TVDWL - Chapter 154 < You Can Have a Little Sympathy >

Karina, who was in his arms, was confused.

Jeremiah blocked the Marquis and protected her. He even took her side and drove the Marquis out. Jeremiah's sincerity in worrying about her was so clear that it made her even more embarrassed.

'Is this really reality right now?"

Karina began to wonder if perhaps she had been dreaming since she had been on the magic tower. She secretly pinched the flesh on the inside of her arm.

'Ugh, it hurts.'

As expected, it wasn't a dream.

'But...why all of a sudden?'

She had no idea why he was acting so differently than he used to.

'Why did it change?'

Karina rolled her eyes with an anxious expression. Now, only Jeremiah and Karina were left in the living room.

'Ah.'

When she realized that, she thought she had to leave his arms. But his arms were too warm. She knew in her head that it was Jeremiah in front of her, but her body refused her will. 

Yes. Karina didn't realize it either, but right now she desperately needed the warmth of others. The moment she gave up, thinking that no one in the world would take care of her. In the painful pressure that was suffocating her, he saved her from sinking into the mud. It was like a lifeline that she grabbed at the moment she fell from the edge of a cliff.

'Just a moment.'

She wanted to stay like this for just a little while. The warmth that was transmitted through their contact calmed her heart. Her body and mind, which had been trembling with fear and dread, gradually became stable. The relief that came over her set her heart free. She suddenly felt like she was going to burst into tears at the affectionate hand that was trying to comfort her.

'What? Why all of a sudden... It's not working.'

She tried to hold it back, but her tear ducts wouldn't listen.

"Karina?"

Jeremiah tried to push her away as if to examine Karina's complexion.

'No!'

She didn't want him to see her crying like this. Karina unconsciously grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Wait for a sec..."

There were things she didn't want to show her tears. Someone's warm consideration and genuine kindness for her. She didn't want to miss out on these feelings she was feeling right now. Just until the tears stopped. She was going to stay like this until then. 

At that moment, Jeremiah suddenly hugged her deeper.

“?”

"It's okay. Don't worry, everything is okay."

A gentle and sweet voice rang in her ear. The wide arms that tightly wrapped around her gave her a sense of stability. The strength in her body was released as if the tension was being released. She didn't know why Jeremiah had wrapped his arms around her and taken her side in front of the Marquis, but at that moment, she was so grateful that she could cry. The sound of his steady heartbeat gave her comfort. 

When her trembling had almost completely subsided.

"It's okay now."

Karina, who had calmed down, slowly pulled away from him, wiping away the traces of her tears.

"Have you calmed down a bit?"

Jeremiah looked intently at Karina's face and asked.

'I never thought I would get this kind of help from Jeremiah.'

It was an unexpected situation. Karina nodded silently, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I'm sorry. Actually, I heard everything."

He told the truth.

'Ah.'

Karina was a little surprised but quickly understood.

'I got angry in the middle of the conversation and started yelling without thinking.'

It seemed like it was heard outside.

'Where did you hear that?'

She had such doubts but soon shook the thoughts off.

'Well, it doesn't matter.'

Even if he had heard the conversation between her and the Marquis, the Marquis's plans were no longer of any concern to her.

"Yes."

Karina answered calmly.

"By any chance, do you have something to say to me?"

He asked.

'What do I want to say?'

You said you heard the entire conversation.

If she thinks about it, there are so many excuses she has to make that she doesn't even know what he's asking. But...

'There are some things that need to be made clear right now.'

"It doesn't matter to me what my father thinks. My father's and my opinions are completely different."

She had drawn a clear line. She didn't want the Marquis to cause a divorce or disrupt her future plans. She didn't want to interfere with her independence. But Jeremiah's reaction was unexpected.

"That's not it. What I want to ask is."

Jeremiah hesitated uncharacteristically.

"Has the Marquis ever... continued to treat you like this..."

"..."

Ah, now I see. 

Only then did Karina realize what Jeremiah wanted to ask.

'I guess he realized that I wasn't a beloved daughter.'

She thought it was even stranger that he didn't know that even after seeing that sight.

'What good will it do to find out the truth?'

The fact that she was no longer a beloved daughter was no longer a weakness she wanted to hide from him. The expectations Karina had of the Marquis as a father had long since completely disappeared. Karina shrugged.

"It is exactly as you see it."

"...!"

His expression darkened noticeably when he heard the answer.

"..."

Karina swallowed her bitterness after seeing that reaction.

'You probably thought you had married someone who was loved and raised bright and warm without a single shadow. But when you actually found out, it wasn't like that, so maybe you were disappointed?'

Karina snickered.

'That's true. If it was obvious in the past that I wasn't loved, then there was no point in hiding it in the first place.'

Now, it was all in the past. There was no point in complaining about it being unfair. But it seemed that wasn't the case for Jeremiah.

"Then... Have you really been treated like that up until now? Even when you were at the Marquis' house...?"

He asked with a trembling voice as if he had been greatly shocked. His tone was one of pretended disbelief.

"I'm sorry to see you like this."

Karina spoke in a flat voice. That was really all.

'I did everything I could because I wanted to be loved too.'

Karina worked so hard that she couldn't do more than that. She couldn't do more even if he told her to. That's why she has no regrets now.

Karina gave up cleanly and resigned herself. Jeremiah swallowed hard and washed his face dry.

"..."

She was speechless, only moving her lips.

Karina was calm without any particular disturbance, but she didn't feel the need to explain anything in this situation. There was no need to add that she was an ugly duckling who was not loved by her family. 

A moment of silence fell between them. Karina stared blankly at Jeremiah, who seemed embarrassed.

'Ah.:

A plausible reason suddenly came to her mind. The reason why Jeremiah was acting differently than before.

'Is it because I couldn't wake up for several days in the magic tower?'

Even just after being rescued from the Cursed Forest, it was expected that she would surely die, since she had not woken up for so long.

'Is that why you felt sorry for me?'

It was a plausible guess. No one would feel at ease if someone they thought was fine suddenly died, even if it was someone they didn't like.

'You can have a little sympathy.'

Only then did she understand Jeremiah's reactions to her. The look of pity and anxious eyes she had seen from the top of the tower. She didn't really want sympathy, but when she figured out why, she was less confused. There was a time when she had hoped that he would at least show sympathy for her. But...

'Well, not now!'

It didn't feel good to be pitied. Her expression sank. A long silence stretched between the two. The silence was starting to feel uncomfortable. She thought she should leave quickly.

"I'm going back to my room. I'm tired and want to rest."

"For a moment..."

Just as Jeremiah was about to answer, knock. There was a short knock and the butler came in with urgent steps to report to Jeremiah.

"Your Highness. Now His Highness the Crown Prince..."

But before the report was finished, someone appeared at the reception room door.

"You were both there. I guess I came at just the right time."

David stood there with a graceful smile on his lips.

 ***

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?"

"...!"

Karina and Jeremiah were surprised by the unexpected appearance of the Crown Prince.

"Your Highness, what is happening here?"

Jeremiah asked in a not-so-welcoming voice. 

"Duchess."

Jeremiah's eyebrows twitched at those words. On the other hand, Karina asked back with a look of confusion on her face.

"Your Highness, me?"

"Yes."

"What's going on...?"

Karina had no clue. Then.

"That's too bad. I told you last time. I was interested in the Grand Duchess. Have you already forgotten?"

"...!"

"...?!"

Jeremiah's face, who was standing next to her, distorted into a fierce expression. On the other hand, David, who still had a smile on his face, approached Karina and spoke.

"There is a place I would like to go to with just the Grand Duchess and me."

"Your Highness, you want to go out alone with my wife? That is ridiculous."

Jeremiah cut it off with a single stroke as if it was ridiculous. However.

"The decision is made by the Grand Duchess. I don't think it's any of your business."

David did not back down and snorted. He and Jeremiah faced each other in a tense standoff. It was Karina who broke up the standoff between the two.

"I will go."

"...Karina?"

Jeremiah glanced at her, but Karina answered David again with a calm expression.

"Please wait a moment, I will prepare and come down."

She was about to go back to her room because she felt uncomfortable being in one place with Jeremiah anyway. However, Jeremiah seemed to have no such intention and grabbed her.

"Karina. We're not done talking yet. Talk to me some more..."

"I have nothing more to say."

Karina cut him off mid-sentence.

"And I don't really feel like talking right now. If I have to, I'll come back and listen."

She refused to back down from her decision to go out with the Crown Prince.

"No."

Jeremiah was adamantly opposed, but.

"I do not need Your Highness' permission."

"...!"

Karina's voice as she spoke was extremely dry.

"This is not permission..."

He was about to refute something, but he let out a small sigh as if trying to calm down his excitement and added.

"Then I will go with you."

"That won't work."

This answer comes from David.

"I will decline to accompany the Grand Duke. I wish to speak with the Grand Duchess alone."

"..."

Jeremiah's gaze at David was not kind. If it had a form, it was a sharp gaze that seemed like it would pierce through the opponent at any moment. It was a reaction that made him go crazy because David was so obviously interested in Karina. David looked away from him and continued speaking.

"And someone who has received orders from His Majesty will be coming here soon. The Grand Duke must not be there when he does. Please wait at the Grand Duke's residence. Otherwise, there may be a misunderstanding that the Grand Duke has deliberately left his post to avoid the imperial order."

David cleverly tied up Jeremiah's feet by using the imperial command.

"That's what they say."

It was only natural that Karina joined in.

I'm really tired of this stupid FL. And every man in this story was extremely annoying. I want to drop this series. What do you think?

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