Kisa glared at Melissa at the brazen question.

“You really don’t know why I’m angry?”

“Is it because I talked about you to the princess?”

“You know well.”

“You heard earlier. The princess wanted to know, so I had no choice.”

“Don’t make excuses about the princess. You must have piqued her curiosity first, so she asked.”

“I just thought the princess was curious about your news-”

“I said don’t make excuses!”

At the loud voice, Melissa finally closed her mouth and changed her expression. She looked wronged just a moment ago, but now she frowns as if angry.

“Isn’t this too much? Is it such a big problem to consult with a friend about worries?”

“What? Consult?”

“Yes, I wanted to help in my own way since you were struggling with the Daniel issue. Just then, the princess asked if you and I were getting along well. She was worried that you haven’t been sending letters as often as before lately.”

“I was just a bit slow because I was preoccupied with the Daniel issue.”

“So that’s why I mentioned that issue to her, right? To ask her to say some encouraging words to you.”

“For my sake, you say?”

Kisa let out a hollow laugh, and Melissa calmly nodded in front of her friend.

“That’s right, it was for you.”

Seeing this, a sense of emptiness overwhelmed her entire body. It’s pathetic to think she had considered this person her best friend for over ten years.

“You always say you did it for me. Your mouth is only tight when it comes to me.”

It’s not that Kisa was completely unaware that Melissa had this side to her. Since they were young, Melissa would use Kisa’s stories as bait to attract people’s interest and lead conversations.

It would be a lie to say it wasn’t uncomfortable, but even so, Kisa never actively restrained Melissa’s behavior.

“My beautiful friend, Kisa Vanspelt.”

Melissa always said that whenever she made Kisa a topic of conversation. Though somewhat burdensome, Kisa thought it was Melissa’s way of boasting about her friend.

In childhood, kind Melissa who first approached Kisa when she was extremely shy. That Melissa was someone who would not only use her friend’s appearance to curry favor with the princess but also readily blabber about her worries.

“Wasn’t it good for you too?”

Melissa said in an excusing tone, looking at Kisa who was biting her lip tightly.

“Everyone thinks so highly of you. Plus, even the princess is on your side. You have nothing to fear anymore even if Daniel acts like a rogue.”

Kisa could only sigh in disbelief.

“So you arbitrarily exposed my private matters?”

“The expression ‘exposed’ is a bit much, dear. I told you it was consulting about worries.”

“Consult about your own worries. Don’t go around spreading rumors with other people’s worries.”

“When did I spread rumors?”

“Other people found out, so it’s only a matter of time before it spreads. Daniel Lowens is looking elsewhere despite having a fiancée. Kisa Vanspelt is anxiously struggling, unable to capture a man’s heart.”

Melissa glared as if to say not to speak nonsense.

“You mean the other ladies have loose lips? Why can’t you trust your friend?”

“You sound like a friend.”

The expression ‘playmate who caters to the princess’ suits her better. At Kisa’s blunt words, Melissa exclaimed in shock.

“Kisa! How could you say such a thing!”

Kisa stared blankly at the fuming Melissa.

The Melissa she has known is not naive enough to believe that a secret revealed in front of many people would continue to be kept secret. She must just want to avoid blame.

“Why are you really doing this? Why are you saying such terrible things? I really just wanted to cheer you up…”

The whimpering Melissa made Kisa lose the will to distinguish right from wrong. It’s no different from talking to a wall.

For Kisa’s sake, she hid Daniel’s misconduct, and also for Kisa’s sake, she confessed it to the princess. Whether it’s the result of endless self-justification or not, Melissa seemed to sincerely believe so.

“Forget it. It seems meaningless to talk further.”

“If there’s a misunderstanding, let’s resolve it through conversation.”

“No, it will only hurt my mouth.”

“…Do as you please!”

Melissa pressed her lips shut as if in protest, and Kisa also felt no need to speak to her anymore. Even in the uncomfortable silence, the carriage moved on and finally arrived at the Doss family mansion.

“Kisa.”

Before getting out of the carriage, Melissa turned to Kisa and said:

“I believe that someday you’ll understand my heart. Your sharp reaction now must be because you lack peace of mind due to Daniel.”

Kisa made no reply. Melissa gave her friend a frustrated look and got out of the carriage to enter the mansion.

Looking out the window in the carriage heading to the Vanspelt townhouse, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Isn’t Melissa the exemplary daughter that Count Vanspelt wants?

She doesn’t interfere with other families’ marriage arrangements by unnecessarily wagging her tongue for the sake of a friend, and does her best to be the princess’s joy.

Perhaps he expected his daughter to emulate Melissa. So he introduced his friend’s daughter to his own daughter and instructed them to be close friends.

Yes. Come to think of it, Kisa’s will was not much involved in becoming friends with Melissa.

Not only that, but meeting and getting engaged to Daniel were all done according to the count’s will. What about emotions? Can she really say she liked Daniel of her own will?

A boy of the same age who frequently visited the mansion at the count’s invitation during the loneliest and most desolate time of her life.

Moreover, Daniel at that time was quite obedient to his father’s words, so he tried to treat Kisa fairly well. It was only natural for Kisa to harbor a naive first love.

Thinking like this, she suddenly felt suffocated. Kisa’s life was controlled by the count from beginning to end. Look. Even now, isn’t he ignoring her wish for a broken engagement?

As long as she doesn’t escape from the count’s grasp, she’ll likely end up marrying Daniel soon. Unfortunately, she has no suitable means.

Kisa blankly looked down at her pale hands. Everything in these hands was given to her by the count. Not just objects, but even relationships, nothing was truly her own…

“No.”

There is one. There was one person recently whose connection was made completely unrelated to the count’s intentions.

“Wait, wait a moment!”

Impulsively opening the carriage window, Kisa shouted towards the coachman’s seat. After the carriage stopped by the roadside, Marsha, who had been in the coachman’s seat, hurriedly ran over and opened the door, poking her head in.

“What’s wrong, miss?”

“I just remembered I have something to do. I need to go to the Royal Library. Please turn the carriage around.”

“What? Right now?”

“Yes.”

“But if you come home late like before-”

“Don’t worry. I’ll come out before it gets too late.”

Marsha, who would have opposed more firmly under normal circumstances, seemed hesitant. She must be wary of sparks flying after hearing Kisa and Melissa arguing. In the end, it seems she decided to go along with Kisa’s mood.

“Alright, I understand. But you must return before the master comes home.”

And so the carriage changed direction towards the area where the Royal Library is located.

He wasn’t in the nobles-only reading room she visited for the second time. Although she didn’t have high expectations to begin with, entering the deserted reading room just like before made her feel somewhat disappointed.

“Well, just because he’s a university student doesn’t mean he has to be in the library.”

Kisa muttered softly and placed a book on the desk. Ownership Theory. It’s the book by philosopher Bart that Seiard recommended when they met before.

She had wanted to read it ever since and even went to Count Vanspelt’s study, but while there were a few other works by Bart, Ownership Theory was nowhere to be seen.

However, sending someone to obtain the book wasn’t a good choice either. Since Kisa had never shown interest in such things before, the content of the errand would inevitably reach the count’s ears, and he was unlikely to approve of his daughter’s change.

“Well, I came here to read this book anyway.”

The man who gave her truly empowering words. She also wanted to meet him again, but the original purpose of coming here was to recall the memory of that day.

Just that alone made her feel like her constricted breathing loosened a little. Among the things she had experienced over the past few days, the memory in this reading room was the best.

Sitting in the same spot as last time, Kisa opened the first page of a much thinner book than before. Oh, Seiard’s recommendation was certainly right; the vocabulary and expressions used are much easier compared to Bart’s style.

Since she came all the way here, let’s read it to the end. With this ambitious mindset, she eagerly scanned through the densely arranged letters. However, there was an unexpected obstacle.

She had only read two pages, but her eyes kept closing. Come to think of it, she couldn’t sleep at all last night. The pressure of having to meet Melissa against her wishes was the reason.

Oh no, this won’t do. She can’t waste this precious opportunity so futilely. Even while thinking this, Kisa started nodding off.

The library’s adequately warm temperature and tranquil atmosphere hindered her resistance to the approaching sleep.

She rests her elbow on the desk and supports her swaying forehead with her hand. Despite these efforts, her vision blurred hazily, and her consciousness drifted somewhere.

Finally, as her arm collapsed and her head was about to fall forward. Oh my, some force supported Kisa’s forehead. To prevent it from colliding with the desk.

“You seem very tired.”

The man sitting across from her spoke with a smiling face. It was Seiard.