Chapter 3
Emilia was utterly speechless.
The situation was so absurd that disbelief outweighed even her anger.
Judging from what she knew of Reyna’s circumstances, the woman was probably going through one of the hardest periods of her life.
She was living in constant fear of being sold off to some despicable noble.
But even so… how could she set her sights on a man who’s already engaged?
No matter how desperate she was, this crossed the line.
Emilia felt a headache coming on.
If the male lead ever found out about this later… he’d be dumbfounded.
“Reyna.”
She spoke as calmly as she could.
“I’m sure there’s someone better for you.”
It was the only advice she could offer.
Even if she told Reyna that she would one day enter a contract engagement with the male lead and eventually spend the rest of her life happily with him…
There was no way Reyna would believe such a story.
“No!”
Reyna suddenly raised her head and shouted.
“You’re only saying that because you don’t know what I’m going through!”
Her voice trembled desperately.
“I really need Cedric… I can’t do this without him…”
She looked at Emilia as though resenting her calm response.
“And Cedric said he’s sick and tired of you too! He told me he wants to break up with you! Even if you two stay together, you’ll only make each other miserable!”
Emilia’s expression froze.
Until now…
She had dismissed Reyna’s words as the desperate ramblings of someone backed into a corner.
But this…
“…Did Cedric really say that himself?”
Reyna bit her lip before slowly nodding.
As though she hadn’t wanted to reveal even that much.
The image of Cedric smiling with Reyna during dinner flashed through Emilia’s mind.
It felt as though someone had struck her over the head.
“So…”
Reyna continued quietly.
“Please give Cedric to me.”
“…Leave.”
Emilia’s voice was cold.
“I don’t want to hear another word from you.”
There was no reason to continue listening.
She needed to find out the truth for herself.
Whether Reyna was lying…
Or not.
If…
If everything Reyna said is true…
If the confidence behind those words came from Cedric himself…
If the way he’d acted around Reyna hadn’t simply been the excitement of reuniting with an old childhood friend…
“Aren’t you leaving?”
Emilia turned toward Reyna.
But Reyna remained rooted to her seat.
As though she refused to leave until Emilia agreed to break off the engagement.
“Fine.”
Emilia stood.
“Then I’ll leave instead.”
She reached for the doorknob.
She had intended to find Cedric anyway.
But Reyna’s desperate cry stopped her hand.
“I…”
Her voice shook violently.
“I’m… pregnant with Cedric’s child.”
* * *
Emilia’s arm fell limply to her side.
“…Say that again.”
“I’m… I’m sorry…”
“Don’t apologize.”
Her voice became frighteningly quiet.
“Say it again.”
“Hic… sob…”
“So tell me.”
Emilia finally exploded.
“Who do you think has more reason to cry right now?!”
At that moment—
Bang!
The door burst open.
“What are you yelling about?”
Cedric stood in the doorway.
His eyes swept across the room until they landed on Reyna, who was crying miserably.
“Reyna…? Why are you in here…?”
Without another thought, he hurried straight to her.
“What’s wrong?!”
He dropped to one knee beside her.
“Did Emilia do something to you?”
His voice was full of concern.
He gently wrapped an arm around Reyna’s shoulders as though comforting his lover.
Watching the scene, the light slowly disappeared from Emilia’s eyes.
“Cedric.”
“What?”
He answered absentmindedly while wiping away Reyna’s tears.
“This woman says she’s carrying your child.”
“…What?”
Cedric slowly turned his head.
“Reyna…”
His face went blank.
“She’s… pregnant with my child?”
The news had clearly caught him off guard.
Judging from his reaction…
Even he hadn’t known about the pregnancy.
Yet somehow…
That only made Emilia laugh bitterly inside.
He isn’t even denying it.
He isn’t shouting that it’s impossible.
That meant only one thing.
They had slept together.
And when Emilia caught the faint spark of joy hidden in Cedric’s eyes—
“…You’ve really lost your mind.”
Her fists trembled.
“What are you?”
Her voice shook with anger.
“Not even an animal would do something like this.”
“Can you even call yourself human?”
Only then did she finally understand.
Why he had never written to her.
Why he had never contacted her even once.
He hadn’t forgotten.
He simply hadn’t cared.
He’d been too busy spending time with Reyna.
And all this time…
She had worried herself sick, wondering whether something terrible had happened to him.
She felt like an idiot.
Suddenly, Cedric sprang to his feet.
His face was bright red.
“As if I had a choice!”
he shouted.
“I just don’t see you as a woman!”
He pointed accusingly at her.
“You’re nothing like Reyna! She’s sweet! She’s lovable! But you?”
His voice grew harsher with every word.
“You’re always trying to lecture me over every little thing!”
“…I lecture you?”
Emilia asked slowly.
“Yeah!”
Cedric shouted back.
“Do you know how miserable that made me feel every single time?!”
The resentment he’d apparently been holding back poured out all at once.
“And Reyna…”
His expression brightened.
“Reyna said she’d accept someone like me.”
“She even promised she’d make me a count!”
At last, he lifted his chin proudly.
“So tell me!”
“What can you do for me besides holding me back from now on?”
Emilia looked at him in silence.
Reyna…
From the perspective of the Illake Count’s family…
Was nothing more than an illegitimate daughter they considered a disgrace.
The title of count?
It was a ridiculous fantasy.
Besides…
The count intended to marry Reyna off for political gain.
There was no chance he’d happily welcome someone like Cedric.
Anyone who thought about it for even a moment would realize something was wrong.
Anyone…
Who wasn’t blinded by infatuation with Reyna.
But what’s the point of saying any of that now?
To Cedric…
She was nothing more than a woman who didn’t know her place.
A woman who always tried to teach him.
“So…”
Emilia lowered her gaze.
“…That’s all I ever was to you.”
Four years.
They had spent four years together.
The only reason she hadn’t immediately believed Reyna’s accusations…
Was because she’d trusted the years they’d shared.
I should slap him.
I should grab him by the collar and demand an explanation.
But strangely…
She no longer wanted to.
The strength slowly drained from her clenched fists.
Instead of anger…
She simply felt exhausted.
All she wanted was to get away from the two of them.
I can’t breathe.
As she silently turned to leave—
Cedric reached out in irritation.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?! I’m not finished talking! So let’s break u—”
Smack.
Emilia slapped his hand away.
“I’ll break up with you.”
Her voice was colder than ice.
“So don’t…”
“…ever touch me with those filthy hands again.”
“W-What?”
Cedric instinctively flinched.
Taking advantage of the moment, Emilia rushed out of the house.
Shhhhhhh—
A sudden downpour had begun.
Sheets of rain blocked her path.
She simply brushed the water from her face as though it were nothing.
* * *
Creak. Thud.
Without even changing out of her soaking clothes, Emilia collapsed onto her bed.
Bastard.
You horrible bastard.
Her body felt unbearably heavy, like wet cotton.
She covered her eyes with an ice-cold arm.
If only he’d apologized the moment he came back…
If only he’d shown even the slightest bit of guilt…
No…
At the very least…
He could’ve avoided making me look like a fool in front of everyone at dinner.
Then…
Perhaps this pain wouldn’t have cut so deeply.
Was I really that insignificant to him?
The realization hurt more than anything.
To Cedric…
She wasn’t even someone who deserved the smallest measure of respect.
That…
More than his betrayal…
Was what broke her heart.
Emilia forced the overwhelming emotions back down.
She felt as though another fever was coming.
Don’t think about anything right now.
Curling herself into a trembling ball beneath the blankets…
Emilia slowly drifted into an uneasy sleep.
