Chapter 2

Daphne and Leonhardt were born in the same year, making them the same age. They became engaged when they were one year old and grew up like siblings, sometimes like friends. Because of this, they could often tell what the other was thinking just by looking at their expressions.

Despite his claim that he would explain everything, Daphne remained firm in her resolve.

He spoke in a strained voice, as if squeezing the words out.

“Don’t do this. It’s all my fault. I’m sorry.”

Daphne didn’t want to hear it.

If this was to be her end…… it was horrifying that he would be the last person she faced before death.

As she released one arm from around the tree, Leonhardt shook his head. The tears falling from his cheeks glistened in the moonlight.

May those tears in his eyes never stop flowing.

“Daphne, I was trying to make everything right. It was almost done!”

Daphne glared at him coldly and said:

“No, I’ll be the one to make things right.”

“No!”

Leonhardt lunged forward, but Daphne released the tree faster.

“Daphne!”

At his terrible cry, she covered her ears until the last moment of her fall.

⁕⁕⁕

Gasp!

The moment Daphne inhaled, a dull pain pressed against her chest.

The terror of being chased by the driver with his axe, Anaïs’s betrayal and plot, and the moment of falling from the cliff.

As soon as Daphne regained consciousness, those horrific moments overwhelmed her at once. As she gasped for breath, a gentle hand soothed her.

“Daphne, are you in pain?”

It was Leonhardt.

She was so startled that she pushed him away. Then she jumped up and looked around.

“Wh-where is this……”

It was the reception room of the mansion where she had lived, which had been second only to the imperial palace in splendor before the Marquis family collapsed.

This was where creditors had barged in, taken everything, and driven her family out. The reception room, which had been stripped to its bare bones, now appeared exactly as it had in its glorious days.

The crystal chandelier that was said to be unobtainable even with money, exotic furniture imported from foreign countries, and the large portrait of Marquis Armin hanging in the center of the wall.

“Daphne, what’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

She looked at Leonhardt, who was asking urgently.

‘Those clothes….’

He was wearing a blue silk coat embroidered with oriental patterns in gold thread.

Leonhardt never wore the same clothes twice. That’s why Daphne remembered clearly when he had worn that outfit.

It was one of the days she could never forget.

She calmed her rapid breathing and steadied her mind.

After falling from the cliff, her enemy was sitting before her. Moreover, he appeared younger and was dressed in the same clothes he had worn on the day they parted.

Was this the past she had so desperately wanted to return to, or was it a dream? Perhaps it was like the flashbacks people say occur before death.

But it didn’t matter what it was.

Daphne had recalled this moment countless times. If only she could go back, she would say this, she would do that…… Regrets had piled up layer upon layer.

And now, had the opportunity to resolve them arrived?

Her labored breathing gradually slowed. Leonhardt, who had been watching her worriedly all along, reached out his hand.

“Are you okay? You’re even sweating.”

Daphne turned her head to avoid his hand approaching her forehead. Then she spoke coldly:

“You came because you have something to tell me, right?”

Leonhardt averted his gaze.

“I’m fine, so speak.”

“……I think it would be better to talk another time.”

Another time? What guarantee was there that it would come?

For someone who had been driven to the edge of a cliff, this moment could vanish like a mirage at any second.

“I need to hear it now, so please speak.”

After staring at her worriedly for a long time, Leonhardt finally spoke with gravity.

“I have a confession to make.”

Daphne didn’t ask what it was.

She already knew what would follow.

After stalling for quite some time, Leonhardt finally opened his mouth.

“I’ve fallen in love with someone. I’m sorry.”

How could even the cracking of his voice be exactly the same as back then?

Daphne nodded and replied:

“Yes, if you’re human, you should be sorry.”

“……What?”

“Why? Are you confused because this isn’t the reaction you expected?”

Daphne smiled bitterly.

What he had expected was for her to beg and plead with him not to abandon her.

Daphne had done just that in her first life. And she had been coldly rejected.

After a moment, Leonhardt spoke in a placating tone:

“Don’t get excited, just listen carefully.”

“You’re the one who’s excited.”

She pointed to Leonhardt’s reddened Adam’s apple. His habit of flushing at the neck rather than the face when excited remained unchanged.

Daphne and Leonhardt had been engaged since they were very young. They were unparalleled friends, closer than siblings. That’s why they could recognize such small habits at a glance.

Leonhardt flinched at Daphne’s unfamiliar demeanor.

She had always been his gentle fiancée, always wagging her tail like a puppy around him. She seemed like a completely different person now.

Even if she was angry because he had found a lover, was it really something to be so serious about? It was common for nobles to have lovers. Besides, they weren’t even married yet.

Seeing her hands trembling with anger, his expression immediately hardened. The intention to carefully convey the truth and gently pacify her had already disappeared.

His apologetic demeanor vanished as he spoke without restraint:

“My love for you hasn’t changed. But it’s also true that it’s too familiar and comfortable. However, what I feel for that woman is different. This must be what they call love at first sight. It’s my first time, and it’s almost overwhelming. I couldn’t hide it anymore.”

“Is your peace of mind more important than me being hurt by knowing the truth?”

“Daphne.”

The way he called her name, mixed with two spoonfuls of affection and one spoonful of reproach—she had always yielded to it.

He called her name with emphasis, trying to regain the initiative he had lost.

But it was a big misconception.

“Leon, listen carefully.”

Daphne spoke while maintaining direct eye contact:

“From now on, find both passion and comfort in one person. Is it right to toy with two women just for your own pleasure?”

“Daphne!”

“No, that’s not right. Anaïs already knew you were engaged when she started, so you’re only toying with me, right?”

When the name of his new lover came from her lips, Leonhardt faltered.

“……So you knew. Then why have you been pretending not to know until now?”

“Because it wasn’t even worth asking about.”

Leonhardt was left speechless by her resolute answer, but Daphne continued without hesitation:

“I’ll soon request our engagement be broken off and demand compensation accordingly.”

“……Break off the engagement?”

“Did you expect me to patiently endure your flirtations and then quietly marry you?”

Daphne took a deep breath.

“Or should I hold onto the hope that you’ll come to your senses someday? Then perhaps the outrageous situation might occur where your lover becomes your wife and your fiancée becomes your mistress.”

“How could such a thing happen? That’s too extreme an imagination.”

Extreme, he says.

But that’s exactly what you did in my past life.

“Leon, no…… This is the last time I’ll call you by your nickname. Young Duke, listen carefully.”

“Daphne!”

As he raised his voice, Daphne rebuked him even louder:

“How dare you raise your voice! I’m the one who should be angry!”

Leonhardt looked genuinely shocked. He wondered if this person shouting and getting angry at him was really Daphne.

She pressed on without giving him a chance to respond:

“Anyone can fall into a passionate love. I understand completely. But I spent the most brilliant years of my youth waiting for you. And now you tell me you love someone else? Ha!”

Only then did a look of regret appear on Leonhardt’s face.

Typically, nobles married at seventeen, as soon as they came of age. But Daphne and Leonhardt, who were the same age, had not held their ceremony even at twenty.

This was because his mother had been suffering from a long illness. Because tradition required postponing marriage if a parent from either family was ill, they had already long surpassed the usual marriageable age.

“While you were floundering in love, I had to nurse the wound of having half of myself torn away. No, I didn’t even have the luxury for that. Pushed into a mountain of debt……”

In her previous life, she had worked at everything from being a governess to a maid, and eventually drifted to the information guild. The most noble lady in the Empire becoming an information guild member—what a thought.

Moreover, Leonhardt had insisted that Daphne become his mistress.

Leonhardt, unaware of her previous life, looked at her as if wondering what she was talking about.

Daphne clenched her fist, putting strength into her trembling hand.

“So the compensation for breaking our engagement must be substantial. Don’t you agree?”

He possessed something that was nothing now but would become immensely valuable in the future.

‘I’ll definitely get it back. It’s your turn to shed tears now, just as I once did.’

She gritted her teeth and reaffirmed her determination.