My Fiancé Fell in Love with My Older Sister. After Locking Myself in My Room for Five Days, 500 Years Had Passed. - Chapter 11

(……Huh??)

Just now, what did Felix say?

(As the queen… to help my sister?)

If I didn’t mishear, he just said I should support my sister as the queen.

Surely.

Surely… I misheard, right!?

Forcing a strained smile, I asked Felix.

“…Excuse me, but what did you just say?”

“I’m not that heartless.”

This isn’t working. We’re not having a real conversation.

Felix rested his forehead on his clasped hands, deep in thought.

I could see his distress clearly.

“Felicia. I couldn’t love you, but that doesn’t mean I hated you.”

He’s saying something…

At this point, I gave up trying to communicate with him.

I have a very bad feeling about this.

What is this? This man drowning in his own melodrama.

He’s radiating the energy of ‘I’m being torn apart by fate…!!’

While he was being serious, my heart was growing colder and colder.

It was a good thing he was looking down.

Otherwise, he would have noticed.

He would have seen the icy look in my eyes.

The same look I had when I spoke with my father the other day.

‘You really are just like your mother…!!’

(…Just like Mother, huh?)

For some reason, my father’s words came to mind.

…Will I end up like my mother too?

Days of being treated as if I don’t exist by my husband.

Father has no hostility or malice toward Mother—but he has no interest in her either.

Every day, she is ignored as if she were just air.

She resents her husband’s lover’s daughter, but she can’t openly do anything about it.

She pretends to be dignified… desperately clinging to her last shred of pride.

It must be exhausting.

Draining.

Mother is afraid.

Afraid that one day, Father will completely abandon her.

Even so, she can’t forgive him.

So, she continues her silent protest against him.

That contradiction has been tormenting her for years.

She can’t let go of everything, yet she can’t accept it either.

Will I… become like her?

The thought sent shivers down my spine.

That future was too easy to imagine.

(…No.)

I thought clearly.

Getting caught up in someone else’s love affairs and ending up miserable.

Being trapped in negative emotions and suffering because of it.

I don’t want either.

If that’s the case, I must end this engagement.

There is no happiness for me in a future where Felix and I get married.

As I was stunned by the painfully clear image of my future, Felix raised his head, as if his “poor me” session had ended.

“Felicia?”

He called my name in a strange tone, as if he was looking at something unusual.

I snapped out of it and looked up.

Our eyes met.

I must have been pale.

Felix frowned slightly and said,

“…Are you feeling unwell? I’m sorry. I suppose this is hard for you to accept. But please understand. My fate is with Agnes.”

Fate, fate, fate. That’s all my fiancé talks about.

I had the sudden urge to dump my tea on him.

I barely held myself back.

(Endure it… Endure it. It’s fine. Compared to the troublesome customers I dealt with in my past life, this is nothing. At least he’s not insulting me or making death threats.)

I recalled the four worst complainers I had faced in my past life.

The customer who demanded medical fees and compensation because they tripped inside the store (clearly their own fault, and it was just a scrape).

The customer who complained that I was ‘slacking off’ just because I took a sip of water while working the register (it was summer! Did they want me to die of heatstroke?).

The customer who finished their entire meal and then suddenly claimed, ‘The hamburger was raw!!’ and yelled at me for hours (you ate the whole thing, though??).

And then—suddenly, I remembered.

A new memory from my past life.

(Oh, right… There was that time I got told to quit my job just because my voice was ‘annoying’…!!)

It hit me like divine revelation.

Back when I was a college student working as a call center operator, a customer complained that my voice was irritating and that I should quit.

They even told me I wasn’t suited for the job and should change careers.

(Back then, I was too inexperienced to know how to respond, so I just said, ‘Thank you for your valuable feedback.’ We both ended up confused after that…)

Recalling the absurd complaints I had handled in my past life, I started to calm down.

It’s fine. At least Felix isn’t attacking my character, insulting me, or making threats.

Compared to those horrible customers, he’s much easier to deal with.

By convincing myself of that, I somehow managed to suppress my impulse.

Felix looked at me and let out a small, wry smile.

“Even in times like this, you never change.”

“──”

I widened my eyes.

(Because getting emotional won’t do any good.)

‘You really are just like your mother…!!’

Once again, I heard my father’s voice in my mind.

“You know as well as I do that Agnes is frail. She can’t handle being queen.”

“…………”

Then what am I supposed to do?

Should I cry and throw a tantrum?

What would that accomplish?

I’d lose more than I’d gain.

Even I, insignificant as I may be, have my own sense of pride.

I refuse to beg for a man I don’t even love.

What’s the point of winning a position through pity?

What would it even mean?

…What should I do?

I clenched my hands tightly on my lap.

As I bowed my head, my fiancé’s merciless words echoed in my ears.

“That’s why, Felicia. I need you to support her.”