<CHAPTER 3>
Emilia was utterly dumbfounded.
Yet perhaps because the situation was so absurd, disbelief outweighed everything else.
Judging from Reina’s current circumstances, she was probably going through a difficult time emotionally.
She must have been terrified at the thought of being sold off to some vile nobleman.
‘No, but even so, how could she possibly set her sights on a man who already has a fiancée?’
No matter how desperate her situation was.
Emilia felt a throbbing headache coming on.
If the male lead ever found out about this later, it would be utterly ridiculous.
“Reina, there must be a better option for you.”
But that was all the advice Emilia could offer.
Even if she told Reina that she would eventually enter into a contractual engagement with the male lead and end up living happily with him for the rest of their lives, Reina would never believe her.
“No! You’re only saying that because you don’t understand my situation!”
Reina abruptly lifted her head and shouted.
“I really need Cedric…… I truly can’t live without him!”
Rather than understanding the desperation in Reina’s voice, Emilia was almost resentful of how casually she was speaking.
“And Cedric said he was sick and tired of you and wanted to break up with you! So even if you two continue this relationship, you’ll only cause each other pain!”
Emilia’s expression hardened.
Until just moments ago, she could have dismissed Reina’s words as the desperate ramblings of a woman driven to the edge.
But what she had just heard was……
“……Did Cedric really say that himself?”
Reina bit down firmly on her lip and nodded.
As if she had never wanted to say something like this in the first place.
An image of Cedric at the restaurant flashed through Emilia’s mind.
For a moment, she was dazed as though someone had struck her over the head.
“So please, give Cedric up to me.”
“……Leave for now. I don’t want to hear anything more from you.”
There was no reason for her to keep listening to Reina.
And she needed to find out whether Reina had been talking nonsense or not.
‘If what Reina said is true……’
If the confidence with which Reina was behaving came from Cedric himself……
If the way Cedric had acted so naturally around Reina had not simply been the excitement of meeting an old friend after a long time apart……
“You’re not leaving?”
Emilia stopped thinking and turned her head.
But Reina remained firmly rooted to the spot.
As though she absolutely had to hear Emilia say that she would break up with Cedric.
“Fine. I’ll leave myself.”
Emilia rose from her seat and reached for the doorknob.
She had been planning to see Cedric anyway.
But then she heard Reina’s cry from behind her, and she could not bring herself to step outside.
“A-Actually, I’m pregnant with Cedric’s child!”
—
Emilia’s arm dropped limply to her side.
“……Say that again.”
“Sob…… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Just say it again.”
“Hic…… ngh……”
“Who do you think is supposed to be crying right now?!”
In the end, Emilia exploded and shouted.
Was Reina seriously going to cry more than the woman who had just been told that her fiancé had gotten another woman pregnant?
Just then, the door flew open.
“What’s going on? Why are you screaming like this?”
Emilia turned her head and saw Cedric.
He looked around the room before his eyes widened at the sight of Reina crying miserably.
“Reina……? Why are you here……”
He hurried over to her.
“What’s wrong?! Did Emilia do something to you?!”
Cedric dropped to his knees beside Reina, fidgeting anxiously.
He even wrapped an arm around her shoulders with such tenderness that they looked like lovers.
At the sight, Emilia’s eyes went cold.
“Cedric.”
“What?”
He answered distractedly, too busy wiping Reina’s tears.
“She says she’s carrying your child. Is that true?”
“……What?”
Cedric’s neck turned unnaturally stiff.
“Reina is carrying my child……?”
He looked dazed, as though the news had caught him completely off guard.
Judging from his reaction, Cedric apparently had not known about the pregnancy either.
And yet, seeing his expression only made Emilia want to laugh bitterly.
‘The fact that he isn’t even getting angry and demanding to know what kind of nonsense she’s talking about—’
It meant the two of them had definitely slept together.
And because Emilia caught a flicker of delight in Cedric’s eyes—
“……You really are insane.”
Emilia clenched her fists tightly.
“You’re not even an animal. How could you……? Are you even human?”
Only now did she understand why he had never contacted her.
She had never even crossed his mind.
He had simply been too busy meeting Reina.
‘And I had no idea.’
She had spent all this time worrying that something might have happened to him.
She felt like such a fool.
Just then, Cedric abruptly shot to his feet.
His face had turned bright red, as though he had been insulted.
“W-Well, what was I supposed to do when I just couldn’t see you as a woman?! You’re nothing like Reina! You’re not sweet or affectionate! All you ever do is lecture me like you’re better than me!”
“……I did that to you?”
Emilia asked slowly, as though the words had taken a moment to register.
“Yes! Do you have any idea how fucking awful you made me feel every single time?!”
Cedric snarled, his words pouring out like a dam had burst.
“And Reina said she’d accept even a man like me. She even said she’d give me the count’s title!”
At last, he raised his chin defiantly.
“But what can you do for me besides holding me back from now on?!”
Emilia simply stared at him.
From the perspective of House Ilayke, Reina was nothing more than a shameful illegitimate daughter.
So the idea of her being able to give Cedric the title of Count was absurd.
Besides, a count who was planning to sell Reina off for a hefty sum had no reason to welcome Cedric with open arms.
Anyone who gave it even a little thought could have realized how strange the situation was.
If only Reina had not completely blinded him.
But what good would it do to point that out now?
To Cedric, she was nothing more than a woman who did not know her place and was always trying to lecture him.
“You…… That’s all I was to you?”
Emilia slowly lowered her head.
They had spent four years together.
The only reason she had not immediately doubted Cedric when Reina made those accusations was because of all the time they had shared.
‘I should slap him right now. I should grab him by the collar and shake him.’
But strangely, she did not feel like doing any of that.
Even the hand she had clenched into a fist slowly loosened.
Rather than anger, she felt utterly drained.
All she wanted was to get away from the two of them.
‘I can’t breathe.’
Without saying another word, she turned away.
Cedric, still seething, reached out toward her.
“Hey! Where are you going?! I’m not finished talking! I was saying, we should brea—”
Smack.
Emilia firmly knocked his hand away.
“I’ll break up with you, so don’t…… put those filthy hands on me.”
“W-What?”
Cedric flinched at the coldness in her voice.
By then, Emilia had already rushed out of the house.
Whoosh—
Rain had begun pouring down, blocking her path, but she merely wiped it away as though it were an inconvenience.
—
Creak. Thud.
Without even changing out of her clothes, Emilia collapsed onto the bed.
‘Bastard. What a horrible man.’
Perhaps because of the rain, her body felt heavy as soaked cotton.
She covered her eyes with her cold arm.
If only he had apologized as soon as he came back……
If only he had shown even the slightest hint of remorse……
No.
At the very least, he could have spared her from being the only fool sitting alone at the restaurant.
If he had done that, perhaps she would not have felt this way.
‘Just how ridiculous must I have looked?’
It hurt so much to realize that, to him, she had been someone he did not even need to show the slightest bit of respect.
That was what made her feel so utterly miserable.
Emilia forced down the emotions welling up inside her.
She squeezed her eyes shut, afraid the feverish heat in her body might rise again.
‘Don’t think about anything right now.’
Curling into herself as her trembling body grew colder and colder, Emilia eventually drifted off to sleep.
