I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 28

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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 28
A counterquestion came flying back at me.
“And what about you? Where have you abandoned your new partner?”
“I went to see His Majesty. Turns out he’s the prince’s Swordsmanship instructor. I had my eye on him thinking he was just an ordinary graduate student.”
Wondering if I’d been completely duped, I called over a servant carrying drinks and accepted a glass of Champagne.
Ernan let out a breath as if he’d heard something absurd.
“That guy?”
“What’s wrong with Siren?”
“He looked to be around the pope’s age.”
“Siren is only two years older than me, so don’t exaggerate.”
“Your taste seems to have shifted to younger men.”
“It’s not quite like that.”
I stared at the bubbles fizzing and popping inside the glass.
…….
It had been a while since I’d been somewhere so crowded, and the exhaustion was beyond words.
Perhaps that was why.
“Why does it feel like you’re being extra sharp with me today?”
But Ernan denied it in an oddly casual tone.
“No way. Why would I?”
“Right. It’s probably just me being tired and imagining it.”
I was letting him off the hook.
‘Something must be troubling him.’
Though it was unrequited on my side, I’d been watching him for three years now.
Even when he seemed no different from usual on the surface, there were moments when Ernan grew unusually sensitive.
‘But I don’t know the reason.’
If I knew that, I’d be divine—not human.
I was lost in such idle thoughts when—
I noticed something and lowered my voice.
‘Garbage in human form.’
“You might have troublesome business coming your way.”
“What do you mean?”
“Count Flora’s household seems very interested in us. Over there.”
A persistent gaze was being directed from somewhere, and when I turned, I found unwelcome faces waiting.
Count Flora and his spouse.
I’d seen their photographs when I first met Rene and conducted an investigation into Count Flora’s House and its members.
They were observing us from a distance on the second level of the reception hall.
Count Flora’s eyes were the same ashen gray as Rene’s, yet the emotion conveyed through them was unmistakably different. They were gray irises formed from the same OCA2 genetic mutation, and yet from the Count’s eyes came only revulsion.
Ernan confirmed the direction of my gaze.
“Indeed.”
The paparazzi had captured Rene in only one photograph taken at a tailor’s shop—and even that was just a rear view with his face hidden.
Yet having lived under the same roof for so long, there were those who could recognize him.
If I had to guess, Count Flora and his spouse suspected it was us.
It was not a good sign.
“Will you take action?”
“Probably.”
“Go easy on them. If something happens to them, it’ll be a problem.”
“I’d like to kill them, if I’m being honest.”
‘If I’m being honest,’ he says.
“Yes, I understand. You won’t kill them in this life.”
Ernan affirmed it.
“They should die by that boy’s hand.”
At those words, I smiled slightly.
“For once, we see eye to eye.”
In the Original Work, it’s Rene himself, grown older by then, who delivers divine retribution upon them.
Likewise, even if the Original Work has gone astray, it must be Rene himself—the wronged party—who exacts revenge upon them.
I hadn’t abandoned that conviction. That’s also why I didn’t retaliate against them by borrowing the power of the Jonas Family.
Then it struck me.
A certain thought crossed my mind.
The reason Rene was able to exact his revenge so smoothly.
‘What if the original Ernan wanted Rene to take his own revenge—just like the Ernan standing here now does?’
In truth, if Ernan set his mind to it, eliminating a single count’s house would be trivial.
Yet Count Flora’s house had endured safely all through Rene’s growth—if that were the case…
‘He let them live.’
Count Flora’s house. For Rene’s sake.
Now I understood.
Just then, Siren approached after finishing his conversation with the Emperor.
“Miss Fidelia.”
I thought I would finally be parting ways with Ernan.
But what came from Siren’s lips was far from welcome news.
“His Majesty wishes to see you.”
* * *
In this ballroom tonight, there were exactly three people I wished to avoid.
Ernan, Count Flora and his wife, and…
Emperor Bruno.
A man obsessed with gossip!
‘What does he want to say to me?’
A development in my relationship with Ernan? His thoughts on whether I’d benefited from him sending Ernan to Jonas Territory?
I approached Emperor Bruno following Siren as though marching into battle.
“I didn’t expect to be summoned. It is an honor to meet you, the new sun of Corvalue.”
“Delighted. Is this the first time we’ve spoken so close together?”
I was about to ask why he’d summoned me when Emperor Bruno beat me to it.
“Ah, the reason I called for you is nothing more than that I have something to ask.”
“…Please ask, Your Majesty.”
Emperor Bruno tilted his head slightly, then lowered his voice discreetly as though sharing a secret.
“How are things between you and Ernan?”
“….”
“I sent Ernan myself to Jonas Territory because you, with your keen mind, surely understood. Well, have you benefited from my gesture?”
I looked at Bruno with an expression of disbelief. How is he not meeting my expectations?
It was a somewhat irreverent attitude to display before the Emperor, but he seemed not to mind.
I opened my mouth to clarify.
“First, I have no relationship whatsoever with Count Ernan.”
“You dare speak falsehoods before the Emperor.”
“…I understand Your Majesty was kind to think of me, but regrettably our hearts did not align.”
“Another lie?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“The way you two carry on, Ernan and you are truly made for each other.”
‘Ah, this is infuriating.’
My chest grew tight with frustration.
Emperor Bruno seemed to have no intention of listening to what I was saying.
Truly unreasonable.
“Truly unreasonable, indeed.”
“….”
Why was he saying what I wanted to say?
I nearly looked Bruno straight in the face in exasperation, but caught myself by dropping my gaze to the floor, preventing a second act of disrespect.
“You said you have no relationship with Count Ernan.”
“That is correct.”
“Then has what you hoped for from Count Ernan disappeared?”
Bruno was asking me whether I’d moved past my unrequited love.
I confirmed it.
“Your words are without error.”
“My goodness.”
The Emperor covered his mouth with one hand.
And continued murmuring,
“That cannot be. It must not be…”
‘What can’t be?’
At that point, I broached the subject I’d been wanting to raise all along.
“Forgive me, but…I also have something to ask.”
“Oh! Yes, what is it?”
“Illegal gossip magazines have been flourishing of late, I hear.”
“….”
“It’s a matter that damages the honor and prestige of the nobility greatly, and one that continues to be raised in parliament, or so I’ve heard.”
Emperor Bruno averted his gaze for the first time.
“……Yes, that’s so.”
“Fortunately, I’ve heard rumors that the administration will move on this soon. When do you believe it will be eradicated, Your Majesty?”
In other words: how long will you keep turning a blind eye?
“…….”
The Emperor fell silent for a moment, then looked at me and smiled slightly. The atmosphere had shifted a little from before.
“You’re curious about my opinion?”
“I am, Your Majesty.”
“But as you yourself said, isn’t the administration already involved? They’ll handle it competently enough on their own.”
In other words: mind your own business and keep quiet.
In truth, the Emperor’s reaction wasn’t unreasonable. By my own judgment, my current behavior was nothing short of overreaching.
‘Daring to speak thus to an Emperor.’
A mere nobleman’s son, without even a title.
Had this been the medieval age, my head would have rolled long ago.
“Ah, but speaking of which, it’s almost harvest time for the autumn grain. Early summer is nearly upon us. I do hope there will be no significant disruption to the Capital’s food supply this year.”
It would be terrible if brigands were encountered during transport.
For reference, eighty-nine percent of the grain that fed Corvalue came entirely from the Grain Basket in the Southern Region. The North had nothing but snow, the West only stone, and the East was nothing but sand—there was no help for it.
And currently, the Jonas Family controlled the largest territory in the South.
Though Feudalism was collapsing and a Centralized Government System was taking root, houses like the Jonas still wielded considerable power in their lands.
Eighty-nine percent of the grain circulating through Corvalue necessarily passed through the hands of the Jonas.
The Jonas Family claims they always provide military escorts to safely transport grain throughout the Empire, but one can never be too certain.
During transport, brigands might ‘coincidentally’ appear and ‘coincidentally’ seize the grain.
In other words, I was saying that if they didn’t crack down on the gossip magazines, there would be nothing in it for them.
“……Ha ha!”
The Emperor burst out laughing.
As the Emperor laughed—ha ha ha—I laughed along with him.
“I understand your concerns perfectly. Your worry for the nation is truly admirable, isn’t it?”
“My apologies. I fear I’ve caused you unnecessary concern.”
“Never mind, never mind. How is it that you’re so exactly like Ernan Cleor in every respect, truly…….”
Bruno trailed off and gave a light nod of his head.
For some reason, he appeared to be in good spirits.
“You needn’t worry. I will devote the nation’s security efforts to ensuring that brigands do not appear.”
“It’s reassuring to hear you say so, Your Majesty.”
The negotiation was a success.

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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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