Chapter: 02
She was a woman with dazzling golden hair and lake-blue eyes.
Her body was slender and pale, and her features looked as though they had been delicately sculpted.
I’ve never seen her before…
Emilia blinked as their eyes met. Then she guessed who the woman might be.
Is she one of Mrs. Romans’s guests?
Judging by her luxurious clothes, it seemed likely.
Ever since Cedric had passed his examination, Mrs. Romans had occasionally invited guests over for tea.
Looking up at Cedric expectantly, Emilia asked,
“Who is she?”
“W-Well, it’s just…”
Though stammering, Cedric stepped forward, subtly placing himself between Emilia and the woman, blocking her from view.
But then—
“Ced. May I introduce myself?”
The woman stepped around him again and gently rested a hand on Cedric’s arm.
Emilia’s gaze naturally fell to the woman’s fair hand.
“Ced?”
It was a nickname even she had never used.
An inexplicable sense of irritation made her frown, and then the woman continued.
“It’s nice to meet you. My name is Reina Illake.”
“Ah, I’m Emilia…”
Emilia stopped in the middle of introducing herself.
The woman’s name wasn’t unfamiliar.
A moment later, Emilia’s eyes widened.
Reina Illake?
That was undoubtedly the name of the heroine of this novel.
The heroine who had been born as the illegitimate daughter of a count, then entered into a contract engagement with the male lead to escape her family.
No way…
Emilia looked the woman over once more.
Now that she thought about it, her appearance matched the novel’s description perfectly.
Why is she here?
And at her fiancé’s house, of all places.
Just like herself, Cedric had never once appeared in the original story—not even as a minor character.
Besides, until Reina met the male lead, Kaiden, she had remained in her estate the entire time.
Sensing Emilia’s confusion, Reina explained.
“Cedric and I were childhood friends. We happened to run into each other in the capital recently. Right, Ced?”
“Y-Yeah… That’s right. We bumped into each other while I was heading back to the inn. Haha.”
“In that lonely capital, seeing you again felt like such a blessing.”
As if reminiscing about that happy reunion, Reina smiled shyly.
They were childhood friends?
Emilia had never known that.
She quickly searched her memory of the original novel.
Come to think of it…
Before it was revealed that Reina was the count’s illegitimate daughter, the story had mentioned that she had lived in the countryside.
So that’s when they met.
Even so, it didn’t answer all of her questions.
Even if you’re happy to see an old friend, would you really follow him all the way out here?
Just then, Mrs. Romans approached the front entrance with a puzzled expression.
“Why are you all still standing out here…? Emilia? What brings you here at this hour?”
Reina smiled brightly and said,
“Instead of standing here, why don’t you all come inside first?”
She spoke as though she were the mistress of the house.
Emilia looked from Cedric to Mrs. Romans.
Judging by their expressions, neither of them found Reina’s behavior strange in the slightest.
Am I… the only one who thinks this is odd?
For a brief moment, an unsettling feeling washed over her.
Oblivious to Emilia’s thoughts, Reina urged her again.
“Well? Come on.”
“…All right.”
Emilia nodded slowly.
Whatever was happening, she couldn’t simply turn around and go home after seeing this.
Dinner was surprisingly lively.
Mrs. Romans asked Reina about the life she had been living.
Cedric shared childhood memories they had made together.
Clink. Clink.
Only Emilia remained silent.
Even though she sat at the same table, she felt completely isolated, as though stranded alone on a deserted island.
But more than the feeling of being left out, Cedric’s behavior bothered her.
It was as if the only person he could see was his childhood friend, Reina.
Fine. It’s natural to be happy to see an old friend after so long.
Even so, she had worried enough to come all the way here, only to be treated like she was invisible.
“Ce…”
She started to call Cedric but stopped herself.
No matter what, this wasn’t something to discuss in front of an unrelated guest.
Instead—
Clack!
She deliberately set her utensils down loudly on the table.
Only then did everyone’s attention finally turn toward her.
“I’m not feeling well, so I’m going to excuse myself. I’ll wait in one of the guest rooms for a while.”
“What?”
Scrape.
Without waiting for Cedric’s response, Emilia deliberately stood and walked away.
Honestly, she wanted nothing more than to go straight home.
But she stayed because she wanted to speak with Cedric.
Why hadn’t he contacted me even once all this time?
And just what had kept him away so long?
After entering the guest room, Emilia frowned uncomfortably.
Did I actually get indigestion?
She had only claimed to feel sick as an excuse to leave the table, but it seemed the food she had eaten really was sitting heavily in her stomach.
She was lightly pounding her chest with her fist when—
Knock. Knock.
A soft voice accompanied the knock.
“May I speak with you for a moment?”
“Come in.”
As soon as she gave permission, the door opened carefully, and Reina stepped inside.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
But Reina hesitated instead of speaking.
“Let’s sit down first.”
“Thank you.”
At Emilia’s gesture, Reina took the chair across from her.
Yet even after sitting down, she remained silent for quite some time.
Emilia waited patiently.
What could she possibly want to say that she’s hesitating this much?
Perhaps she was worried about what had happened during dinner.
As Emilia considered the possibilities—
“I actually came because I have a favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
The unexpected request left Emilia confused.
Me? We’ve only just met.
“What kind of favor?”
At that, Reina finally lifted her head and met Emilia’s eyes with her beautiful blue ones.
There was a firm resolve in her gaze.
“Please break off your engagement with Cedric.”
“…What?”
The words that came out of Reina’s mouth were so absurd that Emilia instinctively repeated them.
“Did you just ask me to break up with Cedric?”
Reina nodded.
“I know this is sudden. But if you truly care about Cedric, then please be the one to end things with him.”
She tightly grasped Emilia’s hand across the table.
“Cedric is destined to rise much higher. But if you stay by his side, it’ll only make things harder for him.”
For a moment, Emilia was speechless.
Is she saying I’ll only hold Cedric back?
Objectively speaking, Reina wasn’t entirely wrong.
If someone wanted to climb to greater heights, having connections with powerful noble families was undoubtedly an advantage.
And the easiest way to gain those connections is by marrying a noblewoman.
On the other hand, Emilia, who had no influential connections at all, could never help Cedric in that way.
But still…
This had crossed the line by a long shot.
Saying something like that to the fiancée of a friend you had only just reunited with was unbelievably rude.
“Whether I’ll hold Cedric back or not is something only time can decide.”
Emilia answered firmly.
“B-But…”
“And more importantly, you’re a third party. You have no right to say something like that to me.”
At those words, Reina bit down hard on her lip.
But only for a moment.
Hurriedly, she continued.
“If it were me! If it were me, I could help Cedric. I could introduce him to the sons of influential noble families, and…”
“That’s enough, Reina. Are you saying you want to become Cedric’s fiancée instead of me?”
“…”
Reina lowered her head without saying a word.
That silence was answer enough.
So that really is why she’s doing this?
