23

Not wanting to be hated, she couldn’t tell the truth, and the boy who had been her first love no longer came to see her.

On top of that, the humiliation she suffered from that boy to her face dug even deeper into the wound in her heart.

All these things shocked Elsia, and when they happened all at once, she couldn’t handle it emotionally.

She blamed herself as a coward, suffered, and eventually erased all those memories from her mind.

She remained a coward to the end. She hid everything that hurt her in the gift of oblivion given by the god of forgetfulness.

But deep in the abyss, there was guilt.

That feeling made her recall Adrian, and combined with that, her dreams began, and guilt took the form of nightmares to torment her.

She thought she had lost her memories, but unconsciously, Elsia recognized Adrian.

His appearance had changed, but the warmth in his gaze toward her never did.

So, as her guilt faded and her feelings for him grew, she had fewer nightmares and instead dreamed of Adrian.

—I’ll protect you, even if it costs my life

Adrian, the boy who wanted to protect her as a child. When she heard those words, she wondered why he said them, but it was about Elsia—herself.

Not knowing that, she became jealous and said hurtful things to him.

His gaze signaled to Elsia that they had known each other all along.

‘How foolish…’

She simply hadn’t realized it.

When Adrian confessed to Elsia, he said he had something he wanted to talk about.

“He probably wanted to tell me all of this.”

Sometimes he looked at her with sad eyes, probably because she didn’t remember him and felt pain when she tried.

Elsia covered her face with her hands. She felt she no longer deserved to see Adrian.

Because she hadn’t been honest, Adrian took the blame for her mistakes and suffered under Earl Portman.

“All the fault was mine, so why did Adrian have to be treated like that by my father?”

Elsia felt so sorry for Adrian that she was about to cry. Yet he still tried to meet her.

He even refrained from telling her the truth for fear it would hurt her.

‘Adrian had no choice but to deceive me.’

It must have been a consideration for her, not wanting her to recall painful memories.

Elsia’s anger toward Adrian soon turned into a stabbing guilt that swallowed her whole.

As soon as her childhood mind awakened, she should have told her father everything. But she couldn’t.

And that boy saw right through her feelings.

“Who is that boy, anyway?”

She disliked him so much she couldn’t even remember his face or name… but she still didn’t want to remember.

And Richel…

She was now certain Richel hadn’t betrayed her.

Recalling the harsh words she’d said to Richel filled her with regret. Richel had only helped at Adrian’s request.

Yet Elsia still couldn’t understand why Richel had lied about the necklace being real.

But now, whether the necklace was fake or not didn’t matter.

‘Even if everything about meeting Adrian again was a lie, as Richel said, his feelings are genuine!’

Elsia looked at the roses Elliot had brought. She never imagined Adrian would send them through Elliot, knowing she liked them.

Elsia picked up the bouquet to smell its fragrance.

But she noticed a small note among the roses and opened it.

[I’m sorry for deceiving you. But my feelings for you are all sincere. I hope these words of sincerity reach your heart, though I think it will take time.

For me, every day with you was filled with joy and delight. Until you forgive me, I will keep waiting. Even if you don’t, the days I spent with you are precious moments I will cherish in my heart forever. I love you.]

She was the one who should apologize and ask for forgiveness, yet he was the one saying sorry… Reading the letter, Elsia felt a flood of regret wash over her.

Elsia shed tears, weighed down by guilt and sorrow.

* * *

[Adrian’s Story.]

Adrian was small and cried a lot as a child. Naturally, Earl Brightwell didn’t want to acknowledge his son’s shortcomings.

Whenever Adrian cried, Earl Brightwell scolded him harshly and often locked him in a dark room until he stopped.

“Can’t you be quiet?”

The more this happened, the shyer Adrian became, and he cried even more.

He became so timid that he trembled at the slightest thing.

“Tsk tsk…”

To the Earl, Adrian was the future of the Brightwell family. So, every time he looked at his underwhelming son, Adrian’s body shrank even more.

Still, the Earl took Adrian to meet children from other noble families.

That’s how Adrian met Richel. Young Richel was tall and spirited. She was the leader among the group, and the other children followed her.

Seeing Richel, who had all the qualities his father wanted, Adrian often felt jealous.

She was his idol. But that feeling didn’t last long.

While running with the others, Adrian fell, and it hurt so much he was about to cry.

He tried hard not to cry, obeying his father’s command not to show tears in front of others.

But what finally made him cry was Richel’s words.

“Hahaha! Why is a boy crying over something like that? How pathetic.”

Adrian’s face turned red. His own weakness made him feel even more miserable.

He tried to hold back, but tears started to fall, and soon he was sobbing.

“Don’t cry. Why cry over something like that?”

Maybe feeling sorry for Adrian’s tears, Richel offered her handkerchief.

But Adrian didn’t take it.

His father had told him to get close to Richel, but even his small pride made him refuse her help.

After that, Adrian didn’t want to go to Lennox Duchy with his father.

“Crybaby.”

Richel teased him, and the other children started calling him crybaby too, so he disliked it even more.

Then Earl Brightwell took Adrian to Earl Portman’s mansion.

He had never met Portman’s daughter, but worried she would tease him as a crybaby if she heard the nickname.

“Make a good impression.”

But Adrian had to obey his father, so he had no choice but to meet Elsia.

Learning she liked roses, he prepared a bright red bouquet.

“Hello?”

Adrian greeted Elsia with a bright smile, but she was shy and hid behind Earl Portman.

“It’s a gift.”

But when Adrian offered the bouquet, Elsia, who had been awkward, suddenly smiled brightly and stood before him.

Surprised by her sudden change, Adrian handed her the bouquet, but pricked his finger on a rose thorn.

“Ouch!”

It was deeper than he expected, and blood flowed. Adrian felt like crying and glanced at Elsia.

He thought she would tease him as Richel did.

But Elsia acted differently.

“Oh no, that must hurt. I pricked my finger on a rose thorn and cried too. Wait a moment.”

Elsia searched her skirt and took something out to wrap his injured finger—a handkerchief with the Portman family’s emblem.

“Are you okay? If you press it tightly, the bleeding will stop soon.”

“Won’t your handkerchief get dirty?”

Adrian asked with concern. Elsia smiled and replied,

“It’s fine. Your hand is more important than my handkerchief. Even if I can’t use it, it’s okay. I have plenty.”

She kept repeating it was okay and told Adrian not to worry about returning it.

That day, Adrian went home without returning the handkerchief, and it became his most treasured possession.

No one had ever treated him so kindly, so Adrian began to like Elsia from then on.

To Adrian, who was afraid to meet other children, Elsia was different.

She had something that made people feel comfortable. Adrian always felt good after meeting her.

Maybe Richel felt something similar, because at some point, whenever Adrian went to see Elsia, Richel was there.

He didn’t like it, but since Elsia liked Richel, Adrian had no choice but to get along with her too.

“Elsi, because you’re so accepting, Adrian becomes even more of a crybaby. That crybaby.”

Richel often scolded Adrian in front of Elsia.

Whenever that happened, Adrian looked at Elsia, hoping she wouldn’t be disappointed in him.

“Crying a lot means you’re sensitive. It doesn’t make you a crybaby.”

Adrian was the target of Richel’s teasing, but Elsia never was. She always sided with Adrian so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed.

Still, he tried to hold back his tears in front of her.

He felt ashamed of the nickname ‘crybaby’ and wanted to show Elsia his best side.

Then, an incident occurred that made it so Adrian could no longer meet Elsia.