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 - 53 - Beyond Regret 1

I moved from the Arclight Count’s mansion to the Knight Order headquarters and was working through some paperwork when Kevin showed up. He had apparently finished his training.

“Rufus, you seem to be in a good mood today.”

I was just quietly working, but… do I really look that happy?

Feeling a little embarrassed, I covered my mouth with one hand.

Then Kevin suddenly acted like he remembered something, clapping his fist into his open palm.

“Ah, today is Lady Sadie’s birthday, isn’t it? I’m glad you were able to see her safely.”

“…Yeah.”

“You look happy. That’s the most important thing.”

“……”

I started to worry. Did I have some stupid look on my face in front of Sadie?

—Because of my father and the eyes of those around me, I wasn’t allowed to attend Sadie’s birthday party.

In the middle of all that, her friends Eliza and Norman made time for us to meet on that day.

‘Of course I’ll go see her, but why me?’

‘Because I’m sure the person Sadie most wants to see on her birthday is you, Lord Rufus.’

‘Huh? That can’t be…’

‘No, it definitely is. We’ve been by Sadie’s side for a long time, so we know it well.’

I couldn’t really believe their words, but honestly, if I could celebrate Sadie’s birthday for the first time in ten years, I didn’t care about the reason.

After thinking hard about the gift, I decided on a bouquet of flowers and a dress designed to look like the flower fields Sadie loves.

‘…Rufus?’

That day, Sadie wore the dress I gave her.

That alone made me so incredibly happy, but more than that—the dress suited her far more than I imagined. She looked so adorable, so dazzling, that I felt tears threatening to rise.

‘The thing that makes me happiest… is having you celebrate with me, Rufus.’

All I had wanted was to see her for a moment and say “Happy Birthday.” But when she said something so cute, I couldn’t stop myself—I ended up hugging her without thinking.

Sadie was small, slender, and smelled so sweet and nice that I felt dizzy. Just thinking about how much she carried inside that tiny body made my chest tighten painfully.

—At that moment, I fully realized just how hopelessly much I love Sadie.

Even though we could only spend a short time together since she had her party afterward, for me, it was more than enough.

“I hope she’s enjoying the party right now.”

“Yeah.”

For ten years, Sadie had never once been able to celebrate her birthday with her family. She spent all those years in that place.

I truly wanted her to spend her time from now on surrounded by her parents and dear friends, receiving all the happiness she had missed.

That’s what I thought.

But a few hours later, I received an unbelievable report: during the party, Sadie collapsed after drinking poisoned wine.

My mind went completely blank.

“Sadie!”

I rushed straight to the Arclight mansion, and there she was—Sadie, lying asleep on the bed.

Her face was terribly pale, almost bluish. Her expression looked like she was in pain, and it felt like something was tearing my heart apart.

“Lord Rufus…”

“Is Sadie going to be alright…?”

Her parents and her friends were all gathered around. Everyone looked heartbroken. Eliza whispered my name in a fading voice, then lowered her eyes.

“They say her life isn’t in danger. But the doctor said… they don’t know when she’ll wake up.”

“…Why did this happen…?”

I also heard that Mabel, who had taken over Eliza’s body, drank the same poison.

When I asked what had happened, for some reason, Norman and Neil Bassell left the room along with Sadie’s parents.

In the room, it was just the unconscious Sadie, me, Eliza, and Gerald Findlay.

Findlay looked like he was about to cry as he held Sadie’s hand.

“I knew we should have stopped this… We never should’ve let it happen.”

“What do you mean?”

When I looked at him, Findlay bit his lip hard.

Instead of him, Eliza began to explain.

“…Actually, up until the moment Sadie collapsed, this was all part of the original plan.”

“What…?”

I listened as she explained everything that led to this situation, and before I knew it, I slammed my fist into the wall.

To think that Sadie had been driven into a corner like this, while I was just happily celebrating her, completely unaware.

I heard she had told everyone to keep it a secret from me so I wouldn’t worry, and that made it all feel even worse.

‘Once again, happy birthday.’

‘Thank you so much for today. Please be careful going home.’

‘Yeah. Have fun.’

Just thinking about what Sadie was feeling in that moment made me want to cry.

“Why… why would Sadie do something like this…?”

“She said… she was the best choice for it. The medicine wasn’t supposed to leave any lasting effects, but something must have gone wrong. She seems to have taken more than the proper amount.”

Even though they gave her the antidote right away, Sadie kept suffering and still hadn’t woken up.

“On top of that… there’s been no movement from Mabel’s side. It’s unbelievable she could endure such terrible pain.”

I heard that Findlay had drunk the same medicine once before in preparation, and he said with certainty that no one could possibly endure this for so long.

That meant Mabel most likely used the magic tool again to escape into another person’s body. But Eliza and Norman still hadn’t returned to their original bodies.

“Could it be… the magic tool hasn’t reached its limit yet? I thought it would break after one more use.”

“We don’t know. For now, we can only watch and wait.”

Findlay spoke softly to unconscious Sadie, apologizing, as tears quietly spilled from his eyes.

Eliza too muttered an apology and covered her face with both hands.

“…Damn it.”

All I could do now was pray for her recovery. The uselessness of my own powerlessness made me hate myself completely.