I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 23

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

Episode 23
Siren Marco.
He introduced himself as my passionate fan.
‘A fan?’
I wasn’t an opera singer or stage actress.
It had puzzled me for years—why someone like Fidellia Jonas, who chased after men constantly, would attract fans.
Siren answered my unspoken question by launching into an enthusiastic explanation of who he was.
“Who is Fidellia Jonas, you ask?”
That would be me.
“An authority in biology!”
Siren gazed at me with passionate eyes. It was almost overwhelming.
But thanks to him, I found myself recalling something I’d managed to forget.
‘Right.’
That’s what they called me in scientific circles.
I’d been so withdrawn in my territory, avoiding public appearances, that I’d completely buried that fact.
Even so, I couldn’t make sense of it.
No matter how remarkable my contributions to science might be….
‘My personal life is rather… complicated.’
Let me use an idol from my past life as an example.
My favorite idol was perfect at their job.
Could sing beautifully, danced excellently, had a pretty face, perfect proportions—flawless, really.
But then this idol spent three years chasing after another celebrity.
Despite all the headlines splashed across every gossip column.
They’d just say “Celebrities have private lives too!” and go about their business without a care in the world.
‘Right.’
I’d lived a similar life.
Of course, I wasn’t a public figure like a singer or actress, so what I lost wasn’t the disappointment of fans.
What I was losing was….
Credibility in ‘Fidellia Jonas’ as a person.
Take Marie Curie, for instance—when scandal erupted, she faced fierce condemnation and was denied admission to the Nobel Committee’s awards ceremony.
I hadn’t said it aloud, but there were plenty of figures in the scientific world who looked upon me with disfavor.
One of the snippets I’d overheard while passing by was,
“How could such an idiot have made those remarkable discoveries?”
Suspicion, suspicion, suspicion. And more suspicion.
Even the Academy director, who pretended not to welcome my return—he was the same.
The label ‘oddball’ that had stuck to me since my Academy days remained in full effect.
‘So that’s why it seems strange.’
“Could I trouble you for an autograph?”
I still couldn’t fathom why I had fans at all.
Watching Siren’s barely concealed excitement, I started to get a sense of it.
This man was probably quite the oddball himself.
“Let’s get to the point. Did you come to ask me to give a lecture at the university?”
I was currently sitting across from Siren at a nearby café.
I’d sent Ernan and Rene back the moment Siren planted his forehead on the ground.

In other words, he was a character from the original story.
I hadn’t recognized him immediately since he’d appeared only in passing.
“Yes! That’s exactly right. It’s been my lifelong dream to receive instruction from you, and by some miracle, I happened to run into you at just that moment and gathered the courage to speak to you. Ah, I really am a fortunate man. How could such a thing… such a coincidence….”
Siren was so overwhelmed with emotion that he fell silent for a moment.
He seemed like a sensitive person.
Siren took a sip of coffee and drew a deep breath.
“As I mentioned when introducing myself, I’m a graduate student currently working toward my master’s degree at Romen University.”
Oh, dear.
Whenever someone mentions being a graduate student, I can’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.
Perhaps because I’d been through that phase myself?
I swallowed the sigh threatening to escape and turned my attention back to his words.
“I’m not sure if I should say this, but… my professor speaks badly about you practically every day.”
Hmm?
“I was hoping you might come give a special lecture at our university and utterly humiliate him with your capabilities!”
Wait, hold on.
“……Could it be that’s your real purpose?”
Not wanting to hear my lecture, but revenge against your advisor—the one who keeps bungling things?
Siren jumped, denying it vehemently.
“No! That’s not it! It’s…….”
“It’s?”
“Just… as a side benefit…….”
Ah.
The next moment, as if wounded by some injustice, Siren’s face flushed red and the words came pouring out in rapid succession.
“I mean, surely Fidellia’s discoveries aren’t just one or two, are they? But if you deny them…… what are you telling me to do? First you said it was hard to trust Fidellia’s claims, and now you’re saying Fidellia might not have discovered it after all—is that what you’re saying? I can’t listen with a sound mind! It’s absolutely infuriating!”
So frustrated was Siren that he’d begun tearing at his silver hair with both hands.
The man who looked so composed certainly had dramatic impulses.
“…….”
Hmm.
‘What should I do.’
Honestly, whether I gave a lecture at the university or not made no difference to me.
No benefit, no harm.
‘Then perhaps…….’
The decision came swiftly.
“If you’re so doubtful of my identity, then I, well, I truly despise nepotism and favoritism, but I do have a connection with Diego—the one with whom marriage discussions have been exchanged with me…….”
“I understand.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s no great matter. One lecture won’t shorten anyone’s life. I’ll contact the president and we’ll set a date soon enough.”
“Ah…….”
Siren, who had been staring at me with a vacant expression, soon broke into a broad grin.
“Really?!”
I watched quietly as Siren pressed both hands to his mouth, overjoyed.
Indeed, he had fine features.
‘It’s rare to find someone who’s beautiful when they smile.’
He must be quite popular.
His slightly scattered personality was perhaps a flaw, if anything.
‘Though that too can be packaged as charm.’
Suddenly, I struck upon a good idea.
“Listen, Siren.”
“Yes!”
“Then as compensation, could I ask you to do one thing for me?”
“Huh?”
Siren’s blue eyes wavered.
Did he perhaps expect simple goodwill from me?
If so, regrettably, I am relentless with adults.
But soon enough,
“Of course! I’ll do anything you ask!”
Siren accepted readily.
“Then…….”
I gazed into Siren’s blue eyes—eyes that somehow reminded me of Ernan—and wetted my lips.
“Be my partner at the Coronation Ceremony.”
“…….”
Now it was Siren’s turn to look utterly vacant.
“……Pardon?”
“…….”
“Wait, sorry, did I mishear you, or…… I mean…….”
His expression cycled through a remarkably varied display in that brief span.
“You heard correctly. Decide here and now. If you refuse, I’ll have to find someone else.”
“…….”
For a moment, Siren froze entirely.
Then he asked something unexpected.
“Then what about Diego…… would Diego be unsuitable?”
Diego?
‘Now that I think of it.’
Diego Leonar.
It seemed Siren had mentioned him earlier as well.
<I really hate this blood ties and social connections business, but Diego—who was once in marriage discussions with Fidellia—and I have some familiarity…>
In the original story, that had been Siren’s role too.
Childhood friend of Diego, Fidellia’s husband.
But now that the original had gone awry, hearing that name from Siren’s lips was quite surprising.
‘Haven’t we become complete strangers now?’
There was no connection to Diego anymore, no reason to see him again.
At my words, Siren fell into thought, muttering softly.
“Then you and Diego are completely…?”
A moment of silence passed, and Siren nodded.
“…I shall be. Fidellia’s partner.”
There was something resolute in his tone.
‘It seems he’s made some great decision.’
That was something I could never know.
That meeting ended there.
* * *
The next day, two days before the Coronation Ceremony.
The servants at the Jonas Residence rolled up their sleeves for my skin care regimen.
When I asked whether proper makeup on the day itself wouldn’t suffice, their answer was this.
<For someone who’s attended many banquets, you’re still quite ignorant of grooming!>
<Makeup, you see! It requires preparation two days in advance!>
<Skincare is part of makeup!>
Though I found it difficult to understand, I decided to go along with their rhythm.
It wasn’t hard to simply surrender my face to them.
It was while I lay quietly on the bed with a mask applied that it happened.
Knock-knock.
Someone knocked on my door.
When an attendant beside me opened it, in hurried Pippin, looking flustered.
“Miss!”
Whether from running, Pippin was breathing heavily, and something was clutched in her hand.
“In the gossip magazine!”
Yes, that was indeed a gossip magazine.
“The magazine’s running your marriage news as the headline story!”
“……”
What?

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