Chapter 56
The next moment, her foot caught on an uneven cobblestone, twisting her ankle.
Her already overworked body couldn’t react fast enough to the sudden obstacle.
‘I’m going to fall—’
Just as Esina squeezed her eyes shut in resignation, rapid footsteps approached.
Then, someone caught her—full-bodied.
‘Herman?’
A strange sense of déjà vu washed over her. Blinking, she looked up—
“My, my.”
“……”
“Are you alright, my lady?”
Instead of the familiar, dark eyes that usually gazed down at her, she was met with a sharp, icy blue.
“You nearly got hurt.”
“…Xenon Elzen?”
The name slipped out before she could stop herself.
“You know me?”
The man with vibrant sky-blue hair smiled, his deep blue eyes crinkling.
Esina stared blankly at his face—handsome in a way starkly different from Herman’s, softened by gentle features despite his cold-colored hair and eyes. Yet, his smile stirred no warmth in her.
‘Why is the original male lead here…?’
Dazed, she couldn’t even form a response, still staring dumbly at his face when—
“…Esina?”
A voice, chillingly familiar, came from behind the man.
“……”
“Ah. You’ve met my companion.”
Herman stepped into the garden.
“Who might this lady be? I was just—”
“…Miss Maria Rezen?”
“My.”
“Strange, isn’t it? She already knew my name too.”
Arm in arm with the original heroine—her lustrous black hair cascading down—stood Maria.
Whoosh. A frigid wind seemed to blow between Esina, still frozen against Xenon, and Herman, escorting Maria.
An eerily ominous wind.
“Haah.”
Esina exhaled sharply as she leaned against the shade of a chestnut tree. The bright white dress she wore reflected the sunlight filtering through the leaves.
Before her stretched the vast boating lake behind the Telloien Ducal Estate. Beneath the large trees lining the shore, a lavish picnic mat was spread with an array of snacks.
The air was sweet with fragrance, the sunlight dappled and warm, yet Esina’s chest grew increasingly unsettled.
She had finally made it to the Duke of Telloien’s event, but now even the motivation to play the role of the world’s most wicked wife—as originally planned—had abandoned her.
‘It’s not like I could even if I wanted to.’
“Hahaha…”
Laughter drifted over from nearby. Turning her head, Esina spotted boats floating leisurely on the lake. Among them, her gaze was drawn to the one carrying Herman, his back turned so she couldn’t see his face.
Across from him sat a group of young noblewomen, but one in particular stood out.
‘This is why I asked why the female lead had to show up here.’
That day, when Esina had run into the male lead—and Herman had run into the female lead.
After an awkward silence, the two had eventually retreated to their bedroom, falling asleep without a word, as if avoiding each other.
“……”
Herman seemed to have his own thoughts to contend with, and Esina, too, was unsettled by the sudden appearance of the protagonists. On top of that, Herman—who would’ve normally pounced on her all night—remained unusually quiet, which only tangled her emotions further.
It wasn’t until the next day that she learned Duke Telloien had invited Herman, gathering young nobles from across the empire in one place. Without her even realizing, what was supposed to be a week-long invitation had stretched into a grand two-week banquet.
Almost as if they were deliberately forcing Herman to stay.
The days that followed continued like this. The two of them acted as though they’d sworn off carnal desires, no longer mingling their bodies. Herman was constantly summoned by the duke or busy entertaining other guests, while Esina sat listlessly fanning herself, her motivation sapped.
‘Honestly, I’d rather keep my distance from the male and female leads.’
Especially the female lead.
Since the original Esina had tormented her and met a miserable end, she wanted absolutely no connection with her. This was also why she couldn’t act out anymore.
If she came off as malicious in front of the female lead, it might come back to bite her later.
And by extension, she couldn’t get too close to Herman either.
Because the female lead, Maria, was almost always by his side…
A sudden sense of foreboding washed over her. Unavoidably, her thoughts began flowing in one direction.
‘…Is the duke perhaps—’
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