No, It was My Fault for Loving You

Chapter 67: For Whom is Your Salvation?

Rembrandt exhaled deeply as he stepped out of the hospital.

“Now I can finally….”

At Natalia’s hearing, when he first learned that it was Alejandro who had orchestrated the reversal of time, Rembrandt was overcome with an unexplainable frustration.

No matter how she defended him, Alejandro is a man who sees Beatrice as his worst enemy.

How could this man, of all people, be the one who paved the way for Beatrice to continue living?

Of course, he knew that Alejandro never thought about Beatrice in the slightest. But he still felt indebted to him, so he couldn’t help it.

It was certain that the seven hundred gold coins paid by Alejandro led to the survival of Beatrice, who was now in good health.

And he also found out that he had nothing to do with that before the regression.

He couldn’t help it, he was so frustrated. He felt sorry for himself, and he was angry.

But even Rembrandt knew.

“…returning the money doesn’t change the fact that he was the one responsible for reversing the time.”

Rembrandt couldn’t help but mock himself.

These are nothing but comforting thoughts.

Yes. It’s just a comfort, a trivial self-satisfaction. However…

He just couldn’t help it.

He felt like he had to draw the line at least once to move forward.

“…Zacharias. What would that man do with all that money?”

Will he use it for Alejandro?

Or will I end up misjudging in choosing that man?

“We’ll see.”

Just as he uttered the words he didn’t want anyone to hear.

A shadow guard fell in front of him along with the sound of footsteps.

“Rembrandt-sama.”

“…ahh, Nicholas. You’re back.”

“Yes. Thank you very much for your understanding.”

“No problem. Let’s go back to the villa.”

“Yes, sir.”

They went into the carriage bearing the flag of the Marquis of Strydom, which was parked at the carriage dock, and the coachman urged the horses.

The carriage drove off slowly.

“…did you have a successful conversation with that man?”

“Ah. I gave what I wanted to give to him. Now I’ll let him do whatever he wants with it.”

“I see.”

“How about you, did you meet her?”

“…”

“You went to see her, that girl. Didn’t you find her?”

“…no. No, I saw her. She was in the backyard, hanging up the hospital bed sheets.”

“Okay.”

The rattling sound of the running carriage echoes throughout the carriage.

“…you never asked me what we talked about.”

“It’s not my place to ask. It’s not my business. I don’t have the temerity to get involved in the private lives of my subordinates.”

“I see.”

“Well, if you want my advice, I’ll give it to you.”

Rembrandt smiles wickedly at the guard sitting across from him.

“…I beg your pardon, but Rembrandt-sama is twenty-two years old and not yet engaged to a fiancée.”

“That’s really rude.”

Rembrandt shrugs his shoulders as Nicholas chuckles.

“You are on your own now.”

“Yes, I am.”

Silence fell over the carriage.

The scenery outside the window drifted by gently.

The early autumn scenery colored the townscape with serenity and glamour.

Nicholas looked at his employer, who was looking out the window, with a contemplative expression on his face for a long time, and then he opened his mouth as if he had the best of intentions.

“Rembrandt-sama.”

“Hmm?”

“I am truly grateful to you, Rembrandt-sama. I really… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“…what are you talking about?”

“I am grateful to you for picking me up. I couldn’t graduate from the academy, and I had no chance of rising in the Royal Order of Knights. No matter how hard I tried, I had no choice but to be a common knight for the rest of my life.”

Nicholas bowed deeply as he said this.

“It’s a lousy system. Since it’s a knighthood, it should be measured only by swordsmanship. It gives too much preferential treatment to the nobility.”

“I know, But even after knowing that, the only way for me at that time was to join the Royal Knights.

So when I was approached to come to the Marquis of Strydom’s private knight order, I thought it was a dream. Not only because of the salary, but also because the quality of the knights was famous.

Normally, there was no way they would hire someone like me.“

“Well, I doubt that.”

Nicholas kept his mouth shut, a little puzzled, and hesitated for a moment before opening it again.

“Me too… Alejandro did it to us, too, didn’t he?”

“…”

“I’m sure that the reason our house is on the rocks is because that man did something similar to what he did to the Reinalpha family this time, right?”

“…why do you think that?”

“I understand”, Nicholas chuckled.

“I heard that Leopoldo was in love with Miss Natalia. After he started seeing her, their family’s business started to fall apart… the same pattern as ours.

I, too, began to show affection for Mistress Natalia, and then our business started to fail.”

“…”

“And you approached me. I have only completed one year of knight training and my swordsmanship is still inexperienced. Yet you asked me to join the prestigious Marquise of Strydom’s knight order.”

Nicholas looked straight at Rembrandt.

“Still, I never knew what caused it in the first place, you know? Not until I saw you pursuing Alejandro with my own eyes.”

“…”

Rembrandt was silent and just titled his head slightly.

“The Strydom family had nothing to do with it, but you fought that man as if you were a part of it… and then you bailed me out.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. I had my own personal situation. I just gave you a ride, and you just got on board, that’s all.”

“Even if it was.”

“Besides, you have a talent with swords.”

“…Those are priceless words.”

Nicholas stood up with a start and kneeled on the floor of the carriage.

Then he lowered his head again and placed his right hand over his heart.

“I thank my benefactor, Rembrant-sama, from the bottom of my heart. And as long as I live, I, Nicholas Trad, pledge to be completely loyal to you.”

Rembrandt laughed dismissively at this sudden initiation of the knight’s oath in the carriage.

“…I have not done anything of that magnitude to help you. However, I appreciate your sentiments. I look forward to your future work.”

“Yes. I will serve you wholeheartedly.”

He said that with all his heart and soul.

It’s not that big a deal, Rembrandt stated.

But for Nicholas, it was truly salvation.

Their family business, which had been doing well, suddenly took a turn for the worse.

I could no longer afford to pay for my schooling.

I no longer had the opportunity to meet the woman I loved, and I no longer saw any hope for the knight order I had aspired to.

I did not know that there existed a man’s influence there, nor did I know that the woman I liked was being obsessed with by that man.

And that he had orchestrated everything.

Things were more complicated than I had thought, and even the reasons were difficult for me to understand.

I was lost, confused, and troubled.

So now I can’t get a grip on my own mind and don’t know what to do.

At first, I was puzzled by the sight of the woman I once had a sincere love for and coveted, now fleeing her family and working while attending school.

I wonder if it is also a delusion to think that the feelings I have given up and abandoned are still lingering.

I remember the day when I despaired that I could no longer even hope for knighthood, and that I would never be able to one day say that I would come for her, the daughter of an aristocrat.

And then there is the part of me that asks if this is really the right thing to do.