ICOF 17

Chapter 17

“Hey, isn’t that Princess Giselle? Isn’t she really seeing Sir Theodore?”

In the direction Hugo pointed, Giselle could be seen getting into a carriage. Theodore held her hand as she stepped up, and she carefully adjusted her light pink dress so it wouldn’t wrinkle as she sat down.

Through the window, the two of them exchanged a brief smile before the carriage soon disappeared from view, leaving the city behind.

“Hah… We were fighting like hell at the tavern for Princess Giselle’s honor, and now her rumors with Sir Theodore have already become a done deal. Doesn’t that feel a bit bitter?”

Hugo glanced sideways at Adrian.

The guy hadn’t said a word for a while. Since he was always quiet, it was hard to tell what he was thinking.

He had clearly wanted to break off the engagement with Giselle, but somehow, after doing so, he seemed even more unsettled.

“You’ve been looking down lately. What’s wrong with you? You got the broken engagement you wanted, so why are you the one acting depressed instead of Giselle?”

“…”

“You even turned down Tristan’s offer to introduce you to a pretty lady. Why?”

Adrian let out a sigh and asked,

“Hugo… what should you do when, for the first time in your life, you start worrying about a decision you made?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve never regretted or doubted any decision I’ve made before. So why does this one thing feel so off? Did I make a mistake?”

Hugo glanced in the direction the carriage had gone and shrugged.

“Well, if you made a mistake, just fix it. No one’s perfect. You can still correct it now.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yeah. So what exactly are you regretting?”

“…Go on ahead. I have somewhere to stop by.”

With that, Adrian mounted his black horse and took off.

“Huh? We’re not going together? Where are you going?!”

Watching him disappear without an answer, Hugo shoved his hands into his coat pockets and muttered,

“Damn bastard, at least make some sense before leaving.”

***

“Your Highness, Prince Lucas left this for you.”

After returning from my outing, Lin placed a small box in front of me. I paused while brushing my hair and looked at her through the mirror.

“My brother? What is it?”

“They said it’s strawberry cake from your favorite shop.”

“My favorite? That must be Giselle’s.”

“…Pardon?”

I quickly shook my head.

“No, nothing. Maybe he felt bad after pressuring me earlier. I’ll just take a little—you can have the rest.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I don’t like it that much anyway. But I should at least try a little since he brought it.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

Lin smiled brightly and took the box.

As I continued brushing my hair, I admitted to myself that although Lucas seemed blunt, he was actually quite considerate.

Even when I nagged him to go to the tavern, he grumbled but still went—and ended up helping Adrian.

And regarding the engagement with Christoph, even though I resisted, he said he’d talk to Father for me.

And now he even brought cake.

Maybe my brother is softer than he looks.

Just then, Lin rushed back into the room and quickly grabbed an outdoor cloak from the wardrobe, draping it over me.

“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly bringing clothes?”

“Sir Adrian is here.”

“Adrian? At this hour? Why?”

“I don’t know. He said he has something important to tell you.”

“…”

And so, I ended up sitting across from Adrian in the guest reception room.

Judging by his uniform and the military sword at his waist, it looked like he had come straight here after finishing his duties.

“This is unexpected. Sir Adrian coming to see me at this hour.”

I gestured for him to sit and took a sip of tea Lin had prepared.

He sat down and stared straight at me.

“I saw you earlier in the city with Sir Theodore.”

Oh—he saw us?

“Ah… I see.”

“You were leaving the Royal Music Hall. Did you watch the opera together?”

I nodded.

“Yes, we did.”

“…Are you two dating?”

“Not exactly… we’re just kind of in a ‘some’ stage.”

Adrian frowned.

“‘Some’… what does that mean?”

“It’s just… a thing. But why are you curious?”

“How much do you know about that man? Sir Theodore is someone frequently talked about in the streets. It’s not good for you to get involved with him.”

I had a feeling where this was going, but wasn’t it crossing a line for him to come all the way here just to say this?

I tried to respond as kindly as possible.

“Is that so? Thanks for the advice. But I’ll handle my own matters. Did you come all the way here just to say that?”

“You know I’m worried about you!”

“Oh, like you would worry about a younger sister, right? Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”

There. Done talking, right?

Seriously, how long is he going to act like my brother?

I know Giselle relied on him a lot, but…

I’m different.

Adrian stared at the table for a moment, his jaw tightening.

“When you asked me to marry you, you said there was no one else in your world but me. But now… as if those words meant nothing, you seem to have forgotten everything and are just enjoying the present.”

“Cough!”

I nearly spilled my tea.

That’s not fair.

We broke up, and now he’s bringing up things I don’t even remember?

And what’s with that sharp gaze? Is he resentful?

“Haha… You know I have memory issues, right? And what can I do? You said you didn’t like me, so I let you go and decided to date freely. The way you’re acting, someone might think you’re jealous.”

“…”

Adrian seemed about to say something, then stopped and sat silently.

He looks like he’s having a reality check.

With no other choice, I exaggerated a yawn.

“It’s still early, but I’m really tired. Can I go rest? Since you’re here, maybe you should go see Lucas.”

As I awkwardly stood up, Adrian rose and asked,

“Do you have any plans tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? No… why?”

“I’ll teach you how to ride a horse again.”

“What? But after falling, I’m scared of horses…”

“Once your body has learned something, you can pick it back up quickly with a little practice.”

He complains that I keep using the fall as an excuse for my memory, and now he wants to teach me horseback riding?

I waved my hands, refusing.

“Um… I developed trauma after falling.”

“Trauma?”

“Yes, you know—PTSD?”

“…”

Looks like that term doesn’t exist in this world.

I sighed.

“It’s like… when someone rejects you harshly, and just seeing their face makes you shrink. If it gets worse—”

“Are you describing how I feel right now?”

Adrian said calmly.

I blinked slowly.

Wait… that’s my story.

I was the one who got rejected!

“…I was the one who got dumped.”

Adrian stubbornly countered,

“And now I’m the one being dumped, aren’t I?”

“…I’m dumping you?”

Adrian looked down at me and sighed.

“On the surface, you say I despised you and broke off the engagement. But in the end, wasn’t I the one who got rejected? After returning from the war, you acted as if you had never liked me at all. So much that I wondered if a person could change this much. Then who do you think was rejected?”

“…”

I had no response.

Well, from his perspective, it might look that way, but is letting go of someone who doesn’t want you really wrong?

I gave him what he wanted. So what does he expect now?

I shrugged.

“Then let’s just say we both rejected each other. Does it really matter? We’re free now. You can do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want? Then… can I start over?”

Start over? What does he mean?

I looked at him, confused.

Then Adrian stepped closer—right up to me.