Chapter 1

2022/12/08 Due to the book publication, I have changed the hero's name.

Let me tell you a story about a pitiful woman.

The woman had a fiancé. He came from a good family, and his appearance was not bad, either. He was a bit easily swayed, but she liked even that about him.

Since he was the third son of a marquess's family, the two families had agreed that he would marry into her family to support it. They had been engaged since she was ten, so it had been ten years.

In other words, she had dedicated half of her life to her fiancé.

Well, that's fine. They were about to get married, after all.

Yes, that was supposed to be the case.

The man cheated with the woman's younger sister.

Ever since they were young, the sister had always been hostile towards her. Because of this, the woman had suffered a lot. Just thinking about it... well, let's stop this story, shall we?

However, the woman had no idea her sister had a penchant for stealing her things. And when she confronted her sister, do you know what she said?

"I always wanted to take him from my sister."

"Why now? It's obvious, isn't it?"

"Because I can see her more desperate face that way."

It's not a sane person's behavior!

I really wondered if she was related to me. But this isn't my story.

Still, she could have endured it. The sister had no right of inheritance, and the man, being the third son, had no territory. So, if they got married, they would become commoners and would never enter her life again.

But, but!

He actually proposed to her to go through with the marriage!

"I didn't mean to. Olivia wouldn't listen, so I just went along with it, but I really love you."

I thought about pushing him down the stairs. But this is just a story of an acquaintance, of course.

I wanted to ban him from the house, but her parents sided with him. They valued the family name more than their daughter, fearing that the family would fall apart if she couldn't marry.

Well, if the family fell apart, the servants would be left homeless, so I can somewhat understand their concern. Still, they could have shown a little more consideration or at least scolded the sister.

The woman's sister must have known this would happen. It was all part of her plan.

She knocked her overconfident sister down and satisfied her desires and superiority complex without taking any responsibility. It's unbelievable.

"Don't you think so?"

"Even the popular romance novels these days aren't this pitiful."

In the grand ballroom of a luxurious mansion.

To escape the swirling, sticky feelings in my heart, I attended a ball and stood on a dark balcony, sipping wine to avoid the cheerful music and conversations.

While drowning my sorrows, a man next to me spoke to me.

I couldn't see his face well, either because it was dark outside or because I was drunk. Maybe that's why my eyes kept going to his silver hair, which shone like the moon.

"Right? Right? It's not funny to cry, right?"

"Oh, wasn't it a story about an acquaintance?"

"Yes, it's a story about an acquaintance. I just felt sorry for her."

"Ha, then let's leave it at that."

I don't know the name of the man who listened to my story calmly.

It's a given that he would find a woman drinking alone in a corner troublesome, so why did he speak to me? We didn't follow any noble etiquette, and we didn't even introduce ourselves.

"By the way, do you still have any lingering feelings for that man?"

"Of course not. I'd rather send him and his sister to hell."

"I see, that's good to hear."

"Wait, what do you mean? Don't tell me you cheated too!?"

"Absolutely not! I am faithful. I love only one woman even now."

Then what about the current situation? But I had reached my limit and just wanted someone to listen to me. So I pretended not to hear that it had nothing to do with me.

"The woman I loved had a fiancé. I decided to watch over her as long as she was happy."

"I wish my sister would learn from that attitude."

I had no time to listen to a story that didn't interest me. Since he had listened to me this far, I decided to leave as there was no point in staying any longer.

But even after I stood up to leave, the man continued.

"But she is suffering now."

Maybe I had drunk too much. I felt dizzy as soon as I stood up, and my legs went weak.

"So I'm going to stop holding back and go to her."

In my fading consciousness, I felt incredibly envious of the woman he spoke of.

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