15

“Have you been using my name a lot lately?”

Richel narrowed her eyes, displeased, as she spoke to Elsia when Elsia visited Richel’s house after a long time.

“Uh… How did you know?”

Elsia looked at Richel with surprised eyes at the sudden question. She hadn’t seen Richel since meeting Adrian separately.

“How do you think? Earl Portman himself asked me. He said it seemed like I was meeting you too often lately and told me to stop calling you out.”

“Is… is that so?”

Flustered, Elsia pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the cold sweat trickling down her face.

She only went to meet Adrian when her father was away, but each time, someone seemed to tip off her father.

“The Earl’s intuition is sharp. What are you going to do? Do you really like that man so much?”

Richel’s voice was cold. Her gaze toward Elsia lacked any warmth, like a sheet of ice.

Elsia couldn’t understand why Richel, who used to cheer her on, had changed so much.

Instead of answering, Elsia just nodded and watched Richel’s mood.

“Is your physical compatibility really that good?”

Richel still spoke in a chilly tone.

“Uh… Should I tell you in detail?”

“No, that’s enough.”

Richel cut her off firmly. It felt strange that Richel’s attitude, which had been bubbly just recently, had suddenly turned cold.

“What’s wrong? Are you angry with me? Are you upset because I used you without telling you?”

At Elsia’s question, Richel let out a deep sigh.

“That’s not it. I’ve just been sensitive lately because bad things have been piling up. Sorry.”

Even as she apologized, Richel’s face didn’t brighten.

Elsia blamed herself for only paying attention to Adrian recently and neglecting Richel. She felt guilty, thinking their relationship had grown distant because of her.

“Don’t just keep it inside, talk to me. I’ll listen. If you tell me, maybe your heart will feel lighter.”

Elsia wanted to be there for Richel, just as sharing her own worries with Richel had eased her frustration a bit.

But Richel just shook her head.

“It’s not that. I made you worry for nothing. Anyway, what about you, Elsia? You said it was just a one-time fling, but now it doesn’t seem that way.”

“…Yeah.”

Elsia replied with a faint smile, a beat late, to Richel’s words.

“Are you seriously involved with that man? Not just a casual relationship?”

Elsia couldn’t answer Richel’s question.

Richel had hit the mark. She knew in her head she should cut things off with Adrian, but her body wouldn’t listen, and Richel seemed to notice her hesitation.

“Before things get bigger, sort out one of them quickly. It looks like you already know who to let go. Why are you hesitating?”

Richel’s words pierced Elsia’s heart sharply.

She was right. It was time for Elsia to sort things out. She knew exactly what needed to be done in her heart… but she lacked confidence.

“Hmm… I don’t really know my feelings. Honestly, I wish my feelings for him were love, but after hearing about the necklace and continuing to meet him, it feels like a mirage that will disappear someday. Like a fleeting emotion, drawn by magic, that will vanish the moment the magic fades.”

‘And Adrian seems to be putting up a wall between us…’

Elsia couldn’t bring herself to say the last part to Richel.

“Isn’t it time to be honest with yourself? If you keep hesitating, you could lose everything.”

“…”

Elsia couldn’t reply to Richel’s words.

Richel sighed deeply. Elsia thought she was frustrated, but she could imagine how much more frustrated Richel must be.

“I’m not going to interfere in your life…. But I recommend following your heart. So what if it’s magic? Maybe the magic will never fade. Life is long. It might be a tough choice now, but looking back, you might realize it was the right one.”

“…”

Elsia couldn’t respond to Richel’s words.

She wished things would turn out as Richel said, but without certainty about the future, she kept hesitating.

“Just know this. Whatever you choose, I’ll support you no matter what. So if you have worries, come talk to me. I’ll listen to anything.”

“Just hearing that makes me grateful.”

Without even hearing Richel’s worries, Elsia once again received only advice and encouragement from her.

Elsia felt both guilt and gratitude toward Richel.

Returning to the mansion, Elsia sat alone on her bed and mulled over Richel’s words.

“Follow my heart…. Can I really do that?”

With Richel’s words, she felt her tightly balanced worries start to tip to one side.

Just then, she heard a knock on her door. It was Marie.

“Countess Portman is calling for you. She asked you to come to her room.”

“Mother?”

It was rare for her mother to call Elsia separately.

Usually, she talked in the presence of others, but suddenly being called out made Elsia uneasy.

Nervous, Elsia entered her mother’s room.

Countess Portman’s expression didn’t look bright, and as Elsia was about to sit on the sofa, Countess Portman spoke.

“I won’t interfere with what you’re up to. I won’t tell the Earl either. But remember this: feelings are only temporary. They can’t last forever. A heart that burns quickly cools just as fast. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

‘How much does she know? Has Mother noticed everything I’m doing?’

Elsia was so surprised she couldn’t even sit, just stood there and spoke.

“Mother, I…”

Elsia tried to come up with an excuse, but the words stuck in her throat and couldn’t escape her lips.

“No, I won’t listen to you. I just want you to remember what I said. I called you because I hope you won’t stake your life on a fleeting emotion. Just take my words to heart and think it over.”

Countess Portman lightly tapped Elsia’s shoulder twice and then left the room.

‘How did she know?’

Elsia was curious, but right now, how her mother found out wasn’t important.

Her mother had noticed Elsia’s worries and called her out to give her a clear answer.

It was an implicit piece of advice and warning to follow her mother’s words.

Her mother’s words confused Elsia even more.

If her mother was right, then Elsia’s worries weren’t even real worries. The answer was clear from the start, and all Elsia had to do was sort things out.

But even knowing that, she couldn’t speak when she saw Adrian’s face.

Especially since her body wouldn’t listen to her.

‘If these feelings I can’t even understand myself are just temporary… Is my heart really something that burns quickly and cools just as fast?’

Elsia didn’t want to believe it. If her mother was right, why couldn’t she feel for Mars what she felt for Adrian?

Elsia felt frustrated.

She couldn’t understand why Richel said her feelings could last forever, while her mother said they were temporary.

“If only I’d known how much trouble an engagement would cause… I should have insisted on saying no from the start.”

Elsia muttered to herself, frustrated.

* * *

The Portman family had monopolized the amethyst mine for generations. When it was used only for beautiful gemstones, they could accumulate moderate wealth through moderate supply.

But as the efficacy of amethyst became known and demand increased, the Portman family’s wealth began to explode.

As always, when good things happen, bad things follow. As their power grew, other nobles began to keep the Portman family in check.

They started protesting that it was unfair for one family to monopolize amethyst production.

Eventually, the Emperor, using peace as an excuse, ordered Earl Portman to hand over 30 percent of the mine development profits to other families. He was told to share the rights to participate in mine development.

All of this was a scheme by the Imperial family, trying to curb the Portman family’s growing wealth, and by greedy nobles wanting a share of the profits.

But simply confiscating the Earldom’s property could provoke backlash from other nobles, so conditions were set.

Earl Portman was given the authority to choose who to pass the rights to. He could hand over 30 percent of the development rights to any noble he wished, and if any issues arose, Earl Portman could take them back.

Since it was the Emperor’s order, he had to comply, and though his wealth would decrease, greedy nobles had to curry favor with him to get the rights, so it wasn’t a bad deal for Earl Portman.

So Earl Portman accepted the Emperor’s proposal.

Any noble who received a 30 percent share was lucky; it was an easy way to accumulate wealth.

So noble families with greed lined up to win Earl Portman’s favor.

Among them, Earl Portman chose Earl Welsley as his partner.

They were close, and Earl Portman thought he could trust him.

But from Earl Welsley’s perspective, he had no authority, so if Earl Portman unilaterally broke the contract, he’d suffer losses. Thus, he proposed marriage as insurance.

By forming an alliance as in-laws, neither could betray the other.

If one betrayed the other, Earl Portman would have to pay a massive penalty, and Earl Welsley would have to give up the development rights. Breaking the engagement without reason would have the same result.

However, if the other committed a crime, the contract could be broken without penalty.

Because of these family circumstances, if Elsia unilaterally broke her engagement with Mars, Earl Portman would owe Earl Welsley a huge penalty.

—Are you okay with proceeding with the engagement?

Before proceeding, Earl Portman once asked Elsia her opinion about the engagement with Mars.

—Of course.

Elsia, who always followed her father’s wishes, had never thought deeply about marriage.

Both her parents seemed to want it, and Mars was kind to her, so Elsia gladly accepted her father’s proposal.

She hadn’t thought much about it. Since everyone else was living well, she vaguely believed she would too, and accepted the engagement.

—Think carefully again. This decision will shape your future.

When her father told her to reconsider, she should have made a careful choice….

—It’s fine. If I marry him, won’t everyone be peaceful?

Elsia should have sewn her lips shut back then.

She was a naïve child who didn’t know the ways of the world.

No matter how young she was, she shouldn’t have taken marriage lightly.