When My Enemies Began to Regret

It was an hour later at the count’s townhouse.

“I’m working hard like this, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”

Spring has come to the Celsius mansion. The atmosphere of the mansion that returned was noisy. It was because Purson took his first step into society.

Fanora had no time to worry about her half-brother’s debutante.

Organizing her property was more difficult than expected. Although the size of her fortune wasn’t large, she had problems because she had to use it abroad. First of all, she had to exchange all her money or exchange it into real assets.

But why do bad things happen one after another? As if adding insult to injury, Fanora bumped into her enemy-like younger brother on her way up to her room. It was the first time she had seen him since she ruined his birthday banquet by wearing a black dress.

Fanora tried to ignore him and pass by. However, Purson Celsius’s attitude was somehow different from usual.

“Fanora.”

“…?”

“You’ve grown up, but how could you stay out without saying a word?”

She thought he had calmed down a bit after getting beaten up.

Purson greeted his sister with unparalleled arrogance. He briefly scanned her as she returned from her outing, sending her a look of pity. “What’s the point of inheriting father’s blood? Your vulgar behavior hasn’t been fixed.”

What made Purson so arrogant?

Fanora nodded her head as if to ask him to speak. But as she listened obediently to him, the corners of her eyes twitched.

“…Say something in response. You must be ruining my birthday banquet because you thought I was easy to mess with. Try to give another superior lecture like the last time, Fanora.”

“I have nothing to say.”

“You have nothing to say?”

Purson frowned when he saw his half-sister’s face, which seemed indifferent. And he immediately raised his right hand. On his right hand was a ring that she had seen many times before.

It was none other than the family heirloom. It was also an item worn by the Count Celsius himself.

“I’m so relieved that you ruined my birthday. I guess you don’t have anything to say anymore.”

“…”

“Just because father showed you a bit of attention.”

“…”

“Still, I’m grateful. Thanks to your thoughtless actions, I gained an advantage.”

The reason why Purson restored his arrogant behavior was simple. He told their father that Fanora had come to his birthday banquet wearing a black dress. At the same time, he also spread rumors about Fanora.  Perhaps because she’s friendly with the two duke’s family of the kingdom and tasted power, Fanora is ignoring her own family. She also ruined her younger brother’s important banquet ahead of his debutante.

“When I told him about your thoughtless actions, father made up his mind. Now, I’m the successor, even on paper. I can tell you that he has no intention of giving you a title.”

“…”

“How can a person who’s not good enough like you be greedy for a title? You weren’t serious, were you?”

He was disturbed to hear that his father had actually designated Fanora as his successor. So, while Fanora was away, he negotiated with Count Celsius. He cried and urged his father to give him an answer on this matter, asking if he really planned to entrust the family name to his sister, not him.

When Purson appealed, the count readily took his son’s side. He promised to give him a title through various documents, just as Purson wanted.

Purson said that if he succeeded to the count, people like her would be kicked out of the mansion, and if she didn’t want to starve to death, she should at least marry an old baron on the outskirts. But Fanora didn’t seem to pay any attention to what he said.

“Have you said everything you wanted to say?”

“What?”

“Purson, it’s very sincere of you to have already made plans for the future. But that probably won’t happen.” Fanora brushed off her skirt, which had become disheveled as she came up the stairs and continued speaking. “Even if you don’t do that, I’ll go out on my own.”

“…?!”

She was planning on throwing away the sickened name of Celsius anyway. The legal process of giving up your name was complicated, but she was okay with that.

Kasius already had a time-honored method of cutting ties with family. Like a noble lady who had a lover that her parents disapproved of, she would pack her belongings and run away at night.

“I’ve never been greedy for a family like this anyway. You, keep it.”

“You… wait a minute. You’re going out? Where are you going?”

Fanora looked at her half-brother with disgust. It was a look of contempt, not a single word of affection. “You were making a fuss about kicking me out earlier… Are you in puberty?”

“…!”

She left, judging that there was no need for further conversation.

“Who do you think doesn’t know that you’ll shamelessly stay? Don’t be so stubborn! Do you even know what kind of rumors about you in society right now…!”

Purson shouted to stop Fanora, but she didn’t even listen.

“Huh, she’s leaving the family.”

Purson remained alone and thought over what she had said. Even though Fanora was deprived of her position as a successor, she seemed unconcerned. She even said that she would leave the family with her own mouth. Her disappearance before his eyes was something he had hoped for a long time. And yet, Purson wasn’t very happy.  

“She’ll give up eventually, right…”

Somehow, he felt strange imagining the Celsius family without her.

Normally, Fanora would greet him with a dejected face every day. Her forced smile to impress him disappeared at some point. The things that he had taken for granted disappeared one by one.

After speaking with her brother, Fanora returned to her room.

As soon as she returned, she searched her own room like a thief. Her intention was to gather important items scattered in drawers and bookshelves.

“Should I take this too?”

Fanora looked intently at her diary, which she found in the drawer. It was the diary that contained the contents of ‘Dangerous Love’.

She busily moved her hands, eventually deciding to take her diary as well.

Carl Andras suddenly came to mind as she was organizing her things and thinking about Gamiel. They just parted away, but she could already see his smiling face.

“…”

Why does Carl not give up his will even after hearing so much persuasion?

“He must not be serious about his future with me.”

She didn’t want Carl to die young. But as she continued her persuasion, the conversation that had taken place during the day came to her mind.

She stopped her hand organizing the drawer, and thought quietly. She told Carl several times that she didn’t trust him. But after saying such a hurtful thing, it seemed so selfish of her to tell him not to go to war if he loved her.

“…”

Carl Andras is a man who seems to have been born to roam the battlefield.

How can she stop such a man? Besides, is it right for her to arbitrarily change his life?  It’s what she wanted to do. She wondered if it was out of line for her to interfere without understanding the whole picture.

“If the Andras family falls… Am I responsible for that?”

The human mind was so treacherous. Immediately after her regression, she was happy, saying that even if she failed to get revenge, there would still be war, and her enemies would most likely die. But as soon as the conflict with Gamiel was in front of her, she was filled with regrets. In any case, it wasn’t something that could be stopped now.

She sat in the corner of her room with that thought. But in the end, she couldn’t come to a conclusion, so she decided to go out to cool off.

She left the mansion with a purse full of Kasius’s currency. The sunset had already begun to set outside, but since it was spring now, the days were longer than in winter.

“Where should I take you, Lady?”

“To the jewelry store on Leblanc Street.”

Until then, no one could have predicted the misfortune that would unfold in the future. If she had the ability to turn back time, Fanora would have turned back to the time she was in the carriage.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon. Fanora rode the carriage and headed to the jewelry store. Her intention was to buy jewelry, antiques, etc., that she could sell while running away.

“Where are you looking for? A beautiful gemstone? Or a stylish ring?”

“Bring all the rubies in this store.”

“Yes?! I-I understand.”

Fanora looked through the jewels lined up inside the store. After all, processed jewelry is more valuable than gemstones. These were the only thoughts in her mind.

“How would you like to pay? We’re also accepting credits.”

“I will buy all of them in cash.”

“As expected, Lady Celsius makes clear calculations.”

The deal closed shortly afterward. Fanora bought some of the most valuable jewelry here and left the store. Since she was buying them at a reasonable price, it ended simply.

“…”

However, Fanora made a subtle expression as she exited the store. She seemed dissatisfied with something.

“…”

She carried the box containing the jewels into the carriage and walked towards her next destination. The next place she would stop by was a store near the town square that sold antiques, but she stopped walking before even reaching the store.

A man with a weasel-like narrow jaw and long, slitted eyes. He wore a golden waistcoat, which showed that he was a noble.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to make you worry…”

“I asked why you followed me around.”

“I did it so I could see your face up close. You’re really Lady Celsius.”

The nobleman slowly approached. Then Fanora looked him up and down as if examining his appearance.

“I never thought Lady Celsius would show up at the jewelry store. I was surprised. After what happened last time, you started leaving the mansion again.”

“What happened last time?”

“Purson’s birthday banquet. The society is buzzing about it these days…”

But somehow, this voice was familiar. Fanora raised her hand around her mouth as if fumbling through her memory. After thinking about it in that position for a while, the identity of this nobleman came to her mind.

“You… Were you an acquaintance of Naverius?”

He was none other than a friend of Naverius Demangdwi. When Naverius was alive, he was also the noble who hung around with him and spread gossip about Fanora.

“Yes, that’s right. But we’ve never met in person, have we?”

“Yes.”

“Really… I guess that rumor is true.”

The longer the conversation, the harder Fanora’s expression became. The reason was unknown, but this man had been ostentatious with Fanora before him.

The tall, lanky man looked at Fanora contemplatively before speaking. “I wonder how many men you approached that took you a long time to recognize me. If I knew this would happen, I should have talked to you sooner.”