"What are you doing, Sina? Leave me alone, I don't have time to go with you. I have my work to do."

"..."

Sina didn't respond to Stella and continued dragging her towards her unknown fate. However, she soon felt a force pushing against her from Loly's side, causing her small hand to break free from Sina's grip.

"What's wrong with you today, Sina? I don't understand why you're doing this. These are not actions you usually take... or at least not with me." Stella rarely showed anger on her face, but she did now.

"You usually avoid me and don't pay attention to me, even though you're close friends with every servant in the palace. But suddenly you're trying to force me to leave my work and go with you? What do you want from me??"

Stella felt saddened to see the girl who was always cheerful and kind to everyone treating her this unfairly. She had always wanted to be friends with such a girl. She was beautiful, always smiling, lively, and cheerful. She was the kind of girl who brought a refreshing and joyful atmosphere wherever she went. That's why Stella, in her current state, desperately needed a friend like her to alleviate the weight of her oppressive circumstances.

"Just tell me, Sina, what do you want from me?"

Despite her attempts to express her desire through actions such as trying to strike up random conversations with her, working near her, or having lunch with her, she was met with rejection and indifference. So, she decided to abandon the idea of trying to make new friends and not bother Sina with her repeated attempts.

"Am I really unwanted in this palace to this extent?"

She had grown accustomed to being alone in her fiancé's large palace filled with people. She had only to endure until her only friend, Sophie, arrived, even though her visits were sporadic and irregular. Yet, those visits were her only solace and the thin thread that kept the young girl's mind safe from dark thoughts.

'Sigh, why does it have to be so complicated?'

Sina noticed Stella's sadness and the emotions associated with her words, and she somewhat anticipated what was going through the mind of this young girl. The girl standing before her was adorable, kind, and small. She was like a doll that wanted to be cared for and nurtured. However, she was also a competitor for her potential husband. So, either she would be happy and secure a bright future for her brother and her friend, leaving the other's future uncertain, or Stella would be happy, and Sina, her brother, and her friend's future would likely be miserable.

'I have to do what I have to do.'

So, for her, it didn't require much thought to choose one of the two options. Her family and her bright future were the most important things for her. Nevertheless, despite her decision, Sina grabbed Stella's hand again and continued pulling her along.

"I don't even know what I'm doing right now. I'll be honest with you, leaving you alone might be the best option for me.... But we're women, and sometimes we leave room for our emotions to decide."

Sina couldn't help but remember what happened to her and her brother when they were younger. They found a small kitten abandoned on the side of the road as they were returning home. The kitten looked tired, hungry, and sick, which triggered the young girl's maternal instincts. She told her older brother that she had decided to take care of it.

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However, he didn't agree, citing several reasons: the kitten was too small to be taken care of by a human, only its mother could do that instinctively with her milk, their parents wouldn't allow such a creature into their home to become an additional burden, and finally, he argued that the kitten was on the brink of death and they wouldn't be able to save it. It was already gasping its last breaths, and she would only feel sadness watching it die before her eyes if she took it with her.

Being her spoiled sister, she didn't listen to him and pleaded with her tearful eyes to let her take the kitten and help her take care of it. So, her brother decided to take a step back and fulfill his sister's request. It was only a few days until the kitten died, and the cause was unclear. Did it die from lack of proper feeding or from not having enough warmth in the place the siblings made for it outside the house, or from the illness it was suffering from?

The cause wasn't clear, but death was still death, taking the soul of the kitten with it, bringing sadness and sorrow to the siblings, especially Sina, who couldn't stop crying and blaming herself for the kitten's death. Even though Sina didn't know this kitten until a full week, the sight of a small and cute kitten dying before her eyes was a burden too heavy for a young girl to bear. And this is what the brother tried to avoid. Despite his previous warnings and advice to leave the kitten alone, it was a statement that only comes from a hardened heart, not speaking but with harsh words. However, it was the bitter truth to avoid this almost inevitable situation, which indeed occurred.

When the brother saw the situation they had reached and these consecutive events, he couldn't help but sigh in sorrow and reach a truth that has been known since ancient times.

'Regardless of the fact that what a pure heart decides is always a beautiful decision, unfortunately, it's not always correct... at least not in this world.'

That's what was going through his mind as he hugged his sister to his chest, gently stroking her hair as she cried bitterly.

.

..

...

'What's done is done... I hope my heart isn't wrong again,' Sina said to herself, reassuring her thoughts.

"Do you love him, Stella?" Without warning, Sina asked such a personal question.

"W-who do you mean?"

"Do you love the young master?"

"And why... why this sudden question?" Loly was surprised by the sudden question and only responded with a hesitant inquiry about the reason for this question.

"Just answer me, don't you want to know why this sudden behavior from me? Answer my question, and I'll answer yours."

Stella thought for a moment after hearing Sina's words.

"In truth, I don't know if I love him or not, but I won't say that I hate him either. In the end, he was a companion to me for years, so I hold positive feelings towards him... but I don't know if they are the same feelings a lover has for her beloved."

Sina couldn't help but remain silent for a moment, grasping the hidden meaning behind Stella's hesitant words. She was genuinely surprised how this girl could say she held positive feelings towards Fayte after all the actions he had harmed her with.

'...Is she kidding me!! After all he did to her!!? And what does she mean by positive feelings towards another gender? It was either love or hate. There were no other options. Either feelings of familial love towards his family like a father or brother, which was unlikely due to the lack of blood ties or living together as siblings, or feelings of friendship towards her friend. There were no feelings of friendship towards a friend of the opposite sex, as physical differences prevented the relationship between a man and a woman from remaining at the level of friendship.'

'Either love or hate.' And Sina knew that very well.

Stella was indeed a kind and naive girl who didn't even know the truth of her feelings. Such girls either negatively influenced and lost their innocence by opening their eyes to reality, or she would be greatly hurt under the wing of such a person if she maintained her naivety and became his wife., and in either case, it was not a good ending for her. Also, Sina was not going to back down from her original goal and truly saw herself fit for this kind of men with all her experiences.

"...So you don't love him," Sina said despite believing that Stella felt the opposite. She decided to turn Stella's incomprehensible feelings into hatred, for her own and Stella's sake.

"No, I didn't say I don't love him."

"You don't understand, Stella, because you're still young. But know that feelings of love are not ambiguous. If you love someone, you love them. If you don't know, then you don't love them. It's as simple as that," Sina continued her attempt to instill the truth without blinking an eye.

"But..." Stella frowned and tried to find something to respond with. Something inside her confirmed that Sina's words were far from the truth, and yet she couldn't reconcile that feeling with words.

"Just say it, Stella. These are your inner feelings, and you must understand them."

"She lied to her without batting an eyelid. She hated lying, but when necessary, she would lie. She was accustomed to it.

Sina saw that Stella couldn't come up with a response, and she had truly made her doubt her inexplicable feelings towards Fayte. This helped her move forward, but at the same time, it made her feel guilty. Deceiving such an innocent girl and turning white into black with her lies, but she wasn't going to back down from what she said. Her determination had hardened, and the remorseful feelings wouldn't sway her.

"This engagement wouldn't succeed with a fiancé who doesn't care for his fiancée and a fiancée who doesn't love her fiancé. It's better to cancel it, it's for the best for both of you."

"...No..." Stella's voice came out weakly, barely audible.

"What did you say, Stella?"

"I said no," she repeated with a clearer voice than before.

While Sina hardened her resolve, Stella also didn't falter from the path. She, too, held firm to what she wanted to do. Therefore, she didn't want to continue walking with Sina and stopped in her tracks.

"No, I don't want that to happen. I want this engagement to succeed."