ICOF 11

Chapter 11

“Oh, Sir Christoph, did you come here to show off your wealth? Why are you displaying such a huge gemstone?”

After hesitating several times, Christoph finally placed the ring on the table and rubbed his hands on his trousers.

“It belonged to my mother. You said you don’t remember me, but that year… we both lost our mothers.”

“Oh… I’m so sorry. I really don’t remember.”

I truly felt sorry.

If the real Giselle saw this, she might smack the back of my head.

How could I forget a friend’s pain so easily …?

But kind Christoph shook his head.

“No, it’s alright. You said you’ve been struggling with your memory. There’s nothing to apologize for. But… I would like to officially court you.”

The fan slipped from my hand.

“What? We’ve only met three times.”

“You may not remember, but we were quite close as children. And even if it’s only been three times, what matters is how I feel.”

“Haha… and what about my feelings?”

“Do you dislike me?”

“No, it’s not that… but if you give me a ring this soon, wouldn’t that be too much pressure? I’m not even fully recovered yet…”

Christoph placed the ring back in its case, closed it, and pushed it toward me.

“Then please keep it. The day you open your heart to me, I’ll place it on your finger.”

“What? Why should I keep it? You didn’t, like… lick it or anything, right?”

“…Pardon?”

“I mean, I’m clumsy. What if I lose it? And it’d be embarrassing for my maid too. I haven’t even properly started this ‘free dating’ thing yet, so I can’t just stop here—”

Suddenly, Christoph dropped to one knee and spoke earnestly.

“Your Highness, I’ve liked you for a long time. When I had to leave my estate because of my father, I couldn’t even confess—and I’ve regretted it ever since. When I heard abroad that you were going to marry Sir Adrian… I suffered greatly.”

“Oh… I see…”

So I was his first love as a child.

Ah… that’s sad. Should I just accept it quietly …?

At that moment—

Clang! Crash!

A palace maid nearby dropped a large metal tray of desserts onto the floor with a loud noise.

“I-I’m sorry, Your Highness!”

As the maid hurriedly picked it up and bowed, something surged into me again.

The spiritual power rushed in silently.

My back straightened on its own, and I suddenly shouted at Christoph,

“Child! You have someone else meant for you!”

I could clearly see his expression twist in shock—even within my fading awareness.

Words I didn’t intend to say poured out of my mouth.

“That’s not love—it’s attachment and pity. If you keep this up, you’ll regret it when you meet your true partner. Your destined person will come from the east! So take your ring and go!”

As suddenly as it came, the visions and words disappeared.

I felt dizzy.

And in an instant, I realized what I had just done.

I looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

Damn it.

Should I just remove every piece of metal from the palace?

Even the sound of metal triggers my power…

I decided to act shameless.

“Oh my… what did I just say? I fell off a horse recently, so my memory…”

Christoph hesitated, his face pale, then slowly took the ring case back.

Muttering quietly, he said,

“I’ll prove it’s not pity. When I do… please accept me.”

He bowed and quickly left.

I reached out after him.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant…”

Ah… he’s definitely upset.

What do I do?

Having been rejected by Adrian myself, I understood how he felt.

If I just let him go like this, how would I be any different?

So, despite my long dress and shoes, I ran after him.

“Wait… hey—!”

Damn, he’s tall—he walks so fast.

“Christoph! Sir Christoph!”

As I called out desperately, he turned back.

And at that exact moment—I tripped on my dress.

Thud!

“Ow… that hurts!”

Christoph hesitated for a second, then ran back to me.

As he bent down to help me up, I quickly grabbed his arm.

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t accept your feelings… but I never meant to ignore your sincerity. I just thought we were friends. And sometimes… something not me comes out of me…”

Christoph shook his head.

His pale blond hair fluttered, and his expression looked painfully sad.

“Your Highness, you don’t need to explain further. I’m not angry. I’m just… disappointed.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

Despite my repeated apologies, he kept saying it was fine, helped me up, and brushed the dirt off my dress.

Then he asked if we could remain as we were before and left.

Watching him go, I let out a deep sigh and slowly walked toward the greenhouse.

His back looked so lonely that it kept bothering me.

He truly seemed sincere… And even if it wasn’t intentional, I had hurt him.

Just then, I saw Adrian standing at the entrance of the greenhouse, walking toward me.

I flinched.

“You startled me. When did you get here?”

“You should be asking from which moment I started watching.”

I brushed the dirt off my gloves and asked bluntly,

“Are you stalking me these days? You keep showing up everywhere.”

“It just happened. I didn’t intend it.”

“Sure.”

He walked closer and offered me a handkerchief—he must have seen me fall.

Since I couldn’t lift my dress, I handed it back instead.

As I tried to walk ahead and keep some distance, he followed beside me.

“Didn’t you feel even a little moved? He seemed like a good person.”

I quickened my pace and entered the greenhouse.

“If I like someone, does that mean I should consider marriage? So you had absolutely no feelings for me—that’s why you rejected me completely?”

“That’s not it.”

I stopped and faced him confidently.

“I don’t want shallow feelings or immature affection—I want real love. That’s why I rejected him. Not because I dislike him.”

Adrian was smiling.

As if confirming something he had been thinking.

“I never despised you. And I also couldn’t go through with that marriage for the same reason.”

“Really? Then you should’ve refused Father earlier. Everyone said I looked pitiful because you always seemed to ignore me. Thanks to that, it was easier for me to let go.”

Adrian fell silent for a moment, then apologized.

“I’m sorry for hurting you.”

“Hmph. As long as you know.”

When I first met Adrian, I thought he was kind and smiled often.

But in reality, he was cold and kept telling me not to insist on the marriage.

Maybe that’s why I had resented him—for Giselle’s sake.

But lately… why does he keep appearing? And why does he keep smiling?

I frowned slightly.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I was wondering… what it would’ve been like if you had always been like this.”

“Huh?”

A butterfly landed on his shoulder.

He gently moved it to his finger and looked at it, hesitating.

“If you had always been this confident… this bold… I might not have broken off the engagement.”

I scoffed.

“Wow, how shameless. Are you saying it’s my fault?”

He smiled faintly again.

“You are clearly different from before. And seeing you apologize to Sir Christoph… I regretted that I couldn’t do the same.”

I waved my hand dismissively, watching the butterfly fly away.

“Forget it. What’s the point of talking about the past?”

He looked at me seriously.

“Will you accept my apology?”

Tch… annoyingly handsome.

“Fine. But there’s interest added, so it’ll take a while.”

“…Pardon?”

“It’s been a long time, so you’ll have to reflect for quite a while.”

He looked at me with a complicated expression.

I didn’t even offer him tea out of courtesy.

I just said goodbye and returned to my quarters alone.

Hmph. Forgiveness? As if. I hold grudges, you know.

As I walked, my knee—hurt from the fall—started aching, and I limped slightly.

Just then, Lin ran up to me, out of breath.

“Y-Your Highness, you have another visitor.”

“A visitor? Is today some kind of special day? I didn’t expect anyone besides Sir Christoph—who else is here?”

“Well…”

As I stepped into the drawing room Lin opened—

A man in a dark navy suit slowly stood up from the sofa.

I swallowed a scream.

Why is he here …?