She covered her shoulders with a thick shawl and delicately flipped through the bookshelves. She was so pretty that even women would stare at her in awe. But she was the only one who saw her pretty.

‘Why are you alone? I thought there would of course be male leads where Lize is…?’

But as soon as she had that thought, Cliff appeared out of nowhere.

“Lise.”

“Ah, Cliff!”

“The wind is still chilly, so why are you here?”

That’s what she wanted to say too. The weather was still too cold to direct the reading scene outside. She was cold too.

“It is so frustrating to be confined to my room. It’s chilly, but the air is so clear that I feel like my stomach is open.”

“Then what if I catch a cold?”

Cliff spoke kindly and quietly sat close to Lize.

“What book are you reading?”

“It’s a book about the history of the imperial family. Because I didn’t get this kind of education… Just in case I didn’t know, I was afraid it would become someone for His Excellency the Duke.”

Lize was on the family register of Count Sinclair, but she was ignored as an illegitimate child and has not learned anything that a noble should learn. She felt indebted to the Duke and his wife, who treated her like her daughter, and feared that the Duchess would be disgraced because of her, she always wore books.

‘Poor. Is it Rize’s fault that she was born as her illegitimate child? It’s her father’s fault for making fun of her lower body!’

As if she wasn’t the only one who thought so, Cliff wrapped his arms around Rize’s shoulders with a pitiful expression and lightly kissed her on the head.

“You will never become anyone.”

“But…”

“It doesn’t matter if you read it because you like it, but if you just watch it because you don’t want to become someone, stop. All you have to do is have fun here, Lize.”

Cliff kindly soothed Lize, but Lize’s smile was somehow bitter. And she thought she knew how Lize felt right now.

‘Cliff, since you know everything, you’ll think it’s okay. But those who can’t learn and don’t have it aren’t like that.’

No matter how much Cliff embraced Lize, she couldn’t get rid of the complex that Lize herself felt. She thought it was for her own sake that Lize would find and study on her own. But Cliff was obsessed with Lize, so he didn’t welcome Lize to be alone without him. So he was probably trying to trick her into saying things like that. In the meantime, she saw Killian approaching.

“Lize says she will study hard, so why are you interfering? Lize, do whatever you want. If that’s the way that satisfies you, I’ll be happy to help.”

It was a comfort that was different from Cliff, but if she were Lize, she would have been more grateful to Killian. However, she was a bit weak for the lines a male lead should have to say. The line that male leads might say in a romance drama like this is ‘I’ll give you everything, you only look at me’.

‘Killian. I agree you’re right, but that’s why you can’t beat Cliff. Cliff is a sweet, twisted guy.’

Cliff would rather have Lize become someone who can’t do anything without him. Although Lize could put up with being kind to Killian, she would feel great anxiety about her standing alone. Anyway, as expected, two men gathered where Lize was.

‘But don’t they work? Is it my job to follow Lize all day?’

It’s a virtue that nobles didn’t work, but even if they played, they were only circling around Lize to the point where she wondered if they were playing too much.

‘If it were me, I would have kicked them out because they were annoying, but Lize accepts it well.’

Did she know that there was no point in trying to drive them away, or was she unaware that they were clinging to her… Either way, it’s certain that it’s not normal. Or was that level of ignorance for the heroine of Romance a basic patch?

‘No, but that’s what I mean. If Edith had not married Killian, wouldn’t it have been the beginning of the 4th volume of the story? Then she must have already leaned towards Cliff…?’

That’s how they got the story of marrying Killian to the villainess. However, looking at it now, she had no idea which side Lize gave more heart to. Even she, who read the original, was confused, so maybe those two men really didn’t notice.

‘Wow, Lize Sinclair. Fishing management skills are not common. I need to learn something like that too.’

If she did that without knowing, she was born, and if she did that knowingly, she could be called a villainess. Of course, Lize was innate.

“Killian! Why is Edith coming alone?”

As Killian approached, Lize welcomed him. But was there a need to bring out her name there, Lize?

“I don’t know what she’s doing.”

As expected, Killian’s voice instantly became dry.

“But if Edith is bored alone…”

“Lize, you don’t have to worry so much about her. She’s just a hostage that will be here for a while and leave. Think so.”

‘Ugh. That’s what I was thinking.’

Well, that was the case in the original as well. Cillian regarded the marriage as a “disaster to be put up with for a while.” And it became a reality. That was before Volume 5 even started.

‘Should I do this much today’s spying?’

Feeling a chill around her neck for some reason, she carefully pulled herself back and returned to the room. That day, Killian’s words disturbed her all day long.

* * *

An expensive teacup broke with a loud bang.

“Aagh! it’s crazy? Are you crazy? Why would you want a woman like that!”

A voice shrill like a scream made me hysterical.

And Damian Sinclair, who had come lazily at the request of his maid, who rushed to him, looked pitifully at his sister Leyla, who was acting her temper ‘again’.

“What happened again this time?”

At his bored voice, Leila turned her head and glared at her brother.

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“There are many things. Which of them?”

“I heard that Edith Rigelhoff married Killian Ludwig!”

“Ah, that one?”

The Sinclairs were not invited to Ludwig’s wedding. The reason was that they wanted to hold a modest ceremony with only his relatives, but the pride of the Countess of Sinclair was torn to shreds because the Duke’s closest aides were in attendance. More than anything else, the fact that the bride at the wedding was a daughter of the Riegelhoffs drove Leyla almost mad. This was because Count Rigelhoff had a bad relationship with Count Sinclair, and Layla had a crush on Killian for a long time. How upset was she with Edith, who had been arrogant that she would soon become the daughter-in-law of the Ludwig family… 

“Why is it Edith Rigelhoff? Why!”

“The Ludwig family seems to have a hobby of collecting insignificant women, huh?”

“Is that something to laugh at?”

“Then what? No way, she thinks it should have been four seats?”

Layla’s face was red with anger and shame.

“Is my brother still the heir? As the daughter, I also try to find a good marriage partner and help my family, but why is my brother so carefree?”

Even after hearing that, Damian didn’t look too bad. Rather, there was a strangely relaxed expression on his face with a genuine smile.

“That’s why you can only be a daughter, and that’s why I’m the heir to this family, you fool.”

“What?”

“When you go out to a party, you talk nonsense and then come back, don’t you? I came to hear the important stories of the social world.”

Leyla slowly let go of the hem of her skirt that she was holding on to.

“Something… Have you heard any rumors about this marriage?”

“Of course.”

Damien gestured to the shivering maids to clean up the broken teacup at his feet and sat across from Leyla. She was not as bright as Lize’s blonde hair, but her light brown hair was noticeably light brown, and her blue eyes, which were said to be beautiful, were not as clear as Lize’s blue eyes, but Leila, who was said to be beautiful, had a fierce personality unlike her pretty appearance. And the only people who could help her were her brothers, Damian and Anton, who were born in the same boat, and her parents. Among them, her brother, Damian, was the one Layla relied on the most.

“What is the rumor? Don’t hesitate and talk to me quickly!”

“Anyway, with your temper…”

Layla urged, but Damian didn’t open his mouth until he had a leisurely drink of the maid’s freshly prepared tea.

“Do you think Duke Ludwig will trust Count Rigelhoff?”

“If you believe such a snake-like guy, you’d be saying that Duke Ludwig is also stupid.”

“I’m saying this because Duke Ludwig isn’t stupid. But Count Rigelhoff has the right to distribute the iron ore produced in the southern mines.”

“So?”

“You know that iron ore is an important mineral for making weapons, right?”

Leila didn’t answer, avoiding his gaze. Damian sighed and shook his head, but he had no intention of bruising Leila. Originally, a woman just needed to know how to dress up and make her husband happy. She was rather a troublesome bitch if she knew too much.

“Anyway, the right to distribute such iron ore remains with Count Rigelhoff until the end of this year. That’s why the Ludwig family needs to hold on to the leash of the Rigelhoff family.”

“What is that?”

“There are rumors that Count Rigelhoff is showing interest in the Prince of Langston.”

Archduke Langston was the uncle of the present Emperor, and one who disagreed with everything the Emperor said. There were also rumors that he coveted the throne.

“If it’s Archduke Langston, isn’t he an opponent of the Emperor?”

“Yes. So what would happen if Count Rigelhoff, who had the right to distribute iron ore, joined the opposite side of the Emperor? Will it be very dangerous?”

Layla nodded her head in a little bit of understanding.

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like