To You, Whom I Shouldn't Love (24 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 5
Riena’s expression suddenly darkened just as she was about to call the maid waiting outside.
“Ah, right—there’s already a guest staying at the mansion. I’ll make sure our paths don’t cross, but there’s a chance you might run into each other while wandering around. Is that alright with you?”
“You mean Viscount Rotman, the guest we saw earlier?”
“…Yes.”
Riena gave a bitter smile. She tried hard to control her expression, but simply couldn’t manage a bright, carefree smile without revealing her negativity.
Johannes, too, grew serious, mirroring her expression.
“I know this may be an impertinent question, but… is something troubling you, my lady?”
“…”
“I heard earlier that Viscount Rotman is your fiancé.”
“He’s not!”
Riena hadn’t even realized she’d raised her voice until she let out a small sigh and lowered it again.
“It’s true that marriage talks occurred between Viscount Rotman and me without my knowledge. But calling him my fiancé is absurd. I have absolutely no intention of marrying the viscount.”
“So that’s why your expression has been so troubled.”
Johannes rose from his seat and carefully moved to sit beside Riena. His large hands covered both of hers, which she had been clutching tightly together.
Startled by the soft sensation against the back of her hand, Riena flinched and looked up. Their eyes met, and Johannes smiled gently.
“I actually intended to keep this to myself, but given how things stand now, I can’t stay silent any longer.”
“…?”
“I came here specifically to see you, my lady.”
“…What?”
Johannes gave a small, embarrassed chuckle.
“Ever since I last saw you, your image has refused to leave my mind. I wanted to contact you, but didn’t know how. I feared that someone with no real connection to you might alarm you if I reached out so abruptly.”
“…”
“I never imagined I’d fall victim to lovesickness—but it seems at my age, I’ve finally caught the fever.”
Riena blinked silently, unable to comprehend the situation.
“I gathered my courage and sent a marriage proposal to House Daik, but received no reply. Heartbroken by what I assumed was rejection, I left the capital and traveled for a while—only to hear belatedly of the count’s passing.”
“…A marriage proposal? When exactly…?”
“I sent it early this year—so it’s been about half a year, I suppose.”
“Half a year…”
Seeing Riena lost in thought, Johannes continued.
“You were always especially fond of the count. I worried deeply about you after his sudden passing and wanted to see for myself how you were faring.”
“That’s…”
“And, should the opportunity arise, I also wished to finally convey my feelings—those that never reached you before.”
Johannes gently brought Riena’s hand to his lips and kissed the back of her white hand. It was a more deliberate and tender gesture than the brief kiss they’d shared upon their first meeting.
“My lady of House Daik—this may seem abrupt, but after witnessing the situation just now, I simply can’t leave you as you are.”
He whispered, his lips still touching her hand.
“Would you accompany me back to the capital?”
“What do you mean…?”
Meeting Riena’s eyes, Johannes smiled.
“I am proposing to you right now.”
[This is the timeline separator]“So what is it? Has Miss Riena received marriage proposals from two men at once?”
“I never knew our normally shy miss had such charm! She’s never shown the slightest interest in romance or marriage before. Maybe Miss Bianca, I could understand—but her?”
“Well, she is quite beautiful. It’s no wonder men go wild over her. Or maybe there’s some secret we don’t know about? There’s no shortage of young ladies whose front and back don’t match, after all.”
“Oh my, oh my—listen to you!”
The maids’ laughter rang through the corridor as they carried laundry along. Riena, who had stopped in the hallway to watch them walk away, deliberately stomped her heels as she walked onward.
The unusually loud click of her shoes echoed sharply down the corridor.
The maids turned instinctively, their faces instantly paling.
“A-Ah! Miss! When did you come out?”
“Just now.”
“Then… um…”
They couldn’t bring themselves to speak outright, only exchanging nervous glances and rolling their eyes at each other. Riena tapped the shoulder of the maid on the right and whispered into her ear.
“I already know you’ve been talking behind my back.”
“Ah! We’re so sorry…”
“That’s fine. You must find some amusement while doing such hard work.”
“It’s not that…”
“But with two guests in the house, is it really appropriate to chatter so loudly? What you just said was disrespectful—not just to me, but to our guests as well. Your voices carried all the way up to the second floor.”
The Daik family, including Riena, resided on the mansion’s third floor, while guests stayed on the second.
“We’re so, so sorry! Please forgive us! We’ll watch our tongues from now on—no, we’ll work like the dead!”
“Me too! Please show us mercy…”
“I won’t dismiss you. I only ask that I never hear such talk again.”
“T-Thank you! We’ll be careful!”
Riena passed by the two maids, who kept bowing deeply. Behind her, she heard a heavy sigh.
“I thought I was done for this time. Of all people, why did it have to be the miss?”
“Watch your mouth! After just getting scolded, how can you already be running it again?”
“Oops.”
Riena pretended not to hear their whispering.
Normally, servants who casually gossiped about their master deserved immediate dismissal. These two should have been fired under ordinary circumstances.
But she hadn’t done so—because firing them wouldn’t solve the underlying problem.
Ever since Count Daik’s death, the countess had seized real authority, completely reshaping the power dynamics within the mansion.
The countess, who had once hidden her claws, now ruled like a queen—and Bianca, who had been treated as an outsider for lacking the Daik name, had grown arrogant and domineering.
When Countess Daik began pushing forward the marriage talks between Riena and Viscount Rotman, the staff keenly sensed the new hierarchy and adjusted their behavior accordingly.
They started treating the countess warmly while subtly showing Riena disrespect.
Thus, dismissing those two maids would have only soured the general sentiment among the staff.
‘Besides, Mother wouldn’t have allowed me to fire them anyway.’
In fact, Countess Daik might even have praised the maids for insulting Riena.
Riena hardened her expression and pressed her fingers to her temple.
‘Lord Belliar certainly didn’t intend for things to turn out like this.’
Two days prior, word had spread throughout the mansion that Johannes had proposed to Riena.
Since an unmarried man and woman couldn’t be alone together, the parlor door had been left open, with a maid stationed nearby—but that maid had passed the news to her colleagues.
Rumors, once set loose, traveled fast. Within mere hours, the entire household had heard the gossip.
Worse still, the story had already begun twisting beyond the truth.
According to this version, Riena and Johannes had long held feelings for each other, but Count Daik had opposed their union, preventing it from happening.
Even more elaborately, a plausible tale had emerged just hours ago: Johannes, who had maintained warm feelings for Riena, had finally proposed only after the count’s death.
It was utterly ridiculous gossip.
Just as Riena let out an incredulous laugh at the absurdity—
“What on earth did you do?”
A sharp voice suddenly cut in from the side. Turning her head, Riena saw Bianca leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
Bianca tilted her head and slowly scanned Riena from head to toe.
“I never knew Lord Belliar’s taste ran this way. Anyway, just how did you manage to seduce him?”
“What?”
Though Riena showed clear annoyance at the blunt question, Bianca pressed on stubbornly.
“What trick did you use to make Lord Belliar propose to you?”
“I don’t know.”
That was precisely what Riena herself wanted to ask Johannes.
“You don’t know? If you don’t know, who does?”
“If I don’t know, I say I don’t know—what else should I say?”
“What?”
“And besides—Lord Belliar proposed to me, so why are you so worked up about it?”
“That’s—!”
Bianca’s slightly pink cheeks flushed bright red with agitation.
“Because someone like you doesn’t deserve him! I feel sorry that Lord Belliar’s been fooled by you! Of all the women in the world, why you…!”
Bianca nearly shrieked before abruptly clamping her mouth shut.
“At any rate, you’d better be careful with your actions. Your fiancé, Viscount Rotman, is still staying at the mansion.”
“I keep telling you—he’s not my fiancé!”
“Well, Viscount Rotman doesn’t seem to think so.”
Bianca glanced toward the stairwell. Following her gaze downward, Riena saw Viscount Rotman climbing the stairs, his face deeply contorted.
“Miss Daik! Please, just let me speak with you…!”
“Ugh…”
Riena pressed her palm to her forehead, turned around, and walked away. She ignored Viscount Rotman’s booming voice shouting after her and the maids’ urgent cries telling him not to come upstairs, heading straight into her room.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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Chapter Comments (2)
Inline Comments (6)
It was a command.
I kinda like this bossy Cassel huh 😌😌🤔🤔🤔 even his shy side
“Taking a walk in the rain at this hour of night? Do you have any idea what kind
Fuck that pedophile freak!!! 😡😡😒😒 I hope the step mother suffers 😡
“Why should I care about that, Joanna?”
Nah this is foul. Joanna’s a commoner this is the only way for her to survive. I don’t blame her. Pretty classist sentiment this is.
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I still don’t get how the countess has this much power when she’s not even blood related. Like I get she’s the elder but then when riena turns of age shouldn’t she be the proxy head or smth?? Idk I feel like that’s more plausible.
Wat happened to the other guy—raol or smth??? Wasn’t as going to go to him first?