“Cough-!”

Jenald Johan, spitting out as if exhaling his last breath, flew back mercilessly like a rag doll. At a speed strong enough to kick up clouds of dust on the ground.

If there hadn’t been a building wall nearby, he might have flown even farther.

With a bang! Jenald hit the wall with his entire body and collapsed to the ground.

As the sudden event unfolded, Jenald’s wife, perhaps too shocked, looked at Edan and moved her lips slightly.

Was she unable to grasp the situation, or too stunned to choose her words?

She covered her mouth, blinked rapidly, and took a step back.

That’s right. It had to be that way.

In front of this man, stepping back for any reason was only natural.

“Ugh…”

The painful voice of Jenald broke the quiet, heavy atmosphere that had momentarily filled the surroundings. Jenald’s wife hurriedly closed her gaping mouth, turned around, and rushed toward him.

“Eek! D-Darling!”

I wiped the lingering tears from my eyes with the back of my hand and looked at the two with a cold gaze.

Then, feeling Edan’s stare fixed on me, I lowered my head and covered my face with both hands.

Oh, no. It’s really over now. Edan showed up.

While arguing with that foolish conman Jenald, I missed my last chance.

“Let go.”

It had been a terribly long day, but Edan’s voice, speaking to me, sounded calm, as if nothing had happened. I shook my head.

“…No.”

“I won’t tease you even if there’s snot on your face, so just let go.”

What is he saying in this situation? There’s no snot! Crying doesn’t always mean snot!

“Lati, let go.”

Edan spoke to me again. It was far too gentle to be a command.

How ironic. That the one looking out for me in this situation is Edan.

Somehow, a wave of sadness made my chest ache.

No matter how kindly Edan treats me, he’s someone I absolutely cannot rely on.

I shook my head again, refusing, and finally, Edan moved his large hand.

I thought he’d yank my hands away roughly, as if his patience had run out, since he lightly clicked his tongue out of habit, but Edan carefully lifted my hands from my face.

Unlike with Jenald, he took care not to touch the wrist that Hillstain had grabbed and hurt.

“Look at me.”

Edan bent down to meet my eye level, tilting his head slightly to look into my eyes.

His golden hair, tinged with the sunset, swayed softly.

My eyes were still red, but I had wiped them hard earlier, so they weren’t brimming with tears anymore. Still, Edan’s thumb gently brushed across my cheek. His touch felt a bit warm.

“Are you hurt?”

“…No.”

“Then why are you crying?”

“…”

What should I say? That I cried because I never thought I’d see you again, and it hurts so much to see you now?

Or that I cried out of frustration and anger at being deceived by Jenald?

No matter how I explain it, Edan won’t understand.

With the sudden turn of events, my heart is too tangled, and even I don’t understand myself right now. I don’t know how to express this mix of uncomfortable emotions.

In the end, I pressed my lips shut and said nothing.

Edan furrowed his brow slightly, about to speak again.

“Hey!”

Jenald’s wife, who had been tending to him as he lay collapsed, shouted loudly.

“What is this! Who do you think you are!”

Edan’s relaxed gaze sharpened in an instant.

He slowly turned around.

Jenald’s wife, who had been approaching us quickly, leaving Jenald behind, abruptly stopped.

It seemed her courage, bolstered by the distance, was fading as she got closer.

Edan’s sheer presence, just standing there, must have felt overwhelmingly immense.

Dressed in his usual comfortable tunic shirt and black pants, Edan might look like a very handsome young man at a glance, but when he hardens his face like this, his eyes are as fierce as a predator before the hunt.

“Quiet down.”

Hic. The woman, who had been full of vigor, hiccuped and shrugged her shoulders. Under Edan’s cold demeanor, she glanced around nervously, and her lost gaze finally landed on me. Our eyes met.

“Y-You! What are you going to do about this! What about my husband!”

Of course, I’m the easy target. Hmph.

“Husband?”

Edan looked down at me with a puzzled expression.

Ignoring his gaze, I opened my bag, pulled out the engagement certificate, and walked toward Jenald’s wife.

“W-What is this?”

“I’m not someone you know, so don’t speak to me so casually. And read that, then give it back. I need it to report him.”

“…”

My confident attitude seemed to catch her off guard.

To be precise, she was more wary of Edan than of me.

Anyway, Jenald’s wife looked at the engagement certificate I handed her and stared at me with a shocked, incredulous expression.

“You’re telling me to believe this?”

“You have to believe it, whether you like it or not. Jenald Johan wrote it for me.”

Her fingers twitched with growing anger. I quickly snatched the certificate back. I couldn’t let her tear it up and destroy the evidence I needed to file a complaint.

“Y-You’re a stalker! Even if my husband cheated and is a useless bum, an engagement? He’s never pulled a scam like that!”

“Well, he has a record now. He did it to me.”

I folded the certificate, put it back in my bag, and continued.

“I’ll apologize first. I didn’t know he was married. And to add, though I was tricked into a fake engagement by Jenald, nothing happened between us.”

“You expect me to believe that?”

“If you don’t, you can go to the lumberyard where Jenald worked a few months ago and check. I got injured and stayed there, and the innkeeper can vouch for me. We’re not close, but if you ask, she’ll tell you how Jenald treated me there.”

“Ha!”

She touched her forehead at my unwavering words.

It seemed she was starting to believe me bit by bit. Of course. There’s not a single lie in what I just said.

I thought back on her words and threw a jab.

“Sounds like Jenald has cheated with other women besides me, hasn’t it?”

“…!”

He may not have scammed before, but he was definitely a womanizer.

Even his wife’s attitude seemed practiced, as if she’d dealt with this multiple times.

It’s impressive that she’s maintained the marriage despite that.

But that doesn’t mean I feel like sympathizing. She accused me of being a stalker without even knowing what Jenald tried to do to me.

“Jenald! Get up! Darling! Darling!”

Unable to find words, Jenald’s wife, her face flushed, ran to him and sank to the ground.

Then she frantically shook him as he lay collapsed.

Jenald, regaining consciousness, lifted his head with a contorted expression.

“What’s that! What’s with the engagement certificate!”

“…What?”

Jenald looked at me with trembling eyes. For a moment, I saw resentment in his gaze.

“N-No, it’s not like that. She’s my stalker…”

“If you don’t want a divorce right now, tell the truth! Your name and signature are on it!”

“T-That’s…”

Unable to answer easily, Jenald’s wife let go of his shoulders, which she had been shaking frantically, and stood up abruptly.

“You filthy jerk. Cheating wasn’t enough, now an engagement?”

Her cold, hardened gaze landed on Jenald’s face. Panicked, Jenald got up and grabbed her arm.

“No, no, darling, it’s a misunderstanding! It’s fake! Listen to me…!”

“Fake or not, your name is on it! I forgave you every time you cheated and begged, but a scam? A marriage fraud scam behind my back?”

“No! I said it’s not true!”

“Shut up!”

Jenald’s wife turned and stormed off. Her anger was palpable even from her retreating figure.

“What’s that? That worm was married?”

Edan spoke as if dumbfounded and looked at me.

“Lati, explain.”

I was hesitating whether to speak when Jenald, who had been staring blankly at his wife’s retreating shadow, snapped back to reality. He turned to me, and our eyes met.

“You wretched… Latieana… I’m going to sue you right now! I’ll never forgive you!”

His cracked voice trembled with rage, his breathing heavy. At that moment, something snapped in my mind.

That was my line. If anyone was going to sue, it was me, and I was the one to decide on forgiveness.

Jenald’s utter lack of conscience erased even the tiniest bit of gratitude I felt for him saving me.

It seemed Jenald had forgotten that Edan was standing beside me.

Clenching my trembling hands, filled with anger, I told Edan as if reporting him.

“He scammed me. When he got caught, he threatened to hit me, demanded money, and said I’m an orphan with no one to take my side! And then!”

My throat tightened, and I paused.

“And what? Go on.”

Edan’s voice was low and calm.

“And…”

I saw Jenald’s shocked expression as he listened from behind, as if saying, “What, you’re snitching?” But I wasn’t a child.

Jenald, you said I was a pitiful orphan with no one in the world, but you were wrong, you idiot.

“And he said he was going to toy with me and then throw me away, and after that, sell me off to some old man in another country for money.”

“And then?”

“…”

“Is that all?”

“And…”

I slowly shifted my gaze from Jenald to Edan’s eyes.

His jewel-like red eyes, beautiful and calm, waited for my words.

“I… was hurt.”