WDEDLF-Chapter 140

Lorina, who was trembling, started screaming.

 

“That’s ridiculous! This can’t be happening! I’ll be laughed at in high society!”

 

With her family’s title already demoted, she was struggling to maintain her status. If her engagement was broken off, it was obvious that Lorina would become the subject of people’s secret whispers of contempt and ridicule.

 

It would also be difficult to marry into another family.

 

But Lark didn’t even bat an eyelid.

 

“Just think about the business that Newt and our family are involved in! Are you planning to ruin it all?”

 

“Well, I don’t think Baron Dardil will withdraw from the business just because we broke off the engagement.”

 

Lorina knew that too. Her father might protest, but given Anais’ rise to emperor, his position had weakened. He wouldn’t dare risk worsening relations with the few families still allied with him.

 

In the end, Lorina had no choice but to shed tears of regret.

 

“I knew it! Just like your father, you’ve let some filthy woman turn your head and ruin everything! You never truly liked me!”

 

“That’s right. If you had known, why didn’t you avoid it in advance?”

 

Lark laughed dryly.

 

Was Lorina foolish for liking him despite knowing his feelings for Elaine? Or had he been the foolish one, unaware of his own feelings for so many years?

 

Lorina continued to scream, break things, and cause a ruckus for a long time after that, but Lark did not change his decision.

 

Not long after Lark and Lorina’s engagement was broken off, Lark heard an unexpected declaration from Damon.

 

“I will become independent.”

 

It was unexpected that Damon, who was not yet an adult, declared independence.

 

Lark knew that he would leave someday, especially after transferring their father’s entire inheritance into his own account. But not this soon.

 

“What can a guy who doesn’t even know the ways of the world do to become independent? Even if you say you’ll stay longer after you get married, I’ll kick you out, so until then, just be quiet and learn the business…”

 

“Who said I wanted to be part of the family business?”

 

“Other than that, what else do you know how to do?”

 

Damon snickered.

 

“Elaine was right. If I just stayed quiet, you’d never consider my opinions and just use me for your own gain.”

 

“What? Elaine said that?”

 

“It’s funny. My own brother only thinks about using me, but the cousin I used to torment actually understands what I like and what I’m good at.”

 

Damon thought that talking to Elaine during the New Year’s service when he was sixteen had been the best decision of his life.

 

If he had pretended not to know the guilt he felt towards Elaine, who had become a saint in his place, he would have spent his entire life under Lark’s shadow, carefully avoiding his wrath.

 

“I got a job as an assistant at <Hector’s Costume Shop>. I’ll learn the trade and open my own costume shop later.”

 

“Getting a job? Are you a commoner? A collateral member of the Newt family working as an assistant in a mere costume shop?”

 

“It’s my dream. You probably don’t care though.”

 

Damon felt a small sense of triumph as he watched Lark’s dumbfounded expression.

 

“I’ve already bought a house for myself and moved most of my stuff in. I just came to say goodbye.”

 

“How dare you do that without the permission of the head of the family!”

 

“Do I need your permission to live my own life? I’m using my inheritance to carve out my own path.”

 

“I won’t stop you from living your life, but why something as lowly as a costume shop?”

 

“You live elegantly and unhappily, my brother. I’ll live humbly and happily.”

 

Lark was speechless.

 

He had always thought of Damon as a clueless child who followed Martin around. But now, Damon had already started building his own life.

 

Even after Damon left, Lark sat alone, feeling as if everything he had tightly grasped was slipping away like sand through his fingers.

 

‘It all started when Elaine changed….’

 

When Elaine began to lift her head and look him directly in the eyes.

 

When she stopped expecting anything from the Newt family.

 

That’s when Lark’s perfect world cracked.

 

His arrogant pride had refused to acknowledge it.

 

Lark sat blankly in his quiet office for a while before quietly opening a drawer on his desk.

 

Inside, there lay a red ribbon and a silver rosary—gifts he had once given to Elaine.

 

He once imagined Elaine wearing a white dress, tying back her radiant hair with the red ribbon, and wearing the silver rosary around her neck while smiling brightly at him.

 

‘I always pray for you, Lark.’

 

There was a time when he had wished for her to say those words.

 

Though, if she had, he would have only laughed at her.

 

Lark muttered lowly and gloomily, fiddling with the red ribbon.

 

“Elaine….”

 

A name he had never once spoken aloud.

 

A thought he had never dared to acknowledge.

 

“I love you.”

 

That single confession shattered the world Lark had built for himself.

 

Lark Newt has finally collapsed.

 

* * *

 

“I will pray.”

 

Elaine stood up from the front of the table in the dining room where everyone was sitting and put her hands together, and everyone else followed suit.

 

“We give thanks today to Bara, who created all things and brought harmony to the world. We are grateful that we can share a piece of bread with our loved ones under a warm roof…”

 

The servants of the Lindell family smiled faintly at the prayer that flowed out like a song, and now they could recite the last line of the prayer with ease.

 

“Alright, let’s eat. Courbet! Hurry up and join us!”

 

As soon as the prayer was over, Sergey made sure Courbet, who had just come out of the kitchen, sat down before starting the meal.

 

Unlike other noble families, the mealtimes at the Lindell family were noisy and lively, and the one who brought up the topic of the day was, as expected, Sergey.

 

“First of all, should we have the engagement ceremony?”

 

“Huh? An engagement ceremony? Is that really necessary?”

 

Elaine tilted her head, recalling how Sergey and Rabes had scoffed at the idea of an engagement, questioning why it was being done.

 

Besides, engagement ceremonies were only for people who had something to show off. Elaine had only been granted a title and a castle—no family, no business, and no one to show off. To her, such ceremonies were pointless formalities.

 

But Sergey was stubborn.

 

“I want to experience everything with you.”

 

“But….”

 

“I want to try all sorts of useless things. We’ll have an engagement ceremony, celebrate every possible anniversary, go flower-viewing in spring, vacation in summer, have autumn picnics, and go sledding in winter. We’ll attend all kinds of banquets together.”

 

Elaine felt exhausted just hearing about Sergey’s plan.

 

But she understood his feelings.

 

For too long, they had lived pretending that everything was fine without knowing each other’s true feelings.

 

“Alright, let’s do it.”

 

Elaine smiled.

 

“If we’re going to do this, we should have an even better chocolate cake than the one at Lark and Lorina’s engagement ceremony! Of course, Courbet will make it.”

 

Everyone laughed as Elaine spoke, glancing at Courbet.

 

It was delightful to know she could say something that childish without anyone judging her.

 

“We will have a grand wedding in the capital and an intimate one at a villa near Mount Atalanchi. After the wedding, we will go on a trip. We will travel to all the countries where the Lindell family has a mansion.”

 

As Sergey was excitedly reciting his plans for his wedding and honeymoon, Hubert coughed beside him.

 

“Ahem! Since you’ve decided to live as a human, you must also fulfill your duties as Count of Lindell.”

 

“You can take care of that.”

 

“If you keep doing this, I will resign.”

 

“What? How dare you—!”

 

“Why? Are you going to eat me?”

 

Hubert smirked, provoking him.

 

But Sergey couldn’t threaten to rip out his heart or eat him like before.

 

Because now, Elaine was with him. And he couldn’t afford to make a bad impression on her.

 

“He’s right, Sergey. It’s not fair to leave everything to the butler. He’s already worked hard for 500 years.”

 

“You’re absolutely right, my lady. If we were to speak of our past 500 years of suffering, tears would blur our vision. We’re just poor demons who fled from one predator only to fall into the hands of another.”

 

As Hubert pretended to dab his eyes with his handkerchief, other servants, including Louisa, Courbet, and Marka, began to complain.

 

“That’s right! Honestly, I would have preferred being dragged to the mines to dig for gold. At least then, I would’ve only had to work for 50 years instead of signing a contract with the master and ending up trapped for 500…!”

 

“I was just curious about human food, but I was ostracized by my fellow demons. Then, my master tempted me by saying that he would let me make as much human food as I wanted, and that was it….”

 

“Ah, well… who can we blame? But living a life where I’m threatened with being eaten every day…”

 

Hearing their story, Elaine turned to Sergey with wide eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing.

 

“Serge. Is everything they say true?”

 

“Ah, th-that’s… of course not. Hahaha! They’re just really good at making up stories.”

 

“Well, that can’t be true. Sergey is really kind and gentle, isn’t he?”

 

“Oh, of course!”

 

“In that case, Master, you’ll be bringing us plenty of monster magic cores soon, won’t you? After all, we’ll be busy preparing for the grand engagement and wedding.”

 

At Hubert’s words, Elaine nodded with an apologetic face and looked at Sergey, and Sergey nodded along with her, forcing the corners of his lips to curl up.

 

Elaine finally burst out laughing at that sight.

 

The way he tried so hard to act like a kind and well-behaved dragon in front of her was both adorable and a little pitiful.

 

‘It was probably Rabes who took revenge on those who tormented me.’

 

She had once said she disliked revenge that involved harming others, but looking back, she realized she had felt a bit satisfied with what Rabes had done for her.

 

Still, she had meant it when she said she didn’t want ‘that kind of revenge’.

 

She had taken plenty of revenge when she lived as Lancer, and all it ever left behind was guilt and emptiness.

 

‘I’m satisfied now.’

 

None of Elaine’s tormentors were killed or injured by her, but Elaine was much happier than when she was a Lancer.

 

Lark and Lorina had broken off their engagement. Martin and Ellie were wasting their lives around Lark. Her uncle had died, and her aunt had been relegated to the back rooms of the estate.

 

The arrogant Lorina was so shocked by being ostracized from society that she tried to commit suicide by taking some kind of drug. She barely survived, but Elaine heard she would have to spend the rest of her life in bed.

 

But honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered to Elaine even if none of that had happened.

 

The greatest revenge was the fact that the stain of the Newt family—Elaine—had become Baron Riel and Countess of Lindell. More than that, she had gained the love she had longed for.

 

None of Newt, Lorina, the people of the Temple of Pavelo, or anyone else could ruin Elaine.

 

“What are you thinking about?”

 

Sergey asked, studying Elaine’s expression.

 

It was a little, no, a lot of joy to know that the most powerful being on earth was paying close attention to her feelings.

 

“I was just thinking… that I’m happy.”

 

“Really?”

 

Sergey’s expression gradually became filled with joy.

 

“I will make you happier in the future. I will give you anything you want!”

 

“I don’t need anything else, just give me your love.”

 

“Well, I already gave you that. About five hundred years ago.”

 

Sergey smiled.

 

Elaine placed a hand over her heart, feeling the dragon’s magic core that had taken root inside her.

 

She blamed herself for only now realizing the love he had given her five hundred years ago.

 

And she promised herself that in the eternity ahead, she would cherish that love.

 

 

* * *