CHAPTER 130…………………………………………….
After that, I completely blasted the rocks with the mana I had gathered.
The pale dust that had scattered in all directions settled, and when the path finally opened, the knights cheered.
On the other side, soldiers from the Hemel Kingdom cleared away the last remnants.
Thanks to Princess Leatrice lending us her carriage, our journey was comfortable.
Of course, my mind wasn’t entirely at ease.
“In the original story, the male lead crown prince and the female lead Bianca liked each other and even got married.”
In reality, the two were soon to be married as well.
But many things had changed from the original.
The crown prince’s heart was not directed at Bianca, but at Princess Leatrice.
“I wonder how Bianca feels about this.”
I remembered Bianca from when she attended Duke Alter’s funeral.
She looked very thin and pale.
The deep sadness surrounding her.
Of course, she must have been grieving her family.
But I felt there was something else pressing down on her besides that.
“…Miss? Young lady!”
Cautz’s call brought me back from my thoughts.
“Hmm? Did you call me?”
“Yes. Are you feeling unwell? You’ve been spaced out for a while.”
“I’m just thinking about something. But why?”
“Miss, look over there.”
Cautz pointed toward the carriage window.
As we drew closer, I saw Ron riding a horse outside.
He had refused to ride in the carriage no matter what I said.
He had grown attached to the black horse he rode while in the Loudne region.
“He looks amazing. The black horse suits him too.”
When did he grow into such a fine man?
I was glad Ron hadn’t joined the carriage.
It was better to just admire him riding the black horse like this.
“By the way, Cautz, which do you think looks better, long or short?”
“Eh? What?”
“Ron’s hair.”
Cautz peeked out to look at Ron, then quickly sat back down.
“I’d better study magic more and create another Ron young master. I can’t choose.”
“Hmm, I feel the same way.”
His long hair hiding his eyes reminded me of his childhood, but I couldn’t give up the short hair that revealed his handsome face either.
In the end, our conversation turned to Cautz’s need to research harder.
Then, the carriage we were riding suddenly stopped.
“Huh? What’s happening?”
After a moment, the door swung open.
And standing there was the flustered and red-faced Duke Careys.
“Anne!”
“…Father!”
Soon after, two brothers appeared behind Duke Careys.
Sherbert followed the duke, and Ron had dismounted from his horse.
“I told you not to go to such a dangerous place! Why did you disobey me?”
“I’m sorry… I was just so worried about Ron…”
The reason the duke was angry at me was out of concern.
Knowing that, my eyes naturally filled with tears.
“Father, I told you. It was all my decision to send him.”
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Sherbert stepped forward.
“Look, Ron is fine, and Anne even managed to get a carriage and arrive safely. Oh, this carriage… is it from the Hemel Kingdom? Right?”
After briefly going off-topic, Sherbert focused back on Anne.
“Anne, dry your tears. Just trust me.”
“…Yes?”
My teary eyes met Sherbert’s confident gaze.
What was I supposed to trust him about?
Then Sherbert dropped another bomb in this tense situation.
“Father, I’m breaking off my engagement with Marianne.”
“…!”
The word “breaking off the engagement” hit hard.
Especially Duke Careys, who stiffened like a statue, forgetting his earlier anger.
Meanwhile, Sherbert glanced at Ron and me, smirking.
It was as if he was saying:
“Don’t worry, Father, I’ll handle it. You two go on ahead!”
Watching Sherbert turn away so calmly, I nodded, moved with gratitude.
“Then please take care of what’s behind us, Sherbert.”
Ron’s eyes glistened as he stared at Sherbert for a moment.
The strong bond between the brothers was evident.
Yes, they argued constantly, but they were still brothers, sharing the same blood.
He must have been moved by his older brother’s actions.
“…?”
But I was mistaken.
Ron swiftly moved into the carriage and sat beside me.
“Let’s go!”
He slammed the carriage door and shouted.
“Anne, let’s go ahead first.”
“…?”
“We’ll talk calmly after your brother calms Father’s anger. So don’t be upset.”
Ron’s hand gently brushed away the redness from my eyes.
As the carriage slowly moved, I faintly heard voices from outside.
“Sherbert! What do you mean by this?”
“Exactly what you heard. Ugh.”
I heard Sherbert wincing in pain from being scolded by the duke.
“Do you think breaking off the engagement is a child’s joke?”
“No, I fully understand the meaning. Ow! It hurts, Father! And this is all my fault. I let go of Anne, and she accepted it.”
“She accepted it? Huh… fine, then.”
The conversation seemed to end quickly, but the carriage had already departed, so no more voices could be heard.
After returning to the duke, in a calm atmosphere, I explained everything to him.
Why I broke off the engagement with Sherbert.
That we each liked someone else.
And that those people were Bianca and Ron.
The duke listened calmly to everything, having softened after arguing with Sherbert.
When he realized my feelings for Ron were no longer friendship but love, he seemed slightly shocked.
“So Ron, this is true?”
“Yes. Everything is true.”
“And you too, Anne?”
“Yes.”
A deep sigh escaped the duke.
“Anne, I’ve always wanted you to be happy. So when you got engaged to Sherbert, I thought you were truly happy.”
“To be honest… I agreed because I was afraid I’d be kicked out of the mansion if I didn’t.”
“…What?”
The duke was speechless, shocked.
“At first, I came to the Careys to help their family.”
“…Anne. So that… sigh, I’m sorry… it was my fault.”
The duke’s sad face twisted.
“I’m not saying this to get your apology, Father. And at some point, I realized your genuine care for me. That’s why I could stay longer in the mansion.”
The duke’s expression darkened.
“Could it be… you were planning to leave this house afterwards?”
“…Yes.”
“Anne!”
The surprised duke, Ron, and Sherbert looked at me with concern.
I slowly met the eyes of the three men.
“But I hesitated. I didn’t want to leave… I had grown fond of everyone in the Careys. I wanted to stay by their side.”
The duke wiped the redness from his eyes with his hands.
“Anne, I didn’t even know that… I only wanted your happiness, and never really looked into your heart.”
“No, I also didn’t express my feelings properly.”
Father had always reached out to me.
I gave him a faint smile as he cried.
At that moment, Sherbert broke the silence.
“But Anne, where were you planning to run off to? Did you even have a place to go? You didn’t have money… oh, you did have money.”
Sherbert seemed to recall the Belzur Guild, then shouted.
“Marianne! You mean you saved money by running the guild to escape?”
“Is that true, Anne?”
“Anne, really?”
Sherbert, the duke, and Ron all asked in unison.
I avoided their gaze, and in a timid voice, said:
“…Yes. At that time I had nothing, so I thought it would be good to prepare in advance.”
“Haah.”
“Sigh.”
“Goodness.”
The three men sighed one after another.
“Anne, stop bowing your head.”
I lifted my gaze at Ron’s gentle voice.
“None of your past matters. What matters is that you’re here now, telling us everything.”
The duke and Sherbert nodded at Ron’s words.
“And now, Anne isn’t going anywhere. I’ll be by your side until the day you die.”
“Right. Ron, you die a day after Anne. That way she won’t be lonely.”
“Father, how about we all die a day after Anne? That seems like the best plan.”
“Sherbert, you’ve come up with an excellent idea since birth.”
No! What’s the “best plan”! An excellent idea!
The duke and Sherbert’s absurdity.
And Ron listening so seriously made my head spin.
But knowing the three men truly wanted me never to be lonely, I couldn’t help but laugh softly.
