ASDEF 02

Chapter 02

He broke free from his long reverie and carefully scrutinized me. Then, he furrowed his brow slightly.

“Fine. If, as you say, you don’t bat an eye in front of anyone, then a mere 80 gold is hardly a problem.”

My pupils dilated to their fullest extent.

Being able to pay back 80 gold at once—I had to do whatever it took.

“I’ll do it, whatever it is, sir! Please, give me a chance!”

The gentleman folded his arms and examined my appearance closely. From head to toe.

Then, he pulled a small pouch and a document from his bosom and handed them to me.

“First, use this money to put on some weight over the next three days. With that level of gauntness, you won’t be able to fool anyone in the position I need you for.”

I lightly clutched the money pouch in my pocket. I could tell just from the weight. This was by no means a small amount.

Soon, my gaze naturally fell upon the document he was indicating with his hand.

A single sheet of white paper in my hand.

On it was written someone’s personal information.

“Don’t show that document to anyone. If you value your life.”

I hurriedly tucked the document into my bosom as if hiding a treasure.

The gentleman glanced at my shabby clothes with displeasure.

“Your beggar-like appearance is a problem… On that day, make sure to dress up as much as possible. So that anyone can see you as a young lady of high society. That money should be enough.”

“A-a young lady of high society…? Ah, yes, yes!”

I forced an answer to his utterly incomprehensible words, but it was hard to understand. Still, since I needed to preserve my life, I nodded as if I understood as best I could.

At that moment, a cold wind squeezing through the narrow alley gap blew the gentleman’s black hair astray.

Only then did I fully face his appearance for the first time.

A tall, well-built figure that suited the blue frock coat perfectly, violet eyes set in a pale face, a sharp nose, and even his jawline.

He was truly a sculpture nearing perfection.

And on top of that, he had money, right? My thumb instinctively went up.

I was thinking how happy the woman who married a man like this would be, when he narrowed his eyes slightly and asked.

“I can trust you when you say you’re good at acting, right?”

I immediately nodded my head vigorously.

This was no different from an interview. You must never say you can’t do it. You have to shout it out first to get a chance.

After reconfirming the date and place, the gentleman soon turned his broad back and disappeared from the alley.

I watched him blankly and muttered to myself.

“Just who is he…?”

And four days later, I regretted my choice at this moment.

If I had known in advance that this was a position to introduce the future consort of the duke’s son, which would horribly entangle me with the Benson family—a family destined for ruin through his planned fraud—I would never have accepted this offer.

—

* * *

*’They say if you so much as make eye contact with Duke Benson, your eyes will be gouged out on the spot!’*

*’That’s not all. They say a monster lives in the young duke’s garden.’*

The source of all sorts of ominous rumors, the Benson household.

Sure enough, hanging on the wall of the drawing-room was the duke’s sword, stained thickly with what appeared to be someone’s blood.

It should have been polished until it gleamed, but no matter how you looked at it, it felt freshly bloodied.

Still, it was a day when guests were coming—surely he hadn’t cut someone down before the meal even began. I put that horrifying thought aside for a moment.

Just then, I saw Duke Benson, along with a handmaiden wearing an eyepatch.

The chilling atmosphere pressed down on my entire body, forcing me to snap to attention.

Normally, a young lady of high society would elegantly present herself in this voluminous high-waist skirt adorned with pink frills, saying:

*’Your Grace, thank you for the invitation. I am Celestine Fields. It is an honor to be invited to such a splendid gathering. Hehe.’*

That’s how she would offer her greetings gracefully.

But I wasn’t sure if this imagination was correct. I had never seen or performed high-society etiquette in my life.

Ah, I had read about it in novels, though.

*’This is the first meeting with the son’s lover. Wouldn’t it be better to do what I know rather than awkwardly attempting something unfamiliar and raising suspicion?’*

After a moment of hesitation, I straightened my back as much as possible, like any other young lady. It was difficult for me, an extra of near-slave status who had always lived with my head bowed.

*’It’s about seizing the initiative, whatever it is.’*

I couldn’t fall apart here.

If I made the slightest mistake here, Daniel—who had been described as prickly at least a hundred times in the original work—wouldn’t let me off easily.

As soon as I saw Duke Benson, I directed my gaze to his thick hands. Before he could even speak to me, I strode forward.

“Your Grace, thank you for the invitation! So this is how we finally meet. Haha!”

I grasped his thick hands and shook them vigorously.

The Duke’s expression slowly hardened.

“G-glad to meet you, Miss Fields…”

Seeing the Duke’s scowling face, I instantly realized I had done something wrong.

*’No! I can’t die like this…!’*

In that moment of despair, a line spoken by the Duke in the original work flashed through my mind.

*”You always call me ‘Your Grace’ to the very end.”*

The very word he had so desperately wanted to hear from his daughter-in-law, who only ever feared him.

To survive, I shouted.

“Please, call me comfortably, F-Fa-Father! Haha!”

“F-Father?”

“You look even more magnificent in person, truly!”

“I look magnificent?”

“You must have been very popular in your youth!”

I flashed a toothy grin and gave him a thumbs up.

Was this still not enough? I followed up with crescent-moon-shaped eye smiles to appear amiable.

“Th-thank you for such high praise.”

Duke Benson raised his hand and touched his own face.

I waved my hand dismissively and smiled brightly.

I was the one who had survived by appeasing the head chef of the Golden Range, after all. This kind of flattery was second nature to me.

To be honest, I couldn’t even properly see the Duke’s face, so my words were close to nonsense. Even the brief glimpse I caught had left me breathless.

Robert Benson, Duke of Benson.

Father of Daniel Benson and the foremost swordsman of the Plithium Kingdom.

Having survived fierce wars, he dreamed of erasing his bloody past and living a peaceful life with his beloved family. However, after his wife’s death and discovering her shocking past, he lost his grip on reason and went on a rampage.

The ruthless Duke prevents Daniel from being with the female lead by driving her family to ruin and even attempting to assassinate her.

If it were ever revealed that I was not Celestine before such a duke… I would not leave here alive today.

I laughed so hard I nearly convulsed in front of him. Of course, an eerie silence continued to envelop me.

*Shouldn’t he say something by now…?*

Impatience and anxiety kept pooling in my core.

Eventually, I couldn’t endure it any longer and cautiously lifted my head, raising my gaze upward.

At that moment, I met the Duke’s sparkling eyes.

He was looking me up and down with curiosity.

*’I guess this isn’t it…’*

I gently averted my eyes and glanced at Daniel. Daniel’s brow was slightly furrowed.

Seeing that expression, I instinctively knew.

It was already ruined.

We were led to the dining room by the head butler.

Even with fluffy lemon pie and juicy steak sizzling before me, I could only gulp down my saliva.

It was because of the Duke’s gaze, constantly glancing at me with an expressionless face, and the sharp glare of Daniel’s younger sister, Elisa, who for some reason seemed openly intent on finding fault with me.

Pretending to be calm, I followed Daniel’s lead, holding a fork in my left hand and a knife in my right, and began to cut the steak in front of me.

My gaze kept focusing on the tough steak.

*’Why won’t this cut?’*

Dining etiquette was my one area of confidence, but my hands were trembling so much I couldn’t even cut properly.

Finally, I put down my knife. Elisa didn’t miss this.

“Oh my, your cutting is rather unsettling, my lady.”

Elisa was 17 years old. Three years younger than the body I had possessed.

But like the young lady of the Benson household, her gaze was fiercely sharp. As if flaunting her very existence.