~Chapter 19~
Ricardo replied in an indifferent voice.
“Be quiet.”
“Still, you never know—just go check it out. There’ve been some nasty rumors going around lately. You know how the princess hates Idette because of the Picard territory issue, right? She’s full of venom after losing the land to her.”
Roam frowned, clearly disgusted just thinking about it.
“And on top of that, His Highness is fond of Idette…”
“…”
“The prince really has no sense, does he?”
Roam let out a long sigh.
Ricardo’s eyes slowly darkened.
Roam had a point. The princess had a strange obsession with what she considered hers—and Idette was a thorn in her side. Everything the princess desired had ended up with Idette.
And behind all that… stood Ricardo.
To Ricardo, Idette was someone he needed. Someone who would stir up the peaceful world after the war.
She was the storm that would swallow everything.
Ricardo stopped in his tracks. Roam grinned knowingly.
“Knew it. You’re worried about Idette, aren’t you?”
He waved his hand, urging him to go.
“There’s still time. You can go see her. If you show up, even that reckless princess won’t dare pull anything.”
“…I’ll be there soon.”
Ricardo checked his watch and turned toward the lake.
Idette’s existence couldn’t be revealed to the world yet.
At least not until he achieved his long-held goal.
That’s all their relationship was.
She was the woman who would help fulfill his ambition.
He had waited so long for this. For that purpose, Ricardo was willing to do anything—
Even fake a love affair.
〈By the way… Duke, do you have no plans to clear up the rumors?〉
Yet strangely, the words Idette had once said wouldn’t leave Ricardo’s mind.
He thought he’d brushed them off.
Would he be able to stay engaged to Bianca until everything was over?
He was sure Bianca would never leave him. She never had.
But lately, he kept having strange thoughts.
…Really?
Could he be certain she wouldn’t change?
The woman who once lived for extravagant parties now enjoyed staying at home.
The girl who never liked sweets now loved chocolate.
The one who used to say she loved him with a smile now whispered those words to someone else.
…So many things have changed.
Could he really believe she’d stay the same?
“Ridiculous.”
Ricardo scowled.
He was the one who’d wanted to break off the engagement.
And yet now, he was having such foolish thoughts—so unlike him.
…He had wanted the breakup so badly.
“Duke!”
A crowd had gathered by the lakeside, anxiously looking in one direction.
Ricardo saw bubbles rising from the water and clenched his jaw.
“What are you all just standing around for?”
Through the crowd, Hestia approached him with a faint smile.
“Oh dear. It looks like your lover tripped and fell in.”
“…Lover?”
“I mean Miss Idette. It’s pretty deep there. I’m a little worried.”
Ricardo let out a sharp laugh. But he didn’t hesitate.
He had to save Idette.
She couldn’t die here.
He threw off his jacket and went into the lake.
“Duke…!”
Damn woman.
She wasn’t just stubborn—she was venomous.
Just thinking about the gossip made his head throb.
Later…
Once everything had returned to its proper place—if he told her then…
‘…Would she be hurt?’
Ricardo pulled the sinking Idette into his arms and rose to the surface.
In a world full of gossip, this incident wouldn’t be forgotten easily.
She would be talked about—again.
Would she say it’s okay again this time, too?
…He didn’t know.
How would Bianca look at him now?
Would she smile and say, “Do what you want,” like last time?
Or would she finally declare the engagement over with a disgusted face?
He hoped for the latter.
But now, he wasn’t so sure.
Why was that?
He was someone who usually came to conclusions easily, but this time, he couldn’t find a clear answer.
In the blurry image of the future he had vaguely drawn, Bianca was still by his side.
“Cough…!”
Idette was lying on the ground, coughing hard.
People gathered around Ricardo, who had rescued her.
Hestia said something to him, but Ricardo couldn’t respond. He just stared down at Idette.
…At least she wasn’t dead.
Ricardo pushed back his wet hair and checked the time.
But the watch on his soaked wrist had stopped.
Then, Idette, who had come to her senses, grabbed Ricardo’s pants in desperation.
When he tried to pull her hand off, she cried out in a panicked voice.
“Miss Bianca! She suddenly disappeared. She definitely fell into the water with me!”
…What?
Ricardo’s face froze completely.
What did she just say…?
“Bianca!”
Right at that moment, he heard the sound of wet footsteps behind him.
…Bianca.
Why are you here?
Leon, soaked as well, followed closely behind her.
The woman who stood before Ricardo—
“…I wasn’t the one who put Idette in danger.”
She said something incomprehensible again.
With pale lips.
***
When I first woke up in Bianca’s body, I was on the verge of losing my mind. Possessing someone else’s body—how could anyone accept that calmly?
Still, I decided to accept it. I tried to understand. There had to be a reason for this.
The new family I met was warm. Just like the world I used to live in. That’s why I wanted to save my grandfather.
He wasn’t really my family, but I grew attached. That’s what it means to be human.
Even if I was lucky enough to return home someday, I hoped at least he would be happy.
…And yet, why show me a hallucination like this?
<“When are you coming home? Living on your own must be so exciting! Mom’s dying of boredom without her daughter.”>
When I finally snapped out of the hallucination, I was being dragged under the water, like in my last memory.
Was I going to die? If I woke up again, could I believe it was all just a dream?
But at that moment, someone grabbed my hand.
…Leonhardt.
The moment I saw him, I realized one thing.
This wasn’t a dream.
No matter how many times I told myself it was real—this was clearly a nightmare.
“Bianca!”
Leon, who surfaced with me, anxiously checked if I was okay.
Several royal attendants had jumped into the lake after him.
…The air felt so sweet.
Even though the water stung my nose, it felt refreshing to no longer be drowning.
Leon gritted his teeth and carried me to the lakeshore, whispering over and over near my ear that everything was okay, that we should go home and rest.
Home?
Where was that…?
The question hovered in my mouth but never left my lips.
Once we reached land, the startled maids quickly wrapped a blanket around me.
…Ugh, I didn’t want to use a royal blanket.
But I wasn’t in a position to be picky. I caught my breath and wrapped the blanket over my shoulders.
“Bianca, let’s go back to the estate for now.”
Leon grabbed my hand and tried to lead me away.
But I suddenly stopped at the voice that pierced my ears.
“Was there a problem with the boat? If not, maybe someone who was on board pushed our dear Idette.”
I wanted to ignore it, but the person listening to Hestia’s words was Ricardo.
He was completely frozen, just standing there listening to her.
…You’re not actually believing that crap, are you, Ricardo?
Whether he saved Idette or not, he looked no different from when Leon pulled me out.
‘If you were going to save Idette anyway, you could’ve saved me too. What would it have cost you?’
A dull ache bloomed in my chest.
Ricardo had no reason to save me.
…And I had no right to feel hurt by that.
Still, letting things slide like this felt so unfair.
“Ora-boni (big brother), wait.”
“Bianca!”
I pulled my hand from Leon’s and walked toward Ricardo.
When he heard my footsteps, Ricardo’s eyes widened.
Like he was seeing a ghost.
Then, I saw it—Ricardo’s hand trembling violently. His hand was pale and cold.
It made sense. Idette had nearly died.
Ricardo reached out to me cautiously.
But that pale, shaking hand… never touched me.
