Chapter 11

“Catherine! Did you really think I was referring to Viscount Edward when I mentioned Edward?”

Lillie shouted. Her mouth opened in shock. Her face turned crimson as if she had heard something outrageous.

“Huh! How could, ha! Oh my!”

Lillie burst into a laugh that seemed to say she was speechless from sheer astonishment.

She trembled, her already large eyes widening further, and questioned Catherine accusingly.

“Catherine, how could you think that?”

“What do you mean….”

Lillie cut off Catherine’s words and poured out her own like a waterfall.

“I thought of you as my friend!”

Catherine felt the same way.

Until Lillie started liking Hugo. No, even when Lillie confessed her feelings for Hugo, Catherine still thought of her as a friend.

She considered that people’s hearts don’t always follow their will, and Lillie must have been distressed to fall for Catherine’s husband.

But watching Lillie persistently pursue Hugo made Catherine give up on being friends with her.

‘Is she being hypocritical?’

Catherine narrowed her eyes and listened to Lillie.

“How could you think I liked your ex-husband?”

Well, because you did in the past.

Unable to say it out loud, Catherine just mouthed the words as Lillie raised her hand.

“Wait a moment. We need to clear this up properly.”

Lillie took a deep breath.

“I don’t like the Viscount, I like Brian!”

Lillie shouted. Catherine blinked rapidly.

‘Brian? She likes Brian?’

The Lillie who couldn’t live without Hugo in the past, even following him to a barren estate, now claimed to like Hugo’s brother Brian?

“Ha! That’s a relief.”

Lillie leaned back comfortably on the sofa after her outburst.

For Catherine, it was hard to believe immediately.

“Is it true?”

Catherine asked in a whisper.

“It’s true. Would I lie in front of the family of the man I like?”

Catherine inwardly scoffed.

The Lillie she knew in the past would lie without hesitation. She was a good person in general, but when it came to love, she wouldn’t lie.

Catherine even envied that aspect of her a little.

“It’s true, Catherine. I like Sir Brian.”

Lillie leaned toward Catherine and whispered.

Though she spoke as if it were a secret, her voice wasn’t lowered at all, as if it didn’t matter if everyone heard.

It was amusing that she whispered after already shouting it.

Catherine stared into Lillie’s eyes for a while.

‘Is she lying? No, but Lillie genuinely likes Brian.’

When Lillie mentioned Brian’s name, her eyes were the same as when she used to talk about Hugo.

There was no doubt, seeing the deep affection in her gaze.

‘Could it be true?’

The suspicion that Lillie might be acting crept in.

But the hypothesis that Lillie might be acting soon lost its strength.

Because Lillie had lived a life far from acting.

She had always been loved and respected for whatever she did, so she had no need to fake her life.

Even in the past, though she might lie with her words, she couldn’t hide the emotions on her face.

Though time had changed her life, some things remained unchanged. A person’s nature.

‘If it’s not acting, does she really like Brian?’

“Catherine, I like Brian. Let me make it clear here. I like him so much that it feels like I exist for Brian.”

Lillie was still unhesitant in expressing her feelings, and her eyes were as determined as ever to win her love.

Catherine knew better than anyone how Lillie was when she was in love.

So, she had no choice but to believe Lillie’s words that she liked Brian.

“…I’m sorry.”

There were still parts she didn’t understand, but Catherine accepted it with the intention of taking a step back.

She almost introduced Lillie to the wrong person without knowing her true feelings.

‘The messenger of love almost broke love. I’m not qualified.’

Catherine took a moment to reflect.

At the same time, she wanted to tell Lillie that her misunderstanding wasn’t entirely baseless.

But it was impossible.

‘She wouldn’t believe it even if I told her.’

Instead, Catherine apologized once more, sincerely feeling sorry.

“I’m sorry. I misunderstood you.”

Lillie looked at Catherine with a sharp gaze, then smirked, pushing her lips to the sides.

At first, she was angry, but now she felt relieved that the misunderstanding was cleared.

Lillie had wondered why Catherine kept her distance, and now it made sense that Catherine thought she liked her ex-husband.

Despite having received a groundless misunderstanding, Lillie strangely didn’t feel angry at Catherine and was just relieved that the misunderstanding was resolved.

“Let’s get along well from now on.”

Lillie accepted Catherine’s apology.

The two held hands. Catherine remembered why she had become friends with Lillie.

She liked Lillie’s honesty.

The confidence unique to someone who had grown up loved, and the generosity that came from it.

‘If Hugo hadn’t been involved between us, I would have been good friends with Lillie. So, this time, we can be friends again.’

Losing love and not having feelings returned is painful, but losing friendship is equally uncomfortable.

‘But what’s changed? Why did Lillie’s feelings change? Was it because I divorced Hugo or because the war ended quickly?’

While it was great that the time she had returned to wasn’t wasted, seeing the sudden change in Lillie raised questions.

‘Is this the side effect Mom mentioned?’

Things around her subtly changing.

But Lillie liking Brian was a good thing for both Lillie and Catherine, so it didn’t seem like a bad side effect.

‘I’ll think about it later. Even if it is a side effect, it’s not a big problem. Brian and Lillie. They suit each other, don’t they?’

Imagining it, the picture looked great. Catherine’s enthusiasm flared up.

‘What kind of woman did Brian like again?’

Catherine’s mind started working busily.

“Um, I just heard something incredible.”

At that moment, Paul, sensing the mood, spoke up.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it.

Catherine and Lillie’s expressions twisted as they shouted in unison.

“What do you mean, pretend you didn’t hear?”

“Why would you pretend you didn’t hear?”

Catherine and Lillie’s eyes met in the air. The two, who had been at odds, suddenly united.

“Well, naturally… to be considerate of the lady.”

Pressed by the two’s momentum, Paul stammered.

“That’s not being considerate of the lady, it’s ignoring her, Paul.”

Catherine spoke clearly. There was a very outdated notion in the kingdom’s social circles.

Things she hadn’t noticed before, but after going through a marriage and returning back in time, Catherine saw all the unreasonable aspects clearly.

‘It’s wrong to think that there’s something wrong with a woman if she gets divorced.’

Catherine had boldly dispelled that notion by not hiding after her divorce, but many women still hid because of it.

‘I had a hard time too.’

There was a superstition that talking to a divorced woman would bring misfortune to one’s marriage, leading to ostracism.

Aside from the wrong beliefs about divorced women, there were many unreasonable aspects, especially in the process of dating and marriage.

A prime example was that women couldn’t ask men to dance first.

‘At least they can refuse.’

Though it had to be done very politely.

It was also annoying that men had to initiate dating.

Though it seemed like they enjoyed free love, it was all limited to men, and the whole process of making appointments and visiting homes had to be led by men.

Catherine found it uncomfortable but endured it for the sake of the ladies’ dignity and a smooth marriage.

In that atmosphere, it was Paul who first approached Catherine. The same Paul who now made such an outdated remark!

Though it was meant to be considerate of Lillie, Catherine disliked the atmosphere where one couldn’t even express their feelings, and she felt betrayed hearing it from Paul, who had always opposed such norms.

“That’s not it, Catherine.”

Sensing he had made a mistake, Paul tried to make amends, but it was too late.

“I heard it clearly.”

A soft, low voice came from right beside Catherine’s cheek.

His warm breath tickled the fine hairs on Catherine’s skin as he spoke.

Though she felt uncomfortable sitting next to him, Hugo had slowly closed the distance until they were practically touching.

They were so close that a slight movement would make their arms brush, making Catherine want to fold herself like paper.

“Lady Lillie, I clearly heard you say you have feelings for my brother.”

Hugo emphasized clearly, as if making sure Catherine and Lillie didn’t miss it.

“And I will remember it.”

Hugo looked at Paul. Paul raised his eyebrows in displeasure.

On the other hand, Hugo smiled pleasantly as if he found something amusing.

“What’s wrong with a lady expressing her feelings first? It’s not something to judge or evaluate.”

Hugo met eyes with Catherine and Lillie in turn.

“If someone wants to express their affection more, they should. When Lady Lillie declared her feelings for my brother, I got chills because she was so cool. Of course, this is separate from feelings toward the opposite s*x.”

Hugo completely sided with Lillie. Catherine turned to look at Hugo. Just then, Hugo also turned his head.

He smiled at Catherine. His fierce eyes softened. He didn’t take his eyes off Catherine as he spoke.

“I think it’s great when a woman actively pursues love. Anyway, expressing affection is beautiful, and those who express it are lovely. Catherine, what do you think?”

The focus of the conversation should have been Lillie or at least Paul.

Catherine felt burdened by Hugo’s attention directed at her.

“Yes, Catherine, what do you think?”

Paul asked, trying to steer the conversation back to Lillie.

Though he still didn’t understand why he was being criticized, he seemed relieved that the conversation was moving on.

“Yes, Catherine. Tell us. Do you have someone you like?”