Chapter 41…………………………………………….
“Why… why are you like this?”
The gentleman who arrived a step late—someone who looked to be the ambassador’s husband—asked.
“Th-that way…”
When he followed the trembling finger pointing ahead, his reaction was much the same as his wife’s.
“My goodness…”
A scene almost identical to this one appears in After Regressing, I’ll Only Walk the Flower Path.
After finding Anna, Riena visits the ambassadorial couple holding a single document. It was a record written long ago by someone who had found a lost child near a southern resort.
That child was undeniably Anna.
However, due to the poor conditions at the orphanage, the information had been mixed up, and Anna had believed all this time that she had been found somewhere entirely different.
Riena had searched through the orphanage storage and brought the record as proof…
‘But the parents’ eyes were faster.’
The moment they met her, they recognized their child.
No matter how many years had passed, even if her hair color had changed.
The ambassador staggered toward us.
“Diana… is it really you?”
Diana was Anna’s real name. As a child, she had only managed to recall part of it through the haze of confused memories.
“I-I…”
Anna looked at me helplessly. She seemed overwhelmed, but instinctively, it looked like she had already recognized her parents.
Just like Riena in the novel, I handed the document to the ambassadorial couple. Terence had helped me obtain it.
As the ambassador read, tears welled in her eyes. She pulled her daughter into a tight embrace, trembling hands frantically stroking her face.
“It’s Diana. It’s really my daughter…”
As though trying to confirm the traces of her childhood features.
“Mom?”
“Diana!”
The gentleman rushed over too, wrapping his arms around them both.
“Where in the world have you been all this time?”
“I should have come to find you sooner…”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for losing you.”
Before long, all three of them were soaked in tears, savoring their reunion.
It was such a heart-wrenching sight that my own eyes stung. When I looked around, even the nearby guards seemed similarly moved.
All except one.
The guard who had been there from the start had gone pale—whiter than a sheet of paper.
‘I’m definitely going to tell them what you did to Anna.’
It wasn’t hard to imagine how the ambassadorial couple—who clearly adored their daughter—would react.
Anyway…
“…To be honest, I don’t remember much from when I was little.”
“It’s alright. It’s alright. Just having you back with us is enough.”
“But why do you look so worn out? Have you been well? Where have you been living?”
No matter how you looked at it, everyone else here was just in the way.
They should have time alone as a family.
When I waved my arms, the guards took the hint and quietly stepped back. They didn’t forget to drag away the dazed colleague as though escorting a prisoner.
Alright, maybe I should take a walk around for a bit.
That was what I thought as I took a step—
“Wait! How can you just leave like that?!”
Anna shouted.
No, I wasn’t planning to leave forever.
I’d only meant to give them some space and come back once they’d calmed down.
But Anna had clearly misunderstood.
“Mom, Dad… that person brought me here. If it weren’t for them, I never would’ve been able to meet you again.”
Strictly speaking, that wasn’t true. Riena would’ve eventually brought her.
The ambassadorial couple looked at me.
“You are the benefactor of our family. There is no way we could ever repay such a debt!”
“And yet you were going to leave without accepting anything… How can someone be so selfless?”
I hadn’t planned on refusing a reward, but their momentum was overwhelming. It felt awkward to deny it—like I’d become some anonymous angel who donates in secret and disappears.
“Well, actually…”
While I hesitated, trying to figure out how to explain properly, the misunderstanding piled up neatly.
“We absolutely cannot let you go like this. Please, do not refuse—allow us to repay you!”
“We will give you anything we can! Just name it!”
…Did misunderstandings always have to be corrected?
Sometimes, it was better to let them be.
“If you insist… then there is one thing I would like to ask.”
All three faces brightened at once.
“My name is Idel Wallis. And in truth, I am currently facing a difficult situation.”
And so, a rather long story began.
* * *
A few days later.
In front of the main gates of the Asteroth Empire’s Central Court, an enormous crowd had gathered.
It was the day of the most talked-about divorce trial in recent memory.
About half the crowd were ordinary citizens, and the other half were reporters.
“They should be arriving soon…”
People craned their necks, staring down the carriage road leading into the city.
Only court officials could use the other entrances, so the people they were waiting for would definitely come this way.
Then someone shouted at the top of their lungs:
“They’re here! It’s Cassius!”
The first thing to appear was the duke’s knights on horseback.
Disciplined and imposing, they escorted two black carriages through the main gate.
The carriages stopped before the courthouse building.
When the two men stepped down from the first carriage, women all around flushed red.
“Look at Lord Leandro’s sorrowful eyes…”
“How can he still look so stunning at a moment like this?”
“And young master Leheim too…”
“But… both of them look like they’re in a terrible mood.”
‘The young duke Cassius wore a dark expression the entire time leading up to the divorce trial.’
Reporters hurriedly scribbled notes, already composing the evening headlines.
Then the second carriage door opened.
Escorted by Duke Cassius himself, Riena Cassius stepped out.
Cheers erupted from all directions.
“It’s Lady Riena!”
“She’s adorable as always!”
“If only I could touch those soft cheeks just once, I could die happy!”
“Miss! Please look this way!”
“Riena! We love you!”
The source of the commotion was Riena’s fan club.
Most of the ordinary citizens gathered at the gate were members.
“Hello.”
When Riena greeted them with a faint smile, the cheers doubled.
“My god… she greeted us!”
“Today is going to be a lucky day.”
Ignoring the chaos, the four members of House Cassius calmly conversed.
Leheim scowled and glared at the duke.
“On the way home, I’m riding in the same carriage as Riena.”
“That’s only if you win rock-paper-scissors.”
“Next time, I’ll win no matter what.”
“A puppy who doesn’t know fear…”
Riena smoothly intervened.
“Alright, Dad, Brother, stop. Since today is such a day… I’ll ride back with Leandro.”
“What?!”
“That’s outrageous!”
“You should be considerate of your heartbroken brother.”
“…Thank you, Riena.”
“That’s unfair, Brother!”
“Don’t exploit your situation cowardly.”
House Cassius always traveled in pairs when going out together.
And among the three men, whoever won their bet earned the privilege of sharing Riena’s carriage.
“It looks like the duke won today.”
“They’re all so cute… fighting like children.”
Warm smiles spread among the fan club members.
But reporters felt differently.
They pushed forward, throwing questions despite being blocked by elite knights.
“Young Duke Cassius! How do you feel right now?!”
“Are you confident you’ll win the trial?”
“Do you have anything you wish to say to your wife?”
“Where is your wife staying currently? Are you truly separated?”
“Rumors say she was abused by her birth family and forced into marriage—is that true?!”
Leandro, walking toward the courthouse, paused.
Riena stopped her brother from snapping.
“Just speak from your heart.”
After meeting his sister’s gaze, Leandro steadied himself and spoke:
“There is only one thing I wish to say. I truly love my wife. I hope the misunderstandings between us will be resolved, and I wish for reconciliation.”
His tragic atmosphere, combined with his striking appearance, made him shine.
The sight of someone normally cold and strong looking weary and vulnerable tugged strangely at the heart.
“Everyone… please pray that my brother does not face the tragedy of divorce.”
With that request, House Cassius resumed walking.
“Ah, wait!”
“Just answer one more!”
The grim-faced Cassius knights blocked the reporters, looking ready to draw their swords.
But there was another obstacle.
“Get lost!”
“Bastards who prey on others’ pain!”
“Stop tormenting our Lord Leandro!”
Enraged fan club members lashed out at the reporters.
Given their reputation for fanaticism, things could easily have turned violent.
The reporters had no choice but to retreat.
Cassius was terrifying even to them, and besides…
One reporter whispered to the others:
“It’s fine. Idel Cassius will arrive soon.”
House Wallis held no power, and only days ago they had publicly stated they did not want Idel’s divorce.
They wished for the two people and two families to return to how things once were.
In other words—
Unlike Leandro, she had no shield to protect her.
Reporters gripped their pens, eagerly imagining what questions they would hurl at her.
It would be perfect if she showed the kind of reaction worthy of a scandal.
‘A cold, merciless wife… something like that.’
That was what all the reporters here wanted.
A villain to tear apart always drew more attention.
And recently, the tides had turned against Idel.
The only regret was that even if she lost, she would return as part of House Cassius—so they couldn’t write anything too excessive.
With that mindset, they waited.
Then—
“A carriage is coming!”
At the shout, reporters rushed forward.
But—
“Huh? Why are there soldiers?”
Armed troops surrounded the approaching carriage on both sides.
The uniforms looked strangely familiar.
“Wait… that carriage…”
Upon closer inspection, the luxurious white carriage bore the crest of the royal family of Leoc.
Why was that here?
