Translated by cabinfourtranslations.

“This is Scarlett Dirnant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Is Elliot here?”

I put my hair up decorated it with fancy ornaments, and even modified my makeup to make my clothes look neat, then knocked on the door of the Knights’ building. The knights who were wielding sword in the training ground entered the lounge with a nervous look on their faces as if they had heard what had happened in the morning, saying, “Please wait a minute….”. I stood there and kept my head up under the complex gazes around me.

Soon after, a man with familiar brown hair walked out of the distance. As soon as I saw that face, I wanted to give it a punch, but I smiled familiarly and opened my mouth.

“Elliot.”

My voice was sweet and lovely as usual. When I affectionately call him this way, Elliot used to blush and kiss me. It’s been three months since we started dating, and he still didn’t seem to be immune to my voice. Hearing my voice still reddens his neck.

I wanted to put my hand on that familiar face and curse it. The most primitive instinct shouted for me to kill the man in front of me, but even my mother couldn’t do anything about murder, so I had no choice but to press down the anger inside me and approach Elliot.

“You’re here, Scarlett.”

His words were enough to throw firewood into my anger. I felt my blood pressure rising to the top of my head as I was waiting for it.

“Yes, I’m here, Elliot. I thought you might have something to explain to me. I have no choice but to go here because you are not coming.”

While he openly committed a love affair with another woman, Elliot seemed to be very appalled by my attitude in raising the subject.I glanced at his stiff face, his head bent forward like he had anything to say. As if he had read the anger inside my face, Eliot suddenly distorted his expression and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry, Scarlett.”

“Oh my, for what?”

“Scarlett, let’s break up.”

……?

I looked at the back of the head of the man who bowed his head before me for a moment, and seriously wondered if my anger would sink back if I crushed it. However, my conclusion was that I didn’t think my anger would be relieved.

No, what on earth. I snorted because it was amazing.

One might think that I desperately cling to Elliot, and that Elliot, who is tired of it, left in search of true love. I hardened my face in this crazy situation.

“Elliot, raise your head.”

At my command, he shook his shoulders and raised his head again. I look at the face that I’ve even had a relationship with, and talked in eye contact with him, who was taller than me.

“Elliot, when did I chase you?”

“It’s … no.”

“Elliot, when did I cling to you?”

“You did not.”

“Elliot, when did I, huft—when did I say that if you ever had another woman, I would kill her?”

“You did not.”

“And finally, Elliot. Did you not know that Isabelle and I are friends?”

“….I know.”

“Then why! Why … huuu.”

I took a deep breath and exhaled again. So this is what it’s like to have a thousand fires burning inside. I grabbed my throbbing head and gently massaged it.

I enjoyed being immersed in the other person’s love. To be honest with you, there were seven men who were taken away by Isabelle, but my relationship in general was never very long. For 10 years, I always had a man in my arms. Yes, so to speak, I had a lot of relationships.

But that doesn’t mean I’ve ever cheated on them or anything. My love burned out in an instant, and I used to finish it in a neat and accurate way, whether it was my partner or I who ended it first.

Focus on only one person, and be passionate when dating.

I have been in a relationship that suits my beliefs, so I have been confident that I have had a clean relationship even though there are many men.

Anyway, it’s just me.

That’s why I didn’t like Elliot’s attitude. I always told my lovers before I started my relationship.

If you don’t like me, then tell me. I’ll let you go. I’ll wish you happiness.

And most of the men who weren’t involved with Isabelle did so. When my mind cooled, I broke up with them, and when my heart cooled, I broke up neatly. If there was no sadness at the end of the breakup, it would be a lie. Having a broken heart 10 times doesn’t make me used to it, so I sometimes didn’t make an appearance for a few days after the break up.

But apart from him, I never caught a man who was cold-hearted to me.

It was consideration for the other person and courtesy of my pride.

But now, Elliot….

“I told you to tell me if you want to break up. Do I have to hear this through someone else’s mouth? Moreover, it’s with Isabelle?”

He was walking along the same path as the men of the past. The same as those six men who dated me and down their knees in front of Isabelle.

My words were filled with anger, and Elliot’s eyes were shaken when he saw me. I must admit, this man was weak to me. Yet he betrayed me.

“Scarlett, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t say you’re sorry. I respect your choice. Yes, it’s ridiculous, but I’ll let you go for your happiness.”

I tidied up my clothes and notified him in a cold tone. I will let him go for his happiness. I said, looking at Elliot with a cold expression, surprising myself at my ridiculous but firm words.

I’m not even angry anymore. I’m the only one who’s hurting. I’m the only one who’s having a hard time.

I turned my back on Elliot who was standing still with blank stare. However, as I took a few steps, my mind was filled with a strange rise of irritation, anger, and complex feelings that I didn’t understand.

Elliot looked at my back with a complicated face and seemed surprised when I suddenly turned around. I glared at his face and threw a word.

“Don’t see me again. Don’t even greet me if you see me.”

Violent heat …  a few love ends like that.

***

After breaking up with Elliot with a bad memory, I began to focus on my work again. Violetta came and nagged me whenever she was free—for example, what are you going to do to Isabelle? the same—I never cared about such a thing. Putting aside the pain of a broken heart and forgetting love for work is a pretty good way to go, so I prepared for the negotiations two weeks later, and actually, after about a week, I was able to erase Elliot completely from my head.

The war against Sierra took place on the outskirts, and the troops were still stationed in Sorrell,  the frontier. All of them were waiting for diplomats to be dispatched from the royal family. As a result of not thinking about Elliot for a few days, I am now calm and able to focus completely on my work.

Celine still looked at me with worry, but to be honest, I was really okay.

Until Isabelle came to see me in person.

***

I’m uneasy. I’m upset.

“No, what kind of negotiations are you asking me to give us a small budget, don’t we look like human beings?”

In the office of the Treasury Department, I looked at Celine, who jumped from behind, with a curious look, then turned my head again to hit the desk. But as soon as she grabbed my arm and told me that Isabelle was here, I felt what I had kept in me for the past few days exploded.

“Let’s go.”

The Treasury secretary sighed in relief as I grabbed Celine’s arm and moved my steps, but when she saw my face shouting, “I’ll be back in the afternoon!” she looked desperate again.

Crossing the long hallway, I had a stiff face. I didn’t meet Isabelle on purpose for these few days.  I’m afraid I’ll forgive her again when I see her.  After more than 20 years, it was hard to get rid of the affection. I wasn’t very confident in my coolness. I couldn’t even do my personality with a lot of unnecessary balances here.

But the moment I saw Isabelle sitting in her delicate and innocent appearance, I felt that my disappointment with her was great. The scene, which would have felt very pitiful and sad at ordinary times, now felt very abominable.

As expected, a person must be shocked to come to their senses.

Of course I’ve been harboring some disappointment to her ever since Isabelle took my third lover, but I used to get back attached and unwind at her pitiful few words. Of course, my belief that there was nothing I could do about my lovers also played a part.

But from the time she took my fifth lover away, I have begun to distance myself from her.

They said once was a mistake, twice was a coincidence, three times was a pattern.

The fourth was a joke, the fifth was intentional, and the sixth was malicious.

And by the seventh time, I decided that what she had with me was ‘unemotional’.

Indifference was more appropriate than malice in someone who was continuing to hurt one person. Unlike the way I liked Isabelle and treated her as my friend and my younger sister, Isabelle had no feelings toward me. Otherwise she wouldn’t have made me so bummed out and left without any guilt.

As I approached the reception room door, the staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who were stuck around, withdrew with an awkward smile. Everyone must have been curious about a woman who was safe and unharmed even after touching the nerves of their scary colleague seven times.

“Isabelle.”

“Scarlett!”

Isabelle, who was drinking tea gracefully in the inside, called me in a half-crying voice. It was ridiculous that my name came out naturally from the mouth, so I looked disconsolate, but soon I struggled to move and sat across from her.

“What’s the matter?”

“Scarlett, I’m sorry.”

“What?”

I was also surprised by the sound of my voice coming out colder than usual. Even when I was in a negotiation that had nothing to do with my interests, I would not speak this coldly. As if she was shocked by my appearance, Isabelle bit her lips tightly and put tears on her eyes.

“Elliot … I didn’t mean to. I’m just trying to be nice to him because he’s your boyfriend. Huhuuuu.”

“Oh, yeah.”

Is this the pattern? Why did I fall for it all the time?

There was a pattern when Isabelle told me why she stole my boyfriend.

The first one was, “A man who cheats like that doesn’t suit you! Why would you date such a trashy man!’. And the second was, “Huuhuu, I’m sorry, Scarlett, I didn’t mean to, but your boyfriend was huuhuu….“. And the third was, “Oh my goodness, Scarlett, your boyfriend loves me so much that I can’t say no….”.

And this time, Isabelle seemed to have chosen the second pattern.

Why haven’t I noticed this simple thing? No, I knew the truth, but I kept my self-denial.

I had to admit. I was stupid.

A lot of that.