# 4
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The progress of the revolution seems to have improved, which indicates that my mission using the support funds has succeeded.
The hearts of Ethyos' lives have not risen, but the mere fact that they have not fallen is a good thing in itf.
While the comfort level has improved due to the base relocation, it will not decrease any time soon at least.
knock knock —
“Ma’am, may I come in?”
I heard Hirose knocking on the door from outside.
I tightened the blanket I had kicked away, then answered.
“Come in.”
After a moment, he walked in, gave a polite greeting with his head lowered, and then told me the day's agenda.
He also gave me some good news since the morning.
“The High Priest approved your request to establish a home for the poor.”
The corner of my lips lifted into a slight smile.
“He told me to convey his regards to you and hope things go well, I don’t understand why he refused at first if he was going to agree in the end.”
exactly.
Why did he refuse just to cause me trouble?
She smiled coldly and stretched.
Well, let's start the day off actively.
But unfortunately, my good mood did not last long.
Because Hirose brought something unwelcome.
“Also, ma’am, present Filius Regalo, young noble, this is for you.”
As I stretched my arms out, I frowned and took the letter and read it.
「My dear fiancée Catherine-
You haven't shown your face since the funeral of the Duke and his wife, and I follow your shadow every day, unable to sleep because of worry about you.
Your refusal to even help Count Vadelmon, who was worried about you, made me even more upset.
If you're feeling well, can you take some time to visit me at my workplace?
I want to console you and discuss new things we can do together.
If you refuse this time too, I will have to meet you at your palace to support you.
—Your fiancé, Filius Rigalo.」
. …Well, Filius Regalo.
My shameful past.
Although I had continually refused to see him since the funeral of the Duke and his wife months before, he had continued to send me letters with such urgency.
By the way, the person who introduced me to the disgusting Filius Regalo is my Uncle Fadelmon, who is eyeing the Duke of Elmore's inheritance.
A black-hearted man.
Well, this requires a complicated explanation, but if you remember the events of the original story and summarize them:
It can be said that my uncle and my fiancé collaborated to steal my enormous fortune that I inherited.
If I had not looked at the situation objectively after the takeover, I would have failed to notice it and they would have plundered my wealth, and then killed me with their own hands.
Just like the events of the original story where Catherine is killed by betrayal from the nobles of the Emperor's ward.
When I raised my hand and pinched my eyebrows as a sign of a headache, Hirose spoke in a worried voice.
“Shall I tell him that my lady has not yet recovered?”
I've used this excuse several times already.
And most importantly. …
'I didn't run away because I was afraid of dirt.'
I frowned and moved my lips.
"my lady … .?"
“I ignored him because he was so annoying.”
“If you refuse this time too, he will have to meet you at your palace to support you.”
“But he keeps snooping, doesn't he?”
When I said that in an angry tone, Hirose trembled and froze, raising his gloved hand to cover his mouth.
She placed the crumpled letter on the desk and got up.
“Prepare the carriage, Hirose.”
* * *
When I entered the headquarters wearing a luxurious purple dress, several people's eyes turned to me.
I look so good that I startle every time I see myf in the mirror, so naturally it happens.
But as might be expected from the reputation of the “thorny rose of Elmore,” no one was brave enough to meet my gaze directly.
She ascended the red-carpeted stairs with lofty steps, and stood in front of the door leading to Filius's office and the reception room.
Laughs -
“Oh, it's so cool!”
“Oh my God, what is this?”
I heard female laughter that sounded like pearls being rolled from within.
'He's having fun.'
After a moment, the heavy door opened slowly, and when I entered—
The women who were sitting next to him on the sofa quickly got up.
They gathered, trembling, with looks full of caution and fear.
Women of lower rank I would sometimes see at parties.
“Ah, my fiancée, welcome.”
Filius stood up with a bright smile and extended his arms to hug me.
While the women who were with him quickly left through another door.
“I missed you so much, baby.”
'How disgusting.'
I pushed Filius's chest as he tried to embrace me with my hand, making a dry sound.
A look of slight confusion appeared on his face.
“…Catherine?”
Asking why Catherine Elmore would choose a man like that makes me angry.
“Do you want to date me and taste even the crumbs, or do you want to live like a worthless puppet prince all your life?”
Even her confession to the man she loved was this bad, showing how weak Catherine's sense of relationships is.
Arrogant at home.
Her only friends were maids who feared Elmore's influence, so she had no one to give her advice about love.
For this reason, she chooses Filius as her second choice, a man with good looks and background but corrupt on the inside.
He was so adept at dealing with Catherine's difficult personality and exploiting his female relationships that one wonders whether this was his brilliance or not.
“Did you...”
Filius spoke with half-closed eyes and a slight smile.
“Are you upset because of the women who just left?”
When I didn't answer, he raised his hands to cover his face for a moment, then said in a cheerful voice.
“Oh, that's so cute, Catherine, this side of you gives me new inspiration.”
Filius shrugged and motioned to a chair for him to sit down, then he sat down opposite, crossing one leg confidently.
“But you should know something, these women were just listeners to my poems, you know that great works need criticism. You are my only true love.”
In Katherine's memories, Filius would always make such petty excuses when he was caught hanging out with other women.
Even when Catherine frowned after seeing him kissing another woman's cheek, he said.
“You are still a beginner in love and have a lot to learn. I don’t blame you, of course. Even your immaturity seems endearing to me, and it makes me realize that this is true love.”
His tongue seems to be longer today after a long period of separation.
“Anyway, what I wanted to say today is...”
“Do whatever you want.”
“My artwork needs financial support, not much, only about 100 thousand coins, if you agree...”
“I will refuse.”
No need to hear more.
It's time to finish what I've been putting off due to discomfort.
“And also, we will break off the engagement.”
There was a heavy silence after I said that coldly.
"disengagement?"
Filius's pupils twitched visibly as he uttered those words.
Yes, break off the engagement.
Why should I continue an engagement with an idiot like this?
Anyway, I was planning to move to the emirate in a few months, so I didn't even want to meet him to finish the matter, but he was clinging to me like a leech, so I had no choice but to get rid of him.