My Sister’s Man - Chapter 36

Now that she had confirmed that Leandro was here, she was going to show her face briefly.

Larne turned her head while thinking so. Unlike yesterday, when she left quickly, people were persistently talking to her.

“In the streets, commoners…”

“Would you like to go see the fireworks at night?”

Didn’t this man know about Larne’s rumors? Larne didn’t answer, but fixed her gaze toward the central hall.

It was too much trouble to deal with them one by one. She thought that if she didn’t respond, they would soon get tired and leave.

When Larne didn’t speak for a long time, the chattering man next to her seemed to realize that he was being ignored.

The man grabbed her wrist without permission to draw her attention. At that moment, a familiar scent reached the tip of her nose.

“Stop.”

Larne turned her head to the indifferent voice. Larne’s brows furrowed lightly at the sight of Leandro entering her field of vision.

Leandro looked at her then shifted his gaze to her grasped wrist. The people around them quickly disappeared at Leandro’s imposing aura.

The man who was lingering near her also let go of Larne’s wrist and fled.

Leandro looked down at Larne with tired eyes.

“… .How about meeting a new man after the divorce? Can you show that much sincerity?”

Larne did not respond to Leandro’s words. No, it was ridiculous to explain anyway.

‘… What’s wrong with him?’

Seeing Leandro ask as if she meant something to him made her feel sick.

It would be just an act for her family, but she hated having feeble expectations in such a trivial manner.

When Larne didn’t answer, Leandro frustratedly picked up his glass on the table.

A red liquid ran down his throat and quickly disappeared. Leandro looked at her sarcastically as he set down the glass roughly.

“Or did I interrupt your amusement?”

His bright red eyes stared at her.

“It’s not what happened.”

Leandro’s fierce gaze seemed to strangle her.

She knew in her head that he wasn’t jealous of other men, but her mind reacted differently. Seeing him care about the men around her made her heart skip a beat.

Larne picked up her glass from the table. She swallowed it without thinking, startled by the bittersweet scent that invaded her mouth.

Larne put her glass down, unable to finish it. The taste of the remaining liquid in her mouth was too strong.

“If this is the case, at the time of divorce… ”

Larne, conscious of the gazes around her, spoke.

“Today, Count Gulden and other nobles are presenting newly made alcohol. I’ll take care of it myself.”

Leandro pushed the glass toward her.Larne accepted the glass he handed her.

“Just in case, be careful not to get drunk and make a mistake.”

The glass he handed over was a sweet drink with no added alcohol.

Larne looked at the place where Leandro left.

Her chest squeezed painfully.

In the banquet hall, things went smoothly. Larne had not been seen talking to the people of the Atrice family after dancing with Deron on the first day.

At one point the people stopped paying attention to her.

She was limited to a minimum number of attendees, but she was free to choose the day she attended the banquet, so she never faced Leandro after that.

When Larne went to a banquet, Leandro did not attend.

Somehow she managed to reside in the guest room.

She could go back to the mansion if she wanted, but on the last day she had to come back to the banquet hall.

The boring time had passed and the last day of the banquet had dawned.

As if she was trying to make amends for what she couldn’t do during her ban, many events were held. A hunting contest, competitions between knights…

Several times Deron invited her to attend them with him, but Larne declined all of them.

Finally it was the last day. It was the day to organize the conventions and schedules at the banquet. Awards, congratulations, and even charity events were included.

Larne watched the ceremony with her bored eyes.

Unlike people, she had no place to call home, but she wanted to go back and rest.

Except for the third day, Leandro, who had not been seen during the entire banquet, was only able to meet in the carriage returning to the mansion.

His face, which she hadn’t seen in about a week, looked somewhat displeased.

Was it because he didn’t want to be near her? Larne spoke carefully.

“…Tomorrow, if it’s okay with you, I think we can call the priest.”

“Yes. You look very healthy too.”

Leandro said and turned his gaze out the window. His words were kind, but the sarcasm in his tone was not hidden.

She thought it was strange, but Larne didn’t say anything more.

Because he looked to be in a bad mood. There was only silence in the carriage back to the mansion.

‘After today… now we’re really breaking up.’

Larne stared blankly at Leandro, who was looking out of the window.

“I still don’t remember what happened after we got married… but I’m sorry I ruined your marriage.”

Was it because Deron’s words remain in her memory? If she did nothing, nothing would change. Larne gave an apology with difficulty.

‘I don’t know how Leandro will take it…’

As if he was perplexed by Larne’s sudden apology, his gaze reached her. Leandro’s eyes blinked slowly. She lowered her head, unable to look into the subtle gaze.

Waiting for an answer, Larne looked like a prisoner on the guillotine. Her clenched fists trembled slightly.

“…Did you find your memories?”

Leandro’s voice trembled faintly, and Larne shook her head.

” …I still don’t remember much after we got married, but a little before that.”

“May I ask why you did it?”

Larne, who was only looking at her shoes, raised her head and faced Leandro. Her eyes shook violently. She didn’t know how to answer his question.

She couldn’t say it was because she liked him. In addition, to talk about her family discord, she had to mention her death as well. Besides, no matter what she said, she couldn’t rationalize what she had done.

She chose silence.

Perhaps thinking there must be another reason for that, Leandro changed the question.

“Because I’m your sister’s fiancé, was that just the reason?”

At the same time the carriage stopped.

She didn’t want to answer honestly. But Leandro seemed to intend not to get out of the carriage until he heard the answer. He stopped the attendant from opening the door and stared at Larne.

He didn’t ask why, he was just asking for an answer. Why was it so hard to answer? Perhaps she was afraid Leandro would find out about her feelings. Seeing his tenacious gaze, Larne spoke with a slow sigh.

“No. It wasn’t just because of that.”

“I see. You must be tired, let’s go in.”

She wasn’t sure if Leandro believed her or just accepted that it didn’t matter anyway. He opened the door personally and escorted her out.

“See you at lunch, not breakfast tomorrow.”

Larne nodded her head at Leandro’s words.

Returning to her room, Larne opened the diary she hadn’t been able to open.

“I wrote this…”

[My brother really didn’t know. He thought I was a liar. I still hate my brother.]

[….The magic is broken. My eye color and hair color were all fake. I was going to die from the start. But I lived longer than I thought. Did he want me to die early? When I was very young?]

[In the end, I must have done everything wrong, sick and dying soon.]

[I’m sorry about my sister. By the way, my sister… Why, to me… If her fiancé was someone else, I could have been honest.]

Larne flipped through the pages.

The place where the diary was cut off, it seemed, was when her parents died.

[The place of resentment has disappeared.]

It was a simple description with no other words. Even that short description seemed to suffocate her. Larne closed the diary, which was now useless.

The diary, which used to be under her pillow as she was curious to open but could not, now went into a drawer.

***