ASPB 10

“What?”

He also frowned as he looked at Ottilie.

“Rotvin, surely you’re not planning to leave a lady and her broken carriage behind in this freezing weather, are you?”

Ottilie glared at him with wide-open eyes.

“That’s exactly what I’m planning to do—”

His calm, low voice left Ottilie completely speechless.

“That’s terribly impolite and rude. It’s not gentlemanly at all.”

But she couldn’t back down.

At that moment, an unmistakable sneer crossed his tanned face.

“Ottilie von Falkenberg. You must know what my reputation is like in high society.”

His remarkably objective assessment of himself caught Ottilie off guard. Her blue eyes trembled slightly, like green leaves swaying in the wind.

‘So he knows his reputation is complete trash?’

“B-but… then at least let me take Choco with me. Choco is my puppy!”

It was Ottilie’s last desperate attempt.

Surprisingly, it seemed to work.

Rotvin looked down at the puppy in his arms for a moment. He seemed somewhat troubled and let out a faint sigh before speaking.

“……Then come inside until the carriage is repaired.”

Without even offering to escort her, he quickly walked toward the ducal residence. However, Ottilie didn’t mind at all.

‘Success!’

With a happy heart, Ottilie followed him with light steps.

Rize could only watch the entire situation in silence, her eyes wide with surprise.

\* \* \*

Even in her previous life, Ottilie had felt that the Altenbrick Ducal Residence was a place that simply didn’t suit that man, Rotvin de Altenbrick.

The residence was decorated in a combination of ivory, pale pink, and light yellow. It was incredibly delicate and elegant.

The thought of such a dark and rough man living in a place like this…

It was like putting two completely opposite things together, such as summer and snow.

She simply couldn’t imagine him drinking tea, sleeping, or working in this place.

And yet, right now, he was sitting quite naturally on the pink sofa in the reception room, stroking Choco.

Of course, that was only natural. This was his home, after all.

In her previous life, when Ottilie first came here, she had vaguely assumed that he was simply using the rooms decorated by his mother, the former Duchess, without changing a thing.

But suddenly, she began to wonder if that was really the case.

Just look at him.

Even now, he hadn’t offered her so much as a cup of tea, despite being the worst host in the entire Empire.

And yet, he was carefully stroking a puppy small enough to fit in his palm.

The fluffy white puppy was resting comfortably in his arms, purring softly as it fell asleep.

“Your residence is really beautiful.”

Ottilie spoke first to Rotvin, who wasn’t even looking at her and was only paying attention to Choco.

He glanced up at her briefly, then lowered his head again without answering, looking at the puppy in his arms.

It was as if he and the puppy were the only ones in the room.

‘What an unpleasant man. I don’t want to talk to you either!’

“This residence… It was decorated by the former Duchess, wasn’t it? Rotvin, I really can’t imagine you decorating a place like this.”

Ottilie deliberately smiled sweetly as she spoke, trying to provoke him.

He remained still for a while before slowly raising his head and staring at her.

His eyes showed absolutely no emotion.

For a moment, Ottilie felt as though he were a stranger.

Was he really the same man she had known in her previous life?

Just then, his low, deep voice reached her ears.

“How long are you planning to keep playing friends?”

“Playing friends? I simply want us to become real friends.”

Rotvin stared intently at Ottilie, who answered as calmly as she could.

She had absolutely no idea what his gaze meant or what he was thinking.

“Fine. All right.”

At last, the corners of his lips curved into a faint smile.

“If you really want to be friends, I don’t see why not. It’s not as if I have any friends in high society either.”

As Rotvin gave a slight shrug, he briefly looked like an ordinary young man his age.

But soon, he leaned back against the sofa and looked at Ottilie with slow, deliberate movements.

“But shouldn’t friends be honest with each other and have no secrets?”

His words carried an intimidating presence, even though he was doing nothing more than sitting there. Ottilie suddenly felt tense.

Had he noticed something?

Rather than looking away, she boldly met Rotvin’s gaze.

“What secrets? I don’t have any.”

Her voice was surprisingly cheeky.

Rotvin gave a faint, mocking laugh at Ottilie, who was pretending to be perfectly calm.

“Tell me why you’re so determined to become my friend. Especially when I’m known as the worst Duke in the Philanin Empire. If you tell me honestly, I might be willing to play along. After all, you let me hold ‘Rie.’”

As he said the last words, he glanced down at the puppy in his arms.

‘Did he just call that puppy Rie? Rie?’

“No, this puppy’s name is Choco. I already told you that.”

Ottilie’s voice rose slightly.

“No. This puppy’s name is Rie.”

Rotvin firmly shook his head.

“I’m naming her Rie. And you can honestly tell me why you approached me. Then I’ll play along.”

“Wait a minute. But why did you choose the name Rie?”

‘Rie sounds so much like my nickname. I don’t really like it…’

“Your name is Ottilie, isn’t it? Rie, brought here by Ottilie. Since I don’t know the name of any other woman, I simply used part of yours. Is that a problem?”

“Then why not use a man’s name instead? Hmm… For example, Roro?”

Right, Roro, from Rotvin.

“But she’s a female puppy.”

He looked at her as if she were foolish for not even knowing that.

“Ah… She’s a girl.”

“You don’t even know whether a dog is male or female. Why would you bring a dog you know nothing about and ask me to play friends with you?”

His eyes held an unwavering certainty that he didn’t believe her claim that she had simply approached him because she wanted to be friends.

‘Well, I would be suspicious too if I were him. He really isn’t as stupid as I thought.’

Ottilie thought for a moment before letting her shoulders droop and putting on a pitiful expression.

With her drooping eyes and delicate figure, she looked even more miserable than she had intended.

“The truth is… I want to break off my engagement with His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Ottilie deliberately made her voice tremble slightly.

Rotvin’s brows furrowed just a little.

“Break off your engagement with the Crown Prince?”

“That’s right. My feelings for His Highness have completely faded. Spending the rest of my life with someone I don’t even love… Just thinking about it is horrifying.”

Rotvin said nothing as she spoke such cruel words with a sorrowful expression.

He merely raised his chin slightly, as if telling her to continue.

“So I asked to break off the engagement, but His Highness refused. Instead, he told me to go ahead and meet as many other men as I wanted.”

Ottilie sighed and gently shook her head.

“But as you know— Actually, you might not know this, but His Highness absolutely cannot tolerate any other man getting close to me.”

It was easy for her to act pitiful.

“Because of that, I don’t even have a single gentleman with whom I can maintain a simple friendship. They might suffer some terrible consequences from His Highness if they ever get too close to me.”

She lowered her head, then eventually looked straight at Rotvin again.

“But Rotvin, I think you could do it. You’re of high status, you have no interest in high society, and most importantly… you’re strong. Someone like you should be fine, shouldn’t you?”

Tears had begun to gather in Ottilie’s deep green eyes.

Rotvin silently gazed at those transparent, shimmering eyes for a long time. They sparkled like delicate leaves covered in morning dew.

“I suppose I am strong…”

He murmured so quietly that she could barely hear him, then crossed his legs with an arrogant expression.

“But just because I have no interest in high society doesn’t mean I want to make an enemy of the Crown Prince.”

He spoke arrogantly, casually swinging his crossed leg.

‘Is this a failure?’

“So, what you’re asking me to do is pretend to be your lover, right?”

Ottilie slowly nodded.

At that moment, a single tear that had been gathering in her eyes finally rolled down her pale cheek.

Rotvin rested his arm on the corner of the sofa and leaned his head against it. In a disinterested voice, like a businessman negotiating a deal, he asked,

“How long? What exactly do I have to do? And… what do I get out of it?”

“……What do you want? I don’t have much I can give you.”

That was the truth.

The Duke of Altenbrick already had more than enough wealth. Ottilie knew better than anyone that offering him some reward that wouldn’t harm the Falkenberg family would never be enough to satisfy him.

She remembered what had happened in her previous life, when he had first shown interest in her.

He had showered her with expensive gifts, sparing no expense, showing off his wealth with presents just as valuable as the ones the Crown Prince had given her.

Rotvin narrowed his eyes as if deep in thought. Then he slowly nodded and glanced at the puppy in his arms.

After that, he quietly looked back at Ottilie.

“……Rie. Rie is all I need.”

“……!”

Ottilie opened her eyes wide in surprise.