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However, if she let that anger explode right now, wouldn't the innocent Anna be the only one to suffer again?
Taking a quiet, deep breath to barely settle her emotions, Yevgenia affected a voice as soft as possible.
“……Raymond. That dog—no, I mean, um. Yes, I wonder what that fellow, Raymond, had to say about me.”
Encouraged by Yevgenia's gentle tone, Anna stamped her foot and answered with great vividness.
“Well, he started by asking if I thought he'd even look back at me just because I bragged about having nothing but money, and then he went on and on about how if I just obediently gave back the Rose of Light, he might let me be his partner at a banquet once!”
Lowering her voice significantly, Anna even puffed out her chest excessively, mimicking an arrogant attitude.
She acted with such dedication that Anna's every movement was clearly visible to Yevgenia, whose eyes had grown accustomed to the darkness.
It was such a comical sight that Yevgenia remained silent, barely suppressing a laugh as she listened. Then, Anna suddenly leaned in close and whispered in a small voice.
“My Lady, could it be that Duke Larsen hasn't yet delivered the news to him that the engagement has been canceled?”
“Hmm, I don't think so. When Father sent someone to Duke Larsen's estate, he ordered them to deliver the letter while facing both Duke Larsen and Raymond together.”
It was truly astonishing that he could remain so brazen even after receiving a letter that—written in the roundabout, polite language of nobility—essentially told him to 'stop being greedy and get lost if you want to go find love.'
Anna, of course, couldn't have been unaware of this—not that she knew the exact contents of the letter, but because she knew Duke Martir's personality and his love for his daughter so well—and thus wore an equally bewildered expression.
Of course, seeing Raymond's lack of pride and shamelessness made Yevgenia feel as though her common sense had not only left the building but had ascended to the afterlife.
'Then again, how many people would throw away their pride and shame in their youth if it meant obtaining a Dukedom? Moreover, Raymond sincerely believed he would become Duke Martir.'
The mere thought that this wasn't just simple arrogance, but a reality that had almost come to pass, sent a chill down her spine.
It was such a relief that she had regained her senses by recalling the original novel.
'God really does exist. It's just that He gives help in the most erratic way possible.'
Hadn't Raymond also received divine help?
If not, he wouldn't be the kind of man that 'Yevgenia' could have fallen for so deeply.
'The same goes for Stella. At least she has a guaranteed future in Part 2, so it seems highly likely she escaped on her own.'
Thinking of the original female protagonist for the first time in a while made her stomach churn.
While some had to run here and there, twisting their entire being to defy fate, Stella's destiny was such that a path of flowers was guaranteed just by breathing.
Just then, Anna, who had been tilting her head repeatedly, asked in a frustrated voice as if she couldn't figure it out no matter how much she thought about it.
“If he's acting like this even after our Master gave such a stern warning, what on earth is he thinking?”
Hmph. Yevgenia scoffed and replied in a sarcastic tone.
“He's probably so blinded by love that he wants to deny reality. As I recall, the title that would go to Raymond if he doesn't marry me is only that of a Count. What man would want to reveal that in front of the woman he loves?”
However, Yevgenia's answer only served to amplify Anna's suspicions.
“Hmm……. Is that really it?”
“What else could it be? He came to you just to recover his bruised ego. He's a complete lunatic.”
Despite the firm words spoken while shaking her head, Anna still tilted her head in confusion.
Touching her furrowed brow in thought, Anna murmured softly.
“But, for a man in love, he didn't seem to care about her at all…….”
“……What? What did you just say?”
In the quiet, dark interior of the carriage, there was no way she could have missed the voice of her only companion.
Startled by Yevgenia's intense reaction, Anna jumped.
“Y-yes?”
“Anna. What you just said. Say it again. Exactly as it was, so I can hear it clearly.”
Under Yevgenia's pressing, Anna eventually had to repeat her words obediently.
“I said... that for a man in love, he didn't seem to care about her at all……. I'm sorry, My Lady! Even if he is that kind of person, he is the child of a Ducal house; for someone like me to dare predict and speak of his intentions... mmpf!”
“Whether you call that bastard a pup or a scoundrel, it's perfectly fine in front of me, so just keep your mouth shut for a moment, Anna. I need to think.”
As if proving she was indeed the older sister of Sona and Sena, Anna was a chatterbox who knew no bounds once she started talking.
After physically blocking her mouth before she could go on further, Yevgenia worked her creaking brain hard.
'So, you're saying that bastard Raymond was badmouthing me in front of Anna and didn't even care about Stella? So openly that Anna noticed it?'
Her heart hammered at the unbelievable situation.
In truth, the breakup of the Raymond and Stella couple was a future Yevgenia had inwardly anticipated.
That sentence, which had been stuck like a thorn in a corner of Yevgenia's heart ever since she first saw it in her dream.
<The Baron's Daughter Who Defies Fate - Part 1 End>
Considering that, she believed there was a high possibility that the female protagonist, Stella, would eventually realize he was a flooded car disguised as a luxury Benz and break up with him.
'I naturally assumed Stella would be the one to ignore and dismiss him first, so I'm just shocked that it was Raymond who did it…….'
It seemed there was now a genuine need to learn more about the original novel.
Until now, she had been so focused on canceling the engagement that she had temporarily forgotten, but now that she had succeeded, she could no longer postpone this.
On a small scale, it was so she wouldn't miss opportunities that came by chance, like the Rose of Light.
On a larger scale, it was to clearly grasp the flow created by Stella and Raymond.
'The problem is that I haven't yet found a definitive trigger for recalling the original story.'
Yevgenia had recalled the original story exactly twice.
Both times were after an incident related to a name had occurred.
However, when she most recently erased a name, she didn't recall the original story, nor did she even have a significant dream.
'The first time the memories of the original story appeared was when the name manifested. But since a name cannot manifest anew, I'll set that aside for now; the other two times are what matter.'
In those two successful cases, she had formed a deep relationship with Yulan.
Although she had erased a name recently, they had only shared a brief prelude.
The scene she recalled upon seeing the Rose of Light was a memory she had simply forgotten for a while; it was hard to say she had "recalled" it anew.
'What exactly is the mechanism for recalling the original story? Forming a deep relationship with another? Or perhaps light contact?'
Other variables came to mind as well.
Would the original story be recalled if she formed a deep relationship with someone other than Yulan?
Perhaps the duration of contact was more important than the depth of contact?
Yulan, at night, had been excessively persistent…….
'I can't experiment with all these variables. Now that I've become the successor, I have a responsibility to prepare for various futures.'
Until now, the future Yevgenia had envisioned was 'terminally ill but dying peacefully.'
She had intended to leave the position of successor to a child from a collateral branch and depart once the engagement with Raymond was canceled.
However, after hearing her father's sincere wish for her happiness and her future, things had changed a bit... no, actually, a lot.
The greed she thought she had spent entirely on surviving had begun to creep out and stretch its legs.
'I still don't know how far my life will extend, so I can't give up on finding a suitable candidate from the collateral branch. But, that doesn't mean I want to give up on a future where I personally inherit the Dukedom.'
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