MDIHC 06

〈006〉

“I’ll try.”

What came out of his mouth was the most textbook, proper answer imaginable.

“For what?”

“I’ll try to like Miss Naeri.”

“Why?”

But that wasn’t an answer I could accept. At least, not for me.

“Isn’t love for someone a feeling that doesn’t just happen because you decide to feel it? I don’t think it’s something you can make happen through effort. Marrying someone you don’t even like will only lead to unhappiness for both of you.”

“Judging by my parents’ example, I’m well aware of that.”

Was he implying that the previous Earl of Winchester’s marriage had been unhappy? The current Lord Winchester replied calmly. Is that why he turned out like this…?

No, no! That’s not the point right now! This is about my marriage!

“Then why are you still saying you’ll marry me?”

As I asked that question, my heart skipped just a little.

When I realized that Lord Winchester’s piercing blue eyes were looking at me—without a hint of wavering—when I realized that unwavering gaze was directed solely at me, my heart fluttered.

Waiting for the answer of a man I barely knew, I realized… I was expecting something. Just a little.

“There’s a possibility.”

“A possibility?”

“I thought that maybe, I might come to love you.”

It wasn’t some dreamlike confession that he had fallen for me at first sight. Nor was it a fantastical declaration that he had always loved me.

Just… a vague statement. That it might happen someday.

“If it’s Miss Naeri.”

But it was a sincere one.

Maybe, just maybe, I could come to love you.

And that was why I couldn’t bring myself to refuse anymore.

* * *

“Oh my! Oh my! You sneaky little thing! You said it was nothing! Said it was just one night! Told me to forget about it! And now you’re marrying the Earl of Winchester?!”

Thanks to my sister smacking my arm over and over, it was starting to hurt.

“Stop hitting me.”

“Oh my~ Oh my~ You’re blushing, aren’t you?”

No, I’m not blushing. It hurts, okay?

“It’s fine! It’s fine! I know~ I know~ I’ve been through this before you, remember?”

Trying to dodge her hand, I twisted away slightly, but now she started bumping her whole body into mine instead.

“Anyway, hurry up and pick out your dress and dowry. That’s what we came here for.”

My mother, who had been looking through catalogs nearby, scolded my sister and handed her another catalog. For days, she’d looked worried, but the moment I told her I was marrying Lord Winchester, her face finally brightened. That, at least, was one good thing about this marriage.

“Oh, right! That is why we’re here.”

Sophia nodded and picked up a catalog. When I glanced at it, I saw a drawing of a pure white wedding dress. I peeked toward my mother—she was seriously flipping through a jewelry catalog.

‘Am I really getting married?’

Even as I looked at my wedding dress and my trousseau, it didn’t feel real at all.

‘Then I’m going to become Daniel’s stepmother, right?’

In the original novel, Daniel’s stepmother definitely wasn’t a simple baron’s daughter like me. Wasn’t she the daughter of a count? Or a marquess? I can’t quite remember, but she was flashy and extravagant.

And despite being an adult, she was jealous of little Daniel’s pretty platinum blond hair, claiming hers was “dirty blond.” She bullied him, and eventually even sold him off to that brute of a man.

‘Forget the original story—how can I ignore a kid that skinny right in front of me! And he’s only six now! He still has fourteen years before he turns twenty! On top of that, he’s going to suffer under that monster for years… His entire youth will be a thorny path for twenty years! How could I just stand by knowing that?!’

I was internally justifying my decision to accept Lord Winchester’s proposal. Honestly, more than Lord Winchester himself, the fact that Daniel would come with the marriage was the sweetest part for me. Like buying a magazine just for the bonus gift.

Because rather than a man who might come to love me someday, the affection I had for the child I already loved felt so much more certain.

‘Yeah. I’ll just take care of him and love him for, say, ten years. After that, I’ll divorce or run away, and Lord Winchester can find another wife. Maybe even that villainous stepmother from the original story. That way the story can go back on track. Then Daniel will only have to endure her for…’

“Have you spoken to Baron Gofort?”

My mother’s voice suddenly broke through my thoughts and halted my mental calculations.

“Oh! That.”

As my mother flipped the pages of a catalog and asked casually, my sister quickly looked up.

“He said five million padds is doable.”

“Really?”

Unlike her earlier offhand tone, my mother’s face brightened at my sister’s answer.

“That means we already have around three million padds on hand, so if we move a little money around, we could manage about ten million padds total.”

“Did Lord Winchester really ask for such a huge dowry? He’s already rich!”

“We haven’t discussed that yet.”

“If he didn’t ask for that much, wouldn’t five million padds be enough? That was the average when I got married.”

“This is the Winchester family. The dowry needs to match their level.”

“W-wait a second!”

As I listened quietly, I finally realized they were talking about my dowry. Come to think of it, dowries were a thing here, weren’t they? That’s why the stepmother tried to marry Daniel off to that brute!

Good grief! Ten million padds?! That’s ridiculous! The expensive strawberry cake I bought for my nephew’s birthday the other day didn’t even cost fifty thousand padds, and now my marriage dowry is ten million?! This wedding is going to bankrupt us!

“Isn’t that way too much? I need a wedding dress, jewelry, and all sorts of things—those all cost money, too. And on top of that, a ten million padd dowry?!”

“You need all that to get married. Now, how about this?”

My mother pushed a catalog toward me and pointed at a picture. It was a men’s wedding ring.

But what caught my eye more than the design was the price written below it.

“Fifteen hundred thousand padds?!”

“Oh! Look at this one too! Isn’t this wedding dress gorgeous?”

Not to be outdone, Sophia shoved another catalog in front of me. Again, the price was the first thing I noticed.

“Six hundred thousand padds?!”

“No.”

Phew… maybe I read it wrong. Yeah, six hundred thousand for a dress is a bit…

“That’s just for the dress. The full set with shoes and veil is seven hundred thousand padds. You have to buy those anyway, so might as well get the full set.”

“That’s way too expensive!”

“But if you buy the set, they’ll knock off fifty thousand padds…”

Sophia’s voice trailed off slightly at my protest.

“I’ll talk to Lord Winchester.”

“Talk to him about what?”

“Whether this wedding really needs to cost so much.”

“Don’t you dare. If you bring that up before the wedding, they might look down on our family. And if he looks down on the bride’s family before the marriage, imagine how he’ll treat his wife afterward! I won’t let that happen.”

My mother’s expression was firm. And seeing her like that brought tears to my eyes.

Honestly, I wanted to throw myself at her feet and confess right then and there. That I wasn’t really her daughter. That she didn’t need to go this far for someone like me.

“But still, we need to talk things over. At the very least, we should know what Lord Winchester’s preferences are, right?”

But without the courage to tell the truth, I kept my secret to myself.

“At the very least, I should have the freedom to choose the ring I’ll wear. And the dress I’ll stand beside him in.”

I said this as I pulled the catalogs from my sister and mother’s hands. The more beautiful things you saw, the greedier you became.

“So I’m going to go meet with Lord Winchester.”