28

Upon returning home, Elsia knocked on the door of her father’s study to meet him.

“Are you feeling well? I was so worried when I heard you went out…”

Earl Portman seemed worried upon hearing Elsia had suddenly gone out.

“Yes, I’m fine now.”

“That’s a relief.”

Earl Portman’s tense expression relaxed, and he sighed in relief.

“Father… I met Adrian.”

At Elsia’s words, the Earl’s relaxed face hardened again, his brow furrowing. He seemed displeased by the unexpected news.

Elsia carefully spoke words she had kept close to her heart.

“Father… I truly love Adrian. Please allow our relationship.”

“That’s impossible. Haven’t I told you over and over? That boy is not allowed. How dare he think of reaching for you after what he did to you?”

“No, you’re mistaken, Father. Adrian has never harmed me. I know—my childhood memories returned.”

Earl Portman’s eyes widened in surprise at Elsia’s words.

“You used to feel pain just recalling those memories, and now you suddenly remember?”

“Yes, it’s strange to me too. But there was a reason for everything. The memory loss and nightmares… I should never have hidden it. It was all my fault.”

“What did you do wrong?”

Earl Portman asked, bewildered.

“I was the cause of everything.”

“You were the cause?”

The Earl shook his head as if he couldn’t understand.

“My injury was entirely my fault. Wanting to cure Cookie, I recklessly went into the forest and met a bear. Adrian only followed because he was worried about me. It was all my fault, but I didn’t want to admit it. I should have spoken up when I came to my senses, but as a child, I was scared to tell you when you were angry.”

“What are you talking about?”

Earl Portman looked at Elsia, unable to accept her words.

Elsia couldn’t meet his gaze, so she lowered her head and continued.

“Even when Adrian was scolded, he took all the blame. He knew it was my fault, but never said so. I was a coward, but he wasn’t. I should have confessed everything back then… So all the wrongdoing was mine!”

“This… What is…”

Hearing such unbelievable words all at once, the Earl seemed stunned.

“I hardly have nightmares anymore. You didn’t know why they disappeared, but now I can tell you. From the day I met Adrian again, the nightmares started to fade, and the pain disappeared. Having a chance to be forgiven by Adrian, and seeing his bright smile, my guilt faded, and the nightmares lessened.”

Elsia’s words hit the Earl like a shock.

“All my efforts never worked, but because of that boy, your pain vanished all at once?”

“Yes. And the child who caused me to lose my memories wasn’t Adrian. There was someone else who gave me deep wounds, sneaking in through my guilt. That child made me miserable with harsh, insulting words.”

“Who? Who dared do that to you?”

Earl Portman’s expression hardened. He couldn’t think of anyone around Elsia who would behave that way.

“I don’t remember. I hated them so much, I erased their name and face from my memory. Even now, with all my memories back, I can’t recall that child. Only the insults remain.”

“Who… Who could it be? How dare they!”

Earl Portman repeated himself, then lowered his head as if blaming himself.

“Was everything I did wrong?”

“Don’t blame yourself, Father. All the fault was mine. You only loved me. The child who tormented me acted innocent in front of you—how could you have known?” 

Elsia went to her father, embraced him, and patted his back.

“It’s all in the past now. I hope we don’t mention such unpleasant things anymore.”

“All right, I won’t touch your wounds any further. But Adrian is a separate matter. You agreed to the engagement, and now you suddenly don’t want it…”

Seeing Earl Portman still unwilling to accept her relationship with Adrian, Elsia interrupted him, raising her voice.

“Everything you do is for me! Shouldn’t you follow my wishes, then? Adrian has always loved me sincerely. You introduced Mars as a good man, so I agreed to the engagement. But he isn’t a good man. It’s you who’s being deceived!”

“What do you mean?”

For the first time, Elsia stood up to him and revealed Mars’s true nature, making the Earl’s eyes tremble with inner turmoil.

“You don’t know how Mars behaves, do you? Of course not—I didn’t know either. He always wore a mask in front of me. There was a reason my heart never turned toward him.”

“What reason?”

“He’s not the polite young man you think he is.”

“I’ve watched Mars for years—there’s no way. No way.”

The Earl refused to admit he was wrong.

“Can’t you just investigate and see if I’m right? Let’s go together and see Mars’s true nature for yourself.”

* * *

The next night, as the moon rose and darkness deepened, Elsia went with Earl Portman to find Adrian. Adrian had told her to trust him and bring her father.

Earl Portman grumbled about visiting Brightwell so late, but Elsia silenced him with a sharp glare.

“Just keep quiet until you see for yourself.”

Earl Portman still looked sternly at Adrian, who handed them masks and invitations.

“This is where we’re going tonight.”

“I’ll see for myself! If you’re wrong, you’ll be responsible!”

Earl Portman accepted the invitation and mask, glaring at Adrian. He still didn’t seem to believe Elsia.

Elsia also received an invitation, and after checking it, she was surprised.

“This place…”

It was the secret club where Elsia had met Adrian.

‘Mars attends here?’

Luckily, or perhaps not, she hadn’t run into Mars when she had visited the club before.

As Elsia unconsciously began to speak about the secret club, Adrian signaled her to stop.

Oops. Elsia quickly closed her mouth and looked at her father. Knowing about the club would seem suspicious to him.

Fortunately, Earl Portman was only putting on his mask slowly, not noticing them.

They all put on masks and went together to the palace where the secret club was held.

It was Elsia’s fourth time attending, but she pretended to be surprised.

Earl Portman, however, was not surprised. His reaction suggested he already knew about the secret club.

Elsia felt annoyed. She had been confined in the mansion, kept ignorant of the outside world, while her father knew everything. It felt unfair.

Elsia pouted and looked around. She still saw people behaving badly.

Frowning, she searched for Mars, but didn’t see him.

Even with masks, she’d known him for years; she wouldn’t fail to recognize him. So he wasn’t here.

‘Even with Father here, the main person is missing.’

Feeling uneasy, Elsia looked to Adrian, but his gaze was full of confidence.

Seeing Adrian’s expression, Elsia relaxed a little.

He seemed to have found Mars. But since she couldn’t see him, Elsia looked more carefully at the guests.

Suddenly, Adrian pointed at one of the people behaving badly.

A man with purple hair, surrounded by half-dressed women, fondling their chests and drinking.

Elsia didn’t understand why Adrian pointed at that man. But—

“Wait, I’ll go.”

Earl Portman pushed through the crowd and approached the purple-haired man, starting a conversation.

Could that man really be Mars?

“Is that man… Mars?”

Elsia asked, and Adrian nodded with a dark expression.

‘No way…’

Elsia was so shocked she couldn’t speak. She remembered seeing him at the club before, surrounded by women…

Seeing Mars, Elsia was shocked in a different way.

Adrian had told her Mars had two faces, but she hadn’t expected such a difference.

She hadn’t recognized Mars; he wore a wig and looked completely different.

He always acted polite when meeting Elsia—except for the time he forced a kiss.

It always felt like he wore a mask; the cold feeling wasn’t her imagination.

It wasn’t just after meeting Adrian that her fiancé seemed strange; she subconsciously sensed Mars at the club and recognized him unconsciously.

That’s why, after visiting the club, she felt more reluctant to see Mars.