Chapter 3

Consciousness surfaced, and I opened my eyes groggily. After staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, I slowly turned my body to the side.

In front of my gaze was a window, and through the gap in the curtains, bright light was streaming in.

From outside the window, the adorable chirping of birds could be heard.

What a peaceful morning.

I wanted to stay wrapped in the warm futon forever.

"…Morning?"

Usually, I would wake up before the sun rose and start dealing with the work I couldn’t finish the previous day. Lighting the room was the first task after waking up.

Yet, today the room was bright. And from outside, the refreshing sound of birds.

While still wrapped in warmth, I let my gaze wander around the room and noticed the clock on the sideboard.

"…A little before noon"

My head cleared all at once. I threw off the futon and sat up.

The light entering the room wasn’t morning light. It was midday light.

"Ah! I overslept!"

I jumped out of bed in a panic, grabbed my slippers, and rushed out into the hallway. First, I had to apologize. After apologizing, I would finish the work from yesterday and then tackle the additional tasks for today…

Anyway, anyway, apologize!

No one should dislike a sincere apology from the bottom of one's heart!

"Miss Claudia? What’s the matter, you’re in such a hurry?"

"Very, very sorry! I overslept!"

Seeing Lord Liam, I instinctively knew this was bad. I quickly crouched down and bowed deeply with all my sincerity.

Trembling, I waited for his response, and Lord Liam knelt beside me. He grabbed my shoulders with both hands and slowly lifted my upper body. There, I saw his gentle eyes, a soft smile that I had never seen when he was my assistant.

"There’s nothing to apologize for. I told them not to wake you."

"Huh?"

"Do you remember coming to my mansion after your engagement was broken off last night?"

Hearing his polite words, my mind finally started working.

"Engagement broken off"

"Yes. In short, you were dumped as a fiancée and left the castle, right?"

"…That’s right"

After the engagement was broken off, I packed my things.

Then Lord Liam came. And, and—

Lord Liam said many things.

"Was it an illusion?"

"It wasn’t an illusion. I did propose to you."

"Y-You—"

"You?"

Lord Liam tilted his head. His gesture was somehow cute, but I had no time for that. I had jumped out of bed and rushed out, so I was in a terrible state. My hair was a mess, and I hadn’t washed my face. What if there were drool marks? Even worse, I was still in my nightgown and hadn’t even put on a robe.

"Ah! Ah! Ah!"

With reflexes I didn’t even know I had, I stood up and ran back to my room.

"Take your time getting ready. I’ll be waiting in the salon."

I heard his gentle words from behind but couldn’t turn around out of embarrassment.

When I rushed into the room, Lily was standing with her hands on her hips.

"L-Lily"

"Miss, in such a state!"

"I know, I know. Don’t say it."

Driven by the urge to scratch my head, I let Lily take care of me. She quickly got me ready.

"Lord Liam must have been surprised."

"But he was kind."

"…Is that what you’re worried about?"

"Because he smiled so kindly. I couldn’t take my eyes off his gentle face."

Lord Liam was usually expressionless and calm when I was his assistant. His perfectly chiseled features made him look like a well-made doll. Until the engagement was broken off, he had never shown any romantic feelings. I thought he disliked me because of my slowness. After all, I was always slow. Lord Liam had helped me in many ways.

"Ah, what should I do?"

"If you have nowhere to go, you might as well stay here, right?"

"Not really. If I cut ties with the earl’s family, I can go to a neighboring country freely."

"Is your mother’s family really reliable?"

Lily looked worried. Lily had come to this country with my mother, but she was actually hired after the marriage was arranged. So, she didn’t know much about my mother’s family.

"After my mother passed away, I intended to go to that country. But the engagement prevented it. My cousins are interesting, and they’ll probably take care of me."

"I see."

"Besides, it feels like a blasphemy against the goddess of beauty for me, who was dumped by the prince, to stand beside Lord Liam. What if I get struck by divine punishment?"

When I said this, Lily gave me a look of exasperation.

"What’s wrong?"

"Miss, if you get plenty of rest, you’ll be as beautiful as Lord Liam."

"That’s just family bias."

"It’s not."

Hearing her confident statement, I felt a bit awkward. I had always been laughed at in social gatherings and had never been complimented on my appearance. Even if Lily found me cute, it didn’t mean everyone else would.

Thinking about the past ridicule, I fell into a funk while getting ready.

"Here, the mirror, please."

Led by Lily, I stood in front of the full-length mirror. There I saw myself in a dress with a simple design. The atmosphere was quite different from usual. My hair, which I usually tied up tightly at a high position, was now softly half-up, and instead of heavy jewelry, a cute ribbon was used.

The lipstick was a light red, not the trendy dark pink. It felt like I wasn’t myself.

"I’m surprised. What kind of magic did you use?"

"The castle maids just lack taste."

"…Do you think I was being harassed?"

Considering the frequent insults about not being suitable as the prince’s fiancée, it seemed reasonable to think it was harassment.

But Lily denied it outright.

"No, they just lack taste. It’s not just about using trendy colors."

"Can you say that so confidently?"

The maids who took care of me were actually the queen’s direct attendants. Saying they lacked taste was the same as saying the queen lacked taste.

Lily smiled meaningfully and didn’t say anything more. She lightly sprayed some perfume.

"Lord Liam is waiting."

"Ah, yes. I’ll go."

"Lord Liam recommends it."

"Lily, did you get a bribe?"

Surprised by the change, I gave her a suspicious look, and she smiled with authority.

"I didn’t get a bribe. I was just told about Lord Liam’s feelings and the benefits of marriage."

"Maybe Lord Liam is quite serious?"

This new doubt arose. I had never thought that the god-like Lord Liam could like me.

"Ask him yourself."

"Yes, I will."

If it was just about his desire for my power, I would go to my mother’s family in the neighboring country. I nodded, thinking it was just that.

When I arrived at the salon, Lord Liam was leisurely reading a book. I stopped, thinking I might be interrupting, but he immediately looked up. Recognizing me, he came over to where I was standing.

"Oh, you look very beautiful. You’re stunning."

As he said this, he kissed the back of my hand. The way he treated me made me feel like I was someone important, and my head was already boiling.

"L-L-Lord Liam! Don’t be so natural with your charm! Where’s the usual expressionless you?!"

In a state of confusion, I raised my voice, and Lord Liam smiled.

"Isn’t it wrong to show emotion when you’re with a fiancée?"

"I still can’t believe it! I don’t have any qualities that would attract the opposite sex. Maybe you’re after my magic power?"

"Hmm, I can’t deny that, but it hurts a bit."

As I stammered, Lord Liam’s face darkened. Seeing this, I panicked even more.

"No, as a noble, it’s important to look ahead. It’s not a problem at all. It’s just that if you act like you love me when you don’t, it hurts me."

My voice trailed off. Yes, I had been carried away by Lord Liam’s kindness. My only strength was my magic power. I was slow at work, always tired, and completely neglected my appearance. I had no particularly feminine hobbies.

Reflecting on myself calmly, I felt even more depressed.

"Why do you have such a low self-evaluation, Miss Claudia? You’re excellent. You handle that much work alone."

"I haven’t met my targets."

"First, realize that the amount of work is unreasonable."

He gently patted my head. I glanced up at him.

"You’ve never said that before."

"I protested several times about the unreasonable amount of work, but it only increased, so I stopped. I felt bad for upsetting the queen."

"Wait! Is it your fault that my workload increased?"

I was stunned by this shocking fact.

"Yes, probably. I handle about 80% of the queen’s work. She was upset because I praised you. I think she expected you to come crying with too much work, and then she would forgive you."

"…What did you say?"

"I just praised you for being very excellent."

It’s hard to believe that praising me would upset her!

But I want to believe that Lord Liam was just being honest.

"I tried to adjust as much as possible, and the work should have been manageable, right?"

"It wasn’t!"

"Okay, good. It’s fun to be able to speak my mind like this."

The charm was gone, but something felt different.

Not knowing what to think about Lord Liam, I decided to have a light meal for now.