Chapter 78

“Go and declare it. ‘I will no longer love you!'”

The anticipation that had swelled so much deflated like a balloon with a hole. Vivian, unable to hide her disappointment, threw her handkerchief to the side.

“But I still love Louis! If I could just stop loving him right now, I would.”

Rosie pushed aside the tear-stained handkerchief and sat next to Vivian.

“Who said to give up on unrequited love? I meant to play hard to get.”

“Play hard to get?”

“Yeah. Puff up your chest arrogantly, stick out your nose, and say, ‘I won’t love you anymore!’ Then the Crown Prince will regret it, rolling and suffering, and desperately clinging to you to win back your heart.”

Vivian looked at her friend, who was holding her chin up haughtily, with a skeptical look and asked, 

“What if Louis is actually happy about it? He might even laugh and say it’s a relief.”

“Oh. No way. Then you’ll have to really push him.”

“Push him? Where?”

“Off a cliff.”

Vivian recalled the romance novel <I Devoured the Man Who Regretted>, which Rosie had recommended a while ago. The image of the passionate male protagonist had kept her up at night, excited.

As the image of Louis overlapped with that of the male protagonist, Vivian’s face began to burn as if it would explode.

“Do you think Louis will really regret it?”

“Of course!”

Rosie, whose dating experience was almost as sparse as Vivian’s, smiled brightly, and Vivian nodded, clasping Rosie’s hand.

* * *

‘Knock, knock.’

Vivian knocked on the door of Louis’s office.

“Come in.”

As Vivian opened the door and entered, Louis, who had been buried in documents, looked up.

“Could you wait a moment?”

Louis took out his pocket watch from his vest to check the time, glanced at the mountain of documents beside him, and sighed softly.

As Vivian nodded, he briefly showed an apologetic expression before quickly refocusing.

Watching Louis become absorbed in his work again, Vivian gently placed her hand over her heart, which had been racing abnormally.

It’s okay. I can do this.

Earlier today, Vivian had shared her thoughts on jewels with Her Majesty the Empress. After carefully considering Vivian’s suggestion, Empress Anette had asked several times if she was sure.

When Vivian’s determination was clear, Empress Annette finally relented with a gentle smile, even offering to help choose an orphanage if it was difficult.

Leaving the Empress’s palace with a joyful heart, Vivian had to suppress her hesitations as she headed to the Crown Prince’s palace.

Regret. Suffering. Regret. Suffering. 

Fiddling with the pocket watch in her hands, Vivian kept repeating these two words to herself until suddenly, a large palm appeared in her view, startling her.

“What are you thinking about so deeply?”

Louis, who had approached unnoticed, waved his hand in front of Vivian.

Louis had been glancing at Vivian sitting on the sofa while looking at the documents he needed to finish by today. The determined look on her face eventually led him to set aside the documents and approach her, but for some reason, Vivian hadn’t noticed his presence.

It was only when he waved his hand right in front of her that the startled Vivian looked at Louis.

Recalling the cold words she had said to him a few days ago, Louis blinked to hide his strange tension and stared at Vivian’s tightly closed lips.

After a moment, Vivian’s lips moved slowly.

* * *

“I want to stop.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop loving you.”

In the Crown Prince’s office, a heavy silence settled between the two.

“Say something.”

His sexy lips remained tightly sealed. Despite Vivian’s urging, he just stared at her, unmoving, without even blinking.

“Never mind. I’ve learned over the years that it’s futile to expect anything from you, but I always seem to forget.”

Vivian sighed softly and placed the pocket watch she had received from him, now so familiar to her that it felt like her own, on the table. The clatter of the watch against the table was unusually loud. Vivian tore her gaze away from the watch and slowly rose to her feet.

“Are you saying you don’t want to get married?”

As Vivian stood up, she was inwardly surprised by Louis’s low voice, but she didn’t show it and just looked at him.

“Of course, I will marry you. You once said before, Louis, that there aren’t many things in life that go the way we want… I hoped for a loving, affectionate marriage, but it seems that’s impossible, so I must give up on that.”

Vivian locked eyes with his golden gaze.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to appear as the perfect Crown Princess, and eventually the perfect Empress.”

With those words, Vivian turned to leave. It was a short distance from the sofa to the door, but it felt incredibly long to her.

Just as she grasped the doorknob and opened the door slightly, it slammed shut again with a loud ‘bang’. Startled, Vivian turned around. And at that moment, Vivian forgot how to breathe, something she had known how to do since birth.

“I… I did not give you permission.”

“What…”

“I didn’t give you permission to say you stop loving me.”

Louis’s face was too close. Vivian’s eyes fluttered wildly as he looked at her, as if he could consume her at any moment.

“Whether I love you or not does not require your permission.”

“No. I didn’t give you permission, Viv. You will continue to love me.”

“Never… That will never happen.”

With one corner of his mouth raised, Louis gently grasped Vivian’s chin and said, 

“Take it back, Viv.”

The hand that had been holding her chin slowly traveled down her neck, past her shoulder, brushed her arm, and finally held her hand, placing the watch she had left behind back into it.

“I’m looking forward to it. Your resolve not to love me. Vivi, you should look forward to it too.”

As Louis’s thumb trailed sticky against Vivian’s palm, he was momentarily like a demon. The temptation of the devil was sweet, dizzying, and dangerous.

With all her strength, Vivian pushed him away. Once there was space between them, Vivian quickly opened the study door and hurriedly left. Vivian ran to where her carriage was waiting.

This isn’t how it’s supposed to be…

Vivian’s footsteps gradually slowed down. And before she knew it, she stopped dead in her tracks, grasped her head, and sank to the ground.

“Louis shouldn’t have reacted that way…”

In the quiet hallway of the Crown Prince’s palace, only Vivian’s sigh echoed.

Everything had been perfect until she grabbed the doorknob to leave the office. Watching Louis’s expression gradually harden, Vivian suppressed her uneasy feelings and moved her lips as she had practiced.

She thought it through. Not liking her would be good for Vivian too.

But she was relieved that Louis hadn’t reacted as she expected.

In truth, if Louis, who never understood her feelings, could understand through this, she would have nothing more to wish for. She felt a bit guilty, even as she looked forward to Louis regretting and struggling.

Look forward to what? And what was with that sticky behavior and gaze?

Vivian pressed her burning cheeks with the back of her hand.

Until Rosie explained it to her, she had thought this plan would succeed.

But…

“Eek.”

Vivian let out a short scream and buried her face in her palms as Louis’s gaze from earlier came to mind.

“I’m looking forward to it. Your resolve not to love me. Vivi, you should look forward to it too.”

There was never a resolve not to love him in the first place, so what resolve was he talking about?

Vivian bit her lower lip and tapped the wall of the carriage.

“Not to the mansion, but to Countess Langdne’s house, please.”

“Yes, Young Lady.”

The coachman answered loudly and turned the carriage in the direction of Countess Langdne’s house, opposite to the Dinever Ducal mansion in the capital.

“Oh my! Our Crown Princess!”

“I’m not married yet, Countess.”

“But soon you’ll be the Crown Princess.”

“Sorry for coming without notice. I urgently needed to consult with Rosie.”

“I see.”

Countess Langdne warmly welcomed Vivian, who had arrived at the Count’s house. Holding Vivian’s hand, the Countess expressed how seeing Vivian grow up and getting married filled her with pride, despite feeling frustrated whenever she thought of her own daughter’s marriage.

“Mother!”

Rosie, seemingly having rushed down upon hearing of Vivian’s arrival, entered the drawing room, panting.

“When you get married and become the Crown Princess, please take care of our Rosie. It would be even better if you could introduce her to a man to marry. If the royal family arranges it, maybe this wild girl will settle down and meet someone.”

At Countess Laila’s heartfelt words, Rosie approached, fuming, and grabbed Vivian’s arm.

“I’ll take her to my room.”

“Rosie!”

Leading Vivian out of the drawing room, Rosie quickly walked to her room. She briefly asked a maid they met along the way to bring something to drink and, upon closing the door, immediately apologized to Vivian.

“Sorry. Ever since your wedding date was set, Mother has been even more obsessed with my marriage.”

“It’s okay.”

At Vivian’s words, Rosie wrinkled her nose and cleared a space on the sofa by piling up the books.

“Sit here.”

“What are all these books?”

“I want to take over my father’s business, but there’s a lot to study.”

Rosie, having roughly stacked the books aside, sat next to Vivian.

“Anyway, you’re coming from the palace, right?”

“Yes…”

Rosie, eager to know, fidgeted and blew out a breath.

“…I’m not sure.”

“What?”

After a brief pause, Vivian confided in Rosie, leaving out only the slightly embarrassing parts. Twirling her thumbs and lowering her head, Vivian was unmistakably a girl deeply in love.

Listening to Vivian’s story, Rosie’s expression changed by the second, and she stroked her chin, lost in serious thought.

“It’s not a complete failure… but it’s a bit unsettling.”

Rosie’s unsettling assessment made Vivian, who had been secretly hopeful, slump her shoulders.

“Still, there’s one big gain.”

Vivian’s ears perked up like a rabbit’s. Watching her friend, Rosie affectionately patted her head.

“It doesn’t seem like the Crown Prince has no feelings for you. He just hasn’t realized it.”

At Rosie’s words, a glimmer of hope returned to Vivian’s clear peridot eyes. Seeing Vivian’s sparkling eyes, Rosie smiled fondly.

“Are you sure?”

“Well…no?”

When Vivian clenched her fist, Rosie wrapped both hands around it and smiled brightly.

“Where in life is anything a hundred percent certain? There’s always some margin of error.”

It was true. But being true made Vivian even more frustrated. Reading Vivian’s expression, Rosie wiped the smile off her face and straightened her posture.

“Could it have been said out of anger? ‘How dare you say you won’t love me?’ Could it be that kind of psychology?”

“Maybe. But I don’t think so…”

Watching Vivian rub her neck with a wry smile, Rosie focused her violet eyes.

“I haven’t paid much attention to the Crown Prince, but when he’s with you, there’s something… different about the atmosphere.”

“…He said he likes me. As a person.”

“What nonsense is that, like Zero’s barking.”

Vivian burst into laughter but quickly covered her mouth.

“Don’t worry. From what I’ve seen, Luideos the Crown Prince likes you.”

Rosie couldn’t understand why her friend, Vivian Dinever, who was beautiful, smart, and from a prestigious family, had such low confidence.

If it weren’t for her engagement to the Crown Prince when she was young, there would probably be a line of suitors gathered in front of the Dinever Ducal estate to propose to Vivian by now.

“Trust me!”

On her way home, Vivian looked out the window and suddenly realized that Rosie, like herself, had nearly zero experience in romantic relationships.

It was a late realization.