Chapter 4

Peering over Lucretia's shoulder at the newspaper, Duke Selavalle said with a malevolent grin,

"Even if you are a princess, the other side agreed without hesitation! You can't run away anymore! You will become the bride of the hideous duke!"

Seeing her father so lively and cheerful, Lucretia felt a strange sensation.

Duke Selavalle was very pleased when Lucretia looked sad or showed a pained expression.

She believed that this must be a parent's heart, testing her with trials out of love, but was it really so?

Lucretia gradually began to feel a growing distrust towards her father.

"What's wrong, Lucretia? Are you sad? Even if you cry, no one will help you, hahaha!"

Duke Selavalle laughed, holding his belly.

As he said, Lucretia should have been on the verge of tears, pleading with her father,

"Please, spare me from marrying the hideous duke."

But perhaps because she had been oppressed since childhood, she had become so accustomed to it that nothing affected her anymore. She felt as if a gentle breeze was blowing through her.

No matter the reason, she could maintain a strangely detached attitude towards her own misfortune, a unique skill she had developed from never being treated kindly.

"I will not cry. If Father commands me to go, I will go."

Her younger sister puffed out her cheeks and laughed.

"No way, big sister, are you being tough? You must be really unhappy about being forced to marry someone so ugly, it's so pitiful!"

Lucretia let her sister's ridicule wash over her with a dull gaze.

Her father and sister joined in, egging her on.

"Remember, no coming back! Think of it as never being able to return to your family home!"

Lucretia smiled faintly.

"Of course, I will do as you say. As long as he needs me."

Lucretia's defiant response seemed to catch her father off guard. He looked as if his mood had been severely dampened and flew into a rage.

"How foolish can you be...! Can you not even imagine the ridicule and miserable life you will face by marrying the hideous duke!?"

"Big sister, you seem to have it easy, don't you?"

"Is that so? I consider it a good match."

"Try to dream of happiness! You will soon be cast into hell!"

"Big sister, you're so weird!"

For a while, her father and sister mocked Lucretia, but seeing that she was hardly listening, they eventually gave up and fell silent.

Lucretia looked back at the newspaper she had been given.

—This exaggerated illustration, I wonder if it's really true.

It's impossible for a human to have donkey ears or a bird's beak. The mention of a split tongue might be an exaggeration inspired by the loathed snake.

Moreover, the hideous duke's territory is far away. It's unlikely that a local newspaper reporter would have met him. Journalists will write any lie to make money, so the credibility is zero.

Lucretia already had a hunch that he probably had a normal human face.

—I must see what he looks like.

To Lucretia, a scarred face or an unattractive appearance was nothing.

All that mattered in marriage was love.

And Lucretia had overcome many trials of love in the past.

She was determined to love the hideous duke as well.

***

Thanks to Duke Selavalle's gracious arrangement, Lucretia was allowed to pack a few personal items from her room into a bag.

"Dresses? Jewelry? You bought them? What are you talking about? Everything you have belongs to the ducal family!"

However, she was only allowed to take documents, diaries, and a small hand mirror. The luxurious items she had collected with her own money were confiscated by her father.

Her sister was delighted by this.

"Really, I can have all of big sister's jewelry? Yay!"

Seeing her sister's innocent smile, Lucretia chuckled.

"Sure. Take good care of them."

Suddenly, her sister's mood soured.

"Don't get so full of yourself just for giving me your old things! It's so annoying!"

"That's not... I just want you to be happy."

"Why aren't you angry? You're really creepy! So boring!"

Rosetta quickly left, and Lucretia couldn't say goodbye to her.

—I'll write her a letter later.

She felt a slight sadness, but by the time she got into the carriage, she was already excited.

After all, Lucretia was going to her new home.

A new land, a new family, and a new fiancé.

Just thinking about it made her feel excited.

She would fill the hideous duke with love. That's what Lucretia thought.

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