Chapter 44
Even after Elome left, I sat there dazed for a while.
Her words lingered like scattered fragments, refusing to settle.
Her apology, her regret that she couldn’t help but would support me from afar, even that uncomfortable look in her eyes.
But one thing stuck with me the most, shaking me to my core.
“My lady, there’s no such thing as an unchangeable fate.”
Why did she come all the way here just to say that?
I was still staring blankly out the window, unable to sort through my thoughts, when—
Knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door again.
Could it be Elome coming back?
“Yes, come in.”
The door creaked open, and a woman in a deep robe stepped inside.
Who’s that?
She was wiping tears from her face with a handkerchief the size of her head.
It wasn’t Elome, at least.
“Um, who—”
“Ribe!”
Oh my goodness, it was none other than Leonie.
Whether she started crying as soon as she grabbed the doorknob or had been sobbing the whole way down the hallway, her face was completely streaked with tears.
“Ribe… oh, Ribe… What do we do…”
Honestly, Leonie looked like more of a mess than I did.
She staggered toward me, looking like she might collapse at any moment. I instinctively got out of bed.
“Leonie, are you okay?”
“You shouldn’t get up! Stay in bed, quickly.”
“I’m fine. Honestly, you’re the one who looks like you need to lie down.”
At my words, Leonie lowered her hood and gave a faint smile.
“And what’s with this getup? I didn’t even recognize you at first.”
“I cried so much after hearing you’d woken up that Louisa made me wear this. Said I looked pitiful.”
“Oh dear.”
I gently embraced her.
“It’s okay. I’m really fine.”
“Fine? Your face is half gone!”
“Half?”
I touched my face with both hands, and Leonie gasped in shock.
“Oh no… Ribe, your wrists!”
“Oh, these.”
Everyone seemed shocked when they saw them, but honestly, they didn’t hurt as badly as they looked.
Of course, being tied up in that storage room with my hands behind my back had been tough.
Just imagining things like “what if my nose itches?” or “what if something gets in my eye?” had been torture.
Now, bruised wrists like these are nothing.
On the fated 13th day, all that matters is whether I disappear or not.
“Those monsters… How could they do this to a person?!”
Leonie clenched her fists and trembled with rage.
Thinking back, I had grown quite close to her after repeating my regression 19 times.
Of course, I don’t have as many memories with her as she does with me, and for all I know, our relationship only developed in a few of those lives.
Still, I really liked Leonie.
“It’s okay. I’m fine now.”
“What did His Grace the Grand Duke say? He won’t let the ones who did this get away with it, will he?”
“Leonie, did you hear who it was?”
“Yes, there was a huge uproar. They said it was Lady Fayley Easley, right?”
I nodded, and Leonie looked utterly stunned.
“I suspected it, but… she’s truly terrifying. How could someone do something so horrific?”
Leonie shook her tiny fists in the air. It was so cute and funny that I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What? You’re laughing?”
“You’re just too cute.”
“Cute?”
“Yeah. Too cute.”
Laughing and chatting with Leonie made me feel a lot better.
Yeah, maybe I should stop worrying about what’s next and just enjoy the now.
But unlike me, Leonie’s dark expression didn’t ease at all.
I could tell instinctively that her gloom wasn’t just about me.
“Leonie, is something wrong?”
“What’s wrong is you! Look at what happened to you!”
“No, not about me. Tell me about you.”
Maybe because I’d met her so many times through my regressions, I knew her little habits and expressions well.
And right now, Leonie was definitely upset.
“Ribe, actually…”
She fidgeted with her fingers but couldn’t quite bring herself to speak.
“It’s okay. Whatever it is, just say it.”
“Lord Watford… He just won’t let me get close. It’s so hard.”
She finally managed a smile, but tears started rolling down again.
“I’m sorry. I’m being ridiculous, crying in front of someone who’s hurt.”
I quickly handed her a handkerchief, and she wiped her tears with a sniffle.
“I’m sorry, Ribe. I really shouldn’t be doing this here.”
“No, don’t say that.”
But I didn’t know what to say to comfort her either.
So I decided to ask what had happened.
“What happened, exactly?”
Leonie nodded several times and let out a long sigh.
“I prepared a holy relic to give to Lord Watford. I wasn’t expecting anything in return. Just giving it to him would’ve made me happy.”
I quietly held her trembling, cold hand.
“I finally managed to get a ring engraved with Saint Obenley’s seal.”
At that point, I started to feel uneasy.
“I offered it to him with a blessing, but he said it was too precious and couldn’t accept it.”
“What?”
“He just flat-out refused.”
Despite her sniffles, she kept talking.
“I mean, I know… It really was a rare relic. They say it was crafted over nearly a hundred years of prayer.”
“That’s extremely valuable.”
“That’s why I gave it to him. I wanted to show how I felt.”
“…”
“But he rejected it so firmly. I even pleaded, saying it’s just a gift exchanged on this special day, but he still wouldn’t accept it. He wasn’t just rejecting the relic—he was rejecting my feelings, Ribe. What am I supposed to do?”
Then she buried her face in my bed and sobbed loudly.
I gently stroked her head and back.
Ugh, seriously. When someone expresses their feelings and gives a gift, you just accept it, no matter what!
I didn’t expect that from him. That’s just mean.
And then I remembered all the gifts Jerlach had sent me—and how I’d hesitated and even treated them like trash.
Ugh… Who am I to judge?
“Leonie, that must’ve been so upsetting. I see… So that’s what happened.”
“Ribe, it felt like my heart got crushed. I was so sad and down that I didn’t sleep at all last night. I was worried about you, too, of course.”
“No wonder. Lord Watford really doesn’t understand your sweet heart.”
“What do I do? I don’t think I can be with anyone but him. The colder he is to me, the more I fall for him.”
“…”
“What should I do?”
Yeah… What should you do?
The original story had already veered off course, and instead of returning to normal, everyone’s fates were tangled.
I knew now—it was no longer possible to unravel it. Trying would be pointless.
Then, a thought flashed in my mind.
Clem’s bookstore.
I had been planning to go check there, but I got kidnapped before I could.
Inside that book must be the ending to my fate—and maybe even a clue about Leonie’s love story.
I have to find out how it ends.
There’s not much time left.
But if I say I want to go to Clem’s bookstore now, they’ll never let me go. What should I do?
“Leonie.”
She looked up, her eyes still wet with tears.
Seeing her sorrowful face only strengthened my resolve.
If the answer is in that book, then I need to see it now.
“Listen closely to what I’m about to say.”
