Please Forget Me - Chapter 303

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

You lifted your head and looked at me with puzzled eyes. I was about to show you proof first, I reached for the chain around my neck to take it off.

“Dana, what are you doing here?”

An unwelcome voice cut in at the worst possible moment. You hurriedly released the hand you had been holding and stood up. When I turned around, Rupert was walking toward us from the direction of the church.

“I was receiving Father’s blessing.”

“At this hour? In a place like this?”

Rupert looked back and forth between the two of us, his gaze sharp with suspicion, as though he were imagining an affair. For your sake, I lied.

“I happened to run into Miss Loveridge while she was on her way to the church during a walk. I merely offered her a blessing.”

“Killian, if you have no desire to create a filthy rumor about a young lady destined to become a Marchioness secretly meeting a priest, I’d appreciate it if you acted with a little more discretion. Am I asking too much?”

“…I’m sorry. I didn’t think it through.”

Looking back, I regret not detonating the truth right there, like a bomb. But that day, seeing the discomfort on your face, I chose to apologize instead.

“Father, I’m the one who was thoughtless. I truly apologize for disturbing you so late.”

“Why did you need a blessing? Are you afraid of risking your life for the country?”

“Of course not. I was only praying for the success of the mission.”

“My Philomena, there’s no need to pray for that. You have me, the descendant of Godwin.”

Listening to the exchange between you and Rupert made my irritation flare again. Truth or not, I couldn’t bear it any longer. Just as I stood to leave, Rupert frowned at the crate we had been sitting on.

“Cigarettes?”

On top of it lay a cigarette case and a box of matches you had taken out earlier. Your face drained of color at once. Fortunately, you hadn’t lit one yet.

“May you rest peacefully tonight under God’s protection.”

I picked up the cigarettes and matches as though they were mine and walked past him. As if I were some thug preying on you, he wrapped an arm around you protectively and protested.

“I’d rather you didn’t smoke in front of my fiance.”

Coming from someone who smoked at all hours, it was absurd. But that wasn’t the only thing that made my blood boil.

To be honest, I wanted to knock him flat. But you, held in his arms, silently mouthed thank you toward me, and that was the only reason I restrained myself.

“Wait. I came for a reason too.”

“…What now?”

“We’re getting married tomorrow.”

The shock froze me in place. And it turned out I wasn’t the only one taken aback.

“Tomorrow?”

You asked Rupert, startled.

“Everything’s already prepared. What difference does it make, tomorrow or a week from now?”

Apparently, it had already been decided that you would marry before infiltrating Highland. But it seemed they hadn’t planned for it to be quite so immediate.

Most likely, the moment Rupert saw us together, he made the decision on his own. He must have been afraid I would tell you the truth. Believing that once you were married, you wouldn’t be able to run away even if you learned it.

“What is it? Do you want to postpone it, my love? Did something happen?”

“Of course not. I’m fine with it, my love.”

Unaware of the darkness in his heart, you smiled brightly, wrapping both arms around his neck.

Hearing you call him my love hurt—but I could endure it. That name had once been mine. I still clung, however faintly, to the hope that once dawn came and I told you the truth, it would return to me.

What truly shattered that hope was your gaze.

You were looking at him with eyes full of love.

In that gaze, the truth lost its light.

Even if the man you first fell in love with wasn’t Rupert. Would that still matter to the woman you were now? The doubt crept in.

Perhaps I was disappointed in you, for looking at such human trash with such affection.

In the end, there was no way to know how you would react unless I spoke. And yet, I was so exhausted that I could imagine only the worst outcomes. Even when I resolved myself, I would quickly give up, muttering, Let it be what it will.

‘Let it be what it will.’

I turned away once more and started back toward the rectory when Rupert called after me again.

“Father, we would like you to officiate our wedding tomorrow.”

That bastard—surely born of the devil—how much more did he intend to carve me apart before he was satisfied? Perhaps it wasn’t enough because he still hadn’t seen me bleed.

“I’ve never officiated a wedding before. I don’t think I’m suited for it. I’ll inquire with a nearby parish and find another priest for you.”