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Chapter 5
“Send her away safely. Make sure she isn’t hurt anywhere.”
“Oh, Miss…! Thank you, thank you so much for your mercy…”
As if. Did you really think I would show you kindness?
I laughed to myself and opened my mouth.
“Ah, and please make sure she can never work as a maid again. If I see her face at a social party, I’ll feel so uncomfortable. If I can’t control my expression because of that foolish woman, it would be a big problem, right?”
I spoke softly, and the baron nodded like he was under a spell.
Then, he suddenly fixed his expression and said in a strict voice,
“I will make sure that girl can never work as a maid again. Just trust your father.”
“Just trust your father.”
Trust you? Of course. You’re always good at things like this, just like the trash you are.
I hid my mocking smile, held my dress, and made a small bow.
The baron smiled happily at my improved manners.
“Now you’re perfect. It was worth spending all that money!”
He didn’t care why I had changed, or how I had changed.
That was what I expected. He would only notice if he paid close attention to his daughter. But he never did.
Three days later.
Jerry, my personal maid, was kicked out of the baron’s house.
She left without any injuries, but she would never be able to work as a maid for noble families again.
After the small trouble was over, I went to see the baron first and knelt down.
“Father, you once mentioned a political marriage with Count Lannister, right?”
“Oh, uh, yes. That’s right.”
Only three days had passed, but the baron now seemed nervous around me.
He glanced at me carefully, so I gave him a gentle smile.
“Back then, I cried and said I hated having a poor husband… I was so foolish.”
In my last life, I was possessed after marrying Noah, so I couldn’t handle things well.
I didn’t want to marry a poor, sick husband who was two years younger than me.
I cried and locked myself in my room every day, hoping maybe the marriage would be cancelled.
But this time, I smiled softly as if nothing had happened.
“Dear Father.”
“Oh, um? Yes, go ahead.”
“Now, I’ll show you my value. For you, I’ll marry the poor and sick count.”
So I can live, and you can fail.
I looked up with clear eyes and spoke again.
“Your daughter, Solia Rotten. Will you allow me to marry the penniless beggar, Noah Lannister?”
“Will you allow me to marry the penniless beggar, Noah Lannister?”
“Huh. Is that true? Of course, I allow it! I’m glad I spent money to teach you to be a noble lady! Your mother in heaven will be happy too! Good! You should repay my kindness!”
“You should repay my kindness!”
“I’ll definitely repay you, Father.”
I bowed politely with a gentle smile. But behind my back, I was showing my middle finger.
Meeting Noah came sooner than I expected.
Today was the day I would meet him, and my new maid dressed me up for it.
Unlike Jerry, who was kicked out, the new maid treated me carefully.
Her name was Edel, and she was from a commoner family. She said this was her first time serving a noble lady.
“I’m finished, Miss.”
She was twenty-two. With a nervous face, Edel helped me with my dress, hat, and shoes before she could finally relax.
I frowned a little, feeling like a puppet.
Edel looked at me with sparkling eyes, as if I was a princess from a fairy tale.
“You don’t have to try so hard, Edel.”
“Huh? Try so hard?”
“I’m not a real noble.”
Edel blinked for a while, then nodded.
“If you’re not real, so what? Did you know? Because I’m from the countryside, the noble ladies hated me.”
She smiled brightly and added,
“So I always worked as a laundry maid. If a lady noticed me, I’d get beaten that day, so I always walked with my head down.”
Edel knelt on one knee and helped me put on my frilly shoes.
“Do you know what I thought while being beaten? I thought if I endured, a good day would come. After waiting so long, I finally got to meet you, Miss.”
“I’m not so sure. Maybe you could have gotten a better chance.”
“No, I don’t think so. Most noble ladies don’t look servants in the eye and talk like you. To them, we’re less than air.”
In the past two weeks with Edel, I didn’t treat her especially well.
I just remembered her name and that she had a younger brother.
“Thank you for last time too, Miss. When I broke that vase while cleaning the baron’s office… you said you broke it instead of me.”
Edel stopped talking and stood up, looking at me kindly.
“Thanks to you, I didn’t get kicked out.”
“It was nothing. I just didn’t want any trouble.”
I raised one eyebrow at Edel.
The vase was expensive, and if I hadn’t taken the blame, things would have gotten noisy.
I didn’t do it for Edel; I just hated causing a fuss.
Still, she seemed thankful that I stopped her from confessing.
“You’re a kind person, Miss. I’m not smart, but I hope you meet a good husband.”
Edel smiled, then instead of putting a hat on me, placed a flower decoration by my hair.
“Do you remember? On the first day, you gave me this as a gift from the Doschez Kingdom. I’m happy it suits you so well.”
I didn’t reply because I felt a little embarrassed. Edel didn’t seem to care.
After checking my dress one last time, Edel led me to the mirror. In it, I saw Solia Rotten.
A pitiful rich man’s daughter.
A foolish girl who tried to kill her sick husband just because her father ordered it.
A puppet who couldn’t escape her fate…
When I decided to change my past, the tightly closed door suddenly opened.
“Miss, Count Lannister is waiting for you in the reception room on the second floor.”
A knight politely bowed, placing his hand over his chest.
Over the last two weeks, I also replaced the rude mercenary knights with new ones. I didn’t have to do anything special, just like with Jerry.
After I said I would marry Noah, the baron started treating me better, and this was part of that.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I took a deep breath and lightly placed my hand on the knight’s.
‘Noah Lannister.’
My husband from the past, and the man I would marry again.
“I can’t keep Count Lannister waiting.”
It felt strange to be treated so politely by the baron’s family for the first time in my seventh life.
“I will tell the count you have arrived, Miss.”
I stopped in front of the reception room on the second floor. When I open this door, my ex-husband from my past life will be inside.
Creak.
The door opened with a squeak.
Through the half-open door, I saw a carpet with foreign patterns, and sunlight shining inside.
I took a slow breath and stepped into the room.
Lifting my head, a neat-looking middle-aged woman greeted me first.
“Welcome, Solia.”
She was Lady Philon, famous for arranging marriages between noble children.
“Today, we have a special guest.”
She pointed across the room. Following her hand, I saw the back of a boy sitting in a chair.
“Count, your fiancée is here. Please say hello.”
At the head of the long iron table, a black-haired boy slowly turned his head.
He let go of his hands from his knees and stood up.
My soon-to-be husband, Noah Lannister.
He looked at me with the face of a fifteen-year-old boy.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Rotten.”
His greeting was cold and stiff. Maybe he was nervous, but it looked more like he didn’t want to meet me.
I held my dress tightly. I wasn’t angry at Noah’s attitude. I just thought, “This moment has finally come.”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Count Lannister.”
I let go of my dress and made a small, polite bow.
