When My Enemies Began to Regret

A day later, a new sun rose again in Celsius Mansion.

“Aloken sent these?”

Fanora had mixed emotions in the morning while looking at the basket of medicinal herbs sent by her fiancé. Fortunately, the first emotion she felt was joy.

“The scent is unique.”

“All of them are expensive medicines that are hard to get, Lady.”

“I think I prefer this kind of gift to a bouquet of flowers.”

Inside the medicine basket that Aloken presented, there was a letter from him.

Huh? Why is there a card inside…? According to what was written in the letter, he said he wouldn’t return to his estate until he heard that Fanora had fully recovered. There was also a postscript at the bottom, saying sorry if he surprised her with the marriage proposal and telling her it’s okay to answer slowly…

I can’t just avoid it like this. I guess it would be better to have a conversation with him. After reading that, Fanora made up her mind. But it was then.

“Lady Fanora.”

“What’s happening?”

Another servant came to her room. The man, neatly dressed in a black servant’s uniform, approached her and held out a silver tray.

“A guest is waiting outside. The guest really wants to meet with Lady Fanora today.”

“Didn’t Aloken just go?”

Who on earth came to see her at this hour? She looked up at the tray. But when she saw the object placed on it, her complexion hardened. What is neatly engraved on the yellow handkerchief is an upside-down crocodile embroidery. This was the family crest of Duke Guelder.

“Vasago is coming…”

The person she tried to ignore.

“Take the princess to the parlor.”

Having seen the novel’s end appear at midnight, she had no choice but to care about Vasago. So, Fanora concluded after a moment of consideration. Let’s meet the protagonist of this story in person.

* * *

“Greetings, Princess. What brings you here?”

“I heard that you were sick. Are you okay now?”

“Yes. I feel better after resting.”

The meeting with Vasago was always similar. She greeted her with a smiling face and showed off her skill by saying she had practiced brewing delicious tea for Vasago. The tea Fanora brought out this time was a well-dried exotic flower tea. A blue flower bloomed in the teacup when hot water was poured over it.

“I’ve been saving it to give it to the Princess if you come someday. Isn’t it pretty?”

She began to entertain like a habit, and Vasago accepted it naturally. But…

“By any chance, is Princess not feeling well too?”

“…”

“You have a dark expression…”

Vasago’s beautiful face was filled with depth. And from her perspective, it was incomprehensible why she was so downcast. I don’t think she knows what’s in the novel… there’s no way.

Fanora rolled her eyes and drank her tea. On the other hand, Vasago held her cup and seemed to think deeply about something.

“Fanora.”

“Yes, Princess.”

“The reason I visited today is because I have something to tell you.”

After a few seconds, Vasago began to talk cautiously.

“Something to tell me?”

“About… your fiancé…”

Fiancé? What do you have to say about Aloken? However, the atmosphere was so heavy that she couldn’t carelessly express her doubts. That’s why she listened quietly, looking at the green-haired woman sitting across from her.

“There is something I want to apologize to you for.”

At the same time, Vasago continued in a small voice.

“Have you ever thought about why I kept you close to me?”

“Princess is interested in what I’m saying…”

When Fanora carefully answered her words, Vasago nodded, adding another reason. “Of course, I didn’t have that kind of heart, but it’s very unusual for me to treat someone as a friend in just by a few months and spend the winter together.”

Vasago had a confident personality, mainly revealed in the original story and reality. But how could such a person look so downcast?

“I’ve been wondering if you’re a spy after Guelder’s information.”

“Spy? Then why did Princess keep me so close?”

“Because I believe the more suspicious people are, the more you can find out by keeping them close to you.”

Fanora agreed with some of her words. In a way, it was only natural that the fiancée of Jalier would be treated as a spy by royalists.

“…And during that time, I came to know you as a friend. You didn’t approach me with political intentions. Rather, you sincerely cared for me to the point where I feel sorry for ever doubting you.”

However, Vasago’s doubt had already been resolved as if the evidence was her words. Then, why did Vasago bring up this topic again when the problem has been solved?

“Fanora, is your shoulder healed now? Didn’t it leave a scar?”

“It’s okay because it’s not a noticeable scar.”

Vasago looked at her shoulders with her distinctive eyes and soon made a sad face. “If it wasn’t for you, I would have been left with a scar.”

“…”

“But thanks to that day’s attack, I finally found out. That I was mistaking the person I should trust. Like an idiot, I’ve been playing into that guy’s hands.”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Aloken Jalier.”

The name of her fiancé flowed out of Vasago’s mouth again. For some reason, Fanora felt itchy on her injured shoulder.

“Actually… in the meantime, someone stirred up suspicion about you.”

“Don’t tell me the person Princess is trying to say is Aloken?”

“Yes, that’s right. He had been slandering you since we first met in the salon.”

Fanora stopped scratching her shoulder and widened her eyes at the following words.

Aloken slandering me?

When Fanora widened her eyes as if she had no idea, Vasago frowned with an expression that indicated she had expected this.

“At that time, I was curious about Aloken’s intention to invade the enemy camp despite knowing the salon’s secret, so I arranged a separate conversation. As soon as Aloken was alone with me, he said, ‘Actually, my fiancée is an informant who is in cahoots with Gamiel’s spy.’”

“…!”

“And when he said he came to this salon to protect me from that informant, he cunningly made a justification. I didn’t believe it at first, but Aloken coaxed me into testifying that you knew about the withdrawal of the spice merchants from Gamiel before anyone else.”

“I-I don’t know anything about it. Besides, if that’s the case, why would someone who is engaged to Gamiel’s spy help Princess?”

“He said the engagement with you was unavoidable due to the recommendation of his collaterals family, and he’s going to annul the engagement soon anyway because he had been used up. He also said he has different political views from those of his ancestors…”

“…”

“He said he wanted to make peace with the Guelder family for a long time. In addition, he felt a humanistic affinity towards me, who helped suppress the flood in the capital in summer.”

“Now that I thinks about it, it’s all over the place.” Vasago gave an awkward smile.

“How could… it’s completely different from what I’ve been told?”

“Different?”

“When Aloken was alone with the Princess that day… He said… Princess complimented me.” Shocked, Fanora began to speak rambling like a distraught person.

Vasago continued with an eye that seemed to understand her feelings. “Aloken is a man full of lies. After that, he persistently leaked information that made me wary.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“He told me, ‘Think of how Fanora can please you so well. It’s the result of several years of analysis and education in order to win you over…’ I’ve heard similar things countless times.”

“!”

“Besides, Aloken kept it secret from you that we often met on the pretext of doing business together.”

Unbelievable. She had never heard of Aloken’s secret meeting with Vasago before. As Fanora opened her mouth blankly and made a shocked face, Vasago’s eyes widened.

“In front of others, he acted like he’s heavenly in love with you, but when we were alone, he would say that he didn’t love you at all. And yet, he threw a blatant flirt at me.”

“Aloken… no way…”

Fanora wondered if all of this could be Vasago’s lies. Aloken Jalier was supposed to be Vasago’s lover. Besides, he was such a charming person that deserved to be coveted. So she thought Vasago was trying to take her fiancé from her again.

“I hesitated to tell you because it would hurt you, but seeing your reaction makes me even more determined to tell the truth.”

However, Fanora’s thoughts were then overturned by what Vasago had taken out.

“Do you remember? When Aloken went to you after you were injured instead of me.”

“…Yes.”

“At that time, how did Aloken say he came to the Guelder mansion?”

“He found out that I was injured…”

“He actually came to see me.”

Tuk. Vasago threw a letter on the table. “He made an appointment with me and came to the mansion, saying he had been worried about you from the beginning. How can you trust a man who lies so often?”

“…”

“This is proof that Aloken expressed his intention to visit that day. He wants to contact me as quietly as possible, so this is the only evidence…”

The letter said he would go to her mansion in what month and day, so please set aside free time for it. The date was exactly the first day she lay bedridden. This is Aloken’s handwriting, no matter who sees it.

At this moment, Fanora remembered the basket of herbs she had received this morning. Inside it was a letter written by Aloken himself. The letters on that letter matched perfectly with the letters on this letter. In addition, the letter contained a friendly word, as if they hadn’t met only once or twice.

“He has seen Princess so often…” Fanora said in a trembling voice, with her eyes fixed on the letter.

Vasago opened her mouth, looking at her with a shadowy face. “Aloken said he would betray the noble faction and secretly be on my side while keeping you in check if you were trying to dig up information about Guelder. In fact, I received a lot of help from him, and I was excited for a while with a feeling of having a like-minded colleague.”

“…”

“But as time passed, I felt uncomfortable with Aloken’s sarcasm and suddenly realized that you were just a good young lady…”

Vasago leaned on the sofa’s armrest and pointed at her temple as if her head throbbed. “Ha…”

Fanora felt her mouth dry. “Princess, why are you telling me this?”

Vasago responded straightly and firmly to her earnest question. “I thought it was something only you should know.”

“…”

“While outwardly I seemed to cherish you more than anyone else, inwardly I constantly doubted you conspired with Aloken. I realized I should apologize for my actions, which were filled with suspicion and mistrust towards you.”

“Sorry.”

Vasago closed her eyes tightly. It was the sincere apology Fanora had been so eager to hear in the past.