IYWHM Chapter 83

“Oh, hello.”

Encountering an unexpected person in an unexpected place, Kisa greeted her with a bewildered face.

In contrast, Aria Oshuana responded as warmly as if meeting a close friend.

“Do you happen to have time right now? Since we’ve met by chance, would you like to go somewhere and have a chat?”

Kisa looked at her for a moment before nodding.

“That would be nice, Mrs. Oshuana. As it happens, I also have something I wanted to tell you.”

She mentioned knowing a nearby tea house and led Kisa there.

The destination they arrived at shortly had an elegant exterior and a calm atmosphere.

Looking around, it seemed to be a popular place with quite a few customers, but the tables were spaced far apart with many pillars between them, making it unlikely for anyone to eavesdrop on their conversation.

It appeared to be her consideration for Kisa, who attracted attention wherever she went as the Duke of Hillan’s fiancée.

Perhaps impatient by nature, Aria got straight to the point right after they sat down and placed their orders.

“You said you had something to tell me. What is it?”

Come to think of it, she had shown little interest in customary topics like weather or greetings when they first met at Melissa’s tea party a few months ago.

And as soon as they were alone, she had immediately revealed Daniel’s shameful secret.

Kisa opened her dry lips.

“I wanted to express my gratitude.”

“Gratitude?”

Aria opened her eyes wide, seemingly surprised.

“You told me about Daniel’s—my former fiancé’s—secret back then.”

“Ah, that’s what you mean.”

“Thank you. If it weren’t for you, I might have married that man without knowing anything. And I’m sorry for responding so harshly when I couldn’t believe what you said at the time. I’ve wanted to tell you this if I ever met you again.”

That was Kisa’s sincere sentiment.

There was a time when Aria Oshuana had seemed like an unwelcome visitor who brought misfortune to Kisa’s life.

But that was merely a story from when Kisa lacked peace of mind due to the situation with Daniel.

Looking back after some time had passed, Aria was nothing short of a messenger of good fortune.

Without her, Kisa would have remained completely oblivious to Daniel’s deception and would never have met Seyard or gained the happiness she now possessed.

Even if Kisa hadn’t accidentally met Aria today, she would have sought her out to formally express her gratitude before marrying Seyard and moving to Hillan territory.

“…….”

Aria silently observed Kisa with interest through her cat-like eyes for a while.

Finally, when the tea house server brought the tea they had ordered, she spoke.

“I’m glad I told you after all.”

She savored the aroma of the tea the server had placed before them with leisurely movements.

“What could be more infuriating than watching someone as pure and good as you being deceived by such a character?”

But when Kisa expressed her gratitude once more, Aria shook her head.

“Actually, you shouldn’t be thanking Lady Vansfelt. It wasn’t out of pure goodwill.”

“What?”

“May I make a confession? Oshuana is my maiden name. I married a man named Robin Stampfer. So technically, I’m Mrs. Stampfer.”

“Ah… is that so?”

Nodding awkwardly, a question mark appeared in Kisa’s mind.

Kisa had been introduced to Aria as Aria Oshuana from the first time Melissa introduced her.

This meant that Aria had likely told Melissa her maiden name from the beginning.

Melissa probably believed what Aria, who was a foreigner, told her about herself without question.

Why had Aria hidden her current surname? And why was she suddenly revealing the truth now?

While pondering these questions, Kisa couldn’t help but blink.

‘Wait, Robin Stampfer?’

For some reason, the name of Aria’s husband sounded familiar.

It seemed like she had encountered it several times before. Not recently, but quite some time ago.

The answer came in a flash.

“Could it be that your husband is Daniel’s friend?”

To Kisa’s startled question, Aria sighed faintly and confirmed it was true.

Robin Stampfer. A name that had briefly appeared in letters Daniel sent while studying abroad.

From what she had heard, he was a man Daniel met shortly after going to the neighboring country of Jackeu to study.

He was also a foreign student from the Kingdom of Sorbi, and since he and Daniel got along well, the two quickly became close.

Aria took a sip of her tea before explaining about herself.

“I fell in love with my husband when he was a student, eventually married him, and followed him here. I’ve met your former fiancé a few times as well.”

“…So you’re from Jackeu.”

“Didn’t you guess from my accent?”

“A little.”

But she hadn’t bothered to ask.

Although diplomatic relations had been normalized long ago, the emotional divide between the two countries remained deep after countless wars throughout their long history.

Being from Jackeu didn’t result in mistreatment, but it didn’t exactly invite favorable views either.

“I sometimes use the Oshuana surname because it has less of a foreign feel when I want to hide my marriage. Though no matter how hard I try, there’s only so much I can do about my accent.”

“So you introduced yourself as Aria Oshuana to hide your marriage from me? May I ask why? Was it because you didn’t want to reveal that your husband is Daniel’s friend?”

“That’s right.”

Frankly affirming Kisa’s question, Aria shared her circumstances.

“One day, Robin told me that he had done something terrible to Daniel’s fiancée.”

“To me?”

“Yes, actually, the person who first took your former fiancé to that tea house was my husband.”

Though the exact name wasn’t mentioned, Kisa immediately knew which tea house she meant.

The Willow Tree. The place operated by Hazel Turdy.

“He said he had taken his friend to an interesting gathering, but never expected that friend would develop such an intimate relationship with the host. He tried to stop him, but that person wouldn’t listen and complained about feeling sorry for you.”

“…….”

“So I took action. I thought it would be easier for me to approach you as a woman rather than my husband, who was reluctant to get directly involved for fear of damaging his relationship with Daniel. He’s not a bad person, just a bit timid.”

“So you deliberately became acquainted with Melissa to meet me.”

“Correct. After a little research, I realized that approaching you through Lady Dos would be the easiest way. In fact, we had a chance to talk alone from our very first meeting.”

Aria playfully winked one eye, then continued.

“When I actually met you, you were much more innocent than I had imagined and had such absolute faith in your fiancé that I felt I couldn’t just stand by. Of course, my fundamental motivation was to make up for my husband’s mistake, so I’m not in a position to receive your gratitude.”

Kisa focused her gaze on the teacup in front of her for a moment before speaking.

“No, even so, it doesn’t diminish the significance of the kindness you showed me.”

Life was indeed unpredictable.

Melissa, whom she had considered a lifelong friend, had hidden Daniel’s truth despite knowing it, while Aria, a complete stranger, had stepped forward for Kisa without ever having met her.

Moreover, even after being betrayed by Daniel whom she had loved for so long, hadn’t she fallen in love again after meeting Seyard?

‘Come to think of it, my relationship with Seyard is all thanks to Aria.’

If she hadn’t heard Aria’s story that day and faced the truth, she would never have met Seyard while crying in the library’s reading room.

“Thank you again, Aria.”

Kisa once more conveyed her sincere gratitude to her benefactor.

Afterward, the two women conversed more openly about various topics.

“Anyway, things turned out this way because of my husband’s foolish actions.”

“Come on, it’s not like your husband took him to the gathering expecting Daniel to behave that way.”

“That’s true, but… Looking back now, I never really liked that fellow. Always showing off and looking down on others. Don’t you think?”

“Well, he was a bit like that.”

“A bit?”

“No, quite a lot.”

The two women exchanged glances in silence before breaking into giggles.

Aria was unlike anyone Kisa had ever met before, and the time spent with her was delightful.

Perhaps because they shared a common enemy in Daniel Lowens, they quickly became close.

“I really don’t understand why Robin is friends with him. He doesn’t match my unpretentious husband at all. Thankfully, it seems like he’s been keeping his distance lately. That Daniel person. It seems he’s been distracted by something else recently and often misses their gatherings.”

After thoroughly gossiping about Daniel, Aria’s eyes suddenly lit up as if a good idea had occurred to her.

“Oh, speaking of gatherings. Kisa, would you like to join our group?”

“What?”

“Not that group of pseudo-intellectuals that Daniel and my husband belong to, but a social group I formed with my friends. They’re all good people.”

“Hmm, would it be all right for me to suddenly join?”

“Of course. As long as you have the endorsement of an existing member, everyone welcomes newcomers with an open mind.”

Though somewhat sudden, Kisa nodded at Aria’s insistence.

It couldn’t hurt to experience different kinds of social interactions, could it?

After parting with her, Kisa boarded the carriage sent from the Vansfelt mansion with an excited heart.

‘Aria.’

It seemed she had made a new friend.

****

That evening.

“You?”

Returning home, Aria entered the study looking for her husband.

“Oh, darling. You’re back?”

Her husband, Robin Stampfer, greeted his wife while dusting off the ash on his hands.

“Did you meet the person you were supposed to meet?”

“Yes, she was a good person indeed. Kisa, that is.”

“You must have become quite close to call her by her first name.”

“That’s right. I invited her to my friends’ gathering as I mentioned before. But…….”

She glanced at the ashtray next to her husband. A blackened piece of paper caught her eye.

“It seems another letter from that ‘benefactor’ has arrived. What kind of secret conversations are you having that you need to burn every letter?”