Dear Ex-Fiancé, I Hope You Regret Everything - Chapter 2

“I found it! San Lucero!”

He seemed to be a mystery novelist. Every title was incredibly intriguing.

‘You Who Vanished Between the Blink of Stars’ ‘Murder in the Hourglass’ ‘The Bizarre That Split the Darkness’ ‘Mephistopheles’ Banquet’

All were two-volume sets, and quite thick at that.

Not to hide anything, I absolutely love mystery novels.

Thinking this must be some kind of fate, I decided to buy just one work to read.

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“Lady Iris, you’re trying to go out again without being properly prepared!”

Teresa, my family’s maid who does my hair and makeup, was huffing angrily.

Being five years older than me, just like my eldest sister, we somehow interact quite casually with each other.

“If the master finds out, you’ll get another stern scolding, you know!?”

“But I thought I had to deliver this to Lord Cain quickly. His test is tomorrow.”

“Oh my goooood!!!! I can’t believe he’d go off wandering while leaving such a devoted fiancée behind!!”

“If he can’t graduate, our marriage will be delayed, and that’s exactly when he might start fooling around all the time. I want to help him out.”

While laughing heartily, inside I was thinking, (Besides, this way I get to study too.)

“Really, Lady Iris, you’re just too nice for your own good.”

The maid kept huffing angrily the whole time.

(Even with makeup, my plainness doesn’t change. If anything, my bare face might be better.)

Somehow the makeup always looks unnatural on me, and my hairstyle seems like I’m trying too hard.

That’s why the dresses I choose to be as inconspicuous as possible are all quite plain.

(Even though my older sisters and brothers are all so beautiful.)

I straightened my back with determination and sat at my desk.

Since I’ve finished helping Lord Cain, thinking that now it’s my time makes me feel delighted.

I spread open the book I just bought on the desk.

‘Murder in the Hourglass’ volumes one and two. It’s been so long since I felt this excited.

Encountering a new book always gives me the same thrill as traveling to an unknown land.

(I wonder what meaning is hidden in this title.)

My hand turning the cover was filled with tension.

‘You readers who have picked up this book are fortunate. Now, turn the hourglass. Before all the sand runs out.’

I was completely captivated by just the opening sentence.

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“Lady Iris, your bath is ready.”

That voice snapped me back to reality.

I noticed that outside the window, it was already dusk.

(What should I do? The murderer hasn’t been caught yet.)

Something unfamiliar was glinting on Teresa’s chest.

“Oh! A bird brooch? How lovely!”

“The Saint’s Thanksgiving festival is coming up soon, right? I thought I’d wear it there, so I decided to try wearing it a bit early.”

I’m just glad she seems so incredibly cheerful.

But…

(The Saint’s Thanksgiving festival, huh~! Does that mean I have to be the one to invite Lord Cain…?)

To be honest, I hate the idea. It’s just so bothersome.

Because he definitely won’t walk together with me.

Even if I take off my bottle-bottom glasses, that doesn’t change. He’s always looking around at all the women in town. I think it’s really rude.

Two years ago, he brought along a viscount’s daughter and flaunted her in my face before the two of them disappeared into the crowd.

Last year, he kept glancing at me while sighing constantly, so I tried to liven things up by saying “There’s a stall over here.” but it just didn’t work.

While bathing, I was brooding and brooding over it, but before I knew it, I was thinking about the continuation of the mystery novel, and completely forgot about the Saint’s Thanksgiving festival.

And so, absorbed in my book, I ended up staying up all night again today.