Chapter 197: At Least One

You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02

༺ At Least One ༻

"W-what did you just say?"

Roswyn stood frozen, her voice trembling as she posed the question.

"I don't quite understand."

She tilted her head to the side as if Frey's words were difficult for her to comprehend, but her increasingly pale face told a different story.

"I told you, Roswyn."

To that, Frey responded once again.

"I don't want to love you anymore, and I don't want to meet you either."

"W-wait!"

Just as Frey turned to get back into the carriage, Rosewyn's hand had shot out and grabbed his arm.

"Are you throwing a tantrum? You're just upset, right?"

"..."

"Hm, you seem quite upset, don't you? Okay, it's my fault. I've been too hard on you. I'll try to be better from now on…"

"Roswyn."

Her expression turned apologetic, and she took a tentative step closer. But when she heard him speak in a low tone, she flinched back.

"…Let go."

"Oh, uhmm…"

Roswyn released her grip slowly.

"F-Frey? Why are you acting like this?"

From her perspective the Frey that had always worn a foolish smile in her presence was now looking at her with coldness in his eyes.

"Y-you. Has that strange detective agency brainwashed you? Or did you eat something weird? You seem a bit different from your usual self."

"…Sorry, I'm just a bit busy right now."

"W-wait!"

When Frey tried to leave yet again, Roswyn timidly had stopped him once more, this time holding the hem of his cloth rather than grabbing his arm as she had done before.

"…..!"

Only after he had given her the same cold look did Roswyn realize something was wrong.

"Sigh…"

Frey watched Roswyn for a moment, then sighed deeply.

"How long are you going to stay here?"

He asked, frowning.

"…Something's strange."

Roswyn continued to stare at him with a puzzled expression, all the while muttering to herself.

"Did he get possessed? If not, did he really get brainwashed…"

"…Tsk."

"Y-you, there's no way you don't like me anymore, right?"

Frey let out a small sigh and spoke.

"…After countless confessions until now, I've finally come to the realization that I would never be able to receive any love from you."

"What? But…"

"They say, 'there's no tree that won't fall after ten hits,' but no matter how many times—be it a hundred or a thousand times—I try, you won't fall for me.."

Roswyn's gaze dropped.

"Even so, I held onto the hope that one day you'll see my sincerity… but that never happened. "

"..."

"I knew you were using me, I knew you treated me like a pushover… I knew you only saw me as a source of money, and in reality, you also detested and looked down on me."

"N-No…"

"But still, it doesn't matter to me. Such treatment was something I always received from those around me, so it wasn't anything new."

He didn't let her speak, clenching his fist as he continued.

"Even so, even if I was used by you, became a source of money, and treated as a pushover, I still wanted to convey my sincere feelings to you…"

Frey allowed himself to breathe; it seemed his emotions got the better of him for a moment.

"I'm sorry."

Locking his eyes with the now frozen Roswyn, he spoke in a soft voice.

"You must have suffered a lot because of me all this time, right?"

"Frey."

"You no longer have to put up with the Empire's top scoundrel and loser like me bothering you, making you disgusted anymore. You won't have to go through the trouble of entertaining someone you dislike."

"...."

"I can no longer reveal my true feelings to you, for I fear that doing so would shatter my own heart and become a burden on you"

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence between them.

"Then…"

"Wait…"

"What now?"

Frey asked with a deeply furrowed brow. It was her third time blocking him from boarding the carriage.

"W-who are those women?"

"What?"

"Those women… behind you."

To Frey's inquiry, Roswyn repeated the question.

"What is their identity?"

She had seen Lulu always clinging to him recently, but today, there was Irina with him.

The presence of those two came as a surprising revelation to Roswyn.

Roswyn firmly believed that there would be no one who would genuinely like someone foolish, pathetic, and scoundrel like Frey.

It was because of this belief that she thought even if such a situation were ever to occur to her, he would become lonely without receiving love from anyone, and would eventually return to her with his ears drooping like a drenched puppy.

"Lulu and Irina?"

But today, her last piece of assurance had been shattered mercilessly.

"Lulu has been employed by me for a long time… as a servant, and Irina is the same. It's just a simple relationship like that. You don't have to care about something like this…"

Though Frey's explanation was calm, the gazes and expressions of Lulu and Irina in the carriage behind him dripped with superiority and mockery as they stared at Roswyn.

"....."

"…Ah."

It was unmistakably the look of females who had taken possession of a male that others had been playing with.

"What are you doing, Roswyn?"

Frey's words snapped Roswyn out of her daze.

"Uh, Frey. Can we talk for a moment? Just the two of us. There seems to be a misunderstanding…"

"I'm busy right now. There's a place I have to go."

"Just wait for a moment. Please, just a moment…"

Roswyn herself couldn't explain why she had been keeping him out of the carriage.

"You're acting like this because you might not know about this. Those women… Oh?"

Soon, something seized her attention and Roswyn widened her eyes.

"W-what is that, Frey?"

A glint flashed on Frey's left ring finger as the sunlight caught it.

"A-a ring…? You're wearing a ring…? Why is it there…?"

With her left hand outstretched, she lowered her head to examine it, confusion growing across her features.

"T-this."

He immediately replied to her in a calm voice.

"You don't need to know."

"The ring on your left ring finger… that…"

"I've said you don't need to know. Can't you understand that?"

However, when Roswyn didn't relent, Frey raised his voice and pulled his hand away.

"Could it be… an engagement ring?"

"Huff."

Her question drew a sigh from Frey, and he finally answered her.

"Yes, it's an engagement ring."

"W-w-with whom…"

"With whom? Of course, it's with Serena."

"…..!"

Upon hearing those words, Roswyn's eyes widened in shock.

"B-but… you've been cursing Serena in front of me every day…"

"You know what?"

In response to her, Frey started speaking while caressing the ring.

"Until now, I wanted to wear this ring with you."

"…What?"

"It's disgusting, right? I must have misinterpreted your intention. You probably didn't even want to think about it."

"W-wait, just a moment."

"But since I've given up on you, to continue the lineage of the Starlight family, I have no choice but to marry Serena. After all, Clana hates me, so I have no other option."

"Wait…"

Roswyn urgently reached out to Frey.

"…It seems like you still don't understand."

Frey, who had withdrawn his hand a step back from her touch, spoke in a low voice.

"I no longer like you."

"Ah…"

"Every time I see you, it feels like my heart is breaking. Therefore, I don't want to see your face anymore."

"…"

"Understood? I won't harm you anymore. Thank you for all this time, Roswyn."

"Wait…"

"In order to save you… no, this is the best way for both of us. So, I won't look for you again."

Eventually, with that final blow, Frey slowly boarded the carriage.

"I-I said, let's have a talk! Where are you going?"

Seeing him go, Roswyn unconsciously shouted.

"Don't go!"

"....."

And then, there was a moment of silence.

"Talk?"

As Lulu and Irina stealthily approached Frey with uncertain gazes, Frey, who was standing between them, glanced at Roswyn, who was outside the carriage.

"Talk…"

After a moment of contemplation, he spoke with a dark voice.

"If you really want to talk about feelings, come find me with the flowers I gave you."

"…What?"

And then, the carriage slowly moved forward.

"If you don't do that, I don't think I'll ever want to meet you face to face anymore."

With those words, Frey left the Starlight Mansion's garden in the carriage.

"....."

Roswyn, who stood still in that spot, fell silent for a while.

"Ha."

As the carriage disappeared, she began to mutter with a baffled expression.

"Am I… just being pushed away? B-by Frey of all people?"

"This is ridiculous. Who does he think he is? He is just someone who always follows me all around like a puppy, and now he…"

At first, it was a mix of anger and embarrassment.

"Push me away… Why…"

As time passed, Roswyn's voice started trembling more and more.

"W-what the hell are those women… There's no way. I was the only one showing interest in Frey…"

"W-well, that's right. Go ahead. Do you think I would even care about it? I… I already have the Hero by my side. I would never cherish you…"

Like that, she muttered alone in front of the mansion's yard.

"…Never."

Suddenly, with a vacant expression, she said that.

"Just for someone like Frey… It doesn't matter either way…"

And from that moment, Roswyn's voice completely changed.

"W-what is this… What is it…"

Completely bewildered, Roswyn started muttering while sitting in her place.

"Disgusting… I feel strange. Why? Why? It doesn't matter anyway, right? It was just Frey, whom I detested so much. And he has finally left on his own…"

Roswyn muttered something as she felt the intensifying sunlight and the chilling breeze contrasting in the courtyard.

As the sun grew stronger, in contrast, the chilly wind swept through the courtyard.

"…Jealous?"

Suddenly, she remembered the words the mysterious detective at the detective agency said.

"Me? Jealous because of Frey…?"

Roswyn mumbled as she slowly rose from her seat.

"No way, that can't be…"

She denied it verbally, but her complexion continued to darken as she began to break out in a cold sweat.

"E-even if it's not jealousy… this feeling…"

Then, she completely stood up like that.

"I-Isn't this what I wanted from the start… I might have been a bit excessive… and that wimp might end up being used by those foolish kids…"

Saying so, she slowly began to walk outside the mansion.

"T-that's right, flowers. I only need to come again while bringing flowers to have a talk with him. We can't afford to lose a VIP client like this. This is totally not out of jealousy."

Despite no one listening, Roswyn continued muttering as she headed outside.

"Wait."

As she abruptly halted her steps, memories of all the flowers he had given her flooded back.

"Uh…"

All the flowers she had burned with her solar mana as soon as Frey left or had given as gifts to her employee or carelessly discarded in the warehouse or trash cans.

"…Grind."

She had stood frozen in place for a while, anxiously grinding her teeth because of those memories. However, eventually, she moved her steps again and thought to herself.

'It's okay, no problem. I can just find them at the guild.'

Something went terribly wrong, but she believed she could turn the situation around.

'…If I search it properly, there should be at least one left.'

She headed towards the waiting carriage outside the mansion.

'Imagine how many flowers I have received from him. I even received one as a gift just a week ago, didn't I?'

Despite it being early, the sunlight was unusually strong today.

"…..Ah."

As she walked through the bright sunlight, Roswyn suddenly recalled the golden flowers she had ruthlessly trampled, the one Frey gave.

"....."

The memories surged right before she got on the carriage.

You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02