Chapter 2.2

Recently, a letter from him came, saying, ‘Laure, I miss you. I’d like to meet with you. Are you doing well?’

I just refused his request, saying that I wanted to rest quietly.

It had been the same ever since. Calix would somehow wish to meet with me, but I would refuse his request every time. Nevertheless, he sent me flowers every day; not once growing tired, nor failing to send his daily gifts.

Now my room was full of flowers and I was just about ready to suffocate  from the fragrance. If it had not been Calix who sent the flowers, I would have thrown them all away.

‘Indeed, I still must have lingering feelings towards him. Given that I can’t even throw away  those stupid flowers he keeps sending me.’

“Miss Laure. We’ve just received more flowers and letters. They were sent by the Grand Duke of Rochester…”

“Again?”

I freaked out and asked. How many times was this already? Recalling the amount of times he sent me gifts, for today alone, this was already the fifth time.

“I guess Calix intends to  kill me by burying me in an abundance of flowers.”

‘Is this some kind of retaliation for not allowing him to visit?’ I was handed the flowers and the scent wafted to my nose. The smell of fresh flowers made me feel better.

“Give me the letter.”

“Yes.”

I also accepted the letter, opened it up and read it. The elegantly shaped letters of Calix’s handwriting seemed somewhat dreamy and vague.

‘It’s crucial for me to let go of my feelings for him, but my heart always aches whenever I recall the memories I’ve made with him.’

‘But there’s nothing I can do. It’s time for us to part now. We were never meant to be together.’

[Laure, How are you? Are you doing fine? Every single day, every minute, every second, I keep worrying about you. I want to meet you soon. I will wait for your reply. Laure.

I love you.]

“Ugh,” I grabbed my chest and cried out. ‘Calix… Why are you being like this!’

‘As far as I can remember, in the original book, Calix wasn’t this interested and affectionate with Laure…’

‘Perhaps I had altered something by possessing Laure’s body?’

‘However, even then, even if that was the case, the most significant parts of the plot would not have changed.’

Calix’s destined partner, his soulmate appointed by God, was ‘Sia’. Not me.

I was the wicked villain who was jealous of Sia, harassed her to death, committed unforgivable sins, and ultimately, was executed.

I’ve never forgotten that fact for the last 11 years. It’s always in the back of my mind when I wake up in the morning, go to bed at night, and even the moments I meet with Calix…

“Are you going to respond, Miss?”

“…..”

“No. I’m not going to reply. Please burn this letter. The other things too, all of them.”

“…Yes?!”

The maid asked back in surprise. My abrupt instructions might have made the maid a little perplexed.

But this was the best that I could do. If I wanted to sever ties with Calix, this was the only way.

Once again, emphasizing my words, I said it clearly.

“I told you to burn everything. And from now on, don’t accept any gifts from Grand Duke Rochester.”

“Laure. What’s going on with you these days? By suddenly avoiding Grand Duke Rochester… It’s not like you.”

“…..”

I couldn’t answer immediately to my father’s worried question, and just kept on staring at the teacup in front of me.

It’d been three weeks and three days since I decided to avoid Calix. Just a few days ago, I started rejecting all his letters, gifts, and requests to meet with me.

Nevertheless, Calix persistently wrote letters and even came to my house, but I was able to avoid him completely.

My heart was breaking because I felt that I was hurting him, but for the two of us, this was the best way.

‘If I keep ignoring him like this, I’m sure he’ll give up on me. The engagement will be broken, and in a month the heroine, Sia, will appear.’

When that time comes, Calix will completely change his feelings for me and concentrate on Sia.

‘That’s certainly going to happen. The number of days he toils after me will be extremely short, and by then, he’ll have Sia next to him… Yeah, I’m sure it will…’

“Haaa…”

‘Why do I feel so stuffy? Was I attached to Calix more than I thought?’

‘But even though my heart’s like this, the fate set by the original author will not change. All throughout my second life, I have felt that premonition deep in my bones.’

No matter how hard I struggled not to like Calix, or how determined I was to turn a blind eye from his loneliness, fate persistently intertwined him and me.

As a result, we got engaged, and not so long ago, we had our first night together.

In the original work, Laure Ecree believed that she would live happily ever after with Calix. She never thought that he would betray and break up with her in the future.

Then one day, a woman, named “Sia,” appeared.

Sia was an exotic beauty with hair and eyes as dark as the sky on a vacant night.

She captured people’s hearts with her unique youthfulness and wit, and even Calix fell in love with her.

If Calix’s feelings for Laure were only in a degree of comfort and favorability, then his affection for Sia was tantamount to true love. Because, Sia and Calix were a pair destined by God.

Nevertheless, Calix hid his infatuation for Sia and built an impregnable wall around his heart. It was because he was already engaged to Laure.

Perhaps it was the writer’s intention to deflect criticism from the male lead, so Calix tried to be faithful to Laure.

Until the “oracle” came crashing down.

[The true companion of the divine child, Sia, is Calix Rochester. Only when these two people are united will the whole continent be enriched and peace will dwell in the land.]

When such an oracle was received, everything changed. The emperor and nobility council forced Marquis Ecree to annul the engagement between Laure and Calix.

Marquis Ecree was worried about his grieving daughter, but he had no choice. Because this was the ‘Will of God.’

Eventually, the engagement was broken, and Laure collapsed from shock. And the day after she woke up, Laure, who would visit Calix frequently, saw him and Sia interacting in a friendly manner.

[He looked genuinely in love. She’d never seen him like that in her whole life. Laure Ecree was in great confusion. It was natural that sooner or later a feeling of betrayal would start to grow in her heart.]

Everything was described in great detail in the original story on how Laure Ecree, who was an ordinary woman, became a vicious villain. That was why readers voted on Laure as the ‘villain with a reason’.

I too felt sorry for her. But I didn’t know that I would eventually become that Laure Ecree.

Why did I not possess the female lead, but the villainess?

‘Ugh, even in the past, I’ve never had the luck to win lotteries. It seems that it’s the same when it comes to reincarnation, too.’

Click. I put down my teacup and looked up at my father.

My father stiffened as if he were nervous when he saw my serious expression. My father’s eyes were filled with worry.

I was very apologetic to my father, who had always cared for me, but my resolve had long been firm.

I took a deep breath and opened my mouth.

“Father, I want to annul my engagement with Duke Rochester.”

When my father heard my announcement, his eyes widened and he dropped the teacup he was holding.

Fortunately, there was a thick carpet that covered the floor, so the teacup didn’t shatter.

The maid bustled in hastily, picked up the cup, and cleaned the carpet.

I glanced at the mess, then turned my gaze back to my father. My father dropped his hands on his knees with a stunned expression on his face.