Chapter 01
“Haahhhhh….”
Elisha let out a very deep sigh, as if the ground might sink, while she was buried into the sofa in the sitting room.
In her hand, she was tightly holding a small glass bottle filled with a pink liquid.
Her blue eyes trembled anxiously.
‘Does this… really work?’
What she was looking at right now was a love potion.
It was something she had managed to get only after asking around everywhere.
It sparkled in a mysterious way, so it did seem like it might have some effect…
Elisha suddenly remembered the potion’s effect, which the merchant had explained in secret.
‘If you drink this, you’ll absolutely fall in love with the first person of the opposite sex you see afterward.’
‘No conditions at all? Anyone?’
‘Yes. Whether they’re old, ugly, or have a terrible personality—it doesn’t matter.’
The suspicious merchant tempted Elisha, saying that if she wanted, she could even become the Empress.
But at the same time, he subtly tried to scare her.
‘Just make sure you never get caught. If you do… your head will roll right off!’
‘H-Hiiik…!’
‘Ahahaha, you got scared, didn’t you?’
Even though Elisha was shaking, trembling, she still ended up buying the potion.
Of course, she had no intention of giving it to someone else.
Actually, this potion—
was something she had bought to drink herself.
***
A few days ago, at the dinner table of Baron Burns’s household.
“Ahem. Elisha. A marriage proposal has come for you.”
“Y-Yes? F-For me?”
At her uncle’s sudden announcement, Elisha almost dropped her fork.
Next to her, her cousin Lila Burns made a huge fuss.
“Kyaaa! Unni! Oh my gosh! Finally!”
Lila screamed as she covered her mouth with her hand in a silk glove.
“I can’t believe you’re getting a proposal! Lila is sooo moved!”
Lila even used her special third-person way of speaking and teared up.
Lila, who had a doll-like pretty face and received men’s attention every day, was saying this.
It felt like she was teasing her somehow, but Elisha could only smile awkwardly.
Lila bounced in her seat and turned to Baron Burns.
“Father, who is it? Hurry and tell us! This is the first time in her life Unni has ever gotten a man’s attention, you know? Lila is sooo, sooo curious.”
Lila gently grabbed Elisha’s shoulder and leaned closer.
“You’re curious too, right, Unni? I wonder what kind of amazing gentleman he is?”
“Y-Yeah…”
Elisha was curious too, honestly.
She was quiet and timid, and she didn’t really stand out in high society.
So she never imagined that she would receive a marriage proposal.
‘If it has to happen, I hope he’s someone handsome…’
She gripped her skirt tightly, her fingers tensing.
But then the name that came out of the baron’s mouth was—
“Marquis Montis.”
“…Pardon?”
In that moment, Elisha went blank.
Marquis Montis?
Wasn’t he an old bachelor in his mid-to-late forties?!
His hair was thinning, and his body was wider than he was tall—there was nothing attractive about him at all!
And on top of that, he was crazy about women, making him the number one man young ladies avoided.
Beside her, she heard Lila making a “Pfft,” sound as she held back laughter.
“Marquis Montis? With Unni?”
“Yes. He said he liked how quietly you sat in one salon.”
“Oh my, he noticed that?”
Lila looked like she was about to die of laughter.
Elisha looked at her uncle with wide, shocked eyes.
She would rather live alone forever than marry Marquis Montis while completely sane.
“U-Uncle… I’m not thinking about marriage yet—”
“Elisha, this is a chance for you to become a marquis’s wife.”
But Baron Burns was firm.
He had already been promised a large amount of wealth by the marquis.
“You have no title to inherit. Do you think chances like becoming a marquis’s wife come easily? I took you in and raised you even though you’re an orphan—now it’s time for you to repay that debt.”
“B-But still…”
“Father is right, Unni. It’s been ages since your debut, so you should hurry up and get married.”
With both of them pressuring her from both sides, Elisha couldn’t say anything back.
In the end, right there at the table, Elisha was decided to become the future Marchioness of Montis.
***
And so, back to the Burns family’s sitting room again.
“Hoo…”
Elisha stared at the love potion and sighed again.
She couldn’t even count how many times she had sighed by now.
Today was the day she would meet Marquis Montis for the first time.
She planned to drink this potion right before meeting him.
‘If I can truly fall in love with him… maybe it’ll be better.’
That was the conclusion Elisha reached after thinking as hard as she could.
But even so—imagining herself desperately clinging to the old, fat Marquis Montis, acting like she loved him…
No matter how much she tried to calm herself down, her eyes kept getting wet with tears.
“Why is my life like this…”
Elisha held her head and complained helplessly.
She had lost her mother right after she was born.
Then when she was ten, her father—who had been sick—also passed away.
Her father’s relatives on his side took only the title of Count for themselves and turned their backs on Elisha.
In the end, Elisha had to grow up in her uncle’s house, always watching her step and living carefully.
‘If my parents were still here… there wouldn’t be such a ridiculous marriage proposal.’
Thinking of her father, Count Lowell, made her feel like she might cry.
Just then—
“Unni! Unni!”
“Hiiik!”
At the sudden shout, Elisha jumped up from the sofa—then dropped right back down.
At the same time, Lila rushed in in a panic.
Excited beyond belief, Lila bounced on her feet like she was wearing shoes heated red-hot.
“What are you doing here?! Hurry and come over here! The young grand duke of Lindberg is coming!”
“Y-Young grand duke?”
“Yes! Blaine Lindberg, the young grand duke! Lila’s husband!”
Lila pounded her chest like she was frustrated.
Of course, Elisha wasn’t unaware of Blaine.
Who in the empire wouldn’t know the Sword Master who had appeared for the first time in 100 years?
But… husband?
Elisha tilted her head, confused.
“You’re not married yet… Don’t tell me you did something with the young grand duke behind Uncle’s back—?”
“Hey! What are you talking about?! I didn’t mean it literally! Ah, forget it—just hurry up and stand!”
“Ow ow ow ow—w-wait!”
When Lila grabbed her cheek and pulled, Elisha could only follow along, being dragged like that.
“He’s so busy hunting monsters with the knights… why would he suddenly come to Lila’s house?! It must be to see Lila, right?!”
Lila babbled nonstop in an excited voice.
Blaine’s visit had not been planned at all.
The maids hurried to clean up the mansion, and there weren’t enough hands to help Lila get ready.
Lila had dragged Elisha along, planning to at least make her help brush her hair.
But then—
“Ladies, the young grand duke of Lindberg has arrived.”
With the butler’s announcement, Blaine entered.
At that moment, the air in the sitting room changed.
He looked like someone who had just stepped out of a painting.
Under his jet-black hair, his violet eyes shone clearly.
His tailored uniform fell perfectly along his strong shoulders, making his masculine build stand out even more.
‘Wow…’
Without realizing it, Elisha swallowed.
Blaine looked exactly like the prince from the stories she had imagined as a child.
Lila quickly bent her knees and greeted him.
“Y-Young grand duke. Welcome.”
Lila greeted him with the gentlest voice she could possibly make.
Elisha also hurriedly lowered her head.
“Please forgive me for the rudeness of visiting so suddenly.”
A low, gentle voice reached them.
When Elisha lifted her head slightly, her eyes met those clear purple eyes.
Startled, she quickly lowered her head again.
Meanwhile, Lila straightened her posture and gave Blaine a smiling look.
“Then may I ask why the young grand duke has come to Lila’s home?”
“I have something to discuss with Baron Burns.”
“Father will be here soon. In the meantime, Lila will serve you tea—”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll wait alone.”
At Blaine’s polite refusal, Lila looked a little flustered.
Up until now, there hadn’t been a man who rejected Lila’s kindness.
So she believed Blaine would surely fall for her too.
“I’m worried I might bore a lady, since I’m not good with words. I’ll drink my tea alone, so I hope you understand.”
Even Lila’s smile didn’t move Blaine at all.
In the end, Lila left the sitting room without gaining anything, and Elisha hurried after her.
“Hah! That makes no sense. How could he reject Lila?”
Lila stomped down the hallway, fuming.
It seemed the shock of being rejected by a man for the first time in her life was pretty big.
“I should’ve changed my dress earlier, and worn a necklace and earrings too! Not pearls—diamonds! If I had, the young grand duke definitely would’ve had tea with Lila!”
Listening to Lila’s complaining, Elisha walked after her in a daze.
Blaine’s image was still lingering in her mind.
‘So there really are people that amazing in the world… He’s nothing like him at all.’
Then Marquis Montis appeared in her imagination, flailing his limbs like an octopus.
Elisha grabbed her cheeks with both hands and shook her head wildly.
After seeing such a perfectly handsome man, like he had been carved out of marble, Elisha felt even more painfully how miserable her future husband was.
There was no way she could do this while sane.
She had to go get the potion—
‘…Huh?’
Without thinking, Elisha reached into her clothes, then froze in place.
Her doe-like eyes widened as if they might pop out.
‘M-My potion… where did it go?!’
