CCP Chapter 1

Chapter 1

In the conservative high society of the Kingdom of Brighton, turning twenty-four meant that one had met all the necessary qualifications to be called a spinster.

As the third child of the honorable and long-established House of Priestley, Wilhelmina treasured this new classification—spinster!—more dearly than anything.

The reason was simple.

Ever since making her debut at the tender age of eighteen, she had earnestly wished to become a spinster.

She admitted it was a somewhat unusual ambition. But she swore that, despite this peculiar wish of hers, she had never caused anyone any serious trouble in their lives….

Well, probably.

After all, the only thing Wilhelmina had ever done in pursuit of her wish was reject the endless stream of marriage proposals that came her way.

Unfortunately, there had been one particularly petty man among them, and he had taken it upon himself to ruin Wilhelmina’s reputation through an elaborate campaign of spite.

Who could have known?

Wilhelmina shrugged.

It had been an unavoidable accident. None of it was her fault. Not only Wilhelmina, but the other members of the famous Priestley siblings—all four of them were well known in high society—agreed wholeheartedly.

“I swear upon the hunting rifle Father, the late Duke, left to me, Wilhelmina. My darling little sister.”

Of all of them, the second-born, Francesca, Marchioness of Montrose, was particularly enthusiastic in her agreement.

“I swear I’ll smash that bastard’s head to pieces. As you know, all it takes is one shot from a

12-bore shotgun.”

“No!”

The near-scream came from the eldest of the four siblings, Benjamin, who was also the current Duke of Priestley.

“That’s like bringing an elephant hunter to catch a rabbit! And it won’t solve anything!”

It was, in every respect, a perfectly reasonable opinion. Indeed, precisely the sort of opinion one would expect from the highly respected Duke of Priestley.

“More than six different gossip papers have simultaneously published false scandals about

Mina. And the contents are unbelievably vulgar.”

“They said I enjoyed a secret tryst alone on a boat with a ferryman on the Tess River.”

“Thank you for informing me of a detail I was deliberately trying not to imagine, Mina. But let me make one thing perfectly clear.”

Benjamin let out a deep sigh and rubbed his weary face.

“Not a single person in all of Winster believes that ridiculous nonsense. Well, except anyone who doesn’t have the Priestley name.”

At that, Wilhelmina couldn’t help but interject once more.

“Nate doesn’t either.” “Mina!”

The sharp call of her name was a clear sign that Benjamin’s patience had reached its limit.

Wilhelmina promptly shut her mouth and put on an innocent expression.

Seeing his little sister behave so innocently, the Duke of Priestley issued a stern warning.

“It’s good that you’re strengthening your friendship with your childhood friend, but I don’t think this is the time to be discussing such things!”

…Correction.

He thought he had issued a stern warning.

At least, he certainly seemed to believe he had.

“I still don’t understand.”

The owner of the voice was the only younger sibling Wilhelmina had, the youngest of the four.

Ethan’s voice still possessed a certain youthful quality, despite the fact that he was already well past boyhood.

“Just because she rejected his marriage proposal, spreading such ridiculous rumors is despicable.”

“Yes. And yet, since when has being despicable ever stopped people from doing something?”

Benjamin muttered in disgust.

Wilhelmina shrugged.

“Don’t worry too much. There’s always a way to deal with matters like this.”

“Wilhelmina!”

She had only meant to reassure her rather fainthearted elder brother, but the moment he heard her words, Benjamin’s face went deathly pale.

“Please, swear to me you won’t use your hunting rifle.” “Yes.”

Before Wilhelmina could even answer, Francesca nodded.

“When it comes to protecting our family’s honor, it’s only right that the family steps in.

Naturally, I should be the one to pull the trigger.” “I think that’s a perfectly reasonable solution as well.”

Ethan immediately chimed in.

“If Little Sister shoots him, there’s no way she’ll actually kill the man, so it’ll only cause a commotion. But if Big Sister does it, that’s another matter entirely. She never misses, does she? He’d be dead on the spot.”

By now, Benjamin had begun making choking noises, as though someone were strangling him.

“Are you planning to do it right away?”

“Hmm. I suppose we should.”

What an extraordinary sight it was.

In this cozy drawing room, preserved exactly as their parents had arranged it eight years ago before they passed away in a carriage accident, the four siblings were casually discussing how to kill someone with all the cheerfulness of people planning an afternoon picnic.

To an outsider, it might have been difficult to decide whether the scene was amusing, tragic, or simply disturbing.

Unexpectedly, however, Wilhelmina felt a quiet warmth in her heart.

She cleared her throat.

“Ahem. I’m truly grateful that my family cares about me this much, but—”

“No hunting rifle!”

Benjamin shrieked before she could finish thanking them.

“How many horrific accidental shootings are you planning to cause?!”

“I have no intention of using a gun!”

Thanks to him, Wilhelmina was instantly pulled out of her touching moment and raised her voice in protest.

“I’m going to resolve this peacefully! Completely peacefully!”

Unfortunately, the Duke of Priestley had approximately five thousand eight hundred previous experiences of being fooled by his younger sisters’ promises that they “wouldn’t do anything like that.”

He remained unmoved.

In the end, Wilhelmina was only released after being forced to swear, in painstaking detail, that she would never use firearms, any weapon requiring gunpowder, any sharp object capable of harming another person—or even blunt weapons.

I really wasn’t planning to use a gun.

As far as Wilhelmina was concerned, there was no need for such destructive methods to resolve the situation.

The way out she had in mind was far more refined.

Elegant.

And, frankly, brilliant.

“But I never thought I’d graduate from my spinsterhood like this.”

It was unfortunate, but there was nothing to be done.

Sometimes, one had to sacrifice the small for the sake of the greater good.

Besides, there happened to be a man in Winster who was perfectly suited for the method she had in mind.

So Wilhelmina didn’t spend long thinking about it.

For the record, when Wilhelmina said she “didn’t spend long thinking about it,” that meant she immediately sprang to her feet and put her plan into action.

The fact that it was already late at night was no obstacle.

Nor was the thick fog blanketing all of Winster, so dense that it seemed to soak into her clothes.

“…So, this is the method you had in mind?”

If she wanted to meet the man best suited for her plan, nothing could stop her.

The dim lamplight in the study illuminated the man’s disheveled blond hair.

Whether because of the late hour or because of the unexpected intrusion of an uninvited guest, his attire was noticeably untidy.

Wilhelmina suspected that was intentional.

Perhaps he was trying to make it clear just how rude this sudden visit was.

“Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea how showing up at my office in the middle of the night without warning could possibly constitute some revolutionary method.”

“You wouldn’t.”

His tone was unmistakably accusatory, but Wilhelmina remained perfectly calm.

“Because I never told you what the method was.”

“……”

The man stared at her for a moment.

Then he lowered the documents he had been reading and removed his gold-rimmed spectacles.

His uncovered eyes were a silvery gray.

Despite being such an austere, almost inorganic color, those eyes—framed by golden lashes—looked more beautiful than any gemstone.

And then there were the tiny beauty marks placed so perfectly beneath his pupils, one on each cheek.

The dazzlingly beautiful man spoke.

“Miss Priestley. I believe I have been patient enough.”