Chapter 2
Though I spoke as if apologizing, I didn’t forget to flash a calm smile, as if this were all perfectly ordinary for me.
“Once, I even broke my brother’s arm by accident, so I usually try to be careful…”
The man sitting across from me looked at me as if he had no idea what he had just seen or heard.
I had been told he was the head of a fairly well–known count’s household. Though a year younger than me, his refined manners seemed ingrained in him; he seemed like a good person.
As expected of my brother Michael—he had clearly chosen this man after much deliberation for his only sister. My date was flawless: looks, personality, family—all excellent qualifications for a husband.
Of course, that was only “objectively speaking.” To me, those conditions meant nothing.
Embarrassed by my own slip, I turned my head away, pretending not to notice the stunned look on my date’s face.
The waiter who had been approaching to take our order stood frozen in place, eyes darting between the shattered table and my face.
When I fixed my gaze on him as if to say, “What are you waiting for?” he flinched, then hurried forward in a panic.
Feeling rather amused, I hummed a little tune and asked for the menu.
“Bring me this, and this, and this. Oh, and also this, this, and that. Ah, and dessert—I’ll order that in advance. Just bring me everything from here to here. And replace this table too. I’ll pay for the damage when I leave.”
My eyes stayed glued to the menu as I ordered an absurd amount of food.
Only once I’d finished did I finally look back at my poor date.
He was still staring at me in disbelief. I smiled brightly at him.
That seemed to jolt him back to his senses; he cleared his throat awkwardly. His gaze skittered away from mine, his cheeks faintly red.
Apparently, even after seeing me split a marble table in half with one hand and casually mention breaking my brother’s arm in the past, he still found some reason to be flustered.
What else could I say?
Elizabeth Christener. This body of mine was one I still wasn’t sure whether to call blessed or cursed.
No matter how much I ate, I never gained weight. Since childhood, my family—and everyone else around me—had been constantly startled by my monstrous strength. And on top of that, I had been born with astonishing beauty.
If there was ever a side character who had been handed all the cheats of a “power fantasy protagonist,” it was me.
If I had shown even the slightest interest in magic or swordsmanship, I would undoubtedly have excelled in those fields too.
Why someone had bothered to dump such pointless abilities into a background character who didn’t even exist in the original novel, I would never understand.
“Ha… this beauty is a sin.”
Of all my traits, the most striking was, of course, my appearance.
Just as Michael Christener possessed looks that rivaled even the male lead, it was only natural that his younger sister would be equally beautiful.
Golden hair that looked as though molten sunlight had been poured into it, golden eyes of the same hue, and facial features sculpted to perfection.
Even within the famously good–looking Christener family, Michael and I were considered in a league of our own.
Had I not spent my youth pulling all sorts of ridiculous stunts, I might have filled the Christener mansion with love letters by now.
So my poor date wasn’t really at fault.
If there was any blame to be placed, it was on me—for being so stunning that even a man who might one day have his ribs crushed by a hug from me could still feel his heart race.
“Damn it, if only I’d had more time.”
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
I could have gained thirty kilos, or shaved my head bald while my brother wasn’t looking. There had been quicker, more effective ways to sabotage this blind date.
But the arrangement had been so sudden that I hadn’t had time to come up with anything cleverer than my one–track plan of disaster.
Still, it was fortunate that I was talented enough at improvising.
“So, once we’re done here, which restaurant should we go to next?”
Even though the food I’d just ordered hadn’t arrived yet, I smiled sweetly, fork and knife in hand, as if I were already looking forward to the next meal.
The waiter, in the middle of replacing the table, visibly flinched. He had personally witnessed me split a marble slab in two. His eyes darted toward me as if I were a starving polar bear.
He rushed to finish his work and practically bolted away.
I briefly thought, How rude. But when I considered things from his perspective, I decided to let it slide.
Fortunately, my date seemed to be a sensible man. Whatever interest my background and beauty had stirred in him quickly cooled. Watching me devour dish after dish with the appetite of a beast snuffed out any remaining interest.
By the time I had cleared nine main courses and dozens of desserts, my date hastily excused himself, claiming urgent business.
“Liz, how was the blind date?”
When I returned to the Christener estate, Michael asked casually, though his tone betrayed a hint of curiosity.
“Well, I think… I’m too old, and he didn’t seem very interested in me.”
Feigning dejection, I answered, and Michael wordlessly patted my shoulder twice, as if to comfort his rejected sister.
But his determination did not end there.
Michael went on to find yet another candidate, and yet another, dragging me into blind dates again and again.
In response, I hired an information guild to thoroughly investigate each man beforehand, and then deliberately acted like the worst possible match.
It was the only sure way to make my brother give up.
I was already branded a useless parasite, so throwing tantrums about not wanting to marry would never work. Yet I couldn’t tell him the real reason why I didn’t want marriage.
I did feel somewhat guilty toward my dates. But then again, they were all there for the Christener name and fortune anyway, so my guilt wasn’t too heavy.
One by one, I played my parts.
An airheaded woman who couldn’t hold a conversation.
A woman with clashing values who argued over every little thing.
A woman with polar opposite political leanings.
A rude, selfish woman who mistreated her servants.
All perfect personas to make any decent man run.
By the sixth blind date, Michael began to catch on.
Realizing I was deliberately sabotaging myself, he stopped telling me who the next candidate would be, just like the first time.
So, during the seventh date, I went back to my original plan: full–power food rampage.
Unsurprisingly, my date fled from me in horror.
Surely now Michael would see that I had no intention of cooperating. Surely he would give up.
Or so I thought, smiling smugly at my little victory.
Some time passed with no mention of another blind date.
Relaxed, I sprawled lazily on my bed, flipping through a gossip magazine.
One headline immediately caught my attention.
The rift between the Imperial Family and the Holy Temple had finally reached its breaking point.
Crown Prince Sidrian had been gravely injured in a riding accident, but when the palace requested priests, the temple had flatly refused.
Thus, the precarious relationship that had been simmering beneath the surface completely collapsed.
“It’s finally happening.”
Yes, this was the moment. If my memory was correct, soon after this incident…
The heroine would appear.
The heroine of The Saintess of Erendel, the one who would capture the hearts of both the male lead, Rixion Luhanes, and the sub–male lead, Michael Christener, and shake the very empire with her love story—at last!
“And then, I…”
Clutching the gossip magazine with trembling hands, I shone with anticipation.
For twenty–three years, I had lived quietly, waiting for this moment. Now it was finally coming, and I couldn’t help but feel overjoyed.
That’s why I let my guard down.
The unexpected struck when I least expected it—and from the most impossible angle.
My eighth blind date.
“Rixion Luhanes. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Christener.”
The first thing to catch my eye was his silver hair, shimmering like starlight, and his eyes, deep blue like the sea.
Even though I was used to Michael’s exceptional looks and rarely impressed by handsome men, his beauty was overwhelming—almost frightening.
I had heard the rumors, of course. But the reality far surpassed them.
He was dazzling.
So dazzling, in fact, that I forgot to even register his words of greeting, staring dumbly at his face instead.
“Please take care of me today.”
When he smiled—such a lovely smile on such a lovely face—I blinked in disbelief, wondering if this were a dream.
“What the hell? Why is Rixion Luhanes here?”
Panic bubbled inside me.
How… how could this be?
How on earth had things turned out this way, that a character who wasn’t even supposed to exist in the original story was now sitting across from the original male lead on a blind date?
