Chapter 7
“You called for me, Lady Prabiche.”
Raphael didn’t keep me waiting long. From head to toe, he was exactly as described in the book—neatly dressed in bright clothes, with long mint-colored hair.
But the most striking part was his blue eyes.
Raphael Celestian. This guy was even more of a clear-eyed lunatic than the book had let on.
‘Even with the same smiling face, this isn’t how Evelyn remembered him.’
I thought back to earlier. When I said I was here to request a job from the head of the underworld, Pagrashium, his expression changed instantly.
I still hadn’t shaken off the chill from that sudden shift, but I couldn’t let myself appear weak. I smoothed down the fur draped around my shoulders and relaxed my tense eyes into a soft smile.
“I’m here to make a request.”
“A request?”
Raphael sat across from me, crossing his legs and lacing his fingers together.
“May I ask how you knew I was the head of Pagrashium?”
“No.”
I crossed my arms and replied in a tone that said I couldn’t be bothered. Despite my arrogance, Raphael continued smiling, amused by something.
I frowned, annoyed by his attitude—but inwardly, my thoughts were different.
‘…He is good-looking, though.’
No wonder he was the second male lead. But I was a reader of the original novel—I knew what he was really like. The fact that the underworld suited him so well said everything.
‘Ugh, I should avoid guys like him. But no—thanks to that bastard Ulysses…’
Truly, I had nothing but bad luck in life. Fortunately, Raphael didn’t press the issue any further, and I went straight to the point.
“The request is simple. Pretend to be my fiancé.”
“…Your fiancé?”
His smile faltered for a moment, his eyes widening in surprise. He asked, just to be sure.
“Is this to make His Highness the Crown Prince jealous?”
“No. The opposite. I hate him now. But he won’t let me go.”
“…Pardon?”
Raphael’s eyebrows twitched subtly.
It was probably hard to believe. After all, Ulysses had been completely fed up with Evelyn. He was probably thinking I was delusional.
Without saying another word, I pulled out the crumpled scrap of paper I had stomped on earlier that morning. Raphael unfolded the wrinkled letter with a doubtful look, only for his mouth to drop open.
Only after reading Ulysses’ handwritten nonsense did Raphael finally believe me.
“…So it’s true.”
“Exactly. So you pretend to be my fiancé and get rid of him for me. Here’s your upfront payment.”
I threw a pouch filled with the 200 goldens I got from Asil onto the table. It made a heavy sound despite the light toss—it was stuffed with coins.
“Hmm.”
Raphael picked up the pouch.
He was quick to calculate. 200 goldens for such a simple request—he probably wasn’t desperate for money, but who turns down easy cash?
“Alright.”
Raphael nodded readily, and I let out a silent sigh of relief.
‘Surprisingly cheap for someone like him.’
Bargaining should always start at half the price you’re prepared to pay. Smiling, I decided to act before he could change his mind.
“Good. Let’s draft the contract.”
“You’re surprisingly thorough.”
You little—
His tone clearly mocked me, but honestly, if this were the real Evelyn, she probably wouldn’t have even thought of drafting a contract.
A bit later, as he prepared two copies of the agreement, I gave a preemptive explanation.
“There’s something I reported to His Majesty the Emperor, so we’ll need to get our stories straight.”
“…What did you say?”
Raphael’s hand stopped mid-motion. He clearly hadn’t expected this to reach the emperor.
“Well, people don’t know this, but His Majesty is quite fond of me. He even said he’d personally arrange my engagement to the Crown Prince if necessary.”
“That’s news to me.”
Raphael replied in disbelief. It was only natural.
While the emperor might seem fond of Evelyn in private, he never showed it publicly. Given Evelyn’s and Prabiche’s notoriety, he had to tread carefully.
He was smart like that.
The truth was, the emperor was using me to reform Ulysses’ behavior—while making sure all the blame fell on me.
‘If it were the real Evelyn, that would’ve been a win-win.’
But explaining all that was too much trouble, so I twisted my hair and spoke lazily.
“Anyway, I told him that the day I got dumped by His Highness, you ran after me with a huge bouquet and a ring, and confessed your love. I’ll take care of the ring, so don’t worry—but remember that you gave it to me.”
“…”
Raphael looked like he’d been hit in the head. Sure, I was kind of dumping all this on him, but I was in a rush here.
When I glared at him as if to ask if he had a problem, he suddenly let out a snort.
“Ahaha!”
Then his laughter grew louder. He wiped away tears as he laughed.
“My apologies—ahaha. I must say, this is far more entertaining than I expected.”
“Is that so? I’m not laughing.”
Even with my deadpan response, Raphael couldn’t stop laughing.
I started to feel uneasy. Some readers had shipped Raphael and Evelyn together after he appeared in the story.
A villainess and a second male lead with opposite names—it had sounded like a decent pairing back when I was a reader, too. But now that I was Evelyn, I wanted to slap my past self.
Afraid I’d get killed?
‘No. I haven’t even done anything to Raphael. Why would he kill me?’
In the original story, it was Ulysses who killed Evelyn, not Raphael. So why avoid him?
‘Because Raphael has abandonment issues and he’s a lunatic.’
Sure, I’m human too—I wouldn’t mind getting involved with a good-looking guy. But not a crazy one. Especially not one with deep emotional wounds.
‘I’m all about healthy, peaceful relationships.’
I just hoped he didn’t get interested in me.
I quietly pulled out another pouch of money I’d gotten from Douglas and muttered,
“…300 goldens extra. One more condition.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t fall for me.”
Pffft.
Raphael burst out laughing again. His angelic smile might have charmed anyone else, but to me, it felt like mockery.
Sure, I expected to look crazy—but this wasn’t just baseless confidence.
Evelyn was pretty. Her personality was terrible, and she had a stalker reputation with the Crown Prince, but she still had wealth, power, and beauty. Plenty of people had tried to court her.
‘They all backed off once they got a taste of her attitude, though.’
Anyway, Evelyn’s charms deserved more recognition than the “villainess” label.
Raphael gradually stopped laughing and composed himself.
“No need for extra pay. This job doesn’t warrant more than the initial fee.”
He pushed the pouch back to me with a confident grin. His overconfidence made me anxious, so I took the pouch back and warned him.
“…If you show any signs of liking me, the contract’s off. I’ll charge you ten times the deposit as a penalty.”
At that, Raphael’s smoothly moving hands froze, and he smiled gently.
“You’re completely ruling out the possibility that you might fall for me.”
Honestly, if he showed that smile in high society, 10 out of 10 women passing by would fall head over heels.
That smile had charm. The guy knew he was good-looking.
But still—
“I prefer mentally stable people.”
“….”
That shut him up.
The smile that had been lingering on his lips vanished, and for the first time, his face turned serious.
Smirking triumphantly, I asked,
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
As expected, Raphael didn’t respond. His expression said he never imagined he would be dismissed as the local lunatic by me—the infamous madwoman.
We’d just declared each other insane to our faces. Not a bad start for an employer and hireling who’d be cutting ties as soon as the contract ended.
I savored the subtle taste of victory and placed an invitation on the table with a sharp tap.
“Well then, I’ll be counting on you starting tomorrow, fake fiancé.”
I rose from my seat and strolled out of the marquisate. Honestly, Raphael was more gentlemanly than I expected, which was a plus—but still, he was the crazy head of the underworld.
‘Once the contract’s over, I’m cutting him off.’
And that would be the start of a life filled with luxury and spending money freely.
Without realizing Raphael’s eyes were still fixed on me, I returned home, lost in carefree thoughts as I climbed into the carriage.
