I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 13

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 13
Rene faltered, searching for words, while I rinsed the soap from my hands without fuss.
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. I was just curious, that’s all. Don’t feel pressured.”
……
“But if you’re afraid I might get angry or dislike you for it, there’s no need to worry about that.”
I held no prejudices, struck no one in anger, and didn’t hate people on a whim.
……
Rene, her wide gray eyes fixed on me, gathered her pink hair as it bloomed in the tub like a flower. She used it to veil her face, lowering her head.
I reached for a lotion bottle on a shelf some distance away.
After a moment, Rene spoke.
“I… I got lost in the forest, and then I saw the mansion, so…”
……
“I… I’m from House Flora, but I’m not a young lady.”
……
“I’m… I’m an illegitimate child, so I ran away…”
After a brief silence, I opened my mouth.
“Is that so?”
……
“You were afraid to tell me that.”
I see.
I glanced at Rene.
“It doesn’t matter. People can be born into circumstances like that.”
I’d already retrieved the lotion, but I pretended to search for something else instead.
“You didn’t choose to be an illegitimate child, and you didn’t choose to be born. Don’t carry guilt for it.”
“But still…”
Rene couldn’t finish her thought, closing her mouth. She seemed to want to protest, but the words wouldn’t come.
And I could infer, to some degree, what Rene couldn’t quite articulate.
—Then what was the treatment I’ve endured all this time?
—If that’s not a sin, why have I had to live so harshly?
And if Rene were to ask me like that,
I would have no answer.
Because violence has no reason.
So I felt cowardly relief that Rene didn’t ask me that way.
Looking at Rene’s glistening eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say it was simply her bad luck.
* * *
After washing Rene clean, I hastily brought Kiara’s clothes and dressed her.
“They suit you well.”
“I’ve… I’ve never worn anything like this before…”
That was likely true.
‘Thank goodness there was no one in the laundry room.’
I’d grabbed them in a hurry, and fortunately the size fit perfectly.
I could roughly guess why Rene hadn’t gone toward Cleor Territory but came here instead.
As it turned out, Flora Territory was a small domain tucked right beside Jonath Territory.
‘If Rene had gone through Jonath Territory heading for Cleor Territory…’
Mapping out the Corvalley Empire in my head, the distance between the southern part where Jonath Territory lay and Cleor Territory was roughly two thousand miles.
That’s twelve hours by airplane.
Logically, it was nearly impossible for a child to traverse such a distance on her own.
Then how could Rene have possibly made it to Cleor Territory at the western edge?
‘If House Jonath had helped her, it would’ve been possible.’
If Rene, who’d fled to Jonath Mansion, had been given a generous sum of money and booked a train ticket, there was no reason the child couldn’t have gotten there.
‘Wait.’
Then that meant…
The reason Fidellia had been favorable toward Rene in the original story…
‘Ah.’
Now everything clicked into place.
‘They must have met before.’
Fidellia was certainly not a good caregiver. She’d given Kiara no attention, left her neglected.
Yet that didn’t necessarily mean she was an utter villain.
Even Fidellia in the original story must have had feelings, must have known how to care for someone.
‘She could have shown kindness, shown obvious affection.’
And it could have been Rene instead.
Not Kiara, the adopted daughter.
……
I tried hard not to frown as I watched Rene’s reflection in the mirror.
‘This isn’t even a misery competition.’
The three protagonists weren’t ready to film a romance. What they needed was therapy first.
I’d have to look into how the psychology field operates when I had time.
“When you wake up, I might not be here. Don’t be startled—eat the snacks I’ve left on the desk, drink some water, and read the Fairy Tale Book. I’ll be back soon.”
Since Rene wanted to sleep a little more, I prepared to visit Sanna for a moment.
What I did next would depend entirely on Sanna’s current mood.
At the mention of being left alone, the child gripped my hand with anxious eyes. A silent plea not to go.
I was moved by how quickly she’d opened her heart, a stark contrast to her trembling just moments before.
We came to an agreement: I would stay by Rene’s side until she fell asleep.
Rene deliberated stubbornly but finally relented when I insisted it was necessary.
Several minutes passed like that.
……
Sitting beside her and watching, I soon heard Rene’s steady breathing. She must have been exhausted.
Even though Jonath Mansion and Flora Mansion were in neighboring territories, the distance between them was hardly negligible.
In this state, she wouldn’t wake for quite some time.
‘So now……’
I glanced out the window, barely visible beyond the half-drawn curtain.
Time had passed without notice, and the sky had grown dim with twilight.
Let me go meet Sanna, who’d unexpectedly inherited a cat.
But to my surprise, Sanna wasn’t angry.
<Fidellia Jonath!>
I’d expected her to shout like that and come running, as she always did.
The reason was that Sanna had taken a liking to the cat.
<Where on earth have you been? I checked the Annex and you weren’t there.>
The only thing I heard from her upon arrival was that single question.
Caught off guard by this unexpected reaction, I launched into my prepared excuse.
An unforeseen situation had come up, it took time to resolve, it’s related to my current research, what research you ask? I can’t tell you that……
Sanna accepted it readily.
<With no one in the mansion, having a single cat around is rather nice.>
A silver lining, if there ever was one.
The final hurdle—the Jonath Marquess and his wife—had been resolved by asking Kiara about it obliquely.
<What did the House Head and the lady say? Did you go ask for permission?>
<Yeah. But they didn’t exactly say I could……>
<……Didn’t say you could?>
<They told me to do as I please.>
<Oh.>
Then of course it would work out.
And so the stray cat became a resident of Jonath Mansion, welcomed by all.
I planned to contact the Academy director soon to get a list of veterinarians.
With things turning out this way, a certain thought naturally arose.
‘Could I bring Rene out as well?’
Before Kiara and Sanna.
I’d kept Rene hidden because of the uncertainty—not knowing what would happen when I met Kiara earlier than expected.
At the time, I’d been the only adult present.
I didn’t have the confidence to handle the villain’s and protagonist’s first meeting—childhood edition—alone……
I’d thought Sanna might resent me because of the cat, but perhaps that wasn’t the case. With his help, couldn’t I arrange a smooth meeting between Kiara and Rene? That’s what I was thinking.
I couldn’t keep Rene hidden forever, after all.
But.
‘……Still, the guilt gnaws at me.’
No matter how I looked at it, I felt like I was dumping three children on Sanna.
Naturally, I didn’t spend all day in the laboratory.
I carved out time to play the role of Kiara’s guardian, and following the Confucian values etched into my soul from my past life in Korea, I fulfilled my filial duty by taking tea with the Jonath couple.
In other words, I had no intention of acting like a patriarchal husband who foists all childcare onto his wife and simply does his own work outside.
If I needed to spend more time at home as the number of children increased by two, I had more than enough willingness to do so.
‘But is that really enough?’
It didn’t seem like Kiara was particularly shy, but even back when she was in the Capital, she hadn’t preferred to be around the servants. She could play well when encouraged to, but the child seemed oddly drained somehow.
That was precisely the problem.
‘I think I need to bring another person into the household.’
Someone Kiara could grow attached to, someone to help Sanna care for the children, an emotional anchor.
I sat in the chair beside the bed, watching Rene.
I had come to Rene’s room after confirming that Sanna and Kiara were asleep.
Rene had fallen into a deep sleep.
I exhaled slowly, propping my chin on my hand with my elbows resting on my knees. Eyes narrowed, I gazed quietly at Rene’s sleeping face, as if measuring something.
……
That pink hair the original Kiara had envied.
“My hair is pretty? ……Ha ha! That’s right, you wouldn’t know. I couldn’t be adopted, couldn’t run away—all because of this hair.”
That Kiara, who had sneered those words with a smile, went back to the mansion and shattered every mirror she could find.
But the shattered fragments only reflected more images of the red-haired girl.
‘Had Fidellia scolded her over it?’
I loosened my hair, which I normally wore in a bun, and let it fall long across one shoulder.
I gathered a few strands in my hand and held them up to the moonlight pouring through the window.
Then I scowled and let them slip from my fingers.
‘……How irritating.’
In the yellow moonlight, my honey-colored hair looked nearly golden—not unlike Ernan’s.
The memory of myself turning my head at the sight of any gentleman with similar golden hair came back to me.
Myself back then, dragging all manner of scandal behind me, yet burning with the conviction that love would solve everything—a woman without a shred of pride.
“Don’t you dislike women who confess so easily?”
What was love, anyway?
“……I liked you…….”
A faint murmur escaped through my teeth as I stared blankly at the floor.
I liked you.
What was that, Ernan?
How did I chase after you with such certainty that my heart’s desire was love?
‘……Stop it.’
I buried my face in both hands and rubbed my eyes dry.
‘Just get through the night.’
The child was anxious enough as it was, and I felt uneasy leaving her alone, so I’d planned to spend the night here.
I’d told Sanna and Kiara I was doing overnight research in the laboratory.
As I drifted in and out of sleep, dawn broke outside the window without my noticing.
In that moment, I made a decision.
I would introduce Rene after breakfast.
Hiding Rene was only a temporary measure, not a real solution.
I’d already felt the need for education, and this seemed like a good time to hire a tutor.
I’d broach the subject over breakfast and arrange the first meeting afterward.
For now, that was the best I could do.
I went to the small kitchen to prepare oatmeal, then fetched Kiara’s clothes from the laundry room.
The laundry room had diligent servants working at dawn, so I had to ask them directly, but I managed to obtain what I needed.
That done, I fed Rene, washed her, and dressed her.
Next, I put the Fairy Tale Book in Rene’s hands, and after pretending to have just returned from the laboratory, I moved to the dining room with Sanna and Kiara, who had just woken.
Up to that point, everything was perfect.
It was no different from yesterday.
But.
After breakfast ended, a servant who came by brought certain news.
“Miss. A distinguished guest has arrived.”
News that felt like déjà vu.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————