Love Doesn't Matter

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Chapter 45 – Who You Belong To

Exactly two days later, Caitlyn Meyer’s message arrived at Lüen’s castle in Delloui.
Its contents were simple. It was to pretend everything they had planned didn’t happen and to keep it a secret.

“Hm… Looks like the plan was already discovered?”

Lüen pouted in dissatisfaction.

After thinking for a moment, she ordered the butler to restore the seating arrangement in the dining room to how it originally was.
Had it not been for this setback, Emilia Bern and Nathan Malvin would have been seated next to each other the whole time. Reporters should also be removed from the invitation list, and the interview should, of course, be cancelled.

There was something even more annoying.

“… Should I return it?”

Lüen silently looked down at the ring she was wearing on her finger and roughly took it out. It’s a pity but it can’t be helped. Seeing the great Caitlyn Meyer go this far, something big must have happened.

She wrote directly to Caitlyn Meyer. She said that she would keep silent forever as she had asked and that she would naturally return the ring.

***

On the afternoon of Lüen’s ball, the red brick house family couldn’t hide their excitement. It was because of Emilia, who had just appeared in a dress.

The plain and simple satin dress showed off her well-balanced body, and her neatly tied up hair was as elegant as a swan.

“Emilia… Really…”

Mitch and Beppy looked stunned, unable to speak. Charlotte was sad that she couldn’t see her older sister, but she had a happy face as if she could see through everything with her superpowers.

After a while, the carriage arrived.

The door opened and, at last, Hadius Meyer appeared. Everyone’s eyes filled with amazement once again.

‘You damn bastard, you’re so damn handsome.’

Mitch’s mood grew strange as he was sarcastic to himself.

‘So my sister was engaged to a bastard like this…’

“Greetings, Mrs. Bern. I am truly sorry for only greeting you now.”

Kallia was speechless. She never imagined that the son of a great noble family, not just some noble family, would greet her so politely.

“What do you mean sorry… Young Master… It is something I should be sorry about. I never greeted you once up until now, and I didn’t attend the engagement ceremony either. And yet… Beppy, the carriage, and even Brave… You have been so kind to people like us…”
“If you say so, I apologize.”

Hadius immediately turned to Charlotte.

“How are you?”
“I’m good, I am also studying Braille diligently as you said.”

Finally, it was time to exchange greetings with Mitch. Emilia, who was silently watching, swallowed dry.

“So, you are Mitch. I heard a lot about you from your sister.”
“… Hello. I’m sorry about… What happened last time…”

Mitch uttered the words of apology he had practiced. But his tone was blunt and arrogant, and he didn’t even unfold his arms.
However, Hadius lightly ignored the hostility radiated by Mitch with his characteristic calmness.

“I decided not to hold you accountable for the past. So, forget about it.”

The precise and dignified way of speaking irritated Mitch. Why did he imagine a vulgar nobleman with a bulging belly smoking cigarettes?
Mitch couldn’t take his eyes off the perfect man’s figure, as if he was out of this world.

“Let us go quickly.”

Emilia, who was watching the two while feeling nervous, pulled Hadius’ arm as if snatching it. Hadius bowed politely once more and got into the carriage with Emilia.

“… About Mitch. If you felt that he was rude earlier, I apologize on his behalf.”
“How many times do I have to tell you for you to understand? I do not blame your brother.”

Hadius answered without taking his eyes off the window.

“Mitch Bern just wanted to protect his sister. From beings like me.”

Emilia was at a loss for words, and Hadius did not open his mouth any further. The two did not make eye contact with each other as if they had made a promise. Hadius sat cross-legged and looked out the window, while Emilia sat upright with her gaze lowered.

The carriage ran diligently, leaving the Erndorf’s center.

Delloui, where the ball was being held, was a coastal area on the outskirts of Nowak.

The journey was not comfortable as they had to go through an unpaved road. Besides, the dress and her tied-up hair were very uncomfortable.

At one point, Emilia was tossing around without being aware of it. Hadius, who was silently watching, handed her a cushion.

“… Thank you.”

Emilia leaned back on the cushion and Hadius opened the newspaper.

After running for a while, a wide plain with endless wheat fields appeared.

The coachman picked up the pace again. The wind brushed through the green fields, making a refreshing sound. The rhythmic clippity-clop, clippity-clop also penetrated pleasantly into her chest.
Emilia opened the window wide and gave herself to the refreshing sensation of nature. Without realizing it, her eyes softened, and the corners of her lips curled up.

Hadius looked at her without saying a word.

After a moment, bump, the carriage shook violently. Her back, leaning on the cushion, slid, and her knees brushed past him.
Startled, Emilia hurriedly tried to get herself up. However, her ankle was sprained, and her body was about to lean forward.
It was the man’s hand that held her staggering body.

The next moment, she felt a very strange feeling near her ankle. The tickling touch was also his.
Emilia couldn’t even breathe and watched quietly as he carefully took off her old shoes.

“We still have a long way to go before we arrive.”

Saying that, Hadius handed the shoes to Emilia. His indifferent gaze reached her weakened ankle, beneath the skirt.

Emilia pulled her feet up on the chair and gently covered them with her skirt. She hugged the cushion like a shield and closed her eyes. She couldn’t help but feel it.

How much time had passed?
A cool breeze came in again. The familiar scent of the sea tickled the tip of her nose. Emilia’s eyes opened again.
Out of the window, a spectacle she had never seen before was unfolding.

“Oh my God!”

She couldn’t help but exclaim.

Beneath the cliff that was getting closer, the vast sea stretched out endlessly.
It was clearly not snow, but hundreds of water birds that were covering the spiky rocks in white.

“Did you… See that?!”

Emilia, who couldn’t hide her excitement, forgot about the awkward atmosphere from just a moment ago and shouted to Hadius. He, too, looked at Emilia after a long time, with relaxed eyes.

“They are albatrosses. The bird that can fly for the longest time in the world.”
“Oh my… I can’t believe they’re all birds…!”

The blue eyes were tinged with ecstasy.

The carriage rushed towards the beautiful castle at the edge of the cliff with the flowing blue waves beside it.
In the majestic scenery, a beautiful landscape began to come into view. the carriage suddenly stopped in the middle of the road.

Emilia’s face filled with questions. Hadius took out his watch instead of answering.

“We are too early.”

But the clock hand pointed to around 30 minutes past the appointment time.

“The main characters should arrive last. That’s courtesy.”

Emilia chuckled.

“Not the main characters, but the main character. The Countess is waiting for the heir of the Meyer family, not his fiancée.”
“The moment you appear with me, you are the main character too.”

It was a haughty answer, but it wasn’t wrong.

“To be honest… I actually wanted that. At least once, I wanted to stand in front of people as the Young Master’s fiancée. Don’t get me wrong. I just wanted to show you how much I hate that fact.”

The faint smile on Hadius’ lips slowly disappeared.

“Why does everyone say I’m going to be abandoned? Why do they think I’m desperate to become the Duchess?”

One corner of Emilia’s lips twisted and rose.

“I want to be the one abandoning you.”

Hundreds of birds flew up at once with a huge wave.
Hadius followed the trail of the albatrosses that flew away from the waves with his once again calm eyes.

“Do you know? The Young Master is even preventing me from doing that now. The moment we appear together, it’s game over. In the end, I will be abandoned.”
“Do you think it’s unfair?”
“Yes, very.”
“Then abandon me first.”

Emilia’s eyes widened.

Hadius was fixing his gaze out the window, as if ignoring her. The birds that soared high in the sky landed again one after another on the steep rocky island, where the waves crashed again.

“Abandon you first?”
“Yes, show it in front of people. How you cold-heartedly abandon me.”
“Are you serious?”

Hadius smiled lightly and then suddenly put his hand into his jacket pocket.

“Before that,”

The man’s hoarse voice resonated deeply in the cramped space, and Emilia turned her head away from the window. He held an unfamiliar object in his hand.

A small velvet box.
With a click, the box opened, revealing what was inside.
It was a ring. Embedded with dazzling jewels.

Emilia looked down at the cold, shiny metal for a long time.

“What on earth… Does this mean?”
“Show it. In front of people. Who you belong to.”

Emilia had to stand still for a while in order to control her turbulent pulse.
When her hopelessly trembling eyes turned to Hadius again, he was unbelievably cold.

“Remember? The last dinner party.”

As soon as he spoke, the carriage started again. Her body was pushed back. Emilia frantically grabbed the handle and answered, “Yes, I remember.”

“You didn’t even have a partner that day.”

That’s right, she was completely alone. She felt uncomfortable because it seemed to warn her that she was going to be abandoned.
She proudly tried to run away but was caught by that man. And then it all started.

“I was the one who asked for it to be like that. I couldn’t stand having someone by your side. Kyle Hogan, Millinaire Laurent, Erger Wischer.”

As she squinted her eyes, wondering what that meant, she realized the meaning of his words and her heart pounded.

They were probably the men that had been appointed in the past as her partner in place of Hadius. He remembers all those vague names that she can’t even remember.

“I have no reason to allow Nathan Malvin.”

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