Chapter 6
Changing hair color wasn’t going to solve the problem. So Marienne decided without delay to move on to the next step.
Vaileon and Kain. What was the biggest difference between the two? Why was it that thoughtful, considerate Vaileon couldn’t win love, while the northern brute, who only growled lowly, managed to shake Odette’s heart?
Marienne’s conclusion was as follows:
“His behavior style must be Odette’s type!”
A taste she could never, not even if she died and came back, understand. But the heroine of Alliance Marriage wasn’t Marienne Didi. The heroine of this novel was the Empire’s Fourth Princess, Odette Rose.
That northern brute who normally acted cold but would never tolerate seeing his future duchess insulted. That man who, when asked for a light kiss in public, gave his fiancée a smoldering one instead. If that was Odette’s taste, what could she do?
“Sir Beers, this task will be harder than dyeing your hair. But if it’s to win someone’s heart, it’s best to match their taste as much as possible!”
Marienne spread out the paper in her hand in front of Vaileon.
“Leave without looking back, speak coldly while standing close… What is all this?”
“Methods that will work on the Fourth Princess.”
Vaileon’s expression grew strange.
“You’re saying Her Highness really likes these kinds of actions?”
“Without a doubt.”
Marienne had poured two whole hours into compiling the list. The densely packed writing was the fruit of her labor.
No matter how many times she read the novel, her attention had always been fixed on Vaileon. Even just whispering his name brought her a bittersweet ache. Trying to recall the northern brute’s words and actions while setting aside her beloved Vaileon was excruciating.
But Marienne did it. Marienne, woman of sheer will, did it. In the end, she managed it.
“This makes me sound like too violent a person.”
Vaileon voiced his impression as he quietly read through the list.
“Seizing a wrist to stop someone? Wouldn’t it be enough to just call out to them?”
“No, the point is to yank their unsteady body into an embrace.”
“So it’s about subduing by force.”
Vaileon continued calmly,
“There are still plenty of men who act this way… The problem is, they use violence and yet delude themselves into thinking it’s romantic. That because they’re doing it out of love, it’s fine.”
He shook his head. Lifting his gaze from the list, he looked at Marienne.
“You know, Advisor Didi, in my household this would be a very big problem.”
Vaileon suddenly gave a wry smile.
“I know my parents aren’t exactly a romantic topic. But I can’t help mentioning it. Even if it were His Highness the Crown Prince himself visiting, it would be the same. If someone at the Beers estate dared to yank another person’s wrist, they’d go without supper. Because it’s wrong.”
This was new information to Marienne. Her chest swelled with sudden emotion. She wanted to shout it to everyone who had ever loved Vaileon as she did.
Yes—this personality! These manners! They weren’t born out of nowhere. His upbringing had been sound from the very start. The Beers family might look free-spirited, but when it came to raising their son, they had been strict.
“Odette, do you know how important this part is?”
Once again, Marienne felt like clinging to Odette’s skirts.
“People always say, to avoid troublesome in-laws, marry a man who’s lost his parents. But even that depends on the man. That northern brute is the worst choice among all parentless men.”
Nasty in-laws, aggravating brothers-in-law, a husband who quietly washes his hands of things that aren’t his business—these usually came as a set.
But Kain Blackwood, with no family ties at all…
“He makes up for five people all on his own!”
The absolute worst of personalities. Stay forever buried in the northern blizzards. Don’t you dare come here. Ptui, ptui. Marienne spat curses toward the direction she imagined to be north.
“You’re daydreaming again.”
“…What?”
“Did you know? Your expression changes along with your thoughts.”
“Mine?”
She hadn’t known. Marienne had firmly believed herself to have a perfect poker face. Of course, with no proof. What kind of expression had she made unconsciously? Anxiety suddenly crept up on her.
As always, she’d cursed that northern black-haired brute. Had her face twisted too fiercely then?
And what had she thought after that? Oh, right. She’d been overcome with emotion hearing about Vaileon’s family atmosphere. Had her expression been decently joyful? Or had she smiled too darkly?
“Now that the background check is done, I’ll say it: there’s hardly anyone less suited to being a secret agent than you, Advisor Didi.”
“You’re so certain about it that it hurts my pride.”
“First of all, you can’t hide your emotions.”
She was about to snap back when her eyes met Vaileon’s. His smiling face, as if to say am I wrong?, was so gentle it felt like cheating.
“And you can’t lie, either.”
“I can if absolutely necessary.”
“Really?”
Vaileon leaned his arms on the desk like an interviewer, lacing his fingers.
“Then name three things the Duke of Blackwood is better at than I am.”
The instant she heard it, Marienne realized why people said Vaileon was clever. This was the Devil’s Question. Even for her beloved, this was too cruel.
“No problem.”
Marienne Didi—always all talk. When it mattered most, she couldn’t lie, but for pointless things she could boast with ease.
Since she’d said it aloud, she had to at least try.
But what’s impossible is impossible. No matter how she wracked her brain, she couldn’t think of a single virtue of that personality-ruined Blackwood brute. And not just any virtue—something superior to Vaileon’s.
One minute dragged on like ten years. Finally, Marienne looked pitiful as she pleaded to her superior.
“Can’t we reduce it? Three is too many!”
The man who had been waiting burst into laughter.
“You’re really struggling.”
“Because it’s hard!”
“Honestly, I don’t see why. It’s not difficult at all. You can just stick to objective facts.”
Marienne blinked silently. Objective facts? What are those?
“Like his wealth.”
Vaileon gave an example.
“He’s undefeated on the battlefield, too.”
“…”
“And his title outranks mine.”
How could every so-called merit feel so hollow? Marienne’s face soured. Still, she realized: for most people, those points did count. That was why Kain could rival Vaileon as the novel’s male lead.
“I don’t really… see those as strengths.”
She replied.
“In my eyes, the Beers family is wealthy too. Undefeated? Sure, he’s an asset to the Empire, but as a partner in love, he’s the worst. As a husband too. If he’s always at war, he won’t be by my side. Hah, a man who’s absent at every crucial moment… what’s the point?”
As for his title, she couldn’t even be bothered. She muttered that without a ducal title, who would live in that frozen wasteland up north anyway. He needs at least that much to survive. At her mutter, Vaileon’s expression turned curious. The largest duchy among the nobility had just been dismissed as “that much.”
“Anyway, in my eyes, Sir Beers is overwhelming!”
“Overwhelming, you say.”
Vaileon smiled faintly.
“If only Her Highness would see me half as favorably as you do.”
His voice lacked hope, and it made Marienne’s chest ache. Whenever she glimpsed the loneliness behind his smile, her eyes darted about in guilt.
A man satisfied just to linger near his beloved. Who became Odette’s shade when she rested, and her shadow when she shone. Who would never charge into battle waving a greatsword when she was in danger, but instead ensure she never faced danger in the first place.
Vaileon Beers was such a man. Devoted, gentle, dependable. Capable enough to serve as Chancellor at such a young age.
Marienne wanted to make his one-sided love succeed, no matter what. Even for Odette, falling in love with Vaileon would be the better choice. With him, she’d never suffer the sleepless, angry nights that came with the northern brute.
“Let’s start with a wall slam.”
Marienne clenched her fists. Her voice came out solemn just from her determination to succeed.
“It’ll be awkward alone, so I’ll be your practice partner. I’ll stand here, and you push me toward the wall. You can talk as you do it, or just look at me in silence.”
Her deep sky-blue eyes sparkled with fighting spirit.
“The key is intimidation.”
“Hmm.”
“Of course, the other person will try to pull away, asking why you’re acting this way. That’s when—bam! You plant your hand against the wall and speak.”
This was Marienne’s trump card. To have Vaileon deliver the northern brute’s line ahead of him, with wording adjusted to suit his natural style.
“Now you’re finally really looking at me.”
“Do you seriously want me to say something like that?”
Vaileon asked again.
“You really want me to speak that way?”
Even when telling sad stories, Vaileon smiled. Yet now his brow furrowed. Of course he’d feel reluctant—he’d never in his life spoken like that. And the northern brute’s lines were extreme, even worse in the original.
Ugh, if it were me, I’d cuss him out.
Marienne shuddered inwardly. But her answer was, as always, bright and firm.
“Yes, you have to.”
Then she cast the all-powerful spell that could move Vaileon: the assurance that Her Highness the Fourth Princess would definitely love it. Her voice brimmed with conviction, and Vaileon slowly rose from his seat.
Before stepping forward, he let out a small sigh. His handsome face still carried hesitation. An onlooker might say he was held back by pride—as Chancellor of the Empire, as her older superior. But that would be wrong.
Marienne felt it was the opposite.
“This man truly will do anything for Odette.”
Vaileon looked composed outwardly, but inside he was desperate. So desperate that a single word of support for his love could make the wall between them crumble.
“All right. Yes, like that.”
It seemed Vaileon chose to approach silently. He fixed his gaze on Marienne, closing the distance. Though he’d never behaved this way before, instinct told him this was no moment to smile. The smile that always lingered at his lips had vanished.
Though not brimming with the menace of the northern brute, his atmosphere was still enough to make one step back. Ah, so this is the effect when someone who always smiles suddenly doesn’t. Marienne convinced herself.
“This close, yes. Right. To avoid bumping into you, I have no choice but to step back.”
“…”
“Am I chattering too much? I’m only reacting like Her Highness would…”
Before she could finish speaking, her back hit the wall. Marienne was suddenly aware of the difference in their physiques.
