Dear Ex-Fiancé, I Hope You Regret Everything - Chapter 22

Upon hearing news of a visitor, I finished preparing quickly and hurried to the drawing room where she waited.

“My apologies for keeping you waiting. It’s an honor to see you again.”

“I just heard Your Highness has caught a cold. I had no idea this had happened. I’m terribly sorry for intruding during such an inconvenient time.”

I had wondered who my visitor could possibly be, but it turned out to be Lady Starelesska, who seemed somehow refreshed and unburdened.

She carried a freshness like clear skies after rainfall.

(Rather than having her poison drained… could this be her true nature?)

Along with tea, I served some orangette I had brought from my homeland.

“…I heard you’re entering a convent.”

“Yes. I requested it myself. Though Count Chaudan offered to marry me even after my father disowned me as a disgrace to the ducal house, I politely declined.”

If this was her decision, all I could do was pray for Lady Starelesska’s happiness.

“…I came today to express my gratitude and say farewell.”

“Please don’t say such sad things. You’re the first person in Haira who has treated me with such warmth and openness.”

“Yes, I too feel like I’ve met someone who could become a true friend for the first time.”

“Yet you’re leaving?”

Lady Starelesska smiled sadly. Come to think of it, this meaningful smile was the only expression of hers I had ever seen.

(That’s right.)

“Lady Starelesska, these are sweets from my homeland. Please try them.”

“What are they?”

“Orangette. These are dried orange strips coated in chocolate, and these are orange slices coated in chocolate.”

Crunch—a pleasant sound echoed through the room. The thin orangette really highlighted the chocolate’s sweetness.

Lady Starelesska made a blissful “Mmm…” sound.

“I’d like to try this one too,” she said, taking a clean bite of the sliced variety.

I knew well how the bitterness of the tea she would sip afterward would neatly wash away the orangette’s bitter notes.

“…It’s absolutely delicious! So Isac has such wonderful treats! The thin ones emphasize the sweetness, while the slices bring out the bitterness! What fascinating confections! I’d love to have more!”

“They’re my favorite. I brought plenty with me, so please take some home if you’d like. Oh, but perhaps you can’t bring them to the convent.”

“…Urk…”

“Why don’t you come visit anytime you’d like some orangette?”

“Iris… if you say such things, my carefully made resolution might waver.”

Then Lady Starelesska began speaking, bit by bit, about her days in the ducal household.

✳ ✳ ✳

One cold winter night, the long-awaited twins were about to be born into the Lewiston family.

The first child was delivered, but then things took a turn for the worse.

The Duchess of Lewiston gradually lost consciousness.

In the end, the second child was stillborn, and the Duchess of Lewiston never returned. The child born dead had beautiful bronze hair, while Starelesska was born with reddish-brown hair.

“This child has no hope, like a starless night.” Thus, she was named “Starelesska.”

Meanwhile, her stillborn sister was given the beautiful, shining name “Vega.”

Like the upright and reversed positions of tarot cards.

Until this very day at eighteen years old, she’d barely had any parent-child conversations.

She had the minimum number of caretakers, and except for public appearances as a duke’s daughter, she wasn’t even permitted to wear dresses or jewelry. She simply counted her days for eighteen years in her small room.