Chapter 2 - The Three Years of Heartbreak (1/2)

The rumor spread fast and far. Every day at Ariel’s house, all kinds of party invitations arrived to see if she would attend in order to confirm it for themselves.

Ariel, who had been returning the incoming letters that arrived each day with a reply of refusal, paused and sighed when she encountered an envelope with a gold seal.

The golden seal belonged to the royal family. It was obvious who had sent her the invitation.

“I cannot refuse Her Highness’ invitation…….”

Ever since her debut to society, the crown princess constantly requested for Ariel’s company by her side. People suspected that her actions were to indicate Ariel’s title as the future duchess. Of course, Ariel realized that as well.

People said that the crown princess had a strange personality. In fact, Ariel couldn’t bring herself to say she’s eccentric, so she didn’t.

The crown princess seldom summoned the same people to her side once she got bored of their company. In addition, people rarely approached her due to her unpredictable tempers.

No one dared voice their true opinions. Her intelligence and perceptiveness made the princess a formidable enemy to those who opposed her and that frightened those around her half to death. A very particular person indeed.

Ariel knew that their relationship was not supported by her status. The baron’s daughter, worth next to nothing, should not have the privilege of standing next to the crown princess.

Yet she called Ariel every time she held an event. In Arsion’s absence, she paid extra attention to Ariel. As if she refused to lose to Arsion, the Princess gave Ariel gifts more lavish than the ones Arsion had given to her.

Ariel once refused to accept the Princess’ gifts out of embarrassment, but had no choice except to receive them with tears in her eyes because Her Highness threatened, somewhat seriously, “How dare you decline gifts from the Crown Princess and send them back?”

It was a widely-spread, false rumor and there’s no way that the crown princess herself wouldn’t have heard…

‘She probably wants to confirm them herself.’

The surest way to confirm would surely be to call in Ariel rather than to believe in false rumors. Ariel sighed and grabbed the pen.

“Maybe this is the last time.”

‘If I break up with Arsion, I will no longer be invited by the crown princess. This will also be the last time I visit the royal family.’

Ariel sighed again after writing a ‘thank you’ on the reply letter that indicated her attendance. She had already been stressed, thinking about what kind of expression she should wear when meeting the crown princess, but what’s worse was that the other young girls attending would no doubt whisper about her and Arsion.

‘But what am I supposed to say to them?’

She didn’t know much about Arsion either. Suddenly, resentment towards Arsion flared up. If he was planning to be a holy knight, he could have at least sent her a letter.

‘That’s right…… Come to think of it, he left in a hurry last time too.’

Ariel shed tears as she recalled Arsion’s departure. There was a reason why Ariel thought he wanted to be a holy knight to break up with her.

Three years ago, Ariel was seriously ill. At first, she thought it was a cold, but the next day, she had a fever and struggled to even open her eyes and she coughed nonstop. The next day, Ariel’s father found her unmoving on the bed, unconscious.

When she opened her eyes again, Ariel found herself face to face with a hardened-faced Arsion. Ariel, who noticed Arsion’s tense mood, reached out in welcome, but Arsion did not hold her hand. Instead, he just muttered something with a serious expression, one that she had never seen before.

“I’m sorry, Riel.”

It was so sad to see Arsion, who was usually sweet and gentle, look so disappointed in himself. Just like last time, Ariel was out of her mind, crying hysterically.

Then a few days later, when Ariel came to her senses, her fever, which had been tormenting her ruthlessly, quickly dropped. When Ariel entered the bathroom to wash up and go have a meal properly for the first time in a few days, she screamed.

“What is this……?”

Not only her body, but also her face were full of blotches like heat hives. Ariel, who was surprised by the horrendous appearance herself, suddenly remembered the expression Arsion made when he visited her earlier.

Then, Ariel went to see the Duke of Hastings. It was then she would find out that Arsion had suddenly left for the temple without stating when he would return.

That day, Arsion was told that he had to attend the temple for mandatory service. But Ariel couldn’t understand why any member of the aristocracy would go to the most dangerous city, the capital, to work on the temples when they were already donating money.

Ariel couldn’t get the look on Arsion’s face out of her head. His expression was hardened and serious, as if he was looking at something scary. And with Arsion’s departure to the capital, Ariel couldn’t help but think that he was trying to avoid her.

A few weeks later, her face returned to its original state, but Ariel had not raised her head since then. She kept thinking about her reflection when she looked in the mirror that day. Bloated eyes and patchy skin.

Ariel had a hunch. That Arsion was horrified by her appearance.

* * *

Despite Ariel’s prayers for rain to postpone the event, the day of the tea party was vibrant with plenty of sunlight. Ariel got out of the carriage, looking begrudgingly at the beautiful sky and the little white cloud drifting amongst the sea of blue.

“Lady Ariel has arrived.”

Sure enough, as soon as Ariel got off, all eyes fell on her. Ariel bowed her head and her skin prickled under their gazes.

As she hurried inside, the crown princess was still welcoming the participants and sponsors of the party.

“Ariel, thank you for coming.”

“It’s an honor to attend, Your Highness.”

“I’ve been waiting since morning. I have a lot to say.”

“…….”

Ariel bowed her head, embarrassed by the words. She knew that the princess would be curious about the rumors surrounding Arsion, but she didn’t expect to be asked so soon.

‘What do I do?’

She should also say that she had not heard from Arsion. Ariel’s face turned red at the thought. Somehow, it must be embarrassing for the crown princess to find out that Ariel, the irrelevant bride-to-be, had not received word that her fiancé left abruptly to become a holy knight and will soon take a vow of chastity.

“As for Arsion… I’d better talk about him later.”

The crown princess tried to continue speaking to Ariel a little longer, but the line of newly arrived guests still waiting to greet her only grew longer. She sent Ariel a helpless and apologetic look.

Ariel, who stepped down, was about to sit next to the crown princess as usual, but instead chose the seat in the corner. Someone who saw Ariel muttered beside her,

“Now you’re in the right seat.”

(PR/N: As in “You finally know your place.”)

“…….”

Ariel almost replied with, ‘I know, I know’.

It was obvious who had spoken. They were the same people who adored Arsion and loved to gossip about his fiancée.

Ariel turned her head as if she hadn’t heard. This time, another opponent appeared.

‘…Of all people-’

For the three years Arsion had been gone, this girl believed that it was an honor to pick a fight with Ariel every time she saw her face. Sure enough, the girl joined the ladies chattering near Ariel.

“Will Arsion really be a holy knight?”

“Yes, but I knew he’d volunteer one day. He’s never missed holy temple events and he’s always been very religious. It’s probably only natural for him to be a holy knight.”

“Indeed. But… What will happen to his engagement?”

Ariel almost said out loud in a curt manner, ‘I’d like to know as well.’ Such a perfect coincidence that Ariel could hear them so clearly.

“A holy knight cannot embrace a woman of this world. Of course they’ll break up.”

“Oh… What a shame. Poor thing.”

At this point, Ariel shrugged and complemplated if talking to them would make a difference.  She wanted to cut into the conversation, but she knew they would ignore her and keep glaring at the back of her head.

“But honestly, why is he in such an unbecoming engagement, regardless of how much that girl must’ve begged him?”

“You know…… I’ve heard something recently. A long time ago, my cousin asked Arsion. ‘Why did you get engaged at such a young age?’ And then Arsion gave him a surprising answer.”

‘Oh? I’ve never heard of this before.’

Ariel unwittingly listened to the voices behind her. What on earth did Arsion say to cause such a reaction?

“What did he say?”

“That’s… He replied, ‘Because I was lazy.’”

“What? Because he was lazy?”

Ariel’s head spun as she heard that. What did he mean? Did he settle on Ariel because he was too lazy to find another partner?

“Oh, did we bother him?”

It was a question Ariel wanted to ask. Who wouldn’t find it irritating? Would it bother you if people were gossiping about your engagement?

“Well, he said he didn’t say anything else. So I thought about it… Arsion has been proposed to by many families since the moment he was born.”

The story had been told by Duchess Arildo’s maids countless times.

As soon as the news spread that the Hastings’ household had a baby boy, letters came flooding in and the pile eventually surpassed the height of a grown man since all noble families with a daughter sent a marriage proposal.

The Duchess of Arildo even wrote that she believed their soon-to-be-born child would be a girl, so she asked the Duke of Hastings to consider her unbirthed baby as a candidate for Arsion.

“Yes, but why is it that he didn’t he seek any of the candidates?”

“What Arsion said was that it’s annoying… Aren’t the stories of marriage just stories? Think about it. Ever since he got engaged, there have been no more proposals for fear of appearing rude.”

“……!”

For a moment, everyone shut up.

“Okay, wait a minute. But Arsion wouldn’t have gotten engaged solely for that reason….”

“At first, I didn’t think he’d do that either. But think about it carefully. Do you think Arsion would just simply break up? Given his personality, I’m sure he’ll be very sorry and compensate her however she wants. The partner is a young girl from a low aristocratic family, and considering Lord Arsion’s personality, everyone can guess that they did not develop a deep relationship prematurely during the engagement period. Then… It’s not a huge loss for the girl. She can take the money and step down quietly without dishonor. No, Lord Arsion might even feel sorry for her and find her a replacement.”

“……!”

With her mouth shut, Ariel prepared to stand up. This all happened because Arsion decided to become a holy knight.

Thud. As Ariel stood up abruptly, the chair she was sitting on fell back. She turned around and made eye contact with the people who were gossiping a little while ago.

Normally, they would have pretended otherwise, saying, “Oh, the weather is nice today,” but everyone was silent when they saw Ariel’s sheet-white face.

“I apologize… Please tell Her Highness that I felt ill and had no choice but to head back first.”

“Oh, well, I’ll do that.”

Upon hearing the reply, Ariel quickly turned away.

‘I’m exhausted,’ she thought to herself.

‘……I just want Arsion to hurry back and end things with me.’ Ariel twisted the edges of her dress anxiously.

Then, she could simply clean herself up and be stuck in the countryside with her relatives, far away from Arsion and his family. Then, after Arsion becomes a holy knight, people will just forget about Ariel.

No, it won’t matter if people don’t forget. Outside of the capital, who would even recognize her from afar?

Ariel looked back on the past 14 years of her life. After coming to the duke’s residence and meeting Arsion, she spent every moment with him. To the point where she couldn’t picture a life without him next to her. The past three years have felt unbelievably empty after Arsion’s abrupt decision to leave.

‘Maybe this is a good thing.’

Maybe the last three years have just been practice for the break up. Either way, the last three years were incredibly lonely and Ariel couldn’t stand it anymore. She didn’t know if she could forget Arsion even after moving far away.

‘Should I send a letter…?’

She remembered a relative who came to visit once and told Ariel to visit her villa in the countryside. Ariel heard that it had great scenery.

‘Let’s try applying as a housekeeper there.’

It was time for Ariel to move on with plans for her future, however sudden they might be. Some people passed by, glancing at Ariel and whispering.

She couldn’t wait to get out of here. Her ears were still ringing from what the young ladies had said behind her back just moments ago.

Was that what Arsion was really thinking all along? Was he only friendly to her all because he planned to break up from the start? Did he think that it would be okay if he cared for her before ending things and looking for other marriage partners?

The more she thought about Arsion, the more dazed she became. Ariel lowered her head and tears threatened to fall.

At that moment, someone blocked her path.

She tried to step aside and pass, but the person standing in front of her didn’t move at all. Ariel was forced onto the soil of the flower beds, but the person who stopped only moved closer towards Ariel, as if to block her.

Ariel, now worried, moved to the other side of the path, only to be blocked again.

Only then did Ariel realize that this man was deliberately blocking her way. Who on earth would be so rude?

“Please step aside.”

Out of annoyance, a curt voice came out of Ariel’s mouth. Then the person standing in front of her opened his mouth.

“Riel, I haven’t seen you in a while… And you won’t even show me your face?”

“……!”

Ariel’s heart dropped when she heard her name. There’s only one person in the world who calls her Riel.

“……Sion?”

Arsion was the only one who called Ariel, Riel, and Ariel was the only one who called Arsion, Sion.

Ariel looked up slowly, embarrassed.

Strange. She thought she’d see Arsion’s face when she looked up, but what greeted her instead was the chest of a man. A chest tightly fitted under a white robe.

“……?”

Arsion was only a little taller than Ariel. Their eyes were even if Ariel tiptoed a little. So who was this man looming over her?

‘Even your voice…’

Come to think of it, even the voice that called Riel was too low and husky to be Arsion’s. She wanted to raise her head to check, but the tears around her eyes still threatened to fall.

As she went to quickly wipe them with the back of her hand before raising her head, the man standing in front of Ariel stepped forward and brushed her cheeks gently.

“Riel, are you crying?”

The hand that grabbed her face lifted her chin hastily, but gently. Only then, could Ariel look at the face of the man in front of her.

“……!”

She saw an image of heavenly perfection.

“Who…?”