Unrequited Love is Over, Fend for Yourselves (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 38
“If His Highness hadn’t insisted on bringing me along on this journey from the very beginning—or at least hadn’t grabbed me and pulled me down with him—we wouldn’t be here now. In that sense, I’ll say this wasn’t fate.”
Etienne stated firmly.
‘Fate? Absolutely detestable.’
I certainly wasn’t thrilled about being tangled up like this either.
“Etienne?”
Not to mention Fernando beside me, who remained utterly oblivious yet kept casting one-sided glances my way.
Anyway, Etienne ignored everything and addressed the current situation directly.
“How long are we staying here?”
When asked whether they’d truly remain until Counselor Alex rescued them, Reinhart turned his head as if pondering.
“You’re not trying to evade this, are you?”
“Just say I’m thinking about it.”
Reinhart tapped his temple a few times, then muttered something like, “I suppose there’s no other way, after all.”
“Wait.”
“That’s just the same thing!”
“One day.”
Reinhart, wearing an utterly different expression, brazenly set a deadline, and Etienne gave up pressing further.
[This is the timeline separator]“We need to send someone in there right now.”
Despite Nick’s urgent tone, Alex merely stared fixedly into the hole. Instead, Bazon replied.
“We could send someone in, but not right away, I think? You know as well as I do—we came here alone. Who’s going in? You?”
“Well…”
As Nick trailed off, Bazon simply shrugged.
“We don’t even know what’s inside. No one’s going in recklessly.”
“But what if something happens to His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Though he said that, Nick had no intention whatsoever of entering to rescue the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was a royal the boy’s parents trusted, and maintaining good relations with him was necessary for his family’s honor—but nothing more, nothing less.
“It doesn’t… have to be me, right? We’ve got Counselor Alex here, who’s good at everything.”
Nick subtly shifted the burden onto Alex.
“To be honest, it wasn’t our wish to come here without a single escorting knight. Doesn’t that mean Counselor Alex should act more… now, shouldn’t he?”
Nick finished his sentence while watching Alex’s reaction.
Bazon, intrigued, looked back and forth between Nick and Alex. Alex turned his head and fixed his gaze on the two of them.
“Why are you looking at me like that? You want me to go in with you?”
Bazon asked Alex with a puzzled expression, then peered into the hole and tilted his head curiously. “Well, I don’t see why not. Shall we go in now?”
Seeing Bazon’s calm response, Alex let out a sigh tinged with dissatisfaction.
“Ever since we started traveling, I’ve been suspicious because you kept butting into everything—turns out it was just curiosity.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
“I said I lost the bet.”
Bazon still looked confused, but Alex had no intention of explaining further. In his bet with the Crown Prince, he’d claimed Bazon was the suspicious one.
He’d suspected Bazon was the one leaking information to the Second Prince, simply because Bazon showed interest in everything—yet it turned out he was just naturally curious.
Now that Alex knew Bazon wasn’t the spy, someone else must be the culprit. His eyes shifted toward Heishi, who stood quietly observing the situation.
When everyone’s attention was elsewhere, someone had pushed the Crown Prince. The one who’d shoved him quickly vanished among the crowd, thinking they hadn’t been noticed…
“You’ll pay a heavy price for it later.”
Alex’s cold gaze swept over Heishi’s face.
“We’ll select someone specific to send in—but not now.”
Alex stepped back from the hole.
“Everyone, return to the ducal estate.”
“Return… now?”
Nick asked in astonishment, but Alex turned away without answering. Bazon followed him with a resigned shrug, and Heishi and Sola did the same.
As Nick hurried to catch up, he noticed Hana still standing motionless.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“In there…”
Hana’s gaze, fixed on the hole, grew heavy. Two men she’d kept close watch on throughout this journey had fallen in—it was hard to simply turn back now.
“I want to go in.”
If only men had fallen in, she might have waited impatiently, stomping her feet. But Etienne was inside too.
“Why did it have to be Etienne?”
“What are you talking about? You’re not seriously thinking of going in, are you?”
Nick glanced around anxiously, but the others had already vanished into the distance—only he and Hana remained.
“Come on, let’s just go. Huh? Hana.”
He grabbed her arm as she stepped closer to the hole.
“You can’t go in. Did you forget? We don’t even know how deep it is.”
“Let go.”
Hana tried to shake off his grip, but Nick held tight.
“No. Absolutely not. Who knows what might happen.”
“They’ve all gone in already! His Highness the Crown Prince is in there, and Fernando too!”
“I know, but just wait a little. When His Highness and Fernando come out, you can nurse them right by their side.”
“Nurse them?”
“Yes.”
He’d blurted out anything that came to mind—and luckily, Hana showed interest. Nick quickly nodded.
“Come on. There’s probably no food inside, so we need to prepare water and supplies. There’s plenty you can do outside—let’s go quickly.”
Hana slowly stepped back at Nick’s words.
‘Right. Being together isn’t the only opportunity.’
Still, of all people, it had to be Etienne they took in. Suppressing her frustration, Hana turned away.
Nick sighed deeply, relieved he’d managed to stop her—then chuckled awkwardly, suddenly feeling ridiculous.
[This is the timeline separator]“My whole face is reflected clearly.”
She’d thought the water was clear, but it was truly crystal-clear—her entire face mirrored perfectly. Etienne wore a strangely delighted expression when Fernando came and sat beside her.
“You like clear water?”
“Better than dirty, isn’t it?”
His question felt odd, but she answered plainly anyway. Fernando nodded, then gazed at Etienne’s reflection in the water and said,
“Etienne, I can see everything stuck on your face.”
“Yeah. That’s exactly why I said it’s clear.”
Etienne looked at her reflection again. Dirt smudged her cheeks in several places.
She’d just held a serious, face-to-face conversation with Reinhart and Fernando—yet her face was this messy?
“I didn’t mention it on purpose.”
Reinhart sat down on Etienne’s other side and spoke.
“Because it wouldn’t be strange for something to be on your face—I chose not to say anything.”
“Seems more like you just wanted to tease me.”
“Well, that’s partly true, but not entirely.”
Seeing Etienne’s sharp glare, Reinhart quickly changed course.
“Anyway, we’ve got water, but nothing else.”
They planned to wait here for about a day. Going without food wouldn’t be disastrous, but the emptiness in their stomachs was undeniable.
“Which might be why I’m already feeling hungry.”
Reinhart spoke wistfully. At that moment, something was extended toward him.
“It won’t fill your stomach, but it’ll ease your boredom.”
Seeing the dried fruit Etienne offered, Reinhart smiled.
“When did you pack this?”
“If I keep it in my bag, it’s ready for emergencies, isn’t it?”
“Truly like you, Etienne.”
At Reinhart’s teasing praise—hinting she knew the future, despite having avoided coming here before—Etienne’s eyes narrowed.
“Well then, I’ll take it for now…”
Reinhart reached for the dried fruit, but his hand grasped only air. Baffled, he looked at Etienne—where had the fruit just been?
“His Highness the Crown Prince must not care for it. Fernando, you eat it.”
Etienne pressed the dried fruit firmly into Fernando’s hand.
“Huh.”
Fernando accepted and ate it obediently, making Reinhart snort in amusement—properly teased in return.
“Fine. I’m alright.”
Reinhart rested his chin on his empty hand. His royal title wouldn’t magically produce anything here.
“Here.”
Etienne then held out another piece before him. So there’d been more than one after all. This time, Reinhart accepted silently, and Etienne pulled out her own portion to eat.
Just as Reinhart was about to eat the dried fruit, he noticed what Etienne held.
“Why are you hogging the meat alone?”
“It’s my prerogative.”
At Etienne’s indifferent reply—implying he could skip it if he disliked it—Reinhart stared at her, exasperated, then pointed at Fernando, who was eating quietly.
“Is this revenge for not telling you about the dirt on your face?”
She was absolutely right. Seeing Etienne deliberately enjoy her meat, Reinhart dropped the matter.
“But you know…”
As Reinhart spoke, chewing his dried fruit, Etienne sighed.
“If you talk with half the fruit dangling from your mouth…”
Ignoring Etienne’s remark, Reinhart grinned.
“Isn’t this romantic?”
“Romantic…?”
“Yes. The three of us sitting side by side, chatting like this.”
Etienne glanced around at Reinhart’s words. The place was so mystical, it wasn’t unpleasant.
“I suppose so.”
One of her companions was the ill-fated Crown Prince who’d died from a fall in her past life; the other was the man she’d once loved with all her heart—but so what?
Today was just another ordinary day, with nothing yet having happened. That thought made the present peace feel unexpectedly precious.
“Oh, that’s right.”
Etienne murmured as if realizing something, and both men turned to look at her.
Despite their gazes, she remained lost in her own thoughts, silent.
Having returned to the past, she knew the dreadful future awaiting them—yet she’d laughed more than expected and stirred up quite a few incidents too.
Despite the looming dread of impending death, she’d been happy. This ordinary day felt like a gift.
“This is really nice right now.”
At Etienne’s softened words, Reinhart and Fernando looked ahead, sharing the quiet moment.
Male lead is a clingy little husband
One-line summary: The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
Introduction:
One day, Lu Yuner’s soul transmigrates into a female-dominant world. She enters the Imperial Academy and takes up the position of a doctoral instructor, teaching classes and grading schoolwork.
One day, she encounters the young prince Su Qingwan secretly skipping class from the male academy.
As a result, Su Qingwan is punished.
From then on, Su Qingwan sees Lu Yuner as a “thorn in his side”.
But before long, this “thorn” becomes the person he cherishes most, and he goes to great lengths to win Lu Yuner’s affection.
Mini scene 1:
One day, the sun is high in the sky but Su Qingwan still hasn’t gotten up for class.
Servant Xiaoyuan: “Young prince, it’s time for class. You’ll be late otherwise.”
Su Qingwan says arrogantly: “I’m not going. I am the esteemed prince, my status is so noble, why should I suffer this hardship? Besides, isn’t learning all this just to please women? Hmph, they’re not worthy!”
Mini scene 2:
After Su Qingwan falls for someone, he completely changes. He no longer skips class and diligently learns how to be a good husband and father. But he discovers that Sister Yuner is always surrounded by admirers.
Drunk and overcome with jealousy one day, he clings to Lu Yuner, crying beautifully like a pear blossom in the rain.
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan likes Sister Yuner.”
Lu Yuner: “Young prince, you’re drunk.”
Su Qingwan: “Qingwan isn’t drunk. Qingwan likes Sister Yuner, likes you so much, likes you to bits…” Before he can finish, Lu Yuner’s eyes flash with emotion and she leans in closer.
[Reading Guide]
1. The female lead is gentle, gracious, humble and polite but not weak. The male lead is initially an arrogant, noble, love-deprived brat, later a cute, clingy, scheming little jealous one.
2. 1v1, a bit torturous in the beginning but definitely sweet later on.
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