Chapter 2

And today.

The day a celebration was held for the third prince, who possessed exceptional holy power, had studied abroad in the Holy Kingdom, and would soon be ordained as a priest, returning briefly to the Empire.

“Oh my. Who is this? Isn’t it the Baron Temish’s daughter?”

“I heard she’d soon be Young Master Ledaire’s wife, but she’s still just the Baron’s daughter?”

“Don’t be so harsh. Both are at perfect marriage age. They’ll do it soon.”

As she entered the hall, the whispers of the young ladies who had had rumors with Kalan stabbed Ailey’s chest like an awl.

It was as if they clearly knew that nothing about the wedding between the two was actually progressing.

When Ailey didn’t answer, they giggled quietly, fluttering their fans.

“Please invite us to the wedding.”

“Oh, but. Doesn’t a bride-to-be need something new, something old, something borrowed, and something blue?”

“But what should she do?”

“The groom isn’t new to begin with.”

By the time she heard that, Ailey couldn’t take it anymore.

Her fists clenched and trembled. She wanted to retort somehow.

‘……But.’

Even if she snapped at the young ladies in anger, the facts would not change.

Her fiancé was a man who messed around with anyone.

So worn out, he wasn’t just old, but tattered and ragged.

If she argued, she’d only be looked at with pity.

‘……Please, don’t get angry.’

Yes. It’s a good day. If she lost her temper here, she’d only be mocked more. She hated that.

Ailey repeatedly calmed herself, suppressing her rising anger.

If she were a little more like her younger self—like during puberty—things would have been different.

She would have stormed up, asking what they just said, like an angry Chihuahua, and ended up in the gossip papers as a wild young lady again.

But Ailey was now a grown woman past adulthood.

And anyway……

‘No matter what they say, Kalan will marry me.’

Yes. As long as she didn’t break the engagement first.

Despite all the rumors, Kalan never suggested breaking off the engagement.

If anything, he seemed to want to meet as many women as possible before marriage, causing scandals everywhere.

‘……So it’s fine.’

As they said, both were at perfect marriage age. They’d get married soon, surely.

Probably, definitely.

‘Yes. It’s fine. It’ll be fine.’

Ailey, calming herself, went to find Kalan.

“Young Master Ledaire. You look wonderful today.”

“It’s an honor, Lady.”

“Do you have time, perhaps?”

“That depends on your answer, Lady.”

“How adorable.”

Just as she entered the hall, she saw Kalan smiling and accepting the interest of a young lady flirting with him.

Kalan, dressed smartly with his hair slicked back, kissed the back of the young lady’s hand without hesitation. The lady pretended to be shy, tickling Kalan’s chin with her fingertips.

Kalan accepted even that gesture as if it were nothing special.

Even as her hand slid between Kalan’s neck and collar.

It’s fine. 

The voice she whispered to herself became completely distorted.

Fine? Even after seeing that……

‘……Of course not!’

Not fine at all!

She couldn’t keep hypnotizing herself anymore.

Ailey, who had been excited to show off her new dress and dance with Kalan at this banquet, felt her heart plunge instantly into a muddy pit.

“Ailey?”

“…….”

“Were you here first?”

While Ailey was swallowed by dizzying anger, Kalan straightened up and noticed her. The young lady who was about to slip her hand into Kalan’s collar had already stepped back.

Kalan met her eyes and smiled gently and warmly.

The same smile he showed to other women.

“Let’s go in.”

“…….”

“……You dressed differently today. Today you…….”

She had gotten the new dress to be praised by him, but she couldn’t hear what he said. It didn’t seem important anyway.

It was probably just empty words, the same nonsense he said to other young ladies.

As Ailey felt her head spinning, Kalan’s hand reached out to her without hesitation.

“Here. Let me escort you…….”

Smack!

Ailey pushed away Kalan’s hand as he tried to take hers.

“Ailey?”

It was an impulsive act, but it was the first time she had rejected or refused Kalan since they became engaged.

Even though he had turned her down before.

For now, she couldn’t endure unless she did at least that.

‘Now.’

I’m tired now.

Of being the laughingstock of high society and the gossip papers too.

Of the fact that the fiancé who never gives her even the slightest opening overflows with affection like that toward others.

Of the fact that even though she pours all the love she can possibly give onto him, he still treats her no differently from everyone else.

“……Ailey? What’s wrong?”

Kalan stood frozen in place in shock. He looked quite flustered at this side of Ailey he had never seen before.

His eyes swept over the hand he had just been slapped away from in confusion, then returned to Ailey.

Ailey struck first before he could reach out again.

“Don’t touch me. I’m leaving.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

Ailey turned as she was and headed outside. Kalan hurried after her and asked back in a voice thick with bewilderment.

“Where are you going, Ailey!”

“I said I’m leaving.”

“But you’re my partner.”

“Isn’t it true you have plenty of partners besides me?”

“Don’t say that. Are you angry?”

“Look around. Frankly, you could just pick anyone here.”

“That’s not true. If you leave…….”

As Kalan approached and finally put his hand on her again……

“I said I’m leaving, you son of a wh*re!”

Ailey shouted as she violently shook his hand off again, and her words rang thunderously through the hall.

You son of a wh*re, son of a wh*re, son of a wh*re…….

For a while, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.

Then a wave of shock belatedly swept over the ballroom hall.

“My goodness.”

“Did she just……?”

“Was that Baron Temish’s daughter?”

People began to stir.

Some turned to look at them while fanning themselves, as though an entertaining topic of conversation had just appeared.

As though in this banquet hall, unbearably dull because the main character had yet to appear, they were urging them to hurry and make something amusing happen.

“Is it Ledaire and Temish again?”

“Who did Young Master Ledaire fool around with this time?”

“On such a fine day too. Ahem!”

And those eyes, looking on as though watching some spectacle for amusement.

Ailey was sick of all of it.

‘I’m tired of everything.’

With a self-destructive sort of resignation, Ailey turned on her heel and walked out of the hall. On the way out, she snatched a champagne bottle from a servant carrying it, making it clack sharply.

“……Ai, ley.”

Kalan, apparently quite shocked, was so dumbfounded that he did not even think to stop her.

It was probably because not only had she slapped his hand away, but this was also the first time she had hurled such harsh words at him.

‘He’s only ever seen the foolish side of me.’

Of course, that was when she had not yet seen the gossip papers and gotten angry at Kalan……

Whenever she saw him, she would beam and ask to be held, or grow restless because she wanted to hold his hand.

Or both.

She would fidget desperately because she wanted to touch him, and wait endlessly for him to make room by his side for her.

She wanted to stop doing that now.

She was tired.

“Ailey, wait……!”

She heard Kalan’s delayed shout once he finally came to his senses, but by then the distance between them had already grown far.

And now, several hours later.

Ailey had become drunk all alone in this narrow, secluded corner of the Imperial Palace, drinking beyond her limit.

In this cramped nook where it seemed unlikely anyone could even come in.

“Hic, hic.”

Her sorrow kept touching her again and again like waves.

“You bastard!”

If her grandmother, who had worked so hard to raise Ailey even though her mother died early and her father was always away wandering outside, knew of this situation, she would probably scold her for hours.

Asking how she could have put such vulgar words in her mouth and made herself the talk of the people.

And then asking how on earth she had ended up dead drunk in a place like this.

She would place her hands on her waist and begin a full lecture.

But even so, Ailey’s anger had not gone away. She even felt resentful that she had not said worse.

“You filthy jerk. Son of a wh*re!”

If only she had known more frightening curses.

If only she could have thrown every last one of them at him before leaving.

And what made her even more miserable in the middle of all this was that even in this situation where she was sick and tired of him to the point of exhaustion…….in the end, she was disappointed by the fact that Kalan was not coming to look for her.