Chapter 3
Not like that—who goes in for a straight, unexpected hit like that!
At Arken’s completely unanticipated words, Karin’s face flushed bright red in an instant.
Of course, it wasn’t a lie that she liked Arken, and her praise of him had also been a somewhat intentional act.
But that didn’t mean she had intended to confess.
She had only wanted to show him a bit of affection and maybe get closer to him a little. After all, a life partner doesn’t just fall into one’s lap for free.
‘But now this makes it look like I actually confessed!’
She could already imagine how she must look. Her face flushed red, unable to speak properly, stammering awkwardly.
She would look exactly like a young lady in love.
Even if she tried to calm her pounding heart, it felt as if someone had set fire to it; the racing beat wouldn’t go away easily.
Arken raised his eyebrows as if he found her ridiculous. Before he misunderstood any further, she needed to say something.
“No, it’s not like that⋯”
“At first you lied, and now you’re mocking me.”
His blue eyes turned even colder than before.
At that look, her vision went dark. Perhaps because of everything Karin had done so far.
He did not take her at face value.
If things went wrong, she wouldn’t just fail to fix her terrible first impression—she would be branded as thoroughly unlikable. She needed to explain urgently.
Karin jumped to her feet, waving her hands to signal that it wasn’t like that. She opened her mouth to explain—but then closed it again.
Because unless she told him she had been possessed, there was no way to make him understand.
‘No, I don’t like you!’ wouldn’t work either, since her face was already red as a beet, making it seem like she was admitting she had been playing with him.
And saying ‘Yes! I like you!’ honestly wasn’t an option either, because the original Karin had already confessed to Duke Lucas before, and he likely wouldn’t believe it anyway.
In short, she was completely stuck.
As the word “ruined” circled in her mind, a sudden thought crossed her head.
‘If it’s already like this, should I just go all in?’
At this point, being honest might actually be the best solution.
She might look indecisive, but at least she could avoid being misunderstood as someone playing games with him.
Karin closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. Yes—at this point, she would go straight forward.
“Actually, it’s not a joke. I mean it. I like you.”
A heavy silence swept through the air.
Karin stared at his calm expression, momentarily speechless, then felt her head go numb as she heard his reply.
“Even if that is sincere, I have no interest in you, Lady. If your feelings change every few days, I would prefer to refuse.”
A smooth, flowing sentence. Cold and utterly composed.
It was a clear rejection without a hint of hesitation.
At that, she felt a sinking realization.
‘I just ruined everything⋯’
She shouldn’t have done this. Her big confession had only been met with cold rejection.
Her mind went blank as she stared into space. Even then, Arken showed no reaction. No fluster, no apology—just his usual expressionless face.
Then, in a purely formal tone, he asked:
“Do you have any other business?”
What more could she even say now? Karin closed her mouth.
“Then I will take my leave.”
That was his final words. Arken left without even looking back.
Karin stared at his disappearing figure until he was gone.
Even after it ended, her face burned so hot she wanted to pour cold water over her head.
Covering her flushed cheeks with her hair, she fled from the estate.
Her long-awaited first meeting with Arken ended like that.
***
“K-Karin lady⋯”
“I said I want to be alone.”
“Y-Yes ma’am⋯”
The maid girl tremblingly closed the door and left. Karin, meanwhile, kicked the blanket in frustration.
Her reflection in the mirror showed a woman in despair.
A woman with thick curly red hair, her face twisted in misery. Her features were delicate and perfectly balanced.
Normally she might have admired her appearance. But now was not the time for that.
Arken’s words kept echoing in her mind.
Just thinking about it made her feel like smoke was coming out of her head, but she couldn’t stop replaying it.
She recalled it again. It had happened just last night.
“I have no interest in you.”
“If your feelings change every few days, I would prefer to refuse.”
“…How cruel.”
Karin threw the pillow at the wall in frustration.
Who was this for, anyway? Wasn’t it Arken himself who said he would only reveal secrets if she was his life partner?
And yet, to him, she was nothing more than “a foolish woman chasing the duke.”
Worse, “a woman playing with feelings with a fake confession,” and now even “an indecisive woman.”
It was frustrating—but somehow understandable too.
‘The timing of the possession was right after my confession⋯’
By confession, she meant the event at the social gathering before she was possessed by So-hyun.
Karin had confessed to the duke—and been rejected cleanly.
She should have quietly backed off, but the original Karin had instead chased after him constantly.
She followed him everywhere, spilled wine on her dress to get attention, and even tried to force a kiss when ignored.
In the end, she made the duke leave in disgust. Worse, she even followed his carriage and pretended to faint.
It was exactly the kind of obsessive behavior that screamed “madly in love.”
Since Arken knew everything the duke had been doing, there was no way he didn’t know about it.
So of course he believed she liked the duke.
Karin knew that too. That’s why she thought any confession would only come much later.
But everything had gone wrong.
When Arken suddenly asked if she liked him, her mind had gone blank—and everything fell apart from there.
‘Other people get easy mode possession stories, so why is mine hard mode?’
She thought of all the romance fantasy protagonists who lived glamorous lives after possession, and sighed deeply.
Just then—
“U-um, Lady Karin⋯”
“What now?”
The maid girl entered again, and Karin groaned. She wanted to be alone.
But the girl looked terrified, on the verge of tears.
Karin forced a smile to reassure her.
“It’s okay, just tell me.”
“Well⋯ in a few hours there’s a ball, but you haven’t prepared a dress yet⋯ so I was wondering what you would wear⋯”
A ball? Today?
Right, I didn’t even know.
Feeling a bit guilty, Karin realized how poorly she had treated the servants before.
She decided to be kinder going forward.
“What’s your name again?”
“E-eh?”
“Your name.”
“M-Mari…”
The maid flinched as if she might be hit.
“Nice name, Mari.”
“Eek!”
Trying to lighten the mood, Karin smiled—but Mari looked even more terrified.
“P-please forgive me! I’ll bring the punishment stick right away!”
“What?! Stop, stop!”
A punishment stick?!
Karin’s face went pale.
This fragile girl?!
She grabbed Mari’s wrist. It was thin like a twig.
“Why are you so thin? Don’t they feed you properly?”
“Eh?”
“Go ask the kitchen for food and say I told you to. Eat whatever you want.”
“⋯”
“And for clothes, just prepare something simple yourself.”
Mari stared at her, dumbfounded.
She couldn’t understand what she had just heard.
Karin, who usually obsessed over dresses and jewelry for every ball, was now saying to prepare something “simple”?
Impossible.
And she had told her not to bring a punishment stick?
This was the same woman who used to scream at her for the smallest mistake.
Mari’s thoughts spun wildly.
Then, suddenly—
Maybe… is it because of that?
Her face brightened.
“Yes! I’ll prepare the dress from last month!”
“Good, that works.”
“I’ll bring it right away!”
Mari ran off happily.
Karin watched her leave, satisfied.
She must have been starving—that must be why she looked so happy at the mention of food.
Feeling oddly pleased, Karin stood up.
She couldn’t sit still—she had a good plan forming in her head.
“Today’s the ball, huh.”
She had something to say to Duke Lucas anyway.
She planned to announce publicly that she no longer had feelings for him.
Even though her first meeting with Arken had been a disaster, her resolve hadn’t changed.
She couldn’t just stand by and let her favorite character die.
And she did care deeply for Arken.
Besides, it was too early to give up just because he disliked her.
Wasn’t it common in romance fantasy novels for enemies-to-lovers stories to happen?
So why couldn’t something similar happen to her?
“Well, if I keep knocking, eventually he’ll open up. With this face and wealth, I can’t even seduce one man?”
Her confidence swelled without basis.
Arken’s cold words faded from her mind.
Imagining his sharp face, Karin smiled darkly.
Completely unaware of what lay ahead of her.
