chapter 16
4. Island Lumentium – 05
To start with the conclusion, the dead end situation that everyone gathered here expected did not happen.
Sarah just stood there, without saying a word, just staring at me with a cold expression.
“…..”
I’m talking about this, but it’s not that I can’t understand her feelings toward me, apart from the behavior of Count Cernard, who sent me a letter of breakup. As a fiancée, it must be very natural for her to feel displeased with me for having another woman in bed and want to break up with me. Even if I were in the opposite position, I would have gone mad and tried all sorts of tricks to break up the marriage immediately.
But she didn’t do anything. He just stood there silently and looked at me. To be honest, it was much more frightening for Sarah to act like that. I would have been more comfortable if he had done anything towards me, but I felt uncomfortable just looking at me without saying a single word.
“…Whoa.”
In the bloody cold war where no one opened their mouths, I was the one who raised the white flag first, unable to endure.
“…why aren’t you saying anything? I thought you had a lot to say to me?”
“Because talking to you is just a waste of time.”
Sara answered in a voice so cold that it was hard to believe that she had once been a fiancée.
“I’m sorry, but meeting you here today was not my intention. It’s just that I was unlucky today. It’s nothing more than that. Just in case you don’t know, I hope you don’t misunderstand.”
Saying that, Sara took one step toward me, and then another step. And before long, she came face to face with me at a distance where we could touch each other’s breath.
“…..”
“…..”
The spectators lined up around them gulp and swallow, imagining what will happen in the future.
Unfortunately, however, what the surrounding audience expected did not happen in the end. All she did was remove the ring from her finger and place it on the palm of my hand.
“…What is this?”
“An engagement ring.”
She spoke in a soft tone, as if explaining about a coin she had picked up on the street.
“I already heard the news. The breakup of your marriage with me is a matter that has already been granted permission by His Majesty? So now I think this ring is nothing more than a simple ring with no meaning. So, I’ll give it back.”
“…..”
It was unexpected. What was surprising was that the fact that he was still wearing my engagement ring was very surprising to me. for I thought that Sarah was very displeased with our engagement. However, I never imagined that I would have given meaning to such an engagement ring and worn it on my finger. No, before that, our engagement ring was-
“…Sarah, sleep…”
But without giving me a chance to say anything, Sarah just walks past me. A plain attitude, as if letting everyone know that he no longer has any interest in me. And that was when The moment she passed me, she whispered something in my ear in a very small voice.
“West Terrace, in two hours.”
“….What?”
At that, I involuntarily turned my back and looked at her. However, she didn’t look at me for a single moment, as if she was propaganda to the people gathered here that she was someone else who had nothing to do with me. So she quickly disappeared among the others.
“…..”
I unknowingly touched the engagement ring in my hand in a daze. This ring, made of silver and studded with a large ruby, was indeed a ring that boasted a very beautiful appearance befitting its purpose as an engagement ring. But at the same time, it was also a ring that looked very unfamiliar to me.
“…Sarah.”
FYI, the jewel in my engagement ring was an emerald.
****
What happened after that was nothing special. On the face of it, what had just happened was no more than a trifle: Sarah returned my engagement ring and disappeared without looking back. It was perfect for a moment of gossip, but it seemed like a disappointing ending to the aristocratic rulers who were expecting a soggy and sticky finale. Looking at the place where the excessive gaze that had been directed at me until just now was withdrawn in an instant.
Only then was I able to slam into the corner of the banquet hall and degenerate into eating and drinking with Aria, as I had originally planned. I was once again surprised by Arya’s boldness, not paying attention to the series of circumstances that had just occurred, and put a piece of meat in her mouth.
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Mess.
Aria happily eats food like birds feed. I looked at the aria and thought about what had just happened.
‘…what the hell was that?’
What the hell is she thinking? She just said this to me. It was a coincidence that I met here today. That it was nothing but a thing. …But I think what she said must be a lie. She must have visited the banquet hall to meet me.
“Cain von Estel.”
I rummaged through my pockets and took another look at the ‘engagement ring’ she had just handed me. It must have been. This ring was not the engagement ring I exchanged with her.
“Cain von Estel.”
Did you say it was the west terrace after 2 hours? I have no idea why he wants to meet me separately. No, what the hell is the reason for meeting me in secret, even using such cumbersome methods before that? This kind of thing didn’t happen before the regression, so my heart trembles for some reason. However, I can’t help it. Here, first of all, Sarah’s words are obediently-
“Cain von Estel!”
A roar erupts from behind me. Thanks to a child who resonates throughout the banquet hall, the eyes of the people around me are drawn back to me. Now that I’ve passed some rice down my throat in a quiet place, what kind of ordeal has come to me?
As I turned my head backwards with an annoyed look, I saw a guy who looked like a parasitic brother huffing at me. But that child had a familiar face, as if he had seen it somewhere. When I tried to look at the guy’s face, I almost remembered what the guy’s identity was.
“…You, what is your name?”
When I asked him a question in order to somehow bring back vague memories, he frowned and answered me obediently.
“My name is Lucian von Tournisen, the legitimate son of the Duke of Tournisen.”
“…Lucian von Tournisen? The Duke of Tournigen?”
It took a while for me to tilt my head at his sudden remark, but only then did I realize where I had seen him.
“…Ah, I saw you at the engagement ceremony.”
“What? engagement ceremony? What do you mean by that?”
The guy who couldn’t understand what I was saying frowned and asked for the meaning. But I had no intention of giving him any explanation. Because the story I’m telling is just a story of the distant future that hasn’t happened yet.
Five years from now, Sarah and I will break off our marriage. And she subsequently became engaged to another person, and it could be said that the target was Lucian von Tournisen, who was right in front of me right now.
In fact, since it was not a wedding ceremony and just an engagement ceremony, there was no need to attend the engagement ceremony, but I deliberately took the time to watch their engagement ceremony. Because I thought it was the last. Seeing Sara, who had completely cut off ties with me, was my own desperate attempt to organize all my thoughts toward her.
And at the engagement ceremony, I had the experience of seeing the face of Lucian von Tournisen, who is now in front of me. However, I didn’t recognize him at first sight because I saw his face from afar, and the current one had a much younger face than I remembered.
“So, what is the business of the noble young man of the Duke of Tournigen who came to visit me?”
When I looked at him and asked that question, Lucian looked at me and snorted.
“Well, I think there’s only one thing I can do while facing you like this.”
“So what the hell is that?
“Okay. Let’s start with the conclusion. I challenge you to a duel. Cain von Estel.”
Saying that, Lucian took out a pair of gloves from his pocket and threw them at me. By the way, I was experiencing a strange feeling that I couldn’t even grasp what the current situation was like. Perhaps, I was getting the feeling that I would be so crazy that I wouldn’t mind even if I heard the confession that the series of situations that were happening today were actually a surprise party to surprise me.
“…Lucian von Tournisen. I want to ask you something just in case.”
“What is it?”
“Do you know that you and I are talking face-to-face for the first time today? I don’t think I can find any justification for a duel with you, aside from the fact that we’re talking about that in our first meeting. “
At my well-thought-out words, Lucian looks at me with a mocking expression. By the way, that guy’s expression was playing a big part in making me feel very bad.
“I think the justification for a duel between you and I is overflowing.
Looking at it now, there was no doubt that he was a guy who made people feel bad not only with his expression but also with his way of speaking. To be honest, he didn’t look that strong, so I thought about taking a shot at him in the name of a duel. Even if he’s strong, how can he be stronger than an ogre who wants to tear people apart alive? A guy who is nothing more than a precious boy like this?
“Cain von Estel, news that you are breaking off the engagement with Lady Sarah Cernard is spreading throughout the system. But according to rumors, it is rumored that Lady Cernard decided to break off the engagement because you insulted her so much. Yes, with shameful rumors that he dragged another woman into bed in front of her.”
“…..”
Those rumors were always based on facts, so even I didn’t know what to say.
“And I have known Lady Cernard since childhood, a relationship that can be called a kind of childhood friend. Because of your unwholesome behavior, she has suffered great damage to her honor. Even if I personally ask to meet, I To the extent that I will not accept the meeting of ” until the end.”
Lucian makes a stern expression as if his expression like a parasitic brother was a lie. And with that expression on his face, I could easily understand his purpose.
“…So, to sum up what you said, it means that Sarah was hurt because of me, and that you have a crush on her to the point that you can’t leave her alone. At such a moment, you met someone you didn’t want to see at the banquet hall, He wants to beat me up because he thinks it’s a good opportunity.”
“…Except for the word unrequited love, everything else is correct. So, will you accept the challenge for a duel? By the way, I think it doesn’t matter if you step back like a coward.”
“Such a crazy bastard.”
Seeing such a guy, I murmured swearing without even realizing it. So, to put it simply, aside from reason, nabal, and all that, wouldn’t it be that he confidently challenged me to a duel because he seemed like an easy guy that I could easily defeat?
“Good. Lucian von Tournisen. I will accept your duel. Instead, there is one condition.”
I tried to put up with it for a while, but if he did something like this because he recognized me as an easy guy, I couldn’t possibly bear with it. Because I am the Duke of Estelle, and that I looked down on him was in line with the saying that the Duke of Estelle was looked down on.
“…Conditions? What is that?
“Dae-ri freezes to death. There is only one thing I ask of you.”
I deliberately patted my hand and smiled refreshingly at Lucian.
“When it comes to dueling, I will use my fists rather than swords. Rather than using a sword, I want to defeat you myself, like a chimney.”