My Charlotte Hates Me

Chapter 56: Useless Effort

I saw the figure of Arielle's back at the fountain. She was sitting there with her hands covering her face. As I tried to approach her, I noticed that Garett had been kneeling in front of her and patting her head gently.

"...What do I do with my life now that Prince Erik has abandoned me?" Arielle asked.

"...Even if his heart seems distant right now, he will return to you as you are his fiancée," Garett said.

"Such a forced relationship...will only bring him to hate me even further," Arielle said.

"Arielle..."

Garett placed his hand on Arielle's cheek and quickly removed it once he noticed me standing there. He made his exit and left me to continue consoling Arielle.

"Char...I am sorry," Arielle said.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked as I sat beside her. "You did so well back there..."

"Do you mind me asking about what happened after I left?" Arielle asked.

"...His Highness does not believe in the rumors and that he will investigate the allegations made today," I said.

"...Why would he go that far for someone he does not care for?" Arielle asked.

"Is it not obvious? He still respects you as his fiancée, Arielle. Even with his own power, he cannot easily break off the engagement on his own. He may fancy another woman right now, but his heart will return to you," I said.

"Charlotte...and even Garett, are you two misunderstanding something?" Arielle asked.

Rather than be particularly sad, Arielle seemed more troubled than anything else.

"Pardon? You are sad that His Highness has been taken away from you, yes?" I asked.

"I am troubled about how to spend my future after graduating but also about how to break the news to my father about my engagement being broken," Arielle said.

"...Are you not going to continue pursuing His Highness?" I asked.

"He already has someone in his heart and is willing to break off the engagement for me. I think I would be more troubled to maintain a tricky relationship if he were to continue being with me while being in love with someone else," Arielle said.

"Don't you care for His Highness? You should be furious that someone coveted your lover!" I said.

For some odd reason, I had bursted into anger and began raising my voice.

"Lover? I guess that I would be furious if someone coveted my lover, but His Highness is not my lover. I do care for him as we have spent several years together, but love is another thing. We have been engaged since birth and had only known of each other, but now he is able to think for himself about love. Although, I am a bit sad that the person he does not love is me," Arielle said.

"Even if you are almost like a saint, this is too much! Forgiving him and then giving up on him after he leaves you for another is too much! These are not his true feelings. He is still very much in love with you," I said frantically.

"He is not in love with me, or maybe he had never loved me in the first place...He showed his true feelings just earlier. There is no reason for him to still love me after saying and being shown all of that. If he truly loves her, I have no reason to continue pursuing him," Arielle said.