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Chapter 06 …
The old knight, wearing a deep frown, made it obvious what he was thinking in his mind.
“You don’t need to think about it too hard, Count. If my words sound like a lie, you can simply ignore them.”
Charlotte gave her advice kindly, but in the end, Count Olivier could not ignore Charlotte.
“Ethan! Escort Lady Charlotte. Make sure she is respectfully escorted all the way to the main gate!”
He called his most loyal knight to escort Charlotte out.
And that was exactly what Charlotte wanted.
Under the pretense of being escorted—though in reality being monitored by Ethan—she casually let information slip on the way to the carriage.
“It’s a shame I have to leave so soon. I heard the rumor circulating in high society that Duke Eduard is coming today to propose to the young lady of this house, so I came to see it myself.”
“……The young lady of this house?”
“Lady Laila, of course. She’s a good young lady. I wanted to congratulate her. But… you didn’t seem to know?”
“I-I did not know.”
That was only natural.
No proper marriage negotiations had even taken place yet—only vague arrangements had been made.
Of course, rumors spreading through high society were also a lie.
But how would Ethan, a knight of commoner origin and a former orphan, know that?
Charlotte calmly continued her lies and boarded the carriage, smiling gently.
“Is that so? Please send my congratulations on her marriage.”
She even offered those kind words to the knight who could not hide his emotions.
The result was obvious.
‘There were already famous rumors that in the past, those two once ran away together in the middle of the night and caused chaos in the Olivier household.’
Because of that shock, Count Olivier supposedly fainted and hovered between life and death.
—If they had just spoken honestly, I would have been angry, but I would have allowed it… How could they do this without saying a single word…
The shock of his adopted loyal knight and only daughter running away together had been so great that Count Olivier reportedly repeated such words even while unconscious.
‘Now that it’s been revealed, they’ll handle it themselves.’
In any case, thanks to this, Charlotte would no longer have to worry about disgracing Laila and ruining the engagement. It worked out well for both sides.
‘In the past, I would have overturned the entire situation no matter what.’
As long as the engagement was ruined, it didn’t matter how. Instead of subtle manipulation, it was easier to crush everything so completely that no one could even bring up marriage again.
Yes, that had been the natural way.
Until she received that question from Alfonso.
—Charlotte. If you wanted to ruin my engagement, weren’t there other ways? Did you really have to use such unnecessarily cruel methods?
—Because it’s the easiest and most certain way. Why should I consider their circumstances?
—Because every action carries responsibility. Do I really need to teach you this?
—No, even if you explain it, I still don’t understand. If those noble ladies were clever enough, they wouldn’t have fallen for it. Why should I take responsibility for their foolishness?
At Charlotte’s sharp answer, Alfonso had shown an expression mixed with distress and contempt.
Even without him saying it, she understood.
Ah.
‘I’ll be hated.’
You’ll look at me like that too.
Just like those familiar gazes in Count Olivier’s banquet hall—eyes looking at her like she was someone unworthy of association.
The thought left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth.
She couldn’t remember it clearly. Charlotte was not someone who dwelled on her emotions.
One thing was certain: after that, Alfonso never asked her about it again.
Instead, Charlotte alone ran around trying to compensate and take responsibility for those whose engagements she had ruined.
And that was how she ended up connected to Adeline Laveruz.
‘Back then, I regretted it a little.’
If she had done things differently, she wouldn’t have had to watch Alfonso talk about jewelry business and other things with Adeline.
Unfortunately, Charlotte still did not fully understand what Alfonso had wanted to say.
‘But I have to make Alfonso happy.’
If he ended up feeling guilty over the engagements she had broken, that would be troublesome.
Charlotte vividly remembered how Alfonso had once run around everywhere trying to take responsibility for her actions.
And how exhausted he had looked then.
‘So it can’t be helped.’
For Alfonso’s sake, good things should happen to everyone.
“Send anonymous gifts of high-quality medicine and wine to the Olivier family. The Count must recover for his daughter’s marriage to proceed.”
“Understood. Is there anything else you would like to command?”
At the maid’s words, Charlotte placed down the perfume bottle she had been holding.
“This perfume… the scent is nice, but the bottle is too plain to present anywhere. Redesign it. Use gemstones generously.”
“Yes. By when should it be completed?”
“The day after tomorrow. I’ll be taking it to the Obini family’s ball.”
It was time to ruin Alfonso’s second engagement.
* * *
At the ballroom of the Obini estate.
Two women stood on the second-floor balcony overlooking the hall, engaged in a secret conversation.
“Relax your face, Devona Obini. Anyone would think something serious is happening.”
“…You know nothing, sister.”
“What do you mean I know nothing? I’m the one arranging your marriage with Duke Eduard.”
Jacqueline Obini, head of the Obini family, spoke while lightly fanning herself with a peacock-feather fan.
Normally they were on good terms as sisters, but today a cold tension hung between them.
The reason was simple.
The engagement with Duke Eduard.
“Sister, I still don’t want to get married.”
“And when did marriage ever go according to one’s wishes? There is no better match than this.”
“I know that, but—”
“Devona! Do you even realize what kind of house the Eduard family is? And it’s Duke Eduard himself! Do you know how happy I was when I received a letter sealed with his crest, knowing I could send you to such a noble house?”
“Of course the Eduard family is amazing. But…”
As Devona hesitated, Jacqueline narrowed her eyes.
“But what? Don’t tell me the reason you’re hesitating is that perfume shop or whatever that nonsense is?”
“D-don’t call it nonsense! I’m serious! Customers are increasing too. A few days ago, even a high-ranking noble visited. If we just keep going, the brand will definitely grow! Please trust me once, sister!”
Devona pleaded desperately, but Jacqueline only sighed.
“Devona. I already gave you a one-year deadline. And you failed to grow the business as promised.”
“But there’s still one month left!”
“Yes, and after that month, it will be your wedding. Or are you saying you can make the shop grow dramatically in just one month?”
At Jacqueline’s words, Devona shut her mouth tightly.
She was frustrated, but she could not refute it.
Devona’s skill as a perfumer was excellent, but people preferred famous luxury brands.
Moreover, while she could create perfumes, she knew nothing about business, especially marketing.
So sales had naturally stagnated.
Seeing her younger sister holding back tears, Jacqueline sighed deeply.
“Devona. If you like making perfumes, you can just do it as a hobby after marriage.”
“I don’t want it as a hobby. I want to build my own brand.”
“You can do that after marriage as well—”
“After marriage when? After having children? Or after they grow up? Do you think a Duke’s household like Eduard’s would allow a duchess to focus on business instead of family duties?”
“That’s—”
Jacqueline was left speechless.
“Now is the only time. You know that too. And yet you still insist on marriage—that’s just your greed!”
“De, Devona! Where are you going!”
“Don’t follow me!”
Devona shook her off and ran, staring only at the ground.
If she lifted her head, she felt like tears would spill.
While trying to pass through the crowd holding back her tears, a familiar scent reached her sensitive nose.
‘…Huh? This is…’
This is our shop’s perfume?
She recognized it immediately—she had made every perfume in her store herself.
And this was definitely the scent purchased by that high-ranking noble woman.
Following the scent, Devona turned her head and saw a crowd gathered.
“This scent is amazing. How has this perfume not become well known yet?”
“It’s from a small shop in the Fourth Street alley. They sell quite unique perfumes. I don’t know who the perfumer is, but their skill is excellent.”
And in the center of it all stood a woman with red hair.
‘Charlotte Noha!’
So that noble customer had been Charlotte?
Given the widespread reputation of the infamous villainess of Noha, anything Charlotte used tended to become popular overnight.
It was only natural.
Charlotte had striking beauty alongside her infamous reputation, and she was a well-known figure in high society—impossible not to recognize.
“If you’re interested, you should go take a look.”
“It’s in the Fourth Street alley, right?”
“The bottle is so beautiful too!”
“Oh, I actually decorated the bottle myself. It felt too plain otherwise. If I meet the shop owner, I’d like to tell them this.”
As she spoke, Charlotte made eye contact with Devona in the crowd.
As if speaking directly to her.
“If the perfume bottle had been better designed, it would have had much better promotional effect.”
