Just from the brief contact with me, his eyebrows were slightly askew, as if he disliked it. It was enough to read the negative emotions contained in even the subtlest differences.

Not simply avoidance or disgust, but contempt that felt chilling.

“I’m sorry….”

Although I tried to apologize belatedly, Reus ignored me and passed by as if I had never existed in this space to begin with.

I stared at Reus’s retreating back for a long time.

‘Why does he hate me so much?’

I couldn’t understand the reason, but Reus had been subtly showing signs of disliking me for a long time… no, from our first meeting.

I hadn’t bothered him like others did, nor did I remember making any major mistakes.

I hadn’t bothered him like others did, nor did I remember making any major mistakes. If anything, I was the one avoiding him to prevent any entanglement.

Yet Reus would openly display his dislike for me.

“You hate me so much, yet you still wanted to be engaged?”

They’re all strange, this one and that one.

Today, more than ever, I desperately wanted to exit this wretched original story.

* * *

Yesterday, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh and smile at the ball, so I returned home early. If I had stayed, I might have seen Casien falling for Iris.

‘Whatever, it’s over now…. So forget about it.’

Honestly, it would be a lie to say I wasn’t affected, but I tried to steel my heart by thinking of my upcoming escape.

While I was having a casual conversation with Eni, my childhood friend and maid, in my storage room in the annex as usual, it happened.

Eni suddenly clapped her hands and held out something to me.

“Oh, right! I almost forgot this. It’s unusual for you to receive a letter?”

“Huh? A letter?”

Given her surprise, it wasn’t from Roshan or Emily….

From your fiancé Casien−

I froze when I saw the name written on the envelope. I wasn’t angry. Just bewildered.

‘Why would he send me a letter….’

As I remembered, after meeting Iris at the imperial ball, Casien’s attention was solely focused on her.

So even when I sent letters, he consistently ignored them, and at worst, he would throw my letters into the fire without hesitation in front of the servants.

So according to the novel, I should be of no concern to Casien.

But why?

I quickly opened the letter.

The letter was as long as two pages. It was filled with characters that were clearly in Casien’s handwriting.

And to summarize them, it was either asking for forgiveness or saying he still loved me…

The conclusion was that he couldn’t break off the engagement with me.

“…..”

“Looks like the noble young master has finally come to his senses?”

Eni gently pushed my shoulder with a mischievous smile. But I couldn’t smile at all.

‘Didn’t he meet Iris at the palace…?’

It was probably around this time that the original story, which hadn’t budged when I wanted it to, started to deviate somewhere.

* * *

I wished that day’s letter had been just one of his usual whims. But contrary to my hopes, Casien consistently sent letters from the day after returning from the imperial ball.

I didn’t reply to the letters at first.

And I diligently went out, fearing he might suddenly visit like last time. Feria seemed displeased with my frequent outings, but I had no choice.

Today, I was killing time in the square with Roshan and Emily.

‘Why do I have to go through this trouble?’

Originally, I was supposed to stay quiet and then leave!

While I was wracking my brain over the original story, the two were busy chattering about the new imperial princess, Iris.

“So whose daughter is the imperial princess?”

“The third empress. You know, the one who was said to live outside the palace… Was her name Avinoa? Anyway, I heard she’s the daughter of the third empress.”

“Judging by her expression, it seemed the empress didn’t know about it.”

“I know…. I thought I was going to die of fear….”

“Me too, so−”

“Haah…..”

At my deep sigh, Roshan paused, then asked with frustration.

“Hey, what’s been wrong with you for the past few days? No, tell me about the imperial banquet. What happened after you two left? Why won’t you tell us?”

“Ah!”

“Oh, you startled me…!”

They said they stayed until the end of the ball, right?

“Hey. Was Casien there until the end of the ball?”

Roshan didn’t seem to know, as if he hadn’t paid attention. Then, Emily spoke.

“Um… I did see him return to the hall a little while after you left.”

“And then?”

“Hm…?”

“Was he still there when His Majesty introduced the imperial princess?”

“Hmm…. I think he was definitely there until then.”

What? Then he must have met her.

But why does he keep sending me letters?

“Then….”

As I was about to ask more, Roshan interrupted me.

“No! You tell us first. You disappeared like that and then came back only to return to the count’s residence right away. What exactly happened? I must hear it today.”

He looked like he was about to grab my hair if I said nothing happened again. I hesitated before finally answering.

“Casien asked for another chance….”

“And! What did you say?”

“…I said no…?”

“Hey!”

Roshan’s loud voice made both Emily and me flinch. When I looked at him with wide eyes, he soon flashed a grin.

“Well done. This innocent one has finally come to her senses! I’d like to tell you to pay him back the same way, but…..”

Roshan laughed as if enlightened, saying it would be impossible.

At that moment, the cafe terrace was filled with murmuring sounds. Then a shadow fell over me.

Roshan’s face, looking behind me, suddenly crumpled.

“So this is where you were, Roel.”

Looking up, I saw Casien looking down at me, rendering my efforts to avoid his steadily arriving letters futile.

* * *

We moved to the alley next to the cafe because there were too many onlookers.

‘But how did he know where I was and come find me like this…?’

As I frowned at the subtle uneasiness, Casien asked me.

“The letters. Did you read them?”

I deliberately didn’t reply to the letters.

After all, this very evening, I would receive a new identity after paying the final installment to the secret guild.

Escape was really not far off, so there was no need to get entangled.

“I didn’t get any replies. I heard the letters were delivered properly though.”

“…Casien.”

“I’d like to stop talking about breaking off the engagement now.”

Casien was smiling with his usual composure as he said this.

It was such a bright smile that I felt foolish for even briefly worrying about what kind of change of heart he might be going through, seeing him send letters one after another.

“We’re not going to break off our engagement anyway, so I don’t understand why you keep insisting.”

“Insisting…? How is that insisting? I have no intention of taking back what I said.”

Casien let out a small laugh at my words and asked me.

“Roel. Do you really want to break off the engagement with me?”

“Of course….”

“If it were me, I would have sent an official notice of breaking off the engagement. If you wanted to be certain, that is.”

“…..”

The reason I didn’t definitively conclude the engagement breakup and only mentioned it verbally was, of course, because of Feria.

Demanding to break off the engagement without any reason would put House Ivelr in an awkward position. Even though Casien was entirely responsible for the negligence in our relationship and the cause of the breakup, no one from House Ersian or House Ivelr would take issue with it.

Then Feria would corner me, and I, who was about to leave, had no reason to upset Feria’s mood.

But Casien spoke as if mocking me.

“You absolutely can’t do that, can you, Roel?”

“…..”

“So stop being angry and let’s end this useless act here. I’ve waited for you as long as I could. By now, you should know when to take a step back too. Don’t you think?”

* * *

I told Casien to wait and see, threatening that I would send a letter to the Marquis as soon as I got home.

“Ha, what? Useless act? Waiting until my anger subsides?”

‘You think I can’t do it? Just watch, Casien.’

And to keep my promise, as soon as I returned, I asked Eni for paper to write a reply.

It’s not an official notice of breaking off the engagement, but if I write something similar and send it to the Marquis, my will to break off the engagement should be clearly conveyed.

I gritted my teeth and started writing the letter I would send to the Marquis.

“Why are you writing a letter so… Hey! Roel! Wh-who are you sending this to? Wait, Marquis Ersian…?”

Ignoring Eni’s surprised voice, I didn’t even pretend to stop, so she grabbed my hand in shock.

“Talking about breaking off the engagement to the Marquis…! Why are you suddenly doing this! If Madam finds out, it’ll be a big problem, you!”

“It’s okay. I’m leaving soon anyway.”

“Ah…..”

Eni was the only person in this mansion who knew about my escape plan.

Realizing why I was writing such a letter, Eni let go of my hand.

“O-okay…! You’re leaving anyway, so what’s there to lose? You’ll have a new identity by this evening, right? Honestly, that noble young master needs to learn a lesson too. Write it! Write everything you want to say, Roel.”

After finishing the letter breaking off the engagement, I asked Eni to send it to the Ersian Marquis’s residence today.

By the time I board the ship tonight after receiving my new identity, it should arrive at the Ersian Marquis’s residence.

I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of Casien getting a taste of his own medicine when he sees my letter addressed to the Marquis.