Estella finally sighed in resignation. She wasn’t going to argue with her employer’s unreasonable demands. When you’re in charge of a child who’s constantly talking back to adults, the idea of equality seems like a pipe dream.

“I got tickets to the opera from Lady Adriana. We’re going to the great theater on the Quiche Street.”

While saying so, Estella shook the letter she was holding in her hand in a somewhat mischievous manner. Diego let out a laugh that seemed incredulous.

“And what kind of date is that?”

“I must say, it’s the first time I’ve received such a courteous invitation.”

Diego didn’t seem too offended by Estella’s disingenuous response. He glanced down at the floor and lifted his eyelids to stare at Estella. Diego asked in a low voice.

“Are you going?”

“……Why do you say that?”

Estella took a hesitant step back and questioned in a slightly defensive tone. Was he trying to forbid her from going out and having fun, like a possessive lover? Diego, without paying much attention, crossed his arms in a slanted manner.

“I thought you were on my side.”

“Do we have to divide ourselves into ‘your side’ and ‘my side’? This…”

“I said I would help you, and I will. In that case, we could consider ourselves on the same team.”

“Does that mean Lady Adriana is an enemy, then?”

Estella asked in disbelief. Diego’s brow creased slightly.

“I just don’t see why you’d want to meet with a woman I don’t like.”

“She doesn’t have any impure intentions.”

“Well, go tell her that you’re the one who’s going to marry me, and I’m sure you two will get along just fine.”

Diego finished sarcastically. For a moment, Estella was speechless. Estella raised an eyebrow and retorted.

“Please stop making subtly strange remarks. What are you going to do about Lady Adriana?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean the marriage proposal.”

“Well, there’s no need to consider it. It’s rejected.”

Estella’s face showed distress. Adriana’s proposal was between her and Diego. Estella had no right to interfere. She couldn’t force Diego to marry her if he didn’t want to. The problem is that Diego is the one who shouldn’t have rejected Adriana, and Estella is the only one who knows it.

She manages to convince him to save the children, but the consequence is that Adriana’s unhappiness remains in place. Adriana deserved a happy ending and the right to have her lover back. But Diego would never understand this feelings of debt unless she told him about her past life and the novels she had read.

Estella did all she could to change his mind. She criticized his character.

“The Duke is a very heartless man.”

Estella’s words didn’t do much to hurt Diego. Diego retorted with his trademark smirk.

“I don’t see why I should be called heartless for not being blackmailed.”

“I don’t know the details, but is it not possible for a woman who approached a man she didn’t know and proposed without any meaningful backstory?”

“Do you sympathize with all the poor people in the streets, then?”

Diego retorted in an easy voice. It was not a logical retort, and Estella was quickly left speechless. Estella spoke again, her voice smaller than before.

“If you can do it with me, why can’t you do it with her?”

“If you put it that way, I have nothing to say.”

As Diego said this, he cupped her chin in his right hand. He leaned over and looked down at Estella and asked slowly.

“Tell me, Miss Margaret. If I proposed to you, why should I marry another woman?”

Estella closed her eyes. She wasn’t sure why Diego kept nipping at her heels, but it was getting to the point where she needed to do something about it. Estella opened her heavy mouth.

“Little Duke.”

“Don’t be shy and tell me.”

“I’ve told you before, I’m going to marry someone I like, and I’m sorry, but you’re not my type.”

Estella opened her eyes slightly. She had expected him to have the same expression as before, as if saying, ‘What’s that?’ But surprisingly, Diego seemed visibly wounded in his pride. He even appeared quite bewildered.

With a crooked smirk on one side of his mouth, Diego spoke.

“Didn’t I tell you? I’ve never been dumped by a woman before.”

It was meant to be a ‘you won’t get another chance like this’ comment, but it came across a little differently to Estella because of his inability to keep a straight face.

She tried to calm the corner of her mouth that was twitching. Diego’s unpleasantness gave her a strange sense of triumph. Although Diego didn’t cry, it felt good to kick a jaw-droppingly handsome man in the nuts. Estella smiled a genuine, sunny smile.

“That’s just a coincidence! It’s the first time I’ve ever rejected a man.”

“…The first time?”

“Yes. Uh… It was when I was back in my hometown, working at a shop. There was this man, sixteen years older than me, who would often come to the counter. I had a hard time refusing him, so we met a few times without much purpose. It was one of the most dreadful memories in my life.”

Estella was excitedly recounting her past life. Because she’s not good at saying no, and because she puts other people first, the men she’s dated in the past have often been selfish.

She realized that she and Diego are not in the same situation as the average man and woman, but based on the results, she was right to dump him. The thought of finally learning how to refuse someone after experiencing a second chance in life seemed like a significant progress.

Diego repeated, as if he’d misheard.

“Sixteen years apart?”

“Yes.”

Estella nodded obediently. Diego asked again, with a strand of hope in his eyes.

“Was he wealthy?”

“…Not really?”

Diego’s brow narrowed in disbelief, which made Estella feel a little guilty. That wasn’t the end of her story. Estella quickly rattled off other examples in her head.

“Oh, and there was another time when a coworker of mine confessed to me, and I got swept up in the atmosphere and accepted it. I ended up breaking up with him because he was so gluttonous, but he kept looking at my plate while shoveling food into his mouth.”

“You mean he was trying to eat your share too?”

“That’s right.”

Estella nodded. It was a horrible memory to relive. She’d spent years before her death avoiding men altogether because her friends were always asking her why she only dated men like that. Objectively speaking, she hadn’t had the best luck with men.

Diego finally sighed. Then he asked patiently.

“Do you have any more?”

“What?”

“Let’s hear it for how many more assholes you’ve met.”

He seemed to find Estella’s failed relationships quite amusing. Estella found it ridiculous, too. All the men she’d dated in her past life had turned out like this.

Dutifully complying with Diego’s request, she began to rack her brains again. Somehow excited to talk, she recounted a total of five ex-boyfriends in front of him. Somehow, she’d gotten more comfortable with Diego lately. It was a similar feeling to when you’re catching up with an ex over drinks. As she recounted the events that led to their breakup, Diego’s face stiffened, his brow narrowed in disbelief, and finally, a smirk crossed his face.

When she finished, she waited for him to curse out her exes, but the direction of the cursing was a little different than she expected. Diego crossed his arms, a murderous look on his face, and took a menacing step toward her.

Estella reflexively took a hesitant step backward. Once he was right in front of the bush, there was nowhere to run. Estella looked up at Diego, puzzled.

“Little Duke…… why are you doing this……?”

“So you’ve dated a piglet with a huge appetite, talked to an old man sixteen years your senior, and had all sorts of other nasty men.”

“What?”

“And out of all of them, I’m the only one you’ve rejected?”

Well, they weren’t all criminals, you know!

I may have had some objections, but I couldn’t possibly voice them in front of a murderer.

* * *

Surprisingly, Diego let Estella go easily, as if her last love affair had been quite a shock. However, that didn’t mean Estella was completely unaffected. Amidst all this, Diego demanded that Estella report back to him about what she discussed with Adriana. Of course, Estella had no intention of carrying out his request.

“There you are.”

Adriana spotted her and greeted her with a welcoming smile. Estella cautiously stepped onto the balcony. It wasn’t yet dark enough for the play to begin. Everyone she passed was dressed in fancy clothes, which made her feel a bit dazed.

Estella’s reason for coming to the capital was to earn money, and of course, she couldn’t spend as much on clothing as other noblewomen. She wore enough that she wasn’t embarrassed to be seen out and about, but she was still far from wealthy.

As soon as she laid eyes on Adriana, however, Estella’s concerns became irrelevant. Adriana, too, was dressed modestly for the occasion, and, as she had done on her last visit to the ducal residence, she was almost completely covered. Her face was barely visible under her large hat. Though a glimpse of the bridge of her nose peeking out from beneath the brim suggested a remarkable complexion.

“You’ve invited me to a nice place, so I’m here.”

Estella took her seat without hesitation. It was the first time she’d ever been in an opera house like this. Adriana spoke in a gentle voice.

“Were you surprised to be summoned out of the blue?”

“A little, perhaps.”

“You have to understand. I was sneaking out, and I didn’t want anyone to know who I was seeing.”

With that, Adriana gestured to the structure, which was closed off around them except for the side facing the stage.

“These seats are favored by lovers because they’re out of sight of everyone else, and their words will be buried in the lines.”

“Sounds like a secret rendezvous.”

Estella said, and Adriana let out a small laugh in response. At that moment, the lights went out, and the curtain rose. Estella barely made it to the theater in the nick of time, considering the delay caused by being held back by Diego. Taking a breath, Estella thought she almost arrived late. Observing her quietly, Adriana spoke softly.

“Actually, I thought you weren’t coming.”

An unexpected concern. Estella looked back at Adriana’s letter, which was indeed a somewhat sudden invitation.

“I admit, I was a little surprised by the suddenness of the news.”

“I don’t expect you to understand, but I do have an excuse. Would you like to hear it?”

Adriana asked, and Estella nodded thoughtfully. Adriana didn’t hesitate.

“Do you know why I went to see the Little Duke of Berta last time?”

The directness of the question caught Estella off guard for a moment. Adriana’s topic was very authentic. It was as if Adriana had actually bought a ticket to talk to her here.