Chapter 1.2

In the end, unable to endure it any longer, Earl Granville explained the circumstances that made it impossible to break the engagement. 

‘How much do you think the compensation fee will be if we’re the ones to break off the engagement?’

‘How much is it?’

‘It’s enough to buy three of these mansions.’

‘…’

Why is the penalty fee so high? 

The Bristol Ducal family was so wealthy that rumors claimed they were the richest in the kingdom. That must have been why the calculated penalty fee was so exorbitant. 

Earl Granville had accepted such unfavorable conditions, which left Ophelia speechless in disbelief. 

‘That’s way too much.’

‘Then just get married.’

‘Can’t the money I earn from selling my medicine cover it?’

‘Not even close.’

Earl Granville had been supporting Ophelia’s research and was fully in charge of selling her medicine. While she had heard that her products were performing well in the market, it wasn’t nearly enough to cover the penalty fee. 

Faced with such a harsh reality, Ophelia could no longer speak carelessly about breaking off the engagement. At this point, it seemed faster to wait until Cedric himself brought up the idea of annulling the engagement. 

That was why she had no choice but to maintain the engagement, but being constantly compared to Cedric made Ophelia feel wronged every single day. 

Why on earth do I have to go through this?! 

To Ophelia, Cedric wasn’t a fiancé—he was a bad person. It wasn’t just because of the comparisons. It was because he had humiliated her. 

He would agree to attend events together but then fail to show up without any notice. He would ignore her letters. 

The first time he stood her up, Ophelia had to endure ridicule and mockery, feeling utterly humiliated for the first time in her life. Still, she tried not to resent Cedric. She wanted to believe he had a valid reason he couldn’t explain. 

However, Cedric’s behavior only got worse after that. After standing her up, he continued to ignore her letters. 

It wasn’t until she had been ignored three times that Ophelia realized he had deliberately chosen not to attend the events. 

What is he trying to do—pick a fight with me?! 

She sent a few more letters, but with no response, she finally decided to stop caring about him altogether. From then on, Ophelia also began to treat Cedric as if he were invisible, attending events alone. 

Even though he must have heard the rumors, Cedric still didn’t show up. As a result, their relationship had deteriorated to its current state. 

If he’s going to leave things like this, he might as well just annul the engagement! 

There was no way Cedric hadn’t heard the rumors about Ophelia attending events alone. Yet, the fact that he left her to be criticized must have been intentional. 

He likely found the attention from so many women annoying and used Ophelia as a shield to keep them away. If he had a fiancée, women would be less likely to approach him. 

But these days wouldn’t last much longer. There was only a little over a month left until graduation. 

It was unlikely Cedric would insist on maintaining an engagement he didn’t care about. Once graduation came, he would undoubtedly annul the engagement. 

So Ophelia just had to wait for that day. 

* * * 

“Ophelia, what are you doing? Hurry up, let’s go.” 

As soon as the bell signaling the end of class rang, Nina urged Ophelia. Nina was not only Ophelia’s fellow researcher but also her closest friend, someone she could confide in completely. 

“All right.” 

After gathering up her books, Ophelia stepped into the hallway with Nina. That’s when they heard mocking laughter. 

“Look, there go the Gloomy Sisters.” 

It was obvious to anyone that the comment was directed at Ophelia and Nina. 

The Academy required students to wear designated uniforms, but the attire for those working in research labs was slightly different. Their clothing was black, and their cloaks were a dark gray color. 

Because of this, Ophelia and her fellow researchers were nicknamed the “Gloomy Sisters.” People joked that they exude an aura of darkness. 

“Haah. Those people plan to keep teasing us until graduation. Should I just grab their hair and give them a good shake before we graduate?”  

As the mocking voices continued, Nina glared furiously and tried to approach them. Ophelia stepped in to stop her. 

“Hold it in. This is really the last time.” 

This year, they had come of age and were in their final year at the Academy. After enduring six years of torment at the Academy, surely they could endure the last two months. 

“Ophelia, you’re way too patient.” 

Nina, unable to suppress her anger, was breathing heavily. Ophelia looked at her with eyes full of guilt. 

“It’s my fault for being engaged to Cedric. I’m sorry, because of me…” 

“Did you want to get engaged? It’s an engagement forced on you by your parents. If they’re so jealous, they should go directly to the Bristol family and tell the young duke they want to marry him. Why take it out on you? Things had been quiet for a while, and now they’re starting again.” 

When compared to Cedric, Ophelia knew she was lacking, so she didn’t mind being mocked herself. The problem was that her friends were being ridiculed just because they were associated with her. 

If they didn’t hang out with her, they wouldn’t have to hear such nicknames, so Ophelia always felt sorry for her friends. 

Nina, who never cared about others’ opinions, had chosen to stay close to Ophelia. However, perhaps because it was nearing graduation, Nina’s patience seemed to have worn thin. 

Unable to calm herself, Nina shouted with a face full of frustration. 

“If this is how it’s going to be, why don’t you show off how close you are to the young duke? Let’s crush their pride before graduation!” 

“We’re not close.” 

“Then make up with him.” 

“If that were possible, we would’ve made up a long time ago. It’d be faster to produce good results and make them unable to look down on me.” 

Ophelia once thought she had a talent for combining herbs to make medicine. At the age of eight, she had created a powerful painkiller. 

Earl Granville had made a fuss, claiming a genius had appeared in the Granville family. In his heart, he wanted to let the world know about Ophelia’s genius, but he couldn’t do so. 

If it became known that she had created medicine at such a young age, there was a risk that people would try to exploit her abilities. As a result, the earl had to publish her achievements under a pseudonym. 

To hide Ophelia’s accomplishments, there was no other choice. 

Since then, Earl Granville had always expected Ophelia to show more signs of genius, but that was merely his wishful thinking. 

In recent years, Ophelia hadn’t shown any exceptional talent in herbal medicine. She was only producing results that were slightly better than average. 

Ophelia herself didn’t think she was a genius. Creating that effective painkiller might have just been a stroke of luck. 

Still, on the chance that a second stroke of luck might come, Ophelia spent most of her class hours in the lab. Since she couldn’t graduate without having her thesis on herbs approved, Ophelia barely slept and devoted herself to her research. 

Now that her research was nearing its end, she thought producing results would be faster than trying to get close to Cedric. 

She had already passed the apprenticeship exam to become a royal physician. Once her thesis was approved, the disdainful looks directed at her would lessen. 

Let them mock all they want! 

Ignoring the mocking voices around her, Ophelia quickly made her way to the research lab. 

* * * 

“Ophelia, you’re here? Where’s Nina?” 

“Nina went to the garden to check on the condition of the wildflowers.” 

“Well, she must be busy too, now that her research is almost finished.” 

Every time Ophelia arrived at the lab, she was greeted by Violet. Violet was a researcher and teacher affiliated with the Academy. 

She personally selected talented students to mentor, but her atmosphere was completely different from Ophelia, who was often called the “two-braided gloomy girl.” 

Even though they wore the same uniform, Violet exuded a sophisticated and neat aura, unlike the so-called gloomy girls. Of course, the dark dress still overshadowed her charm, but she was undeniably different from the others. 

Today, however, Violet looked different. She was dressed so extravagantly that her beauty was almost blinding. 

Even when attending banquets, Violet had never dressed up like this. Seeing her so elaborately adorned, it seemed something good had happened.