The door burst open with a loud bang, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.
“Ariel! Where does it hurt?!”
“Shh, she’s resting now.”
Hearing Serhen and Lireania’s conversation, I closed my eyes slightly as I sat propped up on the bed. It was embarrassing.
“What on earth happened for her to collapse?”
I didn’t faint. Technically, I slipped on the overly polished floor and tumbled down the stairs.
When I was young, I was so sickly that I often fainted. Even now, I get dizzy if I stand up too quickly, but it’s not serious enough to call it anemia. Because of past experiences, the servants always said I had fainted, even if I just tripped.
“What did the doctor say? What if Ariel has some deadly illness?”
Their fussiness was clearly influenced by their master.
I love Serhen dearly, but in moments like this, I felt a little embarrassed. What if Lireania ran away after seeing my overly doting brother?
Is it time to open my eyes and stop them?
“Uh…”
“Ariel, two years ago you greeting me from your bed, and now you’re greeting me from it again.”
Everyone turned their heads toward the voice.
“Kasion!”
“Greetings, Your Grace.”
The guest invited to the marquisate arrived.
Duke Kasion Pertelian, with neatly kept black hair, sharp golden eyes, and a muscular build, was the opposite of Serhen. He entered the room, his black cloak fluttering behind him, with his usual stoic expression.
“Kasion!”
My excitement at seeing him made me start to rise from the bed, but then my heart suddenly began to race wildly as if having a seizure.
[That night, the duke’s sword severed twenty years of friendship. The obsession disguised as love blinded his eyes. Guilt? It was thoroughly erased in front of the man who monopolized the one thing he truly desired, along with his conscience and morals. Perhaps it was a consequence of the war. He needed the only woman who could make his cold heart beat again.]
The contents of the book I had read earlier flashed through my mind. The story felt all the more vivid because the characters shared the names of people I knew. And the chilling part was that the story began today.
I closed my eyes tightly for a moment. This must be the maids’ delusion. As absurd as it sounds, the maids were more enamored with the cold and unapproachable Kasion than the kind Serhen. I shouldn’t have read something so pointless.
“Serhen, since Ariel is unwell, I’ll take my leave.”
“No, Kasion!” I had worked so hard preparing since dawn. I couldn’t let him leave just like that.
Kasion narrowed his eyes, and Serhen looked concerned as well.
Ariel, don’t push yourself.” Serhen sat on the edge of the bed and gently pressed my shoulders down.
“But… Kasion has finally returned…”
“I’ve told you many times that there’s no need for a welcoming party. I returned unscathed as you wished, and I’ve confirmed that you’re all the same as before. That’s enough.”
Kasion was just as I remembered him. He still disliked noisy gatherings and kept a cold demeanor around strangers.
“So, you’re really just going to leave?”
“I’ll come back when you’re fully recovered.”
As I pouted, Lireania, who was beside me, held my hand tightly. She patted it as if to reassure me. “It seems Lady Mellin has overexerted herself by taking care of me as well. I’m sorry.”
“No, I always enjoy spending time with you, Lady Soler.” And I meant it. With no sisters and no noble lady friends to confide in, Lireania was like a real sister and friend to me.
I looked at Kasion with a hint of sadness as he prepared to leave. But then…
[Kasion’s gaze, during the conversation, suddenly fixed on something. He stared intently at the neck of a young lady he had never seen before, unaware that it was rude. Her fair, slender neckline caught his eye. His eyes narrowed for a moment, then his brow furrowed. With the same deadly expression he wore on the battlefield, he suddenly reached out. But what he aimed for was not her neck.]
“Did you say you’re Lady Soler?”
Startled by the unexpected contact, Lireania turned around. Serhen also stood up quickly, seeing his friend touch his lover.
“Your Grace?”
“Is this necklace yours?”
What, what is happening? My heart started pounding wildly again.
His actions and words just now… They were exactly as described in the book I had read earlier. Not a single detail was out of place. It was the story of a man who killed his best friend and took his fiancée.
“No. Lady Mellin lent it to me for a while.”
“You’re wearing something that doesn’t suit you at all.”
Kasion unclasped the necklace from Lireania’s neck. As the necklace slid down her fair neckline, Kasion’s golden eyes remained cold as he watched. Serhen quickly caught the falling necklace in his hand.
“Kasion, what’s with the rudeness? Did you leave your manners on the battlefield?”
Even Serhen’s reaction was exactly as it was written in the book.
Was this really the beginning of a tragedy?
My heart felt like it was going to burst. I couldn’t breathe. Something was wrong. Unable to withstand the pressure, I eventually lost consciousness.
* * *
In my previous life, I was the youngest daughter in a typical remarried family living in Korea. I had a stepbrother, ten years older than me. He hated me, not with the playful resentment often seen between siblings, but with genuine malice. To him, I was the child who had stolen his father’s love and the future culprit who would take away his inheritance.
“I wish you would just die.”
He tormented me so much, with so much hatred, that my only solace at the time was reading romance fantasy novels about kind older brothers who doted on their sisters. Because such a brother didn’t exist in my reality.
In the end, my stepbrother got his wish. My parents died suddenly, and he seized the opportunity to throw me out.
“We weren’t really family since your custody was with your biological father.”
He manipulated the paperwork to steal the inheritance and insurance money that should have been mine.
On a day of heavy snowfall, I had no place to go. My only hope was the public authorities. I took a bus to the police station, praying that someone would right the wrongs done to me. But all that awaited me was a miserable accident.
“Ahhh!”
Another horrifying moment of death repeated itself.
“Ariel, are you okay?”
It was now pitch dark. As always, my kind brother was by my side. A real brother who was nothing like that wretched person from my past life, one who truly cared for me.
“Brother, huaaaaa!”
I cried like I did when I was little. Serhen’s gentle embrace enveloped me, absorbing all my tears.
“Ariel, did you have a nightmare?”
How foolish it is to cry like a child when I’m no longer a child. I’m now an adult who should be helping run the marquisate until Lireania and my brother get married.
“It’s okay.”
My tears subsided under Serhen’s soothing touch as he held me tightly, patting my back. His warm, gentle embrace was comforting.
Six years ago, at the age of 17, Serhen lost our parents and became the head of the family. He has always been a reliable guardian. Thanks to him, I grew up blissfully unaware of hardship, becoming the marquis’s precious lady.
“Kasion felt sorry. He thought he scared you by acting so harshly in front of you.”
Ah… right. I remembered his cold, crazed expression as he unclasped the necklace from Lireania’s neck, and my heart tightened painfully.
“Where is Kasion? And what about the pledge ceremony with Lady Soler?”
Serhen smiled gently, his eyes curving softly. I could guess why he wasn’t answering directly. It must have been a disaster, just like in the book.
“Did you fight with Kasion? Was it because of me?”
“No. We didn’t even have the time to fight because you collapsed. Now, let’s eat and take your medicine, okay?”
As always, Serhen didn’t blame me, even though I had ruined such an important moment for him. He handed me a spoonful of clam soup, my favorite, but I just stared at him.
“So, what did Kasion say? Did he think Lady Soler suited Brother well as a partner?” My mouth felt dry, and my heart started racing irregularly again.
I had figured out why the novel I found in the wardrobe felt familiar. It was one of the only escapes I had during the hardest time of my life. The only romance fantasy novel I had chosen that didn’t feature a doting older brother. I picked it up when I just wanted to cry my eyes out. It was a dreadful novel, a grim tale where everyone ended up unhappy.
“He said she suited me well.”
That was different from the novel.
[“Is that the best woman you could choose while I was away?”]
In the novel, Kasion falls in love with Lireania at first sight and furiously opposes the marriage. Serhen, unaware it was a schemer’s trick, was heartbroken by his friend’s advice.
“Are you sure? You’re not lying just to stop me from worrying?”
“It’s true. You can trust me.” Serhen patted my shoulder to reassure me.
But could I really not worry? Was it just a coincidence that the events I remembered from the book and what happened today matched up? My heart began to race with a sense of foreboding again.
“And this…”
He handed me the cross necklace that Lireania had worn. The look in his eyes as he passed it to me wasn’t entirely bright. Was there a reason for that?
“I feel bad for Lady Soler.”
“It’s okay. She was more concerned about you.”
Still… As I lowered my head, feeling down, Serhen gently patted my head.
“Can I… go apologize to Lady Soler tomorrow?”
That wasn’t my only intention. According to the novel, another event was supposed to happen there tomorrow, involving just Kasion and Lireania.
“Sure, you’re a good girl. My dear sister.”
“Will you come with me, Brother?”
Thankfully, Serhen nodded. That should be fine, then.
“Lireania is really okay. She’s not as petty as Kasion.”
“I thought you said you didn’t fight with Kasion.” I tilted my head in confusion as I said it.
Serhen lightly flicked my forehead with his finger. “Oh, right. We shouldn’t fight because of you.”
Serhen’s expression was a bit ambiguous, enough to make me worry if something had happened between them.
Hi, this series will be updated with one chapter every Thursday.
Thank uu. I’ll wait for new chapters😍