Episode 23: Discord (1)
In a dimly lit study, a single flickering candle cast uneasy shadows. Inside the study stood the protagonist, Beth, with her golden hair intricately braided.
She stood in front of a bookshelf. Beside her was a young man who had stepped out of the role of a mere boy, embracing her within his arms.
“Beth,” he said.
It was Lucas, Daniel Bohan’s younger brother.
“I want to kiss you, Beth.”
Lucas had clearly asked Beth to accompany him to the study in search of a book just for this moment. To kiss the beautiful and innocent governess.
Beth noticed the flushed face of Lucas as his blue eyes met hers. She saw two choices in her eyes.
▶ Absolutely not, my lord!
▶ Lucas…
The first option was to firmly reject him, pushing him away.
The second was to leave room for ambiguity and kiss him.
Lucas was not the target of Beth’s affections. The youngest was out of the question, and so was Lord Bohan, who was much older than her father.
‘My target is Daniel Bohan.’
A young man four years older than Beth, a promising suitor. To conquer Daniel, she had to make the right choice here.
‘It’s quite amusing. In most otome games, you should never set flags with other men besides your target.’
That was the twisted part of the [Victorian Love] route.
Nevertheless, Beth chose the second option.
“Lucas…”
As the beautiful woman spoke with a clouded voice, Lucas, seeming unsure of what to do, eagerly tilted his head towards her.
“Beth!”
His touch as he pulled her close felt somewhat rough. Their first kiss felt more passionate than sweet and tender, driven by intense desire. Thankfully, their teeth didn’t clash.
As Beth’s lips met Lucas’s, she thought of Daniel.
‘Is Daniel always like this? Does he get jealous easily, thinking that others’ rice cakes look bigger?’
Maybe he’s naturally a jealous person. Well, there are people like that, right? Those who keep their feelings inside and use jealousy to realize their emotions.
In other games, such a personality would typically lead to the role of regretfully letting go of the heroine and eventually realizing their feelings. But even if he had such a personality, it was fine. This was [Victorian Love].
‘Now, open the door, and Daniel will come in. Lucas will probably push me away and run.’
And he would realize, while casting disdainful glances at the tutor he just kissed, that he, too, was slowly being drawn to her.
‘So, come on in.’
As she continued to kiss Lucas, Beth glanced towards the door. It had to open soon. And Daniel would come in.
However.
‘Why hasn’t he come yet?’
Despite the long, drawn-out kiss, the study door remained closed.
* * *
I let out a long sigh.
‘Only 90 days left.’
Why did it suddenly change from 97 days?
‘Time is really flying by!’
It also meant that the time I spent at Duke Stewart’s estate was that long!
At first, I didn’t plan to stay this long. I just hesitated to return to the imperial palace.
But before I knew it, the date had passed so quickly.
‘It’s all Percy’s fault. He’s so arrogant.’
I hadn’t been able to see Percy often since that day. He was an extremely busy person.
“But even in his busy schedule, he’s been talking to me at the palace, so I don’t have to go back.”
Thanks to him, I had been enjoying delicious meals three times a day at Duke Stewart’s estate without a care in the world.
I spent my time like a pet, going for walks, having tea time, and engaging in reading activities when needed.
And now, it was tea time. I was elegantly sipping tea in the garden, looking lovely. The tea food happened to be my favorite chocolate éclairs.
‘Ah, the sweetness! It melts on the tongue.’
Sipping a sip of the mildly bitter tea and taking a bite of the éclair, there was no place like heaven.
With a slightly sticky mouth from the sweetness, I leaned back in my chair and exhaled lazily.
‘Well, maybe I should move around a bit. I haven’t been completely idle.’
What I need to do to change the ending is twofold: breaking Beth and Daniel’s love line and shattering my engagement with Daniel. I may not know what happened to the first part, but staying at Duke Stewart’s estate for so long naturally seemed to be ruining the engagement.
‘If I become Duke Stewart’s fiancée, there will be no reason for me to interfere with Daniel and Beth’s relationship anymore. Daniel won’t have a reason to call me a bad woman and threaten to kill me.’
If that’s the case, whether Daniel and Beth are in love, dating, or speeding toward marriage, it wouldn’t concern me.
‘Yes, I haven’t been idle. I’ve been changing the ending brilliantly.’
Thinking that way, I took another bite of the remaining éclair. The maid tidied up my empty plate and spoke politely.
“Your Highness, you really seem to like chocolate éclairs. Please try this vanilla éclair as well. It has a different, refreshing sweetness from the chocolate éclair.”
Maybe it was because Percy had treated me coldly, but the maids at the Duke’s estate were even warmer and kinder than the maids I had met at the palace.
Of course,
▶ Do you think I’m a pig? You eat it.
My lines were still not free and not particularly gentle.
‘Maybe it’s because I’m not a major character, I can’t even choose my lines.’
Oh, my fate.
I said my lines with half-resignation.
“Just eat it yourself.”
What was fortunate was that the maids at Duke Stewart’s estate were as thick-skinned as the Duke. It might feel bad, but the maids, who had heard my story, burst into laughter.
“Just because it’s delicious, you’re telling me to eat it too, right?”
“Your Highness, you’re look like my grandmother.”
Did they just call me a foul-mouthed grandmother? I pursed my lips with a sour expression. Even if I said something bad, they interpreted it positively, so it felt a bit amusing.
I wasn’t sure if they were genuinely amused or just pretending for the sake of politeness.
‘Honestly, it’s comfortable.’
No matter what I said, they took it positively and laughed, so I couldn’t help but feel at ease.
‘Oh, I shouldn’t get used to this kind of affection.’
But I probably would.
“Today, when I return to the palace in the afternoon, it’s a pity.”
Today was the day to return to the palace, and I inwardly screamed, “Ah!!!” Returning to the palace, the palace!
‘Why can’t I say anything other than these words!!?’
I hate myself like this. I hate the system that forces me into these situations. Sob.
Despite my words being completely different from my true feelings, the maids kindly responded.
“Not at all. Your Highness, your presence brightened up the atmosphere.”
“Yes, it didn’t feel like a place where people lived before.”
Is that so?
“Well, Percy’s life in a cheerful mansion is hard to imagine.”
Percy Stewart was a kind and polite person, but he was a man who seemed difficult to approach. He had an aura of being too flawless.
‘I somehow feel like he sleeps in a shirt and vest.’
The image of Percy in pajamas just didn’t come to mind.
When I tilted my head, the youngest maid spoke softly.
“I think Duke Stewart might be cautious because he was involved in that incident 15 years ago…”
“That incident?”
“No! It’s nothing!”
The maid turned pale and quickly averted her gaze when I asked more questions. Her overly conspicuous behavior caught my attention.
‘A clue, huh? A clue to opening up Percy Stewart, the man.’
In games, there are often clues to clear the game. In Percy’s case, it seems like the “incident 15 years ago” is that clue.
‘Usually, past-related clues either make or break it.’
They can lead to a bad ending if mishandled or, on the other hand, result in a happy ending if they touch the person’s true feelings.
But what could it be in Percy’s case?
‘Even a tragic family history doesn’t seem to suit that man.’
I was pondering this when a man with untidy brown hair approached, laughing heartily.
“Hello, my sister. You look beautiful today.”
“Julius.”
My first older brother and the crown prince of this country, Julius, was right in front of me.
Without even telling him to sit, he naturally took a seat across from me and started a conversation with a casual tone.
“If it’s today, it’s the day for the return to the palace. How do you feel?”
“After seeing your face, I feel like vomiting.”
“You’re still as sharp-tongued as ever.”
I was still sharp-tongued because the system was still the same.
‘But for this time, I agree with the system.’
I didn’t like Julius. Recently, he had fallen to the point of competing with Daniel, but I still didn’t like him.
‘But it seems like he’s gotten used to my sharp tongue as well.’
I squinted my eyes. When he saw that expression, Julius hunched his shoulders and spoke hesitantly.
“We can’t delay the return any longer. This has already been quite a stretch. But at least the renovations in your palace are all done, so you won’t have to go to the imperial palace.”
That was a welcoming sound to my ears.
