TPCM 03

Chapter 3

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Reflecting on the fact that we had both been looking at each other with prejudice, I shook hands with Seek and we exchanged smiles.

“I want you to call me Louie. You’ll be the only one who gets to call me that!”

“Then, Louie. Please feel free to call me ‘My Lady.’”

“That’s not ‘feel free’ at all! You’re Maria Arnim, right? You introduced yourself like that during the greetings earlier.”

Ugh… I was hoping he’d forget since I’d been pretty rude, but of course, he remembered perfectly.

“That’s unexpected. I thought you were asleep during the introductions.”

“No! I mean—well, you were just… different from everyone else. Your gaze wasn’t friendly at all, like… something I’ve never gotten from a girl before. It stuck with me. And, um, you were cute, too…”

“What was that? Don’t mumble—speak clearly.”

Still holding his hand, I gave it a firm squeeze and lifted it slightly to peer at his downturned face. Louie suddenly turned bright red.
Could he actually be shy? That shameless attitude earlier might’ve just been a mask to hide his shyness. That would make sense. No sane person would publicly use a marquis’ daughter as a chair with a straight face. He must’ve been too embarrassed to back down and just doubled down instead.

“Um… Maria! I—”

“Marie. So this is where you were.”

Startled by the familiar voice, I turned my head. My brother was leaning against the wall, resting his shoulder there casually—like some kind of “Western-style wall slam.”
Oh no.

“Leon… Brother…”

Brother—!! It was Leon, my little sister’s beloved Leon!
This was exactly like one of those scenes my sister forced me to watch in her game—when she pinned me down in front of the screen, refusing to let me look away.
He had glittering, almost translucent golden hair and clear green eyes. Fair skin, gentle features, and a dazzling, noble presence. The kind of man who exuded both beauty and grace.
My sister used to rave about how he was the perfect prince. The game’s illustration made him look more mature and refreshingly handsome.
Not exactly my type, but…

However, there was a problem. Leon Rudburg was supposed to be a duke’s son, while my family was merely of marquis rank. What’s going on here?
Still, before thinking about that, I needed to deal with the immediate issue—my brother’s very obvious anger. Uh oh. He told me to stay visible at the party when I left earlier.

“Maria’s brother? But you’re from the Duke of Rudburg’s family, aren’t you…?”

“My sister hasn’t been feeling well since this morning, so our family’s been searching for her to take her home. Your parents are looking for you as well, you know. You should return.”

Brother forcibly pried Louie’s hand away from mine and practically dragged me off. I thought I heard Louie calling after me, but his voice was quickly drowned out by the noise of the party.
On the way out, my brother never once looked at me. In a voice completely different from his earlier gentle tone, he said coldly,

“Don’t make our parents worry any further.”

When we reached Mother and Father, I was publicly humiliated—hugged tightly in front of a crowd of guests while they fussed over how worried they’d been. A new black mark on my record.
After that, we immediately left the venue and rode the carriage back to the mansion.

“Now, you must be tired. Go to bed early tonight, all right? Do you want to sleep in Papa and Mama’s room?”

I didn’t say, “No, thank you,” but somehow managed to communicate that I’d rather sleep alone.
Accompanied by my maid and my personal knight, I returned to my room.

Wait—what? Having a personal maid makes sense, but even inside the house, I have a personal knight? Why not a butler? I’m basically a shut-in chick who just hatched! I sighed heavily once I was finally alone.

“Haaah…”

“It’s done.”

My maid—Helen, two years older than me—helped me out of my stiff, corseted dress, brushed my hair, and put me in my nightclothes.

She and her twin brother were orphans we had taken in after a fire destroyed part of our territory. Normally, no noble family would take in orphans every time a tragedy occurred, but during a visit with Father, I had pointed to the frightened twins under the rubble and said, “I want those.”
Father, indulgent as ever, immediately “gifted” them to me.
When I once tried to ask for a stray dog, though, he dragged me away on the spot—apparently, humans were acceptable, but animals weren’t.

Helen’s twin brother now stands guard outside my room as my knight. They’re identical twins, both with adorable, puppy-like faces.
Helen, with her small hands, diligently takes care of me every day. She has beautiful light-brown hair and eyes—when she smiles, I’m sure it’s like a flower blooming.
Honestly, I should slap my past self for never appreciating her—twice, even, for good measure.

“Thank you, Helen.”

Clatter!

Helen dropped the brush she was holding. Well, I can’t blame her. Until this morning, the baby chick who couldn’t even say her own name suddenly spoke fluently and thanked her.
It’s not that I refused to thank her before—it’s that I literally couldn’t speak properly.
Hearing someone suddenly start speaking in full sentences overnight would be terrifying, honestly.

“M-m-my deepest apologies!!”

Panicking, Helen scrambled to pick up the brush and immediately prostrated herself on the floor.

No! Please don’t! I’m the one who should be apologizing! What kind of monster lets a child bow to her like this? I’m no better than Louie!

“Helen! Please, raise your head! I’m the one who should apologize. I’ve never properly thanked you for all you’ve done for me.”

Helen froze, her face looking as if she’d just been struck by lightning.

“I consider you a friend, Helen. So please, don’t bow your head like that.”

“M-My Lady, you took in two orphans like us—you are our savior. My brother and I have sworn eternal loyalty to you for as long as we live. For me to be treated like this is unthinkable…”

Tears welled up in her eyes as she trembled.
Oh no. Now I look like some villainess who made a child cry. Even though, technically, I am the child here.

“Helen? I want to talk with you a lot tonight. Would you… sleep with me? In the same bed?”

“Th-that’s impossible! I could never sleep in my lady’s bed!”

Yeah, I figured as much. But rest assured—I do have ulterior motives.
In my previous life, I was the kind of pervert who swooned over gorilla-sized muscle men and adored cute, delicate women.