“Come on, how could I possibly make fun of the noble Marchioness? I’m just worried.”
Herais furrowed his brows, acting as if he were hurt that she didn’t understand his sincerity.
“……”
Chloe fell silent.
She had forgotten—there was no way to win against this man with words.
Even in the “book,” Frederick Anata himself often surrendered when faced with Herais’s mix of arrogance and blunt, slippery logic.
“How about that hill over there? It looks small, but the view from the top is quite nice.”
Herais pointed to a low hill behind the tent.
It did seem like a good place to be alone.
“Thank you for telling me. I’ll go up by myself, so please go back.”
“No, I recommended the place, so shouldn’t I at least confirm it’s safe? If anything happens to you, I’ll be killed by the Blanchet knight commander.”
Chloe let out a small sigh.
There was no point trying to send him away.
No matter what she said, he wouldn’t leave.
And she was too exhausted to argue further.
On the Hill
The hill looked small—
But climbing it was not easy.
Snow had already piled up from the harsh northern weather, and her feet kept sinking.
“Haah… haah…”
While Chloe struggled for breath, Herais casually asked:
“Do you usually exercise?”
“I… take walks.”
“You should exercise more. With stamina like that…”
“……”
Chloe ignored him and focused on climbing.
At some point—
She realized her tears had completely dried.
They soon reached the top.
“Haah…!”
She took a deep breath.
Cold, refreshing air filled her lungs.
The frozen lake spread out before her.
Behind it—
a dense forest of evergreens.
The view was beautiful.
And for the first time—
Her chest felt lighter.
I said everything I wanted to say to Leila.
That alone made her feel relieved.
In the distance—
She saw Abel skating.
He looked more confident now.
Chloe waved—
But he didn’t respond.
Maybe she imagined it.
“Sir, if you’ve confirmed it’s safe, please go back now.”
She spoke coldly.
“So now that I’m no longer needed, you’re sending me away? I climbed up here too, you know. That’s quite harsh.”
Herais smiled casually—
as if he hadn’t struggled at all.
“Thank you for your concern. But I have a family now. Being alone with you like this is… uncomfortable.”
Being direct was the only way with him.
She pushed him away again.
“…You didn’t want to be involved with me even before you had a family.”
The words slipped out before he could stop them.
“……”
Chloe looked startled.
But once he started—
He couldn’t stop.
“I don’t understand myself either. But when I look at you… it feels like I’ve lost something.”
For once, there was no humor in his voice.
Perhaps—
somewhere deep inside,
he sensed that a future he never knew he had—
had been taken away.
“Lost something? What did we ever have between us? Be careful with your words—people might misunderstand.”
His words stirred something unpleasant in Chloe.
Was it possible—
that her choice had hurt him too?
Ironically,
That guilt made her even colder.
“You really are the same as always. Why are you only so harsh with me?”
“Because I didn’t like it.”
The words slipped out.
Normally, she would never say something like that.
But she was too exhausted—
too desperate to defend herself.
“I didn’t like that you said you liked me. That you loved me. Because… in truth, you just pitied me.”
“!”
Herais’s eyes widened.
It felt like she had read straight through him.
“I hated the way you looked at me—with pity. Whenever I stood in front of you, I became someone pathetic.”
“……”
“If I married you, I thought I’d spend my whole life relying on that pity. So I refused you.”
Chloe knew the truth—
because of the “book.”
His feelings hadn’t been pure love.
They were made of plastic.
a sense of superiority,
and a hero complex.
If she hadn’t known that—
Maybe she would have taken his hand.
“I understand why you pitied me. At home, I was overshadowed by my talented siblings. Outside, I was compared to Leila. ‘The ordinary third daughter of the Roem family’—that was me.”
“Madam, I…”
Herais, who was always smooth-talking—
was at a loss for words.
“And on top of that, I loved a man who loved my friend. Looking back… I suppose I was pitiful.”
“……”
He wanted to deny it.
To say it wasn’t like that anymore—
…Then what is it now?
The thought shocked him.
No.
It had to be pity.
It couldn’t be anything else.
His love—
It was already far too late.
“But what I hated was that you disguised pity as love.”
“…I think pity and sympathy can also be forms of love.”
He covered his mouth as he spoke—
as if the words had slipped out unintentionally.
“Yes, that kind of love exists. But that’s not what I wanted.”
Pity always placed one person above the other.
And Chloe—
had already received enough of that kind of “kindness.”
So from her partner—
She wanted something different.
“I wanted to be someone worthy… the way Gerard saw Leila.”
That was why—
She wanted Gerard so badly.
“The kind of love you want…?”
“To see each other as equals. To acknowledge that the other person has their own thoughts, choices, and emotions.”
“……”
“Not possession. Not self-satisfaction.”
Some people tried to control those they loved.
Like Leila.
Others fell in love with their own image of loving someone—
feeling pride or fulfillment.
Like Herais.
But to Chloe—
That wasn’t love.
“Does the Marquis of Blanchet give you that kind of love?”
It was a sharp question.
A dangerous one.
“…I don’t know. But he respects me. He respects my choices.”
Even in her broken state—
She answered calmly.
“And most importantly… I love him.”
That alone—
made all the difference.
The person she loved,
and the person who loved her—
were not equal.
“…I see.”
Herais felt bitterness in his mouth.
He shouldn’t have asked.
“Sir, I know who you see when you look at me. But I’m not that person. I’m not someone who needs your pity to survive.”
Hera's mother—
had lived a life of comparison and neglect.
And he had seen her pain.
That was why—
He had mistaken Chloe for someone who needed saving.
“…Understood. Please stop… I might cry.”
His expression twisted—
half smiling, half breaking.
“Then don’t come near me anymore.”
Chloe said coldly.
She didn’t realize—
Those words struck deep.
“…Yes.”
Herais answered quietly.
Chloe stood firm—
unshakable.
And for the first time—
He felt it clearly.
He had been rejected.
Completely.
