“…”

Viscount Moldovan asked, but I couldn’t find the words to respond. His statement held both truth and falsehood. How could I explain? I managed a faint smile and shook my head.

“It’s not that. I just don’t have the capacity for anything else right now.”

“Capacity?” he asked, looking puzzled.

“Yes. There’s something very important that requires all my focus.”

Finding the Tieria flower was my top priority. Everything else, including letting go of my feelings for Ains and meeting someone new, could wait until after I found it. And it certainly wouldn’t involve Viscount Moldovan, given how indifferent I felt towards him.

Viscount Moldovan sighed, unable to hide his disappointment, but then he smiled. “I understand. It’s a shame, but I won’t pressure you to reconsider.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No, it’s nothing. How about this? We can still exchange letters and meet occasionally for fresh air. You know, like friends.”

His suggestion sounded almost like a date, and I was about to decline when he added, “Just as friends.”

“Friends?” I echoed.

“Yes, friends. That should be alright, shouldn’t it?”

“Ah…”

I hadn’t expected that. After a moment of hesitation, I chuckled and nodded. “Alright. Friends it is.”

“Great! Then as friends, let’s call each other by our first names, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.”

“Then call me Cadia, and I’ll call you Cecilia. How’s that?”

“Sure, Cadia.”

I felt a bit awkward about this unexpected friendship and smiled sheepishly at him. Cadia returned my smile with his warm grin. Despite the rushed nature of our meeting, it seemed attending the ball hadn’t been a bad decision after all.

“Well, isn’t this a sight.”

If it weren’t for the man who appeared before us, I might have ended the day feeling excited about my new friend.

“Duke Graham?”

Cadia’s expression hardened as he recognized the newcomer. I turned to see Ains standing there with his aide, Jackson. We had inadvertently wandered into the alley near the Graham Trading Company headquarters.

Ains looked between Cadia and me, incredulous as he stared at Cadia. “Viscount Moldovan, did my warning fall on deaf ears?”

His voice was sharp, likely because he suspected Cadia was after my money. Although I had decided to be friends with Cadia, I still didn’t fully trust him. However, the current situation was far from what Ains assumed.

“Duke Graham, it’s not like that. I asked to meet Cadia today to apologize for what happened at the ball,” I explained, hoping to clarify the misunderstanding. Cadia was innocent in this moment.

Ains’ gaze turned icy as he looked at me. “You met him to apologize?”

He let out a bitter laugh, and I spoke up again to affirm my words. “Yes, I asked to meet him to apologize for your rudeness. It was something you should have done.”

Ains fell silent, shifting his gaze between Cadia and me. “Who did what?” he asked, as if he couldn’t believe or didn’t want to accept what I was saying.

It was an unusual reaction. I sighed softly, realizing I had to explain my presence here. “I wanted to apologize for your harsh words to Cadia. You should have done that yourself.”

Ains’s gaze fixed on me, his eyes sharp. Normally, I would have backed down under his intense stare, but not this time. I met his gaze head-on, and he frowned.

“I did it because I was worried about you, Cecilia.”

“I appreciate your concern, but your approach was wrong. Besides, I’ve asked you repeatedly not to interfere in my life.”

Ains remained silent, continuing to stare. Once I stood my ground, his gaze no longer felt intimidating. I had always feared he might hurt me again, but now I felt secure. I was moving on from my feelings for him.

While my emotions towards Ains were settling, his recent behavior left me confused. Was he genuinely worried about me? That didn’t make sense.

If the man before me was truly Ains Graham, the same Ains I had known for the past ten years, he wouldn’t have cared about me. To him, I had always been insignificant. He had seemed eager to be rid of me, and now, after our divorce, he claimed to be worried? It was absurd.

“I can handle my own affairs. Even if something happens that worries you, it’s my responsibility to deal with it.”

Despite my words, Ains remained unmoved. He wasn’t going to change his mind.

“Well then, I’ll be going now. You seem busy, so take care of your business.”

I grabbed Cadia’s arm and started to lead him away. “Let’s go, Cadia.”

“Yes…”

Staying any longer wouldn’t achieve anything. But just as we were about to leave, Ains grabbed my arm as I walked past him. I had no choice but to stop; his grip was too strong to shake off.

“Duke?”

When I called out to him, he turned to look at me.

“Why did we get divorced?”

His question was fundamental, yet it struck me as absurd. Why did we get divorced? Among us, Ains had wanted the divorce the most. I hadn’t wanted to end things, but ultimately, I couldn’t overcome his stubbornness and agreed to it.

He didn’t know I was ill, nor did he know I needed mana stones for treatment. The final straw had been when I asked him for 300,000 gold to buy the Tieria flower at auction, and he refused.

But all of that stemmed from his indifference. I could no longer tolerate his lack of concern, which led me to decide on the divorce.

And now, here he was, asking why we had ended things. It was almost laughable.

“Why are you asking me that? You were the one who wanted the divorce more than anyone else. I simply gave you what you wanted.”

If he had shown even a modicum of interest in me, if he had inquired about why I needed the money, perhaps things would have turned out differently.

“So, after the divorce, do you want to ruin yourself in front of me?”

“What?”

“Or are you staging some kind of protest, hoping I’ll watch you self-destruct?”

“What are you talking about?”

Ains glared fiercely at Cadia. “Otherwise, why are you associating with someone like him?”

I turned to see Cadia looking troubled under Ains’ intense gaze.

“Duke, I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?”

Ains’ tone sharpened.

“Do you think I’m here to harm Cecilia?”

“Are you not?”

“I don’t understand why you think that, but it’s a misunderstanding. Cecilia and I have decided to be friends.”

Ains looked at me for confirmation. I nodded and added, “That’s right. Cadia and I are just friends. There’s nothing more to it.”

Although Cadia had confessed his feelings for me earlier, I felt no need to mention that now.

Ains appeared confused, and his grip on my arm loosened. Finally, I was free from his hold. I faced him directly.

“Duke, let me say this one last time. Please stop concerning yourself with me. This is what you wanted, not me. I don’t need your mixed signals.”

I rubbed the spot on my arm where he had grabbed me and took a step back.

“Well, we should be going. It’s getting late.”

“…”

I gave Ains a brief nod of farewell, and Cadia followed suit. Without further hesitation, we walked past Ains and headed towards the fountain.