“Ania Brontë?”

Ania met Edward by chance at Marquis Montecristo’s ball.

Next to him was a woman, quite elegant and beautiful.
Of course, she wasn’t as beautiful as Ania Brontë.

However, the two of them looked like a very affectionate couple.
They looked like a perfect couple, linked arm in arm, leaning on each other’s shoulders.

Ania called out to Edward in a desperate voice.

“Edward.”
“Long time no see. How have you been?”
“Uh… fine.”

It was a face she hadn’t seen before, and she couldn’t tell which family she belonged to.

As Edward stared at Ania, he suddenly realized where she was gazing.

“This is Elia Floren, the third daughter of the Floren family. My fiancée.”
“Fiancée….”
“Oh, aren’t you Miss Ania Brontë of the Brontë family?”

Cold impression.
Noble bearing on an animated face.
She certainly wasn’t an extraordinary beauty, but she had a charming face.

And his fiancée.
A promise for the future with Edward.

Ania’s world began to fade away.

“How have you been lately? I heard your engagement didn’t go well again.”

Edward spoke to Ania as if he were talking to an old friend.

Not knowing what kind of feelings Ania had as she stood there.

Ania couldn’t say anything.

It was too late.

When she hesitated and was afraid, Edward fell in love with another woman.

“Ania?”
“Has my expression stiffened without my realizing it?”
“Are you okay? You don’t look well.”
“It’s nothing.”

Saying so casually, Ania left the ballroom as if fleeing.
She felt like tears could come out at any moment.

However, she held them back.

If she were to cry here, it would mean admitting that the image she wanted to deny was true.

Her heart fluttered as if it were constricted.

She needed fresh air.

Ania pushed open the ballroom doors, but she still felt dizzy inside.

“Miss?”

Ricktman, standing guard over the carriage, called out to Ania, looking surprised.

There was still time before the ball ended.

Moreover, Ania’s expression was so distorted and serious.

“Miss… is there something wrong?”

Ricktman asked, seeing the face that seemed about to burst into tears at any moment.

But Ania bowed her head deeply and pushed her way into the carriage.

“Let’s go back.”
“Miss?”
“Don’t ask me anything… Let’s go back.”

Ania couldn’t have imagined that the end of her long and unrequited love would turn out like this.

Edward.

She had always thought he would look at her.

Looking back, she was foolish to think that such a wonderful man wouldn’t attract women.

Why didn’t she come to him a little earlier?
Why didn’t she have the courage?

Ania barely swallowed the tears that were about to burst out and bowed her head.

***

Ania avoided food and drink for the next few days and didn’t leave her room.

Of course, there were times when she was stubbornly entrenched.
After all, she was a very stubborn young lady.

However, there hadn’t been many times like this before.

“At most, it would only be for a week.”
“Yeah. This time, I’m really worried.”

The servants stood anxiously in front of Ania’s room.

“What’s wrong this time?”
“I don’t know. But according to Ricktman, she’s been like this since returning from the ball.”
“What about her meals?”
“We managed to slip them in somehow, but she hasn’t eaten.”

While the servants fretted for ten days, Ania, locked in her room, was deep in thought.

At first, she loathed herself,
Then, she blamed herself for lacking the courage,
Next, she resented the world.
And in the end, she came to a drastic conclusion.

‘I’ll make Edward mine one way or another. I’ll make sure he never leaves me.’

After ten days cooped up in bed, Ania got up and walked to the mirror.

Her eyes were swollen from crying for so long, and her hair was disheveled, but she was still a dazzling beauty.

“Just make him love you.”

She was confident.

Any man, at the sight of her face, would fall in love at first sight.
From young boys to old men, no one could resist.

No one could just pass by Ania Brontë’s face without notice.

She even captured women’s attention, so stealing Edward’s heart wouldn’t be difficult.

“Oh, Miss!”

As Ania slammed the door and left, the servants asked with bright expressions,

“Would you like to have your meal?”
“We planted some beautiful flowers in the garden. How about taking a walk?”

Meals and gardens… none of it was necessary.

Ania’s eyes sparked with determination.
They were the eyes of someone longing for something.

Upon seeing her in such a state, the servants closed their mouths and left the room.
Whenever Ania had that look in her eyes, it was best not to interfere with her.

“Get a carriage ready to go to the Radner estate immediately.”
“Oh… Yes, Miss!”

The servants hurried off.

Soon, the stableman brought a carriage, and Ania got in.

Edward.

If I can’t have him, I’ll ensure he’ll long for me.

With that determination, Ania gazed out of the window.

The sky was blue. It seemed to be cheering her on.

***

“… This can’t be happening.”

As the sun set in the evening, a deep sense of defeat washed over Ania’s face as she left the Radner estate’s main gate.

Is this even possible?
How could he be so indifferent to me…?

Ania kept muttering.

“I’m sorry, Ania… I can’t accept your feelings. I already have a fiancée.”

Upon arriving at the Radner estate, Ania requested to meet Edward.

She continued to appeal to him.
Her most significant weapon was her beauty—her beautiful face, her perfectly sized chest, and her smooth, slender legs.

But Edward didn’t even glance at any of it.
He had no interest from the beginning.

Then, he stood up firmly and said,

‘I understand your feelings, but I can’t accept them. I already have a fiancée and am soon to be married.’

“Ricktman.”

Ania called Ricktman quietly. Ricktman, trembling, responded, realizing the seriousness in her voice.

“Yes… Miss?”
“Am I not attractive?”
“W-What… What nonsense. Who would say such a thing to you?”
“Edward did.”
“Is he a man with no eyes!”
“No, Ricktman.”
“Yes…?”
“Don’t curse Edward.”
“?”

Ricktman, unable to follow the flow of the conversation, just quietly replied, “Yes….”

Even at a glance, Ricktman could tell.

The state Ania was in was not normal.

At a time like this, it would be best to be as diplomatic as possible.

“Miss, you are more beautiful than anyone else in the world. There’s probably no one who doesn’t love you. He’s just too shy to admit it.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes. Of course.”

Only then did Ania nod slightly, smiling.

***

However, had Ricktman known such an incident would happen, he wouldn’t have said those words.

“Ania Brontë!”

One day, Elia Floren, the third daughter of the Floren family, burst into the Brontë family’s estate unexpectedly.

“Miss Floren…? What brings you here?”
“That fox woman….”
“Yes…?”
“Bring that vixen here immediately!”

That is how the situation unfolded.

Encouraged by Ricktman’s words, Ania secretly went to the Radner estate and stormed into Edward’s bedroom.

Then, she secretly tied up Edward and threatened that if he didn’t love her back, she would kill herself.

Ricktman nearly fainted upon hearing those words.

“Miss…”
“But Ricktman said so. Edward is just too shy, that’s all.”
“Even if that’s the case…the young lady from the Brontë family in a man’s bedroom without permission…”
“Hmph.”

In the end, Ricktman knelt and begged Elia Floren to return home.

However, Ania visited Edward multiple times.

She was caught trying to undress him in his bed by a servant.
She was caught trying to secretly kidnap Edward by the guards, who then contacted her family…

Eventually, after her relentless pursuit, changes also came to the Radner family.

“How can I marry you when such a woman is constantly chasing after me?”

Tired of Ania’s dreadful obsession, Elia Floren raised the white flag.

The engagement between the Radner and Floren families was broken off.

“Miss… in the end…”

As Ricktman sighed, holding his head, Ania did not. Instead, she smiled as if everything had gone well.

“What should we do next?”
“Miss Ania…!”
“Don’t shout, Ricktman.”
“This is too much. Doesn’t the Brontë family have any dignity?”

Ania’s expression stiffened at Ricktman’s words.

Approaching Ricktman, Ania looked up at him.

“Dignity…?”

Then, with colder eyes than ever, she said,

“I don’t need that. I just need Edward. I’ll do whatever it takes to make Edward mine. I’ll make sure he never leaves me, ever.”

Ania was sincere.

She was willing to do anything to win Edward’s heart.

Author’s Notes

What a terrifying woman…