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Yejoo took away my first love, Chapter 100
It was an absurd statement.
'Even if I regret it, it’s already too late.'
I had already chosen the person who would stand by my side, and he had left no feelings for me.
Moreover, to say such things while being married.
It was as if he was underestimating me.
But it was certain that there was no male lead left who would take Tatyana's side.
'The only one who could be on my side would be Raymond, I suppose.'
Come to think of it, there was something I needed to deal with Raymond.
I had to make sure the Cassel family paid for being so troublesome.
As I was lost in other thoughts, Filia gave a strange smile and spoke.
"By the way, I heard that the Duke of Liberty visited the Grand Duke's house recently."
"Hmm."
The Duke of Liberty was one of the few people who opposed my marriage to the Grand Duke.
Especially after he found out that Andrew was of royal blood, he opposed it even more.
'I didn’t understand it at the time, but he said that his reaction was even stronger when I mentioned that I was the eldest son of a viscount’s family.'
Was he worried because his daughter was involved with the royal family? Or was there another reason?
"Thank you for telling me about what happened in society while I was away."
"Of course! We are on your side, Karina-sama."
I was slightly surprised by Regina's excessive reaction, but now it seemed quite cute.
After that, the conversation returned to my engagement.
"I’m so, so excited about your engagement."
"Me too."
They seemed to have high expectations for my engagement.
Honestly, it wasn’t my first engagement, so I didn’t feel much.
Somehow, I felt guilty towards Aster.
"Since it’s not my first engagement, what’s there to be excited about?"
"Still."
I smiled appropriately and continued the conversation with them.
At that moment, I still thought it would be no different from my previous engagements.
* * *
My mother, who had just returned from a consultation with Allison, suddenly called me.
"I heard from your father that you’re going to be engaged to His Majesty."
"Yes."
Mother was silent for a moment.
Then, with a firm voice, she said to me,
"I oppose this engagement."
"Excuse me?"
What did I just hear?
I tilted my head and asked,
"You oppose the engagement?"
"Yes."
Until now, while Father might have, Mother had never opposed my engagements.
Mother always believed in me.
"Why... exactly?"
"Karina, are you really prepared to spend your life with His Majesty?"
I was speechless.
"It’s fine if it’s not His Majesty. Are you really prepared to spend your life with someone and get engaged?"
I couldn’t say no.
I had thought that since it wasn’t my first engagement, I didn’t feel much about it.
"I don’t understand why you’re so focused on engagements and marriage. If you don’t love each other deeply, what’s the exact reason for this marriage?"
"That’s..."
"Of course, noble marriages aren’t made solely out of love. But Karin, all your previous engagements had reasons. Do you really need to get engaged for another reason this time?"
When I was engaged to Daniel and Wilhelm, I had told Mother the reasons for my engagements.
"Why are you getting engaged to His Majesty this time?"
I couldn’t easily answer Mother’s question.
Starting a relationship with Aster was all to take revenge on Tatyana.
All the actions she had taken against me, the people around me, and the extras in the original story.
To take revenge for all of that.
But I couldn’t tell Mother that.
"From what I can see, His Majesty likes you, and he doesn’t seem like a bad person."
Mother sighed deeply and murmured in a bitter voice,
"But you’re getting engaged for a reason other than because His Majesty is a good person or because he likes you."
"What’s wrong with that?"
My voice rose without me realizing it.
The thoughts that had been swirling in my head burst out in one direction.
"I don’t see what’s wrong with using someone who likes me for revenge. His Majesty said he doesn’t care about anything."
"Karin..."
"He approached the people I loved to torment me, manipulated their minds, and took them all away. Now I’m just trying to take them back. Is that wrong?"
After pouring it all out, I couldn’t lift my face.
I didn’t want to show this shameful side to anyone...
"I’m sorry, can you give me some time to think?"
Mother, who had stood up, reached out to me.
The soft touch on my hair and the warmth of her hand brought a sense of relief.
Thinking about how I almost lost Mother just a few days ago made me feel dizzy.
"I’m not saying you’re wrong. Ask anyone on the street, and they’ll all cheer for your revenge."
Mother seemed to be choosing her words carefully, and there was a moment of silence between us.
"But Karin, life is long, and the pleasure of revenge is short. If you’ve decided to spend your life with someone for that short moment, I oppose it."
Mother held my cheeks with both hands and forced me to meet her eyes.
"I’m not opposing your revenge. I hope you can take revenge on that girl in a different way. Not by taking away what she wanted, but in a different way."
I nodded silently.
Mother hugged me tightly, looking relieved.
The unique soft floral scent of a spring mage filled the air, easing my tension and anxiety.
"I always thought you were fine because you acted like nothing was wrong. I’m sorry for not paying attention to you."
"No, it’s not... It’s not because you didn’t pay attention..."
Strangely, my heart ached.
My eyes stung, and tears started to flow uncontrollably.
"You can cry as much as you want. What kind of bastards made our daughter suffer like this?"
Mother’s words triggered a long, intense cry.
Even Father, who came in late, was shocked and pressed Mother.
Just knowing that there were people who understood me and were fully on my side brought such a sense of relief.
And...
"I’m still going to be engaged to His Majesty. He’s the only one who fully believes in and supports me like you two do."
"Can you tell us the reason for your certainty?"
Father asked me as if he had been waiting for this.
It was no longer the time to keep my secrets to myself.
* * *
After hearing my story, Father and Mother were so shocked that they couldn’t speak for a while.
Especially Mother, who had personally processed my bracelet, looked even more surprised.
"I didn’t feel anything at all..."
"I checked several times with my bracelet. Every time Tatyana used a bracelet identical to mine, distorted magic flowed out, and people affected by that magic developed abnormal affection for Tatyana."
"Moreover, that magic started to affect other living beings..."
Mother and Father’s faces grew increasingly serious.
"And this isn’t certain yet, but it seems His Majesty isn’t affected by that magic."
Father, who had listened to me until the end, hugged my shoulder and said,
"You’ve been through a lot. Trying to solve all these difficult things on your own."
"It’s because of me that you two suffered. Even your divorce..."
The divorce of my parents was a huge shock to me.
The fact that the two pillars of my world would no longer be together, and that the cause was me.
"Oh, Karina."
I didn’t want to show my weak side to my parents.
So I tried to be more confident and became more obsessed with engagements.
"Why is it your fault? It was a problem between your father and me."
I knew it in my head, but not in my heart.
"Because of her, why did we divorce? What did she do? Don’t ever think like that again, understand?"
After the first annulment, I went through a lot until I became an adult.
I thought everything was fine, that I had overcome it all, but that wasn’t true.
I had just been pretending not to notice.
I reached out and hugged my father and mother.
"Do you know how much I love you two?"
They hugged me tightly without a word.
The sense of fulfillment I hadn’t felt in a long time filled my heart.
The shattered world came back.
* * *
"What?"
Tatyana repeated, looking at Wilhelm standing in front of her. She couldn’t believe what he was saying.
"Let’s stop tormenting the Lady of Pioneira."
"..."
Wilhelm’s words didn’t resonate with her.
"When did I ever torment Karina?"
"You asked me to capture her with other men in a video."
Wilhelm’s face still burned when he thought about it.
Fortunately, Karina had forgiven his misdeed. When he knelt and begged, she said it was okay and that he had been momentarily swept away by an invisible force.
"And Tatyana."
Wilhelm struggled to speak.
"I’ve decided to leave the Order of Knights."
"Leave the Order... Why? Is Karina taking you with her?"
Tatyana’s voice rose involuntarily.
After Daniel, she never expected Wilhelm to betray her too.
"It’s not like that, Titi. What face would I have to go to the Duke of Pioneira’s house?"
Wilhelm felt sorry for Tatyana.
Seeing her life up close, it didn’t look happy at all.
She wasn’t loved and always seemed anxious, as if she was being chased by something.
He could make her happier.
"I’ve decided to go to the estate and will inform my parents. Tatyana, come with me."