IDLYA 7

chapter 7

“Did you say she packed her things and left? Then she must have gone to the Marquess Solen’s estate. I’ll go bring her back. Prepare the carriage.”

“But, Your Grace, it’s night right now.”

“So?”

At Valer’s curt reply, the butler made a dumbfounded expression for the first time in fifty years.

His young master, who had always been gentle, now wore a fierce expression he had never seen before.

“Is time important when I’m going to bring back my fiancée, Butler?”

“…No, it isn’t.”

“Then what’s the problem? Hurry and prepare the carriage.”

“…Understood.”

At the butler’s answer, Valer let out a complicated sigh and brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead.

He didn’t stop there—he loosened his tie, unfastened both cufflinks, and rolled up his sleeves.

Anyone could tell at a glance. His young master was anxious.

The image of Valer pacing in agitation overlapped with Niveia’s relieved expression as she had said she would marry.

It had always been Niveia who anxiously sought love.

The butler, unable to make sense of it, quickly descended the stairs.

Before long, a black carriage bearing the ducal crest departed from the Eustache estate, heading toward the Solen residence.

“Please move all these items to the annex.”

“Yes, my lady.”

Watching the servants busily carrying luggage, Niveia turned on her heel.

By the time she had gone around several salons saying, “From here to here—I’ll take everything,” about five times, she had spent an entire year’s worth of taxes from a small territory.

Spending money was quite enjoyable.

Buying without a second thought, filling up purchases, and leaving shops to the beaming smiles of delighted owners—it was perfect for relieving stress.

Of course, that only applied when you didn’t think about the total amount.

“Niveia!”

The moment she entered the Solen estate, Niveia frowned slightly at the booming voice of the Marquess Solen.

In the drawing room stood the marquess, his face flushed red, and the marchioness, fussing as she tried to calm him down.

Naturally, the marquess held several bills in his hand.

Each one had at least six zeros on it.

Smack!

The stack of bills was thrown down at Niveia’s feet.

“Have you lost your mind?! How much money did you spend?! I said I’d support you, but when did I ever say you could spend money like water?!”

The Marquess Solen was more furious than ever before.

Well, it was understandable. Niveia could understand him.

If enormous bills started arriving at your home when you’d done nothing, anyone would be angry.

“Do you even know how much you spent today?! There’s a limit to indulgence!”

“…Then what does ‘support’ mean to you?”

She asked back expressionlessly, facing the enraged marquess.

Her reaction showed not even a trace of agitation, as if she had expected this.

“Does it mean sending me nothing but old, outdated clothes? Sending living expenses only when you feel like it, and even then not enough? Or is ‘support’ just passing me off to another household like I’m being sold?”

“H-how dare you—!”

“I have never once been indulged, Father. And you’ve never spoiled me either. While I stayed at Eustache, did I ever do anything to disgrace the name of Solen?

And now, for the first time, you’re scolding me over something like this. Even though you act as if you’d do anything for my sibling.”

“Do you think you and that child are the same?!”

Again, that argument.

Fixing a cold gaze on him, Niveia spoke.

“I don’t understand why we’re different. Since when was I no longer Niveia Solen?”

“G-good heavens, listen to how she speaks!”

Like a drenched hen flapping about, the marchioness hurriedly stepped between them.

“What kind of attitude is that?! If you’ve spent this much, you should apologize to your father immediately! Oh—wait, can’t we return these? It might not be too late…”

“Mother. What noble family in the world does refunds? Especially the prestigious House of Solen.”

Niveia answered with a mocking smile.

She had spent so extravagantly precisely because she knew the marquess would never return any of it.

The marchioness wasn’t wrong—any reasonable person would.

But would a man so obsessed with appearances do something so “un-noble” as returning items? He’d rather go into debt.

Unlike her mother, who still couldn’t shed her servant origins even after ten years as a marchioness, the Marquess Solen would never stoop to refunds.

Even Niveia, who had lived apart from him for ten years, knew this—yet her mother didn’t.

No wonder she was treated so poorly.

And siding with the marquess now was clearly just an attempt to earn favor from her husband by putting Niveia down.

Though she was too foolish to even be worth dealing with.

“I said I would receive support from Father. And today, I did. Do I need to explain further?”

“……”

“……Since you have nothing to say, I suppose you don’t need an explanation. I’ll be going to the annex now.”

Meeting her father’s glare as if he might slap her at any moment, Niveia turned away.

She had spent freely, and said everything she had wanted to say.

And yet, she didn’t feel particularly relieved.

Why?

Niveia chose not to dwell on it.

She had to go to the imperial palace tomorrow—better to sleep early.

Thinking that, she headed toward the annex.

Exiting the main gate of the mansion and crossing the garden to the left, one would pass through another gate, beyond which stood the annex.

But today, something else stood there.

In the moonlit night, a pitch-black carriage bearing the crest of House Eustache stood waiting. The door opened, and a man jumped down.

“Lady Solen.”

Valer, with hair as dark as the carriage, called out to her.

Why is Valer here?

Niveia blinked.

That voice, that appearance—it was definitely him. And the carriage behind him was indeed from Eustache.

But why would he come here? And at this hour?

Well, it has nothing to do with me.

Many guesses crossed her mind, but not once did she consider that he had come for her.

Such trivial expectations had long since been worn away over ten years, leaving nothing behind.

There was a time when just hearing his voice made her heart race.

Now, she felt nothing.

The girl who once stood on tiptoe by the training ground window just to catch a glimpse of the man she loved was gone.

Seeing his face made it even clearer.

She no longer loved Valer.

And that was a good thing.

So Niveia tried to ignore him and head toward the annex.

“Lady Solen. I thought you’d be here. Fortunately, I found you quickly.”

That was, until she saw Valer approaching her with an expression that looked both angry and anxious.

Niveia stopped walking.

Valer came up to her and let out a sigh.

Something about him seemed off, and she frowned slightly.

Up close, he looked less angry and more… uneasy.

“I don’t know what you’re plotting, but I’ve come to take you back. Stop this and return to Eustache.”

Why?

“Didn’t the butler give you the annulment papers?”

“I received them. And I wanted to ask about that as well. There’s no way they’re real. Why would you present forged documents? Did you want to mock me that much?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s the very document you signed. The annulment papers you threw at me before leaving for the battlefield.”

“What nonsense…”

“I’m the one who doesn’t understand. You asked for the annulment, so I granted it. Why are you accusing me? I don’t lie.”

Niveia stood firm.

As she said, she was not someone who lied.

For the past ten years, she had always been honest about her feelings. Valer knew that better than anyone.

And yet now he accused her of forging the documents?

“You wanted the annulment. So I gave it to you. Are we clear now? It’s late—you should return to Eustache.”

Though she spoke without emotion, Valer still looked unable to accept the situation.

“…I did want the annulment. And you were the one who kept refusing it. So why now?”

“Because I no longer love you.”

“…What?”

Might as well make it clear.

Niveia took a step back from him, into a place where the moonlight shone brighter.

Though the garden was dark, anything under the moonlight appeared clear.

Standing where her expression could be seen plainly, she said:

“I’ve finally realized that loving you is a waste of time. I don’t love you anymore. So there’s no reason to maintain our engagement.”

“I… don’t understand.”

“That makes sense. You always try to think about everything logically.”

Among the many harsh things Valer had once said to her, there was this:

—“There is no reason for you to love me. Acting like this over such trivial emotions is ridiculous.”

He had grown up in comfort, lacking nothing, and assumed that Niveia—greedy by nature—was simply obsessing over her fiancé out of habit.

It was a completely ignorant assumption.