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Chapter – 02
But some twist of fate had it that the Countship of Liotium—something that barely appeared as a passing mention in the original novel—was now very much a part of my life.
Surprisingly, I had to go to great lengths just to avoid running into the main characters.
The Duke of Kaisers, my brother, was so averse to dancing at the ball or even thinking about marriage that the elders of the ducal family occasionally arranged marriage proposals without his knowledge, sending them to families they favored. Inevitably, one of those proposals made its way to the Liotium family.
I rejected it, citing my frequent illnesses as an excuse, claiming I was hardly suitable as a duchess.
Yet somehow, the news spread across the capital, exaggerating my “illness” as being quite severe.
“Rose, shouldn’t we try to quell the rumors?”
“I’m fine, Father. Thanks to this, the flood of invitations has drastically decreased. I can even justify my seclusion since the debutante season.”
Some even sent apologies for not considering the Liotium daughter’s condition in their invitations. In that sense, it turned out to be a positive outcome.
More than that, the Imperial Palace suggested that the Crown Prince’s sacred magic might help with my recovery, and even asked me to meet him in person…
“The Crown Prince is really that easy to meet?”
“Rose…”
“I know there are nobles lining up to see him, too, Brother. I’m just… curious.”
“…The Imperial Family needs Liotium’s favor. They probably want to create a situation where we owe them something. And now…”
In the novel, it was only Eclat who was healed by the Crown Prince’s sacred magic. The Crown Prince hated using his abilities, and Eclat was the only one who could persuade him to do so.
Whether the Crown Prince would be fooled by my “illness” was uncertain. Even if he were, he probably wouldn’t go out of his way to use his magic with a pleasant smile. That didn’t seem likely at all.
I didn’t want to risk my feigned illness being discovered. I had to avoid him completely.
“Please make sure to decline the Imperial Family’s offers, Brother, I can’t let them find out about my ruse.”
“Understood.”
Then there was my father’s suggestion to go to the seaside villa to recover. But that villa was next to…
“…the Delua estate.”
“Yes. It’s remote… but with the Delua knights nearby, it would actually be the safest place. Quieter than here, and away from both the Imperial Court and society.”
It was nice that he was considering my desire to avoid society, but being near the Delua knights was the last thing I wanted.
In the novel, no one was as willing to risk death for Eclat as the Delua Commander. That meant getting involved with them often led to life-threatening incidents…
“No… I can’t go to the countryside, Father.”
Some might wonder why I was so desperate, but thinking of certain scenes from the novel made me want to avoid them entirely.
No matter how talented the main characters were, being involved with them meant the “sacrificial lambs”—those who had to die in place of the invincible protagonists—would multiply.
Yes, those poor, unfortunate victims in the story.
“There’s something I want to do… and it has to start here in the capital, Father.”
Not wanting to go near the Delua knights wasn’t the only reason. I had a real reason why I couldn’t leave for the countryside—those poor sacrificial lambs.
“What is it? Is there something I can help with?”
Thinking of the victims, an idea naturally came to mind. Knowing the future, it was something only I could do, so I couldn’t ignore it.
“I want to start a charitable project. I want to establish a foundation. And I want to do it the way you did in the Liotium estate, but here in the capital.”
“Like what we did in the estate?”
Around the middle of the story, a slum burns down completely. Who died there, and who later comforted the souls of the unfortunate, is never mentioned.
It was just a slum where Eclat grew up. It was destroyed simply to manipulate Eclat with her tragic past.
“I want to do charitable work. A proper foundation. Until now, I’ve only followed your example and made a show of it.”
“A show? Rose, do you know how rare a noblewoman like you is?”
“But if I start it under the name of ‘a seriously ill noblewoman,’ there are too many complications. Could you, Father, purchase a commoner identity for me? And could you introduce a foreign-born commoner to act as my proxy?”
“I see… you want to hide your identity and use a proxy.”
“For a few years, I want to remain hidden behind the foundation.”
I couldn’t have the protagonists notice me. At least until they reached their happy ending, I didn’t want to appear in their world.
“This isn’t too difficult.”
“Thank you, Father.”
This was just one of countless incidents, one that was barely described in the story. I wasn’t planning to stop the main characters or confront the villains.
I only wanted to save the lowest among the poor, unfortunate victims. That shouldn’t cause any major problems.
Using a fake identity and a proxy, I could hide my name and family. It had nothing to do with the main story, so I wouldn’t have to get involved with the busy protagonists or the Imperial Court.
Everything would be fine, wouldn’t it?
Two years passed like that, perfectly fine. Really fine, that is!
“Miss Earth Foundation.”
“…I think there’s some misunderstanding. The representative is the gentleman over there.”
“I assumed he was the proxy.”
“….”
I couldn’t hide my embarrassment. I hadn’t expected him to appear in person. With his information network, he probably already knew everything.
For two years since the debutante season, I had devoted myself to rebuilding the eastern slums of the capital. I had tried to stay out of sight, but the library we were planning to build was too big a project to leave solely to my proxy.
So I came to the site in person, under the alias “Marie,” as a supporter of the foundation. The protagonists never visited the slums in the novel, so they had no reason to suspect anything.
I dreamed of a public library, like the one I had seen in my previous life. I wanted it to become the center of education for the common people. I would ensure that no one could burn it down at will.
I had thought about this for two years, ever since I first saw the slums before establishing the foundation, and now I was finally breaking ground.
“Why have you come to see me?”
“…I am Vihan Kaisers.”
Seeing that silver hair and striking beauty, only Eclat among BL novel protagonists could fail to recognize him as Duke Kaisers.
“Yes, Duke Kaisers. Pardon my delay, but I—”
“No need for pleasantries. I have an urgent matter to discuss.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the time, Your Grace. What brings you here?”
I could guess why the Duke had come. He probably knew Eclat had memories in this slum, and he wanted to check what this mysterious person was doing here.
But how much did he know? About my false identity as the foreign-born commoner “Marie”? Or even my real name hidden behind that alias?
“Liotium.”
“….”
“I came to see why Liotium would take an interest in this slum, Miss.”
Liotium… and “Miss.” True to his meticulous nature, he had figured it all out. He knew I, Rose-Marie Liotium, was behind the foundation.
“…Duke, are you really investigating a count’s daughter?”
Indeed, I had forgotten that Duke Kaisers’ information network was unparalleled. For someone who owned part of the underworld, investigating a single foundation would be trivial.
Though I hadn’t expected him to take such an interest in a minor charitable project.
“I apologize. For me, it was necessary to confirm this personally.”
“…It’s not Liotium, it’s just me, Rose-Marie, who is interested in this. I don’t think the Duke needs to be involved in a noblewoman’s little hobby.”
Two years had passed since my debutante season. Perhaps a few miscommunications had delayed things, but by now, Eclat would likely be with the Kaisers family. Then why did the Duke come here in person? Eclat should be safe in the Kaisers estate…
“…I heard your health was not good. I was surprised to learn the Earth Foundation’s representative was a young lady.”
“I’m still not well.”
“You were only using your illness as an excuse to refuse my marriage proposal, weren’t you?”
“Eh?”
How did he know? I blinked, momentarily stunned, and couldn’t even hide my expression.
The marriage proposal from Liotium’s elders was something the Duke himself didn’t know about…
“…Did the refusal letter from Liotium go directly to the Duke?”
“Yes, it was my proposal, after all.”
“But usually your marriage proposals are arranged without your knowledge, right?”
I swallowed the words that were about to come out and just met the gaze of Duke Kaisers.
Now that I was speaking to the protagonist directly, it felt different. I had only seen him from afar until now.
Seeing him like this… he was undeniably handsome. Definitely the type of protagonist.
