chapter 09
Vincent Leandro, who was one year older than Edith, had been her childhood friend for a long time.
Unlike Ethan, who was connected to her through a lord-and-vassal relationship, Vincent and Edith became close because their families were friendly and they were both only children. From a young age, they stayed together like shadows.
But when the female lead, Leilin, appeared, their relationship fell apart.
As if all those years meant nothing, Vincent fell for Leilin and was the first to betray Edith.
‘Eighty percent of the reason Edith became a villain is because of this guy.’
Edith had secretly loved Vincent for a long time and even thought of him as her future husband.
But Vincent, claiming he wanted to protect the bullied female lead, did not hesitate to put Edith down.
Because of that, even small arguments between girls were exaggerated and turned into serious “evil deeds” by Edith.
“Ha…”
Just thinking about the man who greatly contributed to Edith’s ruined reputation made my head hurt.
The butler, however, misunderstood when he saw me holding my forehead.
“Perhaps… do you remember something about the young marquis?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know his name…?”
“I think I heard it while asking Nancy a few things.”
“Ah…”
The butler looked disappointed.
‘Even if I pretend not to know anyone else, I should definitely not act like I know this guy.’
It was an open secret that Edith liked Vincent.
But that didn’t mean I had to deal with this body’s embarrassing past.
I decided to keep pretending I didn’t know him and asked coldly, “Why did he come?”
“Pardon? Well… to visit you while you’re ill, of course.”
‘Hmm. I didn’t actually ask why.’
After the girl he loved almost died because of an annoying troublemaker, there was no way he had come peacefully just to visit.
I indirectly expressed my refusal to the useless butler.
“I have no memory right now, so it’s uncomfortable to meet him.”
“Still, wouldn’t it help your memory more to meet someone you were close to rather than going on a long trip?”
“….”
“You’ve known the young marquis for thirteen years.”
I had no answer. Just this morning, I was the one insisting on going out to recover my memory.
I didn’t want to meet him, but I couldn’t think of a way to avoid it.
‘Sigh. I’ll have to face him at least once anyway. Let’s just get it over with.’
I stood up with a sigh.
“Where is he?”
“He’s waiting in the drawing room.”
“Take me there.”
We arrived in front of the drawing room on the first floor.
The butler, as if he supported Edith’s love, whispered excitedly, “I’ll bring some refreshments soon, miss. What kind of tea would you like?”
“It’s fine. I won’t stay long.”
“What? But he hasn’t visited in a while… The young marquis likes the cookies our chef makes.”
He kept hinting at things, as if urging me to prepare properly. It seemed Edith had always put a lot of effort into Vincent’s visits.
‘Whether he likes cookies or not, what do I care?’
It was useless information to me.
“More importantly, I want to talk alone. Make sure no one interrupts.”
“Of course.”
After the butler left, I opened the door.
But instead of Vincent, an empty room greeted me.
“…What?”
Did he leave already?
Just then—
Bang! Whoosh!
The closed window suddenly flew open, and a strong wind rushed inside.
Yellow flower petals began to swirl in the air.
They gathered around the table in the center of the room and slowly formed a small whirlwind. Then, as if scattered by an invisible hand, they gently covered the table and chairs.
In an instant, the plain room was beautifully filled with yellow petals.
I stood frozen, watching the magical scene.
“Ah-choo.”
Whether it was the cold wind or the sweet scent of flowers, I suddenly sneezed.
Thud.
A flower, the same color as the petals, lightly hit my forehead and fell.
“Hello, Edith.”
A tall man appeared from behind the door.
“Congratulations on your recovery.”
“….”
“I went through all that trouble. Won’t you at least accept it?”
Because of the flower that hit my forehead, my stiff body relaxed. I slowly looked up at him.
Blue curly hair like delphinium petals moved softly in the wind.
Golden eyes sparkling with mischief. Clear, open features.
If Edith had sharp, cat-like looks, Vincent had a typical puppy-like face. A very handsome one at that.
‘…What does she even like about this pretty-boy-looking guy?’
Fortunately, he was not my type at all.
I reluctantly took the jasmine flower he offered.
His gentle-looking eyes drooped slightly.
“I haven’t done this in a while. I wanted to surprise you… Was it bad?”
I already knew he had the ability to control wind. The novel had described many times how he used it to shower Leilin with flower petals during their dates.
But what surprised me wasn’t the wind.
‘Why is he suddenly doing this to Edith, whom he used to hate?’
I couldn’t read his thoughts from his expression.
“…No. I was surprised.”
“Then why do you look like that?”
“Shall we sit and talk first?”
I walked past him toward the table. The petals under my feet were annoying.
Maybe the real Edith would have jumped in joy over such an event, something more suited for Leilin.
But I just felt uneasy.
‘I should’ve immediately started speaking formally like I did with Ethan.’
I hadn’t expected this kind of show, so I missed the timing.
As I sat down, wondering when to reveal my amnesia—
“…?”
Vincent didn’t follow right away. He stood there for a moment before finally sitting across from me.
He smiled softly.
“You look good, Edith.”
“I’m glad. Thanks for coming to visit—”
“I thought you might’ve died, but you survived.”
“…What?”
His tone was so calm that I didn’t understand at first.
As if he were casually complaining about not seeing an old friend.
He smiled playfully and continued.
“I’m surprised you’re so fine. I thought you might’ve been badly hurt.”
“….”
“Your funeral was quite original, Edith. I really thought you were dead this time.”
“….”
“I heard you couldn’t breathe and jumped out of the coffin midway? That’s too bad. I wish I’d been there to see it. But Leilin was sick because of someone.”
I stared at him in disbelief.
‘What is this bastard saying?’
He was surprised I wasn’t badly hurt?
My funeral was original?
I let out a hollow laugh.
‘No one said he was this insane!’
In the novel, Vincent sometimes stabbed Edith with smiling words.
—Edith, do you see me as a man after treating me like a brother for half your life? Don’t answer. It gives me chills.
—Why are you acting so stupid, Edith? The more you do this, the more you shame the duke. No wonder Ethan was chosen as heir.
Every time she was humiliated by the man she loved, Edith suffered and then took out her anger on Leilin.
‘Why did she even like a guy who liked someone else?’
Sometimes, Vincent’s harsh words even felt refreshing. I thought he was giving sincere advice as a friend.
‘Sincere? My foot.’
If I had known he was trash who mocked even her funeral—
I would never have thought that way.
‘I was too naive.’
He was the playful, dependable male lead for the heroine.
But for Edith, he was just a heartless bastard who didn’t care if she lived or died.
How foolish to believe the butler’s words about him visiting out of concern.
Crunch—
The flower in my hand crumpled as I tightened my grip.
“Why aren’t you answering, Edith? Are you angry?”
He asked innocently, like a child waiting for a reaction.
Ah.
For some reason, that cooled my boiling anger.
I hadn’t experienced any of this myself. There was no need to be angry.
And—
‘He really enjoyed seeing Edith get angry over him?’
It wasn’t about protecting the heroine or giving advice.
He simply enjoyed stepping on her, stabbing her, watching her struggle like a worm sprinkled with salt.
Otherwise, the anticipation shining in his golden eyes made no sense.
‘So childish. You even used your powers just to do all this?’
I looked at the scattered petals around the table with cold eyes.
‘I thought he was going to attack me with wind out of revenge for Leilin!’
I looked back at him.
“Is that all you wanted to say?”
“…What?”
“Did you come all the way here just to say that?”
At my flat tone, his smile faded.
Dealing with this kind of crazy person was easy.
“Are you angry? Hmm, I’m not sure how to answer that. Sorry I can’t give you the reaction you’re expecting…”
“….”
“I don’t remember who you are or how we used to get along. So I’m not really angry.”
I put on a mildly regretful expression.
He blinked, confused.
“…What?”
“Didn’t you hear? I have amnesia right now.”
“What do you mean—”
“If you’re done, shall we end this? I don’t really have anything to say to you.”
Isn’t it simple? If you don’t feed a hungry stray dog, that’s the end of it.
