I went to find the guard station located in the capital.

Upon entering, I saw the guards switching shifts.

I immediately grabbed one of the guards and asked, “I have something I’d like to inquire about.”

He looked at my attire, stopped what he was doing, and replied, “Is this to report an incident?”

“No. I’m looking for the guard who escorted me home early this morning.”

I came to find that man from last night. Since there’s only one guard station in the capital, he must be here.

“What is your name?”

“Anette Leanberia.”

“Hmm. Ah, here it is. Please wait a moment.”

The guard who was flipping through the records went inside the headquarters.

‘He won’t say he doesn’t remember, right?’

On the contrary, the face of the man in my memory was blurry. He was a handsome man, but due to the gilded interior and dazzling lights, he was left as a hazy memory. I was also out of it.

I waited for the guard with a pounding heart as I recalled yesterday. Soon, a tall man walked out behind the guard.

“This is the guard who escorted the young lady to the mansion yesterday.”

“Thank you.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

We finally met.

Is this the person who will become my husband?

I lifted my slightly bowed head. But,

“What can I do for you?”

This isn’t the man.

He wasn’t the handsome guard I saw yesterday. Even if my memory was hazy, the impression was completely different.

“You escorted me to the mansion?”

“Yes, that’s right. But?”

Moreover, the voice was totally different too.

“You’re not the one who took me to the casino yesterday…”

“Casino? I merely found you in the carriage and escorted you to the Count’s residence.”

There was a report, he said.

This person simply received a report, went out to check, and discovered me riding in the carriage.

“Then the person who made the report?”

“As soon as the message was relayed, he vanished, so I couldn’t confirm.”

“What about his appearance and attire?”

“It was such a late hour that I couldn’t see his face under the robe… Are you in a hurry?”

I shook my head at the guard’s words.

“No, that’s not it. He seemed to be one of the guards. He was this tall, had a handsome face, and ah, a green cloak! He was a man wearing that over his shoulders.”

“Hmm. I can’t say for the rest, but our guards don’t wear green cloaks. Since it appears too dark at night, we’ve been wearing yellow cloaks since last month.”

Looking inside the guard station, they were indeed all wearing yellow cloaks.

“Were there any other characteristics?”

There was nothing particularly memorable.

I didn’t know his name or which family he was from.

Now I was starting to doubt if the memory of going to the casino last night was even real.

In the end, I left the place without any gain.

‘He didn’t run away, did he?’

I should have definitely had him write a contract or something at that time. I would have taken it if I hadn’t suddenly collapsed.

But there’s no reason for him to run away when he said he needed a wife first, right?

He probably hasn’t prepared the proposal letter yet.

Until then, that’s what I thought.

***

As soon as I arrived home, I was dragged in by my parents.

Knowing they wouldn’t stop unless I told them, I roughly explained what happened yesterday.

Of course, I didn’t mention meeting Serdis. It would break their hearts more than anyone else’s.

“You said you swapped dresses with Lady Violet?”

“Yes. The lady looked unwell, and she was dragging around a heavy dress, so I offered to swap with her.”

I also had to explain the yellow dress of unknown origin. Without causing harm to Violet.

“You didn’t even have any other contact with the lady before.”

As their gazes showed suspicion, a lie immediately spilled out.

“You know how it is between girls. That time of the month. Even if we’re not close, I had to help her.”

At that, Mother immediately nodded her head in understanding. Following that, Father, who was listening to the story, asked,

“So you knew it was Saint Dallia’s anniversary and returned without attending the banquet?”

“…That’s right. But I couldn’t find the carriage, so I wandered around to get some air and got lost. I must have fallen asleep on the street.”

“You know that doesn’t make sense.”

Father replied curtly.

“…But it’s the truth.”

I couldn’t properly tell my parents anything.

‘Forgive your unworthy daughter, Mother and Father.’

I wandered the streets, entered a casino, and made a marriage promise with some unknown man?

Even if I told them, I don’t know if they would believe me. They would scold me, saying this wretched girl went out and messed around.

They already think I’ve been saying strange things about marriage lately. I couldn’t add fuel to the fire.

“I can’t live like this.”

Mother let out a deep sigh. Then she opened her arms to me, who was standing there cowering.

“Come here.”

I timidly approached and fell into Mother’s embrace. Mother’s hands enveloped my body warmly.

“You know Mommy can’t do without our daughter, right?”

“I know. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? It’s because our daughter is kind-hearted.”

Smack, Mother’s lips touched my forehead. I smiled, feeling good.

“How was the banquet? I heard the temple sent evergreen branches as a token of gratitude.”

It was something I read in a newspaper article in the carriage before coming in. The temple had specially gifted branches imbued with blessings as a token of gratitude.

“Were there flowers on the branches?”

I snuggled into Mother’s arms like a clueless child and asked.

“Um… yes. That’s right. The flowers were blooming beautifully. Right, dear?”

Mother stammered and turned the conversation to Father.

“Y-Yes. It’s a pity you couldn’t see it too.”

Lies.

At a glance, both of them were preoccupied with blocking Cassian. In case I looked for Cassian and brought up marriage.

‘The only thing that went according to my plan was Mom and Dad.’

I felt desolate again and hugged Mother’s waist tighter.

But when will the proposal letter arrive?

He’ll send it soon, right?

***

Ominous feelings never miss the mark.

“No contact for two days?”

For nearly two days, there were no visitors to the household, let alone a proposal letter.

“I won’t let this slide.”

It was my fault again for being charmed by a handsome man.

Fooled once. Fooled twice?

I tried to find the man, but I couldn’t because I was afraid Serdis would intervene again.

“If you’re going to bring up marriage first, then at least say you can’t marry me!”

The next time we brush past each other, I’ll have to kick him in the shin.

I had barely gotten over my feelings, but when I saw Betty coming in, my heart pounded with a flicker of hope.

I must have expected her to say the proposal letter had arrived. Foolishly. Seeing Betty’s nonchalant expression, it wasn’t about the proposal letter.

“Miss…”

Instead, Betty closed the door tightly as if she had something important to say.

“Did something happen at home?”

“No, it’s not that. I heard a strange story.”

Betty came close and spoke after seeing the empty room.

“This is something I overheard the maids whispering about. They said His Highness Serdis ordered an expensive ring from the Tier Jeweler.”

“Tier, you say?”

Tier. It was a jeweler famous for making rings for wealthy families when proposing.

The fact that Serdis was getting a ring there meant…

It was obvious without explanation.

“Just when I thought he was quiet for a few days. What is he doing and where is he now!”

I shot up from my seat.

I couldn’t just sit and wait for Serdis to come with a ring.

I thought marriage was the safest way to leave the original story. If that doesn’t work.

‘Now it’s Plan B.’

A way to avoid Serdis, even if it’s not perfect.

If even that doesn’t work, there was still the plan of cutting my hair and entering a nunnery.

“I have to go out right now.”

I opened the wardrobe and took out a neat dress.

“Where are you going?”

“I can’t just sit in my room and wait for Serdis to come with a ring.”

“Why do you dislike His Highness, Miss?”

“You know I don’t like obsessive men.”

Betty looked at her pile of romance novels and nodded.

“I should look for novels with kind-hearted men as the protagonist.”

“Yes. Look for them.”

Leaving behind Betty, who was getting enthusiastic, I hastily left the mansion.

“Coachman, I need to go out urgently, so I need a carriage quickly.”

I went to take the Count’s carriage that I couldn’t find yesterday no matter how hard I looked.

“Oh my. What should I do? The carriage is so old that the master ordered all the carriages to be repaired today. So they are all entrusted to the repairman at the moment. They will probably arrive after sunset, Miss.”

Today of all days?

“Repairing all the carriages?”

The coachman lowered his eyebrows as if in a difficult situation.

“Yes. We only have horses at the moment.”

I had no choice but to turn around.

If there are no carriages at the mansion, I can borrow one. I just hoped I wouldn’t run into Serdis by chance. I was about to leave, hiding my face with a wide-brimmed floppy hat.

“Miss Leanberia!”

Someone called out to me vigorously. A woman with purple hair hurriedly getting out of a carriage.

“Lady Violet?”

She was someone I never expected, and she came running out of breath.

“Where are you going without a carriage?”

Violet asked in a much more casual tone than at the banquet.

“I have somewhere else to go. What about you, My Lady?”

“I was on my way to find you, Miss. I wanted to express my gratitude for that day.”

She grasped my hand tightly.

“What should I do? You came all this way to find me, but I don’t have time right now.”

I didn’t have time to leisurely enjoy tea with Violet. I had to diligently go to the Imperial Palace to quickly make Plan B successful. She was about to let me go but then changed direction and pulled my hand.

“Then I will take you to your destination.”

“Pardon?”

“Even if it’s just for the time it takes to get there. Please spare me that time.”

I had no choice but to follow her and board the Charpentier carriage. When I asked to be taken to the Imperial Palace, Violet silently complied. As soon as she sat in front of me, she smiled softly and expressed her gratitude.

“Thanks to you, I was able to get through the banquet without disgracing my father and brother.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

I was curious about how it ended since I couldn’t stay until the end of the banquet. If Violet personally came to find me, my choice must not have been wrong.

Even if my other plans went awry, I was glad it wasn’t a nightmare banquet for Violet.

“But it was difficult to see your face throughout the banquet, so I thought it was because of my dress and felt sorry. My thinking was short-sighted. I should have told them to bring another dress from the mansion.”

“No, not at all. I didn’t come to enjoy the banquet anyway.”

“Thank you for saying that. I misjudged you, Miss Leanberia. Just because you like His Highness, I shouldn’t have disliked you too…”

Violet made a deflated sound as she fiddled with her hands.

“You don’t dislike me now?”

At that question, she lifted her downcast eyes and met my gaze.

“Of course not. On the contrary, I hate myself for blaming you.”

“That’s enough then. It’s sufficient.”

She knew I wanted to distance myself from Serdis. And she proved it, so she won’t easily suspect me. That’s enough.

“By the way… why are you going to the Imperial Palace?”

She asked carefully.

“I’m not going to meet His Highness.”

“I believe you now without you adding that.”

“I can’t give you the details, but I’m going to see His Majesty the Emperor.”

It wasn’t something to share with Violet. Even if I told her, she wouldn’t understand why I’m going this far. Her shoulders slumped dejectedly at my rigid attitude drawing a line.

“I wish I could be of more help to you, Miss. I’m just sorry I can only give you a ride in my carriage.”

I was about to smile and wrap up the conversation, but then a thought suddenly occurred to me and my eyes lit up.

“Then, My Lady. May I ask a favor of you?”