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Chapter 11 – Isabel Yustia (2)

“…Miss.”

A familiar voice murmured softly in the haze.

It was warm yet gentle.

Hearing a faint voice, Isabel raised her heavy eyelids.

“Miss.”

Half-opened eyes revealed the figure of a woman calling her.

Short hair, cheeks dotted with freckles, and the familiar maid’s attire.

It was an unforgettable sight.

Her personal maid, Erica, whose appearance seemed to have aged backwards, reflected in Isabel’s eyes.

“Miss, it’s time to wake up.”

The familiar voice cleared Isabel’s mind, helping her grasp the situation.

Before losing consciousness, fragments floated in her mind, and the words within them.

That means…

“…I’ve returned?”

“Oh my, Miss, indeed. The Count returned yesterday.”

“Really… he really came back…?”

“Of course!”

She paid no heed to the conflicting conversation.

What mattered now to Isabel wasn’t her reunion with Erica.

She scanned her surroundings.

The room, decorated with antique charm, undoubtedly belonged to Isabel from her childhood.

“Ah.”

A short sigh escaped through her parted lips.

Simultaneously, realization struck like lightning.

Isabel had regressed.

That too, before her relationship with Kyle distorted.

Or even more precisely.

‘…Kyle is alive.’

Before she killed Kyle with her own hands.

“Miss, shall I prepare the bath first? Or would you like to have your meal?”

Erica moved around the room with familiar steps, opening the windows wide to let in fresh air.

A cool breeze tickled Isabel’s nose.

She pinched her thigh, half expecting it to be a dream, but the slight ache confirmed otherwise.

It didn’t seem like a dream at all.

The fact that she could start over from the beginning brought tears to her eyes.

She wiped her misty vision with her sleeve.

After a moment, Isabel took a deep breath.

Then she casually stretched and rose from her seat.

“Prepare the bath first.”

“Yes, Miss.”

“And prepare a light meal. Oh, and…”

She had returned to the past.

Still somewhat dazed by the overwhelming surrealism, Isabel remembered her purpose clearly.

Her tightly shut lips parted cautiously.

“Would you help me prepare for an outing?”

A genuine smile flickered across Isabel’s face.

****

Kyle is alive.

The fact that she could finally see him filled Isabel with an indescribable thrill.

To see the Kyle as he was when he whispered his love to her.

What should she say when she meets Kyle?

Words of repentance? Or perhaps just the common greeting saying that she missed him?

Just the thought of seeing Kyle made her heart race.

Would tears burst uncontrollably at the sight of him?

Her eyes stung.

Useless fantasies swirled in her head like blank canvases.

“…Get a grip.”

Kyle didn’t know that Isabel had regressed.

Her mistakes, the impending disaster.

All of it was just distant premonitions of the future.

There was no need to dwell on them.

She just had to approach him as naturally, calmly, and slowly as possible.

She just needs to reach out with her heart, just as Kyle did to her.

Her hand holding the teacup trembled slightly.

Excitement, tension, and guilt.

Mixed emotions intertwined and bore fruit.

Calm down.

She couldn’t afford to make a scene from her first meeting with Kyle.

Isabel brushed her chest and tried to maintain calmness.

That’s when it happened.

“…!”

Jet black hair and azure eyes that look like the night sky.

And that slightly drowsy yet distinctive look.

It was Kyle.

Kyle stood still, alive and breathing, gazing at her.

Isabel greeted him with a broken voice.

It was an unusual greeting, but Isabel didn’t mind.

Instead, she swallowed deeply, expecting Kyle’s reaction.

“Kyle?”

Kyle remained silent, without any expression on his face.

Despite Isabel’s sudden visit, he showed no sign of surprise.

Unable to contain herself, Isabel attempted to initiate conversation again.

Soon, Kyle’s tightly shut lips slowly parted.

“…Long time no see.”

A deep and profound voice.

Undoubtedly Kyle’s voice.

Despite trying to suppress overwhelming emotions, Isabel raised her head, only to find Kyle’s face wearing a somewhat uncomfortable expression.

Perhaps due to her sudden visit without prior notice.

Isabel cautiously explained her reason for coming here, along with an apology.

That’s when it happened.

Kyle interrupted her, saying he had something to say.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and uttered words with a sharp, piercing voice.

“Let’s forget about our engagement.”

Isabel blinked dumbfoundedly.

Kyle, who had wanted their engagement more than anyone else, suddenly requested to break it off.

Did she mishear? Or was it a light joke to lighten the mood?

If not, was it a reproach for her unexpected visit?

Isabel stared at Kyle with a shocked gaze.

Her head spun, and her stomach churned.

Simultaneously, a strong warning signal that something was amiss rang in her head.

“Are you serious?”

Kyle nodded calmly with a blank face.

Isabel didn’t believe it. No, she couldn’t.

To call off the engagement, there’s no way he could be serious, right?

She asked for the reason with a restrained tone.

Why did Kyle, who loved her, now want to break off their engagement?

Soon, a clear answer came out of his mouth.

“I loved you. But not anymore.”

Shock registered on Isabel’s pale face.

His words, “I loved you. But not anymore,” tore Isabel’s heart to pieces.

She repeated the question several times.

But his answer remained the same each time.

He no longer loved her.

Kyle was undoubtedly saying that.

“You disdain me.”

The doubtful gaze from Kyle pierced Isabel’s heart to the core.

A dreadful chill engulfed her entire body as if icy water had been poured on her.

Kyle said he no longer loved her.

Isabel couldn’t, no, wouldn’t admit it.

— I love you, Isabel.

His voice still lingered tenderly.

The face blushing shyly, and that sweet voice that whispered his love to her.

“…I wasted my time.”

Kyle’s sigh-filled voice echoed in her ears like a haunting echo.

He withdrew his gaze from Isabel and turned away without hesitation.

With an urgent voice, Isabel called out to stop Kyle.

And then she discovered.

Something that was supposed to be on Kyle’s left ring finger was missing.

A strong sense of unease engulfed her.

Suddenly, a past memory of the lies she told Kyle to hurt him flashed through her mind.

— I threw it away. It was too bothersome.

No, it couldn’t be.

Please, it can’t be.

Isabel forced herself to repeat even if it was self-indoctrination.

However, as if to mock her, Kyle sharply retorted in a cold voice.

“Oh, this.”

“I threw it away.”

Thud—!

The door of the reception room closed, and a suffocating silence choked her.

Only then did Isabel realize.

[You may lose what is most precious to you.]

She had lost what was most precious to her.

****

Isabel didn’t give up.

She did her best to change Kyle’s mind.

However, there was something she overlooked.

That was.

The scars she engraved on Kyle’s heart were deeper and larger than she had thought.

— After treating me like dirt all this time, and now what? Trying to clear up misunderstandings?

In Kyle’s eyes, filled with hatred and repulsion, Isabel saw an intense loathing.

— Are you sure?

— My past actions you’ve heard about all this time. Are you sure it is the truth without any doubt?

Kyle reproached Isabel’s ignorance.

Why didn’t she believe him?

Why did she treat him so contemptuously, swept away by mere rumors?

— Trash. Bastard. Despicable human being.

All those words, spat out by her own mouth, were like sharp blades.

— Want me to continue? Worthless. Horrible. Cursed human……

Those blades turned into boomerangs, mercilessly slashing at her skin.

— How strange. Why was I so obsessed with you?

I’m sorry.

That earnest apology melted into the pit of her throat like a lump of lead.

— Bastard, trash.

— Words I heard every day, but the day I heard them directly from your mouth was especially miserable.

— It felt like I became a real bastard.

Words refused to come out as if thorns were stuck in her throat.

She couldn’t breathe properly.

Each word became a boulder, relentlessly pounding on her.

That’s when it happened.

The ring Kyle said he had thrown away was embedded in Isabel’s eyes like a stake.

— You said you threw it away—!!

For a moment, Kyle’s face seemed perplexed.

A ray of hope sprouted in a corner of Isabel’s heart.

Maybe.

Perhaps there was still a trace of affection towards her… she thought.

But even that hope didn’t last long.

“Miss! Do you know what I just saw? No, um, Kyle Winfred and some lady were alone in a jewelry store…”

Isabel’s face twisted in dismay.

Tears streamed down her distorted eyes.

“Oh! The engagement ring! My god, they were talking about something ridiculous like auctioning off the engagement ring? Miss? Miss! Why are you crying…!”

Erica didn’t know what to do and wiped away Isabel’s tears with her sleeve.

A profound regret swelled in her chest.

Isabel, you wretched woman.

Cursing herself, she pounded her head with her hand relentlessly.

“Aargh! Miss, please calm down…!”

Erica held Isabel’s arms desperately.

With such a strong force, it took Erica a long time to calm Isabel down.

“Selling the ring…”

Isabel murmured in a low voice.

Upon hearing her murmuring, Erica, sensing the opportunity, continued the conversation.

“Yes! It’s great news! Just as you said, Miss, he’s finally moving on.”

— Annoying. When exactly are you going to move on?

The ringing in her ears pierced her eardrums sharply.

The content echoing in her ears felt oddly familiar.

‘Ah, I…’

Yes, it felt like one day she must have said such words to Kyle in frustration.

Not through someone else’s mouth, but directly from her own cursed mouth.

Isabel breathed sparsely.

Like a person isolated and trapped in a space with sparse oxygen.

“…”

Her lips trembled with fear, and her hands clasped around her throat.

Kyle was trying to erase her traces.

The few traces of affection Kyle had for her.

After a while.

Isabel gave instructions in a strained voice.

“…Could you find out the exact date of that auction?”