OYVT 19

Chapter – 19

“If you find your wife through me, that won’t do. I don’t really know.”

At that moment, the Empress responded casually.

“Earlier, I saw her from afar mingling with other young ladies. It seemed like she went to the café at 52nd Street.”

“Understood.”

Jackerie gave a small bow to the Empress and immediately strode away.

“Hey, wait, Duke! You’re just leaving without speaking more with me?”

Even as the Emperor shouted, Jackerie did not stop walking away. The guards were about to rush forward to apprehend the rude duke, but the Emperor waved them off.

“So he’s looking for his wife. That’s unexpected. I heard he had no interest in that arranged marriage.”

The Empress spoke first.

“To use the entire Imperial Family as a search network for his wife… Duke Killister is quite something.”

The Emperor chuckled.

“Didn’t you say he didn’t even attend his own wedding last time?”

“Yes. That’s what the spy we planted at the wedding reported.”

“Then why is he suddenly interested in his wife?”

“At the Killister banquet last time, it looked like he was acting to suppress rumors. If what we just saw was also an act, then he is quite a meticulous man.”

“The Duke I saw seemed more reckless and dull than meticulous.”

“Haha, Empress, you observed correctly.”

The Emperor smiled meaningfully as he watched Jackerie’s shrinking figure disappear into the distance.

Café Laellie, 52nd Street

“Duchess, I’m really sorry for disturbing you when you’re busy. But I was so anxious… my fiancé is returning to the capital soon.”

Yurita was once again surrounded by young ladies, holding tarot cards.

This is how it started.

She had stopped by Café Laellie in the morning for a refresh. Since the weather was nice, she went out for a walk in the park.

While walking, she ran into several noble ladies she knew—each of whom had at least once received a tarot reading from her when she was paying off her debts.

For reference, about half of those she read for had already received engagement rings.

A 50% engagement success rate—Yurita’s tarot reading had already become famous among unmarried noble ladies.

So it was obvious what would happen when they ran into her at the park.

After briefly greeting the Empress, they hurriedly dragged Yurita back to Café Laellie on 52nd Street.

Yurita didn’t mind. Having a side income that had nothing to do with the Killister family’s wealth wasn’t a bad thing.

So once again, she pulled out her tarot cards. Luckily, she always carried them in her bag.

“Let’s take a look at the direction of your love fortune, hehe.”

Yurita spoke her old sales pitch and spread the deck in a fan shape.

The young ladies watched her hands without blinking.

“For you, my lady… oh dear, the Tower card. Please check if that man has a history of cheating. This is a complete disaster.”

“Oh no, I knew it! That count has been doing all sorts of things overseas!”

To another lady who drew the Death card, she shook her head firmly.

“He’s no good. He may be rich, but he doesn’t respect his wife.”

In truth, it wasn’t completely baseless. The men they asked about were minor characters from the original story, and Yurita knew some of their backgrounds.

She patted the crying lady’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry. The Death card also means a new beginning. A new love will come to you.”

“Really? Can I also have a happy marriage like the Duchess?”

Crack.

Yurita’s smile almost broke.

‘Do they think my marriage looks happy?’

Now that she thought about it, she had openly danced with Jackerie at a banquet, and recently he had even fastened a bracelet on her and kissed her in front of Lady Nora.

That gossip-loving Lady Nora must have already spread the rumors among the noble ladies.

The rumor about Jackerie missing his wedding could easily be buried since no one actually witnessed it.

Yurita absentmindedly touched the amber pendant on her bracelet.

‘Is my marriage… really happy?’

It was all just acting.

Jackerie was likely still interested in the original heroine, Helena.

She had never seen them interact directly, but they probably met while he was out wandering.

Bang!

At that moment, the café door swung open violently.

Everyone turned their attention to the entrance.

A terrifying-looking man dressed entirely in black stepped inside.

“J-Jackerie?!”

Yurita blurted out without thinking.

Amid the shocked crowd, Jackerie’s eyes were fixed solely on her.

As he walked closer step by step, the noble ladies around Yurita backed away one by one.

“Oh my, the Duke has arrived.”

“We should take our leave now, Duchess.”

“We’ll send the tarot payment through a servant!”

The ladies slowly exited while still glancing back at the two of them, whispering excitedly as if witnessing a loving couple moment of the Killister Duke and Duchess.

Yurita was completely dumbfounded.

“What are you doing here?”

Jackerie sat down right in front of her.

“I looked for you everywhere.”

“Why are you looking for me? You were going to see me in the evening anyway. You scared away all my customers!”

“Why is the Duchess herself doing this kind of work? Are you short on allowance? I can give you more.”

“This is my hobby, you idiot! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden?”

Jackerie looked at her with a blank expression before speaking.

“How did you do it?”

“What?”

“How did you make me fall asleep so quickly?”

“So you chased me down just to ask that?”

“Yes.”

Yurita felt strangely drained.

It wasn’t anything special. She had simply used blackout curtains, aromatherapy oils, and techniques to relax the body.

Common methods in the modern world. She had only tried them to observe Jackerie more closely.

But Jackerie was looking at her like she had done something incredible.

“It’s nothing special. Just things I know. Anyone could get the same effect.”

But Jackerie didn’t seem to be listening.

His expression was strangely intense, making Yurita want to stand up and run away.

“Why… are you looking at me like that?”

“You…”

Jackerie leaned closer over the table.

“Are you really a witch?”

‘What is he talking about now?’

Yurita replied calmly.

“A witch? Suddenly?”

“You said it before. That you were a witch. That’s why my insomnia got better so quickly?”

Ah. So it was because of what she shouted at the kids who bullied Taeo at the academy.

“My sister is a witch. She goes out at night to eat bad kids.”

It was a scary line for children—but wasn’t it too childish for an adult to believe?

“That was just to scare them. Do you really think witches exist?”

“When you read my tarot before, you told me to be careful not to stain my shirt. That also happened.”

“……”

“I think… you’re hiding something.”

‘Well, I am hiding something. I’m a possessed person.’

But from Jackerie’s perspective, Yurita could look like a mysterious being who predicted the future and cured insomnia.

‘I need to be careful. If I’m labeled a witch in this world, I might end up in prison.’

A mysterious woman with unusual abilities—but ultimately just an ordinary lady—that was the safest position.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Yurita neatly gathered her tarot cards and stood up.

They returned to the mansion by carriage. Neither spoke during the ride.

‘How will Jackerie react from now on?’

Now that he suspected her of being a witch, he might react negatively.

But since he didn’t seem to react much for now, she figured she could just sleep.

After arriving home, they walked up the stairs side by side and stood in the hallway.

“Good night.”

Yurita said first and turned to enter her room.

But Jackerie’s large hand grabbed her fingertips.

From his pale red lips, a low voice escaped.

“Sleep with me.”