Dare to Lie [Novel] Chapter 16 – A Fateful Matchmaking

Her family, the House of Wells, was more a family of scholars than one of money or power.

Brianna forced the brightest smile she could manage, trying not to let her inner turmoil show.

Arthur spoke with a joking laugh. But the thought of such vulgar business dealings made him feel like even a cup of tea with her would be agonizing, and another sigh threatened to escape.

I had spent about twenty days in Tesis before returning.

To put it simply, the schedule at the estate had been a great success.

First of all, no one realized I wasn’t the real Rosaline. The fact that everyone who knew her well had been fired was the main factor, but the veiled hat did its job perfectly, and it seemed my acting was better than I’d expected.

I had worried that the difference in voice might be something they’d notice, but come to think of it, I didn’t exactly remember the voices of the Baron and Baroness Tesis either.

Even after knowing them for two years, when I tried to recall their voices, only a vague ‘impression’ remained.

‘And since everyone avoided even making eye contact with Rosaline, maybe they really don’t know her voice that well.’

Since they couldn’t even lift their heads properly in front of her, it made sense that they wouldn’t remember her face either.

Anyway, thanks to everyone accepting me better than expected, I considered staying longer to handle other matters, but I returned for now, fearing I might upset Count and Countess Brow if I stayed away too long.

‘If it hadn’t been for Ash MacCallan, I could have stayed and relaxed a bit more.’

For the record, that man stayed at the Baron’s castle for three days, vaguely acting like a guest.

My stomach was in such knots during that time that even I, someone who takes food very seriously, left leftovers.

‘Everyone must have gone on and on about Rosaline’s trashy personality. Someone like Ash MacCallan might have felt that I’m somehow different from her.’

I looked for an excuse to explain the change in personality.

For starters, my relationship with Count and Countess Brow, who had suddenly stepped up as my guardians, and my position of having to secure an expensive marriage match seemed like plausible enough reasons.

With that past attitude, I wouldn’t even be able to satisfy the Brows, and it was obvious that my future would be bleak if the marriage talks didn’t go well now that my parents were gone.

No matter how stupid Rosaline was, wouldn’t she have been able to figure that much out?

‘It’s not like there’s a shortage of tomboys pretending to be demure ladies.’

Yes, an extreme situation like this would serve as a reason for a drastically changed personality.

I was thinking those thoughts anxiously when someone knocked on the door.

I felt somewhat nervous that the very person I was thinking about was calling for me.

And the reason she called me was, as expected, about marriage.

I only got back yesterday afternoon; isn’t asking if I’ve recovered in less than twenty-four hours a bit much?

Of course, since I was currently a sweet, sweet distant relative, I answered with a smile.

They wouldn’t. Why would I need someone else’s permission to go down to my own estate? I was only offering useless thanks because I had to stay in this woman’s good graces for now.

Countess Brow gave a thin smile and whispered with a face that expected an enthusiastic reaction from me.

She was so excited that I couldn’t tell if she was thrilled about my marriage prospects or the ‘fruits of her labor.’

Right, let’s see what kind of men she picked and chose as the final candidates.

“…!”

Ho. This is unexpected.

I thought they would bring me positions as a second wife to some old noble, but just as the Countess said, all three looked very decent.

For starters, they were all in their twenties, and all three were sons of Viscounts.

As I looked through the photos with a slightly dazed feeling, Countess Brow pointed to one person.

I agree. My eyes were just drawn to that man too.

Unless the photo was abnormally well-taken, the man named Arthur Gottfried was a handsome man who would be quite popular in social circles.

Furthermore, according to Countess Brow, the House of Gottfried was a family that lacked for nothing. They were apparently a key family in the ‘Citizens’ Party’ that had been gaining prominence lately.

I’d also overheard here and there that the political factions of this country were divided into the Royalists, the Aristocrats, and the Citizens’ Party.

All I knew was that the Citizens’ Party represented commoners whose standard of living and income had risen, and they were changing the country’s laws and customs—which had been biased toward the interests of a few royals and nobles—to be more commoner-friendly.

I didn’t quite understand why a noble would represent commoners, but there must be complex interests involved there too.

What mattered to me was also that. How much profit this person could bring me.

Yes, this is it!

Wow…! The conditions are too good.

‘If Rosaline were alive, she would have really hit the jackpot.’

At times like this, the world seems truly unfair.

Some people work their fingers to the bone only for their lives to go down the drain because they met one bad master, while others are lucky enough to be born as the only daughter of a noble family and meet a husband far beyond their station, living in luxury until they die.

…Then again, since our fates were swapped right before such good fortune, maybe it’s not entirely unfair?

I snapped back to my senses at Countess Brow’s words.

Since I flattered Count and Countess Brow no matter what I said, the Countess looked very satisfied today as well. She probably hadn’t a clue that this was also part of my strategy.

‘If I keep learning like this, they won’t realize that I didn’t know noble etiquette to begin with.’

Actually, I wasn’t completely ignorant of noble etiquette or speech.

Before becoming a maid, I had been with the traveling theater troupe, Mulberry. Although it was a rural troupe where most of the members were criminals, we were always welcomed in the provinces where there was no entertainment.

There, I mainly played the female lead.

Since the female leads in plays were mostly princesses or nobles, I learned the speech and mannerisms of nobles from the senior members.

Furthermore, in the name of perfecting my acting, I observed nobles closely whenever I encountered them.

Their way of speaking, the tone of their voices, their expressions, gestures, and gait.

Thanks to those efforts, the audience even asked if I was actually from a noble background, but an imitation of a noble learned by observation couldn’t possibly be perfect.

‘So, I’ll take this opportunity to learn again from the beginning.’

This was a very important opportunity and process for living as Rosaline Tesis.

To be honest, I didn’t think Count and Countess Brow were good people, but I naturally felt grateful for the things they provided me. Although it seemed the price they would demand from me after marriage would be substantial.

The location was a high-end cafe in the city.

As I headed toward the terrace guided by the cafe staff, Viscountess Gottfried, who had been seated, stood up first and greeted Countess Brow warmly.

When her gaze turned to me, Countess Brow introduced us with a proud expression.