A Reversal of Unrequited Love - Chapter 61

With a loud shout, Caleb, the third prince’s red hair, popped up. Why is he here again, Hyacinth grumbled inwardly. While she was grumbling ungratefully, Caleb jumped down from the wall. Ethan quickly hid her behind him, shielding her from the dust.

“What trouble did you cause at dawn? Brother was saying something, but I couldn’t understand a word.”

“It’s nothing.”

“It is something! A noble lady, at this cold dawn, dressed like this… Ah. Duke Trisel.”

Noticing Ethan Erentis only now, Caleb’s field of vision must be incredibly narrow. Still hiding behind Ethan, Hyacinth shot a look of disbelief at her cousin. Caleb let out a deep sigh and scratched his head.

“My cousin… uh… was indebted to you. Thank you.”

“…”

“Hyacinth Hener.”

At the unexpectedly stern tone, Hyacinth flinched reflexively. Caleb strode forward and firmly grabbed her wrist, which was hidden behind Ethan.

“Let’s talk alone. Okay?”

“Well… I mean, Cory…”

“I’ll hear your excuses later.”

When Caleb growled fiercely,

A calm hand reached out and rescued Hyacinth’s wrist from Caleb’s grip. The two cousins were perfectly separated in an instant.

It was a clean intervention closer to prevention than mediation. Both Hyacinth and Caleb were momentarily speechless from the surprise, but the one who separated them remained silent.

Hyacinth’s hand was gently released. However, Caleb’s wrist remained restrained, so Hyacinth craned her neck to see Ethan’s face. Although the angle made it hard to see his expression, it was clear he was staring intently at Caleb. A sudden chill appeared on Caleb’s face under Ethan’s gaze.

An unmistakable tension.

Hyacinth held her breath and alternated her gaze between them. The tension made it hard to breathe. As she kept looking back and forth between Ethan and Caleb, Ethan whispered softly.

“Be gentle.”

“No, I…!”

Caleb, who was about to burst out, rolled his eyes to the sky.

“…Fine, I get it. This is why I can’t stand Arthur’s words! Ah, forget it. Fine.”

Ethan dropped Caleb’s hand as if he was discarding trash. Caleb sighed again, not knowing how many times he had done so, while Ethan hurriedly checked Hyacinth’s wrist.

“It’s bruised.”

An exaggerated expression.

What remained on her wrist was not a bruise but a mark. One that would surely disappear soon.

Even so, the murderous intent directed at Caleb was clear, so Hyacinth defended her annoying cousin.

“I have sensitive skin.”

“I know, but…”

“But I also heal quickly, so it will be gone by the afternoon.”

“How do you know she has sensitive skin?”

Both ignored Caleb’s intrusive question simultaneously.

“I am now going to find Cory with my brother. Would you like to join?”

“Before that, I’d like you to dress warmer. And gladly…”

“What do you mean gladly! The northern delegation will arrive this morning!”

Caleb shouted again. When Hyacinth looked at him, Ethan subtly avoided her eyes.

“I clearly instructed them to arrive by tomorrow. I don’t know why they rushed.”

Why indeed. Hyacinth glanced at the reason for the northern delegation’s rush. Seeing Ethan Erentis stubbornly avoiding her gaze, it seemed he knew the answer. Hyacinth chuckled and tapped Ethan’s shoe with her toe.

Ethan immediately looked at her. Meeting his gaze, they smiled at each other.

The dawn was breaking in the distance. The sunlight, which had hurriedly arrived, sparkled, as if emphasizing the distance between them. One step. Maybe half a step. It felt closer than yesterday.

“Take care. If time permits, I’ll see you this afternoon.”

“…I will definitely come.”

Ethan promised solemnly.

After Duke Trisel left, only Hyacinth and Caleb remained in the training ground. Somehow, she had ended up being the one to stay in the training ground the longest at dawn. Thinking it was an amusing coincidence, Hyacinth looked back at her sulking cousin.

“I’m cold. Take off your clothes for me.”

“Does that guy have any conscience?”

Hyacinth silently showed her wrist. Caleb, who had clearly witnessed the outcome of his sins, eventually grumbled and took off his outer garment for her.

It was warm, but…

Hyacinth recalled the cloak that Ethan had draped over her just yesterday. The subtle, refreshing winter scent and the warm, soft texture were perfectly to her liking. Unlike this garment.

“If you’re going to look at it like that, return it, Hyacinth Hener.”

“So petty.”

“This ungrateful…”

Hyacinth fled with a flourish.

Of course, she didn’t even make it out of the training grounds before Caleb caught her by the scruff of her neck. She looked up at her cousin with a guilty expression, like a puppy that had done something wrong.

Since Arthur wasn’t scolding her, Caleb would. Honestly, it was better for Caleb to do the scolding. If it reached Their Majesties’ ears, it would be a huge headache. But regardless of what was best, Hyacinth didn’t want to be lectured by ‘Caleb’. That clumsy cousin lecturing her? Doesn’t seem right, does it?

But the world doesn’t always go the way you want it to.

Caleb, who had promised to help her find Cory, scolded her harshly for three hours straight as compensation.

Hyacinth took it to heart with Cory’s mindset.

* * *

After dressing in her inner chamber, Hyacinth spent the entire morning searching for Cory with Caleb. Despite grumbling about why they had to find such an ugly cat with a stubby tail, Caleb cooperated more diligently than expected. He even climbed the tall trees that Hyacinth couldn’t bring herself to climb.

They searched Tyche thoroughly for half a day, but the gray cat didn’t show even a whisker. Even the massive amount of fur that animals shed had been diligently cleaned up by Tyche’s servants.

Returning to Hyacinth’s room as defeated soldiers, they were speechless at the sight that greeted them as soon as they opened the door. In one corner of the room, Cory was happily eating, wagging his short tail.

“I told you not to wander around.”

Hyacinth spoke sternly, and Cory turned his head away.

“That cat is worse than a brute.”

Caleb sighed as he sprawled in the armchair. Instead of pointing out that a cat is indeed a brute, Hyacinth urged her cousin to leave quickly.

“You’re too much! I got blisters on my feet looking for your damn cat!”

“It can’t be helped. Now it’s time for me to get ready.”

“Who do you want to look so pretty for… Are you getting married?”

“Why, did you bet on it?”

“Of course! On the winning side…”

Caleb, who had been shouting loudly, faltered under Hyacinth’s cold gaze.

He had fallen for her leading question so thoroughly that it was impossible to recover. Rolling his eyes noisily, he tried to seize the opportunity to escape, but Hyacinth didn’t let him.

“So you made a bet?”

“N-no, it’s just that when a challenge is given, you can’t avoid it. Right? You understand, don’t you?”

Understand, my foot.

As revenge is a lady’s virtue, she diligently avenged the morning’s grudge.

* * *

Of course, Hyacinth didn’t forget her priorities.

After driving her cousin out at an appropriate time, she called for her nanny and maids to start getting ready. Having unintentionally shown only a simple appearance yesterday and this morning, she wanted to present a slightly more polished look today.

“Will you be using the amethyst set for accessories?”

Hyacinth nodded at the nanny’s question. A quick-witted maid retrieved and displayed the amethyst set from the safe.

The tiara and brooch gifted by Ethan Erentis.

The very jewelry that had set Tyche’s social circle ablaze. Although the rumor of the gift had spread quickly, causing curiosity among the royalty and the entire social circle, Hyacinth had not worn the jewelry until now. There was someone she wanted to show it to first.

She reached out and picked up the tiara.

No matter how royal Hyacinth Hener was, she couldn’t wear a tiara here in Tyche. If she were to wear this tiara as it is, it would be in Bremlin, not here.

At the same time, the tiara was cleverly designed. The two largest gems could be detached and reattached, allowing them to be used not only as a tiara but also as earrings and a brooch.

“Should I use them as earrings and a brooch, or as a necklace and a brooch?”

Nanny Seina pondered deeply. Alternating her gaze between Hyacinth’s long neck and her white earlobes, she gave a seasoned answer.

“Just the necklace.”

“Only the necklace?”

“Yes, but if you lift half of your hair up to reveal the nape of your neck… How about that?”

Seina, who had roughly lifted half of her red hair, then brought an amethyst necklace and placed it around her neck. Hyacinth nodded, finding her reflection in the mirror quite pretty.

“It looks perfect.”

“Good.”

Seina clapped lightly. The maids began to move in unison at the nanny’s instructions, helping with the adornment.

Hyacinth tilted her head slightly for the maid who was fixing her hair and looked at the nanny through the mirror.

“Nanny.”

“Yes, my lady?”

“…Do I look pretty enough?”

The answer came not from the nanny but echoed from the room. The maids in the inner chamber all gasped at once.

“It’s spring~.”

“Oh my, love is blooming.”

Hyacinth made a coy face at the maids’ comments, but she didn’t deny it. Even if all emotions weren’t completely sorted out, she didn’t want to stop this flow.

Thinking that she was enjoying the excitement she couldn’t fully enjoy in her previous life wasn’t a bad thing.

The nanny smiled gently. Her middle-aged face was filled with mixed emotions. Unconsciously, Hyacinth reached out and held her hand.

What Seina did in the previous life, by others’ standards, was a clear crime. Secretly giving someone a drug is never a righteous act.