~Chapter 107~
“Viscountess Florence, it’s an honor to have you visit the Duke’s mansion. I sincerely welcome you.”
Kim Si-eom stepped down from the carriage and looked at the Duke’s butler, who reached out his hand to her.
He stood with perfect posture, voice steady and dignified—fitting for the Duke’s household.
‘Our steward only stumbles around uselessly.’
How nice it would be if her own house had such a butler.
When a refined butler greets guests, their impression of the host rises too.
Real nobles pay attention to every detail, after all.
But right now, she didn’t have the resources for that, and it only annoyed her.
“Where should I go?”
“I’ll guide you first to the drawing room.”
With the butler leading her, Kim Si-eom stepped into the Duke’s gardens.
“Oh my…”
She couldn’t help but let out a sound of admiration.
The marble columns rising along the path were so high, they looked like they were holding up the sky. Between them stretched a garden that looked like a painting.
Compared to this, her viscount’s estate was nothing but a crumbling ruin.
‘The Duke’s house really is different.’
She almost felt like dying of regret over missing her chance with Lady McCurry of the count’s family.
At the debutante ball, she had tried desperately to push her sons forward, but the Duke and the count’s daughter announced their ties right away.
‘Even if I couldn’t bring her in as a daughter-in-law, I still have to stay on good terms.’
According to Sung-min, she was supposed to be the “protagonist” of this world or whatever that meant.
But why had she been called here today?
Wondering what the young countess had in mind, Kim Si-eom waited in the drawing room until a maid came to guide her elsewhere.
When she entered the Duke’s office, her mouth dropped open.
Sitting there was the pink-haired girl who had recently come to her own house.
‘Why is she here…? So they really are close?’
Riden greeted the viscountess with a bright smile.
“Welcome, Viscountess.”
Riden looked straight at Florence’s surprised face.
Thinking of Kim Si-eom hidden inside that golden-haired noblewoman, Riden’s old anger rose up again like dust stirred by a strong wind.
And she thought to herself—
It’s truly fortunate that I noticed first, not them.
This way, she could keep her face calm while looking right at Kim Si-eom.
“I worried the trip might be tiring, so I sent the Duke’s carriage. I hope it wasn’t uncomfortable?”
Kim Si-eom, who had been shocked by Mari’s presence, turned her gaze to Riden.
The young woman seemed delicate before, but here in her own space, greeting guests, she looked relaxed and confident.
‘So this is the fiancée of the Duke.’
Sung-min had told her: this girl was the protagonist of this world, so they must treat her well.
Even though she disliked it, Kim Si-eom forced herself to smile.
“How could it be uncomfortable, when it was the fiancée of the Duke who sent it?”
She sat down, smiling politely.
Riden, sitting calmly in this life’s different setting, looked at the two people before her—each trying hard to look good in front of her. She couldn’t help but laugh.
It seemed that, just like before, they didn’t really like each other either.
Perhaps villains could always sense other villains.
In her past life, whenever Madam Kim Si-eom visited her son’s café, the manager had always looked visibly uncomfortable. And Kim Si-eom had always muttered that the manager looked like she had a black snake inside her.
‘Fine. I’ll tie you two together again—see how you get along.’
“What are you laughing about? It would be nice if we could laugh together too, wouldn’t it, Lady Hern?”
The viscountess looked at Mari for agreement.
Mari quickly nodded.
“Yes, I wonder too. And I’m also curious—why did you bring us together today?”
Riden answered with a bright smile.
“Mari said she didn’t want to burden me during my busy wedding preparations, so she left the count’s mansion. I thought the Florence estate would be a good place for her, so I asked Sir Damian. But of course, I also wanted to speak to the viscountess directly, to ask you to take good care of her.”
At Riden’s words, Mari’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
This whole meeting was arranged… for her?
She had already been feeling awkward at the viscount’s estate. And now…
When she glanced sideways, she saw the viscountess’s lips trembling after hearing Riden’s request.
The conversation went on in a warm, friendly mood.
Every time Riden spoke, the viscountess eagerly agreed, as if competing, while Mari tried to show off her closeness with Riden as much as possible.
Soon, it was almost time to leave.
At the end of the talk, just as Riden had planned, Victoria knocked on the office door.
“My lady, Priest Nation has arrived.”
“Really? Where is he?”
Riden, who had been sitting comfortably, suddenly jumped to her feet.
Her unusually excited reaction sparked curiosity in both the viscountess and Mari.
‘Who could he be, to make the future duchess so glad?’
Then, a man in the church’s pure white ceremonial robe appeared inside the office.
It was Priest Nation.
“Priest Nation! Welcome! You came earlier than expected?”
As Riden ran forward to greet him warmly, the expressions of the two women grew even more strange.
They could tell he was a high priest from his clothing, but why was Lady Riden greeting him as if he were her father returning after a hundred years?
Priest Nation laughed at her warm welcome.
“Hahaha, I was so excited to read the fate of our future duchess that my heart couldn’t stop pounding. So I hurried a bit.”
‘Read her fate?’
Hearing that, Kim Si-eom suddenly remembered something.
In both her past life and this one, she was a woman who always wanted more.
Not only wealth and honor, but also fame—she wanted people to talk about her, praise her, admire her.
To do that, she had to use things that others couldn’t. That meant fortune-tellers and shamans.
‘Not the fake ones, but the real ones who serve true spirits. Meet them, and life will go smoothly.’
And right now, it was someone like Priest Nation, whom even the future duchess greeted with a wide smile.
As soon as Kim Si-eom became Simone Florence, she began searching for her lifeline in this world.
As expected, there were also people like shamans here—called priests.
But just like before, meeting the real, powerful ones wasn’t easy.
Through Sung-min, she had gone in and out of the church and seen Priest Nation, but as a high priest, he was far out of her reach.
She once heard that if she donated a huge sum, she could get a private meeting with him. But her poor finances had stopped her.
‘That priest must be the real one I was looking for. Of course, real ones only meet with high-ranking nobles.’
She had her own clear method to tell a real one from a fake:
The true ones were always sought by famous politicians!
While Riden welcomed him, Victoria spoke.
“As before, I’ve prepared a room next door.”
“Well done. Priest, would you please wait in the next room? I’ll come soon.”
Priest Nation chuckled and nodded.
“Take your time. I came today to dedicate my whole day to you, Lady Riden.”
“Just hearing that makes me happy. Then…”
As Priest Nation stepped into the next room, Riden turned back to look at Mari and Kim Si-eom.
Mari’s face showed no interest, but the viscountess’s pupils widened noticeably.
‘Of course. Kim Si-eom, you’ll never quit fortune-telling. Could a dog ever stop eating filth?’
Riden gave a polite smile.
“Thank you both for coming today. I enjoyed our talk. I was going to end the meeting soon anyway, and since my guest has arrived, I’ll excuse myself. Please, stay as long as you like.”
Leaving the two women behind, she went into the next room.
Victoria entered to clear the table.
“The tea was delicious.”
At the viscountess’s words, she bowed deeply.
“My lady instructed us to prepare it carefully. I’ll be sure to pass your praise to her.”
“And about that…”
Kim Si-eom, pretending to be calm, spoke casually.
“Bring me another cup.”
Mari had no desire to be left alone with the uncomfortable viscountess, so once the meeting was dismissed, she left immediately.
Victoria, suspecting nothing, went to prepare the tea.
Now only Kim Si-eom remained inside the office.
She quickly stood up and went to the wall.
“Damn it.”
Pressing her ear against the wall, she tried to eavesdrop on the next room, but the wall was too thick—nothing could be heard.
Her face twisted with annoyance, she opened the terrace door.
‘Perfect!’
Through the window of the next room, she could faintly hear the voices of Priest Nation and Lady Riden.
From Lady Riden’s questions, she realized why the priest had been called.
It was to learn what kind of future awaited her as the fiancée of the Duke.
She wanted to hear her fate, foretold by the gods through Priest Nation.
And that was exactly what Kim Si-eom herself had always dreamed of.
She listened carefully, not missing a single word from Priest Nation’s mouth.
