Chapter 2

This was a disaster.

"You...?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected encounter, Viretta missed her chance to properly greet him.

When the young man had mentioned last night that he’d just arrived in town, she’d entertained the idea that he might be a guest attending her elaborate engagement ceremony.

But her fiancé? Viretta fiddled with her skirt in shock as Cadlen, her father, quickly stepped in to cover for her.

"Have you already met my daughter? Where did you two cross paths?"

"We happened to run into each other in the village yesterday. I had no idea she was your daughter. But if she is, then…"

"It must be a great honor for our family! Hello there! I’m Viretta Medleridge, second daughter of the Medleridge family. I was quite surprised to see a familiar face here! It’s a pleasure to meet you again!"

Viretta cut him off and slipped between her father and future father-in-law, eager to steer the conversation. Her bright, lilting voice quickly overshadowed the young man’s calm tone. Fortunately, Cadlen picked up on her cue and helped smooth things over.

"To think you two met by chance before introductions—one might call that fate, ha ha!"

"Ha ha ha, indeed, perhaps a match made by the heavens! Just as you said, my friend, your daughter does seem full of life. It’s a pleasure to meet you, young lady. I am Vi’s father, or as you would say here, Monain Vi."

Cadlen and Monain leaned back, laughing heartily and welcoming them both. Viretta took her seat next to Cadlen and bowed her head.

"It’s an honor to meet you, Sir Monain."

"No need for formalities. And this here is my son, Iola. He’s about your age."

"Pleased to meet you. I am Iola Jin, or as you might say here, Iola of the Jin family."

The young man across from her inclined his head in a poised manner, which seemed to please Cadlen, who pointed toward him with a grin.

"As you can see, Iola here is your fiancé."

"And that would make Viretta here your fiancée."

Monain gestured to Viretta, palm upward. Iola’s innocent eyes, which she remembered from the day before, sparkled with recognition.

"So, it is true that I’m engaged to Viretta."

"Indeed. Not just because she’s my daughter, but she’s a bright, lively young woman."

"But…"

"Is there a problem?"

Seeing the troubled look on Iola’s face, a pang of anxiety crept up Viretta’s spine.

"Not from my side, but for Viretta, there might be…"

"Absolutely not! Iola, it seems you’ve been giving my thoughts quite a bit of consideration since yesterday. But I assure you, I’m perfectly fine."

Viretta slammed her palm down on the table, effectively cutting off Iola and drawing everyone’s attention. The force of the sound startled the two older men, and her hand burned from the impact, but she refused to show it. Though her hand ached and her face twitched, she kept a composed front.

But there was no hiding the twitch, and soon all three men were watching her with varying degrees of concern.

Cadlen looked anxious, as any father would, worried about his daughter causing a scene. Monain had a guarded expression, as if questioning whether his son’s fiancée might be a bit unstable. And as for Iola, he simply seemed sympathetic, as though burdened by a duty to speak only the truth.

"We’ve met before, you see. Yesterday, in fact…"

"I was saying how much I was looking forward to meeting my fiancé."

Viretta interrupted him again, this time using a tiny spoon meant for stirring tea to clink loudly against her saucer.

"Uh, no, that’s not it. You said something about a loveless…"

"It pains me to see unhappy couples. That’s why I said I wanted to make plenty of happy memories with my fiancé! Why don’t you try some bread?"

Before Iola could dig himself in deeper, Viretta seized the moment and shoved a piece of bread into his mouth. Half-standing, she fed him as if he were a small child, causing both Cadlen and Monain’s expressions to darken.

The two fathers cleared their throats incessantly, perhaps hoping to steer their children back to some semblance of composure, but only succeeded in becoming the background noise for the battle of wits unfolding at the table.

Iola, even with bread in his mouth, tried to speak, and Viretta relentlessly kept feeding him bread and fruit every time he opened his mouth.

Rather than an affectionate scene, it looked more like a goose being force-fed by its keeper.

With every clink of "Yesterday," followed by a throat-clearing from Monain, and each reply of "Please eat!" paired with another throat-clearing from Cadlen, they continued until Iola had devoured almost everything on the table.

Iola, now bewildered and full, seemed completely oblivious to Viretta’s attempts at secrecy. He had no inkling of why she was so desperate to keep yesterday’s conversation under wraps. Either that, or he had some deeper plan to sabotage the engagement—although he appeared far too innocent for that.

When three slices of bread, two apple slices, and five sugar-coated chestnuts couldn’t shut him up, Cadlen finally intervened.

"Now, now, settle down. It seems Viretta would rather not discuss what was said yesterday. Perhaps it’s best if the two of you take a moment to clear things up privately?"

"My father is right. Let’s keep our conversation from yesterday between us. I’m a little shy, after all."

Viretta immediately supported Cadlen’s suggestion, and Iola, adopting a serious expression, lowered his head.

"I apologize for my impudence. I truly meant no offense."

Then, he stood and extended his hand to her.

"If I may, I’d like to request a moment alone with you, Viretta."

"Wha-what? That’s far too sudden! I-It’s too soon!"

Viretta drew back, crossing her arms over her chest protectively, a wary look on her face.

Even if her father hadn’t pushed for it, they needed to talk. Iola probably believed every word of her boastful tale, and they had to clear up the misunderstanding before things got worse.

But the thought of being alone with him right then was unnerving.

She wasn’t prepared to face him. Maybe someday, she’d muster up the courage to deal with this, but for now, she wanted to avoid it. After all, life’s unpleasant tasks were best postponed until the last possible moment.

As if looking for help, she cast a glance at her father, but he, as unsympathetic as ever, shoved her off the proverbial cliff.

"It’s only a conversation. Go on, now."

Her father was the mastermind behind this engagement, the very traitor and root of all her troubles.

She glared at him, then turned abruptly to face Iola. If her father wouldn’t help, she’d have to find her own way out.

"B-But this is all so sudden. We just met, and we’re not even at that stage yet!"

Trying to improvise an escape, her words grew increasingly tangled.

Despite her best efforts, Iola responded with a clenched fist and a sincere, pained expression, adding to her dread.

"Then what about yesterday? What was yesterday, then?"

"Huh?"

"That time we spent together, what was that?"

Even Viretta, who remembered their conversation vividly, was startled by the strange implication in his words.

His face was so full of earnest longing that both fathers leaped to their feet at the same time.

"What happened between you two?!"

"Calm down, my friend! Iola must have been struggling with the local language!"

But even as Monain held Cadlen back, his expression betrayed his unease. He shot an uneasy glance at Iola, as if the young man were capable of sweating bullets at any moment.

Despite the chaos, she couldn’t explain the truth right here. Viretta decided that it was best to let yesterday’s conversation fade away without further elaboration.

"You have to forget about yesterday!"

"I can’t! Your words and actions won’t leave my mind!"

"Oh my. It’s wonderful to hear such things after only just meeting… No, no! People change day by day, and I’m not one to dwell on the past. So, please, let go of the person I was yesterday."

For a moment, she nearly fell into his words as if they were sweet nothings, but she quickly remembered that the subject was their conversation about her supposed nonexistent love.

Revealing that she, the woman who’d lamented her forced marriage and claimed she’d do anything for love, was actually his fiancée must have made quite an impression.

But he needed to forget it. She had no intention of jeopardizing this engagement, nor did she have a love strong enough to face trials and tribulations for.

She wasn’t foolish enough to risk the engagement between their families over a bluff.

"As impressive as your words are, it’s impossible."

Iola’s tone held no hint of blame, even after learning that his fiancée claimed to love another.

He maintained his resolute demeanor, unfazed by Viretta’s imploring gaze or by the concerns of the two fathers. He was either surprisingly oblivious or exceptionally stubborn.

Then, with a most solemn expression, Iola delivered a bombshell.

"After meeting you yesterday, I’ve come to understand what love truly is."

Things were escalating out of control, and quickly so.