Chapter 7
It seemed Father had completely misunderstood something.
I looked at him with cold eyes.
“Father… why do parents think that simply giving birth to a child means they’ve fulfilled all their responsibilities?”
“Eloise. What are you talking about…?”
“Until now, I kept telling myself that you must have had your reasons. That there had to be something more important than what Mother wanted… more important than what I wanted. Just as Mother always told me.”
But…
“I don’t think I need to keep believing that anymore.”
My voice was icy as I looked him straight in the eyes.
Father had always been like this.
Whenever Mother or I needed him…
He always claimed he was working for the Empire.
That there were things we simply couldn’t understand.
I remembered Mother once telling me about the time she was pregnant.
She had begged him.
Just for one day.
She hadn’t asked for much.
She only wanted him to stay beside her.
Even if they didn’t speak…
She simply wanted him to remain in the same house.
That evening, however…
A message arrived from the Emperor.
Father was being invited to a banquet celebrating his victory over an invading enemy.
Mother pleaded with him.
She begged him to let someone else attend in his place just for that one night.
Father only looked at her with cold eyes…
Then walked out without hesitation.
That night…
Mother lost my younger sibling.
“Father, don’t you think it’s selfish to suddenly speak of being my father when you’ve never acted like one?”
“There is no such thing as selfishness between parent and child. I am your father. Surely I have the right to say this much.”
“Hah… Father.”
“Do you think people are livestock?”
After losing her baby…
Mother had cried in unbearable pain and loneliness.
Yet even then…
She couldn’t bring herself to blame Father.
She simply wept.
Holding me tightly in her arms…
She spent the entire night comforting the little girl who knew nothing, while I cried because her heartbreaking sobs made my own heart ache.
Father wasn’t there.
Mother kept whispering apologies to me throughout the night.
Less than a week later…
She died.
Even with her final breath…
She stared at the unopened door, waiting for Father to come home.
And even then…
She asked me to understand him.
Because of that desperate final wish…
In my previous life, I spent years trying to understand Father.
Whenever I caught even the slightest glimpse of emotion from him…
I convinced myself that he must care about me.
I even tried desperately to discover what those hidden feelings truly were.
Mother and I spent our entire lives searching for some reason…
Some explanation that could justify Father’s actions.
Neither of us ever found one.
We both closed our eyes without an answer.
“If you wanted me to become nothing more than an obedient animal that followed your every command, then you should have beaten me instead!”
“You should have beaten me, fed me, trained me, and raised me like an animal that believed your every word without question!”
“What nonsense are you saying to your father!”
“You never cared enough to even raise me like livestock, and now you speak of being my parent? While Mother and my nanny raised me into a proper person, you never even spared me a glance!”
So this time…
I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Whatever truth you keep hiding…
Whatever secret you’ve protected so desperately…
I no longer care.
No matter how important you think it is…
It wasn’t worth making your wife and daughter suffer such miserable lives.
In my previous life…
You abandoned us.
This time…
I’ll be the one to abandon you.
I glared at Father, whose face was filled with shock and anger.
Then I opened the carriage door.
This time… I would completely cut Father out of my life.
I had assumed it would simply be a small tea party using the Princess’s name.
Just a gathering of a few nobles.
But when I arrived…
It was a grand social event worthy of the Imperial Family.
The party was held as a garden party.
Not only was the Princess present…
Even the late Empress’s mother, the Duchess Harriet, had attended.
Ladies.
Young lords.
Young ladies.
Nobles from every corner of society.
The gathering looked almost identical to a royal ball.
And naturally…
Atheord was there.
“It’s been a while, Miss.”
“…Greetings, Your Grace.”
For some reason…
He looked thinner than before.
Even so…
He smiled when he saw me.
I loved you.
That’s why I felt this way.
But you…
Without your memories…
Without knowing anything…
Why did you already look so exhausted?
Was your branch family causing trouble again?
Or…
Could it possibly…
Be because of me?
The words nearly escaped my lips.
Are you already in love with me?
The truth is… I love you too.
But instead…
I simply looked away.
“You’ve lost a lot of weight, Miss.”
“Thank you for your concern.”
“What has happened? I heard you haven’t left the Wellington Marquis’s residence for quite some time.”
“Nothing happened. I’m perfectly fine.”
“Are you eating properly?”
“Thank you for your kindness, Your Grace. But truly… I’m all right.”
Our conversation continued…
As though it might break apart at any moment.
His voice was filled with quiet sorrow.
Mine…
With determination to push him away.
I was merely someone carrying the empty title of one of the Five Great Noble Families.
Atheord…
Was a truly powerful Duke respected by the entire Empire.
Anyone looking at us would think this made no sense.
Even so…
I had to do it.
More and more people were glancing in our direction.
Their attention was gathering around us.
I couldn’t allow anyone to see us together any longer.
“Your Grace… if you’ll excuse me, may I take my leave?”
“Ah… forgive me, Miss. I’ve kept you far too long.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
If I had known the party would be like this…
I would have found some excuse not to come.
Turning away from him…
I sighed over and over inside.
He was someone I could never forget.
How could rejecting him while looking into his eyes ever be easy?
Carefully avoiding Father’s gaze as he spoke with the Crown Prince…
I quickly left.
Behind the Princess’s palace…
Past the garden where the party was being held…
There was a thick rose hedge.
Few people knew about the small hidden space beyond it.
Most avoided getting close because of the thorns.
After greeting the Princess…
Surely no one would mind if I quietly hid there until the party ended.
Pretending I was looking for the restroom inside the palace…
I walked around the building toward my destination.
Thankfully…
There wasn’t another person in sight.
I finally let out a relieved breath.
Just as I began to relax…
“Well now… Have you lost your way, Miss?”
A voice behind me…
Sent a chill down my spine.
The Crown Prince, Cherode Elsias Hugh Libre, was the perfect image of a ruler.
He possessed a brilliant mind.
An unshakable personality.
Elegant speech.
Outstanding looks.
Everyone agreed he had every quality needed to become a great Emperor.
But…
There was one terrible flaw.
A truly awful habit.
“I thought I might find you here. It seems you truly enjoy hiding yourself.”
“…My apologies, Your Highness. I lost the maid who was guiding me.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s the maid’s fault for failing to escort you properly.”
He smiled brightly.
“Thanks to that… I was able to see you.”
“Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”
The Crown Prince’s greatest flaw…
Was his obsession with completely meaningless things.
Once something caught his interest…
He pursued it regardless of whether it was practical or worthwhile.
And…
Most of those obsessions…
Were connected to Atheord.
In my previous life…
Princess Delphina had once told me the reason.
“My brother truly, truly hates Duke Fontaine. His Majesty compares the Duke to my brother every single day. In the end, it’s just jealousy. The moment something is connected to the Duke, my brother becomes obsessed with it. That’s probably why he keeps fixating on you as well, Duchess.”
It was around the time those rumors had quietly begun spreading through the Empire.
As usual…
The Princess had summoned me.
But unlike before…
She didn’t immediately run off to find Atheord.
Instead…
She stayed with me.
She told me she pitied me.
She said that if I simply left Atheord’s side…
The Crown Prince would naturally lose interest in me.
If I broke up with him…
She would have Atheord all to herself.
And Atheord would no longer suffer.
To her…
Everyone would be happy.
Looking back…
She wasn’t entirely wrong.
But back then…
I believed that as long as Atheord and I remained together…
We could overcome anything.
I had been…
So foolish.
Looking at the Crown Prince, who smiled warmly at me…
I lowered my head.
“My apologies, Your Highness. I had no idea you were looking for me.”
As I bowed deeply…
The Crown Prince waved his hand.
“There is no need for such formality, Miss. I was the one who wanted to see you.”
“So… won’t you let me look at your face a little longer?”
“I’ve missed seeing you all this time.”
Anyone overhearing us…
Would have thought we were lovers.
If I had been any other noble lady…
Perhaps I would have blushed shyly.
But I had absolutely no feelings for him.
Being the Crown Prince meant nothing to me.
“Your Highness honors me too greatly. However, I am not someone worthy of such attention. If you would permit me… I would like to take my leave.”
According to what Princess Delphina had once told me…
There was no longer any reason for him to care about me.
I was no longer Atheord’s wife.
If I continued refusing him like this…
Surely…
He would eventually lose interest.
It was a rather naïve hope.
But for now…
It was all I could do.
Father and the Crown Prince hadn’t acted yet.
Atheord was still safe.
If I endured this…
Then quietly returned to the North…
Wouldn’t that solve everything?
It was hardly a plan at all.
Still…
I waited for his answer.
The best outcome would be if he simply let me leave.
Otherwise…
I’d think of something else.
Just then…
“You really are cruel, Miss.”
His disappointed voice drifted down from above me.
“Come now… won’t you at least let me look at your face?”
“Hm?”
“I’ve wanted to see you so badly that I’ve had to stop myself from leaving the palace every single day.”
He spoke as though he were pouting.
As though he had missed me terribly.
And all I could think was…
Who exactly is being cruel here?
I clenched my teeth…
Barely stopping myself from cursing.
“I’m afraid someone else is better suited to receive Your Highness’s affection.”
“I’ll be returning to the North soon.”
“You should give your attention to someone who truly needs it.”
Please… just leave me alone.
That was all I wished.
Then suddenly…
A hand shot forward.
It grabbed my arm with painful force.
“You said… you’re returning to the North?”
“Even after I told you I wanted to see you?”
“Ah! Your Highness!”
His warm smile disappeared.
The gentle prince vanished.
Standing before me…
Was the face of a cold, ruthless ruler.
“…Eloise.”
“Do you find my feelings amusing?”
“Have I humbled myself before you so much… that you believe you can reject me?”
“Your Highness!”
His grip tightened.
My arm began to ache.
For a moment…
I thought he might crush it.
Then—
A loud voice suddenly echoed from behind us.
