ITCYLITCOTRGC CH 02

Shasha thought the reason I never changed was because I had never taken a serious interest in a man.

Because of that, it was always my older brother’s job to drag my carefree self into social gatherings.

“There’s an Imperial Ball next week.”

“Ugh.”

“It’s Father’s order. He said that if you don’t go, he’ll send you to a convent immediately.”

“He absolutely won’t be able to do that.”

I was already too old for my soft-hearted father’s threats to work on me.

However, my older brother’s next threat was considerably more realistic.

“Really? Then what do you think Mother will do?”

“Mom?”

“She said she’ll cut off your allowance if you don’t attend the Imperial Ball.”

“What? How could she do that?!”

I immediately became irritated.

“You’d be in trouble without your allowance, wouldn’t you? How would you buy books? How would you spend your days eating, playing, and doing nothing? So listen to me. Go to the ball obediently.”

His lecture seemed endless.

Shasha continued talking.

“I’m not telling you to find a husband immediately. I’m just saying you need to show a more proactive attitude.”

As he said that, he casually slipped another little threat into the conversation.

“If all else fails, you could always marry into a merchant family.”

“What? No way! The merchant family’s son would be…… Andre?”

My mouth fell open.

What kind of solution was that?

Seeing my expression, Shasha gave me a rather nasty smile.

“Andre will inherit the trading company, and his family has a close relationship with ours. Besides, he already knows about all your strange quirks. In a way, wouldn’t he be the most ideal partner for you?”

“Forget it. What a horrible thing to say.”

I shuddered involuntarily.

Andre’s face suddenly came to mind.

His indifferent expression, his black hair grown long and tied back like a ponytail.

No matter what I did, Andre probably wouldn’t even bat an eye. He was the type of person who would simply say something like,

‘Young Lady, you’re quite unique as always.’

“Friends don’t get married!”

We had been friends for more than ten years.

Shasha seemed incredibly heartless for casually suggesting something so ridiculous.

“Fine, I agree with you. So at least pretend to look for someone suitable. They’re already planning to approach the merchant family about it.”

That day, every single one of Shasha’s lectures ultimately led to the same conclusion.

I was supposed to attend the Imperial Ball and find someone suitable for marriage.

I reluctantly nodded.

Perhaps my obedient appearance made Shasha feel uncomfortable, because he suddenly started complimenting me for no reason.

“Don’t worry. As long as you keep your mouth shut and refrain from doing those strange things, you’re actually quite decent for my little sister. What you need is effort. Effort.”

“If I’m decent, then I’m decent. What does ‘quite’ have to do with it?”

Thinking he had successfully convinced me, Shasha looked much more relaxed.

“And take those pants off and bring them to my room. How long are you going to keep doing this? Oh, and I’m taking the book.”

I glared at Shasha with all my strength.

“No! I bought it with my allowance, so don’t look at it.”

At my childish protest, Shasha’s hand, which had been reaching for the book, stopped.

“That’s petty.”

“You’re the petty one, Brother. Instead of helping your little sister, you’re always threatening me.”

“That’s……!”

“If you want to read it that badly, why don’t you go buy it yourself? Hmph!”

If a grown man bought a romance novel at a bookstore, the news would spread throughout the entire aristocratic society.

He would become the center of gossip, and everyone would chew him over for months as the latest piece of entertainment.

Seeing Shasha unable to decide what to do, I held out my hand.

“Five gold.”

“What?”

“Don’t like it? The book cost twenty gold. Five gold for borrowing it once is practically a bargain.”

“Wow. You’re basically a thief without even holding a knife.”

“I don’t like your tone. The price just went up to six gold.”

After years of experience, my older brother knew very well that arguing any further would only make my mischievous streak grow stronger.

Without another word, Shasha took six gold coins from his wallet and placed them on the desk.

Then he picked up the book with its shiny pink hardcover.

“Seeing how calculating you are, I’m starting to think you and Andre really would make a perfect couple.”

After throwing that irritating remark at me, Shasha quickly shut the door.

I shook my head as I watched him leave.

Just as my brother refused to acknowledge my reputation, I felt the same way about his.

What kind of talented man was he?

He was nothing but an immature little brat.

After Shasha had finished bombarding me with his lecture, I found it impossible to concentrate and eventually had no choice but to close my book.

Today was supposed to be a day when I went out with my maid, Michelle, for the first time in a while.

It was the day my favorite author’s newest novel was being released, so I had been in an incredibly good mood since morning.

But I couldn’t get the words to sink in at all.

“Marriage?”

I muttered to myself, and goosebumps rose across my skin without me even realizing it.

Marriage.

Of course, I understood Shasha and my parents’ concern about my future marriage.

Even if we were a noble family of relatively low rank, reaching the age of twenty-one without even a proper fiancé was enough to make people start questioning whether our family was lacking in status.

Between the accident I had when I was young and my naturally reclusive personality, I was the source of all my family’s worries.

I knew that their desire for me to meet a good person came from affection, so I couldn’t exactly resent them for it.

Shasha didn’t have a fiancé either, but his circumstances were completely different.

There was me, who never met anyone and spent all my time reading books in my room, and then there was Shasha, who was so popular that if he lined up all the women he could date, the line would probably never end.

If I had to marry, my clever older brother would choose the best possible option to advance his position.

But I genuinely had no intention of getting married.

The aristocratic life I had only encountered through romance novels was, despite me being a viscount’s daughter, nothing more than an attractive shell hiding something rotten inside.

Love?

Looove?

Love being involved in an aristocratic marriage was about as rare as a flower blooming in a snowy field in the middle of winter.

Most marriages were political arrangements made for mutual benefit.

Two people exchanged what the other wanted while carefully calculating every advantage and disadvantage.

My parents probably desperately wanted to marry me into an influential family.

That was simply how parents with a daughter were.

Even if it meant giving away as much of the wealth they had worked so hard to accumulate to my future in-laws.

Marry into a good family, have children, and live a peaceful and comfortable life.

It sounded like a peaceful life straight out of a fairy tale.

But behind that seemingly tranquil life lurked outdated customs and obligations that could suffocate a person.

In a world where things that would have earned someone the title of ‘old-fashioned’ simply by mentioning them in the twenty-first century were still alive and well, was I crazy enough to willingly walk straight into a lion’s mouth?

If I lived the way I did at home, I would obviously be divorced before I even made it through a single day.

‘I wish they would just give up already.’

I felt frustrated with my mother and father, who acted as though the heavens had fallen simply because their daughter didn’t want to get married.

Whenever the season of Imperial Balls came around, the entire household would unite with one purpose and relentlessly pressure me.

Even though I understood their feelings perfectly, I wasn’t exactly happy about having to unintentionally play the role of the world’s most unfilial daughter.

“Haa……”

In the end, I let out a deep sigh.

There was no way I could enjoy the new release from my favorite author—the book I had been eagerly waiting for—with this mood hanging over me.

I climbed down from my bed and carefully placed the book back on the bookshelf.

It was the only truly clean area in my room, completely free of even a speck of dust.

Most of the bookshelf was filled with works by my favorite author, R.G.

The new release seemed to have been particularly short on stock this time.

Even though I had gone to the bookstore early in the morning, everything had already sold out except for the single copy that had been on display.

The cover was slightly torn from having been handled by other people, but simply looking at it made me happy.

My gloomy mood over worrying about marriage seemed to improve a little.

“What marriage? It’s much more fun watching other people fall in love like this.”

The male and female protagonists in romance novels loved each other with all their hearts and desperately longed for one another.

In a way, it was nothing short of fantasy.

“Why can’t a man like that appear somewhere around here?”

In R.G.’s latest novel, the male protagonist was a little awkward when it came to expressing his feelings, but he genuinely adored the heroine.

He was handsome, of course, rich, and incredibly skilled with a sword.

He was practically the definition of the perfect son.

The cliché of such a man falling in love with an utterly ordinary heroine was something I always complained about being tired of.

And yet, it was still impossible not to enjoy it.

I chuckled as I imagined myself in the heroine’s place.

I needed to be realistic.

Men with titles that high naturally associated with people of similar status.

If not, then they would choose someone who could offer them something they lacked.

This wasn’t an era where an innocent and ordinary woman could simply be loved despite having nothing special about her, like the heroines in novels.

“You’re lucky. You can be honest about who you are and still be loved.”

There was no need to lie.

No reason to put on an act.

I had just reached the part where the male protagonist finally realized that he was falling deeply in love with the lively heroine who always behaved exactly as she was.

If someone like that ever appeared in my life, perhaps I could consider marriage then.

I laughed at my own pointless fantasy.

I brushed the crumbs from the book with a few gentle taps and placed it neatly back on the bookshelf.

I had simply grown too old to believe in a perfectly beautiful world.