# 24
**Chapter Twenty-Four**
Diana looked in complete confusion, as if she had just received a hard blow to the head.
“But Harold wasn't at the party celebrating after the hunt!”
The only prince from the Wesen family present at the ceremony was Caiden. Not a single strand of Harold's hair was to be seen that day. Because of this, Diana believed that Kaiden was the one who saved her, and she fell in love with him because of it.
But now...what? This handkerchief belongs to Harold?
“That day.”
“That day?”
Harold gently stroked his chest with his index finger.
“That day I found out I was sick.”
“……”
“That's why I wasn't at the ceremony. I only officially announced it a year later.”
He glanced at her stunned expression but continued talking about the past calmly. In fact, Harold had long forgotten about this incident until Diana brought it up by mentioning the handkerchief. He rescued a strange girl standing weaponless deep in the hunting grounds and dropped his handkerchief there.
It wasn't a memory necessarily worth keeping.
It was that moment—a clear turning point in his life. Until then, his future had been a steady, assured path, filled with the expectations of his family and peers. But that discovery tore everything apart.
His disease was so rare that there were no records of survival. However, since no one had infected him in 70 years, his family clung to the slim hope that modern medicine might somehow save him.
However, a year of struggle with the doctors did not bring any progress. So, Harold's condition could no longer be kept a secret.
His father began preparing for the worst by training Kaiden as the next heir. People who had previously admired Harold began to turn their backs on him, and those who were afraid of him, like Kayden and his mother, began to walk with their heads held high.
And there was his mother, who gave him this handkerchief.
Life turned into a battlefield. He had to be tough and fierce to survive and protect what little he had left. His once smooth journey became an endless thorny path.
Even when he climbed to the top with his claws, he found nothing but a barren cliff, with no sweet victory waiting for him.
“Diana?”
Diana reached out her hand, gently taking his.
“Um… your expression didn’t look good just now.”
“I wasn't in pain, if that's what you're worried about.”
“Even if it's not physical pain… human warmth can bring happiness, right?”
“……”
Her soft, warm hands sent a comforting energy through him, calming his entire body. Harold studied her carefully.
Her eyes, full of worry, were like a cloudless spring sky—pure and bright.
“Happiness, huh...”
Muttering softly, Harold remembered her silent whisper of prayers for his complete recovery.
“Do you want me to be happy?”
"Yes."
Her immediate response, given without hesitation, made him laugh.
He held her hand, firmly enough to convey his feelings but not so hard as to hurt her.
“I'm not necessarily unhappy now. Thanks to you, I will soon be free of this cursed disease.”
Diana nodded enthusiastically.
“That's right. Harold, you will live a long and healthy life.”
She will make sure of that.
She glanced at the napkin on the desk.
'So this wasn't Kayden's handkerchief.'
The discovery was deeply shocking. The man whom Diana thought was her savior, who she loved unconditionally, turned out to be someone else entirely.
If Harold had not been ill, would the original Diana have fallen in love with him instead?
The thought left her feeling strangely uneasy.
'Well, anyway, I can't give this handkerchief to Kayden now.'
She clicked her tongue and decided she had to rethink her plans.
Not wanting to disturb Harold further, she rose to her feet.
“I'll leave you to your work. Oh, and thanks again for saving me then.”
She gave him a slight nod before turning to leave.
Left alone, Harold opened and closed his hand repeatedly.
It was the hand that held her.
Harold finished his work, put down his pen and stretched a little. Before heading to dinner, his eyes fell on the napkin placed next to the ink bottle.
'I thought this belonged to Kaiden.'
His sharp mind quickly connected the unspoken details.
The day he discovered his illness roughly coincided with Diana starting stalking Kayden. In other words, he was the reason Diana fell in love with Kayden in the first place.
What a complete annoyance.
The feeling was as uncomfortable as it had been when Kayden began his training as an heir or when Harold learned that their father had gifted Kayden with important family heirloom possessions.
But it wasn't that bad.
The fact that Diana was willing to return the handkerchief—something she had once cherished so much—meant that it no longer had value to her. This was her way of telling Kayden that she no longer had any feelings for him.
'I'm upset, but it's satisfying.'
Harold couldn't quite understand his confused feelings.
Harold picked up the handkerchief with his index finger, as if it were something dirty.
The memories it evoked were not pleasant, nor was the handkerchief itself.
After a moment of thought, a sly smile spread across Harold's face.
'This fits perfectly.'
Ever since the Marchioness Mayer's party, Caiden had been using poor excuses to meet Diana, checking if she was the same as before—right in front of Harold. How dare he.
Harold was planning to confront Kayden soon, but…
‘Handing over this handkerchief might be best.’
He could already imagine Kayden's reaction.
Harold leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing in amusement.
Meanwhile, Ella collapsed on a sofa, clearly relieved.
Finally, she apologized to Diana. Of course, now Kayden wouldn't disappoint her.
But that was all.
Kayden was still interested in the changed Diana. Ella bit her nails furiously, her golden eyes full of frustration and resentment.
“Diana... why did you have to change like that?”
If things were still as easy and simple as they were before, wouldn't that be great? If that were the case, Kayden would have no reason to care about her. Ella herself would not have cared what Diana did, and would have continued with her life.
“How did you do this to me, my friend?”
The friend she once cherished was now a threat.
But she steeled her resolve.
'I will not go back to the past.'
After holding Diana's hand and coming to Count Garcia's family for support, Ella begins to understand what it means to live as a noblewoman.
If she wanted to continue living a life like this, the envy of everyone, she couldn't afford to lose Caiden's affection until she gave birth to his heir and eventually became the wife of the Duke of Wesen.
Therefore, it was dangerous to act recklessly as before. She needed someone to deal with Diana for her while she stayed put.
“Brother Vincent, are you here?”
Ella headed to Vincent's room. Since the last incident, things had been a bit awkward between them. A fair amount of time had passed, but she was so preoccupied with Kayden that she neglected Vincent.
'If I cry a few more times, it will get better. Men are all easy that way.'
Vincent quickly opened the door. Ella immediately rushed into his arms, her voice trembling.
“I'm sorry I couldn't stand up for you last time. Sigh… I fainted at the wrong moment, and you took all the blame. You were upset, weren't you? I wanted to apologize, but just thinking about it makes me cry again...”
I thought her apology and tears would solve everything.
But when Vincent didn't answer, Ella was confused.
At that moment, Vincent grabbed her delicate shoulders and pushed her away from him.
“My brother… my brother?”
Finally Ella looked carefully at Vincent's face.
His pupils were half dilated, and the area under his eyes was dark and swollen.
It was clear that he was not in a right mental state.
“Ella, enough. Do you have any money? Just give me 8,000 gold! Huh?”
“…How can I have this amount?”
“Why not? Didn’t Dad give you luxury money?”
“...I've already spent most of it on dresses and jewelry.”
"Agh! Then just give me what's left! I'm losing my mind!"
Vincent grabbed his hair in frustration.
“I need to recover the legacy before my father finds out!”