~ Chapter : 67 ~
I touched my feverishly hot forehead and lightly brushed my hair back.
“Give me wine, not tea.”
As if she had anticipated this, Blair pulled out the wine she had prepared in advance.
However, when I barely touched the main dish, she frowned.
“Ren. This is all to your taste… Don’t you have an appetite?”
“A little.”
Sigh. “Why are you acting like this? Avoiding me, not even showing up at the party… Could it be that Count Hayden caught some weakness of yours? Did he threaten to expose your private life if you don’t do your job right?”
“I don’t have any private life that could be a weakness.”
Apparently, the rumors about me and Hayden were widespread.
How should I take advantage of this situation to shake Blair off?
While I was thinking about that, Blair furrowed her brow and rested her chin in her hands.
On her finger was the ring we had matched together.
Ah. Where did I put that? I should find it and give it to Sage.
“Ren. You keep keeping secrets from me.”
“What secrets?”
“You and him… aren’t you really special to each other?”
“I already told you. I hate commoners… But are my rumors only linked to Hayden?”
“Mostly.”
Blair stopped talking and looked up. She seemed to ponder my words for a moment before opening her mouth in disbelief.
“To have a man like that by your side and still care about his background… Are you crazy?”
“Is there anything more important than bloodline to us?”
“He’s a Count now. If you don’t say it first, who would think he’s a commoner?”
“Does it matter? Maybe you’re thinking that because it was the first time you saw him at the farewell festival. Hayden doesn’t usually act like that. Maybe because he’s a commoner, he doesn’t even have servants to dress him up.”
Then just drop it.
I waved my hand indifferently, and Blair let out a small scoff.
“Still, what do you think? I’ve seen a lot of silver hair, but that clean color… Even from afar, it glows. He’s really beautiful.”
“Pretty? He walks around with messy hair. In Kaien Night, he looks like a well-dressed beggar.”
“Can a face look like that?”
Blair’s eyes sharpened as if she couldn’t agree. The innocent curve of her eyes turned fierce, and I got goosebumps on my wrist.
Am I being so negative that it made her stubborn?
As I had expected, she took my wine glass with a meaningful look.
“What are you doing?”
Ignoring my protest, Blair downed the remaining wine in the glass in one gulp.
“Then I’ll borrow it until you’re free.”
“Borrow? Do you think he’s an object? Pour me more wine.”
“You said you’d come to see me in two days, so let’s give him the choice. He might even stay the night at our house, you never know.”
“Wine.”
When I didn’t play along with her joke, she grumbled and handed me a new glass.
Now that I think about it, it was like that in the previous world too. On the day he was first invited home, they immediately became lovers.
Still, even so, I ignored Blair for several years in the past, so there’s no need to worry.
“Hmph. I don’t care what you do.”
A hint of irritation lingered at the end of her words.
Blair held the wine bottle, eyeing me cautiously.
“Why? Does he prefer a fierce woman over a kind one?”
“Who’s fierce?”
I glared at Blair, then slowly relaxed my expression and drank.
Even if I tried to act calm afterward, she had already seen everything.
Blair covered her mouth with both hands.
“So there’s something going on between you two.”
“Then what? Are you going to give up on him?”
“No, we’re not even dating yet, are we?”
I figured she’d act as she pleased.
When I wrinkled my nose in displeasure at the taste of alcohol, Blair laughed teasingly.
“Stopping me won’t end anything. Don’t tell me you think I’m the only one who sent him an invitation?”
“Not exactly.”
I thought I could just stop Blair, but apparently not.
As soon as I thought that, Hayden at the farewell festival flashed in my mind.
He had always been famous, and the bad blood between him and me was long-standing gossip among nobles.
He, who usually didn’t attend parties, showed up at the royal palace with me in that manner…
“I really stood out back then.”
I muttered without realizing it, and Blair widened her eyes as if surprised I didn’t know.
“Of course. Don’t you know that these days, many nobles dye their hair red or silver for parties?”
“I didn’t know.”
“There must have been more escort applications than usual too.”
“I never checked individually since there were always many.”
Still, I felt pleased that I had become a trend. Attention from nobles meant good profit.
When I tried to suppress a smile, Blair snickered.
She used a long skewer to pick up a small fruit—the same pale pink as her lips.
“They say the debutantes this year focused their invitations on one young noble.”
“Hmm.”
The coming-of-age ceremony was the biggest event for nobles turning adults that year.
‘Hayden’s popularity will take a few more years to truly rise. Was my presence with him a big factor?’
But this year, Hayden would quietly hold a party at his mansion.
It’s one of the few holidays commoners can enjoy, so he would let the servants have fun while working himself.
Now that I have the chance, I want to help him build useful connections.
“Ren. Are you really going to leave him unmanaged? You do care, don’t you?”
“Manage?”
Before answering, I recalled Blair from the past.
More specifically, the number of women she had chased away while following Hayden for all those years until she became possessive. There’s no way to count them all.
I shivered slightly in disgust.
“How can I manage him? Hayden will handle himself.”
Besides, most of the women who got involved with Hayden despite him having a partner were due to Blair.
Since childhood, Blair enjoyed relationships with two or three people, and even while dating Hayden, she didn’t clear out the surrounding women. She inadvertently gave women aiming for Hayden an opening.
Blair, who had no idea what I was thinking, narrowed her eyes.
“Hmph. I thought you had changed, but some parts are still the same. How am I supposed to deal with your changes?”
“Don’t. Accept them.”
Blair doesn’t need to accept my change. I have no intention of getting more entangled with her.
When I rejected her, Blair’s expression grew fierce.
“Then I’ll join you two. It looks fun.”
“I’m too tired for that.”
“Give in. I fell in love with him at first sight.”
“Liar.”
I’ve seen her face when she was into Hayden enough times to know it well.
Even if she were sincere, I had no intention of conceding.
I gave her a cold glance, and she stopped pretending, clicking her tongue.
“…You’ve really changed. You’re acting like you don’t know me.”
“Right. My personality has changed a bit. So if you’re trying to provoke me to get my attention, you should stop whatever it is.”
I swallowed a sigh as I looked at a cactus in the sunlight.
I wanted to leave things alone, no matter what happened.
But I was scared.
“And try not to get involved with us if possible.”
Blair’s face darkened with disappointment at my repeated warnings.
From her point of view, it must have felt strange that someone who had been by her side for nearly 20 years suddenly changed.
“You and I are still us, right?”
“We were, back then.”
Just because Blair in this world isn’t exactly the same as the one who killed me doesn’t erase her crimes.
To me, her face, voice, and every gesture remain a nightmare.
“Now, just eat. We came for a meal.”
When I picked up my utensils and began eating seriously, the tension in Blair’s face eased slightly.
“It’s cold. Should I make it again?”
“Just the main dish. Bring hot tea too.”
“Not drinking more? Got somewhere to go?”
“Kaien Night.”
Blair tilted her head, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Ren, you’ve changed too much. Isn’t it about time you die?”
“Ah, damn it. You’re ruining my appetite. You’re really annoying today.”
“You’ve been like that for a while now.”
When I glared, Blair glared back without yielding.
When I truly finished eating and got up, Blair let out a small resigned sigh.
In her hand, she carried the cactus I had given her as a gift.
“Ren. We’re family, right?”
I shook my head slightly instead of answering.
Tears shimmered in Blair’s anxious eyes.
I felt sorry for her, but I cannot have someone who betrayed me by my side.
