Jacqueline looked at her as she was bringing the teacup to her mouth. A playful smile had already appeared on Samantha’s lips.

Chatting leisurely like this made it feel as if they had returned to their school days.

“You don’t have any special plans this Sunday, do you?”

“Well, I don’t have any schedule yet.”

She generally didn’t have any schedules, but she refrained from adding that. After all, a popular lady should pretend to have plans even when she doesn’t.

“Then come to the cafe ‘Ti Amo’ at noon that day. It’s the cafe in the square, it shouldn’t be hard to find.”

The corners of Samantha’s mouth tensed up. It was her characteristic expression whenever she tried to hold back laughter.

“Hmm.”

Jacqueline stared at her with suspicious eyes. It was the same in school. Samantha always got caught because of that expression when trying to play tricks on Jacqueline.

“Tell me honestly.”

“What?”

Samantha feigned innocence at Jacqueline’s pressing, but she was already in Jacqueline’s palm.

“Samantha.”

When Jacqueline lowered her voice ominously, Samantha pouted her lips. Unable to hold out any longer, she opened her mouth as if she had no choice.

“I’m saying this for your sake, Jackie. Can’t you just come?”

“So what is it that you’re thinking of for my sake?”

“Actually, Mr. Evan Knox wants to meet you.”

“Samantha…”

Jacqueline faintly furrowed her brow. Thinking she might refuse, Samantha quickly added,

“Mr. Evan Knox still loves you. The broken engagement wasn’t his will. He came to me personally to ask when he found out I was going to meet you. There’s no man like him.”

“Love, you say. He was my fiancé, but we’ve only met face to face a few times.”

“But Mr. Knox really loves you? Jackie, I’m saying this as your friend. Mr. Knox is a good person. If you let him go, you’ll surely regret it.”

Looking at Samantha’s innocent face, Jacqueline gave a bitter smile. She knew that Jacqueline’s family had gone bankrupt, but she didn’t realize what that meant.

Having to entrust her mother to a relative’s house because there was nowhere to live, having to work to earn living expenses, having to turn away after long deliberation in front of things she wanted to buy.

To Samantha, the word ‘bankruptcy’ was just a word read in a book, nothing more, nothing less.

It wasn’t that she felt resentful or blamed her. After all, until three years ago, Jacqueline wasn’t much different from Samantha.

Perhaps humans are beings that can’t fully understand others until they’re in that situation themselves.

“I know Mr. Evan Knox is a good person too, Samantha.”

Jacqueline said in a calm tone. Samantha grinned and sat up straight. It was an attitude closer to a student than a lady.

“Right? So this Sunday, meet Mr. Knox and…”

“But he’s not someone who suits me.”

“…”

Samantha closed her mouth as if caught off guard. She hesitated, seeing the bitter smile on Jacqueline’s lips.

Jacqueline looked straight at her surprised face and continued speaking calmly. The harsh reality slipped between her teeth.

“He will soon inherit the title of count and become the master of the Knox family. On the other hand, I have to worry about what to eat today and where to sleep tomorrow.”

“But Jackie, I’m sure Mr. Knox will help you. That’s the duty of a fiancé.”

“Count Knox has no intention of taking me as a daughter-in-law who is of no help to his son, or rather, is only a hindrance. You know well that marriage isn’t decided solely by the will of two people, right?”

She knew. No matter how naive Samantha was, she wasn’t that ignorant of the ways of the world. Her fiancé too was the heir of a family chosen by her parents.

Before that, they had only encountered each other a couple of times at parties, without exchanging a single word.

“Count Knox will like you too. No one dislikes you, Jackie.”

Instead of answering, Jacqueline just smiled faintly. What expression would Samantha make if she told her about Lord Knox’s visit?

Count Knox had angrily and anxiously rushed to her, fearing that she might marry Evan Knox and ruin his son’s future.

“This is compensation for the broken engagement. Take this money and never appear before Evan again. My son no longer has any relationship with the Somerset family.”

“You don’t need to give me compensation. I’ll gladly accept the broken engagement.”

“If you’re not thinking of extorting more money, take it. Such matters should be calculated accurately. At least after receiving compensation, you won’t have the face to appear before my son.”

The devastation of that moment vividly came back to life. It was miserable and shameful.

It wasn’t because she loved Evan. Rather, it was because of the changed attitude of Count Knox, who had treated Jacqueline kindly, calling her ‘the lucky charm of our family’.

Everyone who knew she had gone bankrupt changed their attitude. The meaning of downfall became clearly felt on her skin.

She felt like she had become a useless existence, not the young lady of the Somerset Count family. Samantha, who had been carefully observing Jacqueline’s dark expression, asked in a dubious voice.

“Don’t tell me… Did Count Knox say something to you?”

“Samantha.”

“He did, didn’t he? Oh my goodness! How… How could Count Knox do that to you? This is unbelievable!”

Samantha was angry as if she herself had been insulted. Her face turned red, and her voice trembled.

“How could he treat you like that! I can’t believe it! This is really unacceptable, Jackie! It’s absolutely intolerable!”

“…”

“Does Mr. Knox know about this too?”

Suddenly struck by a thought, Samantha asked carefully. Jacqueline exhaled a long breath and answered in a calm tone.

“There’s no need to tell him, Samantha. It’s not something good to know anyway. So don’t say anything to Mr. Knox either.”

“But that’s too unfair for you, Jackie!”

At those words, Jacqueline smiled faintly. Too much time had passed to argue about unfairness.

“A young lady more suitable than me will appear for Mr. Knox. Maybe Count Knox has already set his sights on someone.”

“How can you be so nonchalant about it?”

Samantha pouted her lips. It was her habit whenever she was displeased. Jacqueline looked at her with kind eyes.

At her, who still possessed the things Jacqueline had lost.

Jacqueline wasn’t nonchalant. It was just that in the face of countless cuts, a small scratch felt relatively less painful.

Samantha, clenching her fist tightly, spoke sharply.

“Then you should meet Mr. Knox yourself this Sunday and reject him.”

“Samantha…”

Jacqueline called her name as if scolding a child. But Samantha persisted to the end.

“Mr. Knox said he would wait until you come out. …If Mr. Knox didn’t know about it, I think we should give him a chance. He really loves you.”

“It’s a connection that’s already been severed.”

“A connection you severed on your own. Just like you did with me, Jackie.”

Samantha’s eyes took on a sulky light. Instead of apologizing, Jacqueline wore an awkward smile. Samantha reached for a cookie.

“If it’s a severed connection, cut it off with your own hands and come back. Or let Mr. Knox wait there all day and stand him up. My role ends with delivering Mr. Knox’s message to you.”

Jacqueline let out a light sigh. Samantha’s expression quickly turned happy as she bit into the cookie.

“I felt it at the party too, the cook at the Preston mansion is quite skilled.”

“Right? I thank her at every meal too.”

“Come to think of it, I just met Lord Preston earlier, and he’s very handso… Huh?”

Samantha, who was munching on the cookie, stopped mid-sentence and gave Jacqueline a dubious look. Jacqueline, who was bringing the teacup to her mouth, raised an eyebrow as if to ask why she was looking at her like that.

Samantha’s voice took on a meaningful tone.

“About rejecting Mr. Knox. …It’s not because of Lord Preston, is it?”

“Samantha! Don’t say such nonsense!”

Jacqueline shouted, startled as if burned. Seeing her overreaction, Samantha’s eyes grew increasingly suspicious.

“If it’s nonsense, why is your face red?”

“Samantha!”

“Hmm. If you say so.”

Samantha brought the teacup to her lips. But she didn’t take her eyes off Jacqueline until the end. Then, as if struck by a thought, she frowned.

“About that article…”

At those words, Jacqueline’s spirit deflated. She didn’t ask what article. It must be referring to the article about the ‘penniless young lady’ suing a con artist.

“By now, the social circles must be buzzing with my story.”

Jacqueline said indifferently, as if it were someone else’s business. Samantha couldn’t bring herself to say it wasn’t true and just munched on the cookie.

Jacqueline took a sip of tea and continued nonchalantly.

“My father’s story too?”

Samantha dropped her shoulders and admonished her.

“Jackie… Why did you sue that man? It’s already been several years. That’s a severed connection too. Why couldn’t you just forget about it and move on?”

“If I hadn’t stepped up, James Hemington would still be committing the same acts. He would be going around scamming naive nobles.”

“So what if he does? It’s not like it concerns you anyway. No one cares about your noble intentions. They’re just busy gossiping about the sensational article in the newspaper. So you don’t need to worry about them.”

Samantha retorted glumly. She didn’t care who got scammed. Rather, she was more heartbroken that Jacqueline was hearing rumors she didn’t need to hear.

Charity begins at home, and Samantha cared more about Jacqueline than nobles she had no connection with.

“I’m not particularly hoping to be recognized. I just couldn’t ignore my conscience.”

At those words, Samantha sighed deeply as if conceding. Then she looked at Jacqueline with softened eyes.

“You haven’t changed at all, Jackie.”

“Me?”

Jacqueline opened her eyes wide as if those words were very unexpected. She thought she had changed a lot. As dramatically as her fall from a count’s daughter to a penniless young lady.

She had to beg for letters of recommendation to earn money, couldn’t even properly complain about worn-out dresses, and had long since thrown away things like pride.