Rohan, who was trying to get close to her in any way.

‘I’m sorry, Rohan.’

But she couldn’t respond to those feelings. Sesenia couldn’t love anyone.

No, she wouldn’t love. Love was the most useless emotion that only brought her hell.

It wasn’t because it was Rohan. It would be the same for anyone.

“Even so, why are you taking Teddy with you?”

“Are you jealous?”

“Ah… well…”

“Teddy is special. He has to come with me.”

Teddy’s expression hardened as he came down to the first floor of the company upon hearing of my arrival. His eyes widened in surprise.

“Special… you say…?”

“Yes. So, is it okay if I go with Teddy?”

“If that’s what you wish… who am I to stop you? But… to become a special relationship… I see.”

“Yes. Give up.”

Give up on your feelings and give up on going together. Sesenia looked at him with determination. Only then did Rohan’s cheekbones twitch.

“I see…”

“Rohan.”

Every time she hurt someone’s feelings, Sesenia felt like her heart was being torn apart.

Who was she to… Who was I to… Why would they waste such precious feelings on someone like her? But she felt it.

Perhaps because of what Lizbeth had said, she realized that Rohan liked her.

So she had to make Rohan let go of his feelings.

Even if those feelings were very old. Even if they were desperate and earnest.

‘So don’t love me. Think of me as a bad person. As an evil boss who only uses you, as someone who plays with others’ feelings. I… I’m human trash unworthy of anyone’s love.’

Love only brought her hell.

It was the same in the past and present. Affection always betrayed her.

She liked her family. She liked her father. But to her father, Sesenia was just a convenient pawn to replace her older sister.

She liked her friend.

But to Ian, that friend she had been with for so long since childhood, Sesenia was just a tool to meet Elzere, whom he liked.

She liked her husband.

Even though he met other women, never gave her a glance, and belittled her saying she wasn’t as good as her older sister.

Saying it was because she wasn’t good enough that he cheated.

He rationalized his own actions. She liked her older sister. Even at the moment she took her husband away, she might have liked her.

She drove herself into a corner, thinking there might be some misunderstanding. She wanted to believe that. Because it was the older sister she liked. But most of the feelings she had for people were betrayed.

“Yes, young lady.”

“I’m… not…”

As if realizing what that deep silence meant, Rohan nodded very slowly.

Hate me. Hate me terribly. Throw away even a penny of affection for me with that hatred.

“I understand. I won’t do anything.”

“Thank you. I like Rohan as a person. You’re really excellent.”

“…”

“Meeting Rohan was a blessing. And later… when everything is over… take the company named after my mother. You’ll run it much better than I would.”

Rohan’s face hardened for a moment.

“What do you mean…”

“You should like it. The evil boss is going to give everything and leave, you should like it.”

“B-but…”

“Don’t work with the mindset of an employee, work as if you’ll soon be the boss. If you’re unsure, take some kickbacks too. Got it? This is all I can give in response to Rohan’s feelings.”

“Young lady…”

“Teddy. Lizbeth. Then let’s go. Ah, this.”

Sesenia, fearing Rohan might say something else, quickly pressed the letter she had written this morning into his hand and hurried outside.

Normally, Rohan would have seen them off from the first floor, but he seemed quite flustered as he followed Sesenia out, but the three were already in the carriage.

“Ah, young lady…!”

“Remember what I said. Then, we’ll be going!”

That was the end. Thanks to them moving faster than ever, the carriage door closed and departed immediately.

“Young lady… how can I… how can I…”

Rohan’s expression as he blankly watched the carriage disappear was even more peculiar than before. He sighed for a moment and then unfolded the letter Sesenia had entrusted to him.

“Even as you leave, you give me work. This is better, actually.”

With a much brighter expression than before, Rohan quickly entered the company.

**

Inside the carriage.

“Thankfully, it seems we’ve shaken him off well.”

“Yes. I was worried what we’d do if he followed all the way.”

“Young lady. Thank you.”

“Hm? Why?”

“For bringing my brother to his senses. Judging by his expression earlier, he definitely came to his senses. Of course, matters of the heart don’t heal quickly… but it’ll be okay.”

“Rohan… will meet a good person. He should.”

Lizbeth held her hand tightly.

“But are you really going to hand over the company to that brother of mine?”

“Yes. Not right away, but when everything is over.”

“But…”

“I have no attachment to money. Even that is just a backdrop for the path I’m taking. Rather, I was worried about what to do with the company after everything was over, so this works out well.”

But what Lizbeth was talking about was something else.

“If you’re going to hand it over, make my share 50 percent.”

“Huh?”

“My share. I can’t stand to see only that brother of mine living large!”

Sesenia, who had been serious all along, couldn’t help but smile.

Lizbeth’s voice, full of greed, seemed sincere rather than joking. That made her even cuter.

“Really… you’re so cute.”

“If 50 is too much, make it 40 percent. I, I want to go to a cake shop and say, ‘Give me everything from here to there!!’ I want to be rich!”

“Alright. I’ll make sure to take care of it.”

A nameless wildflower blooming on the path to hell. Lizbeth was just like that wildflower.

A wildflower that can be seen everywhere when you turn your head, not excessive or standing out, but showing itself off.

And one of the few people who made her laugh.

“Thank you, Lizbeth.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing.”

Lizbeth tilted her head, not knowing why Sesenia was thanking her, but Sesenia didn’t say anything else.

Afterwards, Sesenia, who had been looking out the window, seemed to think of something and got up to sit next to Teddy.

Teddy’s eyes, which had been constantly watching her as if he would lose her forever if he lost sight of her, widened.

“Master?”

“Teddy.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s take it off now.”

Sesenia showed him her ring. It was the ring she had brought with her today.

The only ring that could remove the restraint on his neck.

“The necklace…?”

“Yes. We’re going to prove you today. But it would be strange if you went wearing that necklace.”

“…This was what connected me and the master…”

But as before, Teddy’s opposition was quite fierce.

“What connects us isn’t just that one thing. With Silian, it’s a contractual relationship, with Rohan, it’s a boss and employee relationship. With Lizbeth, it’s a master and maid relationship. But we are in a relationship to move forward together into the future. A different relationship from others.”

That shook Teddy’s heart for a moment, but that was all.

He wanted to become an even more special relationship. He wished there was something to prove it. So Teddy shook his head.

“If it doesn’t harm you, if it only harms me, I don’t want to take it off. I don’t want to remove it, Master.”

Like a wet puppy on a rainy day, Teddy looked at Sesenia with a gloomy expression.

As if she had already anticipated this, Sesenia took Teddy’s hand, which was quietly resting on his knee.

Her hand gently stroked Teddy’s hand where the ring was worn.

“And doesn’t this connect us too?”

“Ah.”

Only then did Teddy notice the ring Sesenia had personally put on his hand, and his lips twitched.

“So let’s remove the restraint.”

“But what if I suddenly change like that again?”

“You’ve been fine without it until now. I’ve never put on the ring to restrain you since I met you.”

“But… but…”

“I understand you don’t want to remove it because it was our beginning. But we need to move forward.”

If we stay still, we can’t move forward. The same applied to his restraint.

“I have no intention of hiding how you lived. But not wanting to hide it and living as a slave are different things. If you keep wearing the restraint, Teddy, you’re no different from a slave just rescued from a slave trader.”

Only then did Teddy seem to come to his senses and smiled awkwardly.

“I was being too childish, wasn’t I…”

“No. It’s not that you’re being childish, you are a child. Just entering the world. It’s natural to want things you couldn’t have before, not knowing much. So, don’t keep pushing yourself into a corner.”

“Yes. Then please remove it.”

Teddy lifted his neck, looking at Sesenia.

“Alright. Today, you’re being reborn.”

Sesenia placed her ring against his neck.

As he grew, the magical device grew too, but it seemed to have been choking him, as Teddy’s neck was full of scratches.

“It must have hurt.”

When her hand touched Teddy’s neck, he flinched.

“This is too stimulating, Master. It feels like… your hand is touching my bare skin.”

A small breath escaped Teddy’s lips. Sesenia’s cheeks turned red as she had moved close to him to remove the restraint.