Early the next morning, I took Serhen and went to Veloire.
“Oh my, what brings you two here?”
“Lir, I’m sorry for coming without contacting you first.” Serhen apologized to Lireania first.
I also bowed my head in apology. “I’m sorry too, but it seems we need to have a family meeting.”
“A family… meeting?” Lireania’s face twisted. Her clear and kind brown eyes looked like she might burst into tears at any moment. But her lips were curling up into a smile. She was moved by my words.
“Yes, Lady Soler is already like a sister to me.”
“Lady Mellin.”
“So, shall we start calling each other by our names?”
Lireania suddenly rushed towards me. She hugged me tightly with her hands, which were covered in scars from all the sewing she had been doing.
“Yes, Lady Ariel.”
“Lady Lireania, why are you crying?”
“I’m just so happy because of you, Lady Ariel.”
I patted her back gently. “Anyone would think you like me more than my brother.”
“That’s true. It’s because of you, Lady Ariel, that I accepted Lord Serhen’s confession.”
Huh? What is she talking about?
Feeling embarrassed, I looked at Serhen. As soon as Serhen met my eyes, he kept clearing his throat. Something seems suspicious.
“Brother, did you use me to get close to Lady Lireania?”
“Well, something like that.”
Lireania answered on behalf of Serhen, who scratched his head awkwardly. Her eyes never left him, filled with pure affection.
“He always came to me to consult about you.”
“About me?”
“Yes. It seems like Lady Ariel has been a bit sensitive lately.”
Her response brought back a faint memory. Even though I carried memories from my past life, I went through a confusing period of growth. During my immature years, I often saw my brother’s protection as overprotection and rebelled against it. Moreover, that phase came a bit later for me than for others.
About a year and a half ago, I tried to run away from home but got caught. That incident brought us closer together.
“Hahaha, I see.”
“Since my job involves dealing with people, I’m good at counseling about relationships. These days, I even give dating advice to others, hoho.”
This feels a bit unfair.
Up until now, I was known as the villainess who blocked the love lives of the unmarried ladies in the social circle. I was always Serhen’s partner at parties, and the reason he gave for rejecting others was always me. What kind of expressions would those women make if they knew this? They’d probably feel more wronged than I do, realizing that I was just an excuse. Well, that’s fine…
I put on a bright smile. “Alright. Shall we start our family meeting now?”
I shared part of the plan I made yesterday: to get married within a month. Of course, I left out the bigger plan—to have a child within six months so that we could introduce the baby next year. That should make Kasion give up.
“So, I came to hear Lady Lireania’s thoughts. Can we skip the engagement and proceed quickly?”
“Within a month? That’s quite fast.”
“Yes. I want Lady Lireania to take the Mellin name and become part of our family as soon as possible.” I felt a bit sorry.
Sometimes, skipping the engagement can lead to strange rumors. Even if not, as the fiancée of the Marquis Mellin, the second most prominent family after the Duke Pertelian in the empire, there were many things to enjoy. I was asking her to give that up.
“Then I’m fine with it too. It’s actually better this way.”
I noticed a bitter smile hidden behind her bright one. If I hadn’t discovered the novel and remembered its contents, I wouldn’t have understood the meaning of that smile.
“Of course. Let’s become the Marchioness Mellin and break the pride of those arrogant women.”
Lireania was the illegitimate child of Baron Soler, who was ostracized in the social circle. Her father, who once flaunted his wealth, was known in the social circle for all the wrong reasons. Being an illegitimate child of such a man and even making clothes for the ladies of social circles, how much must the women in social circles have treated her like a servant?
It was obvious how they would express their inferiority complex after losing the top groom, Serhen, to her. I felt pathetic for not realizing it sooner.
“Lady Ariel!”
Once again, Lireania hugged me tightly. I understood her feelings all too well.
“I really like you, Lady Ariel.”
Ah, but my poor Serhen…
I was beginning to understand why Serhen ended up being the second male lead. At a moment like this, when Lireania was confessing her feelings to me, he should have intervened, showing some jealousy and possessiveness. Yet, all he did was watch us with gentle eyes, smiling warmly.
Even though Kasion was so vile and ruthless, there was a reason why readers of the previous life praised that novel as the epitome of the tragic romance genre. The extreme obsession, the decadent beauty born from that obsession—it was still threatening, to the point that you couldn’t feel safe even after getting married.
“What’s wrong, Ariel?”
I kept glancing at Serhen’s pocket.
Now’s the time! It’s time to give Lireania the ring that has been passed down to the Marchioness Mellin for a year!
“Lady Lireania, why don’t you talk to my brother a bit more before making a decision?” I decided to give the clueless man a chance.
“What? But I’ve already decided…”
“This is a life-changing matter. If you think it’s not right, just kick my brother to the curb. Don’t marry him just because of me.”
I separated from Lireania and stood up. As I was leaving the parlor, I whispered to Serhen. “Propose to her properly so you won’t regret it.”
No matter how I think about it, I need to educate my brother a bit. He needed a charm that wouldn’t lose to Kasion. Just being kind would make him a second male lead for life.
* * *
Fortunately, Serhen proposed well. When I re-entered the room, Lireania was crying tears of joy, so it must have been quite moving.
It felt like we had taken a step forward. The danger of being killed by a close friend or being imprisoned and violated by a lover’s friend seemed far away now, right?
“Now’s not the time to let your guard down.”
As soon as I got home, I called Selvia.
“Milady, do you have any orders?”
“Yes. Tell the chefs to prepare nourishing food for the next month.”
“Nourishing food?”
“Yes. Specifically, something good for virility.”
Selvia’s face turned red at the explicit word. I couldn’t help but chuckle at her cute reaction.
Soon, the young newlyweds would be making all sorts of noises day and night in the Marquisate, so it was too early to be embarrassed. Since this is an R-rated novel, it’s unavoidable.
“Which one would be good?”
“Hmm… eel, oysters, snails?”
I mixed my past life’s memories with the common sense of this world. For a man’s strength, protein is the best.
This was also a matter of pride. To survive and outshine the male lead in this tragic story, an ordinary level of stamina wouldn’t suffice. If you couldn’t be naturally gifted, you had to build it through diet and training.
“Where is my brother?”
“He’s in his study.”
“Is he alone?”
“No, it seems he has a guest.”
Judging by the fact that someone was called to the study at this hour, it was likely someone from the merchant guild. The wine incident hadn’t been resolved yet, so he must be busy.
“Really? I’ll go wait then.”
From now on, I have to handle the wedding preparations.
As I walked to the study, I organized the tasks I needed to do. I had to meet the priest from the temple, decorate the honeymoon room, and find a way to make Serhen the ruler of the night.
My heart raced at the thought I might actually be able to save Serhen. It even made me pause for a moment to catch my breath before reaching the study door.
“How pathetic to make such a rash decision under the influence of your immature sister.”
But my hopeful excitement was shattered by a voice as cold as the winter wind.
“Kasion. Ariel and I, as well as Lireania, made this decision carefully. Can’t you respect that?”
“How can I respect thoughtless actions?”
“Didn’t you say Lireania seemed like a good person? Isn’t that why you went to see her?”
The argument between Kasion and Serhen continued to spill out of the study. Some parts were hard to hear clearly, but one thing was clear—Kasion was against this marriage.
Was it because he was the male lead in a tragic novel and had good instincts? It seemed he felt a sense of crisis and came to intervene as the wedding approached. It wasn’t even the time for his obsessive behavior to start in earnest yet.
“I didn’t say not to get married. Just delay the wedding.”
“The matter is already settled.”
“Why are you so eager to do something that could lead to criticism? Until Ariel’s marriage partner is decided, or like other nobles, you could get engaged and have a grand wedding six months later. It’s not too late.”
That man, really… In the novel, six months later, there is no one at the wedding hall. The groom was murdered, and the bride was kidnapped.
Instinctively, Kasion was trying to hold out until the episode in the original story occurred.
“Brother, may I come in?” I couldn’t hold back and knocked on the door loudly.
“Ariel, you may come in.”
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Serhen sitting at the desk and Kasion standing beyond it. Anyone could tell who the gentle second male lead was and who the dangerous male lead was. The contrast was stark when they were together.
Even though Serhen was quite tall, Kasion was more than a finger’s length taller, and his shoulders and chest were 1.5 times broader. And his thighs—one of Kasion’s legs was as thick as my waist. There was no way an ordinary scholar like Serhen could surpass Kasion’s strength.
“You’re here, Kasion.” I hid my true feelings and greeted Kasion warmly.
“Ariel, you’ve been up to something foolish.” A cold northern wind seemed to swirl around him, showing why people called him cold-blooded.
Serhen stood up with a worried expression. Like a kind older brother, he was trying to be a protective barrier for me.
“Foolish? What do you mean?”
I took a step closer to Kasion. The smile I usually wore for the two men had completely disappeared. It might be ungrateful of me, considering all the help Kasion had given me… But from now on, I had to be the wall for Serhen. A solid iron wall to block Kasion.
Thank you for the update