I should have noticed the strangeness sooner.
The night before, Nadia showed up unannounced, looking nervous.
‘Philome, I need to talk to you about something…….’
After a long pause, Nadia had only one question.
‘You said you wanted me to be happy. That I am the protagonist of my own life.’
‘That’s right.’
‘Can I… be happy?’
Nadia, who was asking such a question even though she hadn’t met the male lead yet, was puzzling, but I nodded.
‘Of course. Why would you ask me that?’
I said playfully, and Nadia was visibly surprised and flustered.
‘Uh, um? No, I just thought it would put my mind at ease…’
Telling her not to talk nonsense, I sent her away.
Tomorrow is the engagement day, so I need to go to bed early.
‘……Nadia.’
While wearing the engagement dress, I read the letter that Nadia had sent.
I was about to send someone to inform her that the engagement ceremony was about to start, as she still hadn’t arrived.
Nadia’s maid brought me this, sobbing.
[To my friend, Philome,
Philome, you’ve always been like this since we first met. Always telling me to be happy.
I never really understood what you meant by that until I met Sir Emon. But now, I get it.
Why you told me to be happy.
You knew all along, didn’t you?
That Sir Emon and I were meant to be.
Sir Emon is the man you spoke of—the one who brings me happiness.
The public eye may not look kindly on us.
However, Philome, you must understand. I didn’t cheat on you with your fiancé. It was fate.
How can I go against fate? You understand that, don’t you?
I won’t forget the words you said in the past.
I’ll be happy.
I’ll be brave.
I’ll live well. Thank you.
Your forever friend, Nadia]
Yes, I did tell Nadia to be happy, just as written in this letter.
But that was only advice for a heroine about to meet a regrettable man.
‘This is not right.’
No matter how…
“I wasn’t telling you to run away with my fiancé, Nadia…”
The heroine eloped with my fiancé.
On the day of our engagement, no less.
“Ha.”
Unable to continue due to the absurdity of the situation, I let out a hollow laugh.
“Miss, what’s wrong? Why isn’t Miss Nadia here?”
“Sophia.”
Sophia, noticing the unease in my voice, cautiously replied.
“Yes, Miss.”
I muttered absentmindedly,
“The engagement—can it be canceled?”
“What?”
It was someone else who responded to that question.
“Philome, what are you saying?”
“M-Madam. Young master.”
Sophia bowed awkwardly in front of my mother and Aiden.
Sophia’s eyes flickered with concern, but it didn’t register in my eyes right now.
My mother quickly approached with her eyes wide open, fiercely.
“Cancel the engagement?”
With a twisted face in disbelief, she let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
“You mean to break off the engagement now? Are you out of your mind?!”
My mother raised her hand high toward me.
However, Aiden quickly blocked her hand.
“Mother, if you slap her, it will leave a mark. Please leave. I’ll handle it.”
My mother glared at me.
“You need to behave well, Philome. Do you understand?!”
With another shout, she whirled and stormed out.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Aiden let out a deep sigh and slammed his fist hard into my shoulder.
My body was knocked back a step, then another.
“Sis. Are you out of your mind?”
“Well, maybe. It feels like I am.”
Muttering absentmindedly, I narrowed my eyes.
“After all the trouble our mother and father went through to make this engagement happen, you’re suddenly breaking it off.”
“Well, strictly speaking, the engagement hasn’t happened yet. Mother kept pushing for the engagement ceremony to be held first.”
As I calmly countered, Aiden raised his hand, indicating there was no room for further argument.
‘I’d rather get beaten up and be unable to walk down the aisle because of my disfigured face.’
Perhaps because it was the day of my engagement ceremony, Aiden exercised patience and lowered his hand.
“Well, you’re lucky, Sis. If it wasn’t for the engagement ceremony, your face would’ve been a mess by now.”
Aiden patted me on the shoulder firmly.
“Are you okay, Miss?”
As Aiden left, Sophia approached with a worried expression.
“Miss, are you alright? Everyone is doing too much. You never wanted this engagement in the first place…….”
“Sophia, could you do me a favor and slap me hard on the cheek?”
“What?”
“I just want to make sure I’m not dreaming. Just slap me.”
“What?!”
As Sophia hesitated to respond, I raised my hand to slap myself.
I really needed to make sure this wasn’t a dream. No, actually, I hoped it was a dream.
But then someone grabbed my wrist.
The first thing I saw was the elegant men’s clothing.
And next was the familiar yet unfamiliar face of a man.
I stared blankly at the man.
His unique silver hair was neatly swept back. Not a single strand of hair was out of place, as if refusing to tolerate any disorder, revealing his forehead prominently.
Underneath his well-groomed eyebrows were purple eyes.
Under the shallow double eyelids were sleek nostrils and lips pressed together in a straight line. The thin, closed lips seemed to perfectly encapsulate the man’s cold demeanor.
In short, the man was an incredibly handsome figure.
And I knew exactly who that handsome figure was.
There was only one other person in the world that I knew of who had the unique combination of silver hair and a stunningly handsome face.
The handsome man pursed his lips.
“Milady, have you perhaps gone crazy?”
“……?”
“I was wondering if the reason you’re trying to hurt yourself is because you’re crazy.”
“……No, but I’m feeling a little crazy right now.”
“Why?”
“Because my fiancé ran off with my friend.”
“Oh……. I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s okay. As long as you didn’t encourage them to elope.”
I answered nonchalantly, then suddenly realized the strangeness and turned to the man.
“…… However, why is the Duke here? You’re not even on the guest list.”
I was quite bewildered because it was not just any duke, but the male lead appearing.
“That’s a good question.”
The male lead sat down in a chair.
His attendant brought another chair for me.
“You can sit here, milady.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
As I sat down, the male lead continued as if he had been waiting to speak.
“As you know, milady, my damned father is pushing for my marriage. He says it’s a necessity.”
Feeling awkward, not sure what to make of a man who dared to talk about the former duke behind his back, I rolled my eyes uncomfortably.
“I understand my father, but somehow meeting the person he has chosen made me feel like a horse with blinders on, and I’ve promised myself that there will be no marriage in my life.”
“Um, Your Excellency. I apologize for interrupting, but my engagement ceremony is about to start.”
When I heard the bell signaling the start, I jolted in my seat.
“You mentioned your fiancé, who was supposed to walk you down the aisle, had eloped with a friend.”
“Ah.”
Right. I don’t have anyone to go in with.
“Please continue. I just interrupted the flow.”
I sat quietly again and listened to the male lead’s words.
“Anyway, for various reasons, I decided to personally select the Duchess. A woman with many debts in her family, not a legitimate child, wanting to escape from her own household, that was my condition.”
I see.
“After filtering through and choosing, I found out she ran off with her friend’s fiancé.”
“Wow, there seems to be another woman just like my friend out there.”
I thought I made a good joke, but the male lead looked at me strangely.
“So I’m thinking of proposing a contract marriage to that friend.”
…Me?
“Will you marry me, Milady?”
It’s really me.
“……Where’s the contract?”
“Here.”
The male lead gestured towards his attendant, who was behind me.
The attendant handed me the contract and said,
“Please understand that we haven’t changed the name on the contract yet, as Nadia Alice was originally considered for the contract.”
“I’ll do it.”
After quickly scanning the single sheet of the contract, I nodded.
“……Really?”
Surprised by my straightforward answer, the male lead asked,
“Yes. I don’t think there’s anything disadvantageous for me. I have nothing, so I have nothing to lose.”
“Well, that’s true. Gio, do you have a pen?”
“A pen… If you could wait a moment…”
I looked at the male lead and his attendant, and then, without hesitation, I put my thumb in my mouth and bit it.
With a sharp pain, a metallic taste filled my mouth.
“Milady?”
Ignoring the male lead’s bewildered call, I withdrew my thumb from my mouth.
As blood flowed from the bite, I pressed it firmly onto the signature line.
“The Duke’s signature is already on it, so I assume that completes the contract. Oh, and don’t forget to change Nadia’s name here.”
“Uh, of course, I’ll update it.”
The male lead seemed extremely flustered.
I stood up and leaned towards the door of the hall.
Inside the banquet hall beyond the door, there was a commotion.
It seemed because Emon and I were not coming out as we should.
I could hear my mother’s voice saying that the children seemed nervous, and that she was going to check on them.
I tore my ear away from the door and approached the male lead.
“Duke, I’d like to make my first request as your prospective wife.”
I said politely.
“I’m afraid I need to walk down the aisle now.”
I held out my hand toward him.
“Could you please come with me?”
Wow, that was fast. ⏩⏩