Chapter 9
“Wait, what about him?”
Liriope raised one of her eyebrows.
“It’s true that right now, with Sir Gray absent, it’s hard to find a trustworthy guard.”
“Is the protection the Duke gives you more reliable?”
Gemma made a puzzled expression at that.
“The Duke?”
“I mean, is the protection His Highness the Duke provides reliable?”
“Wouldn’t it be far more reassuring than any guard my master assigns?”
Gemma shrugged as if it were obvious.
“You’re insulting my dad’s guards right now.”
Liriope narrowed her eyes at Gemma, and Gemma simply shrugged again, her expression calm and confident.
“If my master knew about this situation, he wouldn’t assign anyone other than Sir Gray, because no one else would be trustworthy.”
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Liriope’s father never let her leave the house without Gray.
Wherever she went, Gray followed her like a shadow, and since she was young, it was natural for her not to step out of the Duke’s estate without him.
Gray was the Empire’s most skilled swordsman and a guard willing to risk his life for the Duke’s daughter—a fact that made him completely reliable.
‘Come to think of it, when I ended up in Liriope’s tragic route, the Crown Prince deliberately sent Gray to the battlefield.’
Liriope felt a twinge of bitterness as she chewed her lip.
She recalled the scene from the original story where she ended up on the guillotine.
By the time Liriope’s misdeeds toward Rosearin went too far, Cardin had decided he could no longer just leave her alone and intended to punish her.
But even the Crown Prince couldn’t easily execute the Duke’s only daughter, who had one of the Empire’s strongest knights as her personal guard, other than himself.
The Duke could tie her up in some way, but there was no way to stop Gray, who would protect her with his life.
So Cardin used Ferran to eliminate Liriope.
He deliberately stirred up monsters in Ferran, drawing most of the Empire’s knights there, and placed Gray in charge.
‘Thinking back, Cardin was pretty cruel.’
He cleverly persuaded the Emperor and ministers to deal with the villainess who tormented the woman he loved, pinned crimes she didn’t commit on her, and even intentionally stirred the monsters on the battlefield to prevent Gray from interfering.
For a moment while reading the novel, the bumbling, frustrating Crown Prince only seemed cunning and intelligent when he drove Liriope to her death.
Of course, it was written in just a few lines.
‘But conveniently, Gray is at Ferran right now.’
Liriope recalled that Gray had already been at the battlefield when she was possessed.
Although they exchanged messages through their communication orbs, she had yet to meet him in person, so there was a certain distance between them.
Even in the original story, Gray only appeared briefly before Liriope’s death and then silently served the Duke, who was grieving the loss of his daughter.
Liriope suddenly felt she wanted to meet Gray in person.
‘Anyway…’
“What if the Duke doesn’t assign me a guard?”
Liriope raised one eyebrow at Gemma.
‘What nonsense, he’d just sever the communication orb and be done with it.’
Gemma shrugged at her and replied,
“His Highness the Duke will definitely assign a guard, so don’t worry about that.”
Then, noticing Liriope frowning at the unusual way she addressed Theo, she asked,
“Why do you call His Highness the Duke ‘Northern Duke’?”
“It’s a pet name, a pet name.”
Liriope gave a deadpan look, and Gemma covered her mouth with both hands, exclaiming dramatically, “Oh my!”
“A pet name? One you didn’t even give to the Crown Prince! Clearly, your heart has fully gone over to His Highness the Duke.”
‘No, that’s not it…’
It had nothing to do with that, but Liriope couldn’t very well list all the trivial reasons she came up with the nickname ‘Northern Duke’ to Gemma. She shook her head and sighed briefly.
Seeing Liriope, Gemma gave a reassuring shrug.
“Anyway, if you ask His Highness the Duke, he’ll surely send a reliable guard.”
“When have you even seen the Northern Duke to be so sure? He seems like the type who would refuse out of annoyance.”
“My judgment of people is always better than yours, Liri-nim.”
Hearing that, Liriope’s half-lidded eyes narrowed even further.
‘You’d have to read the original story to understand how shameless and cold the Northern Duke really is. Most noblewomen of the Empire, who have only seen Theo’s looks and not conversed with him, get taken in by his handsome face and dream of a charming gentleman.’
Liriope let out a short sigh at Gemma’s misconception.
Gemma shrugged again.
“Even if you cut off my head here, I won’t back down. Without Sir Gray, if you go out, my head will fly to my master anyway.”
Since there was no way to persuade her father, Liriope realized she had no choice but to rely on Theo if she wanted to go out.
Liriope’s lips pouted at Gemma’s stubbornness.
There seemed no way to break her determination.
She resigned herself to the fact that she’d have to contact Theo.
“Why would I cut off your head? Just give me the communication orb.”
Clicking her tongue, Liriope said this to Gemma and turned to sit on the sofa.
In this world, there was an object called a communication orb, as round and white as a soccer ball.
It worked like a cell phone in her original world, allowing video calls.
One didn’t even have to hold it; it floated in the air, making communication extremely convenient.
The image was so clear that you could see shadows under the other person’s eyes as if they were right in front of you.
When reading the novel, she had taken it for granted, but now that she was in this world and actually using one, it seemed incredibly useful.
‘With such a convenient device, why do the Crown Prince and the Northern Duke always just show up unannounced? Although the Northern Duke does give notice.’
Liriope worried that Theo might be busy with work.
She thought he might not answer if he was, but he picked up faster than she expected.
Slightly surprised, she found herself staring at his stunningly handsome appearance through the round orb, losing herself for a moment.
‘No matter how many times I see him, he’s unreal.’
His black hair contrasted sharply with his pale skin, the latter a result of growing up in a cold region, yet he had a masculine aura.
His eyes, neither too big nor small, were sharp, matching his cold and severe personality perfectly.
A sleek nose and chiseled jawline made her want to reach out and touch him.
Truly, the male lead had been buffed properly.
Even seeing this on a communication orb screen was enough to make her fall for him.
[What is it?]
Of course, his personality was utterly unpleasant.
“Are you busy right now?”
[If I were busy, I wouldn’t have answered.]
He could have just said he wasn’t busy, but no, he had to phrase it snarkily. Truly annoying.
“I… need a favor.”
[From you, to me?]
Theo raised his perfectly groomed eyebrow, looking surprised.
“Yes.”
[Interesting. What is it?]
“Well… I want to go out to the city. My personal guard is currently in Ferran.”
Theo nodded once at her words.
[Ah, I see. Because of the giant monster appearing in Ferran, His Majesty the Emperor sent Sir Gray himself.]
“Yes, so now I’m in a bit of a bind without a guard.”
Theo’s eyebrow rose in response.
Even through the orb, she found his appearance breathtaking, reminding her that yes, the male lead is indeed the male lead.
[The Duke of Staila didn’t dismiss all of his guards, leaving only Sir Gray.]
“My father doesn’t let me go out without Sir Gray.”
[Ah.]
Theo nodded as if he understood.
[So, you want me to send a guard?]
“Yes. Gemma… my maid, said that if the guard comes from His Highness the Duke, it would be trustworthy.”
[Ha ha.]
Theo laughed softly.
At that, Liriope’s heart, which had been thumping at his appearance, skipped wildly.
She had seen him smirk before, but this relaxed, lazy smile was something else entirely.
‘Even his smile is maddeningly beautiful.’
Feeling her heart pound painfully, Liriope let out a long breath, thinking it was lucky they were only facing each other through the orb, not in person.
Then, suddenly—
[Ten minutes.]
He said just this, and the orb disconnected.
‘…Huh??’
