“Why… why do I have to be the one who gets dumped? I could be the one to break things off, couldn’t I?”
I was completely dumbfounded by Luna’s casual assumption that I would be the one getting dumped.
“Well, yes, but… wouldn’t it be easier for Miss Joyce to return to Bria if the Duke is the one who turns you down?”
Hmm. Now that I think about it, Luna tends to always make sense.
If Peredil ends up falling too deeply in love with me… with that foolishly devoted personality of his, he’d probably remain faithful to me forever. He might never leave my side, and I might never be able to return to Bria.
Let’s ignore the fact that I’m already thinking about breaking up before I’ve even seduced him—definitely counting my chickens before they hatch.
“Fine. My goal is to seduce the Duke and then get dumped! Once that’s done, as promised, I’ll return here and continue my acting career without any trouble.”
“Since you write your own scripts, Miss Joyce, I trust you even more. I’ll look forward to a fun story.”
Listening to Luna’s words of encouragement, it all began to feel plausible.
After all, I’m the one who has to come up with the plan, act it out, and follow through. In a way, it’s just like creating and performing a new piece of work.
Besides, I feel like I’ve seen a story like this before—about seducing a man and then getting dumped.
Where did I see that…?
Ah—right! A movie! I’ve seen a movie like that before!
A foreign romantic comedy I enjoyed in my past life suddenly came to mind.
I think the plot was about seducing a guy for a magazine article, and then getting dumped within ten days?
Being forced into this situation, having to seduce the original male lead under threat, had left me feeling overwhelmed—but maybe I could turn this into a new script.
“Lady Luna.”
Now that I’d made up my mind, I called out to the woman who had just been threatening me in a solemn voice.
“Give me exactly 100 days. No more, no less! I’ll seduce the Duke and get dumped—perfectly—within 100 days!”
My lifeless, frozen eyes from the pressure had transformed into sparkling, determined ones.
When it comes to writing and acting, I can give it my all!
I’ll tangle with Peredil just enough, disappear at the right moment, and then tweak the story into a stage play.
A commoner heroine forced to seduce a high-ranking nobleman—just imagining it already has me fired up!
Heh… The Moon of Coventine is over. Now it’s time for a brand new play that I will write and perform myself.
Titled: How to Get Dumped by a Duke in 100 Days!
“No matter how urgent it is, leaving for the capital tomorrow is just absurd.”
Grumbling, I moved quickly to pack my things.
When I looked around the room, there wasn’t actually much to take with me.
Maybe it’s because I’d come here with nothing. All I really had were letters from fans I’d met here, a few decent outfits, and some jewelry.
Heavier than the luggage I packed was the weight in my heart.
Tomorrow is the final performance… If the heroine disappears on the last day, everyone will be in chaos, right?
Thinking about how the troupe would be thrown into disarray without me for the finale of Love As You Please made me feel terribly guilty.
There’s Mari, my understudy, but she doesn’t have much stage experience. She’s never really played a lead before, so there’s no way she could fully fill my shoes.
There would be a lot of complaints about the sudden casting change. Some people even bought scalped tickets just to see me perform.
It hurt to think I’d be letting down the dear fans who loved me unconditionally, and my fellow cast members who had worked so hard with me.
“Ugh…”
I sighed heavily. But I had to get a grip. I needed to sleep soon if I wanted to leave before everyone else woke up.
Despite my intentions, memories of performing on the Bria stage kept surfacing. I’d been so happy here. At the same time, I felt nervous being dragged into the heart of a story filled with power struggles and complicated love.
Sleepless nights are always worst when you’re afraid of the morning.
Whether I wanted it or not, a new curtain was about to rise on the stage of my life—just like the sun that rises each day without fail.
Goodbye, Bria. It’s only a short farewell—I’ll definitely come back.
And when I do, I hope I can just act to my heart’s content, without getting caught up in anything else.
Normally, I’d never be up at dawn, but today was different.
Barely managing to open my swollen eyes, I dragged myself out of bed.
“Hah… what a life I lead.”
With a puffy face from lack of sleep, I threw on some clothes and quietly left the troupe building.
So as not to wake anyone, I crept out—and just like promised, a golden carriage sent from House Woodville was waiting for me.
But… isn’t this carriage a little too flashy for a secret departure?
Even from far away, it glittered blindingly under the morning sun.
Immersed in my secret agent fantasy, I glanced around warily before slipping into the carriage.
Come to think of it, I’d never ridden in a real carriage before, aside from a carousel at an amusement park.
As expected from the illustrious Woodville family—the cushions were incredibly soft.
“The ride’s smoother than I thought.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Wah! You scared me!”
“Did you sleep well?”
I had been bouncing up and down on the cushions and hadn’t even noticed that someone else was already inside. Luna looked at me with amused eyes.
Startled, I quickly calmed down and bowed politely.
“I didn’t expect you to come in person, Lady Luna. I thought I’d be going alone.”
“There’s no way I’d let such an important guest travel alone. Since this is your first time visiting the Woodville estate, I came to escort you myself.”
So much for catching up on sleep in the carriage.
No, maybe this was actually for the best. It was the perfect chance to ask the questions that had been nagging at me.
I seized the opportunity to ask about the next steps.
“Do I need to disguise myself? If someone saw my performance, they might recognize me as an actress.”
“Well, if it makes you uncomfortable, you can disguise yourself—but I don’t think your acting background will be much of an issue.”
Huh. I thought she’d tell me to hide it in order to seduce Peredil.
“If I don’t have to hide it, then I won’t.”
“That’s fine. Anything else you’d like to ask?”
There was still one very important question I hadn’t asked—my role!
“Am I going to the Woodville household as a maid? Or maybe a lady’s attendant? It’d be easier to get close to the Duke if I were serving you, Lady Luna…”
A love that unfolds between different social ranks. That kind of tension, the heartbreak of impossible love—it’s the kind of thing that really drives emotions on stage.
“You’re not going as a maid or an attendant.”
Luna’s words shattered the elaborate scenario I’d been playing out in my head.
“Then… what am I going as?”
“We’re going to adopt you into the Woodville family. You’ll become Joyce Woodville.”
“…You’re joking, right?”
Unfortunately, the clear eyes in front of me didn’t belong to someone who was joking.
From her expression, I could tell she was absolutely serious—and overwhelmed by her intensity, I decided to go along with her plan and become her fake sister.
Who would’ve thought my social status would rise this quickly?
In the blink of an eye, I was now a noble lady. And with that came crash-course training in noble etiquette.
Greetings, table manners, conversation etiquette—there were hundreds of things to memorize.
“Most people will already know you weren’t born into nobility, so don’t feel too pressured.”
“No, I can’t let them find any faults to pick on.”
After all, they say gossip spreads fast in the capital. I couldn’t let myself tarnish my character’s family.
Despite Luna’s reassurance, I poured all my energy into memorizing noble etiquette as the carriage made its way toward the Woodville estate.
Still… couldn’t she have told me all this a bit earlier?!
