IGHC 05

Chapter 5

“…Why are you suddenly asking that?”

Her reply came out sharp and defensive, but honestly, it was understandable.
They had been gossiping behind someone’s back, after all. Admitting I overheard them wasn’t exactly something to be proud of.

I deliberately made a dejected expression and spoke awkwardly.

“Oh, um… it’s just that I’ve never heard rumors like that before, so I got curious. You all seemed like you knew a lot. I don’t really have friends who’d tell me these kinds of stories…”

As I fidgeted pitifully, one of the women—the one with the heavy makeup—murmured, “Oh my…” with a sympathetic look.

She looked like she’d fit right into some refund protest squad, but surprisingly, she seemed to have a soft heart.

“I’ve been working since I was little, so I don’t really have many friends. And these pretty older sisters were talking about something interesting… If I offended you, I’m sorry.”

At that, one of the women who’d been chattering nonstop twitched at the corners of her mouth, clearly trying not to smile.

Right. The best way to get close to people was flattery.
Behold the polished social survival skills of an office worker forged through eight years in hell-mode Korea!

“Well, she is wearing a maid uniform.”

“Where do you work?”

“At Count Wintelia’s estate.”

This café was popular with wealthy commoners, so starting a conversation wasn’t difficult. They all looked three or four years older than me, but thankfully, they talked to me easily enough.

“If it’s not too much trouble… would it be okay if I sat with you? I want to order the dessert set, but it’s too much for one person… Would you share it with me?”

My stomach was already full, and if I stuffed an entire dessert set into myself too, I’d definitely be suffering later with digestive medicine.

But that was Future Selly’s problem.

Offering silent condolences to my poor stomach, I clasped my hands together tightly and looked at them with sparkling eyes. After hesitating briefly, they eventually nodded.

Once I ordered the dessert set, I quickly slid into the seat beside them and started asking all kinds of questions.

“You all seem really knowledgeable about this sort of thing.”

“One of the people I know works at the imperial palace.”

“Wow, your connections are amazing.”

I threw in responses here and there while listening carefully.

Apparently, the Grand Duke of the North would arrive in about a week.

Lennox—Daisy’s lover and my absolute favorite character—was the crown prince of this country. He was currently abroad as part of a diplomatic mission, and judging from everything I heard, Solard seemed to be coming to the capital for related matters as well.

Now then…

How exactly was I supposed to seduce that northern grand duke?

“Selly, you really won’t come with me?”

“I told you, I already have plans. I’ll pick up your earrings while I’m out.”

“That’s not the point. I’m just disappointed.”

“Why don’t you just enjoy your date, my lady?”

Daisy puffed out her peach-like cheeks in annoyance, looking so cute I wanted to bite them.

Lennox, you blessed bastard…

A week passed in the meantime.

After squeezing every last drop from my otaku memory, I vaguely recalled Solard and Daisy’s first meeting event.

A small banquet was held to celebrate Lennox’s return. Daisy’s earring clasp happened to break, so she visited a jewelry workshop. Then, with some time to spare, she decided to walk to the imperial palace for a stroll…

And that was when she ran into Solard.

To prevent Daisy and Solard from ever meeting, I started scheming like crazy.

There had definitely been an event illustration, but it’d been years since I played the game, so there was no way I remembered what dress Daisy wore to the party.
So instead, I took every earring in Daisy’s jewelry box that looked even remotely fragile and handled them roughly until the clasps loosened.

Afterward, I realized I probably could’ve just convinced Daisy to buy a matching new outfit and accessories instead.

But by then, the earrings were already rolling around on the floor.

Anyway, when I told Daisy I’d dropped the jewelry box and caused the mess, that sweet girl worried about me instead and asked if I’d gotten hurt.

Your friend is a materialistic schemer, Daisy… Please stop being nice to me…

And so—

Today.

The decisive day had finally arrived.

“Be careful out there. Watch out for weirdos, and stay close to Lennox.”

“Okay.”

Daisy lightly kissed my cheek before leaving with the maids.

I watched her go and mentally reviewed my plan.

From what I remembered, Solard and Daisy’s first encounter happened when Solard wandered the streets wearing a dark robe completely unsuited for the warm spring weather, his hood pulled low over his face.

People supposedly felt sick just by looking at him, so all I had to do was find someone surrounded by an oddly empty space.

Honestly, it was almost concerning how vividly I remembered useless game details after replaying it dozens of times.

At this point, hadn’t I basically carved the story into my brain?
Why could I remember this but not important things?

Anyway, after some thought, I decided to stick with the original game scenario and “accidentally” bump into him.

What? You’re asking what kind of strategy that is?

Well, as long as I got the result I wanted, didn’t the method matter?

…To be honest, my romance instincts fossilized ages ago, so I genuinely had no clue what I was doing. Applications for someone to think for me are now open.

After agonizing over it, I threw on a light outer robe and headed toward my destination.

The collision probably happened somewhere between the jewelry workshop and the imperial palace, so I planned to retrieve the earrings first and wander the streets nearby afterward.

The Wintelia estate wasn’t far from the capital’s center. After about twenty leisurely minutes of walking, I reached the crowded main streets.

I hurried to the workshop, retrieved the earrings, and then stared blankly at the bustling roads.

“Now what? Should I just walk around?”

The road leading to the imperial palace was basically straight, but there were way too many people.

Would this really work?

Well, even though I’d declared I was going to romance Solard, that didn’t mean I was staking my life on it.

If it worked, though…

It’d basically be like winning the lottery.

A massive one.

Honestly, I wanted to sleep on piles of gold and jewels.

And marrying me would be good for Solard too, so everybody wins, right? Heh.

While indulging in ridiculous fantasies as I walked toward the palace, I suddenly noticed uneasy murmuring spreading around me.

The streets were crowded with nobles and festivalgoers, but this atmosphere definitely wasn’t festive excitement.

“What’s going on with everyone?”

“No idea. I think there’s some weird person over there.”

A weird person?

The moment I heard that, I headed in the direction people were pointing.

Pushing through the crowd, I eventually reached an oddly empty stretch of street.

And standing in the middle of it was a black… lump?

Yeah. That’s definitely you. No question about it.

“This feels really weird…”

“Let’s move away first. I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Listening to the people around me, I stared quietly at the figure wrapped head-to-toe in a pitch-black robe.

There was a completely empty two-meter radius around him.

So it really was true that ordinary people felt sick just from seeing Solard.

But in the game, Daisy accidentally bumped into him?

No, seriously—how could anyone accidentally collide with someone that conspicuous?

Was the heroine’s job secretly extreme hardcore survival mode?

Daisy… you really were incredible.

I wondered how I was supposed to handle this situation, but nothing clever came to mind.

So I decided to carry out my original plan.

An accidental encounter—

Well, not accidental at all, but whatever!

Go, Selly! Human battering ram attack!

I squeezed my eyes shut and slammed into him.

And then the man—Solard—

“Ugh.”

—promptly staggered backward and collapsed onto the ground.

…Excuse me?

“Uh…”

Why are you falling over like some tragic heroine from a melodrama? Now it looks like I’m the bad guy! Did I shove him that hard?

“Um, hey… I didn’t mean to do that. Are you okay?”

Solard remained sprawled on the ground, staring blankly as if he couldn’t process what had happened. Then, after hearing my voice, he slowly lifted his head.

Behind the mask, his eyes trembled.

“Sir?”

“How…?”

“Huh?”

He muttered something incomprehensible before suddenly springing up and grabbing my shoulders desperately.

“Who are you? Why are you unaffected?”

“Ugh!”

The pain shooting through my shoulders was intense. I winced instinctively, and Solard immediately released me and stepped back in alarm.

“What are you doing?! That hurt!”

My eyes watered from the pain. I was definitely going to bruise.

When I shouted and glared at him, Solard looked utterly lost, as though he didn’t know where to look.

I was the one who’d gotten grabbed, yet somehow he looked more frightened.

When I took a step toward him, he instinctively stepped backward too.

He seriously looked afraid of me.

No, why are you backing away?! I’m trying to have a romantic moment here! You bumped into the heroine once, helped her up, and instantly fell in love!

This discrimination against extras must be abolished!

While I was distracted by my nonsense thoughts, Solard kept retreating until he lost his footing and fell onto the ground again.

“Um… I’m not a suspicious person or anything. Could we maybe talk?”

I crouched in front of him so our eyes were level.

People nearby were staring at us strangely, but honestly, I’d already abandoned all dignity the moment I launched myself at him.

Forget accidental romance. Whatever happens, happens.

I bluntly asked,

“You’re Grand Duke Solard Artensia, right?”

“…”

Solard stared into my eyes like someone whose soul had been stolen, completely motionless.

“Sorry for asking this so suddenly, but… could you take off your mask just once?”

“…”

“Your Grace?”

No response.

This was awkward. I already knew about the curse and how it had disfigured his face, but still—if I’d chosen him as husband material, I at least needed to know what he looked like.

I waved my hand in front of his eyes. He blinked as if finally snapping back to reality.

“Your Grace. Can you hear me?”

“Why are you… unaffected…?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m surprisingly fine. But could you please take off the mask once?”

“Why the mask…?”

“Just once. Seriously.”

Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to agree so easily, but Solard stiffly removed the mask.

Maybe he was just too shocked for his brain to function properly.

Without the mask, I saw that the skin across the bridge of his nose looked warped, as though badly burned.

His original features were hard to make out beneath the scars, but it honestly wasn’t unbearable to look at.

He wasn’t some grotesque monster from a horror game or anything, so I was perfectly satisfied.

After nodding to myself, I placed the mask back onto his face.

Then I paused, wondering what I should say next, before realizing this proposal had already gone off the rails the moment I tackled him.

Since I’d confirmed his face already, I decided to skip straight to the main point.

“Your Grace… are you perhaps looking for a bride?”