“Yes? Ye-yes? Ah, I mean….”
When I pointed it out, she started trembling violently, even though I hadn’t said a word yet. Had I been wrong to think she wanted to speak to me?
“I’m not trying to press you. I just asked because I wondered if you had something to say, so don’t worry about it.”
“….Ah. Um, that, Lady.”
As I spoke calmly, a look of profound confusion washed over the maid’s face, but she soon gathered the courage to proceed.
“Before the medicine wears off… would you like to take this first?”
“What is it?”
“It’s a hangover remedy. It’s, um, a homemade concoction, but…!”
“Homemade?”
“Ye-yes! My brother makes it because he suffers from hangovers often, so I… I thought it might be of some help.”
She made it herself? I stared at the medicine she held out and parted my lips.
“Hmm. If this is poison and I happen to collapse, you might end up dead, you know. Are you sure about this?”
“Yes? I am so sorry, Lady! I was overstepping my bounds! Po-poison? That is out of the question!”
“…….”
“I… I just saw you suffering, and it looked just like my brother…! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please spare me!”
Ah. Charlize is such a reviled figure that I merely intended it as a passing remark. The unexpectedly extreme reaction made me feel a flicker of pity. Of course, I hadn’t completely ruled out such a reaction while testing her, but… what if it really was poison? I had wanted to verify it, after all.
“What does your brother do for a living?”
“He… he is a manager at a trading firm that supplies liquor to the Alzbeit estate! Because of his job, he dr-drinks a lot.”
The maid quickly realized the gravity of the situation and tipped one of the pills into her own mouth right before my eyes. She seemed to know very well that if she couldn’t prove her sincerity in that exact moment, her neck could be on the line with a single word from Charlize. There was not a shred of hesitation—a desperate act of self-preservation.
So this is the extent of the terror Charlize inspires.
I took the remaining medicine and swallowed it. It tasted remarkably similar to the hangover cure I used to take on Earth. How fascinating. I had asked if it were poison, but my head was throbbing, and I wanted relief one way or another. To my surprise, I felt better in less than a minute.
“Wow, it works quite well. Thank you.”
“….Yes?”
“What’s your name?”
Just then, the door opened and the maid who had left earlier returned to announce that the carriage was ready. I held the hand of the maid who gave me the medicine and smiled brightly.
“I’ll hear your name when I get back. Consider this a gift for now.”
I unclasped the bracelet from my wrist and pressed it into her hand. Not only the girl who received it but everyone nearby looked utterly shocked. I noticed someone with greedy eyes among them—perhaps the highest-ranking maid in the room.
“Wear it.”
I tapped the girl’s shoulder lightly and started walking. “Which way is the carriage?”
“This way, Lady.”
Now, let’s go see the face of my fiancé.
* * *
Askin Remut. Before I arrive at the place where my fiancé is currently residing, let me briefly tell you about his family.
First of all, the Remut Duchy estate is located in the far west. However, several generations ago, the Emperor granted them a city near the capital as an additional territory in recognition of their contributions to suppressing monsters in the west. Whenever the Duke of Remut came to the capital, he stayed at the castle on that estate rather than his own mansion within the capital city.
He was likely still there now. That was where I was headed. Since it was close, the journey didn’t take long. Half a day, perhaps?
“….N-no, you cannot!”
1.
It was bold of me to arrive at the Remut Duchy with such spirit, but I hit a snag before I’d even crossed the threshold.
Surprisingly, I was blocked at the gate.
‘Wow, shocking.’
In truth, it wasn’t as if I hadn’t expected this. I had sent over thirty invitations; seeing them returned, sealed and unopened, had already told me everything I needed to know.
‘I wasn’t welcome.’
Furthermore, returning them without a glance—anyone familiar with Charlize would know she took such a gesture as a grave insult. A woman of her pride would have surely been sent into a feral rage.
‘If it were the real Charlize, would she have gone on a rampage and brought a battalion of soldiers with her?’
I, on the other hand, tried to maintain my etiquette to the bitter end… telling myself I was simply waiting eagerly for my fiancé’s reply. Of course, the lack of a response was the karmic debt of this villainess, so I couldn’t really complain.
That was why I had come here myself.
“…….”
The problem was that I was being stonewalled.
“N-no, you cannot. Lady…”
I didn’t say a word; I simply stared, my gaze fixed intently on the knight blocking the gate.
A noble of Charlize’s stature being refused entry by a knight—that was clearly an order from above, not the man’s own initiative. Honestly, since I had arrived unannounced, I had little ground to stand on, yet I just kept staring…
For some reason, my silence was doing all the work.
“Y-you, please—go inside and ask the Adjutant!”
I had been doing nothing but looking at him, and yet the gate swung open of its own accord. I was taken aback, though I made sure not to let my expression falter.
‘Good. I’ll take it.’
For now, I decided to lean into the advantage. Truthfully, I wanted to show more courtesy, but if I were any more polite, I felt I wouldn’t be able to meet this man even after a year of trying.
“Your fiancé, the Duke of Remut, has demanded an annulment.”
Besides, according to my maternal grandfather, my fiancé was in a desperate situation, clamoring for an annulment.
As I stepped through the main gate, the Remut mansion came into full view.
‘Hmm? The building….’
I felt a prick of confusion. The architecture was grand and imposing, yet the estate felt unnervingly empty. Perhaps it was because I had come straight from the Alzbeit mansion, the absolute pinnacle of luxury. Even so, the interior was far more frugal than that of a typical noble’s residence.
‘No, I knew he was struggling with debt, but this is…’
For some reason, Charlize’s memories regarding her fiancé were murky. I had vaguely assumed he would be well-off simply because he held the title of Duke, but the reality was far more dire than I had imagined. Moreover, the number of servants visible as I crossed the grounds was significantly lower than at Alzbeit.
Each person I encountered didn’t just bow in surprise; they knelt and trembled violently.
…It was a grim testament to the havoc Charlize had wreaked on this household.
‘Perhaps the lack of decorations in this hallway is partly because Charlize broke whatever was once there.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
“La-Lady?”
A voice broke my thoughts. It was Robena, the head maid; her face was etched into Charlize’s memories. The middle-aged man beside her was the chief butler, Bond.
“….We greet the noble Lady.”
“I’ve come to see the Duke of Remut.”
At my question, Robena and Bond looked momentarily flustered. They wore the expression of people wondering, *Why is she addressing our master so politely?*
How could I tell them that the nickname Charlize used for my fiancé was ‘my dog’?
I decided to remain shamelessly poised.
“I-I apologize, but such a visit is…!”
“I said I came to see my fiancé. What are you apologizing for?”
I winced internally; the polite, Confucian girl inside me was crying at my rudeness toward an elder, but I absolutely had to meet my fiancé.
Then again, I hadn’t even been that harsh.
I had only tilted my head, yet Robena and Bond’s eyes wavered with shock as they stared at me.
No, I just moved my head. Why are they trembling so much? …I feel bad.
“The Duke has said he will not receive a visit from the Lady.”
“I see. Then go ask him one more time.”
“N-no! I apologize, but the Duke’s command is absolute.”
I knew the subordinates of Duke Remut, Askin, were exceptionally loyal. Even in the book, it was noted that Remut was surrounded by people who would put a blade to their own throats the moment he ordered them to die.
Thanks to that, even though pointing a sword at Charlize meant defying the Imperial family or Alzbeit, they had even helped the heroine execute her.
“Just ask the Duke for me. Is even that impossible?”
As I spoke, the eyes of Robena and Bond, who had been glancing at each other, shook once again. It was as if their expressions were screaming, *What’s with her? Why is she acting so out of character?*
Soon, a look of firmer resolve, coupled with deep suspicion, settled on Bond’s face.
“……I, I apologize, but that is impossible. Even if you were to cut off my fingers, it cannot be done.”
I stared intently at Bond’s face, then plopped down onto the floor right where I stood.
“Then do this. I won’t get up until you go and ask the Duke.”
“……Pardon?”
“I said I won’t get up.”
Sitting on the floor, I looked at the two of them in turn. I’m sorry, but I’m going to be a nuisance just for today. I truly am.
“Just ask him. That’s not difficult, is it?”
“…….”
The greatest shock I’d seen all day flickered across Bond’s face. Following that, for the first time, a look of genuine perplexity clouded the old butler’s expression. I could clearly see the question of *‘Why is she acting like this?’* blooming amidst his fear.
I couldn’t stray too far from the behavior the original Charlize had exhibited, but I couldn’t just cut off his fingers like she would have, could I? No, seriously, what did she cut off? It gives me the creeps!
“It is truly a regrettable matter, but that simply cannot—!”
“What is going on?”
My insistence—if you could even call it that—had left all the servants in the hallway looking on with bewildered and flustered expressions.
A low voice cut in. A rather pleasant sound. Oh, could this be the arrival of my fiancé?
‘Nope.’
What appeared was a man with a tall, imposing build.