“Okay, how was the reaction?”
Duke Ludwig summoned Philip, who guided Edith to the mansion.
“She followed my instructions well and grasped the structure of the mansion surprisingly well. She especially liked the Sistine Hall, where the art was displayed.”
“Did you notice anything strange?”
“No. There was none at all. Contrary to rumors, she showed a very dignified appearance.”
“Puf! Count Rigelhoff must have trained her for that much.”
Duke Ludwig frowned and tapped the end of the armrest of his chair with the tip of his finger. Even though she was trained by someone like a snake, Edith was definitely different from the rumors. At yesterday’s wedding, apart from the vulgarity of the dress, she maintained an elegant and upright posture to welcome the guests, and even though she must have been tired, she did not lose her smile throughout the day. Even though Killian had done such a rude thing during the ring exchange, she kissed the children affectionately and behaved so as not to make the atmosphere awkward. None of that fit the popular rumor that she was arrogant and careless.
‘Rumors tend to inflate stimulatingly, but…’
In fact, he and his wife had prepared their hearts for the news that she would come to say hello this morning. They had already heard that Killian had not stayed in the bridal chamber the night before. He was sure of the reason.
Edith had a lot to say, such as how he educated his children and whether he was ignoring her. But she had literally come to say good morning. He deliberately tried to provoke her, but it only ended up being counterattacked.
‘Killian, he made things difficult. If this happens, we won’t have anything more to say!’
It wasn’t that he didn’t know that Killian loved Lize. Duke Ludwig also adored Lise as if she were his own daughter, and he planned to adopt the child as her daughter-in-law. However, until this year, Count Rigelhoff had to hold on to the leash so as not to stick to the side of Archduke Langston, so he could not refuse their offer of a marriage alliance with Edith.
Although he felt sorry for Killian, he could not pass on the daughter of the Rigelhoff family to Cliff, who would become his successor, and finally got Killian and Edith married after persistent persuasion.
“Don’t force me to do more than a couple on paper.”
Killian left with a face as if he had lost his soul, leaving him speechless. However, because Edith was such a wicked woman and rumors of her spread, he thought that even if Killian neglected her, he would be able to hold on to the justification for throwing her out later.
He couldn’t believe Edith would be so calm…
Duke Ludwig let out a sigh, but Philip cleared his throat beside him and added his words.
“In fact… On the way back through the Grand Corridor, Miss Edith spotted Master Killian on the balcony opposite her…”
“Spotted? No way…!”
At the expression ‘spotted’, Duke Ludwig made an angry face. On the balcony of the Grand Corridor, Lize and his two sons often had tea time.
“Yes… Master Cliff and Master Killian were having tea with Miss Lize.”
The Duke covered his forehead with his hand. Yesterday was the wedding. And the groom didn’t even spend her first night in the bride’s room. And she saw such a groom flirting with another woman just the next morning. If the Duke was Edith, his blood would spurt, so he had no words to say.
“There must have been an uproar.”
“That is…”
“What? No, did you think there was a way to appease it?”
Philip was not unfamiliar with the Duke’s nervous mood. So Edith’s reaction was embarrassing to him as well.
“That is… She didn’t care at all.”
“…what?”
“I don’t know what she thought on the inside, but she didn’t make a fuss or get angry on the spot. She just moved around as if she hadn’t seen anything.”
Even Philip himself had no confidence in his voice, as if he couldn’t believe what he was saying. And Duke Ludwig was speechless for a while. Because it was nonsense. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally came to this conclusion.
“Edith Rigelhoff is also not normal. Tsk.”
* * *
After returning to her room and having breakfast and lunch with the food the maid brought, she readjusted her situation while basking in the sun on the balcony attached to her room. She had already given up a lot in this Villain’s role from a romance novel, but she felt like it would be too much for her to survive.
‘The best thing is to be a part of this family and spend the rest of my life comfortably. But will things go so easily?’
She gave up the love of her husband and promised to be satisfied with her affluent life, but that was only possible if the people of this house accepted her.
‘Should I tell them my situation honestly and appeal to their sympathy?’
Until now, all of her appearances were made by her father, and she was actually a daughter who was abused by her father… While thinking about that, she shook her head.
‘Ludwig people can’t believe me. Besides, why did Killian accept this marriage in the first place?’
If he knew she wasn’t even worthy of being a hostage, he would instantly annul the marriage itself. Then she would be kicked out without a single penny, without being able to return to Count Rigelhoff’s family. In the worst case, she could have been killed for betraying her family.
‘Then what about divorce and leaving?’
According to her marriage vows, upon divorce, she would be given a small mansion and enough money to live on for the rest of her life. It would be the safest way, but she thought she should first find out if a divorce was possible with only a woman’s will in this world. Besides, even if she wanted to get a divorce, she had to prove that she wasn’t her father’s helper, and there was no guarantee that her father wouldn’t come and harass her.
‘It’s a pain in the ass. Maybe I’ll have to run away at night?’
Maybe this was the most realistic way.
‘Since I have to assume the worst, I’ll have to figure out what’s going on in this world and collect the money.’
Of course, that was a countermeasure assuming the worst situation, and the ultimate goal was to quietly stick to a corner of the house and suck honey.
‘Anyway, I think I did well for the Duke and Duchess of Ludwig today. Let’s focus on those two in the future. I think it would be nice to look good to Lize, but…’
Lize Sinclair. A woman destined to be the protagonist of this world. However, until she came to the Ludwig family, her life was not easy. The children of the Sinclair family did not recognize her as their sister and constantly bullied her. To them, Lize was like a doll that they could bully and play with.
‘Then, the Duke and Duchess of Ludwig came to stay at Count Sinclair’s house, and thanks to Lize preventing the Duchess from falling off her horse, the Duchess became interested in Lize…’
At that time, the Duke and his wife, who learned of Lize’s unfortunate life, were furious that the young and kind Lize was being abused, so they took the ‘right’ to Lize in exchange for the huge amount of money Sinclair asked for her. Thanks to this, Lize took Sinclair’s surname, but the Sinclair family could not claim any rights to Lize, including her parental rights.
‘So how much did Lize hit the ground when she married Cliff.’
As the Duke’s daughter-in-law, they could have had a hand in it, but rather, they became the Duke’s enemy and stepped on the steps of their downfall…
‘Lize is, in a way, a character who has no luck in this world.’
If Lize was on her side, she would be able to easily escape from her fate. That was actually the first thought that came to her mind after she possessed Edith, but she was worried because she was somehow strangely reluctant.
‘Is it because Edith is set up as Lise’s enemy in the original work? I’m not very comfortable dealing with Lize.’
It may be natural. Because Lize and Edith had a relationship that couldn’t be mixed like water and oil. Even if it’s not a matter of personality, how can the man she loved embrace the woman she hated. Of course, it was a condition that didn’t apply to her, but she didn’t want to get close to it, probably because she knew that Lize was the one responsible for the downfall of Edith.
‘In the current situation, trying to be friendly could actually lead to misunderstandings, so it’s better to be friendly for now, but keep a reasonable distance.’
But she couldn’t just let go of her hand in a daze.
‘Let’s put aside getting acquainted, first let’s observe the three of them unobtrusively.’
In order to survive in this world, basic research was essential, and the most important thing in that investigation must be the three main characters. The next day, she dressed as casually as possible, brought her opera binoculars, and decided to observe the three of them from a distance, pretending to understand the interior of the mansion.
‘If I find the place where Lize is, the other two will naturally follow.’
She recalled the memories from the original story and searched for places where Lize might be. Grand corridor, courtyard, second floor terrace, and garden.
‘Finally found! But why are you outside, it’s still cold.’
Under a large tree in the garden, she was reading a book in perfect shape as if drawn.
How do you feel?
