Why did his heart leap at every word she spoke and every move she made?

Eileen was nothing more or less than an irritating person to him, someone who interfered with everything…….

“Why do I keep repeating actions that I’ll end up regretting……”

The wine that had been filled to overflowing now showed its bottom. The whiskey brought along was also emptied cleanly, but Aaron still couldn’t find the answer.

* * *

“Count Luke, I think Lady Eileen is too late. Please stay here. I’ll go look for her and come back.”

The gentle Count Luke walked beside her among the beautiful flowers.

It was such a perfect date, but Cordelia couldn’t concentrate.

She kept worrying about Eileen being alone. In the end, Cordelia decided to give up her time with Luke.

“No. Let’s go together.”

“Well, just in case, could you search for her here in the show garden? I’ll check the infirmary.”

“Yes, Lady Cordelia. Please be careful, there are many people.”

Cordelia and Luke moved toward their respective destinations.

“Huh?”

While walking to the infirmary for quite some time, Cordelia heard whispering voices.

“Speaking of which, about what happened in the tea garden earlier. A lady with beautiful blonde hair and……”

“Ah, are you talking about when the servant made a mistake?”

Normally, she would have passed over such a conversation, but strangely, it kept bothering her.

Was it because the words ‘lady with beautiful blonde hair’ overlapped with Eileen?

Cordelia stopped for a moment and eavesdropped on their conversation.

“But why bring that up?”

“The two of them fought afterward. The lady left while shedding tears, and the gentleman couldn’t say anything.”

The woman kept sighing in surprise at the man’s words.

“They say young people these days have such tumultuous romances.”

“The lady seemed to be heading toward the infirmary, I wonder what happened.”

“Should we go take a look out of curiosity?”

“Haha, just joking.”

With that frivolous joke, the two disappeared into the crowd. But Cordelia remained frozen in place.

“Could it be……”

Hearing their conversation made her inexplicably anxious.

“No, it can’t be, it can’t be.”

She kept denying it, but she had a feeling that Eileen might be the protagonist of that story.

Cordelia hurriedly moved toward the infirmary.

* * *

“Hmm?”

A black shadow fell over the doctor who was organizing the emergency kit. Thinking it might be a patient, he looked up, and there stood Eileen.

“My lady?”

The area around her eyes was tinged red, as if something had happened. For a moment, an ominous premonition flashed through his mind.

Fortunately, Eileen seemed to read that look and waved her hands as she spoke.

“There’s nothing to worry about, so please don’t worry. I just came back because my legs hurt.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

Eileen answered with a smile. The doctor still gave her a suspicious look but soon withdrew it.

Her clothes and hair were all neat and tidy, which seemed unlikely if something had happened, and soldiers were stationed everywhere.

“May I sit and rest for a while?”

“Of course, my lady.”

Eileen sat in the chair he provided and sighed quietly so that it wouldn’t be heard.

“Hah……”

She actually wanted to go straight home. She hated the very fact of being in the same space as Aaron to the point where it was horrifying.

But Cordelia and Luke held her back. She couldn’t leave the two of them alone after inviting them.

She could send Eden a letter later explaining that she had circumstances.

After finishing her thoughts, Eileen rubbed her eyes hard. To compose herself as if nothing had happened.

— Your face is blooming with smiles. It’s disgusting to see.

But cruelly, Aaron’s voice kept coming to mind.

“Lady Eileen!”

Just as Eileen’s eyes were beginning to turn red again, a voice mixed with gasping breaths echoed.

“……Hmm?”

Hearing someone calling her, Eileen slowly raised her head to confirm who it was.

“Lady Cordelia?”

The owner of the voice was none other than Cordelia, who should have been on a date. Moreover, Cordelia was alone, without Luke.

“Lady Cordelia, your date… ugh.”

Before Eileen could finish speaking, Cordelia ran to her and hugged her tightly.

“Lady Cordelia, I can’t breathe.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Cordelia quickly relaxed her arms and took out a handkerchief from her pocket, offering it to Eileen.

Isn’t it her who needs the handkerchief…?

As Eileen tilted her head in confusion, Cordelia forcibly placed the handkerchief in her hand.

“……You’re crying.”

“What?”

At Cordelia’s words, she put her hand to her eyes and found tears flowing endlessly. Worried that Cordelia might misunderstand, Eileen waved her hands again.

“Lady Cordelia, there’s nothing to worry about. Please believe me.”

“What?”

“I just went to the tea garden for a while, but my legs hurt……”

The moment the words ‘tea garden’ came out, Cordelia’s face hardened.

She had thought ‘what if,’ but the conversation from earlier and Eileen’s words seemed to match perfectly.

‘Then, these tears……!’

When her thoughts became a certainty, Cordelia gritted her teeth.

‘Who on earth!’

Whoever it was, she wouldn’t let them get away with it. How dare they make Lady Eileen cry!

Cordelia hugged Eileen tightly once more and said,

“Lady Eileen, your legs hurt too, let’s just go home now.”

“But it’s your first date with him……”

“We can do it again next time. And what’s the use of a date when you’re in pain?”

Cordelia put her hands on her hips. It was a sign that she wouldn’t back down.

In the end, Eileen had no choice but to nod.

* * *

— Mom, Dad…….

Ah, it’s a dream. Has it already been 15 years since I stopped having this dream…….

Eileen swallowed a bitter smile as she looked at the 7-year-old Han Suyeon who appeared to have just woken up.

— Have they already left? Or did they not come home again today?

A child who always craved familial love but couldn’t have her affection filled because of her busy parents.

— Oh? A letter! The paper flower I made is gone too!

A child who felt happy simply knowing that the paper flower she had gifted was gone and a reply had been left in its place, even if they couldn’t spend time together.

— It’s not a rose but a camellia….. But if Mom and Dad liked it, that’s fine! And they said they love me, thank you!

A child who felt as if she owned the whole world when a hastily scribbled letter contained the words “I love you.”

— There’s a postscript today! Could it mean they’ll come home early today?

Always expecting from the small moments of tenderness given bit by bit.

— ……Coming home late again today…? I thought they would come home early because it’s my birthday.

A child whose expectations were always shattered, leaving her hurt.

— I didn’t want to get hurt anymore…….

The memories that had been forgotten, thanks to her current parents and the people of Ceres, still ached deeply.

Eileen exhaled a long sigh, looking at the wounds that still hadn’t completely healed.

While Eileen was having a longer dream than ever before,

“Eileen……”

Duke Kyle and Duchess Lia were watching over her with sad faces as she suffered from a high fever.

Duchess Lia gently patted Eileen, who was breathing heavily and contorting her face in pain.

“Kyle, what on earth happened at the Flower Show to make Eileen suffer like this again……”

“I wonder too. I thought everything would be fine now that ‘those incidents’ were over……”

The two of them vividly remembered how Eileen used to moan and cry all night, having nightmares almost every day when she was young. They exchanged a glance and let out a low sigh.

“Eileen. Not just Mom and Dad, but everyone in the Ceres family is worried about you.”

Time continued to flow, and the dark night approached. As it was now time to go to bed, Duke Kyle carefully reached out and lightly brushed her reddened eyes.

“So tomorrow, be free from that fever and come back to Mom and Dad, back to the people who love you.”

After making this small wish, the two carefully left the bedroom. With the click of the door closing, the Ceres mansion fell into silence.

By now, the quiet time had passed, and the dense darkness that had engulfed the sky retreated as the sun rose.

“Ugh……”

With a small groan, Eileen’s eyelids, which had been closed for four whole days, began to tremble.

“My head……”

Eileen pressed her throbbing head and slowly lifted her eyelids.

“What am I doing because of Aaron……”

She got sick and had that dream again after 15 years all because of some hurtful words.

Eileen let out a bitter laugh and rose from the bed.

“Ugh….. I’m dizzy.”

But her body hadn’t recovered enough to handle such sudden movements. Eileen closed her eyes tightly against her swaying vision and surrendered to the bed.

“Let’s recover first.”

Yes, Aaron de Monston or whatever, revenge or whatever, I don’t care anymore!

Eileen tried to erase thoughts of Aaron to fall back asleep.

“But isn’t he crazy? Why did he make that expression after hurting me? It’s really irritating!”

But the more she tried to erase them, the more intense her thoughts of Aaron became.

“How long is that unlucky bastard going to keep turning my head inside out!”

In the end, unable to erase her thoughts of Aaron, Eileen buried her face in the pillow and screamed silently.

“Ah, everyone will be worried.”

After struggling like that for quite some time, Eileen rang the bell on the table to let everyone know she was awake.

“Is our daughter alright now?”

“E-Eileen! A-are you… sniff… not hurting anywhere?”

“Sob….. Miss!”

Less than a minute after ringing the bell, everyone from her parents to servants and maids rushed into Eileen’s room. Thanks to them, the once quiet bedroom became filled with sniffling sounds.

“I’m fine! I’m perfectly fine!”

Eileen smiled with curved eyes to comfort the people of the Ceres family who were shedding tears and endlessly expressing their worry.

Yes, Han Suyeon and the current me are different.

Eileen looked at her loved ones with a warm smile.

“Miss, please don’t get sick anymore……”

“Okay, I will. Sorry for making you worry.”

“I’ll give all my steak to you, Miss.”

“Thank you, Miller. But I’ll just accept your kind thought. You’re still growing, so you need to eat a lot to grow taller.”

Before long, Eileen’s room, which had been stained with tears, became filled with laughter from the people of the Ceres family.

* * *