When My Enemies Began to Regret

Fanora just looked calmly at the war maniac, who began to speak out loud with a kind face.

“I love it so much.”

“I see.”

“Lady Fanora, don’t you have anything you like this much?”

Anything I like? She, who had been answering well until now, suddenly became quiet. She must have had quite a lot of fun things when she was young…

“…It seems to have disappeared at some point.”

Since did her life feel like a prison? Her eyes deepened momentarily as if looking back at the distant past. Fortunately, Fanora returned to reality in a short time.

“But I have a goal in my life.”

“I hope Lady Fanora will do well in the future too!”

Fanora barely managed to smile at his pure cheering. When Carl responded with a brighter smile, he reached out to the outside and caught the falling rainwater.

“Can you come back before winter?”

“Um… On the battlefield, you don’t even know what’s ahead.”

That’s probably what people who don’t know the future say. The old Fanora had already seen several medals of honor attached to his uniform. So even when she heard that he was going to battle, she could speak confidently.

“That’s alright. You will be back. Because we will win.”

Upon hearing this, Carl looked surprised for a moment. But before long, he, who looked moved, spoke. “This is the first time I have heard such great cheering. How firmly do you believe that I will come back safely?”

“…”

“I can feel Lady Fanora’s sincerity. It feels like you’ve already experienced the battle that’s about to happen!”

He was sharp in a useless place.

Fanora thought about how to respond to his words and briefly turned the subject of the conversation aside.

“Certainly, I said it without a single lie. By the way, Carl, do you have a holy relic that detects when someone is lying?”

“Holy relic?  Ah, no… it’s not a holy relic.”

“Then?”

“People who tell lies are always obvious. I can’t explain it with words, but they lie roughly, and their expression and body movements change.”

“I don’t know about it.”

“My older brother told me that such sensitive children are sometimes born in my family. So even when I fight, I know first how that person will move.”

But she couldn’t believe he could do it without help from holy relics.

“That’s amazing…”

As Fanora focused on his story, Carl couldn’t hide his joy as it was rare for someone to listen to him.

“Right? Originally, children who were born with this kind of talent were the family heads. But I can’t!”

“Because you’re the third child?”

“No? It’s because I’m a man.”

 When Fanora heard his words as if it was natural, she belatedly recalled the succession of the Andras family. They were the only ones in the Kasius with the rule that the eldest daughter would absolutely become the head, so the son of their family couldn’t become the head.

“Is there any reason for sticking to that way? If it’s the Gamiel Kingdom, having such kind of succession—”

“Of course, there is a reason. Well, in fact, there’s a legend handed down from generation to generation in the Andras family…”

But it was then. Carl, who was looking outside, noticed the rain was weakening.

“…”

They should part away when this rain stops. Carl, who had been talking happily, suddenly became quiet. He seemed to be thinking about something alone.

“Lady Fanora.”

After a brief thought, Carl soon broke his silence. His voice echoed through the sound of rain. The sweet voice didn’t change throughout the distant future and the past.  

“I see lies. People act awkwardly when they lie, which feels grossly distorted to me.”

“…”

“By the way, nobles often lie. That’s why I’ve always hated society. Like others see Andras strangely, I don’t like them.”

“Really?”

“Except for Lady Fanora.”

When Fanora first met him, seeing the red-haired young man disappear with his nephew’s necklace in his hand, she thought Carl Andras must be popular. He had a likable appearance, belonged to the Marquis family, and held an important position in the knights. He must have a line of people around him. She envied him for having many friends, unlike her. That’s what Fanora once imagined.

“…”

She finally realized that she had been misunderstood.

“I like that Lady Fanora didn’t try to deceive me. I may be nothing to Lady Fanora, but I feel like I have the friend of my dreams now.”

Carl pulled his hand from the rain and faced Fanora.

“So I’ll save the legend of my family for the next time!”

“!”

“Please talk to me again when I come back from the battle.”

Friend. If she had met him sooner in her last life, she might have had a relationship like that. It seemed that her past self would also understand his sadistic tendencies.

“I feel like I have a friend.”

If only someone like him had appeared in my life a little earlier… Fanora shook her head after imagining something that wouldn’t come true for a moment. Her expression became subtle.

“You’re saying something strange. We already have a close friendship.”

“!”

“Then I will see you in the winter. I look forward to the legend.”

If it was someone else, not Carl, who heard these remarks, they might have wondered if she was drawing a line by citing a fake relationship. But Carl felt that there was no lie in her sentence.

“Yes!”

The young man’s face didn’t take long to bloom like a flower. He’s like a dog wagging its tail. Who would have malicious intent when he looked at them with that look? Carl is a good man.

Fanora made up her mind once again. Let’s give him the holy relic of eternal life when all is done for sure.

* * *

<(Continued from the last chapter)

#1. Terrace.

Vasago was distraught as she recalled the conversation with her father. Leaning on the terrace, she sighed for a long time, trying to figure out how to deal with her family’s opposition. Then, the curtains were pulled back into the terrace, and Aloken entered.

Vasago: What are you going to do if someone sees it!

Aloken: So, how’s the conversation between the father and the daughter going?

Vasago: Not good. My father would rather send me to a convent than marry me into the hands of a noble.

Aloken: That’s a bit difficult. But fortunately, my family is small, so half of the burden was off.

Vasago: It’s not a small number, but everyone is dead except for you. Don’t conclude such a sad story simply.

Aloken: How cold.

Vasago: (agonized.)

Aloken: Just wait for a moment. I’ll try to figure it out soon.

Vasago: Are you sure?

Aloken: You’re the first and last love of my life, so how can I miss it like this?>

The time went by. After the funeral of Naverius, the Celsius family took a week to return to their estate.

Fanora came out of her room, where she had finished organizing her luggage, and looked at the hallway window. There was a garden that she had seen since she was young.

I’m guessing Carl is heading to the western border by now.

Her stormy 17-year-old social season was over. But maybe, the time when she should be really diligent had begun.

It’s a pity I have no helper, but this is an opportunity.

Her fiancé was busy working in the far north duchy. This house couldn’t pay attention to Fanora Celsius at a fixed time until her marriage. It was because Celsius’s beloved son, Purson’s social debutante would be coming soon.

Let’s aim for this moment.

It was because Naverius was so quick-tempered that she proceeded with the matter in a hurry, but Vasago was different. She couldn’t be lucky anymore.

Fanora grabbed the hem of her dress and fastened her steps. She had no reason to be confined in this mansion.

* * *

…It was already a few weeks ago that I thought.

“Ah…”

Black curly hair neatly braided. The new dress she wore made a way. However, because of her worries, she made an ugly face and lay on the bed with her bare feet.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” Fanora let out a painful sigh.

The summer was coming to an end in the blink of an eye. And during this long time, the only revenge demon got was the story of Vasago’s struggling love unfolding in the midnight novel. For example, the chapter in which the men around Vasago became jealous when they noticed that Aloken and Vasago were in a relationship, or the scene where Aloken cleared up the men who meddled around Vasago one by one.

The end of this beautiful romance was when Aloken was finally recognized by Vasago’s family on the condition that he voluntarily became the king’s dog at the risk of turning all the nobles into his enemies.

“It’s all useless! Everything!” Fanora suddenly got nervous and even forgot that this was her home and shouted loudly.

“Lady! What’s going on?”

When Cecil came running after hearing her sound, Fanora closed her mouth again and pretended to be classy.

“No, just. I have a headache. Can you bring me some medicine?”

“I’ll get a doctor right away.”

“Yes.”

Creek. As soon as Cecil left her bedroom, Fanora slumped back on the bed.

“How can you be so incompetent!”

What followed was a curse to herself.

It was no exaggeration to say that she had spent all her time trying to get invited to the salon where Vasago went to. However, Fanora couldn’t get any harvest. No matter how much she increased her fortune with her future memories or how much she built up her personal connections, she didn’t receive the invitation to the salon.

I went all the way to the distant hot spring village and captured Amore’s family! Her mother said she would recommend me to Madam Creed’s salon, but why didn’t I get an invitation!

At this point, there was only one question of doubt.

Could it be that the salon, while claiming to be politically neutral, is already in the hands of the Guelder family? So you’re not inviting me?! Just because I’m the fiancée of the Jalier family!

With this rate, she couldn’t even see Vasago’s face, and fall will come. Fanora tried to rip her hair off but remembered today’s schedule and barely stopped her action.  

“I didn’t think the future would turn out like this because of the wrong engagement…”

This was the end of summer in Kasius. That meant the time had come to respond to Duke Jalier’s invitation to a picnic in early August. She was already annoyed that things weren’t going well, but she had to go all the way to that distant duchy.

“It can’t be helped. I became the fiancée of the powerful person to use it at a time like this…”

Fanora wandered around her room and made up her mind after a while.

“Should I bring up that topic for Aloken?”

Aloken in the novel, easily joined that salon. Now the situation had become like this, she had to use him to make a gain.