Chapter 36

Even setting the original story aside, just thinking back on everything that had happened between me and Lapheche made it obvious she didn’t like me.  

Ever since her ridiculous attempt to pair me up with Theodore failed, we hadn’t spoken a word outside of formal gatherings.

So this kind of request… wasn’t something Lapheche would normally make.

“May Plendena’s blessing reach all of you. May you walk a life of beauty.”

While I sat there, staring blankly ahead and trying to sort through my tangled thoughts after sending Lapheche away, the ceremony had apparently come to an end.  

Only upon hearing the high priest’s clear, bell-like voice did I snap out of it, as if waking from a deep sleep.

‘I didn’t expect my coming-of-age ceremony to go like this…’

I thought I’d be filled with joy all day. I never imagined my heart would feel this heavy, or that I’d miss the choir performance entirely.

With a long sigh, I slowly rose to my feet and began walking through the now half-empty hall.

‘Esadien… and Lapheche?’

They were standing behind one of the pillars — in the opposite direction from the exit, where people wouldn’t pay much attention.

They weren’t just standing. They were leaning in close, whispering intensely.

‘What the…’

Lapheche was facing my direction, but I didn’t think she saw me. Her expression was drawn tight with tension as she slowly shook her head.

I instinctively started walking toward them, but they split and disappeared through separate exits before I could get close.

Left standing there like a dog who chased a chicken only to lose it, I clenched my fists. My chest burned like something was smoldering inside.

“…Fine. I’ll come see you, Lapheche.”

All the overthinking that had consumed me — enough to ruin my own ceremony — now seemed utterly pathetic.

“No matter what happens, I won’t run away.”

Whether she asks me to break up with Esadien or throws juice in my face — either way. I’d also make sure to ask Esadien how he really felt.

“Today, I’m ending this.”

If he dares say I’m just a public-facing fiancée, I’ll commit treason or whatever it takes — I’ll rip every last shining hair from his royal head.

Once I made up my mind, time started flying.

Changing clothes, having my hair braided — all of it went by in a flash. I quickly made my way to the far end of the hallway where Lapheche’s dressing room was located.

“I’m not even a fast walker, usually…”

Trying to distract myself from the nerves creeping up my spine, I clutched the hem of my blue dress — a shade chosen to match Esadien’s formal wear.

But—

“…Huh?”

When I raised my hand to knock, I noticed the door was already slightly open. Inside, I could hear low voices.

I couldn’t make out the words, but with just one syllable — even something as small as an “ah” — I knew exactly who it was.

‘Esadien.’

The moment I realized, all tension and hesitation evaporated. I stormed in and yanked aside the privacy screen used for changing.

And what I saw—

“…!”

Esadien, his head lowered intimately, his body pressed close to someone else.

Even with his broad back obscuring the view, the cascading red curls left no room for doubt. It was Lapheche.

‘Ha… ha…’

It felt like someone had carved a hole through the center of my chest and tossed my heart out onto the floor.

Everything crumbled.

Every moment I had locked eyes with Esadien… the last shred of lingering hope… all of it snapped and plummeted into that dark void.

“……”

Maybe sensing something was wrong, Lapheche looked up and locked eyes with my frozen figure. She paled instantly and shoved Esadien away.

“L-L-Lady Minuelle!”

Lapheche wasn’t even dressed — just in a corset.  

To anyone watching, it would’ve looked like a lover who barged in before she even finished changing, unable to wait another moment to embrace her.

Yet… this was the same Esadien who wouldn’t even let me see him with an undone button.  

Just how deep had he fallen for Lapheche?

“Minuelle…?”

Esadien moved in slow motion.  

As he turned to me, his expression passed from surprise to alarm, then shifted again — into a scowl aimed at Lapheche.  

Watching those changes pass over his face, I could do nothing but laugh.

“…Hah.”

I slowly pulled off the gloves and hurled them with all my strength.

The gloves — his gift to me — smacked him square on the cheek, like a formal declaration of a duel, and dropped to the ground with a soft *plop*.

His eyes widened in disbelief.

And I smiled. So brightly.

If you thought I’d still come crawling after seeing this, then that’s your mistake.

“Yeah. You’re out.”

My voice was cold — shockingly so, even to myself. With those final words, I turned on my heel and strode out of Lapheche’s dressing room.

“Minuelle!”

Esadien’s voice chased me from behind, but I didn’t look back.

‘Did he see it?’

This ugly, distorted hand of mine?

‘…He must’ve.’ 

That’s why he didn’t come after me.

“It’s really over now.”

The original Minuelle and I had something in common.

We both fell head-over-heels for someone at first sight — only to lose him to the heroine, Lapheche.  

Both of us clung to that person in desperation, even as it hurt.

I hadn’t realized it until now.

“…Hah. I really was obsessed. With Esadien.”

Was that what made him pull away?

“If you hated it that much, you shouldn’t have acted like you were falling for me. Bastard…”

But of course, I wasn’t exactly like the original Minuelle.

I don’t cling to relationships once they’re over.

“It’s fine. I burned it all.”

From the moment I met him, I gave everything — all my feelings, all my affection.  

It had been a complete combustion. A total burn.

That was enough.

Then why…

…why did my heart feel like it was stuttering and skipping in pain?

“…Hrk…”

Every thud of my heart — different from usual — made heat rise violently and the metallic sting of blood prickle in my nose.  

Just like the last time I argued with Esadien outside the royal palace.

“…Ugh.”

I covered my mouth as nausea surged from my gut.

“Wait… no—!”

I was wrong.  

This was far worse than before.

With every step I took, the world swayed like I was drunk.

‘—Shall I break it all?’

Someone — or something — seemed to whisper that right into my ear.

And honestly, I wanted to nod.

What did it matter, at this point? Who cares about some fancy banquet?

But the small voice of reason buried deep inside me refused to give in.

‘You’re not the first person to get dumped, and you won’t be the last. Are you gonna destroy the world every time?’

Fair point.

“…Okay, fine… I won’t destroy anything. Ugh…”

Still, I figured throwing up in the middle of the banquet was a worse look.  

Wouldn’t it be better to just go home?

Feeling dizzy, like I’d spent three days on a ship, I reached for the door handle of my dressing room — and that’s when my legs gave out.

The floor, once beneath me, suddenly tilted sideways and rushed up to meet me.

No, I realized. I’m the one falling.

Blood spilled from my lips as I collapsed, and I let out a laugh — high and cracked, like a madwoman’s.  

Even in this mess, I felt a warm liquid trickle from my nose, across my lips.

“…What’s that sound? Wait — Lady Minuelle?!”

“Minuelle?!”

My friends’ voices — sharp, panicked.

“Minuelle!!”

Even Sister Elga — always so composed — was shouting now.

I’d never heard her raise her voice before.  

That alone made me smile.

‘Thank goodness.’

Ramande is here. I’ll be okay.

With that comforting thought, I let myself faint.

As my mind drifted, I could feel the burning heat inside me begin to ease… like it was finally leaving my body.

I closed my eyes.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, I felt it — that familiar surge of energy, running from head to toe.

‘Feels like I could go for a five-hour run and still be fine.’

Just how much divine power had they poured into me?

Sister Elga, Ramande, and Theodore were all huddled by my bedside, wearing the most serious expressions I’d ever seen.  

Yet, my first thought was how adorable they looked.

But the first thing I said wasn’t that.  

No — it was the one line I’d repeated in my head countless times before collapsing.  

The one that surfaced when I threw the gloves at Esadien.

“…Sister Elga, I want to break off the engagement.”

From behind, Ramande and Theodore audibly sucked in a breath.  

They had to have heard it — but Sister Elga, calmly helping me sit up, simply replied:

“Alright.”

Nothing extra. No fuss.  

So calm it even caught me off guard.

“You’re not going to stop me?”

“If that’s your decision. I’m sure Juela’s said it already — but you’re not someone who needs to hesitate when doing what must be done.”

Right. Exactly.

I was the official darling of House Karnian — I could throw a fit whenever I wanted.  

So I decided to go all in.

“Then I want to enter the banquet with you.”

“Let’s do that.”

She wasn’t even wearing a dress — just her usual uniform — and today, I couldn’t have been more grateful for that.

“Thanks, Sister Elga. You really are the best.”

I flashed her a smile, then turned my gaze toward the two standing behind her.

Theodore, who had attended as his cousin’s partner, still looked stunned, clearly at a loss for words.  

Even though he’d seen just how badly things had gone between Esadien and me, he probably hadn’t expected me to actually announce a breakup like this.

And Ramande…

“…Ramande?”

He wore a face I’d never seen before — not once in all our years growing up together.

A strange mix of joy, worry, and rage, like three emotions playing territory wars across his face.

“You’re not feeling dizzy, are you?”

Still, his voice was the same as always — soft, steady. It caught me off guard for a moment.

“…Ah. No, I’m fine. Thanks… I collapsed, but I felt safe knowing you were there.”

“Which means if I weren’t there, you wouldn’t have collapsed?”

“No!”

I jumped to protest, and then he finally smiled — the mischievous grin I knew so well.

“Lord Tregosnan had to fetch the priests. You really gave them a scare, Minuelle — you suddenly burst into flames…”

“W-what?! Flames?!”

I hate fire. Always have — and lately, even more so.

I sniffed the air on instinct, but there was no trace of smoke.

‘Did someone knock over a candlestick or something?’

But if so, why call the priests?

Even as I relaxed slightly, the confusion lingered — and that’s when Theodore spoke up, cautiously.

“Well, from what I saw… it looked like the fire came from you, Lady Minuelle—”

“Lord Tregosnan.”

Sister Elga cut him off sharply.

“Let’s not make claims we aren’t certain of.”

The weight of her gaze was so heavy even I flinched a little.  

Still — Theodore wasn’t the type to joke or lie about something like that.

I wanted to ask him more, but Sister Elga was already lifting the hem of my dress.

“Minuelle, are you really going to wear this to the banquet?”

“Ah…”

I looked down and ran my fingers along the skirt.  

The pale blue gown I’d carefully chosen — now wrinkled and stained with blood.

Just like my relationship with Esadien — ruined beyond repair.

“Of course not.”

All hail Sister Juela, who insisted I bring a spare dress to the temple just in case.

I smiled faintly.

“Just toss this one.”

With that, the blood-stained dress vanished before my eyes as if it had never existed, and I was quickly redressed for the evening ahead.