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Etienne was getting closer and closer.

His hair cascaded gracefully above his prominent nose, and his glossy black evening attire had a few top buttons undone, revealing his thick neck.

As Etienne passed by, emitting his distinctive, robust scent.

Many thoughts raced through my mind in that brief moment.

Should I tell him about Versus? He said something significant, but I don’t understand what he meant, and now I’ve found this letter.

But this letter… It truly seemed like a love letter. Although Etienne didn’t seem emotionally inclined to be jealous, bringing this up would only cause unnecessary tension.

Being in this house right now is already precarious… If I speak up, it might put me in even more danger. But still…

I bit my lip anxiously.

“Etienne.”

My voice made him abruptly stop and turn to look at me. His sharp gaze scanned me up and down.

Gulp, it’s scary. Should I just not say anything?

But I couldn’t do that.

Until now, Dahlia’s previous affairs were unrelated to me, but now that I had this in my hands, it became my business. I couldn’t keep blaming everything on Dahlia forever.

I pulled the letter out of my sleeve and tightly gripped it with both hands.

“Why is this here again?” Etienne asked the servant next to him in a low voice, without even glancing at the letter I held out. In this context, ‘this’ referred to me, not the letter.

The servants exchanged puzzled glances, unsure of how to react to my statement.

“I came to say something.”

“Take her to the room immediately,” 

Etienne commanded the servant, completely disregarding me.

“No, look at this.” 

I insisted, extending the letter toward him. Etienne stared at me intently. Despite not having done anything wrong, I felt like a guilty person.

Just as I was about to say something, Etienne swiftly turned around. 

And distanced himself from me without hesitation. I stared at him in disbelief.

“I have something to say!”

He didn’t respond.

Why isn’t he looking even though I’m confessing? I am just presenting the evidence of infidelity. Look at this!

“Lady Dahlia, let me escort you to your room.” 

The servants gestured in the opposite direction. I glanced in that direction once, then looked back at Etienne, who was getting farther away.

Right. Etienne said he won’t look. It’s not something I concealed. I’m not at fault!

I muttered unsteadily. Yet, I couldn’t easily move my feet.

Ugh.

I gathered my courage once again and planted my feet firmly. Just before Etienne entered the room, I blocked his path. He furrowed his brows.

“You’re really not going to look at this? I know you have no interest in me, but still, it would be better if you saw this…”

“Dahlia, do I look like a fool to you? Will I fall for another one of your tricks?”

Etienne interrupted my words. His blue eyes seemed to simmer with anger.

I was suddenly taken aback by the onslaught of accusations.

“What? What are you suddenly talking about? I’ve never thought that way.”

“Yet, last night just after you said that…”

Etienne stopped mid-sentence, closing his mouth. His words reminded me of last night.

I couldn’t think of anything I had done wrong. Ah, could it be because I kept cutting the meat while Etienne and Versus were talking? But I didn’t have anything to say, so should I have refrained from eating and participated in the conversation instead?

Or was it because I answered on my own accord that I wanted to go to the party? But that was because I genuinely wanted to attend…

“What did I do wrong? I’m still not familiar with etiquette. If there are things I need to improve, don’t just get angry, but tell me so I can understand.”

“Enough. I won’t see you after three weeks, so discussing trivial matters like this would be a waste of time.”

“No…!”

“Get out of my sight right now.”

He spoke coldly, as if he didn’t want another word from me, and slammed the door shut, disappearing.

I stared at the closed door, not understanding a word that was said.

Why did he suddenly take his anger out on me?

I felt my strength drain away and slumped down.

“I also mustered up the courage to speak up.”

Well, it was true that to him, I would be someone he wouldn’t see after three weeks. Whether I cheated on him or not with another man wouldn’t matter.

I buried my face in my knees.

“Yeah, what difference does it make if I try my best?”

The despair that I had been pretending not to notice suddenly peeked through and stared at me.

You’re just a pitiful person who will starve to death. You can only live a life of unhappiness.

It felt as if someone was whispering in my ear. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I clenched my teeth in frustration.

“Ah, I promised myself not to entertain negative thoughts.”

I jerked my head up and reached into a small pocket on the waist of my dress. It was something I had specially made by Penny. You could say it was an attachment candy pocket.

Perhaps it was because of the memories of starving to death once before, but from time to time, fear would overwhelm me.

The feeling of losing everything again, of starving to death.

Just having the candy by my side improved my mood. As long as I had this, I felt like I wouldn’t starve to death.

I rolled the pocket in my hand for a while. The sound of it rustling calmed my heart.

I opened the mouth of the pocket and picked out the brightest red candy. I put it in my mouth, and a sweet taste spread along with the tangy plum scent.

“But there are still three weeks left. I have to try everything I can. Do you think I’ll give up? In the end, you’ll be the one crying, thinking of me being gone. Just wait and see.”

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