Chapter 4
Now that my healthy appearance had been revealed, the choice was finally mine to make.
Because of that, my mother’s eyes sparkled with anticipation.
But telling me to choose from people whose faces I hadn’t even seen properly? That was absurd.
At first, the young men in the banquet hall seemed to be dragged there by their parents. Yet, every time I moved closer, they would mysteriously vanish from sight.
Cowards, the lot of them. Tsk.
Of course, if one of them had met my modest “ideal type” standards, I might have approached first…
But now, I couldn’t even remember what any of those young nobles looked like.
Because the moment I saw Jeff, every previous thought vanished into thin air.
“I didn’t see anyone I liked.”
At my blunt answer, my mother’s expression darkened, while my father’s wary look melted into a broad, beaming smile.
“That’s my daughter. You should have high standards.”
My mother scolded him, saying this was no time to be so relaxed, and the two of them immediately launched into an emergency strategy meeting.
“I hear there’s going to be a royal banquet soon. How about we attend?”
“And who exactly will be there?”
I cut into the finest imperial steak and watched my parents bicker like a pair of lovebirds.
My father’s expression was solemn, as though he were ready to drag every eligible bachelor in the empire to stand before me.
“There will be noble sons from the capital, princes… Oh, right—apparently, the Fifth Prince was just born. They say he’s very handsome.”
All babies are cute and handsome, you know!
My mother, looking just as baffled, continued cutting her steak.
“Do you seriously think a man ten years younger makes sense?”
“Then perhaps the Second or Third Prince. They’d be closer to Frill’s age.”
Mother, still looking grave, added another outrageous line to this already absurd conversation.
“If it’s one of them, being born of the Empress, they wouldn’t get caught up in any succession disputes. That might be worth considering.”
The princes weren’t even thinking about me, so why were we getting ahead of ourselves like this?
Of course, those little princes would surely fall for me at first sight… but still.
“In the end, Frill’s opinion is the most important. What kind of person do you like, dear?”
Both of their gazes landed squarely on me.
To put it simply, I liked a gentle, devoted man, one who could be sly yet yield in the daytime and take charge at night.
Recently, I had added one more requirement.
…A beautiful man.
I swallowed the words that rose to my throat.
If I said that out loud, my poor father would scour the empire day and night to find one, and my mother would shed tears watching him.
So instead, I smiled sweetly at my father—who would gladly slay a dragon for me even if he couldn’t pluck down a star—and replied,
“Someone like you, Father!”
Of course, my max-level social skills, honed through years of working life, worked flawlessly on a doting dad like him.
Father’s face melted into a soft, beaming grin as he swept me up in his arms.
Mother, on the other hand, looked at the two of us with a worried expression.
Lately, my parents had been busier than ever.
When I discovered an intercontinental travel pass in their room, I nearly fainted in shock.
Are they really planning to search other empires for my marriage candidate now?
Thankfully, my parents weren’t that irrational—it was for trade business.
It was thanks to the fabrics my mother had shown me recently. Everything I had picked out had turned into a huge hit.
Of course, that was the result of combining my fashion sense from my previous life with the “possession buff” of this life—but my mother had no way of knowing that. She just kept praising my “good instincts” until her lips went dry.
Now, even as the head of the Yustice Merchant Guild, she seemed to trust the eye of a ten-year-old.
I could tell by the way she always asked my opinion whenever new goods came in.
This time, my parents regretfully told me they would have to leave me behind—but I saw it as a good sign.
It meant the Yustice Guild had more business than ever.
Of course, if I could go along, I could be a great help… but my parents insisted the schedule was far too exhausting for someone my age.
I had no choice but to accept their decision.
After sending them off with a long, affectionate kiss on each cheek, I headed straight for my hideout.
As always, my so-called “secret work” was in progress there.
My sketchbook was once again filled with multiple drawings of Jeff in various suits and poses.
As I stared at them, a thought crossed my mind.
Where in the world was my muse?
Whenever my parents were away, I often wandered near the address Jeff had given.
It was close to my atelier, so it wasn’t difficult.
The southern Yustice territory wasn’t exactly tiny, but it wasn’t sprawling either—meaning a chance encounter was perfectly possible.
But chance encounters were for movies and dramas. In my life, luck like that didn’t exist.
So, not long ago, I went straight to his house.
It hurt my pride a little, but it was worth it.
After all, think of what I might gain in return.
However…
The moment I stepped through the open door, I was met by a cold, lifeless air.
It felt eerie enough to film a horror movie in.
There was no sign of Jeff—no sign of anyone. It was like an abandoned house.
Apparently, the address listed in the employment booklet was wrong.
I still carried the banknote Jeff had given me every day, just in case… but now, a heavy sense of gloom settled over me at the thought I might never see him again.
For some reason, even the sound of the waves outside felt unusually melancholy today.
When I stepped out, I found Cayman looking at me with a worried expression.
Ever since I had gone to Jeff’s house, Cayman had been appearing more often—forgetting the most basic rule of bodyguards.
A guard’s job was to protect the master when danger arose, and otherwise remain unseen unless called.
In other words, his specialty was “shadow play,” following without being noticed.
Long story short, this extraordinary man was wasting manpower here again today.
Well… at least he looked cheerful about it.
When I climbed into the carriage, the steady clatter of hooves carried us toward home, as always.
I noticed several moving shadows outside the window—apparently, my father had assigned more knights to join the “shadow play” team while he was away.
It was only for a month, but… it felt nice.
No, honestly—it felt wonderful.
Because for someone like me, who had never had a real family, this kind of warmth was something I had always dreamed of.
In my previous life, I only ever looked forward.
I had fought desperately to escape the shadow of parents who left me nothing but abuse and poverty.
Love was a luxury I couldn’t afford, and I never made friends.
As a workaholic, I hadn’t even had the time to feel lonely.
Fashion design was my only breath of fresh air.
And now, I could finally recognize it—
That back then… I had been very, very lonely.
Lost in thought, I watched people scurry past like ants through the carriage window.
Just as we turned into an alley, a familiar voice brushed my ears.
“Let me go!”
Wait a second… no way.
“Stop the carriage!”
I jumped down and hurried toward the source of the sound.
It led me into a fairly deep, shaded area.
But I wasn’t afraid—Cayman would be following close behind.
The moment I turned the corner at the end of the alley, I found the source.
The smiling, polite faces of noble youths at banquets often hid something ugly.
Among children, it was the law of the jungle.
If you caught the attention of a group, you became prey. And prey was nothing more than a toy.
I had never been deeply involved in high society, but I’d heard plenty of stories.
You didn’t need to experience it yourself to understand.
Someone’s the victim today too, huh.
And that someone… was indeed a boy I knew.
Jeff…!
When I saw him, my feelings tangled together.
Why you, of all people? But also—thank goodness I found you.
What would’ve happened if I hadn’t? And more importantly…
Ganging up on a single boy, really?
The faces that turned toward me were exactly the ones I’d expected—familiar brats whose families my mother had brought up when talking about potential engagements, complete with painted portraits.
Of course they knew who I was.
I never thought I’d see the same boys who avoided showing their faces at parties lurking here in the shadows.
I was lucky to have good parents, but most nobles were raised to believe they stood above the law.
Their rotten education taught them to win at all costs, by any means.
That kind of upbringing only created monsters. And the ones before me were still in the “cub” stage.
Even among nobles, not all were the same.
The group froze when they spotted me, their superior predator.
The boys who had been bowing their heads in submission glanced up at me.
“Lady… Brenthio?”
