Unrequited Love is Over, Fend for Yourselves (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 6
“May I come in for a moment?”
Etienne, who had just been drying her wet hair, checked the person reflected in the mirror. Marquis Claire—her father.
“Of course.”
As Etienne nodded slightly and raised her hand, the maids gathered around her quickly withdrew toward the door. When Etienne turned around, the marquis brought over a nearby chair and sat down.
“Father.”
Worry over the tense standoff between Etienne and the duke must have taken its toll; dark shadows lingered beneath her father’s eyes.
Feeling guilty for putting her father in such an awkward position, Etienne forced a smile, hoping that seeing her cheerful expression might ease his burden.
But when Marquis Claire’s large hand gently covered her forehead, her strained smile faded.
“You don’t seem to have a fever.”
He had been worried she might catch cold after dragging around in her soaked dress.
“I’m fine.”
“Then may I speak with you briefly?”
“Of course.”
“I’d like to understand what happened.”
Though she had anticipated this question, Etienne didn’t answer right away. They were still at the ducal residence; having returned looking like a drowned rat, they’d been kindly offered a guest room by the duke.
Noticing Etienne’s hesitation, the marquis motioned the ever-present maids—who lingered like shadows—to leave. Once they were alone, Etienne let the tension drain from her stiff back and let out a soft sigh.
“I happened to see someone fall into the water, so I rescued them without thinking. Only afterward did I realize it was Fernando.”
This time she’d known it was Fernando when she saved him, but the first time, she truly hadn’t known who he was.
She explained plainly that while talking with Fernando, she’d learned how he’d fallen in and even heard about the duke’s methods of education, which led her to bring Fernando straight to where the duke was.
The marquis listened quietly to Etienne’s explanation, pieced together the whole situation, and then nodded.
“So that’s how it happened.”
“I understand Duke Schupraher’s intention to raise his heir strong, but it was far too dangerous. To treat a child who hasn’t even come of age like that….”
Etienne couldn’t finish her sentence. Just recalling it made her throat tighten, and she bit down hard on her lips. She couldn’t forget Duke Schupraher’s infuriating smirk. Watching her reaction, Marquis Claire spoke.
“There were probably unseen guards nearby.”
“…What?”
Etienne looked up at her father with wide, confused eyes.
“He’s strict, yes, but he wouldn’t leave things entirely unattended. Prince Fernando has quite a few hidden guards. At one point, I even considered increasing your personal guard to match his.”
“Hidden guards…?”
“So if the situation had truly been perilous, someone would have rescued the prince already.”
There had been no one near Fernando today—not even now, as far as she’d seen. He always seemed to be alone, so she hadn’t found it odd.
“It’s a trait unique to House of Schupraher. Their swordsmanship is said to resemble the wind. If the blades protecting Schupraher are likened to a typhoon, then those guarding the heir are the eye of the storm—utterly calm and utterly secret.”
The more Etienne heard, the harder it became to keep her expression neutral.
‘So I didn’t need to save him after all.’
Yet unaware of that, she’d plunged into the lake, running until her breath caught in her throat, desperate to rescue Fernando.
And worse—she’d boldly declared in front of the duke that she’d take Fernando as her knight or husband… She’d completely humiliated herself.
“I want to go home right now.”
Etienne buried her face deeply in her hands. Now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t possibly walk through the ducal residence with her head held high.
Both in her previous life and now, after returning through reincarnation, she’d done something utterly pointless. And this time, she’d even stepped forward when she could have stayed quiet….
“Huh?”
Suddenly, she remembered the very first time she’d saved Fernando. Back then, when Fernando opened his eyes, Hana had been the one beside him—but if there had truly been hidden guards, wouldn’t someone have mentioned her?
Just as one thought chased another, a gentle warmth settled over her head. Etienne peeked through her fingers and saw Marquis Claire resting his hand atop her hair.
His large, warm palm seeped through her still-damp strands, soothing her troubled heart.
“You did well.”
The marquis’s gentle smile—the same expression that had always shown his love for Etienne—reassured her.
“At the very least, to Prince Fernando, you’ll be a lifelong savior he’ll never forget.”
“Well….”
Her father was right. Earlier, Fernando had clung tightly to the hem of her dress and refused to let go. Remembering that moment, a soft blush bloomed across Etienne’s cheeks.
Fernando’s unexpected behavior left Etienne speechless—and the duke burst into uproarious laughter again.
He laughed so hard tears welled in his eyes, pounding the armrest as if to break it, delighted by his son’s unprecedented display.
Thanks to that, the situation wrapped up quickly. Once his laughter subsided somewhat, the duke told Fernando and Etienne to go wash up, and Etienne was promptly escorted to a guest room.
“I’m quite surprised you have that side to you.”
Etienne looked up at her father, who still gently stroked her hair. He hadn’t scolded her for speaking so bluntly to the duke; there wasn’t a trace of reproach on his face.
Instead, recalling the earlier incident, his eyes softened with the look of someone who’d just made an unexpected discovery.
“You’ve always seemed so composed, so mature—but today, for the first time, you looked your age.”
“Oh….”
Had she really seemed that way? Etienne lowered her gaze. She’d always been buried in books or studying her house’s legacy, never paying attention to anything else. There had been hardly any days when she’d gone somewhere just for fun or taken proper rest.
“Many praised you for handling today’s incident well—but be more careful next time. To me, you’re far more precious than Prince Fernando.”
“I will.”
Etienne nodded.
Right. What did it matter who’d saved Fernando the first time? This time, Fernando himself knew it was her.
[This is the timeline separator]“You still can’t handle water?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Tch. Pathetic.”
Fernando fell silent under Duke Schupraher’s rebuke. His father had thrown him into the water today precisely for this reason.
Because his progress in mastering water was too slow. Exasperated, the duke had ordered a knight to drag Fernando into the lake.
“How much longer will you dawdle like this?”
“I’m not standing still—I’m making progress. Please be patient. I’m doing my best.”
“Hah. ‘Doing your best,’ you say….”
Duke Schupraher snorted in disbelief at Fernando’s reply. He knew his son spoke the truth.
After all, Fernando had refused to leave the water today despite nearly drowning. Yet, with no tangible results, his son’s confident demeanor struck him as absurd.
But only for a moment—then the duke’s eyes narrowed. Fernando’s calmness caught his attention.
In the past, a single word from him would send Fernando into anxious self-reproach. But today, he remained composed. Intrigued, the duke leaned slightly toward his son.
“You seem to have realized quite a bit today.”
“Yes. I’ve realized many things.”
Fernando nodded, showing no intention to hide anything.
“I’ll go beyond merely ‘doing my best’—I’ll become truly skilled. No matter how difficult the path ahead, I believe I can endure it. And….”
Today, Fernando could have easily climbed out of the water on his own—but he chose not to. He’d felt that if he still couldn’t gain proper ability this time, death might be preferable.
Besides, if he truly seemed in danger of dying, one of his hidden guards would surely rescue him. But then, a sudden white hand reached out and wrapped around his neck.
He’d wanted to see who it was, but unfortunately, Fernando lost consciousness for a moment.
When he came to, he saw a face as lovely as that white hand. Strands of red hair clung to her pale cheeks.
Her slightly upturned eyes might have seemed a bit sharp, but her gaze was brimming with concern just for him.
Like a hatchling imprinting on the first living being it sees as its mother, Fernando’s heart instantly locked onto Etienne’s face—the first he saw upon regaining consciousness.
“I’ve learned it’s all right not to hold back.”
“Even though my grasping you doesn’t mean I fully acknowledge you as heir?”
“Then cast me aside.”
“What?”
Fernando, who used to fret endlessly over losing his position as heir, was saying surprisingly bold things today.
“For a moment, I wished you hadn’t held me back. If only you weren’t my father, I could have become Etienne’s husband….”
“…Have you forgotten your earlier talk about serving as her attendant or knight?”
“Since I’m handsome, I’ll be her husband.”
Fernando’s matter-of-fact reply left Duke Schupraher momentarily speechless. It felt as though this wasn’t the son he’d always known—or perhaps his son had finally broken free from the shell that had enclosed him all this time.
“Should I thank the marquis’s daughter for changing my son so thoroughly?”
“No need for thanks.”
Fernando cut off his father’s interest in Etienne.
“I’ll handle my own training from now on.”
“And why should I trust you with that?”
“If I fail to satisfy you, do as you please. I intend to move forward in my own way now.”
The duke let out a dry chuckle. He couldn’t even threaten to disown him—Fernando had already said those very words himself, rendering any such threat useless.
Just then, Marquis Claire, Marchioness Claire, and Etienne entered the dining room. Seeing Etienne, Fernando smiled. The sudden change in his usually reserved son made Duke Schupraher’s eyes narrow.
“Etienne.”
Without even glancing at Duke Schupraher, Fernando rose from his seat and walked straight to Etienne, extending his hand with a bashful expression.
He looked just like a puppy wagging its tail for the one who’d saved him that day.
“I’d thought you’d gone home already and was worried. Are you feeling all right?”
The boy who’d just spoken coldly to Duke Schupraher now addressed Etienne with astonishing gentleness.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
_____
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