Chapter 43
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 43
"Duchess Heitze, how wonderful that you've come."
"How are you feeling?"
"As you can see, I've improved considerably. Father and Aiden are simply being overprotective."
She claimed to be fine, yet her face still bore the pallor of illness.
"Sister, the Duchess Heitze says she's brought a gift for you."
"Oh my, truly?"
"Yes, here it is."
I extended the small box I'd been holding to Adela.
"Wow! A gift! Thank you so much, Duchess!"
"It wouldn't be proper to arrive empty-handed, so I prepared something, though it's nothing extraordinary."
"But this is the first gift you've ever given me! Whatever it is, it's precious to me."
With those words, Adela carefully received the box and opened its lid with an expression brimming with anticipation.
"Wow!"
Upon seeing its contents, Adela let out a deep gasp of admiration.
A hair ornament shaped like a white lily, no larger than the width of two fingers pressed together, rested in her hands.
"It's so beautiful. Truly so beautiful that I'd feel guilty wearing it."
Seeing her delight over what I'd prepared so casually made me feel suddenly embarrassed.
"I thought it would suit the Byon Duchess well, so I had it custom-made through an artisan."
"Then there's only one of these hair ornaments in the entire world?"
"Well, you could say that."
"I really think I might cry. I've never received a gift like this before."
Tears were indeed gathering at the corners of Adela's eyes as she spoke.
'She's quite sentimental.'
I'd anticipated as much, but it was more pronounced than I'd expected.
"Would you do it for me?"
"Pardon?"
Adela suddenly thrust the hair ornament toward me.
"I'd love it if you would put it in for me. Would that be too much to ask?"
"Well..."
As I hesitated, I gave a slight nod and accepted the hair ornament from her.
The expression on her upturned face was far too earnest for me to refuse.
I moved close to the Bedroom.
"Pardon me."
Then I carefully placed the hair ornament I'd gifted her into Adela's hair.
As I'd thought, it suited her pristine beauty perfectly.
"What do you think? Am I pretty?"
"Yes, you are."
"Aiden? What about me?"
"You are beautiful."
"Aiden, could you bring me that mirror over there?"
Aiden retrieved the small mirror from the table and handed it to Adela.
Adela shifted the mirror this way and that, examining her reflection carefully.
"Thank you, my lady! I'll treasure this gift forever."
Though her face had grown somewhat gaunt from illness, her beauty remained unmistakable.
And Adela smiled back with the most radiant expression.
Watching her, I felt a sharp pang in my chest—as though I'd been judging her far too harshly.
She was the crux of my broken engagement with Cain Maxius.
According to the original story, Adela was not someone Belita could speak of kindly, even in passing.
But stepping away from the narrative, the Adela I faced directly was not so terrible.
No—not merely acceptable, but quite pleasant, actually.
'Perhaps...'
I found myself thinking we might actually develop a genuinely good relationship.
That thought reminded me of why I'd come to visit her today.
So I glanced up at Aiden briefly, then turned to Adela and spoke.
"Would it be alright if the Byon Princess and I spoke alone for a moment?"
"Of course! I've been wanting to talk with you privately as well."
Adela gestured for Aiden to leave.
But Aiden hesitated slightly.
"Aiden."
When Adela called him again, he nodded.
"Then I shall take my leave."
Before he closed the door and departed, our eyes met for a moment.
As before, his expression was utterly unreadable—I couldn't discern a hint of his true thoughts.
The door slowly closed, and he vanished.
"My lady?"
When Adela called to me, I straightened and looked at her.
"The Prince certainly takes good care of you."
"I've been sickly since childhood, so he tends to be overprotective. Father is too, actually. Don't you think it's excessive?"
"Well, I can't speak to Duke Byon's behavior since I haven't witnessed it, but Prince Aiden doesn't strike me as excessive. I have no siblings, but if I had a sick brother, I imagine I'd act much the same way."
"You truly are kind and considerate. I'd be so happy if we could become friends."
Adela spoke with a bright smile.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I've spoken thoughtlessly again."
Remembering what I'd said to her before, Adela suddenly wore an apologetic expression.
"Well, I've given it some thought."
This was my chance, now that Adela had broached the subject first.
"I'm sorry?"
"What you said before... that we couldn't be friends..."
"Oh, yes. I'm fine with it. I... well, I was terribly thoughtless. I should have considered how much pain my actions caused you, but instead I only thought of my own feelings and circumstances. I was deeply disrespectful to you. I apologize."
Listening to Adela's words, I finally saw her clearly for who she truly was.
And just as I'd thought, she was quite a decent person.
"I wasn't in my right mind back then either, so I responded far too emotionally. I owe you an apology as well."
"No! You mustn't apologize to me. Please don't say such things!"
"No, I hurt you with my words, and it's been weighing on my heart ever since."
"Ah..."
"So what I mean to say is... I'd like to become close with Byon Duke's daughter as well. I can't yet promise with certainty that we'll become true friends, but since you've reached out to me first, I'll make the effort."
"...You really mean that?"
Adela answered in a trembling voice.
I nodded slowly.
"Oh... what should I do? I'm so happy, so overjoyed I feel like I might faint."
She was laughing with genuine joy, her face on the verge of tears.
"No, you absolutely cannot faint."
I was genuinely worried for a moment that Adela might actually lose consciousness.
"I'm so happy. Thank you, my lady. I promise I'll treat you well."
There was no need for her to go that far...
I had been about to say exactly what I was thinking, but I closed my mouth instead.
I couldn't bring myself to say such a thing to someone who was so genuinely delighted.
But there was something I absolutely had to say, so I quickly organized my thoughts and opened my mouth again.
"However, there is something I must ask of you."
"What is it? I'm prepared to do anything. If it means I can be friends with you."
"It's about Cain Maxius."
The moment Cain's name was mentioned, the smile vanished from Adela's face in an instant.
"Ah, yes. Please go ahead..."
"As I've said before, I have no feelings whatsoever for Cain Maxius. That was true then, and I can assure you it will remain so. He will never find a place in my heart."
"But the Duke..."
"I don't know why the Duke has suddenly become this way, but you heard his feelings back then. However, his heart belongs to him alone, and there's nothing I can do about it. But my heart is mine as well. I can swear to you here and now that I will never harbor feelings for the Duke."
"If this is because of me, then I..."
"No, it's not because of Byon Duke's daughter. After the engagement was broken and I went on my travels, I cleanly resolved my feelings toward Cain Maxius. I harbor not a shred of lingering attachment to him. So please don't think this is because of you."
"..."
"I'm telling you this despite knowing it may be uncomfortable, because I hope that Cain Maxius won't come between us in the future."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org