IDMLG 05

Chapter 5

Those sapphire-blue eyes were frighteningly beautiful, but for me, they stirred nothing beyond fear.

Only after glancing once at the man smiling and bidding me farewell, as he boarded a carriage emblazoned with the crest of the Duke of Luhanes, did I finally feel like I could breathe properly again.

What in the world just happened?

It was as if all the effort I had put into acting had been for nothing, and I’d been dragged right back to square one. Stunned, I held my head with a half-dazed expression.

The sensation of the fingers that had brushed past my hair and grazed my ear still lingered vividly.

I raised my sleeve and rubbed at my ear again and again.

Ah, no. This isn’t it. This really isn’t it.

Something felt terribly wrong.

At this time of day, I knew my older brother Michael wouldn’t be at the Christener Marquisate, so I went straight to the headquarters of the capital’s merchant guild, Dion.

The moment the carriage arrived in front of the building, I practically tumbled out, which made the coachman Owen and my escort, Sir Rachel, cry out in alarm. Ignoring them, I dashed straight inside.

I rushed up to the top floor, where I knew Michael would be, practically flying up the stairs.

Employees and branch managers I passed—familiar faces—greeted me with “My lady!” but I had no time to return the greetings.

Spotting the guildmaster’s office right next to the reception room, I barged in without hesitation, throwing the doors wide open.

“Brother!”

Startled, Michael looked up from his desk, where he had been frowning over a pile of documents. His face darkened at once.

“How many times have I told you not to leap around so unladylike? And to always knock before you enter? You’re not some snot-nosed three-year-old anymore—”

“That’s not the point right now! Why was Rixion Luhanes sitting across from me on my blind date?!”

I stormed over to him and slammed my palms on his desk with a bang.

My rudeness deepened the furrow in his brow, but then, to my surprise, he asked back as if startled.

“Oh, so the duke actually showed up?”

Huh? What kind of reaction was that?

He was the one who sent me on a blind date with Rixion Luhanes, yet he looks like he never expected him to come? What the hell…

I stared at him in disbelief, my face showing exactly how absurd I thought this was. Michael gave an awkward cough before speaking.

“There’s… a reason for all this.”

“Then tell me. Every single detail, from start to finish.”

“Fine, but first sit down and calm yourself.”

Seeing me snorting like an enraged bull, he gestured toward the sofa well away from his desk. His intention to keep me at a distance was painfully obvious.

“Not long ago, I had a meeting with the previous Duke of Luhanes.”

“You? With William Luhanes? Why?!”

I nearly screamed, halfway to the sofa.

“I’m not deaf, you know,” Michael muttered irritably.

But I was far too shocked to care.

Why? Why would Michael Christener meet William Luhanes?

In the original story, there was never any mention of them having personal or political ties! Why?

My mind, already in chaos from Rixion showing up at the blind date, spun even more wildly.

“They came to me to consult about the Empress’s upcoming birthday gift.”

Empress Serena’s birthday gift? Did William Luhanes seek out Dion’s help for that?

I blinked in confusion.

I did know Serena’s birthday was coming soon, but nowhere in the novel was there ever mention of William Luhanes contacting Michael over it.

Even if this was still before the official beginning of the novel’s events, new connections like this—ones that never existed in the original—were unsettling.

Could it be because of me? Did Elizabeth Christener’s existence itself warp the story?

But I hadn’t done anything to disturb the plot!

For the past twenty-three years, I had stayed quietly within the Christener family, never stepping out of bounds. I’d endured, swallowed my wants, and lived like dust drifting in the air, barely daring to interact with others—

All because I didn’t want to alter the story.

Was all of that meaningless?

Maybe my existence alone was the problem.

The thought left me frozen, until Michael’s worried gaze snapped me out of my daze.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen with the duke?”

“…So?”

I raised a hand to stop him when he tried to rise from his chair, my face calm as I asked:

“What did you and the previous Duke of Luhanes discuss that ended with me being paired off with Rixion?”

“Oh, that…”

He hesitated for a moment, clearly sensing something strange about me, but chose to answer my question first.

And what he said was far simpler than I expected.

“The old duke wanted a necklace made of Mermaid’s Tears as the Empress’s birthday gift. He came to me about acquiring it…”

It made sense. Dion, being the largest and most influential merchant guild in the empire, traded not only with dwarves but even with merfolk. Securing a Mermaid’s Tears necklace would only take a bit of effort.

Up to this point, it all seemed straightforward. The problem was what came next.

“…Turns out, that family has a headache of their own.”

Michael and William Luhanes actually shared a similar problem.

Both houses had troublesome children—long past the proper age of marriage—who stubbornly showed no sign of wanting to marry.

Even without direct interaction, each had heard enough about the other’s “burden” that, when they met, they quickly found common ground.

Neither family disliked the other; in fact, their reputations made them seem more than suitable matches. So the two fathers naturally came to the idea: why not solve both problems at once by tying the “troublesome” son and daughter together?

The difference was, while I had no choice but to obey Michael’s word, Rixion Luhanes was known to treat even his father’s commands like the barking of a dog—completely ignoring them.

“…That’s why I honestly didn’t think the blind date would go that far. I thought just having a nice conversation about it would be enough.”

But, for some reason, William Luhanes was far more serious. He wanted this blind date to happen no matter what—and even roped in Empress Serena.

“The Empress got involved?”

“Yes. Though it’s not so strange, is it? As his older sister, it’s natural she’d want her brother, who’s already past the proper age, to meet a good partner.”

What shocked Michael was not Serena’s involvement, but the fact that Rixion himself actually agreed to attend.

Even when the Empress asked, he hadn’t believed Rixion would comply.

After all, Rixion’s distrust and hatred for people were already infamous across high society. Even if the date did happen, Michael had been worried it would go terribly.

But once talks had gone far enough, it wasn’t easy to back out by saying: “On second thought, I don’t think it’s wise to tie my sister to your unstable son…”

So, honestly, Michael had been hoping Rixion would be the one to refuse outright and spare him the trouble.

“I really thought he’d just ignore it. That’s why I’m surprised he actually showed up.”

He still looked doubtful, asking me again if it was really him, not just someone who resembled him.

I had listened silently until then, but now I stared at him, more incredulous than before.

“…And you didn’t think to tell me any of this beforehand?”

My glare said, Are you insane?

His answer was maddeningly calm.

“Well, I figured if you knew your blind date was with the Duke of Luhanes, you’d just bolt.”

…How did he know that?