Idel, who was about to approach Gianna under Diane’s urging gaze, suddenly hesitated.
‘No.’
Upon careful consideration, she realized that catching Gianna now and clearing up the misunderstanding would be a bad move.
Hadn’t she just been worrying about how to keep some distance from Gianna?
‘Gianna kept coming back like a resilient doll, making it hard to push her away.’
Maybe it was better to leave things as they were. If she let Gianna go now, she would probably go back and cry, but…
‘But at least she’ll be safe.’
If she kept getting involved with her, she’d only become a target for Melisa, who was obsessed with love. The curse was still in play, and she had to keep balancing on this tightrope, which meant she’d have to endure harsh words as well.
‘Yeah, this is better for me too. I need to eliminate as many variables as possible.’
Distancing herself now was beneficial for both her and Gianna.
“I-I’m really going…! If I go now, I’ll never forgive you!”
Although Gianna’s glances back at her tugged at her heartstrings, Idel closed her eyes tightly, focusing on her goal.
Clenching her fists, she opened her eyes again with a determined expression and responded to Gianna’s words.
“Fine! Go! You’ll never forgive me? Who asked you to? I don’t want to be with someone who calls me a stupid, dumb jellyfish either!”
“I-Idel! That’s not what I meant!”
“Isn’t it? Just go! I only need Sigmund with me anyway. Hmph!”
Gianna’s eyes widened in shock at Idel’s words, and she froze in place.
They had never fought so seriously before, and no one had ever spoken to her as directly as Idel just had.
As Idel deliberately clung to Sigmund, Gianna’s eyes filled with tears once again.
“Idel, you… you…!”
“You’re the stupid, dumb jellyfish!”
“I really hate you!”
Gianna shouted angrily at Idel and then finally turned away and started running.
“No, stop! Miss Gianna!”
“…What on earth is going on here?”
“Mr. Ivan, Gianna, no, Miss Idel, please, I, um, quickly…!”
Just as Ivan and Vivian appeared, Diane, with her face pale, stammered in confusion.
After a few seconds, Diane gave up trying to explain, hastily greeting them, and then chased after Gianna.
Gianna was running much faster than she expected.
“Hmph! Go ahead! Don’t come back!”
“Hey!”
As Idel started acting childishly on top of suddenly pretending to be close, Sigmund jumped up from his seat.
He frowned and pulled her closer, growling in a low voice.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Are you crazy? Why are you suddenly acting like a baby?”
“It’s fine now. Gianna’s gone.”
“What?”
Sigmund, as if he had just heard the most absurd thing, asked again, but Idel chose to pull away from him instead of answering.
“Ha, seriously…”
“Um, so, what exactly happened here?”
Ivan, sensing that the situation had somewhat settled down, spoke again.
“Did you have a fight with Miss Gianna?”
“Fight? She just left.”
Idel snorted, crossing her arms as she looked at Ivan.
“So, why are you here? Aren’t you busy?”
“Oh, the wedding has been handled well. We anticipated some disturbances from the start. The Countess and I came to greet you, Miss Idel, but…”
He trailed off at the end of his sentence, gazing intently at Idel through his glasses before cautiously speaking again.
“Miss Idel, I may be overstepping, but may I add a word?”
“What?”
“From my limited experience… there seems to be no such thing as ‘too late.’ Especially when it comes to people.”
Her blue eyes seemed to be saying, “What nonsense are you talking about?” Her stubbornly furrowed brows provided the evidence.
‘But I’m sure she understands what I mean.’
Contrary to the rumors, she was a wise child. So, Ivan hoped that Idel wouldn’t suffer alone, unable to be honest with herself. Even now, she was occasionally glancing in the direction where Gianna had disappeared.
‘She doesn’t seem to realize it herself.’
While he was thinking this, Idel let out a short sigh and spoke with a haughty tone.
“I don’t really get what you’re saying, but anyway, we’ve exchanged greetings, right? So, I’m leaving now. It’s getting boring.”
At that, Vivian interjected.
“Leaving on your own, without a maid? That won’t do. Sir Roman, go prepare a carriage. Young Miss, surely you can accept this much?”
“…Thank you for your kindness, Countess.”
“You made a wise choice. I heard you met Ivan by chance at the academy; I hope we’ll have a similar connection one day.”
“I don’t want that.”
Ivan couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Idel’s sharp response.
“What is it?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it. Yes. We’ll go see you when our situation becomes a bit more stable.”
“I said I don’t want to see you.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Oh, right.”
Vivian, standing beside Ivan, added, as if she had just remembered something.
“Though we held the ceremony to resolve the commotion around Farell’s pregnancy, Ivan and I are planning to have a proper wedding, albeit a small one. We’d really love for you to be there, Young Miss. And you too, Sigmund.”
“…Me?”
Sigmund, who was suddenly addressed, raised his eyebrows and pointed to himself with his finger.
“Why me…?”
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have known that Farell wasn’t really pregnant, and we would have had to deal with him as a consort. That would have been a huge burden on the Count of Bright family.”
“But it wasn’t me who handled it; it was my master.”
“I’m not an expert in magic, but it’s always exciting to see someone as talented as you. Don’t hesitate to contact the Count’s household if you ever need anything.”
Watching the two smile so warmly, Idel shook her head. It was clear that the couple had no intention of listening to her.
“Let them be. Let’s just go. Your master is probably waiting, and I’m tired too.”
“…Alright.”
Sigmund agreed, his expression showing that he didn’t want to think about it any further. As the two began to follow Roman out, Ivan’s voice called out to her once again.
“Miss Idel.”
Oh, what now?
Idel turned her head sharply towards Ivan, narrowing her eyes. Just as she was about to say something cutting, a warm hand gently patted her shoulder.
“I’m not strong enough to do much for you, but I promise you this: no matter how chaotic things get outside, as a journalist, I won’t ignore what I see, and I’ll stay true to my beliefs.”
His green eyes, visible through his glasses, were filled with sincerity.
After a moment of silence, Idel shrugged off the hand on her shoulder and spoke with a slight twitch of her lips.
“Really, who would have thought you were a journalist? I have no idea what you’ve been going on about since earlier. Do whatever you want. It’s none of my business.”
With her chin held high, she made a dismissive sound and turned to walk away.
Despite her seemingly innocent appearance, Idel’s heart was racing.
‘…I did it, right?’
From his promise not to ignore what he saw, it seemed he wouldn’t abandon her harshly if problems arose.
‘Of course it’s best to leave before things get as bad as in the original story, but the more safety measures, the better.’
A satisfied smile appeared on Idel’s lips.
‘There were various needs that couldn’t be avoided, but honestly, I was worried that I was being too proactive from the start…’
Seeing that neither Ivan nor the Countess had raised any further issues, it seemed things had been resolved appropriately.
‘Though, considering my role wasn’t that significant.’
Others did most of the work. Her involvement was only superficially due to Gianna’s urging.
Idel enjoyed the sense of accomplishment she hadn’t felt in a while as she boarded the carriage. The only task remaining was to figure out the symbol with the suspicious Vilred.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Meanwhile, Ivan, who had been watching Idel board the carriage from a distance, slowly turned to look at Vivian.
Unlike the pleasant smile he had shown Idel, a somewhat wistful expression lingered on his lips.
“The words, ‘Call me anytime if you need help,’… I couldn’t say them until the end.”
“Why?”
“I thought Miss Idel wouldn’t contact me even if the time came.”
“Yes, that’s how it seemed.”
“It’s also true that I’m powerless.”
Even he, a journalist for Shellami, couldn’t easily intervene in the problems surrounding Idel.
After all, Idel was a person from the ‘Clementine Dukedom’.
Even though he was directly involved in the current situation, he and Idel had no direct connection.
Recalling the realistic situation, he took a deep breath and spoke again.
“So, the remaining task is my own effort. I need to strengthen myself so that I’m not lacking in supporting you or Miss Idel. Vivian, will you stay by my side?”
Vivian, smiling softly, nodded at Ivan’s words.
“My answer is always the same, Ivan. I trust you. But don’t think you’ll do it alone. You’re not the only one who has received help from Miss Idel.”
The two smiled at each other as he gently kissed the back of her hand.
It was a sight quite different from the ‘moderate affection’ Idel had envisioned.
