Dear Ex-Fiancé, I Hope You Regret Everything - Chapter 3

This is terrible.

Even though today is my coming-of-age celebration, I’ve been so absorbed in reading Saint Lucero’s books for days that the dark circles under my eyes are awful.

Yesterday, the long-awaited new book, “The Whereabouts of the Mermaid,” was published, and even though I thought “just a little more,” my hand turning the pages didn’t stop until the very end.

When I closed the book, it was already morning, and I breathed a sigh of relief that not even a single page of the scattered manuscript had gone missing back then.

The dress I had made for today is a pale pink.

My mother insisted on pink, so it was chosen, but since I wanted to avoid standing out as much as possible, I selected the palest shade of pink.

(Huh? Does it suit me better than usual…?)

The maids busily prepared everything for me.

The makeup and hairstyling were handled by the experienced Theresa.

When Lord Cain, who was to escort me, saw me all ready, he made a slightly annoyed face.

Not wanting to spoil the festive mood, I straightened my back bravely and bowed to the guests.

“Everyone, thank you for gathering here today for my coming-of-age celebration. It’s modest, but we’ve prepared seats. I hope you enjoy yourselves.”

After that, as I greeted everyone one by one, Lord Cain disappeared.

When I looked, he was in the distance, talking intimately with some baron’s daughter.

I could also hear whispers from the other young ladies.

“Hey, at her own coming-of-age celebration, her fiancé is flirting with another young lady.”

“How cruel!”

“I wouldn’t be able to stand it if it were me.”

(I wouldn’t be able to stand it either.)

In contrast to my mood, the sound of string instruments played lightly.

First, I, as the main attraction, was supposed to dance with Lord Cain, but he was nowhere to be found.

Since we couldn’t dance, no one else could either, and the stares were painfully sharp.

“Hey, you’re kidding, right?”

“Oh no…”

“No matter how plain she is, he’s still her fiancé, right?”

“How pathetic.”

In the unbearable atmosphere, it was suddenly broken.

My father and mother lightly stepped out and performed a splendid dance.

My family is strict, and I was raised strictly as well.

In my heart, I thought my parents would scold me, saying, “As his fiancée, you share some responsibility for Lord Cain’s actions.”

But thanks to my parents’ quick thinking, we managed to get through the situation.

After finishing their dance, my parents bowed deeply, and my mother, smiling, said in a bright voice,

“Now! Everyone, please dance!”

After that, I danced with my eldest brother and then with several other young gentlemen.

That night, as expected, I was summoned by my parents.

My father, who had been smoking a cigar and was scolded by my mother for it, put it out, straightened his posture, and turned to me.

“I knew Lord Cain had been spreading quite a reputation for himself but that was truly awful. What do you want to do?”

“I will only do my best for the sake of this family. If the engagement is broken off, no one would want someone like me and besides, once Lord Cain is married, I’m sure he won’t do anything to destroy the family.”

The Dostoevsky family, including my father and brothers, of course, has achieved success in business for generations and holds significant influence. It’s a family even His Majesty the King respects.

From Lord Cain’s perspective as well, he probably wouldn’t want the engagement broken off, much less a divorce after marriage.

My father and mother exchanged looks and then said,

“We, above all, want you to have a happy marriage. We’ve been close with Lord Cain’s father since the old days, and we’ve known him since he was a child. We thought we could keep an eye on him, but lately, it’s become unbearable. If you’re unhappy, you can refuse.”

“No, I’m already happy enough to be cherished so much by you, Father and Mother.”

“But today’s incident…”

“Father, Mother. I’ve caused you such embarrassment. I thought I would be scolded for tarnishing the family name.”

Tears began to fall, one after another.

Why am I crying for Lord Cain’s sake?

Even if it’s a marriage between families, I had certainly begun to develop feelings of camaraderie.

Perhaps it was the bitterness of being betrayed by that.