Dear Ex-Fiancé, I Hope You Regret Everything - Chapter 5

The morning sun was dazzling.

Last night, my father informed me, “We received word from the other party agreeing to cancel the engagement.” Though my family offered their sympathies, my heart felt surprisingly light.

According to Father, Teresa had been dismissed from service.

But given that he’d been involved with numerous young ladies, Lord Cain was ultimately the one most at fault.

I put on my bottle-bottom glasses before the mirror.

Suddenly, my gaze fell upon an unopened envelope.

(That’s right, I still haven’t read this.)

I opened it with a paper knife.

Strangely, unlike before, there was no heart-pounding excitement. My mind was perfectly calm.

Thinking back, my emotions had been swinging like a pendulum these past few days.

If I could open it with such composure now, it was truly for the best that I hadn’t opened it until today.

In elegant handwriting, it read: ‘You’re the first to figure me out. If you’re willing, let’s meet and talk. The date and place are—’

✳︎ ✳︎ ✳︎

The streets were plastered with notices announcing the visit of the Crown Prince of Haira.

Everywhere was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.

(Haira—a land rich in oil. I hope this visit leads to a favorable agreement.)

Glancing at the notices, I stood before the shop specified by Mr. San Lucero.

(I wonder if the outfit I agonized over until today looks strange) I checked my reflection in the glass before opening the door.

“Wow,”

What a wonderful café.

Looking around, it was nearly full with couples or groups of young ladies.

I told the waitress I was meeting someone and was led to a bright window-side seat.

(I really came too early, there’s still thirty minutes left.)

My bad habit. I always arrive several minutes early to avoid being late.

But spending the waiting time gazing absentmindedly outside wasn’t so bad.

Just as I opened the menu to order something beforehand,

the café suddenly grew noisy.

A shadow fell over the table before me.

“Surprised? I didn’t expect you to arrive before me.”

“Huh?”

“Pleased to meet you. I’m San Lucero.”

Just as I thought. Yet, seeing him in person made my heart feel like it might stop.

I always make an effort not to be late, but this time I was especially careful.

I stood and greeted him with a curtsy.

“…Given the number of your guards, this doesn’t appear to be incognito, so allow me to greet you formally. I am Iris Dostoevsky. Pleased to meet you, and welcome to our country, Your Highness Crown Prince Skyford Savarias.”

There was a slight pause, and just as I felt a flicker of anxiety, a voice slightly lower than I expected replied.

“…May I sit?”

“Yes, please excuse me as well.”

“This shop has a nice atmosphere, doesn’t it? I liked it when I came before, and I thought if the first person to discover my true identity was a woman, I’d choose this place. What do you think?”

“It’s absolutely lovely. The interior shows attention to detail everywhere. It’s like a shop straight out of a story.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

He gave me a crinkly-eyed smile.

(So, this is how he smiles.)

I could understand why the Crown Prince of Haira was rumored to be good at winning people over. His popularity with women suddenly made sense.

“By the way, how did you figure out that San Lucero’s true identity was me?”

I spread out all the books I’d brought.

“In every work, there’s an unnatural line break on a certain page. For example, in this work, it’s on page 32 and 259 of the first volume, and page 46 of the second volume. I thought it might indicate character counts. In this work, for instance, it would be ‘I’ and ‘am’ and ‘who.’ The number of unnatural breaks varied by work. But when arranged in order from the first work, ‘The You Who Vanished in a Star’s Twinkle,’ it formed the sentence: ‘If you figure out who I am let’s meet Sky fo rd Sa va ri as.'”

Lord Skyford clapped and said, “Magnificent.”

“Well, honestly, my books don’t sell very well! Hahaha. Ah, this is where you laugh. Because solving this code requires reading all my books, including the new ones. I’m honored you read them so thoroughly. But bringing them all, weren’t they heavy?”

“Not at all! They were incredibly interesting! I mean it, no flattery. It’s been a long time since I felt so excited.”

“I’m glad or rather, I’m quite embarrassed.”

How elegant his movements were as he sipped the coffee that arrived.

His pale golden hair fell softly over his long eyelashes.

Before I knew it, all the young ladies around us were staring fixedly at Crown Prince Skyford.

“Hey! Isn’t that Lady Iris with him…?”

“No way! How can she be with Lord Skyford?”

“I heard she got her engagement to Lord Cain called off.”

“So, she was dumped after all?”

“How pathetic—”

Such voices reached me from all around.

(I wasn’t dumped. I did the dumping.)

I nearly spoke up but swallowed the words.

Lord Skyford was watching me intently.

(Ah, being with someone like me must be troublesome for him. He just arrived. He must be busy—I shouldn’t keep him.)

Just as I resolved to leave soon, my vision grew blurry.

“Why do you wear glasses like these?”

“Huh… Ah, please give them back.”

I was shocked. Lord Skyford had taken my bottle-bottom glasses.

“I’m extremely nearsighted, so without my glasses. I can’t see anyth…”

I felt a soft breeze.

Lord Skyford had waved his hand in front of my eyes.

“Close your eyes. That’s it. Now, can you see a single star twinkling? Open your eyes wide all at once, aiming for it.”

I blinked them open.

Though still slightly hazy, my vision was much clearer than before.

“Huh!?”

“Hmm, it seems a slight adjustment is needed.”

“Um, what is this?”

“It’s a transparent film that serves as glasses. It uses a bit of magical energy, but it won’t interfere with daily life. In fact, it’s less bothersome since there are no glasses, and you can wear it all day without issue. Everyone in Haira uses these, so they’re not particularly rare.”

“It’s like I’m not wearing anything at all. Such excessive kindness. I’m deeply moved.”

“It’s a thank you to my number one fan.”

Crown Prince Skyford sipped his coffee with a crinkly smile.