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I was finally able to breathe a little after all the procedures were completed.

I never thought it would so difficult to greet people who offered condolences. I wasn’t even his family.

The Chamberlain family probably didn’t expect how tiring this meaningless funeral would be.

‘It must feel unfair and frustrating to have to hold a funeral for a living family member.’

Hugo had to return to the mansion with Olivia, who was frail, and only Claudia and I remained, along with a few of Chamberlain’s unnamed relatives.

I stood idly at the temple’s entrance after the funeral ended and rested my head against Claudia’s shoulder. Even though she was preoccupied, she tilted her shoulder to lowered the height and made it easier for me to lean on.

“The daughter of the Amber family.”

I straightened my languidly slumped body as I swallowed a sigh. At the same time, my mouth fell wide open, and I stiffened like a statue.

The middle-aged man, who looked down at me with a cold gaze, was Duke Depallacion.

What did the Duke want from me? I thought he’d walk past me indifferently as if I was a stone lying on the side of the road. Why the hell was he pretending to know me?

I couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat as I had used him indirectly through Erica.

“Erica asked me for a favor.”

The Duke started to bring up the main topic without an introduction.

Judging from how he didn’t do that much, it seemed like he wasn’t here to seek a harmonious friendship with me. From his expression, he most likely came here to intimidate me because he didn’t like something. What on earth did Erica request from him to make him look at me like that…….

“For the first time in her life, she has something she wants.”

His gaze remained fixed on me as if he was referring to me.

Even though the Duke didn’t say anything, the inference was immediately possible because Erica had previously declared that she wanted me at the center of the banquet hall.

But it was hard to believe that Erica had spoken directly to Duke Depallacion about wanting me.

I wasn’t aware of it because I didn’t have a chance to meet her again, but it seems like she was still after me.

Indeed, the temptation of deviance to escape oppression and restraint was more compelling than anything else, just like when the young Sinclair met Demian¹.

Of course, I believed that I wasn’t possibly such an impressive being.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t be with Erica. I had no intentions of doing so, and even if I were by her side, I wouldn’t be of much help.

I had only made a suggestion, and if she wanted to be reborn, she would have to come out of the egg she was trapped in herself.

Even if others helped you hatch out of the egg, you would quickly become sick and die.

Above all, I didn’t intend to waver. I had already chosen Claudia, and I was doing my best to take responsibility for it. In the present progressive tense.

“What have you done to Erica?” He asked, looking at me as if I had forced his faithful and exemplary daughter on the path of corruption.

“I just told her about a different way to look at the world.”

“You mean self-indulgence?”

He immediately labeled it as self-indulgence.

“Self-indulgence is self-indulgence, and freedom is freedom. The choice is hers, and the regrets will also be hers. Her decision of wanting me is most likely one that she does not regret.”

“The choice is mine, and I have no regrets about my choices. The lady has no right to be involved.”

He stated that he would never tolerate any disobedience. I felt suffocated by the stubbornness – even if I stabbed him, there probably wouldn’t even be a drop of blood.

“Huh……. the right to be involved.”

“However, the lady intervened in a presumptuous manner.”

As expected, this was the most significant contributor to turning Erica into a villain.

If I told him that my goal was to help her find a truly happy life, he would probably bury me here. He would claim that an idealist living in a fantasy ruined his daughter.

Although we only exchanged a few words, I had a strong feeling that he was not a person I could communicate with.

I quickly judged the Duke’s inclination and kept my mouth shut.

Perhaps because of the domination of the head of the family, the parents of this world regarded their children as a possession and this idea was prevalent.

Hugo was a very unusual case. It was likely that it was because he was the father of the heroine.

‘I wonder if Erica’s all right.’

I inwardly worried about her and said, “If I dare to share the words of myself who chose self-indulgence, I rather make a choice that I regret rather than regret not choosing it. Even if I fail and die, I will face it without running away or escaping.”

I didn’t know about anything else, but I thought I should say this.

As soon as I said that, Claudia, who had a hardened expression, hid me behind her back and away from the Duke’s sight.

Then he stared at Claudia – and me at the same time – and said, “It’s inexcusable that you tried to sway my daughter, but I’m not going to do anything to the lady. I sincerely hope that you stay in the Chamberlains for a long time.”

And he left like the wind, leaving ambiguous words that could either be a warning or a blessing.

My eyes helplessly followed his vanishing figure that disappeared with a firm resolve.

What just happened…….

Obviously, from the Depallacion’s standpoint, it would be beneficial for me to survive to the end and live happily ever after holding onto Claudia.

If so, that meant our interests matched. At least the Duke didn’t seem to want me to die. I thought that it might still be possible to receive Depallacion’s indirect help. Perhaps they could help us at least once when we were in a crisis that we couldn’t really handle.

“He abruptly came here just to say that,” Claudia murmured as she glanced at the obviously, unwelcomed guest.

She let out a loud voice and nervously glanced at me before carefully hugging my waist tightly – as if to tell me not to go anywhere.

It was so adorable that I smiled softly and naturally buried my head in her arms.

But in the back of my head, I still couldn’t get rid of the worries about Erica.

It felt like the reason he passed by and gave me ‘advice’ was because he was mentally at his limit. At that moment, I felt a blatant gaze somewhere.

From over Claudia’s shoulder, I found a man staring at us.

Since the people gathered here consisted of almost all the distinguished people in the country, the person who looked at us was by no means an ordinary person.

‘Cedric.’

A minor character. The Second Prince.

‘We finally meet.’

I had already expected that I would bump into Cedric today.

I glanced at his golden hair, which seemed to be made of gold, and the gray eyes that contrasted perfectly with it.

His appearance glistened with splendor, but his eyes were as dead as a frozen pollock. He was a person whose dark and pessimistic energy was in every breath.

‘I can’t die, so I’m just living, but I’m going insane since the world is so boring.’

The hollow, gray gaze, which did not resemble the Crown Prince’s crazed red eyes, looked at Claudia and me meaninglessly.

Rather than looking for someone consciously, it seemed like he was just blankly staring at us since his eyes happened to land on us.

There was a way to make a meaningless moment special.

I expressed it grandiosely, but I just had to create a shocking and eye-catching situation that he wouldn’t walk away from and forget.

Of course, it was a gamble and could backfire, but I didn’t have much time right now.

And most of all, since he was my opponent, I didn’t think this method wouldn’t work.

‘……okay.’

The problem was me.

I made up my mind on how to approach him, but when the opportunity came before me, my face was already stiff.

Before long, Cedric began to turn his back to leave.

‘O-oh, no! Even if the opponent is a man, I have to face it!’

I wrapped my arms around Claudia’s neck and stretched out my hand. Then, with a finger, I pointed to my lips and then towards the courtyard in the temple that was open to the general public.

Let’s talk.

Secretly, in a place without people.

Cedric’s eyes widened as if he was a little startled, and then he slowly raised the corners of his mouth. It was a faint smile that would fly away like ashes when the wind blew.

* * *

“This is my first time having a secret meeting at a funeral home. Even though I’m not that morally honorable.”

Cedric approached me at a leisurely pace, talking nonsense. It was as if he was walking while dragging his shadow.

Even his gait was unmotivated. I started to doubt that this was going to be easy.

Frankly, I thought that Cedric would immediately agree to my proposal. Since there was no stimulation in his life and Cedric was bored to death, he never refused a relationship that came and went like a river.

He was easy to approach as he never gave his heart to anyone and didn’t settle down.

If something were exciting and stimulating, he would follow after it unconditionally. He didn’t think deeply nor keep it in his heart.

He was a bad boy who made innocent girls run away in tears, but it was a fortunate thing for me.

For some reason, such a guy was comfortable to talk to.

Even if I declared that I was going to assassinate the Crown Prince right now, he would probably just say, “Haha, you know how to say funny things.”

He was the kind of person who would listen without much thought.

Of course, I’d have to see if that was really the case from now on.

“To have an affair on a day like today – what a bad woman.”

But what was this guy saying?

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T/N: Ahhh the “playboy” Cedric who’s in his own little world, lol. Anyway, that’s all I’ve finished tl-ing and editing so far, but please look forward to the extra updates throughout the week (as I try to catch up on the backlog of chapters). Thank you again for your patience, everyone! ❤️

^{1. This refers to the book “Demian” by Hermann Hesse. It’s a story about a young boy named Sinclair who grows to question traditional values and ideas after meeting Demian.↩}

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