Chapter 07
I widened my eyes at the unbelievable insult.
He had seen exactly what happened, yet he still said something like that.
But Claude didn’t give me a chance to respond and continued coldly.
“If you’re relying on your decent looks to pull this off, go try somewhere else.”
“There’s no Madam Eleanor here to protect a young lady like you.”
Claude was someone who valued basic decorum.
Or rather, someone who considered it important.
He might have been cold and distant, but he was never so uncultured as to treat a debutante this rudely.
Our gazes tangled at close range.
Up close, his face was clearly… worn down.
Why have you changed like this?
What happened over these past three years?
I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t say anything.
So I lowered my head first.
His polished shoes entered my field of vision.
I had something I wanted to say to him today.
Like a proper lady… and with the resolve to end my painful one-sided love… I had planned to tell him that I had no intention of marrying him.
I had also planned to apologize for the rudeness I showed him that day.
As I kept my head lowered, Claude suddenly grabbed my chin lightly and lifted it.
Our faces grew closer, and I could smell alcohol on his breath.
Claude leaned down, bringing his face near my cheek.
Startled by his sudden closeness, my body stiffened.
His low voice whispered by my ear.
“There’s something I wanted to ask.”
“Do we know each other?”
I blinked in surprise.
“N-No, not at all.”
“I didn’t expect that answer.”
“Pardon?”
“Weren’t you looking for a marriage partner?”
“Isn’t that supposed to be me?”
The corner of his lips curled upward.
I knew that expression.
He used to look at me like that when I was Diana.
“That’s not—”
“If that’s not the case, then why do you keep hovering around me?”
His words were filled with contempt.
“The other day was really just a coincidence—”
“A coincidence?”
“Are you trying to make me laugh?”
“Other ladies give up after just a few attempts, but you…”
“You’re quite persistent.”
“To come all the way here alone… I must commend your tenacity.”
Even though my body had changed, he still hated me this much.
Maybe I was always destined to be hated by him.
Before I realized it, tears began falling from my eyes.
“Now you’re even acting with tears.”
“Ah, so the rumors are true.”
“You really are a beauty, my lady.”
I glared at him.
No matter how drunk he was, using excessive cruelty only tarnished his dignity.
You weren’t someone like this…
Claude looked at my expression as if it amused him.
Then suddenly, he leaned closer and whispered into my ear.
“I can keep you company for a night.”
“Is that what you want?”
Then he moved his face closer, as if about to kiss me.
The smell of alcohol mixed with his familiar scent.
We had shared a bed before, as husband and wife.
We had even kissed.
But this time…
I felt a humiliation I had never experienced before.
I pushed him away with all my strength.
He easily stepped back and let out a mocking laugh.
“Why? Don’t you like it?”
He wasn’t just broken on the outside.
He had become completely broken inside as well.
Have you given up even your duties as a duke now…?
The words lingered in my mouth, never spoken.
I hated how weak I was.
How tears came before anything else.
Above me, his sharp voice continued.
“You must have practiced crying.”
But now…
His harsh words didn’t matter anymore.
“Do you think crying well will make me more interested in you?”
His mocking tone didn’t matter either.
What truly hurt me was…
“Go ahead.”
“What?”
“If you want to kiss me, then do it.”
“If you want to do more, then do it.”
“Marriage with you doesn’t matter to me.”
Even so…
I still loved him.
And seeing him so broken made my chest ache.
“Marriage doesn’t matter?”
Claude repeated incredulously.
I bit my lip and continued.
“But…”
“Please don’t say you’ve become this much of a mess.”
“…What did you say?”
“You weren’t like this.”
“Please… protect the dignity you once had as a duke.”
Claude froze, looking stunned.
“I won’t come to see you again.”
With that, I turned away.
There was no reason for me to feel disappointed, yet something deep inside me felt shattered.
I hurried down the stairs and left the mansion.
I knew the layout of the estate well, so it wasn’t difficult.
Following the path behind the entrance led to a small garden.
No one in the mansion paid attention to that place.
It didn’t have grand fountains like the main garden, but I had always liked walking there alone.
Fortunately, nothing had changed.
Not even after three years.
As I sat on the bench I used to sit on, the familiarity comforted me—
And tears began to fall again.
“Lowering your own worth like that… how is that any different from a prostitute?”
How could he say something like that…
It was impossible now, but…
If things had gone differently, if we had been able to talk properly…
I wanted to ask what he had been about to say in that final carriage.
And why he had held me as I died.
Now that I thought about it, it was a ridiculous hope.
I wiped my tears with my sleeve and sank into thought.
I was glad that Claude was alive.
But that was all.
Even if I hadn’t died, I was no longer anything to him.
Ever since waking up in this body, I had been trying to ignore the overwhelming loneliness that clung to me.
I curled into myself.
Why did this happen?
What should I do now?
Where did the original owner of this body go?
It would’ve been better if I had just died.
Drop… drop…
Tears soaked into my worn navy dress, darkening the fabric.
I hated how I always cried whenever my emotions overwhelmed me.
“You really do cry excessively.”
There was a time when he had said that to me with clear annoyance.
Of course, he probably didn’t even remember it.
Even after all this time… nothing had changed.
Why do I keep hoping and then getting disappointed?
As self-loathing welled up inside me—
“Why are you alone in a place like this?”
A sudden presence interrupted my thoughts.
I hurriedly wiped my cheeks and looked up.
It was a familiar voice.
Gentle eyes filled with concern looked down at me.
It was the empire’s second prince—Louis.
The only half-brother who had ever been kind to me.
Though that was only when we were young.
After I turned ten, I had been completely excluded from the imperial family, and we never met again.
Louis still looked like sunlight itself.
With golden hair unique to the imperial bloodline, he introduced himself politely.
“I am Prince Louis Edmond Felix of the Empire.”
“I-I am… no— Briana Elwin of the Elwin barony…”
Even as I stuttered foolishly, Louis smiled gently and gestured, asking if he could sit.
Startled, I quickly stood up, but he sat down on the bench and spoke warmly.
“I didn’t mean to take your seat.”
“Let’s sit together.”
“Ah… yes…”
I sat beside him awkwardly.
We had been quite close as children, but after I turned ten, my mother had practically confined me to the abandoned palace, so we never met again.
He probably didn’t even remember those childhood days with me.
Even so…
The fact that he spoke to me made my heart race.
He has no idea that I’m Diana…
Did he grieve when I died?
No… that couldn’t be.
He must have forgotten someone like me long ago.
Lost in thought, I realized I had been staring at him without meaning to.
