When I said that, Leonie widened her eyes.
She looked somewhat surprised.
“Libe, but he’s different.”
Then she quickly calmed her expression.
“I happened to meet him again recently, and the feelings from back then came rushing back.”
Oh no, no… that’s just a misunderstanding.
“I only exchanged a few words with him, but my heart felt so warm.”
“The weather has been warm lately.”
“What should I do? I think I’m in love.”
And there it was—the word that put a period on the sentence.
No, Leonie. Adrian is not your destined partner!
What on earth should I do about this?
Alright, let’s think calmly.
But no matter how much I tried to think calmly, I couldn’t forget the fortune teller’s words, her eyes wide and intense.
Someone has stolen your fate. You won’t be able to find peace until it returns.
No, I never intended to steal Leonie’s fate.
It was something that happened by chance.
I was just cornered with no way out. I had no other choice!
“Libe?”
“Uh, Leonie.”
“You’re not saying anything, and it’s making me nervous. This is the first time I’ve brought this up. Just say something, anything.”
Leonie looked at me with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.
“Wow, hahaha, Leonie. You really… wow, congratulations. Really.”
I just grabbed whatever words were floating in my head and threw them out, and Leonie scratched the back of her head.
“Congratulations? It’s just my feelings. I haven’t even expressed them to Lord Watford.”
Then, with a somewhat distant look in her eyes, she continued.
“Actually, I met Lord Watford at the ball held to welcome His Highness the Grand Duke a while ago.”
I nodded, recalling that night.
“I think I might have shown too much of how much I like him. Should I not have done that? I wanted to spend more time with him, but he left so quickly.”
Ah, so that’s why Leonie seemed upset that night.
“No, that couldn’t have been it.”
“I’m not the most perceptive person, but I’m not so dull that I wouldn’t notice something like that.”
It was a strangely self-aware yet contradictory statement.
In truth, Leonie was incredibly oblivious.
Of course, that was part of her charm.
“He didn’t seem particularly happy to see me. Was I expecting too much?”
“But he did bring you dessert earlier, didn’t he?”
“Oh, about that.”
Leonie’s voice grew even more somber as she continued.
“I asked him if he could help me with a difficult book I’ve been reading lately. But he politely declined and brought the dessert instead, as a way of turning me down.”
“Ah.”
“I know he’s busy. And I also know that he’ll be returning to Ostrin soon.”
“……”
“So I wanted to spend as much time with him as I could while he’s here and try to win his heart.”
At that point, Leonie started to tear up again.
I couldn’t figure out whether I should comfort her or encourage her to let go of her feelings.
Looking at Leonie’s forlorn expression, I felt like I should support and cheer for her love. But when I thought about other things, it felt like I shouldn’t.
Alright, let’s figure out which direction to take.
“By the way, Leonie. I just remembered, you mentioned recently that it felt like something unfortunate was happening.”
When I changed the subject, Leonie’s expression shifted.
“How has it been since you visited the astrologer? Does the bracelet seem to be working at all?”
Please, I hoped the astrologer’s words were complete nonsense.
I also hoped that the repeated misfortunes Leonie experienced were just coincidences.
“The biggest misfortune in my life right now is that Lord Watford isn’t interested in me.”
“……”
I closed my eyes tightly.
She’s completely smitten, isn’t she?
“R-right. So, nothing like almost falling down the stairs or windows suddenly breaking has happened again, right?”
I hoped and prayed that the answer would be no.
“Well, that still happens sometimes.”
In this world, my hopes were always mercilessly crushed.
“What? Really?”
“Yeah, just yesterday, while I was changing clothes, a ribbon got tangled around my neck, and it almost became a big problem.”
I couldn’t close my mouth, which had fallen open in shock.
“Oh my goodness.”
“Louisa said that if she’d been even a little later, it could’ve been really serious.”
“How can you say something so terrifying so casually!”
“Because I trust this bracelet. Misfortunes happen, but I haven’t died, have I?”
And then she smiled innocently.
I was the only one here feeling utterly exasperated!
“Leonie, this isn’t something to laugh about. What if something really serious happens?”
But honestly, this was something I shouldn’t have said to Leonie.
All of Leonie’s misfortunes were entirely my fault.
If I hadn’t gotten drunk and made a mistake at the ball, none of this would have happened.
“It’ll be fine. I’ll make sure to always wear the bracelet. Libe, you’re keeping yours safe too, right?”
All I could do was nod weakly.
*** *** *** *** ***
“Ecla.”
“Yes, my Lady.”
In the carriage heading home, I stared blankly out the window.
“What exactly is love?”
“Pardon?”
Though my body swayed with the moving carriage, such things didn’t bother me at all.
My mind was filled only with thoughts of Leonie—how to handle that innocent and kind girl.
“What’s love, you ask? It’s when you miss someone and think of them when they’re not around.”
“……”
“Why do you ask suddenly, my Lady? Are you thinking of His Highness the Grand Duke?”
“What?”
I straightened up abruptly at Ecla’s words, my voice coming out distorted.
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, it has been a few days since you’ve seen him. Oh my, my Lady, you used to say you disliked him, but now you’re absolutely desperate to see him.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? That’s completely wrong!”
“Yes, yes, I understand.”
“No, really, it’s not like that!”
Anyway, what should I do now?
Ugh, this is driving me crazy!
So, Leonie, who should become lovers with Gerlach, the original male lead, is now infatuated with Adrian…
And Gerlach is strangely obsessed with me, is that the situation?
Of course, if this were all there was to it, I wouldn’t be worrying this much.
If I don’t live this life properly, I’ll cease to exist, and Leonie will become unhappy too.
I don’t want to be trapped in the novel and disappear, and I don’t want that kind girl to be unhappy because of me.
There’s only one answer—everything must return to its original state.
I need to change Leonie’s heart and direct Gerlach’s attention back to her.
Neither Adrian nor Gerlach are easy people to deal with.
Still, what needs to be sorted out should be done quickly.
As I stepped out of the carriage, I made up my mind to push Gerlach away.
First, I need to sever this ambiguous relationship with him before worrying about whether he gets involved with Leonie or not.
But how?
“My Lady, is something troubling you?”
Seeing me sitting there with a gloomy face, Ecla asked worriedly.
Part of me wanted to pour out all these frustrating thoughts, but how could she possibly understand even if I explained!
“Ecla, well…”
“Yes?”
Still, I decided to try explaining it in a roundabout way.
It had to be better than worrying about it alone, right?
“This isn’t about me, but something I heard…”
“Yes.”
“There’s this man and woman who absolutely must fall in love with each other.”
“Yes, but why must they fall in love?”
Ah, how do I explain this.
“It’s, it’s fate. It was determined that way from birth.”
“Ah, yes. And then?”
“But the woman has a childhood friend. By chance… this friend got entangled with the fated man.”
“Entangled how?”
Ah, how should I explain this?
“Well, like, he developed a sort of… curiosity?”
“Aha, I see.”
“So the fated couple became separated.”
“Oh my.”
“But that’s not the problem—perhaps because she can’t meet her fated match, unfortunate things keep happening to the woman. And they’re getting worse.”
“Oh my, that’s terrible!”
“Right? It’s serious, isn’t it?”
“Yes, and then?”
Ecla looked at me with an intrigued expression and added.
“No, that friend really did wrong. How horrible! How could they do such a thing?”
Ecla, don’t make that face.
That horrible person is me.
“The friend must have deliberately approached the fated man, right? He must have been a perfect gentleman, handsome with no flaws?”
Well, that’s true, but I definitely didn’t approach him deliberately!
“It wasn’t deliberate, more like an accident…”
“An accident?”
Ecla seems to have quite a persistent side to her.
“Well, it was just a series of coincidences that led the friend to meet him first.”
“Ah, really? But even a series of coincidences like that isn’t something that happens easily.”
Ecla thought for a moment before speaking again.
“A series of coincidences could also be fate, couldn’t it?”
“……”
A series of coincidences could also be fate.
I knew it was just an offhand comment, but for some reason, it made me feel strange.
“No, it was really just a coincidence between the two of them. Anyway, if that’s the situation so far… what should be done now?”
“What do you mean, what should be done? If misfortunes are happening, of course, the two of them need to separate.”
Ecla’s voice grew louder, as if she were fully immersed in the story.
“You said it was fate. Fate can’t be defied. No matter what, the two of them must meet.”
“Right?”
“Yes, of course!”
“You’re right. That makes sense.”
“Don’t tell me the friend is refusing to back down and holding on?”
“Ah, no. It’s not like that. If anything, it’s the man who’s holding on.”
“Oh my.”
“What should be done in this case?”
Ecla seemed to think for a moment before speaking firmly.
“Even so, they’re friends, aren’t they? No matter what, the friend has to push the man away. He must be returned to his fated partner! That’s what fate is all about—something that nothing can separate.”
Though I had already made up my mind, I nodded slowly.
Ecla was right.
From now on, I need to be more decisive.
At that moment, Ecla leaned in close to me and asked.
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