Chapter 65
Raul’s True Self
Riena lowered her gaze out of embarrassment, then mustered the courage to look him directly in the eyes again.
Even without words, they could feel each other’s emotions. The only thing lacking was Riena’s courage.
The courage to say she never wanted to be apart from him, that she wanted a true marriage, not a lie, and to spend her life with him.
Even so, Cassel looked happy. Riena decided to be satisfied with that for now.
After their first dance, they danced three more times before finally slipping away from the crowd.
It was a night where even the murmurs of people saying the two of them really seemed to love and cherish each other felt delightful.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Cassel reluctantly let go of Riena’s hand as if he were regretful. She slowly headed to the lounge to touch up her makeup and adjust her clothes.
As she passed through a quiet hallway and glanced outside absentmindedly, she noticed something.
‘Raul?’
Raul Berna was standing in a corner of the garden. Riena stopped and quickly ran toward him.
He was wearing a dark-colored knight’s uniform, just as she had once seen him in a dream.
“Raul!”
Raul, noticing her, hurriedly put out the cigar he was smoking and attempted to walk away.
“Wait, wait! Let’s talk for a moment!”
Riena caught up to him and grabbed his arm, but Raul roughly shook her hand off.
“Talk? About what?”
“We still have things to discuss.”
“Really? Did we?”
“Don’t be so sarcastic. Let’s talk slowly.”
“Alright. I’ll listen, then.”
Raul led Riena to a secluded spot, linking arms with her while tilting his head in a defiant manner. Riena found this change in her once incredibly kind childhood friend unsettling.
She hesitantly spoke.
“I sent you letters many times. Why didn’t you reply at all?”
“Letters? Hmm, I didn’t receive any.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Then maybe my servant burned them.”
“Raul, how could you say that?”
When Riena spoke with a hint of anger, Raul snapped back.
“So you were trying to solve everything with just letters?”
“…Huh?”
“I clearly told you in my letters that nothing happened with that Winker guy. But you only sent letters afterward. If you really cared about me, shouldn’t you have come to see me directly? Honestly, I thought you’d ask to meet first.”
“I’m sorry. I needed time to organize my thoughts.”
“Organize your thoughts? About what?”
“I also needed to figure out what happened between the two of you and how to handle the situation.”
Riena continued.
“And you know, no matter how long we’ve been friends, it’s hard to meet alone right now. I wanted to see you, but there were too many eyes around. It wouldn’t have been good for either of us.”
“Ha… fine, let’s leave that. So what did Duke Winkler say? Something I don’t know about?”
“…No, I didn’t hear any reason.”
Raul kept glaring at her.
“Ria, as you saw, that day I was insulted by Duke Winkler. It wasn’t just being treated as an uninvited guest. I’ve experienced many things in the capital, but never such a humiliating day.”
“I… I’m sorry about that.”
“No, you don’t need to apologize. The one who should apologize is Duke Winkler.”
Riena tried to reason with him.
“That’s why I sent a letter. Cassel said he wanted to apologize formally and invited you to dinner.”
In fact, after hearing Cassel wanted to apologize, Riena had immediately sent Raul a letter.
Her servant assured her it was delivered properly, but Raul never replied. She sent a few more letters afterward, but still received no response.
That was why she ran as soon as she saw him—but she didn’t expect Raul to react so strongly.
“So?”
“…Huh?”
“Are you really going to try to settle everything with just letters and a dinner invitation?”
“Settle…?”
“If he really wants to apologize, tell him to come himself. Make him kneel and beg, or bow his head in front of me.”
Riena was genuinely taken aback.
It was true Cassel had done something wrong. Riena assumed he had a reason, but she realized it wasn’t fair to scold Raul, who didn’t know the reason.
Cassel had ultimately acknowledged his fault and said he would invite Raul to apologize.
Of course, from Raul’s perspective, that might not have been enough. Even if someone apologizes, the other person doesn’t have to accept it.
Riena would have understood if Raul stayed angry.
But telling someone to kneel or bow—that was excessive.
Reading her thoughts, Raul sneered.
“What? The noble duke can’t even kneel once? Would it wear out if you did?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
“You’re still taking his side, huh.”
“What?”
Raul slowly approached her. Being much bigger and stronger, and openly showing his anger, Riena felt genuine fear.
Until now, she believed Raul would never hurt her. But at this moment, it felt like he could.
Frightened, Riena instinctively stepped back. Raul realized her reaction and folded his hands behind his back. Still, he was intimidating.
“Even after seeing what that guy said to me, you’d still stay by his side?”
“That guy?”
Riena frowned at his harsh words, and Raul smirked.
“Why? Can a lowly knight like me not speak freely to the great duke?”
Lowly knight? That was exactly what Raul had said in her dream. Feeling uneasy, she argued.
“That’s not it. It’s just… you don’t sound like yourself. And ‘lowly knight’? Why say that?”
“Because ever since you met that guy, you’ve been ignoring me. If you truly saw me as a friend, as a knight, would you do that?”
“No, I’m not ignoring you!”
“Then choose. Me or the duke?”
At Raul’s final question, Riena realized something.
She could no longer return to the relationship she had with Raul before. Perhaps they had crossed an irreparable line long ago.
Even if she later divorced Cassel, the gap between them seemed impossible to fill.
Unlike Cassel, she had continued interacting with Raul and thought she knew him well—but that had been arrogance.
A lot had happened, and Raul had changed.
Of course, Riena had changed too—but would Raul have stayed the same?
She never imagined he would change like this.
What on earth had changed Raul Berna like this? Or had the Raul she knew never truly existed?
Either way, it was heartbreaking.
How could he force her into such a painful choice?
‘Cassel wouldn’t have done this.’
When Riena wanted time because of Raul, he had silently accepted her decision.
And after thinking, he even said he would apologize to Raul. Honestly, why would Cassel feel compelled to apologize? If he truly disliked Raul, he could have simply avoided him.
Yet he made that decision—for Riena.
Cassel never forced her; he respected her.
Raul, on the other hand, threw a childish tantrum, completely ignoring her feelings.
Cassel’s actions had triggered this, but if this was Raul’s true self, it might have happened eventually anyway.
The thought of never seeing Raul again was painful. The kind friend, Raul Berna, no longer existed—and that saddened her.
Twenty years of friendship had been strong, and breaking it all at once was impossible.
Yet…
Riena composed herself and looked Raul directly in the eyes.
“I’m sorry, Raul.”
“…What?”
Raul raised his eyebrows, surprised at her choice.
“Are you saying… you’re choosing Duke Winkler over me?”
“….”
“Ha, Ria. Are you sane right now?”
Raul roughly tousled his neatly combed hair. Riena tried to speak as clearly as possible.
“My mind has never been clearer. I’ve thought it through and made my decision.”
“No, you’re not sane!”
Raul’s face flushed red, his anger rising.
“How can you choose that guy over a friend you’ve spent your whole life with? Are you blinded by a man?”
