Chapter 1
Aveline carelessly tied up her pink hair and was indulging in her hobby, surrounded by stacks of romance novels as usual.
“That crazy bastard of an ex-husband… If he were in front of me, I’d slap him silly. How dare he do that to my sister… sniff”
These days, she was deeply immersed in stories about women starting new lives after divorcing their cheating husbands.
“Sigh. I need something to soothe my weary heart and mind.”
With a thud, Aveline closed the book and reached for another one.
This time, she picked up a story about a child receiving endless adoration from everyone in the world.
“A tyrannical older brother who fills in the sea to make an island for his younger sibling… Now that’s the ultimate doting behavior backed by power.”
After flipping through the book for a while, Aveline tossed it onto the table.
As she lay sprawled on the sofa in a manner unbefitting a count’s daughter, the door suddenly burst open without a knock.
The culprit who opened the door grimaced upon seeing Aveline, as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
“Oh, come on.”
“Don’t you know how to knock? Where are your manners?”
The one who had thrown manners out the window was none other than Ares, Aveline’s twin brother born 5 minutes after her.
Ares, who had the same pink hair as Aveline, looked at his sister lying in a slovenly manner with a sour expression before speaking.
“What kind of posture is that?”
“How dare you barge into your sister’s room like that?”
“…Let’s not argue. Father wants to see you.”
At Ares’ words, Aveline sat up as if she had been shocked.
“Me? Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he found out about all those weird books you bought again.”
“Sigh. As I’ve said many times before, these aren’t weird books. They’re what enriches my barren life…”
“Tell that to Father. I’ve delivered the message, so I’m leaving.”
Ares turned around, waving his hand mockingly. Aveline glared at her brother’s retreating back before getting up and leaving the room.
Knock knock.
Upon reaching Count Herolds’ office, Aveline knocked on the door and a stern voice came from inside.
“Who is it?”
“Your darling daughter.”
“…Who?”
The stern voice became tinged with confusion.
‘I guess this kind of treatment only happens in those parenting novels.’
Realizing once again the difference between reality and fiction, Aveline spoke with a slightly bitter feeling.
“It’s me. Aveline.”
“…Come in.”
As Aveline cautiously opened the door and entered, Count Herolds put down the documents he had been reading. Unlike Aveline and Ares, the Count’s hair was a fiery red.
However, his eyes were the same green as his two children.
“What on earth have you done to your hair?”
At the Count’s words, Aveline lightly touched her messily tied hair.
“It’s not like I’m going out anyway.”
“No. You need to go out. That’s why I called for you.”
“What? Wasn’t I called here to be scolded about the books?”
“Books?”
The Count tilted his head, seemingly not understanding what Aveline meant.
‘That Ares. He tricked me.’
She had been so nervous coming here, thinking her father had found out about the books she secretly bought with her allowance!
Aveline inwardly cursed her blood relation who only shared the same family register while waiting for the Count’s next words.
“Books… Do you actually read books?”
The Count’s genuinely surprised tone made Aveline’s mood sink even further.
Always busy with court affairs, the Count barely paid attention to his children.
After the Countess, who had always been frail, gave birth to the twins, her health deteriorated further. She was sent away for long-term recuperation, causing the Count to immerse himself even more in his work.
As a result, the twins grew up receiving hardly any love from their mother, let alone their father.
Occasionally, the Count would show some interest in the twins, as if checking if they were still alive. But even that was always intercepted by Ares, who excelled at everything.
Unlike Aveline, who needed to practice several times to master something, Ares perfected everything on his first try.
As he grew up, even his looks improved dramatically, making him one of the top three most handsome men in the empire.
Growing up in the shadow of such a brother, Aveline became accustomed to a situation where no one expected anything from her, and she simply passed time reading novels.
“I can read letters.”
“Ahem. I know that… I was just surprised you mentioned books. That’s admirable.”
There was a gap between the books the Count imagined and the books Aveline read, but she didn’t bother to correct him.
‘As long as I get praised, it doesn’t matter.’
Even this was one of the rare compliments she could count on one hand since birth. Her father was never home, and whatever praise he gave was always for Ares.
Since she had no expectations anyway, Aveline decided to think positively and spoke again with a gentle smile.
“So why did you call for me?”
“A marriage proposal has come for you.”
“What?”
It was a completely unexpected topic. The Count continued speaking, not noticing that Aveline was too shocked to close her mouth.
“You’re already twenty, aren’t you? It’s not strange to have a fiancé at your age.”
“…Who is the other party?”
Aveline carefully asked, flustered by a situation she had never considered before.
“Viscount Berta. Although he’s a viscount, he’s the second son of Duke Nor, so it’s not a bad match.”
Duke Nor was a representative nobleman of the Emperor’s faction to which the Count belonged. He was a true aristocrat with the Emperor’s deep trust and immense wealth.
As her father said, it wasn’t a bad match. Although he wouldn’t inherit the duke title as he wasn’t the eldest son, it was still a good position in high society.
But the problem lay elsewhere.
“…He’s an illegitimate child, isn’t he?”
Viscount Berta was the illegitimate son born to Duke Nor’s mistress.
“Ahem. That’s not really an issue.”
“And he’s well over thirty.”
“Aveline. This is an opportunity to become closer to Duke Nor. Would you ruin this great chance?”
The Count spoke in a deliberately stern voice as Aveline protested.
‘But you’re sacrificing me.’
Aveline muttered inwardly but couldn’t bring herself to say it out loud.
“Prove your usefulness to me.”
“…”
At the Count’s following words, Aveline finally left the office without being able to give any reply.
* * *
As Aveline was about to board the carriage after finishing her preparations as the Count had instructed, she saw a familiar pink head approaching hurriedly.
“Hey. Are you really going to meet him?”
“Tsk. It’s ‘Sister’.”
“Ah, sister. I’m asking if you’re really going to meet him.”
Ares, who seemed to have rushed out as soon as he heard the news, was breathing heavily. Aveline stared at her brother’s unexpected behavior for a moment before nodding.
“Father told me to go.”
“Are you stupid? You should have refused! Even if he’s Duke Nor’s son, he’s still an illegitimate child, and he’s over a decade older than you. Don’t you have any pride?”
Why is he so angry?
Aveline looked at her fuming brother, frozen in the position of boarding the carriage.
She had expected him to mock her, but his reaction of being upset as if it were his own problem was a bit unexpected.
“Are you worried about me?”
“This is no time for jokes. Just go back inside. I’ll talk to Father…”
“How nice.”
“What?”
Ares made a surprised face at Aveline’s words. Aveline stared at her brother for a moment before speaking with a calm face.
“You’re confident that Father will listen to your opinion if you talk to him?”
“What are you saying…”
“He told me to prove my usefulness to him.”
Ares tried to argue again, but Aveline raised her hand to stop him.
“It’s the first time Father has expected something from me, so I’m a bit excited. Don’t ruin it.”
“Hey. Have you heard the rumors about that guy? He’s famous for his promiscuous behavior. What are you saying…!”
“Shh. Your sister is leaving. Let’s go.”
Aveline quickly got into the carriage and signaled the coachman.
“Hey! No, sister!”
She could hear Ares shouting from behind, but Aveline ignored him, burying herself in the carriage.
“I’m already tired.”
It had been too long since she had left the mansion. Wearing such a flowing dress and going out was even more so.
She twirled her neatly combed hair, waiting to arrive at the meeting place.
The image of Ares throwing a fit at the end did cross her mind, but she soon shook her head. Did he think she was going out because she wanted to?
-Are you stupid? You should have refused!
Recalling her brother’s carefree words, born 5 minutes later than her, Aveline bit her lip. What a fool, not knowing that the ability to say such things to Father was the difference between them.
While inwardly cursing her brother to her heart’s content, the carriage slowed down and eventually came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived, young lady.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
The place where Aveline alighted was the largest restaurant in the capital. It was composed entirely of private rooms, mainly used by noble couples, for political socializing, or by people like Aveline who were meeting potential marriage partners.
“Welcome, my lady. It’s an honor to serve you. May I confirm your reservation?”
An employee approached politely and asked.
“It’s under Viscount Berta.”
“Ah… The Viscount has already arrived and is waiting. I’ll guide you.”
The employee’s expression was a bit strange when he heard Viscount Berta’s name, but Aveline didn’t pay much attention to it.
She just wanted to finish what she had to do and quickly return home to continue reading the novel she was in the middle of earlier.
‘I need to finish that parenting novel I was reading.’
She wanted to feel vicarious satisfaction watching the protagonist who received otherworldly adoration just for breathing.
“Here we are.”
The employee stopped in front of a door. However, for some reason, he hesitated to open it.
