I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 2

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 2
The plot of the original work was straightforward and riddled with clichés.
Keywords? Sweet romance, healing, family regret—that sort of thing.
The male and female leads, each burdened by their own trauma, meet at the Imperial Palace debutante ball and find themselves drawn to one another.
Eventually, after all the back-and-forth, the two confirm their feelings for each other.
But true to form, there exists someone who interferes with their relationship……
That someone is Kiara.
Kiara harbors an inferiority complex toward the female lead.
The most obvious sign is their hair color. The female lead has cotton-candy pink hair, while Kiara herself has a harsh crimson red.
And right before my eyes was precisely that crimson hair.
What are the odds of such a coincidence?
I found myself staring blankly at the small figure huddled beneath a bench. Then I snapped back to attention.
‘No, don’t jump to conclusions.’
It’s true that Kiara has striking golden eyes paired with red hair.
But having those characteristics doesn’t make someone a hundred percent certain to be Kiara.
I approached the bench cautiously. From two meters away, I could see the child trembling in the cold, dressed in thin fabric.
Her frame was gaunt from hunger. She didn’t look more than ten years old.
“Um, excuse me……young lady?”
She flinched.
The crimson-haired child, whose head had been pressed to the ground, snapped her gaze up at me. Her wide-open eyes brimmed with wariness.
I found myself at a loss.
‘This is my first time dealing with a child.’
Every younger person I’d ever encountered—across both my previous life and this one—had been a university student majoring in biology. More than half of them were older than me, at that.
Knowing I needed to meet her at eye level, I awkwardly bent my knees and crouched down in front of her. With my hands on my knees and my mouth searching for words, I became acutely aware of how profoundly uncomfortable this entire posture was.
“I’d like to talk with you. Would you tell me your name?”
“……My name?”
“You resemble someone I know, so I’m curious.”
Only after the words left my mouth did I realize how much they sounded like something a kidnapper would say. A handful of people on the sparse platform glanced in my direction.
The child fell silent, studying me carefully with those naturally sharp eyes.
Despite her plain attire, the child’s appearance was endearing.
Lustrous crimson hair cascading down her back, eyes that held the sun itself—they harmonized beautifully. Her clothes were tattered and her pale skin was scraped, yet that uniquely arched gaze still commanded attention.
If this child really was Kiara, then this must be what a protagonist in a novel would look like.
After what appeared to be some internal calculation, the child fixed me with an unblinking stare.
“What will you give me if I tell you?”
Good heavens.
She already understood that nothing in the world is free.
Having heard such sentiments from Ernan countless times, I barely noticed her casual speech.
Well, it doesn’t matter. After all, I habitually use formal language constantly anyway.
I paused for a moment, wondering what I could offer the child. Fortunately, I did have something suitable to barter for her name.
I wrestled with the decision internally, but it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.
“Do you have a place to stay right now?”
The child shook her head.
I expected as much.
“Then I’ll sponsor you. I can become your guardian, if you’d like. In exchange for your name, I’ll offer you shelter and warm food.”
“Shelter” meant the townhouse I owned in the Capital.
That’s right.
I decided to abandon today’s plan of traveling to the Jonas Domain.
I couldn’t leave this child to shiver on the cold pavement.
Whether she was Kiara or not.
Of course, that didn’t mean I intended to renege on what I’d promised Ernan—that I would go to the Domain and never return.
‘A delay of a few days won’t hurt.’
That decision had been made the moment I spoke to the child.
“We won’t need to take a train where we’re going. My home is in Zuelga, which isn’t far from here.”
At that, the child’s brow furrowed.
“Zuelga is where only nobles live. Why would a noble make such an offer to me?”
Was this child really under ten years old?
Her shrewdness was almost like watching one of the Empire’s own diplomats.
I was aware that my proposal was a bit excessive. Either way, it was awkward. I fumbled for a reason I hadn’t prepared beforehand.
“As I said, the main reason is that you resemble someone I know…… but more than that, I first noticed a young child alone like this, and it caught my attention.”
She seemed to have been living on the streets for a long time, and that moved me to pity.
Above all else…
“I thought your rose-colored hair was beautiful.”
“…….”
“Did that answer your question?”
The child didn’t respond.
Instead, she let her gaze drift to the ground, as though it had always been that way.
Even I had to admit it was a flimsy excuse.
“There are plenty of children who catch a nobleman’s eye and receive patronage. I simply happened to notice you, and I wanted to help.”
I had more than enough means to take responsibility for one poor child who’d caught my attention. The journey to Jonas Domain wasn’t so urgent that it couldn’t wait a little.
‘As long as I don’t run into Ernan.’
That was the real concern—if I could simply avoid meeting Ernan in the Capital.
I’d made grand promises about leaving the Capital, but a slight delay wouldn’t hurt. Surely Ernan wouldn’t demand I go at once.
‘Though he’d probably mock me for it.’
The child, hugging her knees, fidgeted nervously with the hand I held.
Whether to follow a stranger or not—that had to be weighing on her mind.
If someone appeared out of nowhere and offered to feed and shelter you without even asking your name, I’d hesitate too.
But I, in all my bittersweet certainty—
or perhaps fortunately—
“Kiara.”
I knew.
“My name is Kiara.”
I knew that she wouldn’t pull her hand away from mine.
* * *
I canceled the train ticket.
I sent word to my secretary, who’d gone ahead to the Domain, saying I’d be delayed. I could easily picture him exploding in fury, crumpling the letter in his fists—but he was far enough away that there was little he could do about it.
As Kiara held my hand and we made our way to the townhouse, she radiated skepticism at every step.
It was the first time I’d seen it, and I had to admit—a small child wrapped in a Winter Cape, pouting with suspicion, was rather endearing. All that careful deliberation when I’d chosen it had been worthwhile.
“Where are we going?”
“To my townhouse in Zuelga, as I mentioned.”
“……You have a house?”
“Technically, it belongs to my family. We’re quite well-off, so I can give you whatever you need.”
To prove my point, while we waited for the carriage, I swept up an armful of desserts from the confectioner’s stall.
“After we arrive and have dinner, you can have these as dessert. Does that sound good?”
“What if I eat them now……?”
“You can’t.”
“…….​”
And that was how we’d ended up here, having ridden in the carriage to my townhouse in the Capital.
‘Eating something heavy on an empty stomach isn’t good for you.’
I led Kiara through the front entrance of the townhouse.
After waiting in the first-floor hall for only a moment, the butler came rushing out, breathless. The elderly butler with his distinguished white beard was gasping for air, making no attempt to hide his bewilderment.
“Miss Fidellia. I was certain you’d gone down to the Domain—why have you returned?”
“Well, while I was about to board the train, I met someone who seemed worth sponsoring. So I’ve decided to stay a bit longer.”
“Sponsor……?”
The butler naturally glanced at Kiara beside me.
His uncertain expression suddenly shifted, as though he’d remembered something important.
“Ah! Surely this is the person you’ve been searching for……!”
“Hush!”
I quickly cut him off.
Looking down, I saw that Kiara was completely absorbed in the grandeur of the townhouse.
Good—it seemed she hadn’t heard.
“This isn’t the person Pippin mentioned, so let’s not bring that up again.”
The elderly butler Pippin’s face fell with disappointment.
His expression seemed to say: but this really does seem to be her.
And truly, where else would you find rose-red hair as vivid as crushed petals, or those golden eyes that seemed to glow like a halo?
During my time in the Capital, I’d pestered both Pippin and my secretary relentlessly in my search, so they knew every detail of Kiara’s appearance.
“It’s cold outside. Come in, Kiara.”
“…….”
Pippin’s face had now settled into pure disbelief.
His expression plainly said: but the name is the same too.
I ignored him.
* * *
It was a story from some time ago.
As always, I attended the banquet where Ernan would be present, and I spent the time beside him.
Ernan retreated onto the Terrace to escape the tiresome crowd, and I followed him there.
He leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed, looking exhausted, and simply left me to my own devices.
Whether he’d finally given up, or was too weary to bother driving me away, I couldn’t tell.
When I once asked if I wasn’t a bother, he said he’d send me away if that’s what I wanted. I said nothing after that.
Yet I knew he found some small pleasure in the frivolous jests we exchanged.
“Ernan.”
“……”
“May I speak?”
“Why?”
Ernan, who had been resting his chin on his elbow against the armrest of his chair, turned his gaze toward me. In the darkness seeping in from the Banquet Hall’s lights, his eyes shone like the depths of a deep-blue sea.
It was moments like these that I fell in love with him all over again.
“Children, I mean. Do you like them?”
The reason I raised this question so abruptly was because of the Female Lead of this world.
I often found myself thinking ahead to how the Original Work would unfold in the distant future. What tormented me was the predetermined fate of Ernan that would follow.
His role in the story was simple.
A noble man who once rescued and cared for the Female Lead when she was a child.
But a tragic figure destined to die young.
I knew that all of this would happen, but I didn’t know when.
Before that time came, I would have to end this love.

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