Chapter 39

Surely, that kind of relationship didn’t exist from the beginning.

Harnier had a very good relationship with other young noble ladies her age.

There were minor issues, but she never caused any major trouble.

In the past, during a certain day when there was a competition.

Attending a gathering, Harnier found out that one of the young noble ladies her age had fallen in love.

“Hellie Young Lady?”

“Yes?”

“Oh, what were you looking at? I suggested we guess who would win this competition.”

“Oh, that… Ahaha.”

Hellie Young Lady, with a shy face, awkwardly dodged the question with a forced laugh.

But the other young ladies couldn’t be fooled by her act.

They noticed her distracted gaze and guessed that a girl had fallen in love.

After that, the girls teased Hellie Young Lady with playful smiles.

“She has such beautiful big eyes, it’s so cool when she winks…”

The women burst into excited laughter.

Since the social circle was a place for women, it was natural for them to discuss matters of romance.

Seeing the honest confession of a girl in love, they empathized and gave familiar advice.

“Why don’t you confess after the competition if you think he did well?”

“Confess?!”

“Yes. Mrs. Delina said there isn’t anyone suitable for Prince Carsein, right?”

“But…”

“I’ve seen him often, and he clearly doesn’t have a partner. They seem like a perfect match. Nowadays, women who take the initiative in catching men are quite popular, you know?”

Love always needs a connection.

Everyone believed that a beautiful couple would be born here.

Of course, that included Harnier.

“Will you help Harnier Young Lady too? You’re the closest to Prince Carsein, aren’t you?”

“Yes, of course.”

Harnier was included as well.

After the competition, the brown-haired Prince Carsein won first place in lane three. He received the torch, and someone needed to receive this glory.

The women predicted that the torch would go to his parents.

However, there was a variable.

The boy was walking over confidently.

The women clutched their chests and covered their mouths, whispering.

‘Could it be?’

‘Oh my, how romantic.’

‘Is it going to end so sweetly?’

Hellie Young Lady took the opportunity to approach and offer her handkerchief. This showed she already had feelings before even discussing it.

If he came looking for her, it would feel like a scene from a romance novel coming to life.

Hellie Young Lady was also nervous.

Her heart was pounding.

She wondered if the boy could understand her feelings and come closer.

But…

“To Harnier Young Lady, who graced us with her presence tonight, I dedicate this victory.”

The boy knelt down in front of Harnier, passing by Hellie Young Lady.

Worse still, this wasn’t just a simple kneel.

“After admiring you for a long time, I know you comforted me and encouraged me not to give up. That’s why I wanted to repay you by winning this competition.”

Check.

“Harnier Young Lady, will you go out with me?”

The boy handed her the torch with trembling hands.

It was a proposal.

Panicked, Harnier turned to look at Hellie Young Lady.

Hellie Young Lady’s face was shadowed.

She naturally rejected the proposal.

And then,

“Hellie Young Lady, Hellie Young Lady!”

Harnier chased after Hellie Young Lady, who ran away crying to clear up the misunderstanding.

“Here you are. Let’s talk. Okay?”

“What talk? You said you comforted me and encouraged me not to give up. And then you say you’ll help me? Really, what a mean trick.”

“It’s a misunderstanding! I just gave everyone a gift, and because you were late, I gave you yours separately. Plus, unlike you, I didn’t give him any sign!”

“Then why is he coming to find you? What about your claim of admiring him for a long time?!”

Tears of anger streaming down her face, Hellie scolded Harnier.

“Haha! You must have found it amusing to toy with me? It must have been so funny to hear someone say they were in love with you!”

“Hellie Young Lady!”

“You wicked woman…”

Despite denying it vehemently, the story couldn’t continue.

After that incident, it became a hot topic in the social circle.

Harnier became an enemy to all women in the empire.

An explanation was useless.

Even if she claimed innocence by saying she had no man in her heart, she faced retaliation from people with ill intentions, and the mocking laughter of Hellie at the center.

Years ago, Harnier sighed as she reminisced.

“After that, nasty rumors started spreading. People said I led other men on or lured men and made other women jealous.”

“Were there no solid proofs?”

“There were.”

“Then show them.”

“…I can’t show them.”

“What?”

“Aren’t love letters supposed to be kept private? Are you crazy to show them?”

“…Ah.”

What kind of proof would that be?

Even if there were, she couldn’t show them. Showing them might just make things worse.

“Anyway, even with proof, I couldn’t show it. Trying to prove I didn’t love anyone was futile.”

“I see.”

From then on, the future was clear.

‘She must have suffered terribly.’

Because of being ostracized, entering the social circle was probably difficult.

If any talk of men leaked out, rumors would quickly spread about Harnier, and retaliatory attacks would follow.

Exaggeration and distortion were basic functions.

It wasn’t hard to blow things out of proportion. With a group openly against her, it was impossible to turn the tide.

‘Such empathy is surprising.’

Her painful school days strangely helped.

“Today, you asked me to pretend to be your lover because you met those women on the street, right? Or did you already know they were coming?”

“Yes. It was good to get rid of strategic marriage and fend off men, but my thinking was short-sighted. I should have figured out their movements and warned you earlier…”

“It’s late now.”

“…Yes.”

Harnier didn’t deny it.

The delay in news was understandable.

‘The biggest snow festival in history is happening, how busy must she have been?’

She was trying to gain independence from the Marquis House of Teresia.

With the nobles causing chaos with fake fireworks, it was clear this side would also be chaotic.

“Um… Prince Carsein.”

“Yes.”

“Thank you for… helping me.”

Harnier clasped her hands together in sincere gratitude.

“Such gratitude is really something I’m not used to.”

For both Harnier and Kim Min-hyuk, this was something they weren’t accustomed to.

“I owe you a lot. If you run into trouble, please don’t hesitate to tell me. I’ll do my best to help within my means.”

“That might not be necessary.”

“No, truly, it’s a huge debt. The reason is personal and hard to explain.”

It seemed she wanted to repay the favor properly.

So,

Carsein decided to push the deal further.

“Then from now on, let’s just talk freely.”

“What?”

“When I said we were on the same boat, I wasn’t joking. Since I know your situation, helping you would be much better this way.”

“But that’s…”

“That year is precious to me too. For a perfect success, everything needs to go smoothly for you too.”

Harnier’s purple eyes widened rapidly.

After a long silence, she finally smiled faintly.

“Right. Helping each other is much better.”

She looked around cautiously to make sure no one was listening, then spoke again.

“I have to say this though.”

With a faint smile, she uttered unfamiliar words.

“Thank you, Carsein.”

***

Their conversation ended without a hitch.

No one was listening, and she had shown enough power from the Bargrand house.

Still, returning like this left an uneasy feeling.

So,

“How about enjoying the festival?”

“How about enjoying the festival?”

This conclusion was reached.

Though it felt a bit silly when she pouted and repeated his words.

“So, which part of the festival should we enjoy first with the guide’s help?”

“Hmm…”

Actually, I didn’t know either.

But from the memories stored in the Memorial, this area seemed quite popular.

Walking straight ahead, the shop where they got the bear plush appeared again.

The merchant recognized me and called out.

“Oh! The young master who won the prize earlier is back. And the elegant lady beside you… Could it be…?”

Harnier closed her eyes tightly.

I had to speak up.

“My fiancée.”

“Wow!”

The merchant’s eyes sparkled at the mention of fiancée.

“Earlier, you gave a gift to your sister, and now you want to give one to your fiancée?”

“Huh? Prize?”

“Oh, you see. The young master not only took the penalty for your sister but also created an opportunity for her.”

“Unbelievable… Carsein, you…?!”

“Even after that, when your sister lost her chance, you used your last chance to get a prize… unbelievable!”

The moved merchant nearly cried as he recounted the story of giving the bear plush to Flora, but Harnier looked utterly unconvinced.

“You’re not a cunning person?”

“What do you take me for?”

“I told you, I thought you were cunning.”

Listen.

We are in a romantic relationship.

How can you say such things?

I signaled with my eyes, and Harnier finally shrugged indifferently.

“So, this time it’s the fiancée’s turn. Wow.”

Even though she hadn’t agreed yet, it seemed she wouldn’t leave immediately.

Harnier’s eyes were already sparkling, and she was heading that way.

I had no choice but to explain the game to Harnier.

“Wow, this looks fun! There are some appealing ones, so I need to pick some!”

“…Did you actually listen to me?”

“Of course. Just control the marbles well, right?”

Didn’t listen.

Guess I’ll let her suffer a bit.

A moment later.

Harnier wasted two chances.

“How could this happen…”

“Here, here’s your fish cake.”

“Ew.”

While eating the last fish cake, Harnier continued to aim for the fourth prize with laser-like focus.

Unlike Arina and Claire, who spat fire from their tongues due to spiciness, Harnier ate fairly well, so I wasn’t worried about her.

But,

“I must win this…”

Harnier seemed determined to get that prize.

‘Fourth one…’

No choice.

“Hey, maybe I could eat this fish cake for you and get a chance?”

“Huh?”

“Young master?”

“Hmm…”

The merchant, looking back and forth between us, said,

“It might be possible, but there’s a condition.”

“What?”

“You and Young Lady Harnier share the fish cake.”

He set a condition.

Share the fish cake?

Not force it down alone?

Spicy food might not suit the imperial palate. Because it was used as a penalty, many gave up their chances.

Sharing it made sense, somewhat.

‘But not for me.’

Plus, Harnier was quite good at eating spicy food.

This was practically giving her a free chance.

“What? That’s not hard.”

“Huh?! Wait a moment! C-Carsein?!”

I immediately grabbed a fish cake and ate half of it.

Then I quickly chewed and swallowed half, offering the rest to Harnier.

“If you eat this, you get a chance. Just trust me and eat it, okay?”