When My Enemies Began to Regret - Chapter 23

8. Men (3)

Translated by alyalia

 

“You mean the godmother?”

 

The word ‘godmother’ here meant something slightly different from the terms used by commoners. Perhaps Ronwe’s words of the godmother refer to a woman who has a lot of influence in the social world.

 

Several people in this world were called the godmother of the social world. Young noble ladies considered it a great honor to be taught by these godmothers before making their social debut. Besides, if the godmother, who is in power, was standing behind the lady after her debut, there was no more reliable ally than this.

 

“There’s no way I could have a godmother.”

 

But the problem was, it was usually the mother’s role to connect this godmother with their daughter. And as you know, it was Hanar Celcius, who is now posing as my mother, waiting for a moment to kill me.

 

Ronwe looked at me and brought this up.

 

“There is a Madam I know. I have saved his father from the war, and she has been gracious to me from time to time.”

 

“…!”

 

“Cough.  She lives in a very remote territory. This year, my health has deteriorated, so I haven’t been able to contact her for a while… But she won’t ignore my last request, who is dying.”

 

“…”

 

“So I’m going to ask her… to join hands in your debut. Do you know Countess Maquil?”

 

I was genuinely surprised by Ronwe’s next words.

 

‘Maquil… Maquil? I know that name. Her younger brother is a high priest, so anyone is anxious to join hands with her.’

 

I’ve never actually seen her, but she was definitely a celebrity. I can’t believe this retired knight knew such a person.  

 

“I’ve heard her name. Thank you so much for caring for me.”

 

“The day of my death is near anyway, so I really want to help the Lady who comes to visit me. I… will do my best… Cough! Cough! Cough!”

 

‘What does that mean?’

 

To be honest, I didn’t expect anything from Ronwe.

 

The social world of the nobles is elegant on the outside but cold on the inside.

 

How many people would be willing to grant this request from a dying knight?

 

‘There aren’t many people in the world who were stupid like me.’

 

I let this conversation flow, pretending to be a good girl for Ronwe. And when he finished eating all the popiras I brought, I got up from my seat.

 

“I didn’t mean to force you to come when I told you about my birthday banquet. I won’t be able to see you often for a while because of the preparations for my birthday banquet. It’s to let you know.”

 

“That’s all right. Cough, Lady would pray for my health from afar, right? I can feel the warmth even if we don’t see each other.”

 

I bowed to greet Ronwe, who was lying on the bed.

 

“Of course, I always pray for you.”

 

I pray that you return to God’s arms soon.

 

But I only say the following words in my mind.

 

* * *

 

“Welcome back, Lady.”

 

“Hmm? Cecil, were you waiting for me?”

 

“I will help you to change.”

 

“Just untie the string.”

 

I returned home before the sun went down. It’s cumbersome to go and come back from the Butler’s house, but today, I harvested as much effort as I had put in.

 

‘He’s going to die soon after confirming with my own eyes that his eyelids already went numb and blood was coming out of his cough.’

 

Ronwe’s lifespan is really short now.

 

It was even more fortunate that Ronwe was an unfortunate human being abandoned by his family at the end of his life. I couldn’t believe that it was so much fun to see the person who had tormented me suffer.

 

‘As he said, if he had helped me even once, I would have saved his life. But in the end, he didn’t do that even once…’

 

I didn’t want to forgive my enemies who belatedly started regrets.

 

The past me who stood on the cliff, felt ill and sick from their faces, is already dead, so I wondered what the use of all of their apologies would be for now.

 

“That’s enough. I can change the rest, so get out.”

 

“I understand.”

 

I’m in a good mood today, so can I fall asleep?

 

As expected, I fell into a deep sleep that night without suffering from insomnia.

 

And in the morning, I thought,

 

‘That midnight was the day when I saw the novel.’

 

Although I missed ‘Dangerous Love,’ I slept well and felt light as if my body was about to fly away.

 

* * *

 

A few days later.

 

My birthday banquet is just around the corner. The nobles made a fuss when it was rumored that my engagement would be announced at that banquet.

 

“Really? That’s what he said?”

 

“At the ball, a woman tried to introduce her daughter to him, and he cut it off right away. He said that he’s already fallen in love with someone at first sight, and he even proposed to her.”

 

“Oh my, is that really Lord Aloken?”

 

Aloken, who was supposed to be the best groom of this social season, has a fiancée!

 

Moreover, the lucky person was Vanora Celcius, who had no presence like a ghost, so it felt even more dramatic. Thanks to this, all the gossipers were talking about our engagement.

 

But I don’t know if he is aware of this social situation.

 

I stretched out my body on the bed and raised my head at my maid’s words.

 

“Who is looking for me?”

 

Before my regression, I had never brought any friends to my mansion. But again, I heard the news that a guest had waited for me.

 

‘Who the hell is it? There’s no one who wants to see me.’

 

I looked at the silver tray Cecil was holding without thinking. Then I saw a familiar brooch on the tray.  A brooch with a seal depicting a crane with its head bowed down. It was none other than the seal of Viscount Demangdwi.

 

“Naverius…”

 

Naverius Demangdwi. That man came all the way here.

 

“He is waiting outside to meet Lady. What should I do?”

 

“…”

 

It was obvious what reason he had come to the Celsius House.

 

‘Did our wedding promise suddenly break?’

 

Other than that, there was nothing to point out. But at the same time, it was a visit that I didn’t want to understand.

 

‘I thought he would think of it as a gift because he could meet someone else by now.’

 

Once upon a time, Naverius, who became an adult, had said this,

 

“I had regrets from the moment I started to marry you… that’s why.”

 

I didn’t want to see him unless revenge was the reason. Therefore, I didn’t answer Cecil. Then Cecil bowed and left the room.

 

Now Cecil will tell Naverius that I am sick and unable to meet him. That’s what it meant when the servant’s master didn’t say anything if there was a notice of a guest’s visit.

 

“…”

 

I sat in a quiet room and bit my fingernails. By the time my index finger was messed up, a lot of time had passed. But something was strange.

 

“Why isn’t she coming back?”

 

At this point, Cecil, who understood my intention to refuse Naverius, should have returned. But no matter how long I waited, no matter how many times I rang the bell, Cecil didn’t show up.

 

“…”

 

I felt something was wrong.

 

Soon I went down the stairs with my indoor clothes and moved towards the main door. When I arrived at the main door of the mansion, I heard a loud noise as I had been worried.

 

“I only need to meet her for a moment, so call her right away!”

 

As I opened the door wide, I saw Cecil with her head down and a blonde man shouting with veins standing up around his neck. I jumped out in front of them.

 

“Naverius!”

 

“!”

 

It was fortunate that my body acted first, as I almost spit swear words out of my mouth.

 

‘You don’t know how I got this good servant!’

 

If Naverius’s anger was left unattended, rumors would spread that ‘Cecil suffered mistreatment because she was Lady Vanora’s maid.’

 

Standing in front of him, I said without even getting my breath together.

 

“Haa… Cecil. Cecil, stay inside.”

 

“Look, she’s fine. She can’t meet me because she’s sick? It doesn’t make sense…”

 

“Lady.”

 

“It’s all right. Hurry up.”

  

 

I pushed Cecil back into the mansion so that no unnecessary complaints could arise. After that, I spoke gently to the man who was glaring at me.

 

“I’m sorry I’m late to see you. I… cough, I had a fever this morning, so I was lying down until just now, so I didn’t get a call right away that you were coming. If you had made an appointment in advance, I would have been prepared…”

 

“…are you really sick?”

 

“Yes.”

 

My appearance resembled a banshee, so I looked like a plausible sick person with a slight wrinkle on my face.

 

Naverius, who was lookup up and down at me when he heard I was sick, said,

 

“Anyway, why did you run all the way here? Why would the little Duke of Jalier suddenly propose to you?!”

 

“…”

 

“I’ve already told people around me that I’m going to marry you… What do I become if you do this?”

 

I listened calmly to his words one after another.

 

“Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been in contact with the little Duke… ho, this is an affair.”

 

Meanwhile, Naverius insisted this was an affair.

 

It would be refreshing to tell him to get out of here right away, but I didn’t do that.

 

‘In my old days, I seriously thought about who I should choose between Haures or Naverius as my companion.’

 

I will take revenge on Naverius. It was something that would happen someday for sure. So I shouldn’t release my intent to kill this man, or else I would be found guilty. That made me choose what to say, and I managed to bring out the first word in a trembling voice.

 

“Naverius, I think there is some misunderstanding between us.”

 

“What? Misunderstanding?”

 

“First of all, we didn’t break up. As I said before, we’re not yet married. We have no relationship in the name of God. But why did you say I have an affair?”

 

“That means in the meantime you-!”

 

“Did I ever say I love you?”

 

“!”

 

“Naverius, the reason that made me your foe was not because of love but friendship. I haven’t complained about the marriage plan because my parents want it.”

 

Hearing this, Naverius widened his eyes.

 

The Vanora he knew had a timid personality and had no friends, so she used to stick close to him when they went to a party. However, he felt betrayed when the girl who had been following him suddenly spoke in a cold tone.

 

I didn’t stop and brought up the following words.

 

“It was comfortable when I was around you, but my heart never trembled. Then I finally found true love.”

 

“…”

 

True love?

 

As I said so, shaking my eyelashes shyly, Naverius was silent with a stunned face.

 

“My mother once told me, just looking at your true love is enough to make you feel good.”

 

“…”

 

“Until now, I didn’t believe the story, but I only found out about it when I met Aloken not long ago.”

 

“What… did you know…”

 

“That he’s my match made in heaven. And what’s even more surprising is that Sir Aloken also saw me… like that…”

 

I hesitated for a moment, covering my cheeks, then held my hands together and smiled.

 

“I heard he fell in love with me at first sight.”

 

“!”

 

“Like lovers in a book, we recognized each other’s soul mates. Besides, I can’t believe his personality that suits me so well. In an instant, we quickly developed into a deep love and promised to get married.”

 

But then.

 

As soon as I finished speaking, Naverius grabbed my shoulders with both hands. I frowned at his sudden action. Naverius spoke with a serious face, regardless of my reaction.

 

“That’s definitely a lie from the little Duke. You’re being fooled.”

 

“…”

 

“That man will soon inherit the title, so there’s no way he can fall for you, a young lady from a Count family, right? I’m sure there must be something else…”

 

Then I remembered the first time I met Naverius. There was a moment when such a person confessed that I was the most beautiful person in the world, and he loved me no matter what my status was. I wish I had known in advance that those sweet words were simply an act.

 

“It’s okay if he fooled me. Still, I love him.”

 

“!”

 

Tak.

 

I spoke quietly, striking his hands on my shoulder. Naverius tried to protest against my action, but he couldn’t. It was because my expression, which raised my head, was so cold that he had never seen me like this before.