Chapter 1.6

“I’ve heard so much about you from the academy.”  

“You and Sir Erden are friends…”  

The Seven Famous Young Ladies quickly changed their expressions, pretending to be close to her.  

They must have picked up on something.  

‘Well, that’s why I deliberately approached them as soon as I entered the banquet hall.’  

Using the excuse of wanting to know about the fruit tart they were eating.  

But still…  

‘Why is he staring at me like that?’  

Though she didn’t turn her head, she could feel Dietrian’s piercing gaze. Clicking her tongue softly, she thought to herself:  

‘It must seem odd.’  

Normally, she would have rushed straight to Dietrian the moment she entered the banquet hall, but this time was different.  

She had gone directly to the corner where the gossip-loving ladies were gathered.  

It was all part of her plan.  

Smirking internally, she thought:  

‘Spreading rumors isn’t hard.’  

By acting indifferent toward Dietrian and behaving as though she’d regained her senses while chatting with these ladies, she could casually let slip that she liked someone else…  

By next week, the headline in the gossip papers would read:  

‘[Breaking] Cielie Ronenfeld, No Longer Interested in Dietrian Winter… Now Has Eyes for Someone Else!’  

The reporters would write about her as if they knew every detail of her life—even what she ate last night.  

‘It’s gotten worse since my wandering days.’  

Recalling the countless sensational articles written about her, she fluttered her lashes lightly.  

‘Calm down.’  

There was something more important to focus on now.  

She quickly suppressed her turbulent emotions and smiled gently.  

She didn’t forget to meet their curious gazes head-on.  

‘…Feel free to ask!’  

If someone couldn’t resist and opened their mouth to speak…  

‘Ask me…!’  

“By the way, Lady Cielie…”  

There it was.  

Suppressing the urge to cheer internally, she maintained a calm expression and slowly turned her gaze toward the bob-haired young lady.  

Her innocent expression was deliberate—a subtle invitation for them to ask freely.  

‘There’s a reason I kept my makeup light today.’  

Her naturally sharp features sometimes made her look angry when she wasn’t smiling.  

Maintaining a gentle smile, she stared at the young lady.  

As their eyes met, one of the other young ladies nudged the speaker’s waist with her elbow.  

“This is too personal.”  

No, that’s exactly why I came here.  

“Well, it is a bit…”  

“It’s not really appropriate to ask such things.”  

What…? Were they always this quick to give up?  

‘Why are they so easily discouraged?’  

Was it their principle not to push others?  

Caught off guard by the unexpected turn of events, she gulped down the juice next to her to calm her nerves.  

Not being able to drink alcohol because she hadn’t had her coming-of-age ceremony yet was frustrating.  

After finishing the juice in one gulp, she smiled again.  

“Feel free to ask. If it’s uncomfortable, I’ll decide whether to answer after hearing it. I want to get closer to you all.”  

Her words made them look at her with pity.  

Why did she suddenly feel a bit pathetic?  

“Well then…”  

Setting aside her uneasy feelings, she focused on the young lady who seemed to have made up her mind to speak.  

‘Yes… I’m ready to share everything about Dietrian!’  

She had practiced endlessly to make her words flow naturally before coming to the charity party.  

‘Now’s the time to showcase my practiced wistful expression and trembling gaze!’  

With a somewhat serious expression, she lightly clenched her fist.  

“What was your relationship with Sir Erden?”  

…Why did that name come up?  

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, her shoulders, which had been tense, instantly relaxed.  

The question seemed to open the floodgates, as the other young ladies began asking questions as well.  

“There’s a rumor among academy students that you dated and broke up badly.”  

“I was actually a member of the Erden-Cielie couple fan club!”  

“Did you really date him?”  

Naturally, all the questions were about Erden.  

Fortunately, she had a fan to hide behind; otherwise, her crumpled expression would have been exposed due to the situation going off-script.  

Unlike their earlier hesitance, they now chirped away incessantly.  

Their steps toward her didn’t falter either.  

She kept retreating until she was cornered against the wall, eventually raising her hands slightly and shouting softly:  

“Wait, wait a moment…!”  

Though their eyes still sparkled with curiosity, they stopped walking.  

Their frenzied expressions reminded her of her only friend from her past life, who had been an obsessive fan of hers.  

Momentarily reminiscing about her friend, she returned her attention to the current situation.  

Clearing her throat a couple of times, she slowly parted her lips.  

“But why are you suddenly asking about that guy—I mean, Sir Erden?”  

Why weren’t they asking about Dietrian?  

Soon, murmurs arose among them.  

They exchanged glances before one of them asked, as if surprised:  

“Didn’t you know? Sir Erden is here today.”  

What…?  

“You didn’t know?”  

Of course not! I don’t even keep in touch with him.  

Swallowing the words that nearly escaped, she blinked slowly. The group responded to her reaction with awkward smiles.  

The awkward laughter lingered for a while before one of them revealed her thoughts.  

“…He was looking this way earlier, so we thought you knew!”  

“We even wondered if you came together…”  

Their voices trailed off as she tried to deny it, shaking her head…  

“Oh, that’s not—”  

But she couldn’t finish her sentence.  

In that fleeting moment, her mind raced.  

‘Wait… With all this buildup, wouldn’t it be more impactful to say something about Erden rather than just claiming I’ve fallen for someone else?’

Cielie discreetly shifted her eyes to confirm that Erden wasn’t nearby. While rumors were bound to spread, it would still be a bit embarrassing if the subject himself overheard her confession.  

After making slight adjustments to her plan in her head, she briefly lifted the corners of her lips before letting them fall again.  

She added a shy blush to her cheeks for good measure.  

She was impressed with herself. 

Was my acting always this good?  

“This is a secret, but…”  

It wasn’t a secret at all.  

“I’m really only telling you all…”  

She was planning to tell everyone anyway.  

“The truth is… after meeting Erden again recently, I think my heart has shifted toward him.”  

Clang—!  

Though she spoke softly, her voice was loud enough for nearby onlookers to hear.  

For some reason, the banquet hall always seemed to grow quieter whenever she spoke with others, making her words even more audible.  

The sound of a champagne glass shattering echoed clearly.  

Interrupted by the sharp noise, she raised her head slightly and met a pair of trembling golden eyes.  

“…”  

They belonged to Dietrian.  

She had anticipated a sarcastic smirk or a mocking laugh, perhaps a look of disbelief. Instead, he clumsily broke his glass, leaving her more flustered than him.  

‘Nothing is going as planned.’  

The banquet hall, which had seemed frozen in time, resumed its flow only after the sharp sound filled the air.  

“See? That rumor about ‘them kissing eventually’ wasn’t baseless.”  

Well, we did kiss once, but it wasn’t like that!  

“I heard you used to growl at Sir Erden, Lady Cielie, but became as docile as a lamb after his graduation.”  

That was just because I had been lost and wandering.  

As they whispered about her rumors, Cielie silently laughed to herself, inwardly refuting their words.  

That was until their reactions began to diverge from her expectations.  

“But we all know how desperately and fervently you loved the Young Duke, Lady Cielie.”  

“Indeed, that’s true.”  

“It was almost pitiful to watch you.”  

Wait—?  

“You chased after him so much.”  

“There’s no way you truly have feelings for Sir Erden after all that. Even if you do, you’ll come back to the Young Duke soon enough.”  

Sure, she had acted as though she couldn’t live without Dietrian, but…  

This wasn’t the reaction I wanted!  

Aside from the Seven Famous Young Ladies who were staunch supporters of Team Erden-Cielie, most of the others didn’t seem to believe her bombshell revelation.  

Her anxiety began to grow.  

‘There’s not much time left.’  

One year seemed long, but it wasn’t as much time as she thought.  

More importantly, within that year, she needed to uncover the reason for her death and figure out how to prevent it.  

‘Thinking about it makes me feel bitter.’  

What kind of reincarnated character ends up like this?  

It was disheartening, but there was nothing she could do to change it. For now, she decided to focus on her current priority:  

Changing the settings of her one-sided love.  

‘I don’t want to deal with any more rumors involving Dietrian.’  

Even investigating other matters within the remaining time was overwhelming enough.  

Clenching her fists tightly, she raised her voice slightly so that those doubting her confession would hear her clearly.  

“This time, I’m certain. I’ve met my destined partner!”  

…She hadn’t expected to use her practiced wistful expression and gestures here.  

She gazed into the air once, then lowered her eyes with a melancholic look and clasped her hands together as she continued.  

“I’ve finally realized it.”  

“…Where are you looking while saying this…?”  

“That the only man in my life is Erden!”  

The climax.  

She delivered her monologue with tear-filled eyes.  

One of the Seven Famous Young Ladies mumbled softly, but she didn’t respond.  

“From now on, I’ll only look at one person.”  

She closed her eyes firmly.  

She had declared it to the entire banquet hall: she was done with her one-sided love for the original male lead.  

But for some reason, the surroundings grew noisier. She opened one eye slightly.  

“Oh my…”  

“…That person…”  

As she turned her head, one of the young ladies, her cheeks slightly flushed, called out to her.  

“So you’re really giving up on Sir Dietrian…”  

“I’ve clearly realized my feelings.”  

“…”  

“I’ve made up my mind. I won’t date anyone other than Erden.”  

At this point, she felt confident that she wouldn’t be entangled with the original male lead or any other men until she twisted the original plot and escaped her terminally short lifespan.  

What if I ended up involved with Erden?  

‘That won’t happen.’  

She had said it repeatedly: she only liked his face. Only his face.  

Besides, he absolutely hated her.  

‘How long have I known Erden?’  

Though there was a three-year gap, she couldn’t possibly have missed the basic fact that he disliked her.  

There was no way he had suddenly started liking her during that time.  

Her plan was perfect—until she heard a familiar voice.  

“So that’s what it is.”  

Feeling a presence, she whipped her head around.  

She was met with Erden’s gaze, his expression unreadable.  

She knew that look all too well.  

“Well, if that’s the case…”  

There was a glint in his eyes that suggested he was about to do something.  

Suddenly, the attention of everyone in the banquet hall was focused on them.  

The only saving grace was that her father had left earlier to speak with the Duke.  

Her throat dry, she swallowed nervously as Erden’s lips curved into a faint smile.  

“Alright, let’s do that.”

“W-what?”  

“Let’s date.”  

Soft gasps escaped from various corners of the hall.  

“It’s so youthful.”  

“Indeed.”  

“Lady Cielie’s determination is impressive. Even though it’s not the Young Duke, she’s already starting a new romance with her new crush!”  

It might have seemed romantic to outsiders, but to Cielie, who knew Erden far too well, it was clear:  

…He’s lost his mind!