Chapter : 05
After Noah Wynknight handed over a bouquet of flowers and casually said that he would visit another time because the young lady seemed to be feeling unwell, a huge commotion erupted throughout the McMillan household.
Noah Wynknight.
That Wynknight.
The very Noah Wynknight who had never even blinked at the countless advances from Vivian Shamal, who was called the jewel of the kingdom.
The man who was so pure that rumors had once even spread that he was impotent had personally come to the McMillan household holding flowers.
And he had even said that he wanted to meet her as soon as possible!
All the servants were desperate to hear what had happened.
However, the main person involved, Raeliana, had vanished without a trace, and the maids had formed teams to track down where she had gone.
Meanwhile, Raeliana, who had successfully shaken them off, was hiding in the back room attached to the kitchen, eating spoonful after spoonful of sorbet.
“Just as I thought, ice cream is the best cure for a hangover.”
“You can’t even handle alcohol well, so why did you drink so much?”
Elma, the family’s cook, sat across from her with her chin resting on her hand.
“Should I say that I lost my tolerance because I hadn’t had any in a long time?”
Raeliana rolled her eyes around as she made an excuse. She couldn’t exactly say, ‘It wasn’t my own body, so I couldn’t control it properly.’
She had become close with Elma while desperately going in and out of the kitchen in an attempt to escape the McMillan family’s mostly vegetarian meals.
Elma loved the new recipes Raeliana taught her, and Raeliana loved Elma’s almost perfect ability to recreate Korean cuisine.
Raeliana smiled brightly and scooped another generous amount of sorbet into her glass cup before eating it happily. The chilled fresh fruit toppings melted softly in her mouth, adding even more sweetness.
Elma watched the young lady eat her food with an expression as if she had entered heaven and looked satisfied before carefully asking:
“So… why did that Duke come here? What kind of relationship do you two have?”
“Hmm, are you really that curious?”
“Of course! I’m sure everyone in the kingdom is curious!”
Raeliana tilted her head while chewing on a strawberry. She didn’t want to lie to Elma, but she couldn’t exactly tell the truth either…
After fiddling with her spoon for a moment, Raeliana decided on a compromise and chose to leave out some details.
“We are… well, I can’t explain everything in detail, but… we’re just beginning.”
‘A contract.’
Elma shouted with a surprised, excited expression.
“My goodness! How did you two even meet?”
“Hmm, it was very… fateful. As you know, normally, we wouldn’t have had any reason to cross paths.”
‘Because I’m a side character who possessed this body, and he’s the male protagonist of the novel.’
“That’s true.”
Elma nodded.
Raeliana glanced sideways and gently traced the rim of the glass cup filled with sorbet.
“But by coincidence, we met behind the ballroom after the party. While talking, we realized there were things we agreed on. We found things we had in common.”
“Things in common?”
“It’s about the Duke, so I can’t tell you the details, but… I suppose I’m filling in what he lacks?”
“Then does that mean the two of you are now…?”
“We’ve confirmed each other’s feelings, so if things go well, I think we’ll become partners.”
‘Business partners, that is.’
The completely business-like contractual relationship in Raeliana’s mind had transformed into a sweet romance novel inside Elma’s imagination, but Raeliana pretended not to notice.
Regardless of the process, wasn’t the result what mattered? Elma would probably be happy being able to dream of something like that.
Raeliana scooped up another large spoonful of sorbet and fell into thought.
When she had felt sick in front of the Duke and nearly thrown up, she had briefly thought that she wanted to die, but fortunately, she had managed to buy herself some more time.
The only contract she had ever made before this was checking the box agreeing to personal information usage terms when signing up for websites online, so she needed to approach this carefully.
‘First, I need to learn how to write a contract.’
After thanking Elma for making the sorbet, Raeliana hurried to the bookstore.
When she explained her situation, the bookstore owner handed her a book with an indifferent expression.
“How Even a Monkey Can Write a Contract Without Getting Taken Advantage Of.”
Indeed, the book was a treasure trove of knowledge.
Raeliana locked herself in her room and began devouring the book.
And that night, the McMillan couple knocked on Raeliana’s door.
She had been reading “How Even a Monkey Can Write a Contract Without Getting Taken Advantage Of”, but hurriedly shoved the book under her pillow before opening the door.
The couple sat down on the sofa with serious expressions, and Raeliana quietly took the seat across from them.
They must have heard about it.
At least that Noah had come to the mansion holding a bouquet of flowers.
“We need to talk.”
Jondain spoke first.
Raeliana answered with the feeling of someone standing before a judge.
“Please, go ahead.”
“We heard what happened. The Duke came here. Was he really here to see you?”
Raeliana hesitated slightly before answering.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Her mother Katie’s expression changed slightly. Raeliana couldn’t tell whether it was simply surprise or if there was another meaning behind it.
“Can you tell us what happened?”
Jondain carefully approached the main point.
What should she say?
The Duke had helped her set things up yesterday, and since he had brought flowers today as well, it could be considered that they had made a verbal agreement. But whether the contract would actually be established was still uncertain.
“We… no, I…”
As she tried to continue, a maid carrying tea knocked on the door and interrupted her.
The lady of the house gestured for her to place the tea on the coffee table.
Raeliana watched the steam rising from the teacup in front of her before speaking again.
“I want to break off my engagement with Sir Brooks.”
Jondain was silent for a moment before speaking.
“My child. Didn’t you like Sir Brooks?”
“Before marriage, feelings can sometimes become uncertain.”
Katie interrupted.
“Wanting to experience a different life, worrying that you might regret your choice… those feelings can sometimes seem like warnings you cannot ignore, even though they disappear like a mirage moments later.”
Jondain silently nodded at her words.
“I didn’t like Sir Brooks. I only accepted him because it was what was expected for the sake of the McMillan family.”
Raeliana trembled her eyelashes slightly, making herself look like a pitiful daughter who had sacrificed herself for her family’s prosperity.
“But now… I want to experience love.”
At Raeliana’s trembling voice, the McMillan couple remained silent with sorrowful expressions.
Raeliana carefully observed them.
She saw the heartbreaking expressions of parents who truly loved their daughter.
“After meeting the Duke, I realized that the person I had been until now was not the person I truly wanted to be.”
Raeliana’s beautiful and pure appearance gave her words enough credibility to appear tragic and pitiful.
She used this natural advantage to completely sway the couple’s emotions.
She talked about how the former version of herself was not who she wanted to be, how she needed to discover the reason for her existence, how searching for that reason might strengthen her sense of self…
And many other things that even she herself didn’t fully understand.
The couple listened while nodding as if they understood every word.
And when her long stream of nonsense finally ended, a deep sigh could be heard.
Of course, there was no way the result would suddenly be something hopeful like:
“I see. Do as you wish.”
Raeliana prepared to think of another excuse and slowly moved forward.
Then Jondain spoke.
“I see. Do as you wish.”
“Yes, but I won’t give up that easily, I’ll—… What?”
(Continued in Part 2)
