Chapter 24
Diana looked utterly bewildered, like someone who had just been hit hard on the head.
“But Harold wasn’t at the celebration party after the hunt!”
The only Vissen family prince present at the party had been Kaiden. There wasn’t even a single strand of Harold’s hair in sight that day. That’s why Diana had believed it was Kaiden who had saved her, and she had fallen for him because of it.
But now… what? This handkerchief belonged to Harold?
“That day.”
“That day?”
Harold tapped his chest lightly with his index finger.
“That day I found out I was ill.”
“…….”
“That’s why I wasn’t at the celebration, I only officially announced it a year later.”
He glanced at her startled expression but continued his past calmly. Truthfully, Harold had long forgotten that incident until Diana brought up the handkerchief. He had saved a strange girl standing unarmed in the depths of the hunting grounds and had dropped his handkerchief there.
It wasn’t exactly a memory worth cherishing.
That moment had been —a clear turning point in his life. Until then, his future had been a steady, assured path, filled with the expectations of his family and peers. But that discovery had torn everything apart.
The illness he had was so rare that there were no records of survival. Still, because no one had contracted it in 70 years, his family clung to the slim hope that modern medicine could somehow save him.
However, a year of struggling with doctors brought no progress. So, Harold’s condition could no longer be kept a secret.
His father began preparing for the worst by training Kaiden as the next heir. People who had once admired Harold started turning their backs on him, and those who were once cowered before him, like Kaiden and his mother, began walking with their heads held high.
And then there was his mother, who had gifted him this handkerchief.
Life had turned into a battlefield. He had to be ruthless and fierce to survive and protect what little he had left. His once smooth journey had become an endless thorny path.
Even when he clawed his way to the top, all he found was a barren cliff, no sweet victory waiting.
“Diana?”
Diana reached out, taking his hand gently.
“Um… Your expression didn’t look good just now.”
“I wasn’t in pain if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Even if it’s not physical pain… human warmth can bring happiness, right?”
“…….”
Her soft, warm hands sent a comforting energy through him, soothing his entire body. Harold studied her intently.
Her eyes, filled with concern, were like a cloudless spring sky—pure and radiant.
“Happiness, huh…”
Murmuring softly, Harold remembered her quietly whispering prayers for his complete recovery.
“Do you want me to be happy?”
“Yes.”
Her immediate response, given without hesitation, made him chuckle.
He grasped her hand, firm enough to convey his feelings but not so tight as to hurt her.
“I’m not exactly unhappy now. Thanks to you, I’ll soon be free from this cursed illness.”
Diana nodded enthusiastically.
“That’s right. Harold, you’re going to live a long and healthy life.”
And she would make sure of it.
Her gaze flicked to the handkerchief sitting on the desk.
‘So this wasn’t Kaiden’s handkerchief.’
The revelation was deeply shocking. The man “Diana” had thought was her savior, whom she had loved unconditionally, turned out to be someone else entirely.
If Harold hadn’t been ill, would the original “Diana” have fallen in love with him instead?
The thought left her feeling strangely unsettled.
‘Well, either way, I can’t give this handkerchief to Kaiden anymore.’
She clicked her tongue and decided she’d have to reconsider her plans.
Not wanting to disturb Harold further, she rose to her feet.
“I’ll leave you to your work. Oh, and thank you again for saving me back then.”
She gave him a slight nod before turning to leave.
Left alone, Harold opened and closed his hand repeatedly.
It was the hand she’d held.
***
Harold finished his work, setting his pen down and stretching lightly. Before heading to dinner, his eyes fell on the handkerchief resting beside the inkwell.
‘She thought this was Kaiden’s.’
His sharp mind quickly pieced together the unspoken details.
The day he discovered his illness coincided closely with when Diana started chasing after Kaiden. In other words, he was the reason Diana had fallen for Kaiden in the first place.
How utterly irritating.
The feeling was as unpleasant as when Kaiden had started his heir training or when Harold learned that their father had gifted Kaiden an important estate from the family inheritance.
But it wasn’t that bad.
The fact that Diana was willing to return the handkerchief—something she had once treasured so dearly—meant it no longer held value to her. It was her way of telling Kaiden that she no longer harbored any feelings for him.
‘I’m Annoyed, yet satisfying.’
Harold couldn’t quite make sense of his own confusing emotions.
Harold picked up the handkerchief with his index finger, as if it were something dirty.
The memories it stirred weren’t pleasant, and neither was the handkerchief itself.
After a moment of thought, a sly smile spread across Harold’s face.
‘This works out perfectly.’
Since after the Marchioness Mayer’s party, Kaiden kept using lousy excuses to meet Diana, checking if she was the same as before—right in front of Harold. How dare he.
Harold had been planning to confront Kaiden soon, but…
‘Delivering this handkerchief might be even better.’
He could already imagine Kaiden’s reaction.
Harold leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing in amusement.
***
Meanwhile, Ella collapsed onto a sofa, visibly relieved.
She had finally apologized to Diana. Surely, now Kaiden wouldn’t be disappointed in her.
But that was all.
Kaiden was still interested in the changed Diana. Ella bit her nails furiously, her golden eyes filled with frustration and resentment.
“Diana… Why did you have to change like this?”
If things were still easy and simple like before, wouldn’t that be great? If that were the case, Kaiden wouldn’t have any reason to be interested in her. And Ella herself wouldn’t have cared about what Diana did, and would’ve continued to cherish her as a precious friend until the end of her life.
“How could you do this to me, your friend?”
The friend she had once cherished now threatened her, and Ella felt a surge of self-pity as tears welled up in her eyes.
But she hardened her resolve.
‘I won’t go back to the unhappy past.’
After holding Diana’s hand and coming to the Garcia Count’s family for support, Ella began to understand what it meant to live as a noble lady.
If she wanted to keep living a life like this, one that everyone admired, she couldn’t afford to lose Kaiden’s affection until she had his heir, and eventually became the wife of the Vissen Duke.
Therefore, acting impulsively like before was dangerous. She needed someone to take care of Diana in her place while she stayed still.
“Brother Vincent, are you in there?”
Ella headed to Vincent’s room. Since the last incident, things had been a bit awkward between them. A fair amount of time had passed, but she had been so focused on Kaiden that she had neglected Vincent.
‘If I cry a few more times, it’ll get better. Men are all easy that way.’
Soon, Vincent opened the door. Ella immediately rushed into his arms, her voice shaking.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t defend you last time. Sniff… I fainted at the wrong moment, and you got all the blame. You were upset, right? I wanted to apologize, but just thinking about it makes me cry again…”
She thought her apology and tears would solve everything.
But when Vincent didn’t respond, Ella was puzzled.
At that moment, Vincent grabbed her delicate shoulders and pushed her away from him.
“Bro—Brother?”
Ella finally took a good look at Vincent’s face.
His pupils were half-dilated, and the area under his eyes was dark and bruised.
It was clear that he wasn’t in his right mind.
“Ella, enough of that. Do you have any money? Just give me 8,000 gold coins! Huh?”
“…How would I have that much money?”
“Why not? Didn’t my father give you luxury funds?”
“…I already spent most of it on dresses and jewelry.”
“Ugh! Then just give me whatever’s left! I’m losing my mind!”
Vincent clutched his hair in frustration.
“I need to get the heirloom back before my father finds out!”
