Rowan Guilespie felt his stomach churn at the thought of Fresa and Grand Duke Granadine’s affectionate display.
Even while sleeping, he was plagued by nightmares, and after waking, those thoughts haunted him all day long.
How could he say he loved her, only to be engaged to the man he had met so briefly?
If there was one thing to praise about Fresa Thorpe, it was her persistent, leech-like personality and her pretty face.
Not the typical crude red hair of the Thorpe family, but her mysterious violet hair and clear blue eyes flickered through Rowan’s mind.
But that image soon shifted to the scene where she was leaving the banquet hall arm-in-arm with Grand Duke Granadine.
‘Damn it.’
Despite being separated from Alicia for several days, Rowan hadn’t thought about her at all.
His only feelings were anger and longing for Fresa.
Why is it only now that the saying “Make good use of your time when you’re together” comes to mind?
He also realized that the emptiness he felt after Fresa’s death was because the death of someone he had known for a long time was suddenly felt more acutely.
But upon learning that she was alive and not dead, he suddenly understood how incredible Fresa’s love was.
Her affection, which had existed solely for Rowan for so long, was of a different dimension from what Alicia offered.
Rowan had been awake since early dawn, but only after the sun rose did he finally get out of bed.
It had been quite a while since he had slept properly, troubled by nightmares all night.
It all started after he met Fresa again in Paro village.
He washed up to clear his mind and quickly ate breakfast.
While chewing soft bread like tough leather, his mind was solely on Fresa.
‘How can I make her change her mind?’
The main issues still were Alicia and the Grand Duke Granadine.
If he divorced Alicia soon after their loud wedding, people’s opinions would obviously be unfavorable.
Moreover, news had spread throughout the kingdom and even the empire that Fresa was engaged to the Grand Duke.
Frustrated by all this, Rowan finally set his bread down as if tossing it aside.
Maybe he should have just brought her straight to Paro village.
There would have been Alicia’s protests, but since she generally obeyed Rowan, she probably wouldn’t have done much anyway.
Alicia…
The mention of her made his head throb.
“Haa.”
The original plan was to keep Alicia as the countess and bring Fresa in as a concubine separately.
But before he could even persuade Alicia, Fresa appeared, and everything went completely awry.
Moreover, Alicia was crying excessively and furious, making it impossible to have a proper conversation.
At this rate, he figured he might have to give up on one of them, but he couldn’t decide whom to abandon.
How to persuade Alicia to stay as countess, while maintaining an unwavering love for Fresa…
“Rowan.”
Suddenly, the bedroom door burst open without knocking, and Alicia appeared.
Rowan looked up from the cold soup he was about to eat.
“…Alicia, what’s going on?”
His reaction was unintentionally cold.
His mind was already complicated enough, and seeing Alicia’s face made him feel even worse.
Alicia hesitated at Rowan’s icy response but quickly entered the room, maintaining a composed expression.
She then sat naturally opposite him and started speaking.
“I’ve thought about it for a few days… and I’ve decided to try to understand you.”
“Understand?”
“You had your reasons too. I guess I was so shocked and surprised that I was slow to judge the situation.”
As she said this, Alicia glanced cautiously at Rowan.
It stung to say something insincere, but she had no choice now.
Rowan looked down at the floor for a moment, then turned to face her again.
Perhaps pleased by his expression, her face softened somewhat.
“I’m glad you finally realize that, Alicia.”
“I suppose I’m still lacking as a countess. I should have behaved more maturely.”
“No, you’re enough as you are. Just be well-behaved.”
Rowan smiled, pulled a chair close beside Alicia, and sat down.
He then gently kissed her hair and boldly made a careless remark.
“Nobles often keep a mistress and a lover separately, Alicia. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Of course, I don’t intend to do that, but—I saw you crying so much that day.”
“…Yes, I believe in you.”
Hearing such words directly from Rowan’s mouth left Alicia feeling dazed.
‘He says he doesn’t mean it? Liar.’
Her expression twisted in anger, but she barely held back and answered, her mind a jumble.
After a moment, Rowan looked down at the floor again, then quickly met her eyes.
Perhaps pleased with her attitude, his expression relaxed somewhat.
“I’m glad you finally realize that, Alicia.”
“I guess I’m still not good enough as a countess. I should have acted more maturely.”
“Not at all. You’re enough even now. Just keep being gentle.”
Rowan grinned and pulled a chair closer beside Alicia.
He then leaned in, briefly kissed her hair, and laid on her bold words.
“Nobles often keep a primary wife and a mistress separately, Alicia. That doesn’t mean I don’t love you. Of course, I don’t plan to do that, but—since you got so angry that day—”
“…Yes, I trust you.”
Hearing those words from Rowan’s own mouth, Alicia felt her mind go numb.
‘He says he doesn’t mean it? Liar.’
Her face contorted with a mix of emotions, and she barely responded, her stomach churning.
As she managed a forced smile and stared at Rowan, she decided she would soon need to visit the Thorpe family again.
~·~·* . * . *·~·~
Today, the new employee Isaac, who started work, was being stared at blankly by Lycaon and Jed.
In the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Fresa suddenly introduced Isaac to them.
“This is Cade. As you all know… he’ll be working with us from today.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Isaac nodded slightly in greeting, sounding quite professional for a newcomer.
Though his tone still carried a strangely haughty air, Fresa simply regarded it as part of his personality.
Lycaon looked at him with a doubtful expression before shifting his gaze back to Fresa.
“Are you serious?”
“I guess you’re not happy with me, Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”
“Because I find his intentions suspicious. He’s someone who doesn’t really need to do this.”
“I’ve done similar work before. I wasn’t born as a guild master, after all. You seem to have some strange prejudice.”
A tense exchange ensued between Lycaon and Isaac.
Jed appeared to be unconcerned, and Fresa watched their conversation with mild interest.
Come to think of it, she didn’t know exactly what Isaac had done in the past.
He probably hadn’t run the guild from the start, so he might have his own story.
Anyway, since they’d be working in the same place, it would be easier to discuss business matters, so Fresa finally decided to hire Isaac.
She wondered how he commuted in the kingdom, and Isaac casually replied that he used a magic scroll—an expensive, rare item.
‘Just hearing how much one costs almost made me faint.’
It was roughly the cost of a few months’ living expenses for an ordinary noble.
In a world where magic users were rare, magic scrolls were not easy to obtain.
So, naturally, they were expensive, but money alone didn’t guarantee access.
Thanks to that, Fresa realized once again how large her guild’s operations were.
While Fresa was lost in a brief thought, Lycaon and Isaac were still engaged in an inexplicable standoff.
As soon as Fresa snapped out of her daze, she clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Alright, that’s enough introductions. Jed, could you please introduce Cade to everyone?”
Jed, who was tidying up a small pouch, looked puzzled and asked.
“Me?”
“Yes. You’re the youngest, after all.”
Both Lycaon and Jed were pretty similar, but she thought it would be safer for Lycaon to handle Isaac.
Jed looked even more confused and stared at Fresa.
“The youngest… me?”
“You’re about to outgrow that title, Jed. Congratulations.”
Fearing he might object, Fresa hurriedly responded and pushed Isaac on the back.
“Cade, learn diligently.”
Isaac still looked as if he wanted to say something to Lycaon but soon followed Jed behind the pouch.
Once they disappeared from sight, Fresa let out a sigh of relief and gestured to Lycaon.
Lycaon, glaring disapprovingly at Isaac, immediately approached when he saw Fresa’s gesture.
Fresa spoke in a serious tone.
“Could I have a moment, Lycaon?”
Startled by the unexpected request, Lycaon blinked and asked.
“Is this a date proposal?”
“…You’ve been obsessed with dates ever since the last time. Well, since it’s similar, I won’t deny it.”
Lycaon chuckled softly at Fresa’s blunt reply.
“Yeah, time is all I have left. But what do you want to do?”
“Sightseeing in the empire’s bustling streets.”
“The empire?”
“I have a favor to ask of Cade. Here.”
Fresa pulled out a rolled-up parchment from her drawer and showed it to Lycaon.
He immediately recognized what it was.
“A magic scroll. It wouldn’t have been easy to get.”
“It’s a teleportation magic scroll. I asked Cade to get a few for me.”
“I can do teleportation too, you know.”
Lycaon muttered somewhat disappointed.
Fresa thought it was adorable every time he did that and gently reassured him.
“I already told you. You need to refrain from using magic until the dragon’s seal is completely gone.”
“…It’s not that difficult.”
“I worry about you. Please understand. After all, I’m the one who treated you. I have a responsibility to manage your health to some extent.”
Fresa smiled and handed Lycaon a scroll.
Lycaon still looked reluctant but eventually accepted it.
“Jed, Cade. I’ll be stepping out for a bit!”
At Fresa’s shout, Jed and Isaac, who were tidying up in the corner, looked at her simultaneously.
She waved lightly to them and then headed out the door with Lycaon.
Lycaon, who disliked teleportation scrolls, refused to accompany them.
This time, it was just her and Lycaon on their own schedule.
Fresa was wearing a deep-purple cloak, with the hood pulled up, prepared for any mishaps.
Although expensive scrolls rarely failed, you never knew when things might go wrong.
She felt a little excited.
Even though she had been reincarnated into a fantasy novel, she had led a life far from magic, so this was her first such experience.
Fresa gazed at Lycaon with an excited expression.
“Lycaon, shall we tear the scrolls at the same time?”
“Yeah. Are you sure they’re set to the same coordinates?”
“Of course. I checked multiple times. I even brought a scroll for returning.”
Her certainty made Lycaon’s eyes narrow briefly, but he nodded in agreement.
“Then, one, two, three…!”
As Fresa shouted three, both of them tore their respective scrolls in half.
At the same time, Fresa’s vision blurred, and she felt her soul leaving her body into an unknown space.
Unconsciously, she closed her eyes tightly, wishing for this strange sensation to disappear.
As the nauseating feeling slowly subsided, Fresa found herself in the capital of the empire.
Perhaps because she set the coordinates to be discreet, she was in a narrow alley with no one around, and Lycaon was nowhere to be seen.
“Lycaon?”
Fresa quickly looked around, slightly flustered.
~·~·* . *^.^* . *·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
Rowan is just disgusting smh