HSLF 03

Chapter 03

“Let’s get out of this place.”

Robs, who had always been a bit extreme, now proposed something that made me think, “That’s… a little too much.” Where exactly was “this place”? The capital? The empire? The continent? The mortal realm? How far did he intend to run?

Watching Lexa’s increasingly sour expression, it was clear she also didn’t approve of her sibling’s extreme suggestion. Siblings were like that, after all—but the Barbarin siblings rarely agreed on anything unless it was to tease me.

“I’m not a criminal. Do we really have to do this?”

Lexa nodded in agreement with my skeptical comment.

“Exactly. The Moben family isn’t going to let you off just because you’ve left the empire for a while. The Marchioness is one thing, but more importantly, there’s Norobin Moben—he’s a problem. Some kids have already run away because of him.”

“Could you refrain from embarrassing stories?”

My face flushed at the sudden reference to the past. The story of boys from the border region running away to the capital just to see The Hero and the Blue Flute—written by me—had become legendary in social circles.

Running away itself might have been minor, but having to impersonate the heroine to get stubborn kids to go home? That was mortifying enough to last a lifetime.

Most importantly, Lexa had witnessed that scene in real-time. Just thinking about the endless teasing I’d face until my grave made me feel hopeless even now.

“Anyway, I don’t want to leave… isn’t there another way? Maybe if I skip parties for a while and just stay in the mansion, the Marchioness might change her mind?”

“Nope. That’s impossible. You’ve already been marked. There’s no ‘taking it easy’ with the Marchioness of the Moben family.”

Lexa immediately crushed my hope. Robs also looked pessimistic. Sigh. For all the joy of having people who liked me and my writing, this situation was frustrating. Honestly,

“Being liked too much is a problem too.”

I sighed, and Robs and Lexa looked at me as if they’d seen something shocking.

“What’s wrong?”

“Never mind.”

Lexa’s disgusted expression felt vaguely unsettling, but I didn’t dwell on it. Robs, beside me, looked utterly defeated and deep in thought. Being the only one among the three of us who seemed to think things through, I genuinely hoped he’d come up with a reasonable solution.

After a long pause, Robs suddenly shouted:

“Ah—!”

“…?”

“Let’s get married!”

“Are you insane?”

“Have you lost it?”

Lexa and I shouted simultaneously.

“Who’d marry you?! I wouldn’t want that either!”

Robs shouted back with a disgusted look. Of course, the thought of marrying someone as close as Robs felt almost incestuous, giving me chills, but seeing him freak out left me slightly annoyed.

“Wait a second, what are you saying? Who else could dislike someone as amazing, beautiful, and cute as me?”

“Hey!”

Lexa suddenly screamed. What the heck?

“Ha, never mind. Let’s just drop it for the sake of our 15 years of friendship.”

Wait a minute—Lexa, you just interrupted to prevent me from hearing Robs’ response! And why bring up friendship now? Our “friendship” had been shaky since we fought over red and blue ribbons when we first met at age five.

“I think Norobin Moben’s current state of mind is similar to a teenage boy’s first passionate love. So, Dorothy, if you get married, that first crush will be broken, and you won’t bother the Marchioness anymore.”

She had a point. Even just having a boyfriend—or marriage—might calm down the passionate fans, who would finally see that I was nothing like the heroine in my novel.

But there was a fatal problem.

“Me… get married…?”

“Dorothy, marriage?”

“That’s… impossible, isn’t it…?”

Even Robs couldn’t deny it. Lexa’s comment made sense. Something about it felt strangely unpleasant.

“No, it’s not impossible. I’m just too busy. Marriage.”

“What?”

“I’d need every day to spend money and die in luxury—how could I manage a marriage? That would take way too much time.”

“Money! Exactly! Dorothy’s too busy to get married. She’s finally discovering the joy of spending—where would she find time to waste on marriage? She has to play with me and write the sequel to The Hero too. No marriage! No dating for Dorothy!”

Lexa laughed and joked suddenly.

“I’m never writing a sequel again!”

“Got it~ I’ll be eagerly waiting anyway. And Robs… you seriously have no sense for someone older than me. Before talking about marriage with Dorothy, you should have asked if she even has someone. But what would she have? The ones who like her are either naive kids or greedy con artists.”

Robs looked at me, seemingly asking if I secretly had a boyfriend. My stomach sank. I really was just too busy.

“You followed all those parties…?”

“Dorothy, he goes to parties for the dance battles, remember?”

Lexa asked for my agreement, and I nodded awkwardly. I had never thought of it that way, but yes, I had gone around switching dance partners and dancing intensely.

“Well, even so… given the situation, leaving the capital seems better than getting married. Robs, do you remember that day we watched the guy in the square taking water with his shirt off? And the third sequel came out, so everyone went to the bookstore… the next day, I got a fan letter…”

“?”

“‘Dorothy, you deserve a great man, not a vulgar pervert! If you’re not with a fine man, die alone—’ it said.”

Lexa was already giggling at the memory.

“That fan… really?”

Robs asked hesitantly.

“Yes, a fan. At the time, I ignored it because it was ridiculous, but a few days later, that guy was back in the square, wearing a thick vest even in hot weather. I asked him—won’t you take it off? I can’t resist my curiosity.”

Lexa grabbed her stomach laughing while holding my arm. I coldly shrugged her off. Her tears hinted at how much she enjoyed turning a friend’s embarrassment into entertainment. She laughed so much that I thought she’d get healthy on my behalf. Good, live a long and happy life, just you.

“…?”

“I asked, and apparently showing up half-naked by the well was considered indecent, with many complaints to the guards. They warned him.”

“What the…”

Lexa almost pounded Robs’ knees laughing at his confused face. Unable to respond, I spoke with a complicated expression.

“My… harem fans… I guess they protested together. I can’t stop them. If I bring a strange man as a boyfriend, they’ll freak out just as much as the Marchioness would. Never underestimate the impulsive jealousy of adolescence. Worse consequences could follow. During the runaway boys incident, I almost died of embarrassment. If more chaos comes, I’ll vanish—won’t even see you guys. Leaving the capital won’t help; you won’t even find me in the sea.”

“So…”

“A simple declaration of marriage with an ordinary man won’t solve this overwhelming fandom problem.”

Robs fell into despair. Lexa laughed even harder. After rolling around for a while, she suddenly raised one hand and shouted:

“Amazing! I’ve got a good idea!”

Robs didn’t trust her idea at all. Having only one sibling like that always caused him trouble. Lexa jumped up and explained:

“If he’s an incredibly great man, it’ll work.”

“What?”

I felt like I was hearing nonsense. Robs looked similarly confused.

“You just have to make it obvious that you already have someone you like, so the harem fans can’t interfere. If you’re involved with a man so amazing even the Moben family can’t touch him, and your fans can’t joke around, everyone will be satisfied.”

Lexa nodded proudly at her “perfect” plan.

“If there’s a family that can rival the Mobens, there’s only one choice.”

“What is he saying…?”

“Duke Feiral Cameon, how about him?”

“Wait, you said no dating, no marriage.”

“That’s exactly why. Duke Cameon is a workaholic who can’t date or marry.”

Honestly, what nonsense.

Later…

“Then next week, you’ll be heading to the Serin region, Miss Dorothy?”

“Yes. That’s the plan.”

“That’s unfortunate… leaving the capital for two weeks. And Duke Cameon…”

Countess Rolo’s face looked slightly alarmed as she examined me. It seemed intentional, but I was used to it.

“I won’t be able to see Duke Cameon for a while, but it can’t be helped. Besides, he isn’t someone you can see often even in the capital. He’s extremely busy…”

Seeing me trailing off, Countess Rolo didn’t know what to say.

“Miss Dorothy… so the Duke will someday… I mean…”

The Countess couldn’t even offer empty consolation about the Duke repaying me someday, which was both her flaw and her charm.

“Duke Cameon is very busy, and I like that about him.”

She looked at me with a sympathetic gaze. My calm tone might sound like I was masking pain, but in reality, I just had nothing on my mind.

“By the way, I heard the Duke will attend the Moben family’s party. Why not stop by?”

“No. It seems Duke Cameon won’t be able to attend parties next week. I thought it would be better to go to the Serin region at my leisure instead.”

“The Duke won’t attend the Mobens’ party? But the Moben and Cameon families can’t allow that!”

Countess Rolo said as if it were impossible. But nothing in this world is absolute. Based on his attitude toward the Mobens, there must have been some conflict—probably a huge fight at the council.

One year of unrequited love… growl, grrr.

I’d fully adapted to nonsense by now. To prove how much I liked Duke Cameon, I’d researched, analyzed, and studied him so much that I’d reached a level where I could practically predict him.

“That’s how it’ll be.”