When My Enemies Began to Regret

“Wait, what else are you talking about? What’s wrong with that brat? He’s getting better at framing his brother day by day.”

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

“When I return to the estate, I should recommend my brother to be a playwright.”

 

Aloken raised his voice and widened his eyes. Fanora was the one to watch with her mouth open.

 

“I always thought he would have said nonsense because he couldn’t bring me down, but I didn’t know he would really do that.”

 

“Aren’t both of you lying?”

 

“I… never did that when my mother died. It’s just that…”

 

But somehow, his reaction was getting weird. Aloken continued to defend himself well, but when he reached the end of the sentence, he shortened his words. He looked into Fanora’s eyes twice as if he hesitated to say something out of his mouth.

 

“?”

 

Is Aloken worried about the way other people are looking at him?

Fanora waited, wondering what was wrong with him, and he finally continued.

 

“…It’s true that I was diagnosed by a doctor.”

 

“!”

 

“We kept it a secret, saying that if this information spread, the Jalier bloodline would be mocked because of me.”

 

The man, who had shown various expressions such as arrogant smiles or surprise, suddenly returned to being expressionless. In Fanora’s eyes, his face looked a little different than usual.

It’s not just a stiff face. But as if nothing were contained in it.

 

Fanora hesitated and finally asked, “Is the diagnosis reliable?”

 

To that, Aloken titled his head and answered, “It has always been hard for me to understand others.”

 

“…”

 

“Even when my father yelled with a red face, I couldn’t understand what he was trying to express.”

 

Fanora listened quietly to what he had said and interrupted in a low voice. “It’s the first time I’ve heard of such an illness.”

 

“It’s not an illness.” Aloken rolled his eyes briefly, then shifted his gaze to the right. A colorful cloth announcing the festival was hung between the buildings.

 

“The doctor and my family described me like a heartless, chaotic animal, but there are times when I feel happy and times when I feel annoyed.”

 

“!”

 

“But the duke had a different attitude toward me. He acted like I was seriously broken.”

 

“So that’s why he tried to make your brother as his successor?”

 

“He’s afraid of ruining the lineage by making a person with an illness pass on to the next generation.”

 

Having said that, Aloken picked up the sugar from the glass with a tong and dropped a couple of them into the coffee. He didn’t do that because he wanted to drink it, but because his hands were bored.

 

“Just like a child who can’t hear well is a little slow to learn to speak. I’m becoming like that because I haven’t received anything from them.”

 

“…”

 

“Don’t parents praise you when you get better in the end, even if the progress is slow? But the previous duke was very greedy, so he wanted me to be perfect immediately.”

 

“…”

 

“If I don’t achieve what he wants, I will lose the successor position to my brother, so lately… I have corrected all my actions.”

 

Fanora heard the story and spat out a single sentence that sounded like a sigh. “Ah, that’s why the previous duke was being like that.”

 

Her sudden response made Aloken tilt his head as if he didn’t understand. Fanora, therefore, explained to him what she realized. “That’s why he was so happy when you told him we would get married.”

 

“?”

 

“Now that his son, whom he thought was sick, fell in love, so he thought your illness was cured. Perhaps falling in love is the most representative emotion.”

 

Aloken widened his eyes as if surprised by her words. That expression didn’t last long either.

 

“That makes sense.” He put his chin on his hand and said indifferently.

 

Rose said his older brother wouldn’t get better even if he continued being educated. But Fanora had a different thought.

I haven’t noticed his character until now. I thought he was rather arrogant and emotional.

 

Aloken had been hiding his temperament through his past efforts. He communicated with people without difficulty, and although there were some shortcomings, he was able to communicate well.

 

“Did your corrections teach you to value human life?”

 

“That’s right. Thanks to you, I realized that I had acted wrong up to now. I’m busy taking care of my servants now.”

 

Fanora asked the last question she wanted to confirm. After hearing his answer, she decided to still hold Aloken’s hand in the end.

It looks like I got caught up in his brother’s interference.

 

In other words, she confirmed that Aloken was not a crazy person who would suddenly harm her.

He’s not just acting. He’s learning how to fit into society, and he’s getting better.

Of course, rather than this conversation, Aloken ascended as the duke and had not killed Rose until now, so she trusted him.

 

“By the way, don’t you care about my temperament?”

 

Aloken said that, and Fanora answered calmly. “There’s nothing to care about.”

 

“Now that I have the duke’s reputation, it would be interesting to use it as a bargaining chip.”

 

“Even if I shout that you have such an illness, I will be the only one called a crazy woman.”

 

Fanora just closed her eyes and passed the small scratch made by Aloken. Rather, it was better for Aloken not to be emotional. Because there was no better condition than this because of the contract.

 

“Besides, I feel reassured. If you were born with that kind of dull feeling, is it a play that you have shown interest in me until now? Ah, yes. I thought it was weird.”

 

“…”

 

“Now that you’re a duke, don’t exhaust yourself anymore. You can relax in front of me.”

 

Fanora drank the tea with a light heart because the uncomfortable problem was solved. Of course, this tea never went over her esophagus.

 

“I’m sorry, but we’re coming to an end, and you’re coming up with the wrong conclusion. Why do you think I dared to tell you my secret?”

 

“…?”

 

“This is to get the attention of my fiancée.” When Aloken suddenly spoke about this, Fanora stiffened with the tea still in her mouth.

 

“I learned that sharing secrets helps build affection.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Aloken only smiled with his eyes bent when he saw Fanora stiffened. “The part I have denied so far has finally been affirmed… I knew you would react like this.”

 

“…”

 

“Now I can understand the meaning of the word love.”

 

He said before that he didn’t care a little about the feelings of others.

 

“I never thought that I would find my first love at this age. If you feel sorry for me, why don’t you pay me back.”

 

What do you mean? First love?

Of course, it would have been a shame to just let this go and leave.

 

Why is he doing this when he’s already busy? I’ve been through Naverius. Does he think I will be happy to play love games?

 

Fanora, who barely swallowed the harsh words that were about to come out of her throat, thought as rationally as possible.

Is it like ‘This is the first time I’ve met a woman like you’ that often appears in romance novels? Then if I slap his cheeks just like the lady did to the rich man in the novel, will he come to his senses?

 

Fanora tried to think rationally to be exact. However, when things didn’t go as planned, she got up from her seat, fearing that he would expose her bottom line. “We’re done talking, so I’m leaving, Duke Jalier.”

 

“There will be a New Year’s banquet in the evening, so why don’t we enjoy it?”

 

“You want me to go to the banquet until night at this age? Don’t say something like that until after I make my debutante.”

 

In response, Aloken said farewell to her  with an obvious smile on his face. “Okay. Then see you again at your debutante.”

 

* * *

After New Year’s Eve, on the weekdays at 9 a.m. In today’s midnight novel, there was Vasago, who enjoyed her birthday while being with three people: the kind relative’s older brother, the wealthy man aka Aloken, and her overprotective father. Whenever she was happy in the novel, Fanora felt like her intestines were twisted, and blood seemed to flow from her eyes to see how everyone loved her. 

 

“Jousting competition on New Year’s Eve? Did you have fun?”

 

“Yes! I couldn’t participate because I was late, but watching it was nice too!”

 

But Fanora could bear it.

 

Today was finally the day she met Carl. How could a model student like her be afraid of classes?Fanora was able to achieve rapid achievements thanks to her effort to train while reducing her sleep. With that, the basic martial arts class had reached its end.

 

“It’s amazing. How could someone without knowledge of fighting already have such a posture? Someone like Lady should be in the military academy!”

 

Maybe today was the last day of the class. Fanora was proud of what she had learned in the warehouse, where she had a class with Carl.

 

I’m being recognized for my posture for the first time.

At least at this rate, there would be no cases of her swinging fists in the air or kicking in vain. Getting praised for her basics brought up a hopeful imagination in her head. But that only lasted for a moment. 

 

“By the way, Lady Fanora.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“I think you’ve gotten used to the basics to some extent.”

 

Carl poured cold water on her  happy imagination.

 

“But how about using poison…? Or take your revenge… two years later while taking it easy…”

 

He fidgeted with his red hair, avoiding her gaze. Fanora said what she wanted to say. “I don’t have time that long.”

 

To be precise, she came to see a future in which this kingdom would later be embroiled in war and ruined. Fanora went on, boldly skipping the details of the situation. “And why stick with poison while there are many options? Wouldn’t it be nice to have more means?”

 

“That’s…”

 

Why did he tell me to use poison rather than the technique he taught me?

 

The boy who glanced in her eyes as she spoke confidently answered immediately. “It’s true that Lady Fanora has good achievements. This is enough to subdue nobles of the same age as yours who are unfamiliar with fighting.”

 

“…”

 

“But other than that, to be honest, Lady Fanora is so weak that no one can guarantee your victory.”

 

He removed the smile he had always had on his lips and spoke seriously. “You have little muscles, and your body is small. It’s better if you use a weapon, but in bare-handed fighting, your weight basically has a big impact.”

 

“…”

 

“Even if you have skills, Lady Fanora will generally lose to people like the successors of a family who have trained their physic.”

 

Carl’s gentle nature erased her smile. As if he was looking at the pitiful thing, Fanora’s eyebrows twitched as he repeated the words ‘You’re weak’ several times. It was as if he was saying that her efforts were useless.

 

“You’re so weak. What if you get hurt while using the skills you learned carelessly? So, as I said earlier, either increase the training period or…”

 

“Am I that weak?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Fanora lowered her head. Because of that, Carl couldn’t see her expression, but the fact that she was upset right now was felt on his skin.

 

I was happy that I could finally use it in real life with this level of achievement. But I’m so weak that I can’t beat anyone…

Clearly, in the eyes of others, Fanora was too late to start. While the other family successors learned the basics of swordsmanship from an early age, she didn’t start physical training until she was 16 years old.

 

“If you don’t quite understand, would you like to have a spar with me?”

 

“…”

 

“Lady Fanora, take your weapon. I wouldn’t use a single arm with my bare hands.”

 

But as soon as Fanora heard these remarks, one side of her head cooled down.

 

“This way, you will understand what I mean.”

 

From Carl’s point of view, these words were uttered because he was genuinely worried about Fanora. If he let her know that she wasn’t at the level to go into action now, there were parts where he thought that Fanora would do wrong by acting hastily.

 

“…”

 

However, Fanora lifted her face slowly at his remarks and immediately thought something.