22.
‘Just my luck.’
Meddling where I wasn’t needed, I had nearly run into the horse’s owner.
And even from a distance, I could clearly make out the appearance of the woman following him.
It was Princess Meriana.
Goosebumps rose over me on their own, and I kept rubbing my arms.
Even if I didn’t have any particular grudge against that woman, that didn’t mean it wasn’t awkward at all.
Wouldn’t Princess Meriana also hope that the “three of us” would never, ever meet in one place again?
And what about Rohwinas?
He would have hurled another barrage of infuriating accusations at me, saying things like I must have appeared because I still had lingering feelings for him and wanted to try something!
“Phew.”
Just as it had been until now, it was better for my peace of mind if we never crossed paths again.
For that reason, though I had held my chest prouder than anyone, my legs moved more urgently than anyone’s as I left that place behind.
Then, a strange feeling quietly rose within me.
‘To think he actually came in person.’
The Rohwinas in my memories had been an exceptionally heartless person.
Even toward that splendid white horse he had kept by his side and raised since childhood, he had shown little affection.
It was only much later that I realized he had simply noticed, quick as ever, that I was interested in horseback riding, and had dragged it out to my estate so often he nearly wore down the threshold, using it to win my favor.
‘You spent ten years together, and you didn’t even give him a name?’
‘Why should I?’
‘Then can I name him? I should call him by it a lot from now on, shouldn’t I?’
‘……You’re going to lavish care even I’ve never received on a mere horse like this?’
Others didn’t know, but in the end, I was the one who had given him the name “Adilo.”
Though Rohwinas never really called him that afterward, as if it simply wouldn’t stick in his mouth.
Well, in any case, those things had long since lost all meaning.
I snorted and shook off all the memories that naturally came to mind.
Then I stopped dead.
I didn’t want to admit that I was avoiding people.
Nor that, because I didn’t want to be hurt for nothing, I was in fact afraid.
That was why I had agreed to attend the hunting festival.
Yet without realizing it, I was avoiding them again.
But a three-way meeting with my former lover and my former lover’s current lover—who could possibly endure that without avoiding it?
I felt that if I trudged back to the duke like this, I wouldn’t persuade him at all and would only be met with a pathetic look.
‘Just you watch.’
I’m a woman who can have fun if I want to!
As long as it’s not Rohwinas!
As long as it’s not that Princess Meriana!
I turned my steps toward the outdoor party area I had glanced at on my way here.
Colorful, splendid, and varied desserts and finger foods, light aperitifs, even a chocolate fountain decorated with fresh flowers.
The luxurious atmosphere that wafted about even here on the outskirts of the capital, as though it were only natural, still felt awkward to me.
More than that, there were unexpectedly many people wandering around in dazzling dresses.
‘They didn’t come to hunt. They just came to enjoy the party, huh?’
Personally, I would much rather ride a horse into the forest than kill time stiffly in a place like this.
Just when I thought I ought to applaud the duke’s discerning eye for dressing me in hunting clothes as if it were only natural,
the behavior of those who had noticed my arrival from the entrance began changing in an unusual way.
There were plenty of people grabbing the person beside them and urgently whispering,
and it was not particularly surprising to see people who had been smiling brightly just moments before harden their expressions completely and turn their backs.
I could even hear someone mutter a low curse. My ears are rather sharp, you see.
“…….”
Right. I wonder if you’ve all been living comfortably with your legs stretched out, having forgotten about me all this time?
I lightly clenched and unclenched my hand, which had begun to tingle a little, and stared at them.
At the victory banquet, they could have dismissed it as a minor irregularity and tried hard to forget it,
but now that I had shown my face again, they must have been feeling quite displeased.
Wow, to think I could become a thorn in other people’s eyes just by breathing quietly!
I sneered and strode toward the table where people were seated.
There happened to be an empty seat, so I squeezed in and sat down.
Then the woman sitting beside me abruptly frowned, immediately got up, and fled to another table far away.
She moved so hastily, as though afraid she might be smeared with filth.
Starting with that, I experienced my table emptying in an instant.
The person sitting across from me had gone somewhere, leaving only a half-eaten plate and a wineglass behind.
The gazes of those watching me, left alone like that, grew thick with malicious interest.
‘Is it fun to ostracize someone?’
It wasn’t particularly surprising, so I crossed my arms and leaned back against the chair.
The moment I saw the half-empty wineglass before me, my gaze shifted slightly.
‘Should I just help myself to some wine?’
Still, since I had to ride later, I also brought over some desserts to put in my empty stomach.
Suddenly, I remembered that Julie wasn’t here to watch me with a strict gaze, nor was Jaka sticking to my side and nagging.
I had been on edge continuously these days and hadn’t shown it, but I had been exhausted…….
The taste of the carbonated champagne sliding down my throat was pleasant.
Though it seemed to have almost no alcohol content.
It also paired well with the cheese that had been laid out as dessert.
After I had been eating and drinking for quite some time, a group of attendants came over and began setting up a new table across from me.
I had thought there were strangely many nobles loitering around while standing, and it turned out it was because they couldn’t sit at the table I occupied.
Well, who told them to empty an entire table that seats ten?
This table is mine now.
“Tsk, because of someone, what is this…….”
Perhaps her legs hurt from standing in heels, someone muttered in a sharp tone.
It was clearly meant for me to hear, no matter who listened.
I had taken so much abuse that I completely lost my mind, shut myself up in the estate, and couldn’t leave the house for a while, yet you’re dissatisfied just because your legs hurt from standing for a little while?
The attendants who had set up the new table now began refilling the half-empty champagne glasses.
A new fruit wine had been brought in, so I sprang to my feet to get some.
But when I turned around with fruit wine glasses in both hands,
the nobles had filled all ten seats at what had, until just a moment ago, been my table.
As I stood still and watched, faint smiles hovered on their faces as they exchanged glances, as though this were some “satisfying game.”
In truth, while my back had been turned, I had heard everything—the rustle of dress hems fluttering and the sound of hurried footsteps.
The moment I started toward another spot where I happened to see an empty seat, the noble sitting beside it pushed the chair and knocked it onto the floor.
Then she lifted her plate and poured food over the chair.
After hesitating for a moment, I looked toward the seat where I had originally been sitting.
It seemed better to deal with that side first.
“Hello.”
“…….”
When I approached and spoke, the woman pretended not to hear.
Then the person sitting across from her couldn’t hold back, giggling as she covered her mouth with her hand.
The woman sitting in my seat narrowed her eyes at her in a way that wasn’t unlovely and asked,
“Why are you laughing?”
“I just remembered the play I saw yesterday…….”
“Ah, that play? I remember it too. Oh, truly…… it was such an eyesore.”
The two of them met each other’s eyes and let out mocking laughter.
“Lady Flotia, and this must be Lady Mundelin. Am I right?”
“…….”
“…….”
But at my question, the conversation between the two of them abruptly cut off.
It seemed they hadn’t expected me to still remember their faces and names.
“It’s been a while. We’ve met before, haven’t we? I think you even came to visit the estate. You said you wanted to become close to me.”
“…….”
“…….”
“Come to think of it, you asked me back then, didn’t you? How you could captivate a man’s soul the way I did. And you said this too, didn’t you? That even the haughty Meriana Peregrine couldn’t bring down—”
It was when I had spoken that far.
Lady Flotia, who had been sitting in my seat, sprang up.
She glared at me terrifyingly with a deathly pale face, then hurriedly left.
As the other nobles, watching the situation, also rose one by one and went to other seats, the table soon became empty again, just as before.
I downed the champagne in my left hand in one shot, then sat down in my seat.
The laughter that had filled this place before I arrived could now scarcely be heard.
“Weak-willed.”
I laughed softly and rolled the empty glass in my hand.
“Ah, maybe I should go see a play tomorrow too.”
As I muttered that and swept my eyes over the surroundings, someone walked over and sat down across from me.
……Who is this?
It was Meriana Peregrine.