That Marriage, I’ll Do It in this Life - Chapter 20

But as the current song neared its end, Saena noticed a man standing just outside the dance floor, staring at her.

‘W-What?!’

George Hollander.

Her ex-husband. That bastard.

When their eyes met, he winked and smiled at her.

A chill ran down Saena’s spine.

‘What’s he doing…?’

…Could he possibly be trying to flirt with her?

She didn’t want to believe it, but… it seemed likely. George Hollander had always been overly confident in his appearance.

With hair that was a mix of beige and light brown and brown eyes, he would often introduce himself as having golden hair and golden eyes. Under bright sunlight, his hair and eyes could appear golden, but that was merely a trick of the light.

She hadn’t bothered correcting his delusion back then.

His face wasn’t unattractive—in fact, he was quite handsome. When Saena first met him, she had thought, ‘Oh, he’s rather good-looking.’

But after enduring a hellish marriage, she had come to see just how monstrous that face could look. Far from handsome, even his smiling face now seemed horrifying.

‘Why… why is he here?!’

When the music ended, George Hollander began moving toward her.

Sensing danger, Saena turned and walked away as quickly as she could.

‘Where’s the lounge again?’

Feeling like he was following her, she glanced back and confirmed her fears—he was indeed trailing her.

‘Why is he following me?!’

Was he planning to ask her to dance?

It was possible, considering they had no prior acquaintance in this life. In their past life, he had initially approached her with a harmless and friendly demeanor.

But now, it felt as though a demon was chasing her.

She couldn’t run in her dress, but her strides weren’t enough to outpace him. At this rate, he would catch up before she reached the lounge.

‘No, this can’t happen!’

Desperately scanning her surroundings, Saena spotted an open curtain leading to a nearby terrace.

Saena moved her legs quickly, not quite running but faster than walking, and entered the terrace. As soon as she stepped inside, she slammed the door shut and pulled the curtains with all her might to block the view. Only after putting up a sign that read, ‘There is someone on this terrace, please do not enter,’ did she let out a small sigh of relief.

‘Haa….’

In truth, if he had asked her to dance, she could have just politely declined, saying she needed a break. But Saena didn’t even want to exchange such a brief conversation with him.

Just the sight of his face automatically brought forth raw, shameful fragments of her past, scattering them before her eyes.

「Ha ha ha!」

「Ho ho ho ho!」

People in masks, laughing and enjoying themselves, each hiding their faces in different ways.

「Ah, my head….」

A splitting headache, waking up in an unfamiliar room.

A crumpled bed with an even more unfamiliar man lying in it.

「Kyaaa! Oh my god!」

The piercing scream of some woman that tore through her hazy mind.

Sudden intrusions of people.

The cruel reality of having to face them while completely exposed.

And then, the downfall.

As the memories of a past she desperately wanted to erase replayed themselves, her body began trembling uncontrollably. It was a deeply embedded trauma.

‘I really… hate this.’

She hadn’t expected to see him again so soon.

She thought that engaging in social activities would inevitably bring her into his presence someday, but she hadn’t imagined it would happen right at the debutante ball.

“Ha…”

Just the brief glimpse of his face felt like it had drained all her energy for several days.

Saena took a deep breath and collapsed into a chair placed in one corner of the terrace. Her feet hurt, and the tight dress made it hard to breathe.

Her heart pounded wildly, as if she were the victim of some high-stakes chase.

“I want to go home…”

She truly did. She wanted to go home.

Why couldn’t she?

‘Yes, let’s go.’

What if she went alone? She had a maid accompanying her, so she could leave a message and send the carriage back to the imperial city.

The more she thought about it, the more foolish she felt for hesitating until now.

‘I’ll skip everything except for the last day’s banquet.’

The Founding Festival banquet lasted for a week. Of these, the first two days and the final day were held in the imperial city, while the middle four days were hosted freely by noble families in the capital.

During this time, nobles would visit houses hosting concerts, literary salons, or galleries during the day to showcase their artistic refinement, and attend evening parties hosted by noble families at night, indulging in social activities around the clock.

Typically, invitations were sent out before the festival began, and schedules were arranged in advance—first day here, second day there, and so on.

During these four days, almost all prominent noble families hosted salons or parties, making the competition fierce. Successfully hosting a salon or party that drew high-ranking nobles or received great acclaim became a source of immense pride for the hosting family.

The Debov family, currently without a mistress, did not host a banquet themselves. However, on the fifth day of the festival, the Count was hosting an investment salon. It was said to be one of the most sought-after salons among male nobles during the festival period.

“How nice it would be to live safely, just focusing on researching Arles…”

Honestly, while she was trying her best not to live like she did in her past life, some things about her nature couldn’t be changed. Events like this didn’t suit her temperament, and they drained her mentally.

“Yur… I miss you…”

With a short sigh, Saena stood up again. She was preparing to leave for home.

Without much thought, she pulled back the curtain and opened the door, only to—

“Ah!”

“Oh, my lady!”

Startled, she quickly shut the door again.

The sound of it slamming shut was loud enough to echo.

‘What—! Why?’

Right in front of the terrace door stood George Hollander. He was still there. She had just blatantly shut the door in his face.

Why on earth was he standing in front of the door?

Saena’s heart pounded as she tried to catch her breath. At this point, she hadn’t officially met him yet, so what she had just done was nothing short of rudeness.

But what could she do?

Even though she understood this in her head, the mere thought of facing him was so horrifying that she couldn’t control herself.

‘I need to get out….’

What if he was still out there?

Saena steadied her breathing and slightly opened the curtain to peek outside. She thought perhaps George Hollander had just been looking for an empty terrace and they had ‘accidentally’ crossed paths.

But that assumption was wrong.

Peeking outside, she saw George Hollander still there.

He had moved a few steps away, but he was still close enough that she couldn’t leave the terrace without exchanging greetings.

Moreover, Elizabeth was there too. The two of them seemed to be having a conversation, and Elizabeth started walking toward the terrace, gesturing for George Hollander to follow her.

It was a gesture that clearly said, ‘Come here.’

“Why? Why!”

Was she planning to introduce him to her? Because he was her dance partner?

‘Ugh… I really hate this.’

…Come to think of it, Elizabeth had introduced him to her in the past as well. She had said he was a good person…

Later, when Saena had been forced into a rushed marriage with George Hollander, Elizabeth had looked utterly shocked. She had mentioned that the two had been in talks for an engagement and shared good feelings for each other.

Saena had felt incredibly sorry for Elizabeth, who had lost her fiancé to her. When Elizabeth later married a man far nobler than George Hollander, Saena had sincerely blessed her, thinking she deserved it.

Of course, being human, Saena thought this at one point:

‘Beth should actually be grateful to me.’

…Yes, if it weren’t for Saena, Elizabeth might have married that absolute scumbag, George Hollander.

Saena had once joked bitterly to herself that she had cleared the storm clouds from Elizabeth’s life.

But what could she do? In the end, it was all Saena’s fault, and there had been no other way. No matter who she blamed or resented, nothing would have changed. All she could do was endure her life.

And that’s how she lived. That’s how she died.

‘Not this time!’

She had no intention of enduring that kind of life again.

In this life, which had been given back to her like a blessing, she absolutely refused to let the filth that was George Hollander stain it again.

She would never, ever get involved with him.