CH 2

The first meeting.

Having been single for 20 years since birth, Raeliana knew nothing of a gentle break-up nor did she feel that the man deserved such consideration. So she spoke out bluntly.

“Let’s break up.”

Francis made an exaggerated smile and pointed to the side. The raven sitting on top of the streetlight looked down menacingly upon them, pooping.

“Ha ha ha! Did you see that?”

“See what? Did you hear what I just said?”

“What did you say?”

“Let’s break up, Lord Brooks.”

“Ha ha ha ha! Look at that, Raeliana.”

“Hey, I said let’s break up.”

After asking him seventeen more times to break up, Raeliana realized that the man had no interest in the pooping raven but rather was pretending not to hear her.

The day after their first date, Raeliana ran to the bookstore.

The shopkeeper, with a bored expression, handed her a book titled Idiot’s Guide to Break-ups from below the book stand. Raeliana read through the volume in a night.

A book truly was a treasure trove of knowledge.

The second meeting.

Having studied and prepared the break-up, Raeliana headed to a member-only restaurant with her date.

Then within ten minutes of arriving at the restaurant, she poured a total of five different liquids, ranging from water to various wines, on the man’s head and crotch.

Francis Brooks who at first tried to appear gentle began to twitch his thick lips upon the third time.

On the fourth spill, he sighed deeply and jittered nervously. On the fifth spill, when she emptied the wine specifically targeting his crotch, his veins were bulging and hands were shaking.

“Oh dear, I slipped again. My apologies.”

Raeliana apologized without a trace of remorse on her face and pointed to the piano in the middle of the restaurant.

“Lord Brooks, I would like to hear you play.”

To take a break from the chaos, Francis Brooks walked toward the piano.

When she could hear the piano melody, Raeliana called the waiter to praise how fragrant the wine was, how warm the restaurant’s atmosphere was and how great the chef’s food was.

Francis Brooks glanced over, but her compliments did not stop.

As Raeliana refused to listen, attempting to get her attention, Francis Brooks called out to her saying “Beautiful Raeliana.”

As he called, without looking back, Raeliana headed straight into the restroom. By the time she had come out, the ding dang of the piano was long over.

When it was time to part ways, Raeliana frowned, staring at Francis Brooks’s crotch stain that had dried white as though he had pissed himself.

She shuddered as if to stress her embarrassment and hurried home alone in a carriage.

Raeliana was satisfied.

This would guarantee some foul talk. No, he might even slap me, saying he has never seen a woman this crazy before.

Contrary to her hopes, Francis Brooks never sent a hate letter. It was all too bad.

The third meeting.

Some time had passed before the third date. Francis Brooks seemed to need time to nurse his frail heart.

The date was set and the two planned to go hunting.

Though Francis Brooks may have meant to reinforce his status as a “nobleman of heritage” through the hunt, Raeliana was a veteran who could call herself “the queen of hunting.”

Raeliana’s father, Johndein, had enjoyed hunting as a hobby for decades and she had tagged along as soon as she could walk.

While the soul may have been swapped, the muscle memories remained and she could wield the firearms quite deftly.

But, Francis Brooks flaunted his meager skills in front of her, boasting how he would teach her how to hunt or how she should hold the rifle as if he was an apprentice boy in front of a master painter.

Raeliana, who had been watching the man’s clownery with narrow eyes, acted the role of a clumsy young lady on her first hunt to meet his expectations.

Standing by her act, she gave Francis Brooks a shallow bullet cut on his temple.

“Oh, no. My mistake.”

He must have wet his pants.

Afterward, Raeliana skillfully disassembled the firearm and handed it over to the servant.

“It seems like Lord Brooks needs a change of clothing. See to him, please.”

He should have been throwing punches by now, but he was a man who put money before his pride.

Yesterday, Francis Brooks turned up at the McMillan mansion without any prior word. Raeliana, who had been taking a stroll outside, greeted him with a stern face.

“Lord Brooks, what brings you here? I wasn’t aware that you were coming to visit.”

“Oh, Raeliana, you are my fiancee, aren’t you?”

Flirtatiously smiling, the crow’s feet around his eyes were highlighted.

Ugh, he gives me goosebumps.

“The closer we are, the more we should be courteous to each other. Please leave.”

Rubbing the goosebumps on her arm, Raeliana chided him harshly and turned to leave when Francis Brooks grabbed her wrist.

“Raeliana, I do not understand why you are suddenly acting this way to me.”

“Wh…what are you doing?”

“We may be betrothed for the sake of our families, but I believed we had something deeper between us. Or was I the only one under such impression?”

His voice was desperate.

Contrary to Park Eunha’s will, Raeliana’s heart sank.

Raeliana the original owner of this body had loved Francis.

Though the family had suffered due to the head of house with poor sense of business, the House of Brooks was of a renowned nobility that would not have even set its eyes on the nouveau riche such as the McMillans back in its glory days.

Francis Brooks was the eldest son of the family and on the outside, he was a handsome gentleman.

While he may have planned to poison her behind her back, he acted kindly on the surface. It was not unimaginable that Raeliana, who had grown up sheltered, dreaming of a peaceful love, fell for him.

This was why the McMillans enthusiastically welcomed the engagement to the Brooks.

Perhaps the body still held the feelings of its original owner…?

She smiled bitterly.

But the body belonged to her now. Francis Brooks will manipulate Raeliana’s heart and body with his deceitful hands.

It would end with a poisoned red tea. “You were mistaken, Lord Brooks.”

Instead of making a scene, Raeliana spoke in a low tone. The charismatic voice from her tiny lips made his shoulders flinch.

“Let go of me.”

He instinctively realized that she was not her usual self.

She was not the shy woman who blushed when he spoke to her or chattered with the small voice he could barely hear.

After postponing their dates for a while with the excuse of being sick, she appeared in front of him as a completely different person.

Francis, who had planned to sweet talk her into submission, clenched his teeth. When she slapped away his hand to leave, he forcefully grabbed her shoulder and stopped her.

“Raeliana, listen to what I have to say before you go.”

Raeliana raised her brows high.

“No matter how much you try to play hard-to-get, it is of no use.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This child’s play is over. What the McMillans need is the prestige of the House of Marquess Brooks. Do you think that a nouveau riche family of yours with only money to boast can find any better suitor? We will soon be married. So before that, it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself on how to serve your future husband.”

His eyes glimmered like a rat’s. Raeliana clenched her fists until her nails dug in enough to bleed.

***

Perhaps actually getting married to the man was another solution. Since she knew the manner of her death, she could avoid it if she were to defend herself well.

Of course, she would have to live through all kinds of threats.

She would not be able to even eat without fear. Or she could stay low until she escapes somewhere else.

Would I be able to do that? Could she even live independently in this unfamiliar world?

Curled up in the corner of her bed, Raeliana thought of this and that.

What if Francis Brooks dropped dead by the time I woke up tomorrow?

Yes, let’s kill him. I should kill him before he kills me. With her head buried in the pillow, she murmured to herself.

Using a knife or poison could lead the trail back to her so she should opt for an innocuous yet serious stunt.

She recalled the case she once heard of a man who died of cerebral meningitis from an infection while pulling his nose hairs by hand.

I should pluck his nose hair…

She would pluck a handful of his nose hair until he dropped dead. No evidence would remain and she could pull off a perfect crime.

It’s perfect. Let’s pluck.

Dreaming of various schemes, Raeliana almost pulled an all-nighter before she finally fell asleep.

When she opened her eyes, it was already afternoon with the maids busily preparing for the ball.

The maids did her hair and dressed her up skillfully.

Her soft hair was put up, revealing her delicate nape and the dark red dress accentuated her creamy skin.

Everyone praised her repeatedly, saying she was beautiful like a rose. But Raeliana kept her lips sealed, lost in her thoughts.

Even as she entered the ball escorted by Francis Brooks, even as the noble ladies fluttered their fans and exchanged cheerful words, Raeliana stood dazed like a frozen pillar.

That is, until “that man” walked in…

The hall suddenly lit up in commotion.

The young ladies all looked to the spot as the man entered.

In the center of everyone’s attention, stood a man.

The man’s beauty rendered those around him as ugly as gnomes while a halo seemed to glow around his face.

With a gentlemanly smile, he sincerely accepted the greetings of the nobles.

The man’s name was Noah Volstaire Wynknight.

He was the duke of the kingdom and the male protagonist of this novel.