Unrequited Love is Over, Fend for Yourselves (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 25
On one side, the adults gathered and chatted animatedly, while on the other, their children did the same. After observing them briefly, Alex calmly walked away.
He gradually headed toward a quieter spot and stopped before a large tree—ordinary in every way except for being the largest in the garden.
“The Schupraher family is the only one yet to arrive.”
“How’s the atmosphere?”
“Very good.”
Alex added indifferently to the voice echoing from above the tree.
“On the surface, at least.”
In response, laughter rang out instead of words. Alex sighed. To laugh at a time like this…
“Both groups are locked in tense psychological warfare, each trying to outmaneuver the other invisibly. I understand the adults—they’ve always been like that—but why must even the children act this way?”
“Isn’t that just how children learn—by watching their parents? After all, these are the ones who will eventually inherit their parents’ titles.”
“You’re right. They truly take after their parents’ characters.”
Alex mentally matched each parent with their child and nodded in agreement.
“Who resembles whom the most?”
“The Josh and Claire marquessate families.”
“Is that so?”
At Reinhart’s indifferent response, Alex elaborated further.
“Yes. Count Josh is quite the fox—not in a bad way, of course. I mean he adapts skillfully to any situation. In contrast, Marquis Claire is genuinely kind-hearted.”
Reinhart, listening to Alex, fell silent for a moment as if struck by an odd thought, then asked,
“In your eyes, does Etienne seem purely kind-hearted?”
“She just seems to keep getting pushed around.”
“Ah, that’s what you meant.”
Reinhart let out a soft chuckle.
“It worries me somewhat that Your Highness must unite those locked in such rivalry. Will you be alright?”
“We’ll see once we try.”
“Then shouldn’t you reveal yourself soon? The mood is already uneasy—if you delay any further, it’ll only grow more awkward.”
“That’s true, but…”
Reinhart, perched atop the tree, showed no sign of moving—quite unlike his earlier determined departure.
“Why are you just sitting up there?”
“I’m waiting.”
“…What?”
Alex repeated the question, then shook his head. He couldn’t fathom what this capricious crown prince truly wanted.
“Wondering who’ll come looking for me.”
‘Curious, isn’t he.’
Reinhart leaned his head back against his raised arms and closed his eyes. If no one came searching for him, he thought he might just take a nap right there.
“Then I’ll wait until the remaining family arrives.”
“Suit yourself.”
Alex walked off with an air of indifference, yet Reinhart remained in the tree. Just then, he sensed someone’s presence and half-opened his eyes.
“I know you’re here.”
At the cheerful voice, Reinhart’s smile deepened. He closed his eyes once more.
“Why on earth are you doing this?”
“Doing what?”
“Everyone knows you’re being waited for—so why won’t you come down?”
“No one really seems to be waiting for me.”
At Reinhart’s retort, Etienne forcibly swallowed the sharp words rising in her throat. Amid a gathering centered around Hana, she had barely managed to hold on by waiting for the crown prince—and now he claimed no one was waiting?
“I was waiting. I was…”
She had hoped someone would arrive and shift the Hana-centered atmosphere—but neither Fernando nor the crown prince had shown up.
“How did you even know I was here?”
“Alex, your counselor, is standing right there—how could I not know?”
“Fair point.”
“Huh?”
Taken aback by Reinhart’s question, Etienne echoed in confusion.
“If Alex is here, why hasn’t anyone asked where I am?”
“Well…”
Because she assumed that if they waited, he’d eventually come.
That had seemed so obvious to Etienne—until now, when doubt suddenly struck her.
‘Did I do the same?’
Upon arriving, she hadn’t immediately looked for the crown prince; instead, she’d checked who had come and simply mingled with them. Yet the true host of this gathering was unmistakably the crown prince…
Only then did Etienne realize how absurd the situation truly was.
“You’re honestly waiting for someone to come find you?”
“Yep.”
“No, that’s just…”
‘If both sides just wait, nothing will ever happen.’
Why waste time on such pointless games?
‘He really has a strange personality.’
“You’re thinking I have a strange personality, aren’t you?”
Startled, Etienne flinched and quickly averted her gaze. She hadn’t even been making eye contact or directly conversing with Reinhart, yet his words stung.
“I want to place a stepping stone for smoother relations going forward.”
“A stepping stone?”
“Yes. Someone who belongs among them yet still seeks me out—such a person could become the bridge that smooths relations between me and them.”
“You can’t possibly mean me, right?”
Etienne pointed at herself with her index finger, fully expecting him to deny it.
But Reinhart ignored her question. Instead, he descended from the tree he’d been hiding in and stood before her.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Why do you keep doing this to me?”
Etienne groaned inwardly. If this gathering weren’t so uncomfortable, she wouldn’t have wandered around wondering why the crown prince hadn’t appeared—nor would she have come looking for him like this.
“In that spirit, may I ask you just one more thing?”
The words “no” nearly slipped out, but she forced them back down.
“Among them, could you instantly spot the person I’m looking for?”
“Hard to say.”
“If not instantly, narrowing it down to a few candidates would help—any good ideas?”
“Is that a question, or an order to think of something?”
“If it were Alex, he’d understand my intention at once.”
Reinhart grinned, prompting Etienne to cover her forehead with her hand.
‘I shouldn’t have promised to help at all.’
Her own affairs already gave her a headache—now she had to assist someone else too.
“You could mention something that might happen in the future.”
“Like what?”
“I wouldn’t know.”
Etienne immediately drew a firm line, claiming ignorance. She hadn’t even prepared an excuse.
“Oh…”
Now that she thought about it, there was one thing.
“Something come to mind?”
“The reason Fernando is late.”
Etienne turned toward the garden entrance, and Reinhart followed her gaze. Though obscured by trees, it was clear no one had arrived yet.
“Duke Schupraher has a reason for his delay, doesn’t he?”
‘Mithril.’
The discovery of the silver-like tree. Having received a private report from Duke Schupraher, Reinhart fell briefly into thought—then smiled as he looked back at Etienne.
Her idea wasn’t half bad.
[This is the timeline separator]Hana and a young lady from another house flanked Crown Prince Reinhart on either side. Seemingly pleased with having secured the best seats, both kept smiling continually.
Etienne sat directly across from the crown prince. Fernando, arriving late, surprisingly didn’t approach Etienne but instead took a seat among the other young nobles.
In truth, it wasn’t surprising at all—no sooner had Fernando appeared than the young men had flocked to him, circling nearby with familiar greetings.
Since this gathering was ostensibly about flower arranging, each was tending to their own blossoms. Etienne used her floral shears to trim the thorns from a rose.
‘It’s been a while.’
What had begun as a flower-arranging circle in support of the crown prince had continued even after his death—for a simple reason: having fallen out of favor with the Second Prince, they needed to stick together to survive.
Thanks to this, Etienne had grown quite fond of flower arranging.
‘Maybe I enjoyed it even more on days I’d see Fernando.’
She’d once hoped that arranging a beautiful bouquet might earn her a glance from him. Now, looking back, such hopes seemed utterly futile.
After all, no matter how exquisite her arrangement was, it could never compare to a single flower carelessly placed by Hana.
The memory brought a bitter smile—but not enough to dampen her mood. She’d grown calmer about it now, better able to accept things as they were. It seemed she’d finally sorted out her feelings for Fernando quite well.
‘After all, I can’t afford to be shaken anymore.’
These days, she got along with Fernando far better than in her past life—if she still wavered, she’d have made multiple blunders by now. Thinking this way, she felt she’d been living rather well since her return.
“Etienne.”
Lost in thought as she handled a rose, Etienne looked up at the sound of her name. It was Hana who’d called her.
“You’ve done flower arranging a lot, haven’t you? You handle the flowers so well.”
“Oh… I’ve just tried it a few times.”
“Only a few times, yet you’re already this good? I’ve been pricked by thorns nonstop since we started.”
Hana made a pouty face as she showed her fingers. Though her fair skin bore not a single scratch, Etienne gave an awkward smile and let it pass.
“Since everyone’s new to this, thornless flowers might’ve been better. Your Highness should be careful too—rose thorns are sharper than they look.”
When Hana held up a red rose as she spoke, Etienne flinched.
“Even a light brush can cut you. So it might be wise to set the flower down far away—just to be safe.”
Listening to Hana, Etienne stared at the rose.
The word “sharp” brought back memories of the day she pricked her finger—returning home, receiving treatment from the butler, and then the royal knight showing up…
“Etienne?”
Jolted from her deep reverie, Etienne looked up in surprise.
‘Who called me?’
Cold Male Lead Became My Clingy Husband (Female-Dominant)
Feng Bai Su transmigrated into a matriarchal novel, becoming the sister of the female protagonist and the Seventh Princess of the Feng Ling Kingdom.
After working herself to death in her previous life, finally reincarnating as a princess, she only wanted to be a lazy fish who could eat, sleep, and play.
Until she met the male protagonist from the book, Wei Jing Mo, and he took a liking to her!
Wei Jing Mo is the top young man in Feng Ling City, talented in both appearance and ability, from a prestigious family, with a cold and otherworldly appearance, a figure like the bright moon in the hearts of noble ladies. It was thought that only the most powerful and talented noble lady in Feng Ling City would be worthy of such a brilliant young man. Who knew that this young gentleman would secretly admire the infamous Seventh Princess?
Short scene 1:
Feng Bai Su looked at the young man crying like a pear blossom in the rain before her, and couldn’t help but doubt her life.
Wasn’t the male lead described as a cold and otherworldly figure in the book?
Then who was this poor little thing crying with swollen red eyes and tear-stained face?
Short scene 2:
Wei Jing Mo stared intently at Feng Bai Su who was about to go out, wanting to say, “Be careful on the road.”
Before he could speak, Feng Bai Su suddenly bent down and bit his cheek.
Her peach blossom eyes were full of disdain: “Tsk! You’re so clingy!”
Wei Jing Mo: “…”
A talented fox spirit female lead with a flirtatious appearance but actually abstinent VS A cold-looking but actually naive and clingy little jealous male lead
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