He was handsome enough, but he was not my fiancé.
Because that man had silver hair.
‘Ah, is he my fiancé’s adjutant?’
Was his name Ben? Curiously, while my fiancé’s face remained a vague blur in my mind, I recognized this man the moment I saw him.
Is it that I only remember faces clearly when they are right in front of me, much like with my tyrant brother?
“……Greetings to the noble Young Lady.”
He looked at me and Bond, who was still sitting on the ground, and his expression suggested he had half-guessed the situation.
Adjutant Ben, having heard the full explanation from Bond, let his stoic face tighten into a frown.
“I apologize, but the Duke is currently out and not on the premises.”
“That’s troublesome.”
I tilted my head, not moving from my seat.
A moment later, I smiled, my eyes curving into crescents.
“I absolutely must see the Duke today.”
“……Pardon?”
For a fleeting moment, Ben looked genuinely bewildered.
Seeing the faint flush rising to the corners of his eyes, I almost whistled.
No matter how you looked at it, this man radiated a clear dislike for me, yet Charlize possessed a beauty that could hold even his gaze captive for a second.
“I’ll wait here.”
“……Just what kind of plot—no, what are you trying to do this time?”
“I’m not planning on doing anything, though…….”
“I cannot host a guest in the mansion when the Duke is away. I am truly sorry, but please come back next time. I will certainly convey your visit to the Duke today.”
Ben said, his expression hardening.
He looked almost angry at the fact that he had been flustered.
He looked down at me and added one more thing.
“I will dare to say this at the risk of my life. If you stay any longer, the Duke will only despise you more, Young Lady.”
I flinched. In truth, Ben had said similar things to Charlize countless times, and she had always found it amusing and brushed it off. But I was different.
‘……I shouldn’t make him hate me more than this. Hmm. No.’
I couldn’t lower his favorability even further before we had even met.
I slowly stood up.
“Alright, I understand. You’re saying I cannot wait inside while the Duke is away?”
“That is correct.”
“Fine. Then I’ll wait outside.”
“Yes, I unders—excuse me?”
Ben’s mouth opened slightly. Perhaps because he was a man of decent appearance, his stunned look wasn’t half bad.
“Don’t tell me there was also a rule that I couldn’t wait outside?”
“No, that’s not it, but……”
Ben looked completely perplexed.
It was as if he were saying, *You’re really going to wait outside? That’s absurd.*
Right, the real Charlize wouldn’t have done it, but I’m in a bit of a rush.
I have to prevent this engagement from breaking.
“Then tell him I’m waiting outside when the Duke returns, okay?”
I brushed off my dress without a shred of regret.
At my casual behavior, even the attendant who had been kneeling nearby stood up, looking at me with a stunned expression.
“Thanks for the explanation. And sorry for causing a scene. Lastly…… don’t gamble with your life so recklessly. If you really lose it, it’ll be too late to regret it.”
I walked between the stunned men.
Although I couldn’t tell anyone, I had a secret.
‘Ah, the hangover…….’
My head was throbbing; the medicine hadn’t fully cured it.
No, for a violent drunkard to become a lightweight! Give me back my alcohol tolerance, I want it back!
* * *
“……That woman came to my mansion?”
Askin, the Duke of Remut, had been busy since dawn.
There was a mountain of work to review and process outside the estate.
Returning well after the sun had risen, Askin was greeted by unpleasant news.
“Cough, yes……. She is still within the mansion grounds.”
“Where?”
Ben, who was delivering the report, scratched his cheek.
Askin, usually unflappable, felt a flicker of doubt at the uncharacteristic agitation of his stoic adjutant.
“……She is in the garden. She said that, well, she would wait outside.”
“……That woman said she would wait for me outside?”
As his business today had been unofficial, he had slipped out in secrecy. Consequently, Askin had returned through the back gate, meaning Charlize—waiting in the garden—could not have seen him arrive. By the same token, he had been unaware of her presence in the front garden.
“Just what kind of mischief is she planning now?”
“I’m not entirely sure, Duke……”
Askin furrowed his brow, his features tightening. Charlize waiting for him outside? It was absurd.
“Forget it. It’s likely just another whim born of whatever she’s plotting.”
This was a woman who refused to walk more than three steps for fear of tanning, always accompanied by an attendant with a parasol and a knight to carry her. It was common knowledge that she kept the black curtains of her drawing room drawn to avoid the sunlight entirely.
A woman who wouldn’t move an inch on her own accord, standing outside in this weather?
“She probably intends to demand some compensation, claiming that since she waited, it’s as good as having dragged a servant here to endure it for her.”
“Well, that is…… Duke.”
“What?”
Ben answered, his expression troubled. “She is still sitting in the garden…….”
“What?”
Ben gestured toward the window. Askin’s office was on the third floor; he strode to the glass and looked down.
He saw her immediately.
In the expanse of the lush green garden, it was impossible to miss the splash of pink. Her flamboyant dress stood out like a bloom forcing its way through a thicket. It was unmistakably her—that hair color, considered sacred in this country, was an impossibility for anyone else to imitate.
“……Just what is she up to?”
Askin stared at his fiancée, whom he loathed, and reached a swift conclusion: she intended to ruin the garden.
Judging by Charlize’s history, everything she touched turned to ruin—be it person or object. Askin himself was merely exceptionally sturdy…….
“Where is Aria?”
“She is in her room.”
“Then it’s fine.”
Askin turned away, his cold demeanor unwavering. “Whatever she does, leave her be.”
The mansion’s garden was a space cherished by his only sister, but it couldn’t be helped. The moment that villainess’s hands touched the foliage, destruction was inevitable. It was a pity, he thought, but he should be thankful that it was only the garden being ruined, and not his precious sister.
The only concern was that Aria’s residence was close to the garden, but surely a woman of Charlize’s temperament wouldn’t deign to enter such a humble building. She was the type to believe that looking at something common would soil her own eyes.
Askin secretly gritted his teeth. It would be over soon enough if he just endured a little longer. The end was near.
“Well, Duke……”
“What is it?”
“That woman. She was a little strange today, actually…….”
“What about it? Has there ever been a time she wasn’t strange?”
“…….”
Ben looked troubled. His lord was correct, yet as he recalled her demeanor today—how fundamentally different she had seemed—he felt a slight, nagging intuition.
“Is it an important matter?”
“……No, it is not.”
As his lord said, it wasn’t.
“However, Duke……. The Young Lady has been waiting for you outside for three hours now.”
At those words, Askin hesitated for the first time. But it was only for a moment; with a cold expression, he turned his back on the window.
1.
“And, um, she won’t get up from the bench. It would be best to just leave her alone, right?”
“…….”
“Yes, I will leave her alone.”
Askin moved away from the window.
“……Old habits die hard. She must have been researching new ways to cause a scene while she was away on her trip.”
He then sat down at his desk.
At the same time, Charlize, whom the people of the Duchy of Remut were watching with wary, subtle glances from their respective floors, was…….
I had grown tired of waiting and had fallen fast asleep in a seated position.
‘Ugh, my stomach hurts… my head is pounding…’
Overcome by the pain, I cracked my eyes open.
I was startled to see the sun beginning to set.
‘Goodness, how much time has passed?’
I tried to bolt upright, but let out an “ouch” and collapsed back down.
I was certain I had been nodding off while sitting, but somehow, I was now lying comfortably stretched out on the bench.
I hadn’t expected to use it this way, but the fluffy shawl had served as a perfect blanket.
Still, it was far from comfortable; my neck was stiff, my lower back throbbed, and my stomach ached with a dull, persistent pain.
‘Oh boy, what is this nonsense…’
A wave of disillusionment hit me.
When people wake up in a different world, shouldn’t they wake up well-rested with a full belly? Aren’t they supposed to have nothing but pleasant things happen to them? That’s how it was in every book I’d ever read, so why was it like this for me?
‘Even the family background is decent, but isn’t the assigned goal just way too hard?’
The journey to reclaim my money is truly grueling. No, wait—it’s only just begun, hasn’t it?
I never thought it would be easy.
Let’s just consider the path to becoming a wealthy, jobless recluse a long and rugged one.
“Ugh…”
I managed to heave myself up and leaned back into a sitting position. I patted my chest.
I felt stifled. Ugh, this damn hangover… I feel like I’m going to vomit…
I had no idea why my stomach was churning so late in the day.