Episode 3
A few days after she requested to break off the engagement with Icanuel.
While having breakfast in the dining room, Isabella spotted a headline on the front page of the daily newspaper related to herself.
<Will the Baron’s daughter, who has nothing to boast of, and the Raseles Archduke, who leads the empire, finally tie the knot after years of engagement?>
“What a joke.”
At the same time, her delicate brows furrowed tightly, and a cry of rage mixed with frustration burst from her lips.
“Who said I’m marrying Icanuel!! Me? Why on earth?!”
Crumpling the newspaper in her hand, she waved it wildly in the air.
If anyone had seen her, they might have scolded her for such impolite behavior during breakfast, but she was the only person in this vast mansion.
Ever since the engagement with Icanuel, her parents had gone down to the barony and had been too busy managing the territory to come back up to the estate for the past few years, and her younger brother was living in the academy dormitory.
“My lady. Please calm down.”
Selly, the faithful maid of the Ledia barony who silently stood by the furious lady, even gently fanned Isabella.
“Selly, do I look like I can calm down right now? I have no intention of getting married, so why is there an article like this!!”
“Well, that’s because you dropped a bomb at a café full of onlookers a few days ago, didn’t you?”
While pouring cold water into Isabella’s empty glass, Selly answered calmly.
On the other hand, Isabella, frustrated by the completely false report, pounded her chest with her fist.
“I made the breakup public on purpose, so why is the article talking about marriage……! Why the hell!”
As if grabbing Icanuel by the collar, who wasn’t even here, she wildly shook the crumpled newspaper in the air.
Isabella continued to vent her frustration.
“Seriously. I said I wanted to break off the engagement?! I said it first. Why is the breakup part completely missing?!”
Wouldn’t Icanuel be the one who’d be pleased to hear about breaking off the engagement?
Isabella was nearly in tears from the series of events that made no sense to her.
Come to think of it, Icanuel’s reaction when she demanded the breakup had been unsettling.
Just as she was about to finish speaking her mind and leave, he said more firmly than ever,
―I will never break off the engagement.
Unbelievable.
Then why the hell is he trying to continue this engagement now?
Remembering Icanuel’s words made her blood boil.
Soon, a bright red flush spread across Isabella’s fair skin.
“Oh dear…… My lady’s face is going to explode.”
“Selly. Are you mocking me right now?”
“Of course not!”
In Selly’s hand was a linen handkerchief soaked in cold water before anyone noticed.
She gently placed it against Isabella’s flushed cheek to cool her down.
After a moment, a question popped up.
“Why did the young duke of Raseles say he had no intention of breaking off the engagement, my lady? After all that time making you suffer.”
“I’d like to know that too. Why the sudden change of heart now.”
While pondering the reason behind Icanuel’s change of attitude with Isabella, Selly seemed to come up with a good idea and confidently raised her index finger.
Like pretending to be a detective, she exclaimed in a rather serious tone,
“What if the young duke has secretly liked you all along? But he’s too shy and just couldn’t express his feelings.”
Isabella, listening attentively to Selly’s theory, soon wore a face full of disappointment.
“Come on. Like he’d ever be like that.”
“Still. You’ve been together for ten whole years. And you used to have a crush on the young duke of Raseles too, my lady.”
“That’s all in the past now.”
Isabella threw the detestable newspaper into the corner.
Then she picked up her fork to resume the meal she had stopped, grabbing a bite-sized piece of sausage.
She topped it with the mashed potatoes and gravy served alongside it.
As the savory juice from the sausage burst in her mouth, the wave of anger that had surged up seemed to subside a little.
“Hoo…….”
For years, she had eaten only greens every meal to maintain a perfect figure, and now, having something rich from the morning made the whole world look beautiful.
Like a squirrel storing food, Isabella stuffed her cheek until it puffed out and chewed for a long time.
Suddenly, the dazzlingly blue morning sky outside the window filled her view.
“Why on earth did I go through hell for ten years just for that dumb engagement.”
The article could be corrected later, and the engagement with Icanuel would be undone once the breakup was made official.
She had woken up early for once and was starting the day in a good mood—she wasn’t going to let a misreport ruin it.
Isabella’s hazel eyes gleamed more resolutely than ever.
She clenched her fist tightly like a knight preparing for battle.
‘Did they think I’d just sit here and take it?’
Now I have Haeyoon, who is the cutest and coolest in the whole world—no, the universe!
Even if dirt gets in my eyes, I’ll break off this engagement and leave for South Korea.
If you asked how she ended up seeing Haeyoon, the idol from South Korea, the answer would go back to three months ago—on the day before Isabella’s twentieth birthday, the day she officially came of age.
***
She was reading a short letter that came with a bouquet of flowers delivered early in the morning. Her face gradually darkened as she read through its contents, joy fading quickly.
“So he’s not coming this year either…”
The letter from her fiancé ended with the line, I’ll greet you next time.
No matter how many times she read it, no magical event occurred to extend the sentences or change their meaning.
“Hah… You expected this, so why are you disappointed, Isabella.”
She scolded herself, her eyes growing red.
She had somewhat expected that her fiancé, whom she loved one-sidedly, wouldn’t attend her birthday party.
After all, Icanuel was the Young Duke of Icanuel.
As the next duke who would lead the empire alongside the Crown Prince, no one knew better than his own fiancée how busy his days were.
“He could at least spend my birthday with me…”
Even though she had been worn down by people’s criticism and her fiancé’s indifference, she had clung tightly to her feelings.
But now those feelings had become a heavy shackle that bound her whole being.
She had grown tired of always watching her surroundings, living quietly so as not to be criticized as the Raseles family’s fiancée.
Isabella always replied to Icanuel’s brief letters.
Perhaps that’s why she stood up without thinking, intending to send a reply again.
What kind of reply could she possibly write to a letter saying he wouldn’t attend her party?
Letting out a self-mocking laugh, Isabella slumped back into her seat.
She began to wonder if any of it had ever really mattered.
Would it be easier if I just gave up on the engagement and this one-sided love?
Like ashes left after a blazing fire.
Now that even the last remnants of her one-sided love had completely burned out, everything she had clung to—barely keeping herself together—crumbled like a sandcastle washed away by waves.
Perhaps, all this time, she had simply been turning away from a harsh reality.
Isabella had clung to this foolish, hopeless love for ten years—because she had truly loved Icanuel that much.
Overwhelmed by her feelings, Isabella left the house and wandered the streets aimlessly.
The cool breeze brushing against her body finally made her feel like she could breathe again.
She walked slowly to the central lake park near the plaza and settled by the lakeside, where the surrounding scenery was reflected.
Sitting on a bench, she stared blankly into space, deep in thought.
How could life feel this dull?
“Are you thinking, ‘Am I really going to live like this and die an ordinary death?’ You there!”
“…What?”
Suddenly, a man wearing a deeply drawn hoodie shouted, as if reading her innermost thoughts.
In that instant, a gust of wind blew back his hood slightly.
Even in the shadow, his transparent silver eyes sparkled like those of a mystical fairy.
The man didn’t care that his face was visible—he simply spoke his mind.
“Would you perhaps like to cross into another dimension?”
“Another dimension?”
When Isabella asked again, the man lifted the corners of his mouth, as if he had been waiting for the question.
“Exactly as I said—a completely different world you’ve never experienced before.”
A chance to start a new life in a new dimension!
With smooth, flowing words, the man pulled a small, pitch-black box from his coat.
It was too small to be called a box, and it was made of metal—a strange object she had never seen before.
Apparently, it was a smartphone used in another world called South Korea.
The man forced the item into Isabella’s hands.
And in the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.
“What the heck… was that guy?”
Was he even human to begin with?
Isabella pinched her cheek hard, wondering if she had been possessed by a ghost or something.
Normally, she would’ve left such a ridiculous item behind and gone straight back to the mansion.
But for some reason, curiosity bubbled up inside her that day.
Once back at the mansion, Isabella went straight to her room and began inspecting the smartphone in her hand.
She pressed the various buttons on the sides, and eventually, the pitch-black screen lit up.
On the colorful display, unfamiliar letters in bright white font appeared and disappeared over and over.
“What on earth is this?”
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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