Chapter 1.2

I left my room wearing all the expensive things on my body and confidently held my head high while receiving the gazes of the servants.

Well, how about it, strange right? Like a clown? Yes, that’s exactly it!

“Miss, don’t be nervous!”

I stopped in front of the reception room and smiled brightly at Aida’s words. After showing her a fighting pose, I took a deep breath and as soon as the servant opened the door, I spread open a white fan with a flourish and entered the room.

“Oh, Eve’s here!”

I covered my face with the fan. Father approached me with a beaming smile as soon as he saw me. He was so pleased that his mouth seemed to reach his ears, and I couldn’t help but smirk.

He seems happy that I dressed up prettily right now, but that guy really hates this kind of thing, you know? Ha, look at that. That contemptuous expression… Huh? Wait a minute?

I glanced at Rubellian while covering my face with the fan. Since it was quite different from the expression I expected, I couldn’t help but frown slightly.

What? This isn’t it?

The Rubellian I saw through the fan was smiling. His face, impossibly handsome and dripping with sex appeal, held a subtle, unmistakable smile.

No matter how much I rubbed my eyes and added denial upon denial, the fact that he was smiling while looking at me right now didn’t change.

Yes, he was smiling.

But why?

Why?

Why?

He’s supposed to hate luxurious vain things! How much perfume did I spray before coming out! How many things did I hang all over myself from head to toe! I came loaded with so much that you could call me a walking jewelry store!

Even though it was only a single smile, I felt despair. They say when the start goes awry, even what should succeed ends up failing. I hesitated a bit, then covered my lips with the fan and ground my teeth.

“Eve, sit down.”

Father seated me on the sofa.I glanced at Father, who looked overly pleased, and sensed something was off, which made me frown slightly. But soon, remembering where I was, I forced out a smile.

Right, it could be that he’s doing it on purpose because he’s in front of Dad. Let’s not be too discouraged. It’s not a failure yet.

I shook my head and smiled brightly again. Like a lovestruck teenager, I smiled that silly smile men like him usually can’t stand.

Then Father spoke.

“Our Eve seems to have put quite a lot of effort into meeting Your Grace, haha.”

“It seems so.”

“Though she’s my daughter, she’s a dear child. She was a bit fragile in her early years but is now growing quite strong.”

“Is that so…”

Father’s appeal about his daughter seemed excessive, but Rubellian still had that strange smile on his lips.

I sat next to Father, just smiling like a doll while observing Rubellian.

Even from my perspective, having lived loving luxury goods and jewelry in my previous life, my current appearance was excessive. It went without saying that to a man who hated all things luxurious and foolish, my look would appear all the more extravagant.

However, contrary to my expectation that he would naturally frown at my appearance, Rubellian was just looking at me calmly.

What? What went wrong?

I pressed my lips tightly together. The information couldn’t be wrong. Right now Rubellian had a modest appearance that could be called “neat” for a noble to maintain, so it was correct that he really disliked luxurious things.

But then why? He dislikes it, so why?

“Seeing you like this brings new feelings.”

New feelings my ass. I smiled brightly and nodded.

“I was quite rude at our first meeting, wasn’t I? Hehe.”

From now on, my concept is a stupid, thoughtless daughter of nouveau riche who wants to embody a virtuous woman but fails due to lack of education.

Ah, what a completely complicated concept. I’ll need acting skills.

I folded the fan nicely and licked my lips with my tongue somewhat exaggeratedly. As if I deliberately wanted to seduce him, in a vulgar-looking way.

I continued to send him openly interested looks.

You’ve received a lot of these looks in social circles, right? Yes, I’ll become one of those many people too.

However, as if my intention was somehow mercilessly trampled, Rubellian didn’t show any particularly unpleasant reaction. If this was acting, he should get this year’s Academy Award.

“If I had known Your Grace would honor us with your visit, I would have waited quietly in my room.”

His gaze fixed on my face. With eyes that were pretty if you called them pretty, eerie if you called them eerie, I unconsciously hesitated. While forcing out a smile and looking at him, his low voice resonated through the room.

“Indeed?”

…What’s he saying?

I tilted my head. This wasn’t acting but genuine confusion. I didn’t understand what he was saying. Looking directly at me like that, Rubellian spoke.

“I wonder if the Lady would have actually waited quietly in her room.”

…This bastard?

For a moment, my heart seemed to drop with a thud.

Could he possibly know something? Does he really know? No, surely he couldn’t know.

Nevertheless, Rubellian had quite a confident face.

Looking at his face, I smiled broadly and shook my head.

“How could that be? Why would I do that when Your Grace the Duke is coming?”

“Exactly! Eve kept telling me she wanted to meet Your Grace.”

Father chimed in, not to be outdone by my words. He too seemed to dislike being looked down upon by Rubellian in this way, so he rattled off non-existent stories about how much I had admired him all this time as if they were real.

“Why, our Eve cried in her dreams saying she wanted to see Your Grace!”

…Huh? No, Father… isn’t that going a bit too far?

I made a reluctant face at Father’s words. Well, since it’s helping me anyway, I’ll let it slide, but crying in my dreams wanting to see a man whose face I don’t even know… isn’t this not stupid but crazy?

No, whatever it is, the more abnormal the better. So I enthusiastically played along with Father’s words.

“Yes. I wanted to see you so much.”

Actually, I didn’t want to see him at all, but I had to block the “You’re the first woman to treat me like this” cliché, didn’t I?

Father seemed to act this way because he still wasn’t familiar with Rubellian’s preferences, though in reality, Rubellian quite disliked this kind of thing.

And this wasn’t just from the likes/dislikes list but also came out to some extent in the original work.

Eventually Father finally finished his lengthy speech and, perhaps a bit tired, picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Rubellian, who had been quietly listening to the story, chuckled.

“I see. That’s fortunate.”

Fortunate? Please let it be that you’re just saying this because you’re in front of my father. If you really consider this fortunate, you have a problem in your head.

“I was worried about what to do if the Lady disliked me.”

Rubellian replied with a face that showed not a trace of concern. Just as I was about to smirk inwardly at his utterly insincere expression, Father nodded.

“How could that be?”

“It seems we’ll need to meet often in the future, so it would be troublesome if we harbored hatred for each other.”

Rubellian’s face was smiling but cold, seemed affectionate but was arrogant.

Though I sent him a silly smile toward such a face, inwardly I was extremely uncomfortable.

“Often in the future.” It was a strange expression.

As Rubellian lifted his teacup to his lips, Father soon brought up topics I didn’t know about.

Eventually, I just sat blankly on the sofa like some vase, occasionally nodding along to their conversation, and spent the afternoon like that.

* * *

“Miss, how was His Grace Duke Florence?”

“Hey, is that list you gave me accurate?”

“It’s accurate! I may not look like it, but I have quite a wide network!”

After finishing my brief meeting with Rubellian, I returned to my room and flopped down on the bed with a frown.

“But why was there no reaction?”

“Reaction?”

“You said he dislikes luxurious and vain things. But why was there no reaction when I went dressed like that? Normally, shouldn’t he have shown disgust at that level?”

I puffed up my cheeks with air and looked at Aida. Aida blinked and tilted her head.

“Um, Miss. I don’t think I understand properly right now, but isn’t it good if he doesn’t show disgust?”

“Ah, no—well, that’s true but…”

At Aida’s words, I contorted my face. Ah, this is frustratingly suffocating. I don’t even have anyone to talk to about this. I rolled around on the bed, then soon sat up and sighed deeply.

“It seems we’ll need to meet often in the future.”

Ugh, why does that statement bother me so much? Don’t tell me things were already decided without my knowledge? Has the marriage really been arranged?

But why? Why does Rubellian want to marry me? I grabbed my head and shook it.

“Ahhh, this is driving me crazy.”

“What’s wrong, Miss?”

“Ah… Annoying, annoying, annoying, annoying!”

Can’t I live my own life as I please?

In my previous life, even if it was a bit tough, I did everything with my own strength. I hated seeing my brother’s smug face as he succeeded with the family’s strong support, so I left home and did everything by myself.

But to be in this state here.

“Miss, did His Grace perhaps find you unsatisfactory?”

Watching me play every instrument of a traditional Korean band solo, Aida’s face welled up with tears. She couldn’t understand why I was acting this way, but after much thought, she seemed to settle on the biggest reason she could imagine..

At her innocence, I sighed deeply. Ah, really. Whether that guy finds me satisfactory or not, what the hell does it matter to me? I’d rather he just hate me outright. I pouted my lips.

“No, there was nothing like that.”

At my words, Aida smiled brightly. She seemed finally relieved, erasing all the anxiety written on her face and spoke brightly with a smile.

“I knew it! I thought so!”

“What?”

“I knew His Grace would find you pleasing!”

At Aida’s innocent words, I made a sour face.

Ah, my frustration is rising. It feels like I ate a hundred sweet potatoes. So this is why people crave something refreshing.

I shook my head and decided to replan my future strategy.

For now, though today’s meeting didn’t go as I expected, it didn’t seem like he was too pleased either, so it wasn’t completely hopeless.

Since we’ve already met, avoiding him seems impossible, so from now on I’ll have to be extremely careful and do only absolutely repulsive things.

Then it won’t be completely impossible. After all, even if being loved is hard, how much harder could being hated be?

Comforting myself inwardly, I trudged over to the vanity.

“Help me remove my makeup.”

“Yes! Understood!”

Not knowing my inner thoughts, Aida approached the vanity with a smile. Soon she stood behind me, glanced at me, then blushed and said:

“Still, you were very beautiful today.”

“What?”

“You were really so beautiful that I almost gasped in admiration.”

At the lip service flattery, I couldn’t help but smirk. That was beautiful? When I was decked out in jewelry and feathers from head to toe? No matter how much you want to curry favor with your miss, you shouldn’t lie.

However, at her following words, I couldn’t help but freeze.

“I’ll admit, I was a little anxious since you overdid it, but goodness—seeing Miss’s beauty paired with that jewelry, it seemed like a thousand years of grudges could finally be eased!”

“Huh?”

“Usually when jewelry and feathers are excessive, they overshadow one’s beauty, but wow—I truly realized what it means to have beauty that makes jewelry lose its luster!”

Aida’s sparkling eyes absolutely didn’t look like she was lying.

Suddenly, I felt something strange.

“Didn’t I look luxurious? Going like that… like a pillow?”

“Mmm, not at all. You were pretty, you were beautiful.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Oh, Miss. Why would I lie? Miss was truly beautiful today. Like a swan, like an angel, white, fluttering, and sparkling in the midst of it all… it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call you a goddess!”

Her words hit me out of nowhere. It was only then that I understood why people were staring at me as I walked down the corridor.

‘So… they weren’t looking because it was strange, but because it was pretty?’

Ah, goodness, I had severely underestimated Evangeline’s beauty. Naturally, with eyes to see, I couldn’t deny I was pretty, but in obsessing over Rubellian’s tastes, I overlooked the basic truth that people simply look better when they dress up.

‘Rubellian Florence, you unprecedented enemy!’

I inwardly screamed about a hundred times and shook my head. Whatever the case, now that it had come to this, the luxurious and vain concept would be impossible going forward.

Then—

“I’ll have to go with dirty.”

“Pardon?”

“Never mind.”

I bit my lips tightly and smiled triumphantly. There was still hope. Dirty things are the natural enemy of germaphobes! I’ll become so dirty that even ordinary people would be disgusted!

Inwardly planning how to become as filthy as possible, I looked forward to next time.

And a few days later, an invitation came from the ducal residence.

* * *