ESML 02

Chapter 2

Brilliant golden hair and eyes as blue as a lake.

She had a slender, pale figure and delicate features that looked as though they had been meticulously sculpted.

I’ve never seen her before…

When Emilia’s eyes met the woman’s, she blinked and tried to guess who she was.

Is she a guest of Mrs. Romans?

Judging by her expensive clothes, that seemed likely.

Ever since Cedric had passed the examination, Mrs. Romans had occasionally invited guests over for tea.

Emilia looked up at Cedric, silently asking him for an explanation.

“Who is she?”

“W-Well, you see…”

Cedric stammered in response, but at the same time, he stepped forward and deliberately blocked the woman from Emilia’s view.

But then—

“Ced. May I introduce myself?”

The woman stepped out from behind him again and gently placed a hand on Cedric’s arm.

Emilia’s gaze naturally fell upon the delicate white hand.

Ced?

That was a nickname even Emilia herself never used for him.

A strange sense of irritation made her frown, but the woman continued speaking.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Reina Ilayke.”

“Oh, I’m Emilia…”

Emilia was about to introduce herself when she suddenly stopped.

The woman’s name sounded strangely familiar.

Her eyes widened.

Reina Ilayke?

That was undoubtedly the name of the female protagonist in this novel.

The heroine who was born as the illegitimate daughter of a count and entered into a contractual engagement with the male lead in order to escape her family.

No way…

Emilia looked over the woman’s appearance again.

Now that she thought about it, she looked exactly as she had been described in the novel.

Why is she here?

And in her fiancé’s house, of all places?

Just like Emilia, Cedric was a character who never appeared even in the margins of the original novel.

Moreover, Reina was supposed to have remained in her family’s estate until she met the male protagonist, Kaiden…

Perhaps noticing Emilia’s confusion, Reina offered an explanation.

“Cedric and I were childhood friends. We happened to run into each other in the capital. Isn’t that right, Ced?”

“Y-Yeah… We ran into each other on my way back to the inn. Haha.”

“How lucky I was to see you again in such a dreary capital.”

Reina smiled shyly, as though reminiscing about their happy reunion.

They were childhood friends?

Emilia had never known that.

She hurriedly recalled the original story.

Come to think of it…

Before Reina’s identity as the illegitimate daughter of a count was revealed, there had been a mention that she had lived in the countryside.

So they must have met back then.

But that still didn’t answer all of Emilia’s questions.

Even if you’re happy to see an old friend, would you really follow him all the way out here?

Just then, Mrs. Romans approached the entrance with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you standing out here instead of coming in… Emilia? What brings you here at this hour?”

Reina smiled brightly and invited her in.

“You shouldn’t all stand out here. Why don’t we go inside first?”

She spoke as though she were the hostess of the house.

Emilia glanced at Cedric and Mrs. Romans in turn.

Judging from their expressions, neither of them seemed to find Reina’s behavior strange at all.

Am I the only one who thinks this is weird?

A strange feeling briefly washed over her.

But whether Reina understood her feelings or not, she urged her again.

“Yes? Come on in.”

“…All right.”

Emilia slowly nodded.

Whatever the case, she couldn’t simply face this situation and then go home.

Dinner was surprisingly cheerful.

Mrs. Romans asked Reina about her life over the years.

Cedric shared memories of the two of them from when they were very young.

Clatter. Clatter.

But Emilia alone remained silent.

Although she was sitting at the same table, she felt as though she were an isolated island, completely cut off from everyone else.

Yet more than her own sense of alienation, what bothered her was Cedric.

His attitude, as though Reina—his childhood friend—was the only person he could see.

Well, I suppose he can be happy to see an old friend after so long.

But Reina had even come all the way here because she was worried about him, and Cedric was treating her as though she were invisible.

“Ced…”

Emilia started to call him, but stopped herself.

No matter what, she felt this wasn’t something she should bring up in front of someone unrelated to the matter.

Instead, she deliberately placed her spoon down on the table with a sharp clack.

Only then did everyone at the table turn their attention toward her.

“My stomach isn’t feeling well, so I’m going to get up first. I’ll be in the guest room for a while.”

“What?”

Scrape.

Emilia deliberately stood up and walked away before even waiting for Cedric’s response.

Truthfully, she wanted nothing more than to go straight home.

But the reason she stayed was because she wanted to talk to Cedric.

Why hadn’t he contacted her even once during all this time?

And what on earth had he been doing that caused him to return so late?

After entering the guest room, Emilia frowned, feeling uncomfortable.

Did I really get indigestion?

She had only made up an excuse to leave the table, but apparently the food she had eaten earlier really was sitting heavily in her stomach.

She was pounding her chest with her fist when—

Knock, knock.

A soft voice came from outside along with the sound of knocking.

“May I talk to you for a moment?”

“Come in.”

Once Emilia gave permission, the door opened cautiously, and Reina entered the room.

“What is it?”

“Well…”

But Reina hesitated without saying anything.

“Why don’t you sit down first?”

“Thank you.”

At Emilia’s gesture, Reina sat down in the chair opposite her.

Yet, for some reason, she still couldn’t bring herself to speak for quite some time.

Emilia waited quietly.

What on earth is she trying to say that makes her hesitate so much?

Perhaps something about what had happened in the dining room was bothering her.

As Emilia tried to come up with possible reasons, Reina finally spoke.

“I actually came because I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

The unexpected request left Emilia puzzled.

Not Cedric, but me—a person she’s never even met before?

“What kind of favor?”

Reina, who had been looking down the entire time, finally raised her beautiful blue eyes to meet Emilia’s.

There was even a determined look in them.

“Please break up with Cedric.”

“…What?”

The request that came out of Reina’s mouth was so absurd that Emilia could only respond in disbelief.

“Did you just ask me to break up with Cedric?”

Reina nodded.

“I know this is very sudden. But if you truly care about Cedric, then please be the one to break up with him first.”

She tightly clasped her hands, which rested on the table.

“Cedric has nowhere to go but upward now. But if you stay by his side, things will be difficult for him.”

Emilia was speechless for a moment.

Is she saying that I’m going to hold Cedric back?

Of course, if Emilia looked at the situation objectively, Reina wasn’t entirely wrong.

To rise to a higher position, it was fundamentally helpful to build connections with powerful nobles.

And the easiest way to accomplish that would be to marry a noble lady.

On the other hand, Emilia had no connections that could offer Cedric such assistance.

But still…

This was going far beyond the line.

It was an incredibly presumptuous and rude thing to say to the fiancée of a childhood friend she had only just reunited with.

“Whether or not I’ll hinder Cedric’s future is something we’ll have to wait and see.”

Emilia spoke firmly.

“B-But—”

“And more importantly, I have no reason to hear something like that from a third party.”

At those words, Reina bit her lip tightly.

But only for a moment.

She hurriedly continued.

“If it were me! If it were me, I could help Cedric. I could introduce him to the sons of noble families I know, and also…”

“Enough, Reina. Are you saying you want to become Cedric’s fiancée in my place?”

“…”

Reina lowered her head and fell silent.

That silence was clearly an affirmative answer.

So that’s really why she’s doing this?