Chapter 96
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- Chapter 96 - I Don't Hate You
Chapter 96. I Don’t Hate You
‘Sincere…’
Elena knew. She knew that Jeremy had sincerely cared for her during their time together.
That’s why she had once seriously imagined a future with him.
Even if the feelings weren’t mutual, she thought that if they stayed together, her heart might eventually turn to him.
‘Because I trusted you that much.’
In any case, there was nothing that Jeremy hadn’t been sincere about with Elena.
From approaching her with a purpose to genuinely coming to like her during their relationship.
Elena, who had been quietly looking at him, slowly nodded.
“Yes, I know.”
“Even if not right away… I definitely intended to tell you.”
Elena vaguely understood what Jeremy was trying to say.
He was likely trying to tell her that he was the heir to the Byzantium family.
His purple eyes trembled finely as he rubbed his face nervously.
“But I just couldn’t bring myself to say it.”
“…”
“With what my father had done, how could I talk about it?”
‘Well…’
Elena thought that even if Jeremy had revealed his identity earlier, their relationship wouldn’t have changed much.
After all, the fact that he was the child of Viscount Byzantium remained unchanged.
Nevertheless, looking at her former lover who was still unable to escape the past, she slowly opened her lips.
“I don’t hate you, Jeremy.”
“…!”
In a way, Jeremy might also be another victim of Viscount Byzantium.
“At first, I felt deeply betrayed. But even that feeling gradually faded away.”
“Elena…”
That day when she had hurt him, unable to control her emotions.
“I regret the days I spent with you.”
Although it was somewhat late, now she felt she could fully apologize.
“I’m sorry for saying such harsh things to you then.”
Jeremy seemed to vaguely understand what this apology meant. It meant that she was now completely resolving even the faint feelings that remained for him.
‘So don’t feel sorry for me anymore either.’
Seeing him still looking confused, Elena decided to convey her true feelings, steeling her resolve.
“I like that person.”
“What…?”
As expected, Jeremy asked back with a shocked expression, and she continued her answer in a calm voice.
“It’s probably similar to the feelings you have for me. No, it might be even stronger.”
“You’ve really come to love brother?”
As his voice trembled slightly, Elena calmly nodded.
“Yes, now I can’t do without him.”
As a former friend, she sincerely hoped that Jeremy Byzantium would no longer be bound by the past and move forward.
* * *
The moment he saw Elena looking unburdened unlike before, Jeremy couldn’t bring himself to hold her back.
Perhaps it was time to accept it now. That the relationship he couldn’t let go of had completely ended.
He knew well that his desire for her was just his own greed.
Nevertheless, he hoped that someday Elena would understand. Even if his method had been cowardly.
Hiding his identity was the best way to be with her, even if just a little.
Jeremy, born in a brothel, first met his father when he was about five years old.
The reason was Viscountess Byzantium’s infertility diagnosis. The viscount, who hadn’t sought out his son until then, began to intervene in his life.
His mother, who received a large sum in exchange for giving up her child, never once sought out her son.
Because he was the child of a prostitute, Jeremy had to live a not-so-smooth life even in the viscount’s mansion.
Servants who played low-level pranks as if looking at filth, the viscountess who habitually abused him excessively as an outlet for not being able to bear a child.
And the viscount who merely observed despite knowing all this, forcing him to become the family’s heir.
Everything was sickening. To the point where he thought it wouldn’t be so bad to just close his eyes like this.
Jeremy, who had been living a monotonous life, took advantage of the viscountess’s passing from a chronic illness to enroll in Nix Academy.
There, he didn’t have to fully reveal his identity. He could be treated equally just as Jeremy.
And he met Elena. At first, it was simple curiosity.
He was very curious about the daughter of the family that the viscount so disliked, hearing that she was enrolling in the academy.
So he watched her for a few days, but Elena showed indifference to everyone, preferring not to catch people’s eyes if possible.
As his curiosity towards her was gradually fading, he suddenly read the same emotion in her eyes when they met.
‘Boredom…’
That’s why. He approached Elena, even going out of his way which he wouldn’t normally do.
It was strangely enjoyable to see her reacting one by one to his pranks and showing changes in expression.
That’s why he wanted to stay around a little more and make her laugh.
He realized sooner than expected what that feeling meant.
Elena was the first to fully accept him, who wasn’t welcomed anywhere.
That’s why he believed without doubt that someday she would feel the same way.
Even his hasty proposal was decided out of a desire not to be abandoned.
Jeremy, who had chanted a short spell to hold the ring case in his hand, couldn’t take his eyes off the object for a while.
With a bitter smile on his lips, he couldn’t erase his complicated feelings.
‘Do you know?’
That you’ve never said you liked me, even as a joke.
As he suddenly realized that things were completely over with Elena, his eyes seemed to sting.
“I’m really… pathetic.”
It might be time to dispose of the engagement ring that he couldn’t bring himself to throw away due to lingering attachment.
Looking up at the sky and letting out a shallow sigh, Jeremy hesitated before finally chanting a short activation word.
Blue flames flickered and the ring case burned brightly, turning to ashes in an instant and scattering.
“Goodbye, Elena.”
It will take a little more time to completely resolve these feelings.
Nevertheless, his steps seemed lighter than before.
* * *
After returning from the masquerade ball, Elena devoted herself to herbal research in the marquis’ laboratory for a while.
This was because there was something suspicious about the herbs Lupeon had found in Count Obelia’s mansion.
Count Obelia seemed to have given herbs to the slaves who fought in the brutal fights as a reward.
And they all craved those herbs. As if experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Elena, who was closely examining the components she had just extracted, frowned slightly as she looked at the results.
The main component of the herb was a hallucinogenic poison, which when consumed regularly, caused addiction and showed symptoms of madness.
In the end, the slaves who had developed tolerance to the poison would have participated in the brutal fights to consume more herbs.
Finally understanding the situation, a hollow laugh escaped Elena’s lips.
Apart from thinking that she had gained unexpected harvest from the masquerade ball, her heart was uneasy recalling the brutal fights that took place underground.
She was only relieved that the research results came out in time, thinking that this problem could be solved soon.
As she finished writing the herb composition table, it had already become late at night.
Elena, who got up from her seat while patting her stiff shoulders, headed downstairs with a lamp in her hand.
As she was passing through the long corridor, she suddenly stopped at the bright stream of light leaking from somewhere.
“Is he… still not sleeping?”
Glancing at the corridor window, the pitch-black night sky was covered with a brilliantly shining moon and clusters of stars.
Wondering if Lupeon was also working late into the night, Elena carefully stopped in front of his bedroom.
‘No matter how much I want to see him, why am I looking for Lupeon’s room again.’
As it was very late, she was about to turn around to return to her own room.
Click—
As if hearing her presence, the door opened and a man wearing only a robe appeared.
Judging by his hair that wasn’t fully dried, he seemed to have just finished bathing not long ago.
As Elena, surprised, looked at Lupeon while inwardly screaming a silent scream, he tilted his head slightly.