TDFL 02

Chapter 02

Just as I wondered if there had been an accident, I leaned forward to look outside.

The carriage door suddenly flew open.

“I knew it was you, Leonia.”

A figure with their face hidden beneath a robe climbed into the carriage in an instant.

Without warning, they cornered me against the wall, planting a hand beside me to block any escape.

“You went to the banquet yesterday, didn’t you?”

The face and build barely visible beneath the robe belonged to someone I knew well.

“…What’s it to you?”

I answered with obvious annoyance and tried to step out of the carriage, only for my wrist to be seized.

Before I had the chance to get out, the door slammed shut and the carriage started moving again.

“Don’t even think about running. Just answer me. We’re going back to the estate together.”

As soon as those words left her mouth, she pulled off the robe with one hand, revealing pink hair tied high behind her head.

Her eyes, an icy shade of blue like the sea, were filled with irritation.

“Understood, Leonia?”

…Yeah. I figured it’d be like this.

I let out a sigh that almost sounded like a laugh of resignation.

Alice Bellasi.

She was the heroine of this novel.

And my older sister.

She’s also the real person Louis has been looking for.

The thought immediately soured my mood again.

How am I supposed to fix this?

“You’re not going to answer?”

“You already know the answer, don’t you? Does my response really matter?”

I tilted my head.

The fact that she’d jumped onto a moving carriage was proof enough that she already knew what had happened yesterday.

“…Ha. I honestly thought you’d deny it. Say whoever told me was mistaken.”

Crossing her arms, Alice sat down across from me and looked at me as though I were hopeless.

“You’ve only just broken off your engagement, Leonia. Did you really have to go running around celebrating already?”

“It’s not like breaking off an engagement means I’m sentenced to stay locked inside the estate.”

Unlike the man who had spent our entire engagement entangled in scandals with other women, I’d done absolutely nothing wrong.

“You think that’s the point?”

Alice let out a heavy sigh.

“Whether you’ve done anything wrong or not doesn’t matter. Public opinion is against you. Your former fiancé is the future Emperor. Even if he’s the one at fault, people will still blame you.”

“I know.”

“If you know, then why—”

“Because I don’t care if I never get married.”

“…What?”

Alice narrowed her eyes, trying to determine whether I was bluffing.

“After staying engaged to someone like him for over ten years… I’ve started to question the idea of marriage itself.”

Resting my chin on my hand, I gazed out the window as I spoke calmly.

“If you were me, you’d feel the same.”

“…That bas— I mean, Marquis Rigen really was trash.”

Alice nodded in agreement.

“I’ve never understood why he even proposed to you in the first place. You’d never even met before the engagement ceremony.”

“He was in love with you. That’s why he proposed to me.”

“…What?”

“He thought I’d look a lot like you. The moment he realized I didn’t, he said he regretted it.”

My former fiancé occupied the role of the villain obsessed with Alice.

“He begged His Majesty for permission to arrange the engagement, so he couldn’t break it off. But he didn’t like me either, so he kept causing scandals with other women. He wanted me to give up and leave on my own.”

Unfortunately, the original Leonia had never been able to let him go.

In the end, she had been murdered.

Things were different now, but remembering it still left a bitter taste in my mouth.

“More importantly, how did you know I went to the banquet yesterday?”

Knowing it sounded unnatural, I deliberately changed the subject.

“I stopped by the guild this morning. Apparently some lunatic who bought a huge amount of sleeping drugs caused quite a mess.”

It was far too late to ask such a question, but Alice pretended not to notice.

“I got a bad feeling, so as soon as I came back to the estate, I went to your room. They told me you hadn’t returned.”

“And from just that, you figured out I’d gone to the banquet?”

“I’ve always had good instincts.”

Judging by the way she brushed it off, she’d most likely obtained the guest list through the information guild.

Probably not through entirely legal means, but they’re certainly fast.

Come to think of it…

I needed to find out why Louis had proposed to me.

Maybe I should hire them.

The information I had on my own was far too limited.

…Wait.

Information?

“Alice, there’s something I want investigated.”

“If it’s about Marquis Rigen, absolutely not. If we’re careless, we’ll just hand his side ammunition for the battle of public opinion.”

“No. I couldn’t care less about that man. What I want to know is…”

The moment I finished speaking, Alice’s eyes widened.

A week later, Alice returned with the information I’d asked for.

“…Honestly, I can never figure you out.”

Taking the envelope from her, I checked the documents inside.

Just as I thought.

Every article of clothing Louis had recently purchased for the ducal household was black.

Black military uniforms.

Black tailcoats.

His hat, shoes, even his cane.

Everything except his gloves had been bought in black.

The day I met him at the estate, he was dressed in black from head to toe too.

Of course he was.

Ever since his parents and older brother died, Louis had worn black at every official function.

There were even rumors that the Emperor disliked him because of it and kept sending him from one battlefield to another.

The reason was simple.

The Emperor himself had been responsible for orchestrating the deaths of Louis’s parents and brother.

Naturally, seeing Louis appear before him dressed entirely in mourning black—as though silently accusing him—must have been infuriating.

“…Don’t tell me you’re interested in Duke Arban?”

“I wonder.”

If I admitted he’d already proposed to me, Alice looked like she might faint.

So I simply explained how he’d helped me at the estate.

“…The Duke really did that?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s strange. He’s not the sort of person who shows kindness to just anyone.”

Alice tilted her head.

From her perspective, it certainly sounded as though Louis had taken a liking to me.

But that wasn’t what he wanted.

What Louis wants from me is information.

Information necessary to avenge his parents and brother.

If, while drugged and drunk that night, I’d accidentally revealed useful information… then everything makes sense.

What if I’d told him something he could immediately verify?

What if he’d spent the entire night confirming it…

…and proposed to me afterward?

At the moment, it was the most plausible explanation.

“So what are you going to do now?”

“Honestly? I don’t want anything to do with him. There’s nothing in it for me.”

I’d only just escaped one trap.

I had no desire to step into another.

The problem was that I’d already pretended to be Louis’s first love.

And judging from everything, I’d probably said far too much.

…If I reject his proposal and refuse to help with his revenge… he’ll probably kill me.

I could refuse the marriage.

But I’d have to agree to help him take revenge.

Then, once an opportunity presented itself, I’d flee to another country.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—

More than a week passed without a single word from Louis.

If only he’d just forget about me…

Knock. Knock.

Just then, a maid entered after knocking to announce that lunch was ready.

The teacups and pastries were cleared away, replaced one by one with dishes suitable for the midday meal.

“By the way, about that dress we ordered together for the imperial banquet…”

Since I’d remained silent throughout the meal, Alice finally spoke.

“It looks like it was finished earlier than expected.”

Originally, it had been a dress I was supposed to choose with my fiancé.

But after that bastard stood me up because he was busy sleeping with another woman, I ended up ordering it together with Alice instead.

“If you’ve got time to keep wandering around, you might as well go check on the dress.”

“Sure. Why not?”

I couldn’t exactly skip the imperial banquet.

Inspecting the dress was necessary.

As we chatted about when to visit the dressmaker—

The dining room doors suddenly burst open.

“Out of the way!”

Count Bellasi strode inside.

“Father, you’re back earlier than expected. How was your business tri—”

Alice and I had barely risen to greet him when—

Smack!

A sharp slap echoed through the room, snapping my head to the side.

“Father!”

Alice rushed to stop the furious Count Bellasi.

So he finally heard about the broken engagement.

Lowering my eyes without much emotion, I guessed why he was so enraged.

He must have heard the news while away on business and abandoned everything to rush back.

“You stupid girl! What the hell have you done? Broken off your engagement?”

“Father! Please, calm down—”

“Calm down? You expect me to calm down? It wasn’t enough for you to ruin everything—we finally had it all within reach, and now you’ve destroyed your own reputation too! What use are you to me now?”

“I’ll keep an eye on her! The capital’s in an uproar right now, so at least until things quiet down—”

“…You’ll keep an eye on her?”

The Count frowned openly, as though Alice had said something ridiculous.

“His Majesty has decided to marry that thing off to an old baron. What exactly do you think you can do about it?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he threw a letter bearing the imperial seal into my face.

Silently, I unfolded it.

Just as he’d said…

The Emperor intended to marry me off to an elderly nobleman well over seventy years old.

And to make matters worse—

This was the man rumored to have murdered both of his previous wives while disguising their deaths as accidents.

At this point, even Louis or my former fiancé seemed preferable.

“Load her into the carriage. Now.”

Still fuming, Count Bellasi grabbed my arm roughly and shoved me toward the knight standing nearby.

Alice struggled desperately to stop him, but the other knights blocked her from leaving the dining room.

Dragged along like baggage, I was thrown into the carriage.