“You look oddly like my daughter. I’m on my way back to my hometown to see her for the first time in five years.”

“Ah…”

“Are you also on your way to see family?”

“Oh, yes. Well, something like that.”

Daphne deflected clumsily.

Fortunately, the man didn’t seem to notice anything strange and quietly looked out the window. 

Daphne also stared blankly at the scenery of yellow wheat fields passing by moment by moment.

Slowly taking in the countryside view put Daphne’s mind at ease. She breathed in slowly and exhaled leisurely. The peculiarly musty train smell reaching her nose wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Right, I originally belonged in places like this.

The life of a fallen noble with only a title remaining was, in these times, only slightly better than middle-class commoners. If not for Astaire, Daphne would have lived rubbing shoulders with these people too.

Instead of enjoying luxury and leisure, she would have faced and worried about survival issues fiercely within life.

Thinking how one moment’s choice had turned her life upside down felt strange.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

“…Do I look that way?”

“Isn’t everyone at that age like that?”

The middle-aged man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped clean his dusty glasses. When he put his glasses back on, this time much clearer, sparkling eyes gazed distinctly at Daphne.

“My daughter also worried a lot about whether she could find a proper job after graduation. She graduated from the Imperial Academy, but her grades were quite terrible. Haha. I have a photo—want to see?”

The man suddenly pulled out a photo from his pocket and showed it to Daphne.

“Here, this is my daughter.”

The moment she saw the photo of the daughter who looked exactly like the man, Daphne nearly fainted.

She knew the woman in the photo.

Elda Belinda.

During her Academy days, she was a friend she’d been quite close with in the lower grades.

Her circumstances had been similar to Daphne’s. Birds of a feather flock together—people in similar situations tend to hang out together. Elda Belinda was exactly that. 

Like Daphne, she came from a fallen noble family and was a friend who had been subtly looked down upon by children from successful families. Because they shared the same plight, they grew even closer.

Not having friends wasn’t a problem. People without friends could hang out together. So the two had been fairly close until the lower grades.

The problem came after Daphne helped that boy Jayden—now revealed to be Second Prince Phaios.

When Daphne helped the boy who was already being bullied by the clique, the clique shifted their target toward Daphne.

Even the friends who had been close with Daphne started avoiding her gradually. They were afraid they’d be bullied like Daphne.

Elda was one of them.

“Oh, do you know my daughter?”

Mr. Belinda, who noticed Daphne’s peculiar expression, asked with interest. Daphne smiled awkwardly.

They had been friends, but were no longer friends.

“No. She just looks a bit like someone I know.”

“Haha. My daughter does look pretty ordinary.”

Usually parents would say their child was somehow special, pretty, or handsome, but this man was quite unique.

“Being ordinary is the best thing.”

The man said quietly while looking out the window. Daphne silently agreed with those words.

Having perfect recall wasn’t an ability. In some ways, it was a curse.

Because she remembered sad and painful memories that much longer and more vividly.

Daphne still had vivid memories of that time.

When the people she’d been close with left her.

Just thinking about that time made her mouth taste bitter.

“Oh right, my name is Tomer Belinda. May I ask what your name is, miss?”

“Um…”

Daphne trailed off. Perhaps because she’d been wearing the robe the whole time, this man didn’t recognize her. But if she took off the robe or raised her head even a little, the situation would change.

This good-natured man would instantly change his attitude and either find her intimidating, or pretend to be friendly to gain some advantage.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say if it’s difficult.”

Just as she was wondering what to do, the man made the first move. Daphne ultimately kept her mouth shut.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. That can happen. You must have some unspoken circumstances I don’t know about.”

Tomer waved his hand dismissively. Somehow Daphne got the feeling he’d met people like her many times before.

She couldn’t explain it, but it was intuition.

What does this man do for a living?

“May I ask what you do?”

“Ah, that’s difficult to answer.”

Tomer smiled, showing all his teeth. Daphne felt awkwardly embarrassed.

“I’m sorry.”

“Haha, hahaha. Just kidding. I don’t do anything bad.”

The good-natured-looking Mr. Belinda seemed to have a humorous side to match his appearance. Daphne felt the comfort and ease of sitting in front of a warm fireplace.

How long had it been since she’d felt this emotion?

“Hmm, how should I put it? I work in art-related fields.”

Art.

Astaire suddenly came to mind, and Daphne quietly clenched her hands resting on her knees.

“Have you heard of the profession called art dealer?”

“Yes. Isn’t it a job that brokers transactions between painters and collectors?”

“Oh, you know it well, miss. That’s right. That’s exactly what I do.”

“I didn’t know much about art, but I found out there are many professions even if you’re not a painter.”

“Of course. Do you know the profession of curator?”

“Yes, though I don’t know the details.”

“Curators plan exhibitions at art museums and manage artworks. They also collaborate with artists…”

Tomer poured out stories about the art industry like a fish in water. Daphne turned her head completely and listened to the man’s story with interest.

It was fun. New knowledge about different fields she didn’t know was always enjoyable to hear.

There are all kinds of professions in the world. There’s no need to be confined in a cage and remain aloof as a duchess.

No need to be entangled in the stuffy social circles either.

‘I want to live fiercely like them too.’

Even if it was hard, she wanted to endure and seriously think about her own life.

How much time had passed like that?

“Our train will soon arrive at Timaru Station. All passengers please prepare to disembark.”

The conductor walked around the train shouting. Passengers also began taking out their heavy suitcases one by one.

Daphne took out Tomer’s luggage for him.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, you didn’t need to. Thank you.”

She didn’t have large luggage. She only carried one bag containing some money and a change of clothes.

Tomer, who looked over Daphne’s outfit and appearance, cautiously suggested.

“Miss, do you have a place to stay?”

Daphne couldn’t answer easily.

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m going to see my daughter now, and I thought maybe you could come along and stay at my daughter’s place for just a few days.”

Daphne was conflicted.

Words of refusal didn’t come out rashly. As he said, she had nowhere proper to go.

Tomer probably guessed. That this young woman with her face covered by a robe had nowhere to go right now.

What should I do?

“Won’t your daughter dislike me?”

“Oh, that won’t happen. I’ll just say you’re my acquaintance. My acquaintances have often stayed at my daughter’s place.”

Daphne smiled awkwardly.

The truth was, she was scared.

If she reunited with Elda, what expression would she make when she saw her? What would she say?

Why, when Elda was the one who betrayed her, should she be the one avoiding her?

She didn’t understand it herself.

“Is this your wife?”

Daphne looked at the woman sitting next to Tomer in the family photo and spoke.

Somehow the man didn’t answer right away this time. The air suddenly grew heavier.

“I’m sorry.”

Daphne realized her slip of the tongue and hurriedly apologized. She could tell from the mood that Tomer’s wife had left him. Thinking about it, she seemed to remember hearing from Elda in the past that her mother’s health wasn’t good.

“No, what does the miss have to be sorry about? It’s just…”

Tomer couldn’t finish his words and looked out the window.

Outside the window had changed to a countryside landscape of endless wheat fields. She could see a modest village with colorful roofs clustered together.

Watching the constantly changing scenery, the man muttered, lost in regret.

“When I was young, I made her suffer too much. I regret that now.”

“Regret…?”

“She was a rich girl who chased after me saying she liked me, and back then it just felt good. A pretty woman with money saying she liked me. So I treated my wife carelessly.”

Daphne had nothing to say.

“Ah, don’t look at me with those eyes. I didn’t really torment or treat my wife badly. It’s just that I couldn’t give her the love she wanted from me as much as she wanted.”

This time it was Daphne’s turn to be lost in thought.

She too stared blankly at the same scenery as Tomer beside her. Naturally, her husband Astaire came to mind.

She overlapped herself with the woman who was Tomer’s wife.

But she couldn’t overlap Astaire with Tomer no matter how she tried.

Because Astaire would never regret his actions.

It was funny to think of him in this situation where she was running away from that man, but she couldn’t stop the flow of her thoughts.

“Cheer up. Your person will surely realize your preciousness someday.”

“…”

“If something is precious, you should protect it and cherish it.”

The emotion Astaire had for her wasn’t love.

Possessiveness.

Love and possessiveness were bound to be confused.

That man was just obsessed with her because he regretted what he’d invested in her.

He tried to bind her somehow, and if he couldn’t catch her, he would pressure the surrounding circumstances to corner her into a dead end.

“Just because you want something doesn’t mean it’s good to hold it in your hand unconditionally.”

There was no way Astaire would realize that fact. Because that man was insane.

“Your person will realize it someday too.”

As expected, Tomer had roughly figured it out.

The fact that Daphne was running from someone. And also that she was recklessly leaving for a city she didn’t even know well.

“So cheer up.”

The casual, indifferent tone that tossed it out like it was nothing comforted Daphne. Her eyes somehow grew hot, so she hurriedly lowered her head.

Tomer pretended not to see even the tears briefly forming at the corners of her eyes.

“…My name is Daphne, Mr. Belinda.”

“Daphne. A name as lovely and pretty as your face.”

Tomer grinned and held out his hand.

“Then I look forward to working with you, Daphne.”

“Yes, Mr. Belinda.”

She didn’t know why, but she felt like she would have dealings with this person even after getting off the train.

Moreover, the art industry.

The moment she heard those words, Daphne felt like her head, which had been full of fog, cleared up considerably.