If there was even a little emotion of love or liking, Sesenia wouldn’t have been engaged or married to the Crown Prince.

She was that kind of person.

Having experienced death, betrayal, and changed now, Sesenia was a person who absolutely did not do anything immoral.

So, for whatever reason, the immoral acts of her husband were even more nauseating.

Whatever the reason, she believed that a moral heart was the foundation of a person.

That’s why her feelings towards Ian were not love.

So, when the affair with the Crown Prince happened, she felt sorry, and that was it.
Of course, I thought I would be engaged and married to Ian. That kind of regret for someone I’ve been with for a long time.

“Thinking that I love you. Seriously… It’s amusing.”

Sesenia now realized how her actions might appear in the eyes of others.

Ian already misunderstood that Sesenia deeply loved him.

“I see.”

There was no reason to refuse when he expressed it like that, holding such a huge plot in his hands, ready to swim as a fish in his fish tank.

Tock, tock.

Sesenia, who was looking at Ian, moved towards the window.

The weather had suddenly turned chilly, and winter was approaching. The national festival would be the beginning and end of revenge.

Already that figure was elegant.

“But Sesenia, something seems a bit strange these days.”

“Me? Are you trying to pick a fight?”

“It’s not a fight. I heard some news. You are going to attend a party, an event you’ve never attended before in your lifetime.”

“Oh, that.”

“It’s really strange.”

“I’m just trying to fulfill my duty as an adult. Even though I have an older sister, I’m also a member of the Marquis’s family. So, by going to the party, I need to show the prosperity of the family.”

Sesenia continued speaking with an expression that seemed to have no particular meaning, but Ian didn’t seem to fully accept her words.

“Still. Why bother caring about such things?”

“Are you telling me not to go to the national festival?”

“Yeah. Even if you go, there’s nothing good about it…”

Ian caught Sesenia’s gaze. A frighteningly cold expression. As if pricked by something, Ian hastily changed the subject.

“But still. Why bother caring about that?”

“Why? Are you telling me not to go to the national festival?”

“Yeah. If you want to go that much… then, I’ll escort you.”

“You?”

“Yeah. That’s right. Wouldn’t it be fine like that?”

Like presenting a completely new plan, as if the first plan was wrong, Ian suggested the second plan in a hurry.

“Escort. It’s fine.”

“Why? Do you hate me?”

“Yeah. I don’t like you. Rather than going with you, it seems better to grab the hand of a passing dog and go.”

With words that seemed to pierce her throat, Sesenia nodded silently.

“No. I just want to go alone.”

“It’s your first time going to a festival alone. Absolutely not. Go with me.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Sesenia.”

“I said no.”

A deep and annoying sigh escaped from Ian’s mouth.

“…Alright.”

“It’s not because I hate you. Ian.”

Sesenia turned her head towards Ian, smiling as if whipping and giving a carrot, her head turned slightly.

Only then did Ian’s face gradually relax.

“It’s not because I hate you?”

“Yeah. Just… because I like you. If I embarrass myself at the first festival I attend with you, it would be embarrassing to someone I like. So, that’s why.”

“Oh, no. It’s okay. Even if you make a mistake. If anything, in such situations, shouldn’t I be the one to protect you?”

“Still, I don’t want to show that side to you. Understand?”
Perhaps worried that Ian might have different thoughts because of the words she spat out, Sesenia moved her lips slowly as if feeding him a carrot covered in honey.

It was natural for Ian’s expression to change.

Sesenia had thought that she was showing hostility towards him, but the current Sesenia seemed to be someone trying to appear good to him in any way possible. On the contrary, he smiled.

“You understand my feelings, right, Ian?”

“Yeah. Sesenia, you still like me. I almost misunderstood and spoke without knowing what kind of feelings you had.”

“Speak? About what?”

“Oh, no.”

What surprised Sesenia when she was betrayed by Ian in the past was that he couldn’t stay firm. He was a person prone to mistakes.

The fact that such a person, who, for a long time, protected her older sister while she gave birth to a child, managed to keep his mouth shut during that time, was shocking.

Now, it turned out that he was not a person prone to mistakes. He was looking at Sesenia in this way, like testing whether she knew or not.

As if experimenting with whether she would ask him something different. Even now, it was the same.

He squinted his eyes like a person trying to confirm whether Sesenia was going to ask him something different.

‘You don’t know your habits.’