“Misunderstood? What exactly have I misunderstood?”

“The wages you receive for your work. Where do you think that money comes from?”

“Why, obviously…”

Lena opened her mouth without hesitation, but her voice trailed off.

She was quick-witted enough to realize the implication behind Evelyn’s question as she spoke.

“I-I’ll be going now, then. If you need anything, please call me.”

Flustered by Evelyn’s change in demeanor, Lena hurriedly left the bedroom, bowing deeply like she would to the daughters of the Schneider family.

Click.

The bedroom door closed.

Not long afterward, Beatrice came to see Evelyn.

“Sister, Lena said you’re going out?”

At present, Evelyn was staying at Schneider Viscount’s residence on the outskirts of the capital.

Her father, Marquis Ceres, had been ordered by the Emperor to leave for the battlefield with Shion. Her mother, the Marchioness of Ceres, had died after failing to recover from the effects of repeated miscarriages.

Insisting that they couldn’t leave the young Evelyn alone in the harsh and desolate territory of House Ceres, the Viscountess of Schneider, the Marquis’s younger sister, had strongly urged him to entrust his daughter to her care for a while.

But the war that everyone had expected to end quickly dragged on into a prolonged conflict.

As a result, Evelyn remained here until the day she married her former husband, Alexis.

Nearly ten years had passed.

Although they were not biological sisters, Evelyn had believed that she was as close to Beatrice, the Schneider couple’s daughter, as if they were sisters by blood.

Looking back now, however, it was quite possible that Evelyn had been the only one who felt that way.

“Is it really all right for you to go out already?”

There was genuine concern in Beatrice’s voice.

She approached Evelyn and continued,

“After you were bedridden with that summer cold, not even a dog is supposed to catch it…”

Evelyn’s hand stopped halfway through brushing her hair.

Noticing this, Beatrice hurriedly changed the subject.

“I’m just worried about you.”

At some point, Beatrice had taken the brush from Evelyn’s hand and was now gently running it through her hair.

“Worried about what?”

“You were really sick with this cold. I was wondering if it wouldn’t be better for you to rest at the estate a little longer.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to say.

Although only a slight fever remained, Evelyn’s forehead was still somewhat warm.

But she couldn’t simply remain cooped up until she had made a complete recovery.

The year Evelyn had been so seriously ill with the summer cold that “even a dog wouldn’t catch” it was also the year her older brother, Shion, died on the battlefield.

“Was it you? Were you the one responsible for my father and my brother’s deaths?”

“So your eyesight has really returned?”

When Evelyn had asked her that question just before her death, Camilla had deliberately avoided answering.

So Evelyn couldn’t say for certain whether Princess Camilla had anything to do with Shion’s death.

But one thing was certain.

If Evelyn did nothing and simply allowed events to unfold, Shion was destined to die.

Of course, there was no guarantee that the future would unfold exactly as it had in her previous life.

“I haven’t seen Alexis in quite a while. So I thought I’d stop by the coffeehouse for a little while and see him, just to let him know I’m doing well.”

Evelyn stared at Beatrice, who had been doing little more than pretending to brush her hair for some time now.

“You mean the new coffeehouse that recently opened in the busy district? You’re going to meet Alexis there?”

Apparently deciding that brushing Evelyn’s hair was no longer important, Beatrice placed the brush on the dressing table and her eyes lit up.

“Yes.”

Evelyn picked up the shawl she would drape around her shoulders and left the bedroom.

She had expected Beatrice to insist on coming along.

Surprisingly, however, Beatrice simply remained where she was, defying Evelyn’s expectation that she would follow her and become a nuisance.

The moment Evelyn turned toward the hallway, the faint smile that had been resting on her face disappeared.

‘I suspected it… but could my suspicion really have been true?’

Evelyn stopped for a moment, lost in thought.

Then she turned back toward Beatrice, who was still standing inside her bedroom.

She wanted to confirm the suspicion that had been lingering in the back of her mind.

“Beatrice.”

Since all of her remaining family members had gone to the battlefield, and because they had lived together for so long, Evelyn had always called her Betty affectionately.

Until her marriage to Alexis, and even for some time afterward, they had been as comfortable with each other as sisters.

So when Evelyn deliberately addressed her as Beatrice, creating a subtle distance between them, a puzzled expression crossed Beatrice’s face.

“…Yes?”

“Would you like to come with me?”

“You’re going to meet Alexis. It’s a date. Why would I awkwardly tag along?”

Beatrice shook her head.

She denied it rather casually, but Evelyn caught the brief flicker in her eyes.

“Are you sure? You don’t want to come with me?”

Evelyn deliberately baited her, suggesting that perhaps Beatrice had wanted to go after all.

She needed to know whether the suspicion she had been quietly weighing was correct.

Beatrice turned toward the window and let out a thoughtful hum before glancing cautiously at Evelyn.

“Well… it would be nice to look around the busy district after such a long time. I suppose it would be fun, but then I’d feel like I was intruding. What do you think, Sister?”

Beatrice looked at Evelyn as though secretly hoping Evelyn would contradict her.

In truth, the answer was already hidden in Beatrice’s own words.

This was a date between a man and woman who were deeply in love.

And they hadn’t even been able to see each other while Evelyn had been bedridden with a fever.

Who would want their cousin tagging along on every single date?

If that wasn’t being a third wheel, then what was?

To Evelyn, Beatrice was an adorable younger sister. But to Alexis, she must have been nothing more, or less than an unwelcome intruder disrupting their private time.

Of course, that was how things had been in her previous life.

Today was different.

Evelyn had something she absolutely needed to tell Alexis, and bringing Beatrice along would only get in the way.

Just then… 

“There you go again. Betty, you shouldn’t bother your sister.”

Viscountess Schneider, who had appeared at the doorway without Evelyn noticing, scolded her daughter.

“Mother, that’s not what I…”

The timing couldn’t have been better.

After briefly glancing at the two of them as they bickered lightly, Evelyn turned and walked away.

***

A carriage bearing Schneider Viscount’s crest came to a stop in front of one of the finest coffeehouses in the busiest district.

Evelyn stepped down from the carriage and walked inside.

After awakening from death and realizing that time had turned back, the very first thing Evelyn had done was send Alexis a letter.

There was something she absolutely had to tell him in person.

As always, Alexis had arrived before her and was waiting.

“It has been a long time, Lord Osment.”

Only then did Alexis lift his gaze from the book he had been reading and look at Evelyn.

The moment he confirmed that it was her, a faint smile appeared on his otherwise somewhat cold face.

“…It truly has been a long time. How have you been feeling?”

Alexis gestured toward the seat opposite him.

Evelyn returned the greeting with a slight nod and sat down across from him.

“I’m completely recovered, thanks to you. You’ve arrived early again today, haven’t you?”

The question had been nothing more than a matter of courtesy.

But Evelyn immediately regretted saying it.

“I never knew that waiting could be so exciting until I met you.”

When she had first heard those words from him, her heart had fluttered wildly.

But not anymore.

“I never knew that waiting could be so exciting until I met you…”

Those were only some of the honeyed words that had once poured effortlessly from his lips.

Hearing him repeat the exact same lines as in her previous life, without even a single word changed, Evelyn’s lips curved into a faint smile.

“…The weather is beautiful.”

Alexis gazed up at the clear sky beyond the coffeehouse’s enormous windows before continuing.

“Perhaps that’s why? You seem to be in an especially good mood today.”

“Yes. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a better mood.”

At Evelyn’s answer, Alexis smiled broadly.

“I’m glad. Actually…”

Just as Alexis began to speak, a waiter approached.

“What may I prepare for the lady?”

“Would you mind waiting a moment?”

After asking the waiter to give them a moment, Alexis turned toward Evelyn.

“I hear the tea recently imported from Elenia is excellent. And besides that, there’s…”

Alexis enthusiastically recommended several items from the menu.

But Evelyn flatly refused.

“Thank you, but I won’t be ordering anything.”

“…Pardon?”

Both Alexis and the waiter looked at her in slight confusion.

Evelyn turned toward the waiter and added,

“I won’t be staying long.”

“Ah, I see. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to call.”

The waiter left.

Alexis looked at Evelyn.

“You’ve only just arrived. You’re already planning to leave?”

“I came here because there is something I need to tell you.”

Perhaps puzzled by Evelyn’s suddenly cold demeanor, Alexis blinked slowly before giving her a faint smile.

“Something you need to tell me…?”

His curiosity was unmistakable.

“I wonder what it could be.”

Evelyn looked directly at him.

“I want to call off our engagement.”