The Knight Who Broke Off Our Engagement and Told Me to Never Show My Face Again Still Clings to Me Today, Even Though I Was Possessed and Turned Into a Villainess for Ten Years - 42 - Beyond the Misunderstanding
“…Rufus?”
When I called his name and leaned in to look at his face—frozen like a statue—Rufus quickly said, “Sorry, it’s nothing,” and covered his mouth with one hand. His face looked a little red.
Meanwhile, Lord Kevin was deep in thought, but just as he began to speak—
Knock knock.
A knock sounded through the room. After checking with Lord Kevin, I called out, and Hala came in right away, saying, “Excuse me.”
“My lady, Lord Gerald has arrived.”
“What?”
I was surprised by Gerald’s sudden visit. I didn’t have any plans to meet him today. In fact, we had just seen each other yesterday. Did something happen?
Noticing the visitor, Lord Kevin kindly stood up, placed down his teacup, and picked up his coat.
“We’ll take our leave now.”
“Ah, alright…”
I tried asking about what he was going to say earlier, but he smiled and said it was fine. Rufus, looking flustered, stood up so quickly that he banged his leg on the table. It looked painful—was he okay?
After walking the two of them to the door, I headed to meet Gerald.
“…So you were with Lord Langridge,” Gerald said.
“Y-Yeah.”
On the way to the entrance, I ran into Gerald, who was being guided to the drawing room by a maid. Gerald and Rufus exchanged greetings, but the air between them felt tense.
“Oh right,” Gerald added with a polite smile. “Thank you for watching over that woman. I’ll be taking her back soon.”
“I understand,” Lord Kevin replied with a nod.
At that moment, I saw my father walking toward us, grinning from ear to ear. He seemed to be in a great mood.
I knew an old friend had come to visit him earlier today. Judging by his red face, he’d probably been drinking. When he saw me and Gerald together, his smile deepened.
“Sadie, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Huh?”
“That Lord Gerald proposed to you.”
In that moment, I saw the expression on Rufus’s face change from the corner of my eye. It seemed my father was quite drunk and hadn’t even noticed Rufus and Lord Kevin standing nearby.
“F-Father! Please save that conversation for later. I need to walk our guests out.”
Finally realizing Rufus and Kevin were there, my father looked embarrassed and gave them a rushed greeting.
Rufus only replied in a low voice, “Yes…”
“In any case, please head to the drawing room, both of you,” I said to Gerald and my father.
Even if the engagement was canceled, this wasn’t something to talk about in front of a former fiancé. I gently pushed my father along and, once they were out of sight down the hall, I turned back to Rufus.
“Um… I’m sorry about that.”
“…So, he proposed to you?”
“Um, yes…”
I nodded, and Rufus looked like he’d been hurt—like he was about to cry.
“Are you planning to accept it?”
“Well, that’s… I don’t know…”
I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t planning to marry Gerald, but I hadn’t given him an answer yet. It didn’t feel right to tell Rufus first.
When I replied vaguely that I didn’t know yet, Rufus simply whispered, “I see,” and lowered his long lashes.
After that, he didn’t say another word—and left the mansion.
◇◇◇
“What am I supposed to do…”
In the carriage on the way back, Rufus sat across from me, holding his head in his hands. We had managed to clear up the misunderstanding about the drinking, but now he had learned that she was proposed to.
And worse, the man who proposed was well-liked, clearly close to her, and had everything—good looks, high status, and shared painful experiences with her. He was the perfect match.
“…It’s over.”
“It’s not decided yet.”
“No. Sadie will definitely accept.”
Rufus seemed convinced it was all over. But based on what I saw earlier, I still believed there was hope.
“When I imagined Rufus saying he loved other women too, it really upset me. That’s why I was relieved.”
Didn’t those words sound like jealousy? It even explained why she had said, “Please don’t drink when there are women around.”
“There’s no way. There’s nothing lovable about me.”
“Is that really true?”
I tried pointing that out, but Rufus immediately brushed it off. He admitted that he had allowed himself a bit of hope for a moment—but once he calmed down, he decided it was impossible.
It was rare to see someone usually so confident looking this unsure and defeated.
Trying to cheer him up, I said, “Let’s go out for a drink.”
But he groaned, held his head again, and said, “Never drinking again. I don’t want Sadie to hate me any more than she already does.”