NOVEL NEXT Chapter 23 - 8. Obsessed (3)
“What do you mean by godmother?”
The word ‘godmother’ here meant something slightly different from the terms used by commoners. Perhaps Ronwe’s words of the godmother refer to a woman who has a lot of influence in the social world.
Several people in this world were called the godmother of the social world. Young noble ladies considered it a great honor to be taught by these godmothers before making their social debut. Besides, if the godmother, who was in power, was standing behind the lady after her debut, there was no more reliable ally than this.
“There’s no way I could have a godmother.”
But the problem was, it was usually the mother’s role to connect this godmother with their daughter. And as you know, it was Hanar Celcius, who was now posing as her mother, waiting for a moment to kill her.
Ronwe looked at her and brought this up. “There is a Madam I know. I have saved her father from the war, and she has been gracious to me from time to time.”
“…!”
“Cough. She lives in a very remote territory. This year, my health has deteriorated, so I haven’t been able to contact her for a while… But she won’t ignore my last request as I’m dying.”
“…”
“So I’m going to ask her… to join hands in your debut. Do you know Countess Maquil?”
Fanora was genuinely surprised by Ronwe’s next words.
Maquil… Maquil? I know that name. Her younger brother is a high priest, so anyone is anxious to join hands with her.
Fanora never actually saw her, but she was definitely a celebrity. She couldn’t believe this retired knight knew such a person.
“I’ve heard her name. Thank you so much for caring for me.”
“The day of my death is near anyway, so I really want to help the Lady who comes to visit me. I… will do my best… Cough! Cough! Cough!”
What does that mean?
To be honest, Fanora didn’t expect anything from Ronwe. The social world of the nobles was elegant on the outside but cold on the inside. How many people would be willing to grant this request from a dying knight?
There aren’t many people in the world who were stupid like me.
Fanora let this conversation flow, pretending to be a good girl for Ronwe. And when he finished eating all the popiras she brought, she got up from her seat.
“I didn’t mean to force you to come when I told you about my birthday banquet. I won’t be able to see you often for a while because of the preparations for my birthday banquet. I’m letting you know in advance.”
“That’s all right. Cough, Lady would pray for my health from afar, right? I can feel the warmth even if we don’t see each other.”
At Ronwe’s gentle farewell, who was lying on the bed, Fanora bowed her head and said her farewell brightly.
“Of course, I always pray for you.”
I pray that you return to God’s arms soon.
But she only said the following words in her mind.
“Welcome back, Lady.”
“Hmm? Cecil, were you waiting for me?”
“I will help you to change.”
“Just untie the string.”
Fanora returned home before the sun went down. It was cumbersome to go and come back from the butler’s house, but today, she harvested as much effort as she had put in.
He’s going to die soon. After confirming with my own eyes that his eyelids already went numb and blood was coming out of his cough.
Ronwe’s lifespan was really short now. It was even more fortunate that Ronwe was an unfortunate human being abandoned by his family at the end of his life. She couldn’t believe that it was so much fun to see the person who had tormented her suffer.
As he said, if he had helped me even once, I would have saved his life. But in the end, he didn’t do that even once…
She didn’t want to forgive his enemies who belatedly started regrets. Her past self who stood on the cliff, felt ill and sick from their faces, was already dead, so she wondered what the use of all of their apologies would be for now.
“That’s enough. I can change the rest, so get out.”
“I understand.”
I’m in a good mood today, so can I fall asleep?
As expected, Fanora fell into a deep sleep that night without suffering from insomnia.
And in the morning, she thought.
That midnight was the day when I saw the novel.
Although she missed ‘Dangerous Love,’ she slept well and felt light as if her body was about to fly away.
* * *
A few days later, her birthday banquet was just around the corner. The nobles made a fuss when it was rumored that Fanora’s engagement would be announced at that banquet.
“Really? That’s what he said?”
“At the banquet, a woman tried to introduce her daughter to him, and he cut it off right away. He said that he’s already fallen in love with someone at first sight, and he even proposed to her.”
“Oh my, is that really Aloken?”
Aloken, who was supposed to be the best groom of this social season, would have a fiancée! Moreover, the lucky lady was Fanora Celsius, who had no presence like a ghost, so it felt even more dramatic. Thanks to this, all the gossipers were talking about their engagement. But they didn’t know if Fanora was aware of the rumors in the society.
Stretching out her body on the bed, Fanora raised her head at my maid’s words. “Who is looking for me?”
Before her regression, she had never brought any friends to her mansion. But again, she heard the news that a guest had waited for her.
Who the hell is it? There’s no one who wants to see me.
She looked at the silver tray Cecil was holding without thinking. Then she saw a familiar brooch on the tray. A brooch with a seal depicting a crane with its head bowed down. It was none other than the seal of Viscount Demangdwi.
“Naverius…”
Naverius Demangdwi. That man came all the way here.
“He is waiting outside to meet Lady. What should I do?”
“…”
It was obvious what reason he had come to the Celsius mansion.
Could it be that because our marriage talk was suddenly broken?
Other than that, there was nothing to point out.
But at the same time, it was a visit that Fanora couldn’t understand.
I thought he would think of it as a gift because he could meet someone else by now.
Once upon a time, Naverius, who became an adult, had said this,
“I felt regret from the moment our family started the marriage talk with you… that’s the reason.”
Fanora didn’t want to see him unless revenge was the reason. Therefore, she didn’t answer Cecil. Then Cecil bowed and left the room.
Now Cecil would tell Naverius that Fanora was sick and unable to meet him. That was what it meant when the servant’s master didn’t say anything if there was a notice of a guest’s visit.
“…”
Fanora sat in a quiet room and bit her fingernails. By the time her index finger was messed up, a lot of time had passed. But something was strange.
“Why isn’t she coming back?”
At this point, Cecil, who understood her intention to refuse Naverius, should have returned. But no matter how long Fanora waited, no matter how many times she rang the bell, Cecil didn’t show up.
“…”
She felt something was wrong. Soon Fanora went down the stairs with her indoor clothes and moved towards the main door. When she arrived at the main door of the mansion, she heard a loud noise just like what she had been worried about.
“I only need to meet her for a moment, so call her right away!”
As she opened the door wide, Fanora saw Cecil with her head down and a blonde man shouting with veins standing up around his neck. She jumped out in front of them.
“Naverius!”
“!”
It was fortunate that her body acted first, as she almost spit swear words out of her mouth.
You don’t know how I got this good servant!
If Naverius’s anger was left unattended, rumors would spread that ‘Cecil suffered mistreatment because she was Lady Fanora’s maid.’
Standing in front of him, Fanora said without even getting her breath together, “Haa… Cecil. Cecil, stay inside.”
“Look, she’s fine. She can’t meet me because she’s sick? It doesn’t make sense…”
“Lady.”
“I’m alright. Hurry up.”
Fanora pushed Cecil back into the mansion so that no unnecessary complaints could arise. After that, she spoke gently to the man who was glaring at her. “I’m sorry I’m late to see you. I… cough, I had a fever this morning, so I was lying down until just now, and I didn’t get a news that you were coming. If you had made an appointment in advance, I would have been prepared…”
“…are you really sick?”
“Yes.”
Fanora’s appearance resembled a banshee, so she looked like a plausible sick person with a slight wrinkle on her face.
Naverius, who was looking up and down at her when he heard she was sick, said, “Anyway, why did you run all the way here? Why would the little Duke Jalier suddenly propose to you?!”
“…”
“I’ve already told people around me that I’m going to marry you… What do I become if you do this?”
Fanora listened calmly to his words one after another.
“Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve been in contact with the little Duke… Or, this is an affair.” In the meantime, Naverius insisted this was an affair.
It would be refreshing to tell him to get out of here right away, but Fanora didn’t do that.
In my old days, I seriously thought about who I should choose between Haures or Naverius as my companion to hell.
She would take revenge on Naverius. It was something that would happen someday for sure. So Fanora shouldn’t release her intent to kill this man, or else she would be found guilty. That made her choose what to say, and she managed to bring out the first word in a trembling voice.
“Naverius, I think there is some misunderstanding between us.”
“What? Misunderstanding?”
“First of all, we didn’t break up. As I said before, we’re not engaged yet. We have no relationship in the name of God. But why did you say I have an affair?”
“That means in the meantime you—!”
“Did I ever say I love you?”
“!”
“Naverius, the reason that made me your foe was not because of love but friendship. I haven’t complained about the marriage talk because my parents want it.”
Hearing this, Naverius widened his eyes. The Fanora he knew had a timid personality and had no friends, so she used to stick close to him when they went to a party. However, he felt betrayed when the girl who had been following him suddenly spoke in a cold tone.
Fanora didn’t stop and brought up the following words, “It was comfortable when I was around you, but my heart never trembled. Then I finally found true love.”
“…”
True love? Fanora said so, trembling her eyelashes shyly. Naverius was silent with a stunned face.
“My mother once told me. You can feel someone is your true love just by looking at them once.”
“…”
“Until now, I didn’t believe her words, but I only found out about it when I met Aloken not long ago.”
“What… did you know…”
“That he’s my match made in heaven. And what’s even more surprising is that Aloken also saw me… like that…”
Fanora hesitated for a moment, covering her cheeks, then held her hands together and smiled. “I heard he fell in love with me at first sight.”
“!”
“Like lovers in a book, we recognized each other’s soul mates. Besides, I can’t believe his personality that suits me so well. In an instant, we quickly developed into a deep love and promised to get married.”
But then, as soon as she finished speaking, Naverius grabbed her shoulders with both hands. Fanora frowned at his sudden action. Naverius spoke with a serious face, regardless of her reaction, “That’s definitely a lie from the little Duke. You’re being fooled.”
“…”
“That man will soon inherit the title, so there’s no way he can fall for you, a young lady from a Count family, right? I’m sure there must be something else…”
Then she remembered the first time she met Naverius. There was a moment when such a person confessed that she was the most beautiful person in the world, and he loved her no matter what her status was. She wished she had known in advance that those sweet words were simply an act.
“It’s okay if he fooled me. Still, I love him.”
“!”
Tak.
Fanora spoke quietly, striking his hands on her shoulder. Naverius tried to protest against her action, but he couldn’t. It was because Fanora’s expression, which raised her head, was so cold that he had never seen her like this before.