Suddenly hearing rumors about her lover, Celly couldn’t hide her bewildered expression.

But there was no other choice. This was an undeniable fact.

“When I worked in the capital, Cedric Helios was notorious for being unruly and impolite.”

Celly blinked her eyes several times.

“Even if he’s doing well now, you never know when his true colors might show. It’s not just one or two people…”

Since I couldn’t reveal the fact that I was Leprentia Nirei, I couldn’t discuss the credibility of these rumors either. As a mere maid, I couldn’t claim to have heard these rumors circulating in the nobility’s salons. All I could do was dismiss it as mere gossip.

“Anyway, there must be a reason for such rumors to circulate. Even the Helios family finds it difficult to handle…”

So why did it have to be him of all people?

I swallowed the words I couldn’t bring myself to say and furrowed my brow.

“I hope you meet someone better than me.”

While I had also considered Delia from Celly’s appearance, I saw the past Leprentia when I looked at her. A naive figure who believed in only one thing without knowing anything else.

Cedric was just like Detoir. A man who not only deceived and used the love they believed in but even trampled on it.

So maybe I was more concerned.

“Leah…”

Celly’s voice trembled. I had finished saying everything I wanted to say. At that time, I thought that even if Celly hated me, there was nothing I could do.

Thunk!

Celly grabbed my hand without hesitation and smiled warmly.

“Are you worried about me now? I’m so happy.”

Her memories appeared above her face like a Christmas present.

“You’re saying that for me, right? I’m really touched.”

“…Celly.”

“Thank you, Leah. I didn’t know you’d worry about me this much… What should I do? I’m so happy.”

Celly’s joy was evident as she held onto my hand tightly. It was an unexpectedly emotional reaction, unlike what I had expected.

“…Aren’t you upset?”

“Me? Why?”

“You’re cursing the man I’m meeting right now.”

“Why does that matter? That’s because Cedric has behaved badly all this time! What’s important is that you’re worried about me!”

Celly firmly held onto my hand, her voice full of determination.

“You’re the first person to worry about me like this, Leah!”

Celie, who had been abandoned by her parents, had raised two younger siblings while working. One of them had a congenital illness, and Celly needed a lot of money.

“But the Cedric I experienced was much better than the rumors. I have two younger siblings, you know? My siblings are like a painful finger to me.”

“But when my siblings were hungry, he shared his food and always played with them.”

Celly had incurred debts to pay for her sick sibling’s medical expenses. She had to work tirelessly to support her siblings from a young age, except for sleeping. She had worked relentlessly, but nothing had changed.

But the unpaid debt had grown like a snowball. Celly’s creditor sold her possessions here and there, and eventually, it fell into the hands of the Helios family.

Although Celly sent money to repay the debt every month, the Helios Marquis, who viewed her with disdain, gave her an extension, which was actually futile.

“In fact, I was suspicious at first. I wondered why a knight of the Northern Elite would be so infatuated with me. I thought he might have some ulterior motive… But he was consistently kind.”
The growing poverty, like a snowball rolling down from the mountaintop, weighed heavily on Celly’s shoulders.

“Maybe I thought he might be different from the rumors. Perhaps I should only believe what I’ve seen with my own eyes… Hehe.”

And as she said, Cedric helped her.

Suddenly, at some point, Cedric appeared by Celly’s side, taking care of her siblings and even unilaterally paying off Celly’s debts.

He was the first person to reach out to Celly, who had always been coldly turned away by the world.

‘I didn’t think it would be him…’

I furrowed my brow as I recalled Cedric from the rumors I heard in the capital and from Ronan’s memories. Cedric Helios was undoubtedly one of the worst men, even among the worst.

However, the Cedric I saw in Celly’s memories seemed like an entirely different, devoted man, to the point that it felt like he had a dual personality.

“Of course, he has a bad habit of speaking rudely and behaving aggressively, but… I want to believe that’s not who he truly is.”

Her voice was much softer than when she talked about Cedric last time.

That meant that Celly’s heart had opened wide to Cedric over the past few days.

“…Is that so?”

If Cedric truly loved Celly and changed his ways, that would be a good thing.

In Celly’s memories, she was smiling, and Cedric was helping her.

If a man who had been infinitely bad to someone had changed and become affectionate to her, then it might have a positive influence on her future.

‘…I see. You’re different from me, and you’re different from Delia.’

Celly didn’t hate me like Delia did, and she wasn’t betrayed in love like me.