I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 21

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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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Episode 21
The moment we arrived in the Capital, we were greeted by Pippin, the old butler of the townhouse.
“I can’t believe how long it’s been. Has it been over a year?”
“It hasn’t even been a month, so stop teasing me, Pippin.”
“Very well, madam.”
He’d even shed crocodile tears at the thought of how far off our next meeting would be, so to reunite this quickly must have been quite the shock.
“Goodness, how could I forget about the coronation ceremony? You would’ve come back up within the month anyway, wouldn’t you?”
“I had no intention of coming back. I was certain my parents would attend the ceremony in my stead. But when the Crown Prince specifically singled me out and ordered me to come… what choice did I have?”
And so it came to pass that I would attend the coronation ceremony as the representative of House Jonas.
‘This is giving me a headache.’
I found myself resenting the Crown Prince who’d orchestrated all of this. Did he really think such scheming would create a rift between me and Ernan?
I questioned whether it was appropriate for someone about to become emperor to resort to such tactics.
In any case, in four days’ time, Crown Prince Bruno von Corvallyu would become emperor of this realm.
And I was obligated to attend that coronation ceremony.
‘How am I supposed to find a partner?’
Such formal gatherings required a partner of the opposite sex—an archaic custom, but a custom nonetheless.
I’d briefly considered bringing Sanna as my partner and causing a stir in society, but I found the thought of drawing attention even more distasteful, so I decided to secure a male partner instead.
‘Anyone but Ernan.’
I’d partnered with Ernan at all such events until now, but that era was well and truly finished.
Before I could solve that problem, however, there was something else that needed addressing.
“What are your thoughts regarding attire? Time is running short. Even if we went to a dressmaker this instant, I’m not certain we could have something ready by the coronation day……”
“Ah, that’s not a concern. I had my measurements taken a week ago and sent them to the dressmaker. By now, the dress I’ll be wearing to the ceremony should be nearly complete.”
“Oh! As expected of you, Fidellia!”
Pippin’s eyes lit up with admiration.
Under his intense gaze, I averted my eyes slightly.
“Shall I have one of the servants fetch it for you?”
“No need. I should try it on anyway…… I’ll bring it tomorrow myself. And I have someone I need to meet while I’m at it.”
“Someone you need to meet, you say……?”
Just then,
“Pippin! Please scold her. Fidellia wasn’t like this before—but ever since she’s taken a liking to that man, she’s completely lost her mind.”
Sanna interjected with a bitter explanation.
Deprived of my conversational partner in an instant, I stood there like a sack of grain while Sanna launched into a lengthy tirade about my irresponsibility and impulsiveness.
“……And that’s why! Rene was taken away by Ernan Cleor. And as his ward, no less!”
Sanna whirled around to glare at me.
“It’s madness, pure madness. What could you possibly trust about him? I opposed it from the very beginning!”
It was true. Ernan had taken Rene.
I wanted to defend Ernan Cleor’s trustworthiness (?), but with no other recourse, I held my tongue.
‘How could I possibly explain that in the original story, he took good care of Rene, raised him, and even adopted him?’
In other words, Ernan was Rene’s guaranteed safe harbor.
A guaranteed safe harbor… yes, that was it.
But there was no way to prove it.
‘I’m going mad.’
Yet it was truly Sanna who was on the verge of madness, watching my conduct knowing nothing of the truth, so I had nothing to say in my own defense.
Ernan’s decision to become Rene’s guardian had come just one day before we left Jonas Territory.
“From now on, I’ll take Rene.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean I’ll become his guardian. The way you first wanted it to be.”
“……!”
It would have been a lie to say I wasn’t shocked.
When I’d first made the suggestion, Ernan had refused, so I’d assumed there would be no reversal.
Ernan Cleor didn’t go back on decisions he’d made.
And yet, to that, he’d replied this way:
“When did I ever say I didn’t want to?”
“……?”
“Think about it carefully. I never gave you an answer then. And you didn’t make a proper proposal either.”
He was right.
I had never actually asked him to take Rene as his ward!
What I had done instead was,
“Are you not interested in sponsoring a child? Adopting someone, perhaps?”
That was all I’d said.
But the meaning that lay beneath was not unlike what I had conveyed, and Ernan clearly understood it all the same.
By handing over the invitation without a word, I took it as Ernan’s roundabout way of declining.
A kind of wordplay, if you could call it that.
The upshot was that Ernan Cleor had taken Rene away to look after her.
And the day after we arrived in the Capital, I planned to meet Rene once while visiting the dressmaker to see the gowns I’d ordered.
No matter how excellent a guardian Ernan might be, I was anxious all the same.
I meant to ask whether living at the Cleor Mansion was agreeable.
‘It’s only been a day, admittedly.’
If the atmosphere of the mansion proved frightening or uncomfortable, I was prepared to remove Rene immediately.
* * *
A day passed. The next morning, and following Sanna and Kiara’s wishes to avoid seeing Ernan, I came alone to Nema 2nd Street. All the renowned dressmakers in the Capital had their ateliers there.
“Welcome, Lady Fidellia.”
“How are my commissions coming along?”
“All three gowns are in the final stages. Once you try them on and we make any necessary adjustments, they’ll be complete.”
At the staff member’s word that she would bring the dresses shortly, I settled onto the sofa with a flutter of anticipation to wait.
I hadn’t the faintest idea what those three gowns looked like.
My order form had specified the following:
—Fashionable enough to be current, yet unremarkable enough to pass unnoticed.
—Three separate designs, just to be safe.
As I waited, the staff member approached to say that earlier customers had created a long queue and my wait might be extended. I told her it was perfectly fine.
‘I was going to have to wait for Ernan anyway.’
That was when it happened.
Ding—
A cheerful bell chimed, and the crisp sound of dress shoes echoed in my ears.
Not women’s shoes. From the blunt tread, men’s dress shoes.
That sound from behind me drew steadily closer.
At last.
“Fidellia.”
“F-Fidellia.”
I turned around to find Ernan and Rene standing there.
Rene came rushing over and plopped down beside me with a soft thud.
Her short legs dangled through the air.
‘…How adorable.’
This child will grow tall eventually, becoming as large as me, won’t she.
In any case, living things were remarkable.
With Rene between us, Ernan and I sat side by side.
Having nothing else to discuss, we each occupied ourselves by browsing catalogs.
And as we did, I recalled a fact I’d forgotten: most people take a remarkable interest in the affairs of others.
“Oh my, that person over there…”
“Isn’t that Ernan Cleor?”
“Come to think of it. How did he end up here? Wouldn’t he go to a tailor for men’s clothes?”
“…Good heavens! That’s Fidellia Jonas!”
“What? Fidellia Jonas and Ernan Cleor came to a dressmaker together?”
“Could it be the rumors about the strain between the two of them were false?”
“Perhaps the story about Ernan Cleor being at Jonas Territory all this time was actually true!”
“Why would that be? He rejected her confessions so thoroughly and was so cruel about it, yet what business could he have in the Jonas lands…?”
“There’s no way to know. But what we can say for certain is: if Cleor hasn’t decided to accept Lady Fidellia’s heart after all, then judging by every action we’ve witnessed, he’s undoubtedly a thoroughgoing sociopath.”
“Another false hope!”
I could hear every word.
At some point, I had covered both of Rene’s ears with my hands.
Rene believed that Ernan and I were simply close ‘friends.’
‘There’s nothing good about a child hearing gossip and scandal…’
Tap-tap.
It was Rene’s small finger that tapped against my hand, breaking my train of thought.
As I glanced down in confusion, the child whispered softly.
“I-I can s-still hear everything…”
“…”
Even with her ears covered?
‘Hmm.’
That’s possible.
Human hearing doesn’t simply switch on and off just because you cover your ears.
‘……This is exhausting.’
Children were surprisingly perceptive, and Kiara and Rene in particular proved themselves the protagonists of their own story with their sharp minds.
Which is to say: I was finished.
The moment I lowered my hand from Rene’s ear, an awkward laugh came back in return.
I lifted my gaze and locked eyes with Ernan. A rapid, silent exchange passed between us.
-What do we do?
-How should I know?
-You’re useless, as always.
-My apologies.
I turned my attention back to Rene.
“…….”
‘Oh, no.’
Unease, confusion, a pair of ashen eyes hovering somewhere between them.
‘I shouldn’t have suggested meeting here.’
It was careless of me.
I took the child’s small hands firmly in mine.
“It’s all right. None of that was true.”
“B-but then…….”
“Rene, just go about things as usual. There’s nothing wrong at all. Ernan and I really are old friends, and we’ve never lied to you.”
“And being on good terms…….”
“That’s not a lie either. If it were, I’d never have sent you to Ernan in the first place.”
Otherwise, why on earth would I entrust Rene to him?
“Ah…….”
Half falsehood, half truth.
And so, my conscience only half-stricken, I was able to meet Rene’s eyes without flinching.
“Yes, I understand.”
At last, Rene’s expression softened with something like relief, and the child nodded. Good.
“Lady Fidellia, I shall escort you to the fitting room.”
A staff member approached at that moment to announce my turn, and gestured toward Ernan as well.
“Is this your partner? Would you both like to observe the fitting process together?”
No.
I’d meant to say no.
The question was directed at Ernan, but my own wishes were equally at stake here.
Especially since Ernan was hardly my partner.
And yet.
“Why not.”
Ernan’s lips curved upward, and he rose from his seat a fraction faster than I did.
‘Damn it all.’

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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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