“Episode 24”
Dianna, who belatedly realized why Beta was so late, looked at her with a wry smile. Beta, who seemed ready to spill all the details if Dianna asked, was beaming with anticipation. Therefore, Dianna shifted her gaze away from her.
“Oh, Beta. Could you show me the letters I received?”
“Yes!”
As soon as the request was made, Beta placed a box neatly organized with numerous letters on the table. Among them, the letters from Baron Anzrea stood out with identical envelopes, dozens of them.
Dianna started by opening the most recent letter. She became curious about what could have happened since she hadn’t paid any attention to Baron Anzrea lately. In the past, whenever Ron had an accident, Baron Anzrea had contacted Dianna several times to handle it. However, back then, she had no energy to spare as she was busy recovering from her injuries.
So, she became curious. What kind of trouble had Ron gotten into? Finally, the letter revealed in detail what he had done.
“Really….”
It wasn’t any less severe than before. It had gotten worse. Dianna laughed bitterly as she skimmed through the letters and even found a loan certificate.
“Madam, is something wrong?”
Seeing Dianna looking worried, Beta eventually blurted out her concern.
“Oh… no. It’s nothing.”
“Your complexion doesn’t look good.”
“I’m fine.”
Feeling there was no need to look further, Dianna put down the letters and turned away.
“What should we do with the letters?”
“Let’s burn all the letters from the Baron. I won’t even look at them. And from now on, any letters from Baron Anzrea should be returned.”
“Oh! Yes, I will do that.”
Watching Beta select the letters and leave, Dianna sat quietly at the table, lost in thought.
She didn’t think she could rebel so easily. Her father had always been at the pinnacle of power, a formidable opponent who could crush her at any time. She had always thought she couldn’t even rebel against such a person.
But after experiencing death, Dianna felt like she had been reborn. Just like a dog that had been tied to a leash and believed that the front yard was the whole world, when the leash was finally removed, she felt free. It was as if she had finally broken the chains she had carried since birth.
Was it because she had died so many times? Or was it because she had made up her mind to live? Dianna couldn’t understand the strange feeling and spent the usual time as if nothing had changed. As she looked through the detailed list of items to take to the orphanage she would visit again soon, she realized that the sun was slowly setting.
That night, until an unexpected guest arrived, her daily life was no different from usual.
Dianna chuckled as she realized that her room was so easy to break into from the outside if she left the window open.
“I didn’t expect the Duke’s son to come visit me so late at night.”
It was Rohan. Seeing him for the second time since they met at the lake, he looked quite troubled, as if he had been pondering for days.
“It’s been a while.”
“I wouldn’t say it’s been a while since we met not too long ago.”
Dianna’s face, which had been laughing at the absurdity just a moment ago, stiffened in an instant.
Despite Dianna’s attempt to keep her distance, Rohan didn’t back down at all. Instead, he confidently stepped into the room.
“Are you afraid of me coming?”
“I’m afraid of rumors. I have nothing to lose, but I’ve earned my mother’s resentment anyway.”
“But am I different? I have nothing to lose either. That’s why I came to find my sister-in-law.”
To Dianna, who seemed to only want to hear her own words, he didn’t seem pleasant. It irritated her to see him, with a face so reminiscent of Rixio’s, paying attention to trivial matters. She didn’t like it.
“So what’s your point?”
“Please listen to me, sister-in-law.”
“What story do you want me to listen to?”
“You’re the chosen one for my brother.”
“Is that so?”
Dianna looked at him dryly, as if she didn’t care what he said. Strangely, she really wanted to refuse, but she didn’t call for the servant to remove him. Maybe that’s why Rohan seemed more confident than when he first entered. Dianna didn’t like his demeanor.
“If you didn’t come here to embarrass me, then please leave.”
Dianna tried to speak as politely as possible as Rixio’s sister. But Rohan didn’t seem to want to leave.
“I’m not here to embarrass my sister-in-law, I’m willing to bet everything on it.”
“How can I believe that? And if your intentions are not like that, then you should leave now. Come back during the day….”
Dianna’s voice trailed off. As she suspected on the way back from the lake, if Rohan was the person the god mentioned… Suddenly, she wanted to hear what this man had to say.
At first, she thought that he might not be the one who defies fate, simply because he was her husband’s brother. But maybe, on the contrary, he could be the helper that the god hadn’t revealed the answer to.
“…What do you want to say to me?”
“Maybe if there’s something related to Briana’s god….”
For that reason. It wasn’t because she was interested or wanted to talk to Rohan, who was ambitious and uninteresting. Dianna stopped trying to drive him away and stood in front of Rohan.
“Have you finally decided to listen to me?”
“Yes. I suddenly became curious about why the Duke’s Consort doesn’t leave despite the eviction order.”
Finally, he stepped closer to Dianna. She instinctively stepped back.
“Why are you running away?”
Seeing him up close, with a face so similar to Rixio’s, made Dianna’s mind full of danger.
“It’s easy to suspect just by looking at me, isn’t it, Consort?”
“Who can see us? What’s happening in the room.”
“…?”
As Dianna hardened her expression, he smirked and took a step back.
“I seem to have become a strange person. Don’t worry, Consort. Honestly, you’re the kind of woman I like, but I won’t touch a woman who’s already taken. Besides, I’m here for business.”
Nevertheless, his gaze lingered on Dianna for a long time.
“I don’t understand. Why would I…?”
“Did I come here just to say that?”
Dianna stiffened her face as she continued to hear only empty words from Rohan.
