35

In the end, Richel helped Adrian see Elsia from afar. But she didn’t let them meet up close.

She could have introduced Adrian to Elsia secretly, without Earl Portman knowing, but she didn’t want to.

Richel never lost her last hope until the end, always waiting for the day Adrian would look at her.

And when Richel heard that Elsia had gotten a fiancé, she held onto a small hope.

So she tried several times to persuade Adrian to give up on Elsia. Her efforts seemed to bear fruit, and Adrian looked as if he might soon let go of Elsia.

But an unexpected variable appeared.

Adrian investigated Mars and told Richel what kind of person he really was.

“I don’t think I can give up on Elsia like this. Rather than sending her to someone like him, I’d rather stay by her side and protect her forever. Can you help me, Richel?”

After learning the truth about Mars, Richel couldn’t approve of Elsia’s marriage to him, but she also couldn’t say she’d help Adrian.

If she thought only of Elsia, Adrian was far better than Mars, but if that happened, Richel didn’t know what to do with her own heart, which would be left without a place to go.

“I’ll think about it.”

She avoided answering, and that night Richel buried her face in her pillow and cried alone.

From deep within, a dark feeling called ‘jealousy’ seemed to slowly rise.

Richel found herself not wanting to see Elsia’s face. She never imagined she could have such negative emotions.

But she couldn’t control her blocked-up heart as she sank into despair.

Then, one day, her father called Richel and handed her a necklace—a one-of-a-kind jewel that revealed compatibility.

Richel hoped, maybe, she and Adrian would be a match. So she checked first, seeing if the color would change when she was with him.

And she realized. She had been clinging to a futile hope. The jewel’s color didn’t change, and Richel was devastated.

She had visited the temple so diligently, but the god Solea had abandoned her.

Even if his heart didn’t turn to her, Richel thought that if their bodies matched, she could win Adrian’s heart somehow. But once she realized the god had forsaken her, all her motivation faded.

Then Richel wondered, what about Adrian and Elsia?

Half out of curiosity, half as a joke. Of course, she expected the color wouldn’t change for them either.

‘You only meet one match in a lifetime, if at all. Surely not…’

With a trembling heart, Richel wore the necklace and went to see Elsia.

“Why do you look so determined, as if you’ve made up your mind?”

Elsia noticed Richel’s tension and tilted her head.

“Me? That’s nonsense.”

Richel waved off Elsia’s words, but Elsia’s eyes narrowed, sensing Richel’s awkwardness.

Richel’s hand trembled slightly as she lifted her teacup, poured by the maid. She knew the color wouldn’t change, but for some reason, she felt uneasy, as if it might.

She watched Elsia carefully, waiting for a chance to drop the necklace. When the maid brought refreshments after a knock, Richel deliberately dropped the necklace within Elsia’s reach.

“You dropped your necklace. Here.”

Elsia picked it up and handed it to Richel.

“Thank you.”

Richel carefully took it with her handkerchief instead of her hand. When Elsia looked at her curiously, Richel brushed it off with a smile.

“It’s a new necklace. Since I dropped it, I want to handle it carefully now.”

“Oh my, was it my fault?”

Elsia asked, startled.

“It’s fine. You just picked up my dropped necklace.”

Luckily, Elsia’s attention shifted, and she was filled with guilt, so she didn’t suspect Richel’s odd behavior.

After leaving Elsia, Richel went straight to Adrian.

“It’s a new necklace, but the jewel seems fake. Can you take a look?”

“I’m not very interested in jewelry, so I’m not sure, but I’ll try.”

At Richel’s request, Adrian looked closely at her necklace, and at that moment, the clear jewel turned red.

“Seeing it change color, it must be real.”

Adrian, who had little interest in jewelry, didn’t find it remarkable and handed the necklace back to Richel.

Richel felt empty as she took it.

She sensed that Adrian and Elsia were fated, but had thought she could win Adrian’s heart if she tried hard enough.

But reality was cruel to Richel. Even their compatibility matched, so interfering was pointless.

She didn’t want to believe it, but anyone could see Adrian and Elsia were destined for each other.

That meant Richel herself was the obstacle between them.

The day she realized this, Richel spent the whole day locked in her room, crying.

She cried so much her swollen eyes couldn’t be hidden with makeup, and she couldn’t go out for days.

“I’ll help you and Elsia be happy together.”

After wrapping her wounded heart and locking it deep inside, Richel decided to help Adrian.

She suspected Adrian was related to Elsia’s nightmares, and she recognized they were destined partners.

But Richel didn’t want to tell Elsia directly, “Adrian is your soulmate.” No matter how close they were, she didn’t want to personally bring them together.

There was still a bit of darkness in Richel’s heart, and she didn’t want to see Elsia win love so easily after Richel herself had been hurt. So she decided to scheme for them instead.

“If it’s true destiny, just arranging a meeting should be enough for them to come together.”

That’s what Richel thought. If Elsia’s heart turned to Adrian sincerely, Richel would truly give up her feelings.

She already knew their compatibility matched, so whether the necklace was real or fake didn’t matter.

So Richel gave Elsia a fake necklace. There was only one real one, so she couldn’t bring herself to give it away.

Of course, Richel didn’t expect the two would actually succeed.

The Elsia she knew was passive and not honest about her feelings, so she thought Elsia would deny any feelings of love or suppress her heart for family obligations.

Part of Richel wanted to deny their connection.

That’s why she encouraged Elsia to meet Adrian, and opposed Elsia’s attempts to approach him directly.

Elsia, whom Richel thought timid, acted boldly instead.

Contrary to Richel’s hopes, Elsia and Adrian grew close rapidly. Watching from afar, Richel could only give a bitter smile.

Still, seeing Elsia deny her feelings and weigh her fiancé against Adrian was frustrating and annoying.

—Why don’t you sort out your feelings quickly? There’s nothing good in dragging it out.

So Richel couldn’t say anything nice when she met Elsia.

The cowardly, jealous woman was Richel herself.

Richel could only look at Elsia with a heart mixed with guilt and envy.

At the same time, she hoped Elsia would break free from indecision and claim her own love.

If Elsia chose Adrian, even at the cost of disadvantage, Richel was willing to help resolve the engagement with Mars.

She couldn’t let her friend end up with such a scoundrel, so if Elsia chose Adrian, Richel planned to send her secret investigation on Mars to Earl Portman.

Of course, she would have done the same if Elsia chose Mars, but it would have stung.

Luckily, Elsia chose Adrian.

‘Yes, that’s enough.’

Richel was proud and envious of Elsia, who solved her engagement and found love without Richel’s help. That’s why Richel personally took care of Mars’s punishment.

* * *

It had been a long time since Richel, Elsia, and Adrian gathered together. Richel wasn’t fully over her feelings for Adrian, so she wasn’t sure she could face both at once.

She worried her wounded expression would show.

“Thank you, Richel.”

Adrian’s thanks made Richel unable to speak aloud.

She felt tears rise at the thought of talking, so she only nodded.

Seeing Elsia and Adrian happy made Richel feel both joy and bitterness.

She didn’t want Elsia and Adrian to know she’d had a crush on Adrian.

So Richel forced herself to smile, raising the corners of her lips as much as she could.

“Mars’s matter is settled, so I’ll be going now. I hope to hear good news soon.”

Having said everything she wanted, Richel had to leave Portman before she started crying.

Suppressing her emotions, Richel barely spoke, and as soon as she boarded her carriage, a tear fell to the floor with a soft “tap.”

That tear was just the start; soon the carriage was filled with her sobs.