Chapter 60: Only the Words I Want to Say

Before responding to Lady Livia as she approached, I took hold of Richard’s arm.

He smiled at me, as if to reassure me.

“Are you all right?”

“Of course.”

I had already heard from Lady Albright what kind of person she was.

In my own way, I had thought about how to deal with her.

“Lady Electra…!”

“Good day, Lady Carlson.
It is a pleasure to meet you.”

I returned her greeting calmly, smiling.

Now then.
What would her first words be now that she stood before me?
I had no expectations, of course.

“I have wanted to speak with you for so long…!”

“Is that so.”

There is nothing I seek from her.
I respond on the premise that listening to her words has no real meaning.

“Ah, um, Lady Electra…”

“Yes, Lady Carlson.”

I simply kept smiling quietly.
I would not take a familiar, sympathetic attitude toward her.

That was not my role.
I would act as a ‘stranger.’

“Well, um, you see, I really wanted to talk to you…”

“Is that so.”

She repeated the same words as before.
This too was probably as expected.

She would stubbornly refuse to move the conversation forward on her own, enough to irritate the other party.

There were words she ought to say to me.
But there was no point in expecting them.

“…Um, well, Lady Electra.”

I would prefer not to be called by my given name so familiarly.
Still, I would not go out of my way to insist that we address each other by our family names.

After all, in my own heart, I called her Lady Livia as well.

“Well, um, that healing magic was amazing!
It was sparkling and shining…
How did you do that?”

“Is that so.”

Without breaking my smile, I gave the same reply.

What she ought to be saying was not that.

Confusion and impatience crossed her face when I did not answer her properly.

A fawning attitude.
Just as Lady Albright had said, was she trying to cling to me?
To me, of all people.

“Ah, um.
The person beside you is…?”

“So now you are interested in him?
I will not give him to you, Lady Carlson.”

“Eh?”

‘Eh,’ indeed.
Well, perhaps that is to be expected.

I could indulge her until she ran out of words, if I wished.

But that would surely be a waste of time.

“You came to see me intending to apologize, didn’t you, Lady Carlson.
Naturally.”

“Eh?
Um…”

I faced her with a perfect smile.

If left alone, she would simply talk about whatever she wanted to talk about.

That was the kind of person she was.

If she claimed otherwise, then her very first words to me should have been an apology.

So I decided I would say only what I wanted to say.

There was no need to exchange words with her.

Not a dialogue of questions and answers, but merely the throwing of words at each other.

“While I was still married, you entered into a romantic relationship with my husband, and you even tried to stand before me together with him in order to force a unilateral divorce upon me.
What you did was extremely unpleasant.
At the time, I had my own circumstances, and I was not given the chance to hear your apology.
But that is fine now.
I will hear it.
Your apology, as one of the parties involved, for being the cause of the divorce between myself and Viscount Carlson.
Your apology, Livia Carlson.”

Without showing anger, I prompted her to apologize while maintaining a natural smile.

The key was to make my expression appear friendly.

“Eh, um, Lady Electra?
I, I…”

At that point, she moved closer to me as if to cling to me.

She made a motion as though to take my hand.

I had no intention of touching her, so I smoothly stepped back.

Richard also took a step back with me, which was slightly amusing.

Incidentally, during the tournament I was wearing shoes that were easy to move in.

I was not wearing heels or impractical footwear chosen purely for appearance.

So that, if something happened, I could escape properly on my own feet.

Her hand grasped only empty air.

“Would you please not touch me?
You only need to apologize.
There is no need for us to hold hands, Lady Carlson.”

“…Lady Electra?”

She looked shocked when I said that.

…There was no need to try to understand her.
As expected, this was not my role.

There was no need even to force reality upon her.

The ones who should bear that role were Harried Carlson and Jack Famerson.

“I have no intention whatsoever of being deeply involved with you.
That should be obvious.
Even if time has passed since the divorce, you committed adultery with my husband back then.
Because of you, we divorced.
Do not accuse me of leaving unilaterally, all right?
You have no right to do so.
Approaching a married man and becoming the cause of a divorce is despicable.
I find you extremely unpleasant, and I dislike you.
I do not want you to involve yourself with me in the future.
I do not want you speaking to me so familiarly.
If you have no intention of apologizing, then please leave immediately.”

I spoke those scathing words, yet I never let my smile fade.

Overwhelmed by the torrent of words and my unchanged expression, she could only stand there, speechless.

From her reaction, I could understand Lady Albright’s evaluation of her.

If she had come to me with malice, seeking to gloat over her victory, she would have worn a far more unpleasant expression.

She would likely have shown much more interest in Richard as well.

Because he is the new lover of the woman from whom she once stole a man.

But she did not.

She could not comprehend why I treated her so harshly.

A malicious person without malice.
A villain.
A wicked woman.
That was Livia Carlson.

With a stunned expression, Lady Livia stared blankly at me.

After seeing that, I closed my eyes and shook my head.

“Richard, let us go now.”

“…Yeah.
Let’s go.”

Taking my hand, Richard led me away at once.

Lady Livia did not chase after me, nor could she speak another word.

She only stood there, watching us.

Like a child abandoned by her mother.

“…Haa.”

After facing her, I wondered what the ‘correct’ attitude had been.

If I had blamed her faults outright, it would have felt as though I were the villain instead.

Thinking back on it again, I am truly glad that three years ago I did not face Lady Livia and Harried alone.

‘Why are you making Livia cry?’

If the man who was supposed to be my husband had said that to me, what would have happened to my heart?

Now, I have Richard beside me like this.

“Did you manage to say the words you wanted to say, Ellen?”

“…Yes.
It is not as though I poured out everything inside me, but I think I said enough to throw back at someone who approaches me so thoughtlessly.”