~Chapter 11~
And even if I decided to switch to Veseth, I needed to end things properly with Etienne first. That was the decent thing to do. Cheating was unforgivable.
I quickly glanced up to check Etienne’s reaction. He was just staring at me, lost in thought. When our eyes met, he gently stroked my cheek once. My body instinctively trembled. Veseth’s eyes suddenly looked dark.
“Dahlia, you’ve really changed,” he muttered quietly.
His words felt a little chilling.
Was he angry because I refused him? But why? Everything about him was confusing.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he smiled brightly again.
“Well, it’s late. Let’s go inside.”
He turned and walked ahead. I just stared blankly at him walking away, until my legs gave out and I slumped onto the ground.
“What if I end up being abandoned by Etienne and it’s too late to go to Veseth? Sigh, even so… I can’t do it.”
I punched my poor head in frustration.
Is this why I can’t escape the fate of starving to death?
It was a long time after I returned to my room and lay down, but I couldn’t fall asleep.
I kept thinking about Veseth’s attitude, which I never would have imagined when reading the novel.
And his mysterious words! What on earth was the promise I didn’t know about?
I rolled around the spacious bed, deep in thought.
“He said they exchanged letters. Maybe it’s written in them? He said they hadn’t met in the last year, only exchanged letters, so if there was a promise made during that time, it would be written there.”
I jumped out of bed and sat up.
Dahlia wouldn’t have thrown away the letters she received from Veseth. I looked around the room. The room was perfectly tidy, cleaned by the maids.
“Let’s think carefully. Where would Dahlia have hidden the letters? Obsessed, stalker Dahlia would…”
I looked around the quiet hallway. There was no one there. After confirming I was alone, I looked at the giant frame hanging in front of me.
Portraits of the Emperor and Empress, and the Crown Prince Veseth, hung side by side.
I had found this spot by asking Penny this morning. The old Dahlia must have come here to ease her longing for Veseth, right?
I carefully examined the painting. Veseth’s portrait, which didn’t fully capture his real beauty, seemed to stare intently at me.
“What are you looking at? Look away,” I muttered triumphantly, saying the words I couldn’t say yesterday. I even made a gesture of poking his eyes with two fingers.
“How dare you try to kiss me! Did I look that easy? You think being handsome is everything? Hmph.”
It was pathetic, but it made me feel better.
But the feeling was brief, and I quickly spun my head around to check my surroundings again.
Etienne was supposed to be at the training grounds. It would be a while until he returned, but I couldn’t relax my guard.
“Why did it have to be so close to Etienne’s room?”
If he found me lurking near his room, he might explode with rage.
He was a husband who was as strange and bad-tempered as a grumpy old man.
I quickly checked the portrait everywhere. My hand couldn’t reach Veseth’s face, so all I could do was touch the bottom of the frame.
“It’s just a luxurious frame. Did I guess wrong?”
I slightly lifted the frame away from the wall.
Worried that it might fall on my head, I looked at the top of the frame. I carefully felt the back of the frame.
Then, my fingertip snagged on something. It felt like paper.
I carefully tore the paper away. It was a letter.
“Wow, I can’t believe Dahlia really hid it here. My gut feeling was right.”
It didn’t have a sender written on it and was more like a note than a proper letter.
I started to read the writing.
Beloved Dahlia.
The rumors are just rumors.
I have only you.
I will come to you as soon as you are ready.
I miss you.
“Huh? Is this really from Veseth?”
It was strange.
The content was brief, but it was all affectionate words, like those written to a lover.
Why would Veseth tell Dahlia that he only had her? He was supposed to be devoted only to Sophienne! What rumors was he talking about? Was the fact that he tried to kiss me yesterday real?
There were no clues about the promise, and the questions only grew bigger. One thing was clear: this was different from the novel I knew.
It’s suspicious. Very suspicious.
Just then, I heard a sound outside the hallway. I quickly hid the letter inside my sleeve and stepped away from the portrait.
A few steps later, Etienne appeared at the end of the hallway.
I was almost caught! I was about to be discovered looking completely suspicious.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
Etienne slowly walked closer.
His hair was tousled over his sharp nose, and the collar of his shiny black training uniform was unbuttoned, revealing his thick neck.
Etienne walked past me, leaving his unique heavy scent in the air.
In that brief moment, many thoughts ran through my mind.
Should I tell him about Veseth? That he said something mysterious that I didn’t understand, and that I found this letter?
But this letter… it really looked like a love letter. I didn’t think Etienne was the type to be emotionally jealous, but even so, this was enough to make anyone angry.
My position in this house is already unstable… telling him might only put me in more danger. Still…
I bit my lip.
“Etienne.”
He stopped abruptly at my voice and turned to look at me. His sharp gaze scanned me up and down.
Gulp, he’s scary. Should I just not say anything?
But I couldn’t do that.
Until now, it was the previous Dahlia’s problem, not mine, but as long as I had this in my hand, it was now my problem. I couldn’t keep blaming everything on Dahlia.
I pulled the letter out of my sleeve and held it tightly in both hands.
“Why is this here again?”
Etienne didn’t even look at the letter I offered but asked the servant beside him in a low voice. Here, “this” meant me, not the letter.
The servants looked back and forth between us, looking troubled.
“I came here because I have something to tell you.”
“Take her to her room immediately.”
I stepped forward and answered, but Etienne still gave the command to the servant, not me.
“No, just look at this!”
I held out the letter. Etienne stared fixedly at me. I felt like a criminal even though I hadn’t done anything wrong.
The moment I opened my mouth to say something, Etienne suddenly turned away.
Then, without hesitation, he walked away from me. I stared blankly at him.
“I said I have something to tell you!”
He gave no reply.
Why won’t he look at me when I’m trying to confess? I’m offering him proof of infidelity! Hey!
“Lady Dahlia, we will escort you to your room.”
The servants pointed in the opposite direction. I looked at that direction once, and then at the retreating Etienne once more.
Fine. Etienne is the one who refused to look. I didn’t hide anything. It’s not my fault!
I grumbled to myself. But I couldn’t easily move my feet.
Ah.
I took off running again. I blocked Etienne right before he entered his room. He frowned.
“Seriously, won’t you look at this? I know you don’t care about me at all, but still, you should see this…”
“Dahlia. Do I look like a fool? Fool enough to fall for a trick like that again?”
Etienne cut me off. His blue eyes looked like they were boiling.
I was bewildered by the sudden accusation.
“Huh? What are you talking about? I’ve never thought that.”
“Then you were easily letting him…”
Etienne stopped talking and closed his mouth. His words made me think back to yesterday.
I don’t think I did anything wrong. Ah, was it because I kept eating steak while Etienne and Veseth were talking? If I have nothing to say, do I have to just sit there and worship them?
Or was it because I answered that I would go to the banquet on my own? I truly just wanted to go…
“What did I do wrong? I’m still not used to the manners here. If there’s something I need to fix, you need to tell me, not just get angry!”
“Forget it. Since I won’t have to see you in three weeks, talking about this with someone like you is just a waste of time.”
“No…!”
“Get out of my sight right now.”
He spoke coldly, then slammed the door shut, as if he didn’t want to exchange another word.
I just stared blankly at the closed door, completely confused.
Why is he taking his anger out on me all of a sudden?
All my energy drained away, and I just slumped down right there.
“I tried so hard to tell him, too.”
Well, to him, I really was someone he wouldn’t see in three weeks. He probably didn’t care if I was having an affair with another man.
I buried my face in my knees.
“Right. What difference will my efforts make?”
The despair I had tried to ignore peeked out at me.
You’re still destined to starve. You’ll be unhappy forever.
It was as if someone was whispering that in my ear. Tears welled up, and I clenched my jaw.
“Ugh, I promised myself I wouldn’t wallow in misery.”
I snapped my head up and pulled a small pouch from the waistband of my dress. I had specially asked Penny to make it. It was like my comfort candy pouch.
Perhaps because of the memory of starving once, fear would wash over me constantly.
The feeling that I was going to lose everything again, that I was going to starve.
Just having candy nearby made me feel better. I felt like as long as I had this, I wouldn’t starve to death.
I rolled the pouch in my hands for a long time. The rattling sound calmed my heart.
I opened the pouch and picked the brightest red candy out of the colorful assortment and put it in my mouth. A sweet plum flavor spread with a hint of sourness.
“I still have three weeks, though. I have to do everything I can. You think I’ll give up? You’ll be the one crying because I’m gone later, Etienne. Just you wait.”
