001. Garden Party (1)
“… Directly, are you sure?”
The butler asked, widening his eyes in response to my answer.
His expression, as if he might collapse in horror, was something one could hardly bear to look at.
“Is there a problem with that?”
Wondering if I had done something wrong, I asked, and the butler nodded.
Fortunately, it seemed that I hadn’t made any serious mistakes.
That was a relief, but…
The butler’s expression was still strange.
When I furrowed my brows, the butler hesitated and then spoke.
“Haven’t you always discarded what Lady Edelte sent?”
“….”
Oh, right.
I completely acted on my own without considering the typical actions of the author of the male lead.
In the original work, Owen found Lucia annoying.
So, he threw away everything Lucia had given him, burning the received invitations and letters in the fireplace.
I thought he would stop Lucia’s actions of trying to possess him after receiving those things.
Unfortunately, his thoughts didn’t match reality at all.
“…I thought it was a bit too much.”
There was no particular reason to bring it up, so I made up an excuse.
Upon hearing this, the butler’s expression became even more bizarre.
It seemed to say, ‘Now you think of that?’
Well…
It wasn’t recently that Lucia began wanting Owen.
Calculating from the start of the original work, it had been nearly three years…
No, wait.
Did the original work even start at this time?
“Did Viscount Taylor adopt a daughter?”
I wanted to check the calendar to find out, but unfortunately, I didn’t know the exact date when the original work began.
Helpless, although it might seem suspicious, I asked the butler.
“From Viscount Taylor…?”
Upon my question, the butler made a puzzled expression as if saying, ‘What bizarre thing are you talking about?’
“No. There hasn’t been such news.”
I breathed a sigh of relief at the firm denial.
<The Flower of the Empire> begins with Bella, who lost her parents early and even her relatives, becoming an orphan and awakening as a saint, then being adopted by Viscount Taylor.
Since she hadn’t been adopted by Viscount Taylor yet, it seemed that, fortunately, the original work hadn’t started yet.
“That’s a relief.”
“Is it…?”
“I’m talking to myself. So, about the invitation?”
Despite the butler’s confusion, I shamelessly demanded the invitation.
The butler, although with a bewildered expression, handed me the invitation.
Carefully, I accepted the red envelope handed by the butler.
Thinking that Lucia’s personally written invitation was inside, my heart trembled.
‘I’m about to see an invitation written by Lucia herself.’
There were too many limits to being a fan of a character in a novel.
Even if it was a popular web novel that had been adapted into a webtoon, the target of my fandom was an unpopular villainess.
There were limits to what I could fangirl about.
But this was, unbelievably, a letter written by her own hand.
This wasn’t like the fan-made goods I had created so far; it was practically real merchandise.
I tried to calm down as much as possible, taking slow breaths.
Then, cautiously, I opened the letter envelope and took out the invitation.
[To His Grace, Duke Verdun.Next week, to welcome spring, a garden party is planned at Edelte Manor.
If Your Grace has the time, please drop by.
The garden party is scheduled for next Wednesday at 3 p.m.
Well, looking forward to seeing you on that day.
Lucia Edelte.]
Even though it was a letter directed towards Owen, not me, strangely, my heart fluttered.
I read and reread the invitation several times.
From the elegant and splendid handwriting to each word contained in the invitation, everything felt too precious.
I gently stroked the invitation and carefully placed it back into the envelope.
Then, I asked the butler a question.
“Do I have any plans next Wednesday afternoon?”
“Yes, a business meeting is scheduled.”
“Cancel it.”
“Yes…?”
The butler, after a moment of surprise, eventually gave an affirmative answer.
“…Yes.”
Whether it was because Owen was being rational or because of his considerable trust in Owen, the butler didn’t utter a word of objection.
I diverted my gaze from him and focused on the letter envelope once again.
‘Is there a suitable place to store it?’
I pondered diligently, but no specific answer came to mind.
Unable to find a solution, I turned to the butler again.
“Do we have something like a display cabinet?”
“A display cabinet, you say?”
The butler, with a puzzled expression, asked and then, as if giving up on deeper contemplation, took a short breath.
He then provided an answer to my question.
“Your Grace has never shown much interest in collecting things to the extent of needing a display cabinet, so there is currently no display cabinet in the mansion. If you need one, I will prepare it.”
“No, it’s not necessary to go that far.”
The butler’s absolutely pleading attitude was a bit perplexing.
Probably because he had never encountered someone like me before.
In the moment I was about to decline, the content of the original story came to mind.
In “The Flower of the Empire,” Lucia had sent numerous gifts to Owen.
Although he had already discarded quite a few, there were still many to come.
Changing my mind after a brief contemplation, I said something different.
“It might not be a bad idea. Prepare a display cabinet.”
“Yes, understood.”
Once the display cabinet arrives, I can cherish the gifts Lucia gives me in the future.
The thought was satisfying.
The problem was that I didn’t know if this was a dream or reality.
If it’s a dream, I’ll wake up in the middle of it and won’t be able to receive the gifts Lucia gives.
If it’s reality, I should be able to receive them.
While engrossed in this somewhat serious thought, the butler called me again.
“Your Grace.”
Turning my gaze to him, the butler spoke.
“The breakfast time has already been delayed by 30 minutes.”
It seemed that 30 minutes had passed while I was excitedly looking at Lucia’s invitation.
Certainly, time flies in the blink of an eye when you’re immersed in fandom. While contemplating this, the butler spoke again.
“Your schedule will start in 30 minutes.”
“…”
“You need to hurry and have your meal. Many documents have piled up while Your Grace was away on a business trip.”
Suddenly, a sense of reality struck me.
I was told to deal with work.
This couldn’t be a dream.
If it’s a dream, it would be a nightmare.
With that in mind, I reluctantly nodded, thinking that reality was indeed harsh.
* * *
I reached a conclusion.
This was definitely not a dream but reality.
Otherwise, I wouldn’t have woken up after sleeping for several days, and Owen would still be nowhere to be found.
Moreover…
“You have a business meeting today.”
“…Okay.”
The workload was incredibly heavy.
Very, extremely heavy.
Could there be a more realistic situation than this?
For a moment, memories of my college life before embodying Owen flashed back.
‘At that time, it was difficult to juggle part-time work and studies, so I considered taking a leave of absence…’
To maintain the scholarship, I had to maintain good grades, and juggling part-time work left me with no time or energy. Even in such circumstances, I found solace in reading web novels and being a fan, but the stress was too much, and I had to find a way to relieve it.
Unavoidably, I took a leave of absence and temporarily became Owen.
At first, I was delighted at the thought of meeting Lucia, but now…
It was half joy, half pain.
‘How can I possibly get through all this paperwork?’
Burdened by piles of work, I couldn’t sleep for several hours. I had to go around here and there under the pretext of business trips and meetings.
Fortunately, having read the original story dozens of times and memorized separate settings, I had no major issues working. There were minor problems, but those could be solved with the help of the butler.
Moreover, Owen’s physical abilities and stamina were at monstrous levels, so there was no physical exhaustion.
It was mentally draining.
‘How is there not a single day off?’
I let go of the pen I was holding, letting it fall onto the desk.
As I sighed deeply, my gaze fell on the calendar.
A red circle was drawn on the date.
‘…Finally.’
The day of Lucia’s garden party.
Finally, it was tomorrow.
* * *
Owen sighed as he boarded the carriage. Although the invitation from Lucia clearly stated that the garden party would start at 3 p.m., the meeting had ended later than scheduled, causing him to be already late.
The young master of the Duke’s residence was always busy, but on the day he was going to meet Lucia, he tried his best to be mindful, ensuring that his schedule did not overlap with the time of her garden party.
‘Yet it turned out like this.’
Despite his efforts, the plans had gone awry. The business meeting with the overseas counterpart had arrived later than expected, leaving Owen with no choice but to hold back his desire to say something to the person.
Scolding and blaming the person wouldn’t change the reality, as it wouldn’t make a difference.
Rather than wasting emotions, it was more efficient to hurry up now.
“As quickly as possible, to the Count Edelte’s residence.”
Owen checked his wristwatch, urging the coachman. Responding to Owen’s urgency, the coachman nodded and began driving the carriage swiftly.
Inside the fast-moving carriage, Owen made a final check of his appearance. While he wasn’t particularly interested in dressing up, today’s attire was extravagant. It was because Lucia liked splendid clothes, whether they belonged to her or her partner.
Of course, with Owen’s charismatic appearance, he could wear almost anything without looking strange. His face was beautiful, and his body proportions were perfect.
However, that didn’t mean he could wear anything casually, especially when he was going to see Lucia. It was not an ordinary occasion, but a visit to see her, after all.
Therefore, Owen carefully chose and put on his clothes, even adding a brooch.
“We’ve arrived, Your Excellency.”
While Owen was indulging in such unnecessary thoughts, the carriage reached its destination. The coachman got down first, opened the carriage door, and Owen, taking a deep breath, got off the carriage.
Until a while ago, he was in a rush, but upon arriving at the mansion, tension filled his entire body.
As Owen descended from the carriage towards the entrance of the Edelte Count’s mansion, the gatekeepers opened their eyes wide in surprise.
Understandably, Owen was an unexpected guest from their perspective.
The story about their young lady wanting to win over the Duke Verdant was well-known, but nobody thought it would actually materialize.
The Duke Verdant had little interest in building relationships with others, and he seemed particularly bothered by Lucia.
So, even though Lucia sent invitations every day, no one truly expected Owen to come.
Gatekeepers were astonished even more when they saw the carriage with the emblem of the Duke Verdant engraved, symbolizing a black wolf.
“This place, for some reason…”
They muttered with blank eyes.
Owen felt puzzled by their awkward and mediocre reactions.
Certainly, they must be familiar with the fact that Lucia was after Owen. ‘Don’t they know Owen’s appearance?’ he wondered momentarily.
Given the widespread stories about Lucia targeting Owen throughout the Empire, there shouldn’t be anyone who doesn’t know.
‘No problem, right?’
Finding their reaction somewhat strange, Owen asked with narrowed eyes, and they quickly nodded, allowing Owen to enter without any issues.
Although the gatekeepers’ strange reaction was intriguing, Owen chose to think that they were just diligently doing their jobs.
So, without further inquiries, he simply presented the invitation sent by Lucia.
Upon seeing the invitation, the gatekeepers made more surprised sounds.
“…Is there a problem?”
Feeling that their reaction was a bit off, Owen asked with a narrowed brow, and they quickly shook their heads, ushering Owen inside.
The gatekeepers, more than dealing with Owen’s peculiar appearance, were more concerned about seeing Lucia.
