24

Elsia, perhaps having heard it from someone, insisted that Cookie, who was sick, needed to get better quickly, and so she had to bring back a flower from the dangerous forest, despite its reputation.

Adrian thought going to the forest was dangerous and tried to stop Elsia, but she wouldn’t budge.

Normally, she would listen to Adrian, but this time she didn’t; it showed how desperate she was for Cookie to recover.

‘If only I’d stopped Elsia that day, none of this would have happened…’

Adrian would regret this moment for the rest of his life.

He couldn’t let Elsia go alone, so he had no choice but to follow her.

In his haste, Adrian told a passing servant where they would be headed and quickly chased after Elsia.

As expected, the place was dangerous, and they ended up encountering a bear. Elsia was seriously injured. Thankfully, the servant must have alerted the knights immediately, and Portman family knights hurried into the forest to find them.

“Kyaaah!”

Upon hearing Elsia’s scream, the knights located the two and rushed to them.

Adrian and Elsia survived thanks to the barrage of arrows fired at the bear. If they had been even a little later, neither would have survived.

Adrian followed the knight carrying the injured Elsia back to Portman, but Earl Portman wouldn’t let him inside.

The servant who relayed the message must have blamed Adrian.

That day, Adrian had to return home without being able to check on Elsia’s condition, and for days he only heard that Elsia was unconscious.

[Slap.]

Earl Brightwell, hearing the news late, slapped his son’s cheek.

“Because of your mistake, we might lose the Portman family’s mining rights! Do you know how big a loss that is?”

He scolded his son severely.

“Please listen to me. There’s a reason for all this…”

Since Elsia was actually the one who caused the incident, Adrian tried to assert his innocence.

But Earl Brightwell wouldn’t listen.

From his perspective, Elsia was injured and Adrian was unharmed.

So Adrian couldn’t make any excuses.

Fortunately, after hearing that Elsia had regained consciousness, Adrian was allowed to visit her after a few days.

Guided by the maids, Adrian entered Elsia’s room, and as he entered, he encountered someone leaving her room.

A brown-haired, golden-eyed boy. His sneering smile as he left unsettled Adrian.

But confirming Elsia’s condition with his own eyes was more important, so Adrian ignored him for now.

“Are you okay, Elsia?”

Adrian approached Elsia with red roses, but she seemed uneasy.

She was said to be conscious, but she still wasn’t fully recovered.

Adrian looked at her with concern, but she began to cry, then suddenly clutched her head in pain and screamed.

Startled, Adrian froze, and Portman servants rushed into Elsia’s room, forcing Adrian out.

The roses he brought fell to the floor, and Adrian could only watch as they were trampled by the maids.

“It’s the Earl’s order. Adrian, you are not allowed to enter until Lady Elsia is fully recovered.”

Adrian was blocked from entering Portman by the doormen.

Without knowing why, Adrian was banished from Portman, and after that day, he was completely forbidden from entering.

He suspected the cause was the boy he’d just encountered.

But he didn’t know who the boy was or what he said to cause Elsia so much pain.

“The mining rights are gone because of you. Tsk tsk.”

Earl Brightwell looked at his son in disappointment.

That incident caused the Portman and Brightwell families to drift apart.

Earl Portman, believing Elsia’s injury was Adrian’s fault, began to resent the Brightwell family, and Earl Brightwell, unhappy that his son was involved in such a scandal, also distanced himself from Portman.

Neither side made any effort to mend the relationship, so their interactions dwindled and eventually ceased.

Thus, Adrian could no longer meet Elsia.

The only news Adrian got about Elsia came from Richel. What she told him shocked him deeply.

“Unfortunately, Elsia has lost all memory from the past year. She must have suffered psychological trauma. She doesn’t even recognize me.”

Richel cried as she spoke. Elsia had lost all memories of their time together due to the shock.

Adrian cried alone in his room, secretly from his father.

He resolved that this would be the last time he cried. He would never cry again.

Adrian stood before the mirror. Seeing his small, weak self, he felt a surge of emotion. He blamed himself for not being strong enough to protect Elsia, so he resolved to train himself.

He decided not to meet Elsia again until he could stand tall before her.

It didn’t matter if she forgot him.

He just had to become someone who would make her fall for him at first sight. Only then could he meet her again.

Adrian began training with the knights of Brightwell. For a frail boy, training with knights was no easy task.

At first, he got cramps in his legs, vomited, and nearly fainted from exhaustion. The knights even advised him not to overdo it.

But Adrian didn’t want to quit.

Having felt the pain of being unable to help Elsia when she was hurt, he preferred to push his body to the limit.

When Earl Brightwell heard Adrian was training with the knights, he scoffed, “You? As if!” But as Adrian adapted to their training day by day, the Earl’s attitude changed.

“You really are a Brightwell! I knew you could do it!”

He began boasting about Adrian in front of the knights, as if he’d never doubted him.

Adrian hadn’t started training to earn his father’s praise, but he didn’t mind the compliments.

The boy once called ‘crybaby’ grew taller and stronger, and his voice deepened. He changed so much that even friends who hadn’t seen him in a while didn’t recognize him.

“Who would’ve guessed you’d change like this?”

Richel, who always teased him as a crybaby, stopped teasing him, and nobody called him that anymore.

Adrian also noticed the way other women looked at him changed. At parties, many women hovered around him, wanting to talk.

Fortunately, Richel chased them away for him.

She didn’t want him to interact with other women, so she played the villain for him.

With newfound confidence, Adrian wanted to meet Elsia. But he couldn’t do as he wished.

Earl Portman somehow knew which balls Adrian would attend and never sent Elsia to them.

“You can’t enter.”

Adrian visited Portman several times, but the Earl never let him in. He was always turned away by the doormen.

So he had no choice. By chance, he met Elsia’s younger brother, Elliot, and got news about her. Luckily, Elliot liked him.

But that was all.

Because Elsia rarely went out, seeing her was like reaching for the stars.

“She solves everything inside the mansion…”

Adrian worried she might feel stifled, never venturing outside.

“Help me, Richel.”

No matter how hard he tried, Adrian couldn’t see Elsia’s face, so he had to ask Richel for help.

With her help, he could watch Elsia from afar when she visited Richel’s house.

Just watching her from a distance made his feelings for her turn into love.

He wished Richel would invite him whenever Elsia came to her mansion, but Richel avoided meeting as a trio, likely wary of Earl Portman.

Just being able to see Elsia from afar was enough for Adrian, so he didn’t resent Richel.

But his happiness was short-lived. One day, Adrian received shocking news.

“It’s awkward to tell you this, but you should know. Elsia will soon be engaged. Her fiancé is the son of Earl Welsley.”

Adrian had sent several marriage proposals to Earl Portman, saying he wanted to be engaged to Elsia.

But he never received a reply. It was a silent rejection.

Adrian was speechless at Richel’s words.

He couldn’t believe Elsia would become another man’s woman.

But it was reality, and there was nothing he could do.

“They’re already engaged. Maybe you should try to forget her?”

Richel advised Adrian to let go of Elsia. He wanted to. The years he spent loving her from afar had been difficult and painful.

“You’re right. Maybe it’s time to give up.”

After much deliberation, Adrian finally decided to let go of Elsia.

He just wanted to check who her fiancé was, and if he was a good man, he would let her go without regret.

If her future seemed happy, he would release her from his heart.

Elsia’s fiancé was Mars Welsley.

While investigating him, Adrian was surprised—the brown-haired, golden-eyed boy he’d met in Elsia’s room matched Mars’s description. Was it just a coincidence?