~Chapter 5~
His stepmother… she was the very person who had cursed Apollyon to make her own son the Duke instead.
Apollyon always suspected her but secretly hoped she wasn’t the one behind it. But later in the novel, when the curse was broken and the truth came out, Apollyon was devastated. He realized no one had ever truly been on his side.
Poor, kind Apollyon… Even though the saying goes, “After hardship comes happiness,” his path to happiness was especially hard.
Right now in the story, it was the period just before he met the female lead. He was still trying to find a final marriage partner.
Who was his third engagement with again?
After two broken engagements, most noble families with daughters avoided any connection with the Theabrith Duke.
Still, Apollyon didn’t give up and sent out a few more proposals. I had no idea that one of those proposals had been sent to Petunia—right after her recent breakup.
Well, the original Petunia would’ve still been crying over Sonod by now, so she definitely wouldn’t have known. And since it was just one of many proposals Apollyon sent at the time, it wasn’t a major event in the original plot.
The other ladies he proposed to were mostly power-hungry nobodies. I remember he ended up engaged to the youngest daughter of a low-ranking baron family.
But even that girl fled the country a week before the wedding.
That betrayal hit Apollyon hard, and afterward, he didn’t pursue marriage again for two whole years.
That was until he met Shurael, the female lead, who entered his mansion as a maid. That’s when the real love story began.
There was actually a very easy way to break the curse—but he never used it, waiting instead for the heroine to arrive. Just thinking about him suffering for two more years made my heart ache.
So! I decided I would help him and break the curse two years earlier.
Why? Because I fall in love so easily, and I absolutely adored Apollyon—the perfect male lead. That was all the motivation I needed.
“Petunia…?”
My parents called me, pulling me out of my emotional novel-based daydream.
“Yes?”
“You don’t need to read that letter. Give it to me,” Father said, holding out his hand.
I looked at both the letter and my father’s hand… and silently opened the letter instead.
“Petunia!”
“Don’t tell me… You’re not thinking of meeting the Duke of Theabrith, are you?”
“Why not?”
“Of course you shouldn’t—”
“But I like him,” I said, blushing shyly.
“What?!”
Forte slammed the table and stood up.
“Brother, why are you shouting?”
“How can I not?! Of all men, him? Do you even know who that man is?!”
Of course I do. He’s gentle, kind, polite, and soon to become the Empire’s most handsome man.
…But I couldn’t say that out loud, so I just nodded.
Forte groaned and rubbed his face in frustration.
“…Petunia, do you have an ulterior motive?” Father asked, worried.
“Not at all. I just like him.”
I held the letter with the Theabrith family crest and smiled.
“You know about the rumors surrounding the Duke. What exactly do you like about him?”
There’s a lot. He’s kind, pure, has a great body, and… well, very capable.
But instead of listing those reasons, I took inspiration from Mother’s earlier speech and spoke with dramatic flair.
“Everyone judges the Duke just by his appearance. But how many people have actually spoken to him properly?”
“…”
“Rumors about his curse spreading, or that he made a deal with the devil—they’re all just baseless gossip. People don’t even know what’s under the mask or what kind of person he really is. Spreading those kinds of rumors is shallow and low. And didn’t our Incleldove family always pride itself on doing what’s right, even in the face of rumors?”
That last bit? I stole it from a quote hanging in the hallway. It was written under a portrait of the family’s founding owner. Lucky guess, I suppose.
“…You’re not wrong,” Father said. “But the truth is, we don’t know anything about him. Even if we ignore the rumors, I can’t send you off to someone we know so little about.”
He sounded serious. So I decided to take it even further.
“If the Duke had a bad character, this Empire wouldn’t still be standing.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Theabrith territory is right near the border. Across the border is the enemy kingdom of Caron, and nearby forests are full of monsters. If I were him, I would’ve moved to a safer region near the capital. Who would risk their life every day out there?”
“…”
“Except for the Imperial Family, no other noble house treats the Duke kindly. Most treat him like a disease or a monster. And even knowing that, he still risks his life to protect the Empire. If he weren’t a good man, would he really fight to protect the people who hate him?”
Wow, even I was impressed with myself.
That sounded like something a politician would say in a speech.
“But still, you haven’t even seen his face…”
“Well, nobody else has either.”
“…”
Father’s eyebrow twitched. He exchanged a look with Mother and then sighed in defeat.
“…If this is what you really want, we’ll respect your decision. But I still don’t like that this is his third proposal.”
“I feel the same,” Mother added.
“You know how serious a marriage proposal is, right?”
“Yes.”
“The letter he sent to you isn’t a personal one—it’s not like he wrote it just for you. He probably sent the same letter to other girls, too. Isn’t that a little… unpleasant from a lady’s point of view?”
True.
But I was someone who liked guaranteed safety.
Back in my original life, I was studying for the lowest-level civil service exam, even though it had nothing to do with my degree, just because it was secure.
And this world? Way more conservative than 21st-century Korea.
Sure, love was free, but the social hierarchy and marriage rules were strict. There were no media outlets to report injustice, either.
Just look at this world now—gay men arranging fake marriages, rich jerks playing with their fiancées, and everyone acting like it’s normal.
If I couldn’t even buy a decent phone without being tricked back then, what were the chances I’d pick the right man in this world?
Better to go for a secure, proven future from the start.
Besides, the female lead won’t appear for two more years. I knew how to break the curse right now. Why make Apollyon suffer for two more years?
Even though he was a fictional character in a book, here, he was a living, breathing person. And his curse was cruel—far too painful for a normal human to bear.
And Apollyon, being the male lead, had that loyal, sunflower-type personality. I was sure that just because the heroine appeared later didn’t mean his feelings for me would disappear.
“…Still, I trust the Duke of Theabrith.”
That was all I could say in the end.
I wasn’t bothered if he’d sent the same proposal to others. He wasn’t the type to play games. I believed he had thought long and hard before sending each letter and that he sent mine sincerely.
If anything, it felt like a victory to be among the select few people who were given one.
Opportunities to get close to a male lead don’t come around every day. This had to be fate.
And honestly, if he sent me a proposal too… doesn’t that mean he’s at least a little interested?
Maybe he’s been watching me from afar.
Maybe he has feelings but hasn’t confessed yet.
My imagination kicked into overdrive, spiraling into romantic fantasy, and before I knew it, I was grinning like an idiot.
“P-Petunia…?”
Only when I saw the worried faces of all three family members did I realize just how high my smile had climbed. I quickly forced my face back to normal.
