A sense of rejection washed over him. 'Me? Having a weakness? There's no way.' Max had never been defeated in war and thus considered himself perfect and flawless. It was natural for him to feel repulsed by the word 'weakness.'

"I don't want to," he said.

"Please, Max. If you keep acting like this…" Jubelian sighed.

As Max looked into her calm, but warm eyes, he felt strangely relaxed. "Okay," he said, finally loosening his grip that was almost crushing Mikhail's arm.

"Thank you." Jubelian smiled at him.

Mistaking the smile for himself, the corners of Mikhail's mouth lifted. 'Yeah, this is how it's supposed to be.' No matter what he did, Jubelian was always on his side. Mikhail's smile widened as he regained his confidence for his faltering faith. Jubelian, who had been looking at Max the whole time, turned toward him. 'Is she finally going to look at me?' he awaited in joy. However, his happiness was soon crushed when he heard what she said next.

"Get your hand off of me, Mikhail Albert Hessen."

Mikhail felt as if his heart was being cut into a thousand pieces by her ruthless words.

* * *

I could see the look of shock on Mikhail's face as soon as I finished speaking. It was natural for him to react that way since I had always respected him in the past. This was the first time I've ever shown him the power of my authority. Even so, he should have had this attitude towards me from the beginning. After all, I had personally lowered my standards for a man of an inferior status. Now, there was no longer any reason for me to continue showing him generosity as I had a higher social status as the duke's daughter.

"Didn't I tell you to let go? Can you not hear me?" I questioned Mikhail. He eventually let go of my hand without any objections. I scowled at him as I touched my tender wrist. It looked like I was going to end up with a bruise, seeing how he left a red mark.

'He's really annoying me,' I spitefully thought. Since I felt guilty for what I did to him in my past life, I was being considerate towards him as much as I could. But there was no reason for me to continue if he was just going to be inconsiderate to me.

"Forcefully touching others without their consent is an act of violence. I hope you haven't done this to anyone other than me," I spit out courageously. I then remembered that Max had grabbed Mikhail's wrist as if to damage it a few moments ago.

'Since Max did something to him, I'll just call it even.'

"However, because of what my boyfriend has done to you, I will forgive your rudeness," I continued with a sigh. At the word 'forgiveness,' he raised his head.

"What's the purpose of ignoring me now after telling me that you loved me so much?" he uttered in a somber tone.

I became somewhat puzzled and frowned at his words. 'Wait, isn't it better if I pretend to not know him?' At this point, I didn't know if it was worth it to reply to his illogical words.

Mikhail smirked at my dumbfounded expression. "By any chance, are you trying to get my attention?"

What kind of change in attitude was this? He wasn't even acting ridiculous anymore; in fact, I thought he had gone crazy. 'I don't know why he's doing this to me again.' His sudden strange behavior was starting to give me a headache, but I soon regained my reason when I figured out the cause behind his actions. 'Ah, I see. He's probably paranoid… because I stalked him for the past two years.' It was a bit unfortunate, but if I left things as they were, then he might continue coming up with bizarre meanings behind my behavior in the future.

"I'll make this clear for you. I'm no longer interested in you," I explained. I spoke politely to him out of pity, but I clearly stated my disinterest. 'This should be good enough, right?'

I thought I had resolved the misunderstanding, but contrary to my beliefs, he shouted while his face contorted in pain. "You said you loved me!"

What he said was an undeniable fact, so I nodded at his words. "Yes, I did."

He looked at me with a peculiar expression, as if wondering if I was going to change my mind. I could see his slightly flushed cheeks and his wavering purple eyes. If I thought about it, I might have been able to figure out what he was thinking. If I were my past self, I probably would have gotten my hopes up. But none of that mattered now. I had already ended my relationship with him.

"But not anymore," I finished.

I approached Max, who was watching us with a scowl. "Let's go," I said, but he didn't budge an inch.

'He's probably sulking because I told him to let go of Mikhail's wrist.' I locked my arm with his and spoke gently as if soothing a little kid. "I'll buy you cake, so please stop being mad at me, okay?" At that moment, he flinched and moved his arm so that it would be easier for us to link arms. 'Did he want to eat cake that much? What a simple guy.' I smiled at him then glanced back at Mikhail and opened my mouth.

"From now on, don't try to talk to me anymore. I don't want to get involved with you ever again," I said sincerely then started walking to the carriage.

'What kind of cake should we eat today?'