Chapter 50

Chapter 50: I Stole Yeoju's First Love

Today was the day to finish the interior decoration and conduct interviews for the people who would work on the top floor.

I soon arrived in front of Nivea's shop, which was hidden behind a partition.

Perhaps because I knew it was a store invested in by the Hunt Marquess family, I didn’t even want to give it a glance.

“It’s been a while, Lady.”

“……”

At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind. I ignored it and continued walking forward.

But I had forgotten how tenacious this person could be.

“Lady.”

I met Wilhelm’s eyes as he suddenly appeared in front of me.

Seeing his red eyes, boiling with hatred and contempt, I felt calm instead.

I no longer felt any emotion towards him, but it was surprising how much he still hated me.

“It’s been a while, Sir Wilhelm.”

“You seem to have been doing well. Your complexion looks bright.”

“Seems like you haven’t been doing well, Sir Wilhelm. Your face looks dark.”

Wilhelm’s face, which he had been trying to maintain as if nothing was wrong, twitched.

“Is it because of Lady that you were expelled from the First Knight Order?”

Seeing Wilhelm growl in a low, threatening voice, I smiled slightly.

He was expelled from the knight order because he lied during our engagement break-up.

A knight should at least appear to be just, speak only the truth, and be upright.

The main characters in the original story rarely received proper punishment for any wrongdoing.

But this time, it seemed different, perhaps because the restraining force had weakened.

It was a natural consequence, but seeing him so angry made me realize how comfortable a world they had lived in.

“I heard you became the captain of the Silver Dragon Knights. Indeed, the kindness of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester is as I’ve heard.”

I smiled and offered insincere praise, causing Wilhelm’s face to turn red.

“It’s none of your business.”

‘He’s embarrassed, I see.’

It was surprising to see such a normal reaction from him after so long.

“Hm.”

At that moment, a dry cough sounded from behind me.

Turning around, I saw an interviewer waiting at the entrance to observe the test with me.

I slightly bowed and greeted Wilhelm.

“Someone is talking to you.”

Wilhelm then grabbed my wrist. I tried to pull my hand away from his grip, but the difference in strength made it difficult.

“Let go of me……!”

At that moment, someone else’s hand struck Wilhelm’s.

“What are you doing here?”

His long hair fluttered like petals.

Both Wilhelm and I were taken aback by the unexpected person.

“Raymond.”

Wilhelm called out the man’s name before I could.

“Have you moved on to another woman in the meantime? I can understand your feelings towards Tatiana.”

Raymond glanced at him and twisted his lips.

“Does yelling at your ex-fiancée, the captain of the Gloucester Duke’s knight order, help Titi?”

His provocation started a childish argument between the two.

I slipped away and headed towards the shop.

Getting involved in such a fight would only tarnish my reputation.

‘Why did Raymond suddenly appear?’

He might have been following me on Tatiana’s orders.

He was a man who could really die, not just pretend, if Tatiana told him to.

Come to think of it, Raymond was my top choice as the male lead obsessed with Tatiana, but it seemed the rankings had changed.

‘What could be the reason for such obsession?’

I thought about Wilhelm’s actions again. Perhaps there was another function of the bracelet that I didn’t know about.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t explain how he could become so crazed in such a short time.

I moved quickly, leaving the two bickering loudly behind me.

People started to gather.

* * *

Tatiana bit her lip.

She glanced up at Daniel’s head.

‘Why has he become so low?’

After the masquerade ball, Tatiana decided to change her attitude towards Daniel.

In a more cautious way.

“Um, are you angry with me?”

Tatiana mumbled, bowing her head deeply.

Daniel pressed his heart, feeling a sudden surge of pity.

It was strange.

Tatiana felt so sad and pitiful over such a small matter, yet why had she been so cruel to Karina?

“Daniel?”

“No, no. I’m not angry with Tatiana… I was just thinking about the things I felt guilty about with Karina.”

Tatiana’s face stiffened at his words.

Daniel started feeling guilty about the things he had done to Karina, who was just a friend.

Unaware of the shock Tatiana was experiencing, Daniel continued to express his feelings.

“We’ve been too cruel to Karina. After all, we were friends.”

He didn’t notice the increasingly cold gaze Tatiana was giving him.

“Why don’t you talk to her first? I’ll set up a place for you.”

“Why should I?”

Tatiana snapped sharply, without realizing it.

“Huh?”

Daniel was taken aback, and Tatiana regained her composure.

She knew that acting too aggressively would lower Daniel’s affection for her.

She skillfully touched the bracelet bead, bringing up the selection window.

The longer she had spent with them, the easier it was to choose an option.

But…

‘There’s trouble again.’

Since the bracelet had cracked in an accident, it hadn’t been working properly.

Tatiana frowned and shook her head.

“Karina doesn’t like me. I don’t want to make her feel bad by meeting her.”

She blamed Karina, as usual.

She was the bad one, and Tatiana just wanted to get along well but was the victim.

“Karina seems to have a lot of grievances against us. When I think about it, I’ve done many wrong things too…”

“Wrong?”

“We were engaged for a short time, you know.”

Daniel felt embarrassed talking about it.

Thinking about it, he had also had his lover taken away, just like Karina.

‘No, it wasn’t taken away, but for her happiness…’

His head ached as he delved deeper into his thoughts.

“Why are you like this, Daniel?”

Tatiana asked, and Daniel covered his mouth with his hand.

Again.

He felt the same revulsion towards Tatiana as he had before.

“What did I do wrong?”

Tatiana was taken aback by Daniel’s gaze.

It was as if he found her disgusting. That unfamiliar look tore at her heart.

Unable to control herself, Tatiana burst into tears.

“Why, why are you doing this, Daniel?”

She was terrified every time people’s gazes towards her changed.

She was seized by the fear that everyone might turn their backs on her, like Andrew did.

Seeing Tatiana crying and trembling, Daniel’s mind went blank.

‘What have I done?’

He suddenly came to his senses.

He felt as if he had done something he shouldn’t have.

Daniel hurriedly got up and went to Tatiana, who was sitting on the opposite side.

“Why are you doing this to me? Did I do something so wrong?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you.”

Seeing Tatiana’s tears, he couldn’t think of anything.

He felt as if he were in a dream, a hazy feeling.

“I’ll talk to Karina first.”

“No, don’t talk about that.”

“Huh?”

“Lately… it feels like you’re distancing yourself from me.”

Blushing in embarrassment, Tatiana slightly stroked the bracelet.

Daniel’s gaze briefly fell on her wrist before looking away.

Tatiana hurriedly covered the bracelet with her hand and said,

“So, could you give me a hunting prize during the upcoming hunting competition?”

“A hunting prize?”

“Yes.”

Daniel wasn’t skilled at hunting.

He was a typical scholar, unaccustomed to physical activities.

So he hadn’t planned to attend this hunting festival.

But he couldn’t refuse Tatiana, who was looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

In the end, Daniel sighed and nodded.

“Thank you, Daniel. You’re truly my best friend!”

Tatiana suddenly hugged his neck.

Daniel looked around for the first time. Cold gazes were fixed on them.

But he couldn’t push her away, seeing her so happy. He awkwardly raised his hand and patted her back.

The sharp gazes of the people gradually softened.

And they turned away as if nothing had happened.

Daniel suddenly felt scared.

‘Something is wrong.’

It was clearly an attention-grabbing action, and a scandal could have erupted.

But at some point, people stopped paying attention to them as if they didn’t exist.

Daniel was lost in thought on his way back to the duke’s mansion after parting ways with Tatiana.

Why did he feel so powerless towards Tatiana to this extent?

Suddenly, the bracelet she had tried to hide came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, Karina was also interested in that bracelet.’

He was curious about where she got it and who made it.

He had thought she bought it from a store, but his memory of that part was blurry.

It didn’t seem like that was all there was to it.

“I need to find out myself.”

Something was definitely happening.