The Reason Why She Wanted To Leave

“…”

Viscount Moldovan asked, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. His words were both true and false. How should I explain this? I gave a faint smile and shook my head.

“It’s not that. I just don’t have the capacity for anything else right now.”

“Capacity?” he asked, puzzled.

“Yes. There’s something very important I need to focus all my energy on.”

Finding the Tieria flower. That was the most important thing to me right now. Everything else could wait until after I found the flower. Letting go of my feelings for Ains, meeting someone new—all of that could come later. And it certainly wouldn’t be with Viscount Moldovan, judging by how indifferent I felt towards him.

Viscount Moldovan sighed, unable to hide his disappointment, but then he smiled. “I understand. It’s a shame, but I won’t pester you to reconsider my feelings.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No, it’s nothing. But how about this? We can still exchange letters and meet up occasionally to get some fresh air. You know, like friends.”

His suggestion sounded almost like he was asking to date, so I was about to refuse when he added, “Just as friends.”

“Friends?” I echoed.

“Yes, friends. That should be alright, shouldn’t it?”

“Ah…”

I hadn’t expected that. After a moment of hesitation, I chuckled and nodded. “Alright. Friends it is.”

“Great. Then as friends, why don’t we call each other by our first names? If you don’t mind, that is.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then call me Cadia. And I’ll call you Cecilia. How’s that?”

“Sure, Cadia.”

I felt a bit awkward about this unexpected friendship and looked at him with a sheepish smile. Cadia returned my smile with his characteristic warm grin. Despite the rushed nature of today’s meeting, it seemed like attending the ball wasn’t such a bad decision after all.

“Well, isn’t this a sight.”

If it weren’t for the man who appeared before us, I might have ended the day feeling excited about my new friend.

“Duke Graham?”

Cadia’s face hardened as he identified the newcomer. I turned to see who it was. Ains stood there, accompanied by his aide, Jackson. The headquarters of the Graham Trading Company was located in this alley, and it seemed we had wandered here by chance.

Ains looked back and forth between Cadia and me, his expression incredulous as he stared at Cadia. “Viscount Moldovan, did my warning fall on deaf ears?”

Ains’s voice was sharp, likely because he believed Cadia was after my money. Although I had decided to be friends with Cadia, I still didn’t fully trust him. However, the current situation was far from what Ains thought.

“Duke Graham, it’s not like that. I asked to meet Cadia today to apologize for what happened at the ball,” I explained, hoping to clear up the misunderstanding. Cadia was innocent, at least for now. Whatever he might do in the future, at this moment, he had done nothing wrong.

Ains’ gaze turned icy as he looked at me. “You met him to apologize?”

He let out a bitter laugh, and I spoke up again to affirm my words. “Yes, I asked to meet him to apologize for your rudeness. It was something you should have done.”

Ains fell silent, looking between Cadia and me. “Who did what?” he asked, as if he couldn’t believe or didn’t want to believe what I was saying.

It was an unusual reaction. I sighed softly, realizing I had to explain why I was in this situation. “I wanted to apologize for your harsh words to Cadia. It was something you should have done.”

Ains’s gaze fixed on me, his eyes sharp. Normally, I would have backed down under his intense stare, but not this time. I met his gaze head-on, and he frowned.

“I did it because I was worried about you, Cecilia.”

“I understand, and I appreciate your concern. But your approach was wrong. Besides, I asked you repeatedly not to interfere in my life.”

Ains remained silent, continuing to stare at me. Once I started standing my ground, his gaze no longer felt intimidating. I had always feared he might hurt me again, but now there was no need to worry about that. I was moving on from my feelings for him.

While my emotions towards Ains were settling, his recent behavior left me confused. Was he really worried about me? That didn’t make sense.

If the man standing before me was truly Ains Graham, the same Ains Graham I had known for the past ten years, there was no way he would be worried about me. To him, I was a person of no significance. In fact, he had always seemed eager to be rid of me. And now, suddenly, after our divorce, he claimed to be worried about me? What a joke.

“I can handle my own affairs. Even if something happens that you’re worried about, it’s my responsibility to deal with it.”

Despite my words, Ains remained unmoved. It was clear he wasn’t going to change his mind.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. You seem busy, so take care of your business.”

I grabbed Cadia’s arm and began to lead him away. “Let’s go, Cadia.”

“Yes…”

Staying here any longer wouldn’t accomplish anything. But just as we were about to leave, Ains grabbed my arm as I walked past him. I had no choice but to stop, his grip too strong for me to shake off.

“Duke?”

When I called out to him, he turned to look at me.

“Why did we get divorced?”

His question was fundamental, yet it struck me as absurd. Why did we get divorced? Among the two of us, Ains was the one who had wanted the divorce the most. I hadn’t wanted to divorce him, but in the end, I couldn’t overcome his stubbornness and agreed to it.

He didn’t know I was ill, nor did he know I needed mana stones to treat my condition. The final straw was when I asked him for 300,000 gold to buy the Tieria flower at auction, and he refused. But all of that stemmed from his indifference. I couldn’t bear his indifference any longer, so I decided to divorce him.

And now, here he was, asking why we got divorced. It was laughable.

“Why are you asking me that? You were the one who wanted the divorce more than anyone else. I just gave you what you wanted.”

If he had shown even a little interest in me, if he had asked why I needed the money, things might have been different.

“So, after the divorce, do you want to ruin yourself right in front of me?”

“What?”

“Or are you staging some kind of protest, hoping I’ll watch you self-destruct?”

“What are you talking about?”

Ains glared fiercely at Cadia. “Otherwise, why would you be hanging around with someone like him?”

I turned to see Cadia looking troubled under Ains’ intense gaze.

“Duke, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Ains’ tone grew sharper.

“Do you think I’m here to ruin Cecilia?”

“Are you not?”

“I don’t know why you think that, but it’s a misunderstanding. Cecilia and I have decided to be friends.”

Ains looked at me, seeking confirmation. I nodded and added, “That’s right. Cadia and I are just friends. There’s nothing more to it.”

Although Cadia had confessed his feelings for me earlier, I didn’t see the need to bring that up now.

Ains seemed confused, and his grip on my arm loosened. Finally, I was free from his hold. I faced him directly.

“Duke, let me say this one last time. Please stop concerning yourself with me. This is what you wanted, not me. I don’t need you confusing me with mixed signals.”

I rubbed the spot on my arm where he had grabbed me and took a step back.

“Well, we should be going. It’s getting late.”

“…”

I gave Ains a brief nod of farewell, and Cadia did the same. Without any further hesitation, we walked past Ains and headed towards the fountain.

 

 

T/N: Alright, place your bets! Who’s on the good side?!? 😀