Chapter 5
My dear, come quickly. This is Duke Vallon.”
From early in the morning, the maids had swarmed in, dressing Lucy in a beautiful gown and adorning her with excessive decorations. Before long, the baron summoned her to the drawing room.
So all that fuss at the crack of dawn was because of this old man?
Apparently, he hadn’t thought she would obey him willingly—he hadn’t given her so much as a word of warning in advance.
Dragged to the drawing room without knowing why, she found a pot-bellied old man eyeing her up and down with a lecherous gaze.
Wearing the warmest tone and kindest smile she’d seen from him since she possessed Lucy’s body, the baron introduced her to the duke.
“This girl is quite shy, so she’s not very expressive. But when I told her she would be meeting you yesterday, she was so excited she couldn’t sleep a wink! Ha-ha-ha!”
Startled by her blank expression, the baron gave her a small push on the back while spouting nonsense.
“You’re even more dazzling in person than in your portrait. I had already heard much about you, my lady…”
No doubt those weren’t good rumors.
“My lady, I look forward to the day when I can take you as my wife.”
The duke’s greasy face came closer, and he lifted her hand, pressing a sticky kiss to the back of it.
What is this old man saying? Wife?!
Lucy froze at the thunderbolt of a statement.
“F-father… what is this…?”
“A proposal? What do you mean…?”
She turned toward Baron Diallo, her voice trembling.
“My dear, this isn’t a dream. The duke has sent you a formal proposal!”
But before she could finish speaking, the baron cut her off.
“Our Lucy must be so happy she can’t get her words out properly. Ha-ha-ha!”
Lucy was left speechless by the absurdity.
The Duke of Vallon expressed his wish to attend the upcoming imperial hunting tournament with her.
After the duke left, Lucy exploded at the baron.
“I won’t agree to this! It’s my life—you have no right to decide for me!”
“What? Y-you… You’ve lost your mind! I thought you’d been docile lately!”
The baron’s furious roar struck her like a blow, and before she could react, she was shoved to the floor.
The baron generally avoided hitting Lucy’s face or any visible part of her body. Even now, he skillfully avoided such areas while beating her mercilessly.
Still, in trying to block his kicks, she must have twisted something—by the time she returned to her room, two fingers on her right hand were badly swollen.
Anna wrapped them in bandages, tears streaming down her face.
“Why did you do that…? You could’ve just gone to that hunting tournament. Why get yourself beaten for nothing? You should’ve just apologized and promised not to do it again… Even before, you would at least cling to his trouser leg and beg.”
She clutched Lucy’s hand and sobbed bitterly.
“From now on, never say ‘no’ or ‘I can’t’ in front of the baron. If you stubbornly take a beating like this again and end up with a broken leg like last time—if you get a permanent injury—he might sell you off somewhere awful instead of to the duke… Sob…”
At her words, a shard of Lucy’s memories surfaced.
‘I fed you and raised you, and you dare fall for the illegitimate son of some count!’
When the baron found out Lucy had been secretly meeting Edwin, he threatened to kill Edwin.
‘I’m sorry, Father! I’ll never meet him again. He hasn’t done anything wrong… Sob…’
She had knelt before him in tears, begging over and over as he beat her.
Most of Lucy’s memories were like this—dreary and full of sorrow.
Lucy frowned in distaste, then looked down at Anna, who was crying over her hand.
“Anna, I’m fine. I thought I’d learned to take a beating by now, but I guess it’s been too long—I let my guard down and my hand slipped.”
She’d meant it as a joke, but Anna only cried harder.
“Anna, should we run away?”
It was something Lucy had been thinking all day, and now she said it aloud.
It was impossible, of course, but the thought wouldn’t leave her.
Regardless of her feelings, preparations for the hunting tournament proceeded smoothly.
The baron assigned her two maids, who attended to her day and night—giving her skincare treatments, massages, and baths in warm, flower-scented water. It was the first time she’d experienced such luxury in this world.
“My lady is so lucky. Even if it’s just as a concubine, with Duke Vallon…”
Of course, the maids’ mocking gazes were another matter entirely.
So it really is as a concubine. Figures.
Two days after the duke’s visit, Lucy went to town to be fitted for a dress for the tournament. She was accompanied by Jessica, Jessica’s personal maid, and a rough-looking guard.
But when they reached a large dress shop, they had to wait outside for quite some time.
They had a reservation, but high-ranking nobles had bumped them down the list, and those inside showed no sign of leaving.
The shop clerk merely apologized, explaining that it was cramped inside, and asked them to wait outside.
Such was the misery of a low-ranking noble.
Baron Diallo, having originally been a merchant, was nothing more than a wealthy commoner who had purchased his title.
“How dare they treat our family like this? I’ve had enough. It’s been nearly two hours!”
Finally, Jessica stormed into the shop, furious.
A short while later, she emerged, looking triumphant, and beckoned Lucy and the maid inside.
“My lady, you should’ve said you were Duke Vallon’s fiancée from the start. It’s an honor to have you grace our shop!”
A woman who appeared to be the owner greeted Lucy with a sweet smile and led them to a sofa.
Fiancée? What on earth did Jessica say…? Do concubines get called fiancées now?
As she sat down with a smirk at the absurdity, two women who had been selecting dresses before them glared sharply in their direction.
“Duke Vallon? Is he getting married again? Didn’t he take a new wife just two years ago?”
“Oh my! That’s Lucy Diallo. Isn’t she the one whose groom ran away on their wedding day, causing a huge scandal? She looks so innocent, though.”
“Can’t you tell? That fake demure act is exactly what makes her a fox. She goes to parties and strings men along everywhere—what sane man would want to marry her?”
Their whispers reached Lucy’s ears clearly, but she simply let the words slide in one ear and out the other—she’d heard worse countless times.
“Lucy, you should be grateful to Father. Without his efforts, would you ever have had a chance to enter a duke’s household? Even there, you must never abandon us, understand?”
At Jessica’s brazen remark, Lucy let out a small laugh.
“Really? Then why don’t you go in my place—as the duke’s concubine?”
She looked Jessica straight in the eye, her tone flat. Jessica flinched, then scowled, her face twisting into an ugly sneer.
Her eyes, already slightly upturned and sharp, looked even more spiteful when she frowned.
“You think you’re any different from me? After you’re gone, I’ll be next. At least I’ll go to a rich high-ranking noble’s house. You’re so extravagant—what family would take you?”
Lucy sighed heavily, as though deeply concerned.
“Then why don’t you seduce this Duke Vallon—or Duke Whatever—yourself? If you’re lucky, after he dies, you might inherit a fat fortune and live in comfort for the rest of your life.”
Jessica and her maid gaped at the unexpected counterattack.
“Y-you…! Just because the duke seems to like you, you’ve completely lost your manners!”
Jessica trembled with rage, raising and lowering her hand as if barely resisting the urge to slap her.
Whether she managed to run away or ended up marrying the duke, Lucy had nothing to lose now. She feared nothing.
“If you’re done watching, could you take my measurements now?”
The shop owner, who had been watching the drama with great interest, snapped back to attention at Lucy’s words and hurried to start measuring her.
