When Diana regained consciousness, the first thing she saw was the familiar ceiling that gave her a sense of comfort. Realizing it was her bedroom, she felt a strange sensation.

Once again, she wasn’t certain whether she was alive or dead. As she looked around the room with blurry eyes, someone came into her view. It was Emily, her maid.

“My lady, are you alright?”

Diana stared intently at Emily, whose face was filled with concern. Emily gave her a gentle smile in return.

“Lord Lauderdale brought you here after you lost consciousness. The doctor said it would take more time for your body to recover, so you need to rest well.”

Only after hearing Emily’s words did Diana realize she hadn’t returned to the past but had actually survived.

But Edwin? The last person Diana had seen was Lady Queensberry. Hadn’t she been holding Clive captive?

Oh, that’s not right.

She belatedly remembered regaining consciousness temporarily in between. Recalling Edwin’s voice crying out, thinking she was dead, gave her mixed feelings.

He must be fine now, right?

While she was thinking this, Emily grumbled with a displeased expression.

“I never would have imagined Marie would do such a thing. We always praised you together, but then she betrayed you. I can hardly believe it. No, there was something strange. Sometimes she would go out alone at night for long periods without saying anything.”

The realization of Marie’s betrayal left a bitter taste. Diana felt more sad than angry. She had thought they were close enough to share her innermost thoughts, so how could Marie do this?

Diana felt foolish. In her previous life, she had been betrayed by Clive, and in this life, by Marie…

When Diana’s face hardened, Emily, reading her thoughts, forced a bright smile.

“Don’t worry. I will never betray you, my lady. From now on, I’ll immediately let you know if I see anyone acting suspiciously.”

“Th-thank you.”

Diana recalled how Emily had always treated her with respect in her previous life.

Would it have been better if she had kept Emily by her side? She briefly considered this but soon shook her head.

Even when trying to avoid the situation, her ending up in danger was ultimately unavoidable fate. So she should be grateful just to have survived.

As Diana tried to get up, she felt stiffness in her neck. Her entire body also felt sore, so she looked down to examine herself. Emily, noticing Diana’s gaze, helped support her.

“My lady, you were unconscious for five days.”

She could tell she had suffered serious injuries from the bandages wrapped around her body. Even slightly wiggling her fingers caused pain.

Well, considering she fell from such a high cliff, perhaps she should be grateful to be alive. The river flowing below the cliff was fast and deep. It wouldn’t have been surprising if she had died from cardiac arrest.

But she couldn’t say there was no chance of survival. So in her previous life, Charlotte must have stabbed Diana in the heart. To ensure she wouldn’t survive.

“How are my father and mother?”

“They stayed by your side continuously until they experienced breathing difficulties, so they’re currently being examined by the doctor. They’ll be delighted to hear you’ve awakened.”

“They weren’t injured, were they?”

She worried about her parents’ well-being. What if Clive had harmed them?

“They fainted briefly from the shock of hearing you fell from the cliff, but they’ve only just begun to recover.”

“That’s a relief…”

Hearing that her parents were safe, Diana’s legs wobbled as the tension left her body.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

The maids came to support her, and Diana sat back on the bed with their help. Her heart felt heavy remembering Marie, who had deceived her with lies.

Just as she was biting her lower lip, the Duke and Duchess of Winchester entered the room.

“Diana, you’re awake.”

“Thank goodness you’re safe. You have no idea how worried we were when you didn’t wake up for five days.”

They embraced Diana and shed tears of joy.

“Father… Mother…”

Thank goodness. Really, thank goodness.

“That wretched man will never leave prison for the rest of his life.”

Before Diana could ask, the Duke of Winchester informed her of the punishment Clive had received. Before Diana could respond, the Duke embraced her more tightly and cried out:

“I was foolish to have ever considered such a man as your spouse.”

His voice, filled with regret, trembled slightly.

“We weren’t engaged. So you don’t need to blame yourself.”

The startled Diana tried to comfort her father by patting his back, but he showed no signs of calming down.

“The Orkney family won’t escape unscathed either. How dare they stab me in the back. I was wrong to consider him a friend. I lacked judgment in people.”

Only after lamenting for quite some time was the Duke of Winchester finally able to calm his excitement. Only then did he release Diana and look her in the eyes.

“Following your wishes to proceed with the engagement to Lord Lauderdale was truly an excellent choice.”

Wasn’t the engagement to Edwin supposed to be broken off? Perhaps her father had momentarily forgotten that fact in the confusion.

“Weren’t you the one who said the engagement could be broken off, Father? What are you saying now?”

“No. That’s not it.”

Diana tried to correct the Duke of Winchester’s statement, but he slowly shook his head. He seemed to know something Diana didn’t.

“You need to have a conversation with him. Should I ask Lord Lauderdale to come to your bedroom? Would that be alright?”

The Duke of Winchester wanted the two to talk, but he seemed uncomfortable with letting Edwin into Diana’s bedroom. He was probably being cautious since they weren’t married yet.

They have already done everything… If the Duke knew this, he would probably faint from shock, so Diana pretended not to know and answered.

“Please do. I can’t be seen like this, so may I change my clothes first?”

“Of course. Let me know when you’re ready.”

When Diana nodded, the Duke and Duchess left the bedroom. Diana changed into a dress with the help of her maids and also applied light makeup. Her hair was neatly braided into a single plait that hung down her back.

Not long after the maids had finished their tasks and left, Edwin knocked and stood at the door.

“May I come in?”

“You may enter.”

When Diana smiled brightly, a smile appeared on Edwin’s previously tense face, but it quickly turned into a sad expression.

“I’m sorry.”

What was he so sorry about? 

Edwin hadn’t done anything wrong. Clive was the bad one. She wished he wouldn’t apologize.

“I heard you brought me to my bedroom. I should be thanking you.”

“I only did what was natural.”

“Did you save me?”

“I failed to save you.”

“Was it Lady Queensberry, then?”

The image of Lady Queensberry, the last person she saw as she fell from the cliff, flickered before her eyes. Her brave and gallant appearance seemed etched in her mind, refusing to leave.

“She went there to save you. But she couldn’t rescue you. She only captured the culprit.”

“How did she know to come to the villa?”

Diana couldn’t understand no matter how much she thought about it. She hadn’t told anyone, so how did Lady Queensberry appear there?

Lady Queensberry shouldn’t have known about the Winchester family’s villa. Edwin might have, though. It wouldn’t have been strange for him to ask the Duke and Duchess of Winchester.

“…About that.”

Edwin hesitated momentarily, seeming uncomfortable with answering. Diana asked him again.

“Did you tell her?”

“Yes. I informed her.”

“How did you know? And why? Why did you tell her?”

As Diana bombarded him with questions, she suddenly stopped and impulsively asked Edwin:

“Is Lady Queensberry your first love?”

She expected him to hesitate again without answering, but she was wrong. Edwin’s reaction defied her expectations. He tilted his head to one side with a puzzled expression.

“I don’t understand why you’re suddenly asking this, but no, she’s not.”

“She’s not? I don’t know if you’ve heard, but rumors have already spread in society. So if you had feelings for Lady Queensberry, I was planning to let you go.”

“Without even asking my opinion?”

Edwin looked at Diana with an expression of incomprehension.

“Because I forced you to be my man. Do you know why we suddenly became engaged?”

“His Majesty ordered it.”

“No. Everything happened because I begged my father. My father asked His Majesty to force you to marry me. I threw a tantrum to my father without even asking for your opinion. I’m truly sorry.”

Edwin’s expression hardened. She couldn’t gauge what he was thinking. However, it seemed unlikely that hopeful words would flow from his lips.