Chapter 63 – The Truth
It had already been close to two weeks since I had been locked up in my room.
I only pretended to eat for two weeks, so my current appearance was not much different from that of a person right before death.
People who said they didn’t do anything until they became Lee Ji-kyung
If you find yourself in this situation, you will be able to solve it without panic.
Maybe.
Seria informed me that she had passed, but she was not in the mood to smile.
No I don’t know anymore
How to treat Seria.
What truth lies behind that smile?
If everything went the way I thought, how would my life go?
As a result of her once encountering a deep and dark love, she still has an immature life.
What would my life be like if I faced a deeper and more intense love once more?
Not everyone could be happy.
And it was clear that I probably held the key.
Yeah, I guess it’s time to put an end to the past.
###
Back in time a bit, it was at the point where she had just passed her exam.
Really, I wondered if she was the same as when I first saw her last summer.
The final result was passing, and that was second place.
I, who taught her, was also in a situation where I was dumbfounded, but her family, who did not expect much from her, would be shocked.
That was the first time I had ever seen the head of the Fellowes family laughing so heartily that day.
She smiled as if she had fulfilled her lifelong wish, and seeing that, I too felt complicated and delicate.
Should I be proud that I taught well, or should I keep my distance thinking about the darkness behind that smile.
The place where I am now is a corner of the banquet hall of the Fellowes Mansion.
To explain why I am here now, I have to go back quite a bit.
It was the moment I was talking with the family head, Hilbert von Feroz.
It would be convenient to think of it as a place where a kind of contract is concluded and a report is made.
“…So I don’t think there will be too much of a problem.”
“What do you think?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Rank number.”
Aren’t you asking for admission?
Usually, it was natural to ask that first, so it was the moment I felt strange.
“What are you making that look on? If it’s your skills, there shouldn’t be a problem with passing the exam itself.”
“It will depend on the circumstances of the day, but if you can still remember everything that has been said so far, there will be no problem even aiming for single digits.”
The test had this problem.
It is impossible to give a definitive answer as there are many variables.
And that there is always the possibility of ruin.
So I couldn’t give him a definitive answer.
“By the way.”
“Isn’t it time for you to start a family too?
It wasn’t slow, but it was my age that wasn’t fast either.
Compared to the statistics, it was still fast, but I didn’t know how it was in the aristocratic world.
“Yeah…Well. I’m not sure yet.”
The family head looked at me once and said strangely.
“It’s strange that the two of us went on the same trip and don’t know.”
I suddenly stopped breathing and coughed.
“Aren’t you two in love with each other?”
“You’re right.”
“If you love each other and the bride’s parents aren’t against it, why delay?”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Personally, I’m not against it.”
It was enough to cause cognitive dissonance when the person most likely to oppose said that.
I didn’t know how to answer, so he said as I was fathering him.
“Do you hate Seria?”
“No.”
It wasn’t something I hated.
It was just too sudden.
“Did you talk to Seria?”
“Doesn’t she know well what the boy’s answer would be?”
If she was her, she’d probably say yes, but she wasn’t sure.
Because she might have said no.
Of course, if I listened to the person speaking in front of me now, I could roughly guess what it was.
“I don’t think you hate it either, but I’m going to ask you because I think it’s right to hear from you.”
“Are you going to get engaged to Seria?”
The proposal turned into an engagement, perhaps understanding my position a bit.
It wasn’t something I hated.
No, where could there be a better luxury than this?
I wasn’t the kind of person who cared about such things, but it was clear that all the money, honor, and status came into marriage.
It wasn’t even that I was thinking about getting married for that purpose in the first place.
“Aren’t you happy?”
“No. That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
A feeling of uneasiness was still there.
“No. I was just reminiscing about my life for a moment.”
Until then, I never dreamed that it would be a choice that would hold me back.
###
Back to the present moment.
I was standing in a banquet hall, well-dressed.
I don’t know if everyone thinks I’m part of the Fellowes now or if it’s because I’m the winner of the year.
Many people have spoken to me.
The last time I met… Who was it?
Yes, no one approached me like someone talking about Rose, but this time there were a lot of people with a slightly different meaning.
People who expect something to fall if they put a snow stamp on me.
Or those trying to make connections with winners.
There were a few more people I hadn’t experienced.
Let’s have a conversation with a suitable answer and a suitable rejection, and suddenly turn our eyes.
I saw Seria talking to people like me.
The sex ratio of the people she talked to seemed to be more female.
She was probably still a young adult, so she must have been enough to become a hot topic.
The reality of not being able to accept that smile she made was devastating.
The incompatible realities of the engagement ahead of my eyes, the marriage that follows, and my child far away in the western part of the Empire tighten my heart.
The really comical thing was that two things weren’t clear.
What was truly tragic was that both were highly likely to be true.
Then, Seria’s eyes met.
He gave me a subtle smile that only I could see.
I too returned her smile to her.
Now it’s a smile that doesn’t look natural.
The lights were turned off and only one place was illuminated by strong lights.
The aristocratic family was watching the situation going back with the silly thought that something like this existed.
The housekeeper started talking.
“It is an honor to have you in this precious place.”
“Originally, it was to commemorate the passing of the Imperial Examination for my second daughter-in-law, Seria von Feroz.”
“But today, I can bring you even better news.”
“The two of them made a promise to get married.”
“Today, my second daughter, Ceria von Ferroz and Edward Weiss, have made an appointment to marry.”
Someone heard my name and responded by asking who it was.
If I hadn’t won an award, that would have been a normal reaction.
However, my name had already spread quite a bit, and the distinguished guests were looking at it with curious eyes.
Originally, people wondered if it was common for the second child to marry first, but that was a minority.
Various gazes were piercing us.
“It’s not an official engagement ceremony, but I hope you give congratulations to the two who promised a future.”
Applause filled the banquet hall and his words ended there.
Back to the previous situation.
However, there was a little change, but I was showing my face to the VIPs with the family head.
Seria was talking to people with her mother.
Carolyn was nowhere to be seen.
“You have a wonderful son-in-law.”
I heard something like that all around me.
Perhaps out of consideration for the unfamiliar me, most of the conversations were led by him, and I was in a situation where I adjusted to that.
Something was bothering me.
Originally, I should have been happy, but something was still emitting a presence in my heart.
Are you unhappy?
That’s not it.
Happy.
It’s safe to say that it was the happiest thing I’ve ever heard.
The only problem was that there were truths to be faced.
The banquet went on for quite some time.
###
The banquet went on for quite some time.
The distinguished guests have returned and the banquet is over.
The wedding was a month later.
At least it was time to make some preparations.
Even for us, too, for those who will come to the wedding.
Of course, my opinion was also reflected.
When he said that he would have to go somewhere for a while, he said nothing but agreed.
When he asked if he could find out what was going on, he only said that there were a few things left to sort out.
When I left her room, she was waiting for me.
“Ed.”
The title of teacher has now disappeared.
“My mother wants to go to bed. Her room is already ready.”
I said I would know.
She watched my expression and asked if I didn’t like it.
When she said she looked a little tired, she seemed to have roughly understood it.
“Then let’s go.”
Holding her hand, he arrived at the room where he had taken care of before.
However, if there was a difference from then, it was the fact that the bed was a little bigger.
