After staring at the fluttering flag for a while, I recognized a familiar emblem. It was the eagle emblem clutching laurel leaves—the same one stamped on the engagement certificate from City Hall.

“Didn’t Jenald clearly say he received the engagement certificate from City Hall?”

I turned around and scanned my surroundings. I held a faint hope that Jenald might have returned, but there was no sign of him whatsoever.

My stamina was drained from running, making it difficult to chase after him. Though I needed a moment to catch my breath, I couldn’t afford to waste time standing here idly. I had a nagging feeling Edan might appear at any moment and grab Jenald by the collar.

“Well, I was planning to stop by here anyway. Since I’ve come this far, I might as well get detailed information about citizenship.”

I stepped into the City Hall building. Back then, because my leg hadn’t healed, I’d relied on Jenald to handle things. But if I ever traveled abroad in the future, it’d be better for me to know these things myself.

But then.

“…Huh?”

My heart dropped.

A female clerk, her hair neatly braided and tied back, slid the engagement certificate I’d shown her back across the counter.

“Who gave you this? Let me repeat: this is a forged document.”

My hands trembled uncontrollably.

A forged document? This… is fake?

Slowly, I looked down at the certificate she’d returned. This piece of paper—I’d cherished it for months, even more than my salary. I’d kept it carefully folded in a drawer, barely ever taking it out, terrified of damaging it.

“Well, are you sure you’ve checked it thoroughly?”

“Yes. I’ve checked it multiple times. The absence of the crucial witness section alone is already…”

“Please, just take one more good look. See? The imperial seal is clearly stamped in red. And also…”

“It’s a forgery. City Hall doesn’t issue engagement certificates like this.”

I couldn’t find any more words to say. A single sheet of paper, bearing Jenald’s and my names, declaring our engagement. Jenald had insisted he received it directly from City Hall…

I could see it clearly in the clerk’s steady gaze as she watched me pale and freeze.

‘Jenald lied to me.’

Jenald deceived me? For not just a day or two—but for months?

Betrayal surged through me, making my blood boil. I clenched my teeth and gripped the paper tighter. The fake engagement certificate, trembling in both my hands, crumpled helplessly.

My vision blurred; my body locked up as if turned to stone.

“The signing date seems quite old. Were you already acquainted with the man named here since then?”

“…Yes.”

“Did that man give you this personally?”

“….”

I couldn’t lift my head. My voice, barely audible, trailed off until I finally shut my mouth. The clerk sighed deeply.

“You’re not the first young lady to bring in a forged document like this. You must not have heard the news—until recently, there were multiple marriage fraud cases. We thought we’d caught the culprit, but apparently, there are more fraudsters out there. Did you happen to give him any money?”

Instinctively, I started to shake my head to say I hadn’t given him money—but froze again.

No. I had.

It wasn’t a fortune, but to receive this engagement certificate, I’d handed over a considerable sum I’d saved up over two months.

The clerk sighed softly, then spoke carefully, almost pityingly—but firmly and decisively.

“I understand you’re shocked, but this is evidence. Don’t crumple it. Take it properly and report to the sheriff. There’s nothing we can do here except confirm it’s a forged document.”

Only then did I remember what the postman had said.

The fruit shop owner’s daughter—he’d mentioned she’d been scammed in the capital through a marriage fraud scheme. Lost all her money.

But when I met Jenald, I had no money. If he were a scammer, shouldn’t he have targeted someone wealthier?

This was confusing.

What on earth was Jenald thinking when he deceived me? Where did the lies even begin?

My hands trembled with rage. I clenched my fingertips, folded the engagement certificate, and shoved it into my bag.

Just as I turned to leave, I asked the clerk:

“Um… could you tell me what conditions are required to obtain citizenship in a foreign country?”

“Huh? Citizenship?”

“Yes.”

Taken aback by the sudden topic shift, the clerk widened her eyes briefly—but soon began explaining.

“Currently, the only foreign citizenship obtainable within the Empire is from the Western Kingdom. Simple travel is possible to any country within six months, but if you intend to fully relocate, your only options are to purchase Western Kingdom citizenship—or marry a man from that country.”

“Is… is that all?”

“There’s a basic condition—you must have no criminal record—but you don’t seem to have that kind of history… so no other conditions apply.”

So even the claim that engagement was necessary to obtain citizenship… was a lie too!

“I see… thank you.”

To hide my trembling voice, I took a deep breath, bowed deeply to the clerk, and fled outside like I was running away. Once outside, I scanned left and right.

‘Jenald, you damn bastard! You scammed me? If I catch you, you’re dead!’

Without thinking, I started running to find Jenald.

Even before I died, I’d always been unlucky.

Ever since I became an adult and started earning money, my family constantly exploited me for cash. At work, all the tedious tasks and messes were dumped on me.

Still, I endured. Even that bland, flavorless life had small joys—riding the subway to and from work, reading novels under the covers before sleep. I believed someday, better days would come.

I never expected my end would be a car accident.

And I certainly never expected I’d reincarnate as Latieana Merigold—the most insignificant, pathetic extra imaginable.

I was lucky to jump from the carriage and survive, but when I hid under that tree with my injured leg, I truly felt abandoned by the entire world.

I’d thought many times: if not for Jenald, I might have died right then.

Jenald appeared at the perfect moment—when I was at my weakest. He was the first person to treat me kindly without expecting anything in return. Had anyone ever been that good to me before? Jenald was so genuinely kind I often looked back in wonder. Naturally, I opened my heart to him—and began expecting so much.

If I had to define my feelings: fondness, admiration. Just that much.

Though I didn’t love him, I trusted him enough to believe we’d remain lifelong friends—even if we never got engaged.

That’s how it was.

But… it was all a scam.

“…Damn it.”

After running around for who knows how long, searching for Jenald—who knows where he was—I finally stopped, gasping for breath, my lungs burning.

There was no way I could find Jenald like this, lost in the vast, chaotic capital.

I ended up back at the clock tower. A gust of wind swept around me, chilling my mind and bringing me back to my senses.

Slowly, I turned and headed toward the inn where Jenald had told me to wait.

“Latieana!”

Jenald arrived just as I’d been waiting outside the inn for about two hours, unable to bring myself to go inside.

The sun was setting between the buildings, painting the city in hues of twilight.

Crouched in front of the inn, I slowly lifted my head to face Jenald.

“Where’ve you been?”

“Sorry! You must’ve been startled, right? But why are you standing out here? Come inside. I’m friends with the innkeeper!”

Jenald beamed at me, cheerful and carefree—as if shoving me aside and running off earlier meant nothing to him.

I stared back at him with icy silence.

“Are you mad? Your expression is scary. It’s okay—you still look pretty.”

“….”

Still receiving no response, Jenald reached out and grabbed my wrist.

“I’ve never seen you this angry before. I’m really sorry, truly! Don’t be like this. My birthday’s coming up soon, okay? Calm down first…”

He grinned like a sweet puppy, interlacing his fingers with mine, then releasing, then stroking, then grabbing again—it was ridiculous.

Talking about birthdays, of all things.

I wrenched my arm away from him with all my strength. Unlike Edan, Jenald’s grip broke away helplessly.

“Latieana…?”

My drastically changed demeanor in just a few hours made Jenald’s eyes widen in shock.

Understandable. In front of him, I’d always pretended to be a gentle, demure lady.

“Hey.”

I tilted my head sideways like Edan would, lowering my voice.

“Hey…?”

Jenald frowned, confused—but quickly recovered, flashing a bright smile.

“What’s wrong, Latieana? Is it because of what happened earlier?”

I stared coldly at Jenald and spoke slowly, deliberately. I suppressed the tremor in my voice caused by the overwhelming sense of betrayal.

“Whatever your reasons, it’s true you saved my life that day—so I’ll give you one chance.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you have something to say to me?”

“Huh?”

Sensing something was off, Jenald’s eyebrows twitched.

“Say it now, while you still have the chance.”

I spoke as if granting him a tremendous favor. In truth, I was barely restraining myself from grabbing him by the throat. My attitude must have unsettled him, because he rubbed his neck and asked innocently,

“What are you talking about? Seriously, what’s wrong?”

So you’re going to pretend you don’t know until the end.

“I went to City Hall earlier.”

“…Huh?”

I watched Jenald’s face silently, then continued in a voice chilled to the bone.

“They said the engagement certificate is forged. What’s going on?”

Jenald, who’d been rubbing his neck unnaturally, froze mid-motion.