Chapter 1
“You want me to get married?”
“Yes, sir. His Majesty has ordered that, in order to maintain your title, you must marry within the next three months.”
It had already been four months since Wilfred became the head of House Cromford.
He had followed the final will of the previous Duke Cromford, using legal but not necessarily righteous methods.
As a result, he defeated all his rivals and rightfully claimed the title.
“Article 131, Clause 4 of Imperial Law does mention it.”
Anyone inheriting a title of marquis or higher must have a noble spouse. If unmarried, they must marry within six months.
That outdated clause had been added about 100 years ago, following an incident where someone tried to install a three-year-old who couldn’t even read as head of a noble house.
It had been a perfect opportunity to reclaim a title once given, and the emperor at the time succeeded by pushing that clause through the assembly.
Since then, the law had all but faded into irrelevance—until now, when it came back to bite him.
Furrowing his brow, Wilfred asked his chief attendant, Jade:
“So?”
“If you have a type in mind, please tell me. If there’s a lady you’ve been eyeing, I’ll do whatever it takes to make her Duchess Cromford.”
The subordinates who had helped Wilfred ascend to Duke were nothing if not loyal.
Jade, the most loyal of them all, would probably pretend to die if Wilfred ordered it. Not the most flexible guy.
Faced with this troublesome servant, Wilfred paused and then laid out his desired conditions.
“I like ordinary women.”
“Ordinary, sir?”
Plenty of women, from imperial princesses to obscure courtesans, had proposed to Wilfred Cromford, who was always in the spotlight.
But since marriage would only be a formality, he didn’t want any extra headaches.
“Yes. The type who doesn’t stir things up. Someone so ordinary it’s like she’s barely there.”
If she were beautiful, jealous suitors would create drama. If she were cunning, she’d try to get her hands on the Cromford fortune.
If she were talented, the Cromford name might stifle her potential. If she were incompetent, she didn’t qualify as a duchess at all.
“As long as she meets the basics, I’ll be fine.”
“Understood.”
Since the marriage was just a requirement to keep the title, anyone who wouldn’t get in the way would do.
With his preferences stated, he sipped his now-cold tea.
Wilfred was fully aware that the emperor had supported his half-brother in the struggle for the title.
So surely, there would come a time to repay that arrogance.
Marriage, huh? Clenching his fist, he thought of his scandalous father.
No matter who he married, Wilfred vowed not to repeat his father’s mistakes. Once he chose a wife, there would be no wandering eye.
To uphold the sacred marriage vows and build a harmonious relationship, he would have to make a proper effort.
“Interesting.”
He placed the empty teacup down and looked quietly beyond the palace, toward the sky.
* * *
Lady Frisia de Blanc began to recall memories of her past life when she turned eighteen.
“Huh?”
“My lady! Are you alright?”
After stumbling and falling from a carriage, she lost consciousness.
And when she woke up, memories from her previous life overwhelmed her mind.
She had once worked at a small mobile game company.
Right before a launch, her team entered crunch mode to finish the project.
They worked fifteen hours a day, weekdays and weekends, too busy to breathe.
On the very day a week before the launch—too tired, she dozed off while walking and fell into a manhole. She died.
A foolish death in hindsight.
The next thing she knew, she was alive again… in a new world.
As her memories from this life buffered and came pouring back, she finally got her bearings and looked in the mirror.
Her name now was Frisia de Blanc, daughter of a fairly average count’s family in the empire.
The de Blancs had three daughters, and the house was set to be inherited by the eldest, Rose.
Rose de Blanc, who graduated top of her academy class, served in the knight corps, and now managed a military supply business.
Among the nobility, she was a well-known and promising woman.
“Come down already! We’re running late!”
Then there was the youngest, Lily.
Urged by her radiant sister, Frisia smiled fondly.
Lily de Blanc, who debuted in society at eighteen the year before, was one of the capital’s rare beauties.
In the original novel, she was described as the most beautiful character.
Unlike her dazzling sisters, Frisia—the middle child—was painfully average.
Not even mentioned in the original story, she had no clues to guide her. When she first looked at herself after regaining her memories, she felt genuinely disappointed.
If she was going to be reborn, couldn’t she at least have gotten one special talent?
At first, she had hoped her past-life skills might be useful—but they weren’t.
Her looks didn’t compare to Rose’s rose-like beauty or Lily’s elegant lily-like charm. Frisia simply faded into the background.
Even her intellect was average. She graduated the academy with average scores and average rank.
Now she lived at home, doing nothing but basic bridal training.
Her eldest sister had set strict standards for a future son-in-law, since she had to inherit the family. That was fine.
Meanwhile, Lily had received a flood of marriage proposals since debuting, while Frisia hadn’t gotten a single proper one.
No one would propose to someone as unpopular as her.
Lily, being so popular, couldn’t attend a ball alone—who knows what kind of creeps might show up?
So today, Frisia was going as Lily’s chaperone to a royal ball.
“You’re late, Frisia.”
“Matthew.”
Rose had already left as the family representative. Instead, their childhood friend Matthew had come to escort them.
“You didn’t need to escort me.”
“You think I’m worried about you? I’m doing this to keep creeps away from Lily.”
“Oh, Matthew!”
Touched, Lily threw her arms around Matthew.
Anyone watching would think they were real siblings, considering how close they were.
Since Matthew was practically family, he always escorted the sisters to social events.
“Are you two going to end up married someday?”
“Don’t say something so terrifying. Lily is like a real sister to me.”
“Of course! I feel so secure knowing you’re here, Matthew!”
Sure, sure. You two go ahead and be cute together.
The two matched each other perfectly and left Frisia awkwardly in the middle.
Even though he was a childhood friend, Matthew Napier was one of the most eligible bachelors in the capital.
But he never seemed interested in romance.
Still, if anything happened to Lily, he acted like it was a personal crisis—which made Frisia suspicious.
Oblivious to her wary gaze, the two chatted away about things only they knew.
“Why don’t you two just sit together?”
“I like being in front of you, Frisia.”
“I like being next to sister!”
Frisia sighed, annoyed at their fake sweetness, but Lily’s arm looped through hers so adorably that she let it slide.
There was no beating the two of them when they teamed up, so Frisia closed her eyes and let their chatter wash over her.
“By the way, I heard the Duke of Cromford will be at today’s ball.”
“The Duke of Cromford?”
Anyone who had read Leveling Up Through the Villain could never forget that name.
Wilfred Cromford.
The name instantly snapped Frisia to attention.
