“……Is that so.”
At that moment, I didn’t miss the slight frown that flickered across Kane’s face.
What is with this man…….
While I found it strange that Kane kept making such expressions, my heart began to feel somewhat uneasy.
‘Is it because he regrets giving up Grence?’
But I soon regained control of my emotions, firming up my thoughts in a direction that put my mind at ease.
Ah, I see.
I almost misunderstood.
Indeed, since he handed over the entirety of Grence, it would be natural for him to feel a stinging sense of loss.
So that was why.
Still, that place is mine now.
Thinking that, I barely suppressed the urge to dance for joy right in front of him, laughing uproariously only on the inside.
And during the moment of silence that followed, the gatekeeper’s voice rang out once again.
“Duke James Bayon of House Bayon, Lady Adela Bayon, and Lord Eden Bayon are entering.”
‘Ah, Adela didn’t have a mother.’
The details are fuzzy now, but I believe the story said Adela’s mother died shortly after giving birth to her younger brother.
We once again stood up to greet the members of House Bayon.
A man with black hair, around the same age as my father, entered the dining room.
Behind him, a woman and a man of my age, possessing the same hair color, were walking in.
I stole a quick side-glance at Adela.
‘Wow, she really is pretty.’
To be honest, ever since the story mentioned Kane fell in love with Adela at first sight, I had been curious about her beauty.
Just how pretty she must be for someone to fall in love at first sight.
It was only after seeing her face that I could understand Kane.
‘With that kind of beauty, one couldn’t help but fall in love at first sight.’
My mother was the most beautiful person I had seen in this world, but Adela was beautiful enough to rival her.
And then, a tall man walked in behind Adela; as soon as I saw him, I couldn’t hide my horror, and my entire body froze.
The man known as Eden Bayon was…….
The man was…….
He was the same man I had seen in Peorat and in Yulita—the man I thought I would never have to cross paths with again.
How could such a thing happen?
The man named Aiden is Eden Bayon?
The very man who killed Belita in the original story?
As events I hadn’t even imagined unfolded before my eyes, I reflexively turned my head in the opposite direction in embarrassment.
It was a ridiculous thought, but I hoped that he somehow wouldn’t recognize me…….
However, he seemed to have recognized me already.
I could feel his intense, burning gaze fixed upon me.
“My, it seems we have arrived last. My apologies.”
Duke Bayon offered a greeting to us first, wearing a smile that looked superficial to anyone watching.
“Not at all. His Majesty the Emperor has yet to arrive, so you are not late.”
My father also replied, sending back a heavily staged smile that was a match for Duke Bayon’s.
“I see. I am glad we are not late. Now, come, everyone sit down.”
The conversation between the two Dukes thereafter seemed like basic small talk on the surface, but a psychological war could be felt beneath it.
Watching that, I could confirm that the relationship between our family and the Bayon family was not particularly good.
‘Ah…….’
I let out an internal lament.
It was because the man who was both Eden and Aiden Bayon had sat down right across from me.
Consequently, we were sitting facing each other.
Not wanting to show a face paralyzed with shock, I intentionally cast my gaze downward in a subtle manner to avoid making eye contact with him.
However, I could clearly feel that he had been watching me since a while ago.
“You are Lady Belita Hates, correct? It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Adela Bayon.”
Suddenly, Adela spoke to me.
Since I couldn’t avoid looking at the person who wanted to converse, I had no choice but to lift my head.
Because Adela was sitting next to Aiden Bayon—whom I had known as Eden—I was forced to look at Aiden along with her.
As expected, his gaze was fixed on me.
Unlike me, the man named Aiden didn’t seem particularly shocked, as his expression wasn’t much different from usual.
No, rather, his expression looked pleasant, as if he had met someone he was glad to see.
Wha-what is this.
There’s no way he’d make that kind of face if he knew who I was, so what gives?
While tilting my head inwardly and
questioning it, I suddenly snapped back to my senses.
‘What did I say to that man?’
Regardless of his expression, I ignored it and quickly traced my memories back to the moment I first met Aiden two years ago.
It was to determine if there were any things that would make all my efforts until now go down the drain.
Fortunately, I didn’t recall saying much, so I felt relieved for the moment.
Then, realizing that Adela had greeted me, I managed to pull my chaotic thoughts together and greeted her in return.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Adela Bayon.”
I greeted Adela while slightly lifting the corners of my mouth.
“I heard the Lady went on a long journey. How was your trip? Was it enjoyable?”
The fact that I had gone on a trip was
publicly known among the nobles in the capital.
The numerous invitations I received upon returning always included the phrase, “I heard you have returned from a journey,” without fail.
They all believed I had left the capital for a while due to the shock of being dumped by Kane.
Even though that “while” took a full two years.
So Adela surely knew it that way as well.
“Yes, it was an enjoyable and beneficial time.”
“It seems so. You look very well, so I’m envious. I also…… if circumstances allowed, would like to go on one.”
What does she mean by saying such a thing?
With what true intention is she saying that to me?
When she surely knows exactly why I went on that journey.
Does she want to let me know that she is in the same position as me since she also broke her engagement?
Is she implying that she simply wants to go on a trip like I did?
I didn’t know the reason why the two of them broke their engagement, but I could strongly sense it must have been because of Kane.
From what I had observed for half a year, he was a man who didn’t have a speck of compassion.
He probably did the exact same thing to Adela when he asked to break the engagement as he did to me.
I could see it clearly without even looking.
For me, I didn’t have a single grain of feeling for him, and because I had the goal of the diamond mine, I could endure the contempt and mistreatment he gave me.
But if I had truly loved Kane, and such a situation had befallen me, it was certain that the despair would have been beyond words.
However, this was strictly the thought of “me,” who was not the original Belita.
I was Belita Hates.
Therefore, no matter the reason or how Adela had broken up with Kane, I couldn’t openly show that I felt sympathy for her.
And since the business with Kane was already the past, to show that I had no lingering feelings, I replied with a refreshing smile.
“If you have the time, you should definitely go. It will certainly be helpful. It was such a good time that I couldn’t even remember the things that happened before I left.”
“……Is that so? Hearing that makes me think I should definitely go.”
The expression Adela made while replying was still like that of someone who couldn’t escape from a breakup.
‘She must not have moved on yet.’
Even though Kane Maxius looks completely unfazed.
I stole a quick glance at Kane.
Naturally, I looked at him thinking he would be nonchalant even after hearing my words.
But the subtle change in expression he showed me earlier was visible in him again now.
‘What is it?’
He is truly an unpredictable man.
A man who looked like he wouldn’t bleed even if stabbed with a knife…….
This place was currently entangled with people in very peculiar relationships.
First, speaking of Kane and me, we were a couple who maintained an engagement for over ten years before breaking it off two years ago.
And Kane and Adela were a couple who got engaged two years ago and broke it off about a year ago.
Lastly, Aiden and I were in a relationship where we met by chance without knowing each other’s identities.
“A journey is out of the question for my sister, as her health is still poor.”
At that moment, Aiden suddenly cut into the conversation between Adela and me.
His voice as he addressed his own kin was similar to how he treated me—no, perhaps even warmer and softer.
“Then you could just go with her.”
“If my sister wishes, I will try to make time.”
Yes, that was it.
Why on earth did Aiden kill Belita, even to the point of dirtying his own hands?
It was because he cherished his sister, Adela, so terribly much.
Every time Belita was blinded by jealousy and bullied Adela, Kane merely played the role of the male lead just enough to rescue Adela from the crisis.
Thinking about it now, it was very characteristic behavior of him.
Then one day, with the intent to kill Adela, Belita planted a bomb in the carriage she was riding.
And as an aftermath, an incident occurred where Adela, who was already weak, was seriously injured.
He could not forgive Belita for making his only sister like that.
That is why he killed Belita with his own hands.
I went on a trip because I didn’t want to get involved with the characters of the original story anymore, but instead, it has become even more strangely twisted.
To think I was involved with the man who would kill me, of all people.
Even if I’m unlucky, how could I be this unlucky.
I wanted to think comfortably that the original story is already over and the possibility of my death has vanished, but looking at the situation, I simply couldn’t.
‘Why did those two break up?’
Why?
How can the protagonists break up?
I’m asking how the male and female leads can break up.
I even cleaned up the engagement so they could love each other for a thousand years…….
Of course, the actions I took for myself were 99% of it.
Now the story I knew has come to an end.
I have become a character in a novel where everything has completely changed, and I now do not know the future just like them.
‘I need to keep my wits about me.’
Thinking so, what I had to do in the future was clearly drawn before my eyes.
I was lost in thought for quite a while and then lifted my head slightly.
I made eye contact with Aiden again.
‘Why does he keep staring.’
I was no longer pleased with that gaze watching me.
But then, Aiden, whom I thought wouldn’t speak first, asked me a question.
“Lady Hates, which of the places you visited was the most memorable?”
It was quite a formal question, but because the questioner was him, it was hard to hide my flustered face.
However, I soon snapped out of it and replied to his question.
“A memorable place?”
“Yes.”
I thought briefly about his question for a moment.
What kind of answer was he looking for by throwing such a question at me?
