I’m Done With Unrequited Love - Chapter 68
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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 68
An emergency meeting was called.
“I haven’t heard anything about this marriage.”
Ernan was the first to speak.
And Sarubia answered him with a sneer.
“Soon enough, word will arrive. A Marriage Proposal Letter bearing the Imperial Seal of Corvaliu.”
Twisting her lustrous red hair between her fingers, Sarubia’s expression twisted into a scowl as she spat the words out like she was chewing them.
“See? This is exactly why I wanted Expulsion from Royal Records. In this state, I’ll spend my whole life being used by the esteemed Emperor Bruno and nothing more.”
She exhaled sharply, then collapsed into the sofa cradling a cushion.
Her posture was nearly sprawling.
After her anger, what usually followed was apathy.
Hearing the word “expulsion” brought back memories of the old incident when Ernan and I had been caught up in a Custody Dispute.
“By the way, what became of Diego?”
Since the trial back then, I hadn’t seen Diego separately and had no news of him.
I wondered whether Diego had helped Sarubia file a lawsuit against Emperor Bruno.
But the result was predictable.
“What became of him? He said he couldn’t do it, so I let it go.”
Sarubia shrugged and bit into a Macaron.
Crack.
“Ah, but…”
Suddenly, Sarubia seemed to remember something and sighed softly.
‘But what?’
“No, it’s nothing. There’s nothing certain yet.”
She dodged the rest of her thought and changed the subject, saying she’d tell me later.
“Anyway, what do we do? Bruno’s become Emperor and grown even more hateful. It’s a cardinal rule that power shouldn’t be given to someone with such a depraved character.”
We’d have to dismantle the Imperial Household itself, honestly…
I desperately pretended not to hear the last words Sarubia murmured and steered the conversation in a different direction.
“So what do we do now?”
Sarubia sprang from her seat as if she’d been waiting for the question.
“Since it’s come to this, there’s only one way.”
Seeing Sarubia speak with such resolve, I felt a flutter of unease.
And my premonition proved correct.
“We need to ask the Empress for help.”
“…The Empress?”
“Yes, the Empress. Bruno is utterly helpless before her.”
Sarubia’s eyes gleamed as she informed Ernan.
“So, I need you to watch Xavier for a few days.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
Sarubia’s lips curved into a smooth smile.
“It’ll probably take a few days. They say that even the First Emperor, before the founding, visited an old, worn-down house three times to humbly seek a strategist’s wisdom. I’ll need that much time as well.”
So the First Emperor had made the Triple Visit Request for Wisdom?
‘No, that’s not the point right now.’
“Well then, I’m off to beseech the Empress. I’d been saving this as a last resort because it felt shameless, but I can’t wait any longer.”
“Wait, Sarubia?”
“Yes, Fidellia. I’ll bring good news soon. You’re dismissed.”
And with that, Sarubia swept out of the Reception Room like the wind.
‘What just happened?’
Everything had unfolded so quickly that I could barely gather my thoughts.
Ernan, who had been quietly observing and watching both Sarubia and me this whole time, finally spoke.
“You…”
I turned my gaze toward Ernan, wondering what he was about to say.
When the words finally came, they were startling.
“You’re not jealous?”
“…”
Excuse me?
“…Jealous of what?”
‘What is he talking about?’
Jealous of what?
‘Jealousy?’
It took me a moment to understand that question without a clear object.
“……This marriage?”
“…….”
“Are you not jealous of your marriage to Sarubia?”
I stared at Ernan, feigning bewilderment, unable even to formulate a response.
Yet even as I stood there, a counter-question tumbled from my lips before I could stop it.
“Why would I…….”
“…….”
“Why should I be jealous?”
“…….”
I asked genuinely, but Ernan offered no answer in return.
After a long silence, he finally spoke.
“I was.”
* * *
With those words, Ernan left the room.
I remained alone in the Reception Room, bewildered.
Staring blankly at the table, I found myself biting my lip.
Because I couldn’t understand what he meant.
From the context, it was clear that Ernan was admitting to jealousy.
He’d asked whether I felt jealous about his impending marriage to Sarubia, and I’d said I didn’t—so by elimination, he must have been.
One obvious question arose.
‘Why?’
Why would you feel jealous?
Of what? In what sense?
“Fidellia, where should I put this?”
I snapped back to myself at Siren’s voice beside me.
A full day had passed since then.
I was now in the Research Facility.
“The second shelf over there.”
As I answered, my gaze remained fixed on the one who’d spoken to me.
Perhaps the person who held the answer to my question.
The one Ernan Cleroor had felt jealous of.
‘Siren Marco.’
The more I thought about it, the more only that name came to mind.
My thoughts were in a fog.
Ever since Ernan left yesterday, I’d been like this.
The reason was plainly his ‘that remark’.
‘Confusing, that man.’
Come to think of it, Ernan had always been like this.
The intensity had dulled lately, and I’d forgotten.
Until I abandoned my one-sided love, he’d left room for me to believe he might return my feelings.
‘……Even down to matching lips.’
Looking back now, that was strange too.
So saying, Ernan Cleroor had closed his eyes, resting his face against mine.
When I asked in exasperation, the man had shrugged it off without hesitation.
If he hadn’t granted that unspoken permission out of pity for me, hopelessly pining after him—if that wasn’t the reason—then there was something decidedly suspicious about those words: ‘I’ll pretend not to know.’
‘……No, surely not.’
I’d never seen a hint of love in those deep blue eyes of his.
Anyone would think the same looking into those cold eyes.
“……lia!”
“Hm.”
Jolted by Siren’s loud call, I snapped to attention.
“……Why did you call me?”
“What could you possibly have been thinking……. No, that’s not it.”
And despite calling out so loudly, Siren broached a rather mundane subject.
“When are you planning to have lunch?”
Lunch.
‘Right, food matters.’
I checked the clock and saw noon wasn’t far off, then shook my head.
“I’ll pass. I’m not hungry.”
“But you didn’t eat yesterday either……!”
“I’ve picked up enough snacks to get by.”
With that, I told Siren to go to the Dining Room and eat alone.
But Siren’s resistance was fierce.
“Are snacks a meal? A proper meal is, by definition, a balanced serving with carbohydrates, protein, and fat all mixed together!”
“I see. Go eat alone and come back.”
I continued grinding away in the mortar, ignoring Siren’s tiresome fussing beside me.
“Every time this happens, I find you so frustrating, Lady Fidellia…….”
“The feeling’s mutual.”
Why keep pushing me to eat when I’ve said no?
Eventually, Siren headed alone to the Main Building of the Mansion for lunch.
Left alone in the Research Facility of the Separate Wing, I compounded and boiled and cooled the medicines to the steady ticking of the wall clock.
It was then that Rene, Xavier, and Ernan burst into the Mansion.
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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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