Chapter – 06
Bayern’s eyes grew as big as lanterns when he suddenly saw Rapine crying.
“Y-You’re crying?”
Seeing her tears for the first time, he didn’t know what to do and hurried toward her.
“N-No…”
She had not wanted to show such an ugly sight of herself crying.
She could hold back tears that came from sadness now, but it seemed she still couldn’t stop tears that came from being touched. Rapine quickly wiped her tears while smiling.
She had never once shown such a weak side in front of Bayern.
She had always told him she was happy with Cedric, and that Elizabeth was simply sick. She said the Marquis family was always peaceful.
“Who made you cry?”
Bayern was completely busy trying to comfort her.
“I should break their wrist.”
He ground his teeth, thinking about Cedric, who had stood Rapine up.
Rapine always spoke well of Cedric, but Bayern knew Cedric’s behavior better than anyone.
“N-No!”
Rapine quickly waved her hands.
“I just didn’t expect someone to say happy birthday to me before today ended.”
Bayern had been her childhood friend for a long time, but they had never spent her birthday together.
Even though they had known each other since childhood, they had never once celebrated her birthday together. It was quite strange.
‘Well… something noisy always happened on my birthday.’
When her mother was still healthy, it was a little better. She vaguely remembered having birthday parties with her family and receiving gifts.
But after Elizabeth was born, she had never truly spent a happy birthday again.
‘Because Mom and Elizabeth were always sick.’
When she was young, she sometimes complained or sulked because no one celebrated her birthday. But every time that happened, the Marquis treated her harshly.
He scolded her, saying she should set an example as the older sister and that it was unacceptable to complain in front of sick family members.
Because of that, even at a young age, Rapine slowly learned how to give up.
Not expecting anything. Not hoping for anything.
‘And then I met Cedric…’
At first, she was simply satisfied with the idea that she could build a future with him.
After they got engaged, she secretly hoped Cedric would fill the warmth she could not receive from her family.
But after meeting him, Rapine learned once again how to give up.
She also learned that she should not greedily desire something she could never have.
Now she finally realized that letting go of the things she desperately held onto would not make the world collapse.
If she had realized this a little sooner, she might have lived with a much lighter heart.
While Rapine was lost in thought, Bayern answered with a smile.
“It’s your birthday. Of course I should say happy birthday.”
It was a very bright smile.
He tried to pat her head, but then pulled his hand back.
After Rapine got engaged, she had drawn a very clear line with him.
He had rushed here worried that she might be sad because of Cedric, but visiting her this late at night probably wasn’t something she would like either.
To him, she was always someone far away, someone he could only watch from a step back.
But today, the atmosphere felt different.
Bayern gathered his courage and stretched out the hand he had withdrawn.
“Thank you. Really.”
She did not reject him. Instead, she quietly accepted his touch, hugged the gift, and smiled like a child.
Bayern felt this situation was extremely unfamiliar—and strangely wonderful.
He laughed out loud without realizing it.
Rapine, who had been sitting, raised her head and looked at him.
Bayern was startled and quickly pulled his hand away. Fortunately, Rapine didn’t seem to notice that his ears had turned red.
Soon, she spoke.
“I’m going to break off the engagement.”
She had wondered whether she should say it or not. But now she felt she could talk about her situation more comfortably with him.
The reason Rapine had never told Bayern about her problems with Cedric before was because she believed she would marry Cedric someday.
But now that would no longer happen.
So she thought it wouldn’t be a problem to speak honestly with her closest friend.
“….”
Bayern stared at her for a long time, doubting his ears.
“…What?”
“Why are you so surprised? You always told me to break off the engagement.”
Bayern had never liked the fact that Cedric was Rapine’s fiancé.
She deserved someone far better. Seeing her suffer because of Cedric always hurt him.
But despite Cedric’s behavior, Rapine’s heart had never wavered.
Because she liked Cedric that much.
“Th-That’s…”
Of course, every word Bayern said in front of her was sincere.
When he told her to break the engagement, he meant it. But more than anything, he wanted Rapine to be truly happy.
He knew she wasn’t someone who would say such words lightly, so his expression became very cautious.
Love that is never returned slowly eats away at a person’s pride and mind.
To others, it might seem like Rapine suddenly changed. But her heart had been turning away little by little.
After all, a sandcastle collapses in a single moment.
Her birthday had only been the trigger.
Bayern, who had always watched her from behind, understood this better than anyone.
He tried hard to suppress the smile that wanted to appear from the unexpected good news.
Meanwhile, Rapine played with her fingers and spoke again.
“So…”
She knew asking Bayern probably wouldn’t help much, but she still wanted to tell her plan to the only friend who listened to her seriously.
More than anything, there was no one else she could talk to. Her family never listened to her.
“If Father doesn’t allow it, breaking the engagement won’t be easy.”
“That’s true.”
Bayern forced the corners of his mouth down as they tried to rise.
“I looked into it. Even if my father doesn’t allow it, I can break the engagement if His Majesty permits it.”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
At that moment, Bayern wanted to run straight to the office and stamp his seal on the breakup document.
But unlike his feelings, Rapine’s face looked a little dark.
“So I’m thinking about going to see His Majesty.”
To her, this was a very difficult decision.
Was it really acceptable to visit the Emperor just because of her personal engagement problem?
The Emperor was famous for hating to meet people. She thought he would never meet someone like her just for such a matter.
But it was the only way she could think of.
“Someone like me… His Majesty probably wouldn’t meet me, right?”
It was a realistic question.
She knew how difficult it was to have an audience with the Emperor.
“No, that’s impossible.”
Bayern answered immediately, as if he had been waiting for her to ask.
His confident tone made Rapine laugh loudly.
“Thanks for saying that. But I heard even my father has trouble meeting His Majesty.”
“That’s different… No, I’ll help you.”
“You’ll help me meet His Majesty?”
“Yeah, I’ll…”
I’ve told you many times already…
Bayern swallowed the rest of his words.
When he hesitated, Rapine looked at him with genuine curiosity.
Since getting engaged to Cedric, she had tried not to take too much personal interest in him. But she had always wondered about something.
“What exactly do you do every day?”
They had known each other for a long time.
Now he was dressed neatly, but when they first met, he looked completely different.
Rapine still remembered the thin boy wearing dirty, ragged clothes.
Bayern asked back.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re clearly doing better than before. But what do you actually do? It always looks like you’re just playing around.”
Bayern almost laughed at her words.
If his aides heard this conversation, they would faint.
He smiled awkwardly.
He had never once tried to hide his identity from her.
But whenever he said he was the Emperor, she never believed him. Because of that, he probably looked like someone with too much free time.
She had no idea how many schedules he adjusted just to spend time with her.
Still, Bayern didn’t want to lie to her.
So just like before, he answered honestly.
“I told you before.”
“What? Did you? What did you say?”
“Emperor.”
“….”
Silence filled the air.
Rapine looked completely dumbfounded.
It seemed that, once again, Bayern’s sincerity had not reached her at all.
