When I swept a glance over Elijah, my eldest sister turned her body as far away as she could, feigning ignorance. Relief that she wouldn’t have to go mingled with whatever trace of a conscience she had left as an older sister.
Now, no matter what I said, neither of my older sisters could lift their heads to look at me.
“…Then I’ll consider the matter settled.”
With a heavy sigh, I brought the conversation to an end and rose from my seat. If I stayed in this room any longer, I might regret my decision.
Behind me as I turned away, Rose burst into sorrowful sobs, but no one could bring themselves to comfort her.
Not even me.
◇ ◆ ◇
Just because it was the dead of night didn’t mean sleep would come. After sitting blankly in the sitting room for hours, I forced myself to my feet.
Am I really doing the right thing?
Even after talking so boldly, I kept wanting to turn back the clock.
Why do I have to sacrifice myself for a family like this?!
It isn’t even as if the real me was ever some kind, selfless soul!
In truth, back in Korea, I had been an intensely calculating person. Born with nothing to my name, I had no choice, but I never settled, and I never gave up.
Restaurants, construction sites, landscaping, engineering firms.
To make ends meet, there wasn’t a part-time job I hadn’t tried. Through grueling effort, I landed a role at a renowned real estate development company, establishing myself as a promising talent.
Even so, I had never spent a dime on myself, hoarding every penny solely for my younger siblings. The very first gift I ever bought for myself was…
“…Should I just snap it off?”
I glared at the finger that had clicked to purchase ‘The Beauty and the Beast of the Night’ as if I were about to break it. I must have agonized over it a hundred times, but on that particular day, possessed by who knew what, I squeezed my eyes shut and hit the payment button. And just like that, falling head over heels for the first novel I ever spent money on was no different from digging my own grave.
All the money I scraped together with such grit was probably left behind for my siblings. Seeing how I didn’t feel bitter about that in the slightest, I finally understood where my greatest sense of fulfillment had truly come from.
“…”
Drawn as if by an unseen pull, I stepped quietly toward the bedroom. When I eased open the creaking door, a small silhouette lay on the bed. The child who couldn’t sleep without hearing a bedtime story from me every single night lay entirely still for once.
Only when I called out our youngest’s name did her little shoulders flinch.
“…*Sniff*.”
Even then, Rose kept her eyes squeezed shut. Though tears still leaked from her puffy eyes, she didn’t sob aloud or reach out to cling to me.
Good grief, you considerate little thing.
As I stroked her head, silky strands wound between my fingers. She was probably doing this on purpose so my heart wouldn’t ache so much when I had to leave.
By some law of conservation of maturity, whatever wisdom this entire household was supposed to share had been piled entirely onto little Rose.
And it wasn’t just that she was sweet. Not to brag because she was my sister, but Rose was exceptionally bright and clever. With a proper education in the capital, she might have grown into someone who surpassed even Melanie.
Yet here in this place, she was treated as nothing more than an extra mouth to feed, practically invisible.
“…Rose, are you really asleep?”
“Mmh.”
At my whisper, the little girl’s eyelids fluttered. She seemed determined to pretend she was asleep to the very end, but she couldn’t fool my eyes.
“Rose, my story is only just beginning. Are you really going to sleep without hearing it?”
“…Huh? But… you’re leaving, Bella. *Sniff*.”
“Someone has to be the bride, you know.”
I stroked Rose’s hair as her tears finally broke through again. Though I spoke in a soothing murmur, my little sister’s sorrow and dread only deepened.
“B-but… the other sisters said he’s a demon and a terrifying beast. *Hic*.”
“Oh, come on. That’s not the only story about him. Don’t you remember?”
“Huh?”
A child’s innate curiosity won out at last. Glancing around quickly, I lowered my voice even further and leaned down to Rose’s ear.
“…They say the entire North belongs to him.”
◇ ◆ ◇
Whether he was a beast or the male lead, I discovered just how impatient the Grand Duke was before two days had even passed.
When I got up out of habit to make breakfast, a commotion was already brewing around the cottage. The procession of massive warhorses outside was far too grand to belong to debt collectors coming for Father.
“G-good heavens. What is all this…?”
Anyone watching would think we had committed treason.
Looking up at the ominous black carriage, I shook my head. No matter how generously one looked at it, this resembled an armed prisoner transport far more than an escort coming for a bride. Completely shrouded in black velvet, the carriage bore not a single scrap of ordinary decoration.
Cursed as he was, the Grand Duke loathed revealing his presence to the world. He stripped every insignia that proclaimed his rank from his garments, and from his carriages as well.
“…”
Remembering the passage describing him, I swallowed a pang of bitterness. Feeling pity for him was sheer meddling on my part, of course.
Still, leaving aside living in hiding through no fault of his own, hauling away the bride he was taking for the first time in his life like an arrest was hardly normal.
…Forget it. Who am I to worry about anyone else right now?
Whatever the case, the male lead was still the male lead. However pitiful he seemed now, the Grand Duke would later become renowned across the continent for his staggering vigor in bed. A man destined to live in blissful, passionate harmony with the gorgeous heroine was the last person who needed sympathy from someone who might end up skinned alive.
“Viscount Mayfield and his daughter Elijah, receive the command of His Grace the Grand Duke!”
The knight at the head of the formation swung down from his horse and stepped forward with imposing majesty. Father, already white as a sheet, stepped out of the house only to turn back toward me in a panic.
“Be—no, Elijah.”
“Did you call for me?”
Oh, for heaven’s sake!
I shot a stern, warning nod at my hopelessly clumsy father, then stepped forward toward the knight.
When I sank into a polite curtsy as a Duchess in name only, the clinking of steel armor echoed across the front yard.
“Greetings. I am Jerome of Starfield County. I have come on behalf of His Grace the Grand Duke to escort you, my lady.”
“I see. Pleased to meet you.”
“…Yes.”
Bowing his head, Jerome seemed caught off guard by my composure. He had likely ridden out in person expecting me to wail, kick, and cling to the doorframe, so it was almost a pity to disappoint him.
Biting the inside of my lip, I subtly took in his features.
Hmph… Jerome. Jerome, was it? Seeing a classic handsome man with brown hair and blue eyes right in front of me felt surreal. He had no idea who I was, but I knew all about him. As the Grand Duke’s trusted right-hand man and the eldest son of a count, he played quite a prominent role in the novel.
Naturally, being an R-rated romance, as the story progressed a major supporting character like Jerome also… No. Now was not the time to think about that.
“…Are you all right? Your face has suddenly gone red.”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Fanning my flushed face with one hand, I took a step back.
Wait. If this man is this handsome, just how magnificent is the Grand Duke supposed to be?
Though Jerome turned heads wherever he went on his own, the moment the Grand Duke appeared, all his luster vanished.
That was one of the copy-pasted lines that cropped up whenever the author had the chance.
Even if making the protagonist shine was a supporting character’s solemn duty, Jerome was the kind of swoon-worthy heartthrob every girl dreamed of having a crush on.
“F-Father. Since fate has brought us together, shouldn’t I greet him as well…?”
“El—no, Bella! Get back inside this instant!”
…Why did I let my guard down around that woman?
Hiding behind the door, Elijah had no intention of letting a handsome man like him slip through her fingers. Come to think of it, according to the original plot, the eldest sister was supposed to have an affair with one of the Grand Duke’s knights. Could it have been Sir Jerome?! Yes, that made complete sense.
A sharp sense of urgency struck me, and I hastened my preparations. If I lingered like this, catastrophe would strike before we even departed.
To divert Sir Jerome’s attention, I tapped on the wooden chest set beside me.
“Could you load the luggage, please? This is all there is.”
“…Pardon? Is this truly everything?”
Sir Jerome knitted his brows in surprise. For a future grand duchess and the daughter of a noble house to have nothing more than a single chest, his reaction was entirely understandable.
Just how dirt-poor are they?
As the realization seemed to dawn on him, I answered him with a wistful smile.
“Um, could you give us a moment alone?”
“However, the schedule…”
“I would simply like to say goodbye to my family before I go.”
Reluctantly, Sir Jerome stepped away. Seeing a house full of sisters, he probably expected a tearful parting to begin, but that was nothing more than a man’s naive fantasy.
“…”
“Bella, are you really going? What is this nonsense? It was supposed to be our eldest sister!”
“The same goes for you, Melanie!”
“Excuse me? You call yourself the eldest sister, yet all you ever do is cause trouble!”
Sure enough, the instant the men were out of earshot, my sisters began snarling at each other as if they had just been waiting for the cue. Father hovered nervously around me, terrified that someone would notice he had swapped one daughter for another.
“Bella, what will you do if His Grace finds out?”
“Don’t worry about it. The worst he can do is kill me.”
“…B-Bella.”
At the mention of death, my sisters turned toward me as well. Facing them as the reality of our parting finally seemed to hit home, I shook my head placidly.
