The Archduke's Gorgeous Wedding was a Fraud

“U-Unnie.”

“Sigh… … .”

“I swear I did not listen on purpose!”

I could not stop the sigh that welled up inside of me. I will ask later why a noble lady was squatting in this small and cramped bush. 

For the time being, I just took Daphne’s hand and led her out of the bushes.

“What?”

“You kept quiet.”

Daphne flinched in fear as Geisha bared his teeth. When I noticed Daphne’s white dress’s hem was mangled with dirt, I clicked my tongue. She had worn a dress from my store. The fabric was wrinkled so badly that it could no longer be used.

“I will not tell anyone what I heard here; I did not hear much, but I promise.”

“I would appreciate it if you did, but what were you doing here anyway? I even put a rope in front clearly stating that no one should enter here.”

“Well, that…”

Daphne paused, her gaze fixed on Geisha.

I motioned for Geisha to stay away.

“It seemed like everyone else knew each other, while I don’t know anyone, so I felt a little embarrassed; Nania was not there, and I could not find you either…”

“Are you here by yourself?”

“Ah, that is not the case, I mean…”

“…… You are not with your siblings, and you are not even with a maid?”

On this dark night, they sent a young lady alone?

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

Then Daphne’s shoulders twitched as if she’d been scolded. 

“Well, I am with my half-sisters; we were all together at first, but they all went to dinner, and they told me to… keep my distance until they called for me.”

“… … .”

“Ah, but this is purely coincidental!”

This is just another form of bullying.

She must have looked for me because I was the only person she knew here.

While others were gathered with people they knew, she was alone and probably could not even have a meal. It is natural to feel lonely.

Then, with a heavy heart, she must have gone into the bushes to cry alone.

“Have you ever been to any tea parties or similar events?”

“I have, but I still do not know anything properly… The other ladies did not seem to like me much, and I know I should try harder to fit in, but… well.”

It could not have been easy. That I was aware of. Until she met the male lead, she was pushed around and treated as an outsider. Without any place to belong, she was tossed around here and there.

I knew this was Daphne’s trial. She will be pushed around and mistreated until she meets the male lead. However, seeing it happen right in front of my eyes made me enraged.

“I always bring trouble to unnie, and I do not know how I will ever repay you for your kindness.”

“Stop crying, and never sit in a place like this again. The more you act like this, the more they will think you do not fit in. Act with dignity, just like you did in the countryside.”

Daphne overheard my conversation with Geisha, but I was not too concerned.

I knew she did not have anywhere to go to talk about it, and she was not the type to speak lightly.

I thought so. Because I have already read the original work.

“Unnie, that person…”

“Huh?”

“Uh, is it okay to know his name?”

Geisha was standing under a clear, cloudless night sky filled with clusters of silver light.

Daphne could not bring herself to look at him directly and only caught a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye.

My mouth opened a beat too late as realization dawned on me. 

“Oh, no way.”

“Oh no! Did I say something wrong?”

“Daph—”

“I will get going!”

Daphne scurried away and vanished, blushing.

I stood there dumbfounded, unable to catch her. 

Uh, that can’t be right. It could not be, could it? 

“Why?”

Geisha approached at that precise moment and lifted my chin with his hand. I did not even consider pushing him away as I tried to make sense of what I had just witnessed.

“It is not love at first sight or anything like that… Is it?”

That does not make sense, does it? 

I was a bit dumbfounded.

Until now, I had only imagined the male lead falling in love with the female lead as if it were fate. I had never considered the opposite scenario.

Maybe it was because I assumed she would not be able to refuse him and that there was no better man than him. But, because Lacius said he likes me, it implied that the female lead could also fall for someone else.

If there is one minor issue, it is that she fell for this guy! 

‘In the original, what did it say? ‘

I frowned and concentrated, trying to jog my memory. 

It was clearly, if not explicitly, written in this manner.

Lacius was drawn to Daphne’s eyes. When she was about to fall, he instinctively caught her waist. 

For the first time, he witnessed an aura resembling that of a small herbivore in the Empire.

She does not look aristocratic; she looks like a country girl. But all the more reason to cherish and protect her.

‘I am surprised I do not feel repulsed,’ Lacius thought to himself.

It is strange.

Perhaps it was because she did not reek of perfume, or perhaps it was the light fragrance she exuded. He felt a warmth when their bodies touched, which was unusual for him.

Unlike in the past, when he would be on the lookout for what the other person might do the moment their gazes met, this was the first time he wanted to approach a woman on his own accord.

“I am sorry. I-I tripped… It was not on purpose,” Daphne stammered.

“It’s alright.”

Daphne could see the ferocious thirst in Lacius’ eyes as they turned to her.

The mood was tense and intense. He appeared powerful at first glance, and she was struck by a sense of danger.

A razor-sharp aura.

He must have been a strong person based on his appearance, but he felt strangely vulnerable.

It would be arrogant to say so, but she wanted to comfort and nurture the dark side that was eroding him. Was this how it felt to fall in love at first sight?

 …….. That is what happened.