Chapter 02
No matter how much others criticized the outcome she had achieved, as long as Ikanuel believed in her, Isabella could easily ignore all the prejudiced rumors swirling around her.
Clinging to that small hope, she arrived at Minerva Hall where the academic conference was being held. Because she had arrived early, there were still only a few people inside.
“Phew. I have to do it properly this time.”
To ease her nerves, Isabella stepped out onto the terrace and leaned against the wall, placing a hand lightly over her chest. Just thinking about talking to Ikanuel after so long made her heart pound as if she had been running nonstop.
Her pale cheeks were already flushed red from the cold winter wind.
At this rate, she felt like she might catch a serious cold. As it was nearly time for the conference to begin, she pushed herself off the wall and straightened up.
At that moment, familiar voices drifted through the closed glass doors of the terrace.
“I heard Lady Redia was invited to this conference too.”
“….”
They were Ikanuel—the person she had been waiting for—and his close friend, Jenerd, the second son of the Count of Glarium.
Realizing Ikanuel was just beyond the glass, Isabella’s lips softened into a smile. Her heart, which she had barely managed to calm, began beating wildly again.
Her cheeks, chilled by the winter air, now burned hot with anticipation.
I should greet him as soon as I go in… No, maybe asking how he’s been would be better?
Just as she reached for the doorknob, her hand froze at the words that followed.
“Judging by that expression, you clearly didn’t know. Why did you even accept the student council president position if you’re like this?”
“Being president doesn’t mean I have to memorize the list of conference invitees.”
“Hey. There are only about thirty participants this time… why are you only so harsh to that junior?”
Even though they were technically seniors and juniors at the academy, they were still engaged.
At Jenerd’s words, Ikanuel let out a deep sigh.
“If it were you, would you be happy if a younger girl the same age as Hailey kept following you around saying she likes you?”
“Could you stay still in front of someone you like?”
“She’s seventeen. Old enough to understand how the world works. She should know what rumors are circulating about us too.”
His voice carried clear annoyance.
“She’s only two years younger. That’s just an excuse.”
“I never wanted this engagement in the first place.”
So for him, everything she had believed in with all her heart… had meant nothing more than a forced arrangement by their grandfathers.
It felt as if she had been rejected even before confessing. Her throat ached as if something sharp were stuck inside every time she swallowed.
Isabella pressed a hand against her chest as if holding back a scream that threatened to burst out. Jenerd’s shocked voice followed.
“Hey! What if someone hears you? Think about how hard that junior worked to get invited here!”
“Stop nagging like an old man. I don’t want to hear it from you either.”
“That’s not nagging, it’s correcting your behavior. What exactly did she do wrong?”
I don’t want to hear this.
She didn’t want to hear Ikanuel’s answer to that question.
She covered her ears with both hands.
But even so, his voice—cold like a blade slicing through skin—pierced straight into her heart.
“Her very existence is burdensome.”
At that moment, hearing the person she loved deny even her existence, Isabella could no longer bear it. The ground beneath her feet and the wall she leaned against seemed to sway.
Only much later did she realize the truth: their relationship had always been two parallel lines that would never meet.
Her seventeenth winter remained, even three years later, the most miserable winter of her life.
And now, at age twenty, on the eve of the great spring-summer festival night of Harta—
For some reason, her so-called fiancé had requested to meet her first.
Isabella wasn’t particularly curious about his intentions… well, maybe slightly. But she didn’t say it out loud.
She only wanted to finish this meeting quickly and return home.
“You said you had something to tell me.”
“Yes.”
She lifted her gaze to meet Ikanuel, her former fiancé—the man she had once truly loved.
Unlike before, she could now look directly into his eyes. Human emotions were fickle; the love that once burned so intensely had melted away like snow, leaving no trace of excitement or trembling.
The girl who once couldn’t even meet his gaze now stood calmly before him after ten long years.
His deep navy-blue eyes shimmered faintly.
Ikanuel seemed unusually restless, clenching and unclenching his hands on the table.
What could he possibly want to say, acting like that? Most likely, he was finally going to end this engagement.
She could admit it too. Compared to him, she was an unworthy match. There were far more suitable noble ladies for the House of Rasseles.
Now that she was of age, there was no reason for him to continue this hollow engagement.
It was almost amusing how someone who always treated her so indifferently found it difficult to bring up the topic of breaking it off.
She had endured ten years of one-sided love filled with rejection and neglect. How exhausting and painful it had been—something that proud young lord would never understand.
Maybe she should even get a small revenge before it ended.
If ending this ten-year love was her responsibility, then naturally, she should be the one to end it.
“Since we’re at it, let’s—”
“Regarding the wedding schedule going forward—”
……
A brief silence fell between them.
The people secretly eavesdropping around them were the ones who reacted the most.
“Huh?”
“Did Lady Redia just mention breaking the engagement?”
“Oh my god, is that true?”
Of all places, they were in a café in the capital, and all attention was now focused on them.
And then their completely mismatched conversation began spreading rapidly among the crowd.
But Isabella no longer cared about anyone’s reaction.
One person spoke of ending the relationship, while the other spoke of marriage—the continuation of it.
Isabella couldn’t hide her disbelief, and confusion spread across Ikanuel’s face as well.
“Marriage?”
“Breaking the engagement?”
Ikanuel frowned deeply now, as if he had just heard something he didn’t want to hear.
Strangely enough, he looked far more displeased than she did.
But Isabella had already decided she would no longer care about his feelings.
All that mattered to her was the dissolution of the engagement.
“No matter what, I must settle this today.”
“If I heard correctly…”
“You heard correctly, Lord Duke. I am the one who is surprised. Marriage between us? That’s absurd.”
“Lady Redia.”
Even now, he still called her formally by her family name.
From the moment they met until now, nothing between them had changed. Perhaps only she had changed.
Their rigid titles, distant relationship, and the gap between their families—all of it confirmed this engagement had never benefited either of them.
Her resolve only hardened further.
“If you didn’t hear properly, should I repeat myself?”
“There is no need. I will pretend I did not hear that.”
So now he was refusing to acknowledge the breakup at all.
A laugh of disbelief escaped her lips.
“You really don’t like jokes, do you, Lord Duke?”
“Are you calling this a joke?”
She nodded lightly, as if it meant nothing.
His neatly groomed brows twitched in irritation.
Unlike her, calmly sipping slightly cooled tea, Ikanuel looked openly displeased.
“Then let me ask you. Marriage? Why?”
“…It is a family arrangement.”
“A family arrangement? Ahaha!”
She couldn’t help but laugh.
Of all people, he was the one who had treated family obligations the most lightly.
If he had at least apologized, maybe she would have reconsidered her decision. But no—it made no difference now.
She had never expected him to apologize in the first place, so she wasn’t even disappointed.
“No, Lord Rasseles. I’ll say this once. For the first and last time.”
It felt as though his answer was finally confirming the end of her one-sided love.
A faint voice echoed in her mind:
“We are! The Venus! Hello, I’m Haeyoon, leader of Venus.”
She was going to meet her beloved idol Haeyoon, who had saved her from that exhausting love.
And so, Isabella had only one final task before leaving for the world she truly belonged to.
“I, Isabella Redia, officially request the dissolution of my engagement to Lord Rasseles.”
