FPML 5

Chapter 5

Was black hair always this… dignified?

Marien fell into deep despair. She swore she had never once fallen for a dark-haired male character. The traits that made up those men simply didn’t match her personal tastes.

Instead, if a character was described as having lighter pigment or soft brown eyes, her heart went to them immediately. A gentle voice touched with loneliness made her sigh with delight.

If he devoted himself to the heroine and ended up discarded, that was peak — heartbreaking, yes, but peak nonetheless. It meant he’d given everything until he became nothing but a sacrifice.

Sometimes, at the end of despair, they’d turn dark; even that dark turn had a special flavor when done by a kind brown-haired secondary male. It would be great as long as the writer didn’t use an all-too obvious cheap trick. Usually those schemes just tightened bonds between the protagonists and then everything ended with the dark-haired guy.

Praising brown hair like this sometimes got her misunderstood. People would ask, “So you like brown hair no matter what?”

Marien would answer calmly: it wasn’t that she liked brown hair unconditionally — it was that when someone with a tragic, forlorn nature has brown hair, their attractiveness gets an extra boost.

But despite that calm reply, she felt a twinge of conscience. Was she really a hair-color snob? Doubtful thoughts nagged at her.

Then today Marien Didi found herself looking back over her past life. It was because Baileon had dyed his hair black.

‘This vibe is dangerous.’

Dyeing one’s hair didn’t change the face. Baileon’s soft features remained the same. He conducted meetings as usual, interacted with people, and generously smiled at a young maid’s mistake.

He was the same Baileon Beers who rarely showed displeasure.

Yet oddly, the atmosphere had shifted entirely.

First, with his hair black, his naturally pale skin stood out more. His green eyes — the kind that used to make one think of a massive tree in sunlight — now, paired with black hair, became like finely cut emeralds. Baileon’s green eyes shone as sharply as his jawline.

In short, he now looked like a cold, high-ranking noble — and when he smiled in that mood, people reacted wildly.

‘But… Odette asked him to change it for her, right? So why are all these random women swooning?’

Maids, staff from other departments, visiting ladies of the court, and noble daughters all wrote love letters to Baileon by the handful. Not just letters — women kept dropping handkerchiefs in front of him.

That became Marien’s new task. A few steps behind Baileon, she’d snatch up the dropped handkerchiefs and hand them back to him.

Now it was second nature. By just looking at the women’s eyes she could tell exactly when someone would let a handkerchief slip. She was so skilled she once caught a cloth midair before it even hit the floor.

“Shoo! Shoo! Go away, minnows.”

Marien put her full energy into defense. A woman clinging to Baileon who wasn’t Odette was meaningless. At least if jealousy was being provoked, that would be something. But Odette and jealousy were as far apart as heaven and earth.

It had been four days since Baileon dyed his hair black.

Finally Marien heard that he and Odette would take a fifteen-minute walk through the rose garden. Marien was ecstatic. It would be their first meeting since he’d dyed his hair.

She stared toward the rose garden until her neck hurt, and the moment she spotted Baileon in the distance she ran over.

“How was it?”

Marien’s eyes sparkled as she asked.

“What did His Majesty say? He said it suited you? He said it looked good? He said you looked different?”

Marien fired off questions without breathing. She could breathe after Baileon answered.

“’Familiar, but somehow strange! Is this really the man I knew? I felt something strange and hard to explain,’ he said.”

“That’s…”

“Quick! Quick, quick, quick!”

Marien stamped her feet in impatience. She wanted to hear anything as soon as possible.

Even if Odette hadn’t reacted to the new hair color, it would have been okay. This was just the beginning. She didn’t expect Odette to fall in love the moment his hair turned black.

Even if it didn’t fit at first, seeing it repeatedly might make her gaze linger longer.

“Did she say nothing at all?”

“No.”

Baileon continued calmly.

“She widened her eyes when she saw him.”

“She widened… her eyes!”

A good sign.

“She was momentarily speechless.”

An even better sign!

“She smiled.”

“Smiled…!”

Marien was about to repeat Baileon’s words exactly, but she stopped. Usually smiling at someone was a good thing, but this time she felt it might be the exception.

“She said, ‘It’s darker than I expected. I thought for a moment it was a different person.’”

“Ah…”

Those words came in Baileon’s low voice.

“‘Black hair suits you too, but I think I prefer the old color. It suited you more,’” Odette had said.

Exactly what I’d say. Fourth Princess Odette, that’s exactly what I would say. Almond-tinted hair like Baileon’s is rare and suits him best.

Marien’s lips trembled with indignation.

But if brown hair suited this person better, why are you marrying that black-haired guy?

Marien felt like crying. Everyone except Odette was thrilled by Baileon’s black hair! And Odette actually said she preferred the old brown. Hair can be dyed back. But that wasn’t the point — how was she supposed to handle this predictable disappointment?

“Didi aide, you’re not crying, are you?”

Baileon tilted his head slightly to look at Marien’s face. At 186 centimeters tall, that was the only way he could look at petite Marien.

“I’m… not… crying…”

“Your voice sounds like you’re on the verge of tears.”

“I’m not…”

“Maybe my expectations for Didi aide were higher than mine.”

Baileon smiled kindly.

“You said it would be fine no matter how Her Majesty reacted, but seeing you upset like this…”

Marien clenched the muscles in her face to avoid crying. Until a moment ago she was really okay. She just felt a bit down but it was bearable. Yet because Baileon treated her so kindly, she felt tears might actually spill.

“I’m not… upset… hmm…”

“Not upset? Then why… was changing my hair my first mission as a spy?”

“Not a spy. I’m not a spy…”

“That’s not an important first mission. Let’s go back to earlier reasons.”

The spy bit was nonsense. Baileon already knew Marien wasn’t a spy. Despite accepting her suggestion to dye his hair, he had investigated her that very day. She was a person who got things done.

He did his work well but when it came to love he never put himself forward. He could be a little more daring. Doing so wouldn’t make Odette frown and dislike him.

Baileon had dyed his hair because one of his subordinates hinted that Odette liked black hair. Liking Odette that much, he was now consoling Marien.

‘What are we even doing? Who is comforting whom?’

He should have said something to Odette earlier. Use your eloquence there — if Odette said the old color was better, use that as a pretext to continue the conversation. Say you don’t want to go back to work. If you could, tell her you’d spend the rest of your life strolling the garden with Her Majesty.

But Baileon had kept the fifteen minutes exactly. And now he was comforting a random person’s feelings.

Fool.

“It’s upsetting.”

Marien shook her head desperately at Baileon’s words.

“It’s okay. My heart doesn’t feel great either.”

“…”

“I was a little excited these past few days. Also, you worked so hard and it turned out to be fruitless.”

Baileon smiled, a touch wistful.

“Is hair color really that important? I simply lack the qualities to win Her Majesty’s heart. So don’t be too upset. It’s not because your plan was bad, it’s because I’m lacking.”

He asked if she had a handkerchief. If she said she didn’t, he was ready to offer his own.

This man is dangerous. There’s a saying — he spreads his legs where it’s comfortable. Some people are grateful for others’ kindness, but many are not. If you become known as someone who lets you indulge, only you will suffer.

“Why are you so kind?”

She didn’t mean to scold him, though it came out that way to her own ears. Confusion briefly crossed Baileon’s face.

“Do you dislike that I’m kind?”

“No— that’s not what I meant.”

“Then why are you angry?”

Baileon dragged the end of his sentence out a little.

“Because you’re kind to everyone without thinking?”

“…”

“Can’t answer, huh. I guess I was right.”

He asked again if she had a handkerchief. She thought of the one in her inner pocket, but she didn’t want to take it out in front of Baileon.

Yesterday she missed the laundry pickup time and had to wash by hand. The stains didn’t come out as cleanly as the laundry room’s, and because she skipped ironing the cloth was creased.

It was only a handkerchief. Baileon wouldn’t care if his subordinate’s handkerchief was a little shabby. What he cared about wasn’t the handkerchief but the person before him.

It was Marien who wanted to hide the handkerchief.

“This little teardrop doesn’t warrant a handkerchief.”

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and Baileon smiled a beat late. She hadn’t thought of wiping that way since she was very young. Worried she might look childish, she flinched — and then heard his soft voice.

“I remember hearing something similar.”

Baileon began to walk slowly. Marien finished wiping her eyes and hurried to follow.

“But the person who said it didn’t cry or get angry like Didi aide. They said it calmly.”

Before he even finished, Marien sensed it was Odette.

“You don’t like people who are nice to everyone.”

Words that don’t appear in the original novel.

“I need someone who is mine alone. Someone who won’t hesitate to stain their hands with blood for me. If not for me personally, then at least for a common goal… someone who can completely overturn the board.”

Exactly something Odette would say.

“So you’re no good. Baileon.”

Baileon murmured.

“The one time she called my name was the first and the last time.”

“…”

“Do you think that person knows? Baileon Beers is a good person, but not good to just anyone.”

Baileon turned his head and glanced at Marien. She remembered calling him a gullible fool in her head when she felt bad. Even if she hadn’t voiced it, she felt a pang. As if reading her mind again, he smiled.

“I’m only good to good people.”

His smile spread a little more clearly.

“If I seem kind and good, it’s because I choose to act that way. And that means Didi aide is a good person too.”

“…”

“Thank you for being so upset you almost showed tears.”

She couldn’t say anything. Oddly, her voice wouldn’t come. Marien simply watched Baileon’s figure walking ahead and thought to herself:

I’m completely done for now.