He Pretended To Love Me For Her

Chapter 4

Gisela's POV:

My heart dropped like a stone.

I lifted my head to look at Anastasia, who had finished her prayers at some point and walked out into the courtyard.

"Yours? This pendant is yours?"

She nodded seriously, explaining to me patiently. "A while back, I wanted to hand-carve a crest accessory for Philip, so I bought a bunch of rough ore blanks to practice carving. But I had zero experience back then, and my carving skills were so clumsy and rough. Look at this c***k right here, this is from when I chiseled way too hard." She pointed at the spot she was pertaining to. "It was the first thing I ever made with my own two hands, so it meant a lot to me. I wore it every day for ages, but then I lost it somewhere, and I never figured out when or where it went."

She kept rambling on about old memories, but I could barely hear a word she was saying. There was a dull, sharp c***k in my chest, as if my heart had split open a deep, jagged gash just like the one on that pendant, and ice-cold wind was pouring straight through it, biting right to the bone.

It was nothing but a lousy, rough practice piece she'd tossed aside, but Leopold had treasured it carefully for years, treating it like it was worth more than any fancy, expensive jewelry.

It felt like every beat of the original plot was still on track, the only exception being the male and female leads' perfectly happy, problem-free romance.

The person Leopold loved deep down was, and always had been, Anastasia.

I spoke, my voice almost numb. "I found it by accident."

She was as sweet and guileless as they came. She linked her arm through mine with a warm smile. "Gisela, we really have such a special connection! I lost this thing ages ago, and you were the one who found it. If you like it, it's yours to keep." Then she leaned in close to my ear and whispered, "Do you know why I rushed straight to the cathedral to pray the second I found out I was pregnant?"

"Of course I know. This is where you and Philip got engaged and fell for each other."

But she had no idea that all those years ago, Leopold and I had also confirmed how we felt about each other right here in this very church.

Eight years prior, the mission prompts that ran through my head told me the female lead would be drugged here in secret, and after that, rumors would spread that she'd acted improperly in the church.

That day, the male lead had arrived too late. He'd gotten the wrong idea, volunteered for a transfer to the border fortress to hold the line, and Anastasia had gotten so sick she'd almost died.

That day, I rushed to the church and secretly swapped out the drugged fruit wine. I was just about to slip away when a masked man in black darted out of the shadows, sword raised, and lunged straight at me without a word.

At that hair-trigger, do-or-die moment, a figure leaped down from the thick oak branch overhead. He wrapped an arm around my waist and yanked me backward in a flash, narrowly dodging that killing blow.

Tree leaves swirled and drifted down all around us as he moved, like some clichéd fated meet-cute straight out of a cheesy romance script.

I gasped before I could stop myself. "Marquis? What are you doing here?"

Leopold gave an enigmatic smile and answered in a low voice. "I came here specifically to find you."

We'd crossed paths a handful of times at royal banquets before, too. Every time, he'd walk right up to strike up a conversation, and stick by my side for the entire night, not leaving me alone for even a second.

Staring at that soft, warm smile on his lips, my heart started hammering so fast I could barely breathe.

Through all those endless, lonely mission cycles I'd endured before, no one had ever stepped in to protect me like that, no holds barred.

But it wasn't until I looked through the story records later that I finally got the truth. He remembered every single thing that had happened in all the past timelines. So all that time he'd glued himself to my side? He was just keeping an eye on me, making sure I didn't scheme to hurt Anastasia. And that day he showed up at the church out of nowhere? He was there to secretly guard her.

From start to finish, my whole existence in this story was just a random accident.

But I'd been stupid enough to believe all of it. I thought his constant attention was affection, that he'd come looking for me that day because he cared, that he'd recklessly risked his life to block that sword because he loved me.

In the end, every single heart-fluttering moment I'd cherished was nothing but a carefully woven lie.

My chest throbbed so hard it felt like my heart was being twisted in a vice, my nose stung and burned, and hot tears pricked the back of my eyes, ready to spill over any second.

Just then, his voice drifted over from the entrance. "Gisela, I'm here to take you home."

Anastasia gave my palm a light squeeze, leaning in to murmur in my ear so no one else could hear. "You've been so distracted and down, moping around these past two days. I knew you must have had a fight with the Marquis," she said. "Hence I specifically told Philip to pass a message to the Marquis when he went to the palace for the council meeting this morning. I asked him to come pick you up at the cathedral. You two should go pray together—wouldn't it be lovely if you had a little baby of your own soon?"

The sincerity shining in her eyes was so untainted I couldn't bring myself to blame her for a single thing.

How could I ever tell her? Every rift, every unspoken distance between Leopold and me all traces back to one thing: the person he's loved with his whole heart this entire time is her.

I drew in a quiet, shaky breath, forcing down the searing agony clawing up my chest, and lifted my eyes to Leopold as he walked slowly toward us.

Anastasia spoke up warmly, no awkwardness in her tone at all. "Since you're here already, Marquis, why don't you join her to pray at the altar?”

He darted a quick, discreet glance at her before looking away just as fast, nodding gently in agreement. "Very well. Our story, Gisela and mine, started right here. It's only right I thank the Lord for it." He laced his fingers through mine, and we walked into the prayer hall together, kneeling down on the soft cushions set before the altar.

A second later, his low, warm murmur brushed right against my ear. "May the one I love with all my heart know joy every single day, peace every single year, and never carry a single worry for the rest of their life."

I turned my head to look at him. His eyes were shut tight, his face open and reverent like he meant every single word.

A searing pain sharp enough to split my soul in two ripped through every inch of me. My eyes burned red in an instant, and I stared straight at him.

"Leopold, I'm not the original Gisela at all. You can stop lying to yourself already, drop the act that we were some kind of destined match. The day I came to this church, I had the exact same goal as you. I was here to save Anastasia, too.”