🎧 Listen to Article
Browser
0:00
--:--
🔊 TTS Settings
1x
100%
Chapter 06
The man had always seemed eerily perceptive, but this was getting ridiculous.
I rubbed my gooseflesh with my hand and shot him a glare.
Michael seemed slightly offended by my look and let out a short sigh.
“Besides, I figured there was a high probability that Duke Lyxion wouldn’t show up for the blind date, and even if he did, I calculated that he would quickly leave after seeing the way you’ve been behaving during your blind dates.”
Then, as if he thought he had explained enough, he returned his gaze to the documents he had been reviewing.
“If I had him flatly reject you, then the other side wouldn’t be able to do anything, and the talk of a blind date would end.”
I was annoyed that he had sent me to the blind date with Lyxion without a word of explanation, as if he were passing his bad karma onto me.
I was also uneasy that a story and relationship that had nothing to do with the original story were developing without my knowledge.
And on top of that, I was now directly entangled with Lyxion, the male lead of the original story.
There was a lingering unease that made me want to pull my hair out, but at least…
I had a vague idea of why Lyxion had obediently come to the blind date with me and had been so kind to me.
‘He had only come because his lovely sister had asked him to.’
That was the reason for everything.
His unusually affectionate demeanor, his sickeningly sweet smile, his inappropriate suggestion that we meet again. It was all because of that.
Knowing this, my anxious heart finally calmed down, and I was able to catch my breath.
If that was really the case, then Lyxion had only come to the blind date reluctantly for his sister, and he had only been overly kind to me for a short while because of his sister.
I could have said that he didn’t have to go to such lengths, but I decided not to think too deeply about it.
Even though he had said he wanted to meet again, it was clear that the meeting would be a one-time thing… I didn’t want to pay any more attention to him than necessary.
‘Oh, I’m starving.’
Was it because I had been thinking too much? The hunger that I had forgotten about suddenly came rushing back.
I had originally planned to order a feast from the famous restaurant, Zremian, and stuff myself today, but my plan had been ruined when Lyxion had suddenly appeared.
It was too late for lunch, and a bit too early for dinner. I was contemplating returning to the Marquisate and asking the chef to make me about 20 sandwiches when…
“So?”
Michael asked abruptly, his gaze still fixed on the documents.
“Why are you acting like that?”
His indifferent question, asked without even looking at me, gradually filled me with a cold anger.
“What did that bastard say to you?”
The title he had been using until just now, ‘Duke,’ had suddenly changed to ‘that bastard.’ Even though he was pretending to read the documents, his golden eyes were cold and hard.
It seemed that Michael suspected that I had had some kind of unpleasant experience with Lyxion, since I had been acting strangely because of the original story.
If I had come back after hearing a single harsh word, he looked like he would go and turn everything upside down, regardless of who the Duke was. That seemed even more likely since the man in question was known for his terrible personality.
‘He had no problem sending me off to a blind date, but now he’s acting like this.’
Realizing what Michael was worried about and why he was angry, I felt embarrassed and awkward for no reason. I scratched the back of my head.
“Nothing happened. We just had a cup of tea and parted ways.”
“Is that really all?”
“Yes.”
Michael’s gaze finally turned to me as I nodded quickly.
He stared intently at my face as if to confirm something, and then he looked back down at the documents.
“Then that’s fine.”
Feeling a strange tension in the air despite the familiar surroundings, I awkwardly glanced at Michael.
Perhaps he noticed my behavior, because Michael shot me a sidelong glance. His usual condescending and annoyed gaze met mine.
What again? What now?
“Is that all you wanted to ask?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, for now…”
“Well, unlike you who has nothing to do, I’m busy, so if you have nothing else to say, I’d appreciate it if you’d leave.”
His words were like a fresh insult, reminding me of my uselessness as a freeloader. I sprang up from the sofa I had just sat down on and exclaimed, “I was just about to leave anyway! I’m a busy person, you know?”
“I bet you were thinking of going home and asking the chef to make you 20 sandwiches. How busy can you be?”
…How did he know?
I rubbed my suddenly goosebumped arms and rushed to the door.
“I’m leaving!”
“Close the door quietly on your way out. Don’t break it again.”
Wow, anyone who heard him would think I was a barbarian who constantly slammed the door so hard I’d broken it ten times over.
It wasn’t ten times. It was only nine.
Slam!
Slightly annoyed, I slammed the door hard enough to make a loud noise and left the room. I ignored the muffled sounds of him yelling something behind me and ran.
‘I’m so mad. I should ask him to roast a whole turkey instead of sandwiches.’
Anyway, my worries were solved. I left the building with a light step and got into the carriage.
I thought about roasting a turkey when I got back to the mansion and decided to revisit the original story while I was at it. I hummed a tune, feeling carefree.
Although I was a little concerned about Lyxion’s comment about seeing me again at the end of our last meeting, I figured it was just a polite gesture.
Like how Koreans say, ‘Let’s get together sometime!’ at a class reunion and then don’t see each other for at least a year.
Michael didn’t seem very interested in our arranged meeting either.
I decided to think of today’s events as a minor incident before the real story began.
I was in a good mood thinking about the turkey I would soon be eating, and I figured Michael would leave me alone for a while after today. I decided to enjoy this moment of peace.
And so, I let my guard down again.
It was exactly two days after the day I met Lyxion, the original story’s male lead, at the arranged meeting.
“Do you need me to order more food? I heard that Lady Kristenner eats a lot, so I brought plenty of money today.”
“Oh, haha… I don’t have much of an… appetite today.”
“Really? That’s too bad. I really wanted to see you eat ten plates of steak.”
The night before, I had a dream where I was eating happily with Lyxion at a restaurant.
I woke up feeling terrible after having such an absurdly detailed dream.
The morning after I woke up from that dream, a large bouquet of flowers and a small note arrived.
The note, which was the size of my palm, read:
[Would you like to go boating with me tomorrow?]
It was signed by Lyxion himself, his name written boldly.
* * *
“What is this?”
I was staring blankly at the note Lyxion had sent me when a hand suddenly appeared and snatched it away.
I looked up from my thoughts and saw Michael staring at the large bouquet in my lap and the note I was holding, his face a mask of shock.
He read the note, which invited me to go boating, written in elegant handwriting that resembled my own.
“Did Lyxion send you this? Right now?”
I didn’t have the energy to answer, so I simply avoided his gaze.
“Wait a minute. What’s going on here…”
Michael looked confused. Of course he did. I felt the same way.
What in the world is going on?
Why is this guy acting like this? Did Empress Serena order him to do this?
No, why did Lyxion Luhanes follow so obediently, even though it was the order of Empress Serena? Did he really pick up a pen with that damn temper and write this message card? Really? No, it can’t be. It would be more convincing if he calmly picked up a sword and threatened someone to write this. Yes, he wouldn’t have written the card himself. Yeah. Someone must have written it for him. Whoever it was, their handwriting is very pretty.
“Michael, honestly.” With my forehead on my hand, I looked at Michael with a serious expression.
“Did you say if he marries me, you’ll give him a gold mine as a dowry? The one in the Melzerk territory last time.” I asked desperately, as if I would rather have that. “Or did you you want to give him the assets and the mercenary guild of our family?”
No way that human would do that!
“Liz, you punk…” Michael, who was staring blankly at me with a face that looked as absent-minded as mine, finally opened his mouth.
He stared at me blankly for a while, his eyes filled with what seemed like shock or perhaps just surprise.
“I knew it, my sister! You can do it! You look like me, so you’re not bad looking, and your personality is pretty decent, so you’re okay!” Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and patted me on the back.
“You’re a bit lazy, you eat too much, and you’re too strong, but someone like you wouldn’t be rejected wherever you go! Rather, there would be a line of men following you outside the capital!”
