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Chapter 9
First, Daisy had been sent away, but where should I even start explaining this?
While I was hesitating, the grandfather— no, the butler— spoke first.
“My deepest apologies for my rudeness back then, miss.”
“You don’t have to call me miss. I’m not a lady or anything, I’m just a maid.”
“Does status really matter? You’re someone who may become the Grand Duchess once you marry.”
The butler smiled like the happiest man in the world.
And apparently, he’d completely ignored the part where I said I wasn’t getting married.
“I never said I was going to marry him, though.”
“You are the first woman who has ever proposed to His Grace.”
Wasn’t a Grand Duke just below the imperial family in rank? And yet they handled things this sloppily?
“What exactly do you think I do that makes you so happy about this?”
“We can learn what kind of person you are from now on, can’t we? If not for you, the name Artensia would disappear from this continent with the current Grand Duke. And since you don’t even dislike him, what more could we ask for?”
This was hopeless. No matter what I said, it was obvious he had no intention of listening.
It felt like every answer would just come back as “that’s fine.”
What was this situation? What was I supposed to do?
I desperately looked toward the Count for help, but he seemed just as lost as I was.
Still, perhaps because of experience, the Count recovered faster and asked first,
“And what… did His Grace say?”
He was trying not to show it because I was here, but there was a slight crease between his brows. People usually felt instinctive discomfort just thinking about Solard… somehow, I felt a little guilty.
“He asked me to tell the young lady he was sorry. And if she would allow it, he hoped to at least speak with her.”
At that, I could only sigh.
My conscience was stabbing me.
No, which side was supposed to be apologizing here? How was someone this nice supposed to survive in such a harsh world?
Even though I’d canceled midway, I was the one who’d gone crazy and acted recklessly. I was the one who’d tried to force things my way. After agonizing over it, I eventually accepted the proposal to talk.
“Where is the Grand Duke right now?”
“He is waiting in the carriage.”
“…Let me speak with the Count first, then I’ll head over. Please go ahead.”
“Thank you. Gillein, wait outside the door and escort the young lady when she comes.”
The two men left the drawing room.
I scratched my head furiously at this troublesome situation, then awkwardly glanced around. I should explain the circumstances first.
“Count, please don’t be shocked when you hear this. Actually… the Grand Duke of Artensia’s curse doesn’t affect me.”
“I see.”
“Why aren’t you surprised?”
“You were never an ordinary child to begin with. You didn’t look surprised at all when you learned Daisy was our daughter, either.”
What an impossible answer to argue with.
Well… that was true. Of course I wasn’t surprised. I already knew!
“…Anyway, since the curse didn’t work on me, I thought maybe I should just marry the Grand Duke and splurge with his money or something, so I suddenly proposed.”
“And then?”
“He was so shocked he fainted.”
“…”
Silence fell for a moment.
Honestly, the Count’s reaction was understandable.
To ordinary people, the object of fear and disgust was the Grand Duke of Artensia, not some insignificant girl.
“But then I told the butler I’d proposed to the Grand Duke, and he fainted too…”
The Count’s expression turned even more complicated.
“So I ran away immediately.”
As soon as I finished speaking and subtly avoided his gaze, I heard the Count let out a dumbfounded laugh.
After a pause, he finally asked with a sigh,
“Do you intend to marry him?”
Marriage.
It sounded simple, yet somehow impossibly distant.
I quietly organized my thoughts.
“You know how I sometimes do weird things, right? This was another one of those impulsive moments. I can’t live with Daisy forever, either…”
Even if I kept occupying the place beside Daisy forever, I was certain she would still love me.
But if someone asked whether that was truly my life, or merely the life of Extra #1 tagging along beside the heroine, I wouldn’t be able to answer.
Ever since I came to this world, I hadn’t accomplished a single thing for myself beyond becoming a successful fangirl who watched her favorite and second-favorite characters fall in love from Daisy’s side.
If I stayed beside Daisy, my life would probably continue as nothing more than an extra’s life.
“So I guess I thought it’d be good for both of us, and proposed. I really wasn’t in my right mind… By the time I came to my senses, I’d already done it. But the Grand Duke turned out to be a better person than I expected, and now I feel like complete trash…”
Solard might need me, but that didn’t mean I absolutely needed “Solard” as a character.
My plan had been simple: seduce him, and if things worked out, great for both of us. My life— no, since this was a game, I guess my “game life”— would improve. And if it didn’t work out, then whatever. That was all it was supposed to be…
But after seeing those trembling eyes of someone who had lived a life denied even the right to exist, someone who didn’t know what to do with even the smallest warmth, guilt tightened around my throat.
Unlike me, who still couldn’t fully believe this world was real and kept waiting for some eventual logout, this was Solard’s actual life.
“To be honest, I want to stop you, Selly. We raised you like a daughter. Daisy would be heartbroken if you left.”
“Yes…”
They really were wonderful people.
But even beside them, there was no place for me.
“Still, what can we do? Your life belongs to you. I know you’ve always felt uncomfortable staying with our family. We always wanted to be a place where you could rest… but we also know that isn’t what you truly want.”
“…I’m sincerely grateful for everything.”
Whenever I looked at them, my past always grabbed at my ankles.
I still hadn’t escaped from who I used to be.
Min Ji-eun’s life had been one spent merely enduring each day, unable to break free from a miserable past.
I craved affection from a family that treated me as nothing more than an ATM.
I worked part-time jobs every day to pay for tuition, only to be told I should hand over even that money for my younger brother’s study abroad expenses. And I endured it all by telling myself that family was family, comforting myself with the fact that they at least included me within that boundary.
It took me a very long time to realize how wrong that was.
To begin with, they had never considered me family at all.
Maybe that was why I instinctively recoiled even from Daisy’s family trying to embrace me.
To me, family had always been something I could never have in the first place.
That was why I kept trying to escape.
“Whatever choice you make, I’ll respect it.”
“I really thought it would never work out, okay? That’s why I never told you! I’ve never seen such a disastrously failed proposal in my life.”
In games, choosing the wrong option once usually didn’t change the ending.
If you accidentally clicked Character B’s dialogue option while pursuing Character A, the protagonist wouldn’t suddenly end up with B.
Sure, there were exceptions sometimes, but I wasn’t the protagonist. I was just an extra. I never imagined I’d accidentally attract some obsessive male lead and trigger an imprisonment route. There hadn’t even been enough time to build affection. It was just one wrong choice.
“I literally told him, ‘You’re rich, so I thought I’d try proposing,’ right to his face! Who would accept that?! I was insane to think it could work! That’s why I tried to forget about it afterward without thinking too hard, but…”
“So that’s what happened.”
When I disappeared, Min Ji-eun’s family finally looked complete.
And Daisy’s family was already complete as they were. There was no place to force in a defect like me.
That was how I’d always thought about it.
“Of course I knew I had the advantage. I knew it was a condition he couldn’t easily refuse, which is why I dared to propose to someone I’d just met, but…!”
That was why I wanted to run away. Anywhere was fine.
Unable to hide the bitterness surging up inside me, I spoke with a trembling expression.
“It’s alright, Selly.”
It’s alright.
Even though he must have been bewildered, the Count only comforted me gently.
I felt like I was about to cry.
“I panicked because it seemed like everything had gone wrong, so I ran away immediately. I didn’t even tell anyone where I was working.”
“Yes, but that isn’t really your fault. If it’s the Grand Duke’s household, finding something like that would be easy.”
Perhaps amused by how wronged I sounded, the Count chuckled softly and patted my shoulder.
“It’s fine. We can talk about the details later. For now, our guest is waiting, so you should go.”
“Yes…”
Was this what the composure of an adult looked like?
The Count smiled reassuringly until the very end, and I slowly stood, bowed deeply, and left the room.
Gillein had been quietly waiting for me. When I emerged, he only greeted me silently with his eyes before walking with me toward the carriage parked outside the estate.
As we walked, I sorted out my thoughts.
Fine, I admit it. I’m trash.
My feelings had been lighter than a feather! Back then I wasn’t in my right mind, and my “plan” had basically been charging in headfirst without thinking. Wasn’t it stranger that such a ridiculous strategy had actually worked? I’d been trying to ignore him completely afterward!
Was it really okay for someone with such rotten thoughts to interfere in another person’s life? Was it?
My head was a mess.
“Haah, damn it.”
The muttered curse slipped out before I realized it. I could feel the servant flinch beside me, but I didn’t even care enough to mind it.
Whatever. Everything had already gone wrong from beginning to end, so what was there left to worry about?
Crossing the gloomy garden, I soon saw the massive black carriage I’d seen a few days ago parked beside the wall. The butler stood waiting in front of it.
The moment our eyes met, he smiled brightly.
Sir. Grandpa. Please. You’re making this awkward.
“I’ve already informed His Grace, so you may enter.”
“…Okay.”
Feeling inexplicably awkward, I hesitated for a moment before lightly knocking and opening the carriage door.
Inside sat Solard, stiff as a statue, his hands clasped tightly together atop his thighs.
I quietly climbed into the seat across from him.
“Hello, Your Grace. …Um, are you feeling alright now?”
“Feeling?”
“You fainted last time.”
At that, Solard clasped his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“…My apologies. The butler informed me that my behavior was discourteous.”
“At this point, whether it was rude or not hardly matters. I was the one who proposed recklessly, so let’s call it even.”
“Even?”
“It means we both got hit once, so we cancel each other out.”
At my clumsy explanation, Solard nodded vaguely.
Seriously though… Butler? You fainted too, so why are you acting like he alone behaved improperly? What a terrible person…
Still, looking at it another way, maybe a proposal really was shocking enough to make someone faint. I was the one who’d treated it too lightly.
I felt ashamed of how immature I’d been. Help him? Needed him? How could someone like me possibly inspire trust? Haah…
Thinking it would be best to apologize and reject him properly, I quietly searched for the right words.
But Solard spoke first.
“…I need you.”
“What?”
It was the last thing I expected to hear.
