To You, Whom I Shouldn't Love - Chapter 71
Riena followed the sound and came out to the living room. The knocking sound was coming from the door connected to Cassel’s room.
“Cas? Is that you?”
When Riena asked the closed door, an answer came back.
“Yes, it’s me.”
Hurriedly opening the door, Cassel appeared in a light shirt. His hair was still slightly damp, as if he hadn’t dried it after washing.
Riena smiled gently while tightening her robe.
“Have you come to hear the rest of the story from earlier?”
“Yes. But I’m worried it’s getting late. If you’re tired, I can come back another time.”
“No, it’s alright. I was a bit tired earlier, but after soaking in warm water, I feel better now.”
Riena hesitated, then took Cassel’s hand.
“Would you like to come in? We could go to the office or library, but since it’s late, I don’t think we need to go out.”
The two were already publicly engaged, so there was nothing wrong with them talking together in one room at this hour.
Besides, since they were already in the room, other people wouldn’t even notice their meeting.
“Then, excuse me.”
Riena seated Cassel on the sofa and lit some candles. Even with several candles lit, the room didn’t become very bright, but it was enough for the two to see each other’s faces and talk.
“I’d like to offer you some tea, but it’s late, and I feel bad calling someone.”
“It’s fine. I’ve already had plenty to drink at the imperial palace.”
“Same here.”
Riena poured water into two glass cups, just for the sake of it.
“Um, so where did we leave off…”
“You said you had a different dream after coming to the capital, apart from the recurring ones.”
“Ah, right. That’s correct.”
Riena clasped her hands together as she chose her words.
“The very first dream seemed to be an extension of the dreams I’ve been having. To be precise, it was like the conversation before you told me to leave.”
“…”
“I was sitting alone in the imperial garden. My chest felt very tight, and my mind was complicated, but tears wouldn’t come. It seemed like I didn’t have the energy to cry, or maybe I had given up. Like…”
Riena murmured bitterly.
“Like someone who had given up on everything. Of course, I’ve never actually been like that, but I imagine that’s how it would feel if I no longer had any desire for life.”
“…”
“That’s when you came to find me. You sat in front of me, just like earlier, and examined my ankle. Ah, come to think of it, there was a faint bruise on my ankle. You saw that and became angry.”
“…Did I say anything?”
Should I be honest? It was just a dream, and I didn’t want to mention Johannes unnecessarily.
As Riena closed her mouth, Cassel gently urged her.
“Ria.”
His voice sounded quite plaintive. It felt like I should grant whatever he asked.
Riena spoke as if enchanted.
“You asked… what Belliard had done.”
Cassel’s jaw tightened. She watched his reaction and forced a bright voice.
“Isn’t it really out of nowhere? Belliard. Did it mean Lord Johannes Belliard? Or was it referring to Duke Belliard? Either way, it was really random.”
“…”
“Maybe it’s because I don’t know many people.”
Riena hadn’t told Cassel that Johannes had proposed before he arrived. Johannes might have guessed something from their last conversation, but still.
There was no special reason. She just didn’t feel the need to tell Cassel.
But now, something felt different from then. It still didn’t seem necessary to mention it, but keeping silent now felt like deceiving Cassel.
“Actually, there’s something I haven’t told you.”
“…?”
“When you came to the South, Lord Belliard was staying at the Dyke mansion, remember? In fact, Lord Belliard also proposed to me then.”
“…”
“I’m not sure if he came with the intention to propose from the start. But seeing my mother pushing for my marriage with Baron Rothman, he seemed concerned and asked me to go with him.”
“…”
“He said he had formally sent a marriage proposal to me before, but my father hadn’t responded.”
Cassel, who had been listening silently, asked seriously.
“…Are you sure the Master didn’t reply at all?”
“To be honest, I was doubtful about that too. My father wasn’t the type to do such a thing. Even if he were to refuse, he would send a polite letter. And father never mentioned anything about Lord Belliard or a proposal to me.”
“Then isn’t the claim about a previous marriage proposal just Lord Belliard’s one-sided assertion?”
“Well… I suppose it could be, but why would Lord Belliard lie? Maybe father sent a reply, but it didn’t reach him properly? And father didn’t mention it to me separately, intending to refuse at his level.”
Riena shrugged.
“That’s not important now. I thought Lord Belliard appeared in my dream because of that incident.”
Her throat felt dry. Riena moistened her throat with the lukewarm water before explaining further.
“Until then, I wasn’t sure if the person in my dreams was really you. I thought it might just be someone who looked like you.”
“…”
“It was strange no matter how I thought about it. It was already amazing that someone I had never seen since childhood appeared repeatedly in my dreams, and then I actually met you. But because of the dream I had next, I could believe that the person I saw in my dreams was you.”
“What kind of dream was it?”
“In the dream, I talked with you about your nephew.”
Cassel’s face showed clear agitation. This time, Riena hesitated to talk about the dream without holding anything back.
It wasn’t just anyone, but Cassel’s most beloved nephew, Noah. Even though it didn’t happen in reality, it wasn’t easy to bring up a child’s death.
She didn’t believe in superstitions, but it felt uncomfortable, to say the least.
After some consideration, Riena decided to speak indirectly.
“During the conversation, I learned that your nephew’s name was Noah. And it turns out your real nephew is actually named Noah. Since even Noah’s name, which I had never heard before, appeared, I couldn’t doubt it anymore. Of course, that’s when I became certain that the man I had been seeing in my dreams until then was you.”
“Perhaps.”
Cassel rubbed his face dry.
“In the dream, did anything happen to Noah?”
Riena was taken aback. She hadn’t expected such a question from Cassel at all.
“Well… Yes. Something did happen.”
“…”
“But don’t worry. A dream is just a dream. They say dreams are the opposite of reality. In fact, Noah is doing well in the Winkler house right now. So you don’t need to worry about my dream.”
Actually, she had one more dream after that. But seeing Cassel’s serious face, she couldn’t bring herself to say more.
“It’s getting late. We should go to sleep.”
“I’ve taken up a lot of your time. You must be tired, so I’ll be going now.”
“Yes.”
Cassel stood up, his face still stiff.
“If you happen to have another dream about me, could you tell me about it then too?”
It wasn’t a difficult request, so Riena nodded without much thought.
“Yes, alright.”
“Then, I hope you have good dreams.”
Cassel gave a simple greeting and was about to leave the room. Riena hesitated for a moment before calling out to him.
“Cas.”
He immediately stopped and approached her.
“Is there something else you want to say?”
“Well…”
Riena recalled one dream she hadn’t mentioned yet.
The dream of Raoul getting angry at her and Johannes calling her his wife.
‘Maybe it’s better not to talk about that dream after all?’
It was a dream she herself hadn’t fully processed yet. She decided to keep it a secret for now.
“No, it’s nothing. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yes. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
After Cassel left, Riena lay on the bed, recalling the day’s events.
‘Is it really over with Raoul now?’
Thinking about Raoul made her mood plummet rapidly.
She thought they would be precious friends for life, but in just a few weeks, their relationship had soured like this.
She knew maintaining good relationships was harder than she thought, but she never imagined it would apply to her and Raoul.
Perhaps this was the end of her connection with Raoul.
Thinking about the side of Raoul she saw for the first time today, Riena forced herself to close her eyes.
[This is the timeline separator]Returning to his room, Cassel leaned against the door connecting the two rooms and exhaled deeply. He had tried to act calm in front of Riena, but when Noah was mentioned, he could no longer maintain his composure.
If he had stayed a moment longer, he might have shed tears of anguish in front of her.
Cassel clutched the shirt near his left chest. The heart that had been pierced by a dagger was functioning as if nothing had happened, but a red scar remained on his left chest.
Male lead is a Destined Young Husband (Female-dominant)
One-sentence summary: Wife-master, listen to my explanation!
Li Ruantang, a young lady from a prestigious family, stumbled and fell. When she woke up, she saw a noble and beautiful young man sitting by her bedside, wiping away tears.
The young master had slightly reddened eyes, and his every move exuded charm.
The sight made Li Ruantang’s eyes hot and her heart flutter. After all, she had made a bet with the young master Meng from the neighboring family. If she couldn’t marry a husband before the end of the year, she would have to admit defeat and give up the jade she had worked so hard to obtain.
Outside the window, the flowers were in full bloom.
Rather than losing the bet, the jade, and her face, Li Ruantang calculated that it would be better to seek marriage with the young master in front of her, killing three birds with one stone.
…
Meng Jun never thought that an accident during a spring outing would lead to them rolling down a cliff and into a river, yet still survive.
Now they were trapped in an unknown village, and Meng Jun had overheard that the family who had rescued them had their own intentions.
After all, it was Li Ruantang who had lost her mind and sought marriage first. He was only trying to protect himself!
Glancing at Li Ruantang, who was listing her own merits, the young husband’s voice softened, and he blushed as he lied, “W-wife-master, Wife-master, don’t you remember me?”
The young husband’s voice was clear and handsome, coaxing Li Ruantang’s heart to be soft and sweet, and she spared no effort to protect him.
It wasn’t until they returned to the capital that Li Ruantang suddenly remembered.
When they had fallen off the cliff, in order not to implicate Wei Yunruo, whom he secretly admired, the young husband had instead pulled her, who was slightly farther away, down the cliff with him…
Short summary by Yuushi L: Initially, the male lead (ML) liked another girl, while the female lead (FL) liked the ML. Both fell off a cliff. The FL temporarily lost her memory, and the ML, fearing others might take advantage of him, claimed FL was his wife while they were staying in a village. Later, when they returned home, the FL regained her memories and remembered that the ML liked someone else, so she kept her distance from him. However, during their time living together in the countryside, the ML’s view of the FL had completely changed. From this point, his pursuit of the FL begins.
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