🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter : 6
What on earth just happened?
Feeling as if she’d been struck from behind, Frea blinked blankly. The two of them weren’t together? How could that be?
Then what was all the effort I put in until now?
For the past two months, how hard had she worked to bring Astella and Raiden together?
Even while swamped with her own work, she’d gone through all sorts of trouble to cater to Astella’s moods.
She’d found out Raiden’s schedule and arranged “coincidental” meetings, picked dresses for her every day, and even came up with and taught her foolproof dating strategies.
And then, a few weeks ago, she’d finally heard good news.
“Sister Frea! I finally became the duke’s lover! Thank you so much, sister. It’s all thanks to you!”
When Astella came to her and said that, Frea had felt that her efforts were finally being rewarded. But now that had all been a lie?
They were never together to begin with?
Could she really believe this?
Judging by Savanna’s cold, composed face, it didn’t seem like she was lying. The same would go for Raiden.
Then why would Astella lie like that?
Why would she keep up a lie that would be exposed the moment Frea met Savanna?
And she had even sent her in her place. Knowing Frea would learn about her relationship with Raiden—why would she do that?
Why are Astella, Raiden, and Savanna all different from the original story? Or was it just that it never came up?
Either way, things had gone far too off track. If this continued, her plan to enjoy a peaceful single life would collapse.
Seeing Frea clutching her throbbing head, Savanna hurriedly spoke.
“Frea. I know this puts you in a difficult position. From your point of view, my request must be very hard to accept.”
“…You do know that I’m Astella’s cousin, don’t you, Lady Savanna? And yet you’re asking me something like this?”
“Yes. Even so, I want you to become my daughter-in-law. No—my son’s, Raiden’s, partner has to be you.”
Savanna’s steady gaze wavered slightly. Her words, firm yet filled with earnest longing, made Frea finally open her mouth.
“…Why me?”
Why would she reject Astella, the duke’s daughter and Raiden’s original partner, and instead want her—a mere marquis’s daughter and a supporting character?
Savanna answered quickly.
“You and Raiden have been close since your academy days. I still remember how well your opinions matched when you served on the student council together.”
“Ah…”
“Honestly, I took a liking to you from the first time I saw you. You’re polite, attentive, and I thought your smile was very pretty.”
Savanna smiled, paused for a moment, then continued.
“And above all, I could tell from Raiden’s behavior. That boy… thinks about you a great deal.”
“What? Raiden?”
Frea blurted out his name without thinking and flinched.
Maybe because she’d read the original novel and his name often appeared in the memories she’d inherited, she was surprisingly used to saying it.
She tried to separate public and private matters, but sometimes, like now, it slipped out unconsciously.
Looks like my academy days had more influence than I thought.
She’d known they were in the same year, but she hadn’t expected they’d even been on the student council together. At Savanna’s words, memories she hadn’t recalled before began to surface.
Competing for first and second place in grades with Raiden, student council meetings, preparing for academic presentations… There had been more points of contact between them than she’d realized.
She’d thought they were just simple “classmates.”
We were closer than I thought.
As Savanna said, her relationship with Raiden hadn’t been bad. In fact, it had been quite good.
They’d helped each other with their studies, and while working in the student council, they’d made a good team.
Of course, to be precise, it was more accurate to say they’d been good as businesslike partners, giving and receiving what each other needed.
So when Savanna said Raiden thought about Frea a lot, it sounded less romantic and more like “a trusted colleague.”
With a dubious expression, Frea said,
“Lady Savanna, do you mean that the Duke of Bethelheim has feelings for me as a woman?”
“That’s right.”
“Um, I hesitate to say this, but isn’t it possible that you’re misunderstanding something?”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I don’t think the duke has that kind of affection for me. I believe he simply regards me kindly as a colleague. We’ve worked together a lot, in the past and even now.”
Having spent a long time as colleagues, it wouldn’t be strange to develop a certain degree of fondness that could be called camaraderie.
She herself acknowledged Raiden’s ability to get things done and thought of him as a capable person.
“Well, is that really so? Of course he may feel that way too, but from what I can see, I don’t think that’s all.”
Savanna, who had been quietly listening, smiled gently.
“As the person closest to him, I know best what kind of feelings my son has for whom. His heart is clearly not with the Duke of Vinok’s daughter, but with you, Frea.”
At Savanna’s soft yet firm words, Frea swallowed a groan and asked,
“…Has the Duke of Bethelheim said that himself?”
“No, but as his mother, I can tell. When Raiden looks at you, and when he talks to me about you, his expression is very… warm.”
“…”
Just from that?
No matter how well a mother knows her son, how could she be certain from just expressions and glances that those feelings were for a woman he loved?
Frea couldn’t accept Savanna’s claim.
Perhaps reading the distrust in her eyes, Savanna lifted the corners of her lips.
“It’s hard to believe with just my word, isn’t it? Then how about you meet him yourself and talk to him?”
“Talk… with the duke?”
“Yes. I’ll arrange a meeting soon. Of course, I’ll match your schedules. Why don’t you talk it over with Raiden then?”
“…No, Lady Savanna. There’s no reason for me to meet the duke.”
What reason did she have to meet Raiden privately—especially together with his mother?
Her goal was simply to safely play her assigned role in the original story and enjoy a peaceful single life.
And for that, Astella and Raiden had to get married.
But for her, a committed single, to marry the male lead instead of the female lead? Astella would make a huge fuss if she found out.
I can’t let anything interfere with my free single-life plan.
One of the few blessings after possessing this body was that the original Frea had also been a committed single.
In this world, even if noblewomen worked, once they reached an appropriate age, they were expected to quit and marry.
After that age, they were judged to lose value in the marriage market.
Frea had already passed the appropriate marriage age of twenty-two, so her value as a “woman to be married” had declined.
That was partly why she’d managed to hold out until now, but pressure from her family was growing stronger, making this opportunity all the more important.
More than just living single in the usual sense, both the original Frea and she herself most wanted to become independent from their family and live freely as singles.
That was why she’d even signed a contract to serve Marquis Valche and Astella.
But like this, I won’t just fail to live single—my whole life could be in danger.
She’d thought everything was going smoothly according to plan, only to find out it had all been an illusion.
Maybe because such a huge variable had appeared, she couldn’t think of an alternative right away.
With no way forward or back, Frea forced her sluggish mind to work.
For now, I need to get out of here. And I need to check.
Whether Astella had really lied to her, and if so, why.
Only then could she decide what to do next.
If she stayed here, she might get swept along by Savanna and end up in a meeting with Raiden.
With the thought of leaving as soon as possible, Frea stood up.
“I’m sorry, Lady Savanna. I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything about today.”
“Frea, wait—”
“I’ll pass along that you don’t approve of Astella’s marriage. Then I’ll be on my way. Thank you for your time.”
As Frea turned away, just as she reached for the drawing room door, the handle turned and the door opened.
“…Frea?”
