“Please marry me.”
“……”
The man’s hand, which had been lifting his teacup, paused at the woman’s words.
But that was all.
The man, who had remained completely motionless for a long while, merely glanced at her with his red eyes. It was almost as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
“If I stay like this, I’m going to end up married to some perverted old man.”
Seeing that she was running out of time, the woman hurriedly added,
“My parents were murdered thirteen years ago, and the title and fortune were taken over by some distant relative whose name I don’t even know. Since I’ve become a thorn in the family’s side, I’m destined to be sold off in exchange for a dowry.”
“……”
“I know. A woman who suddenly shows up and asks you to marry her probably looks insane. But Your Grace won’t lose anything by doing so.”
Despite her continued proposal, the man remained calm rather than flustered.
How much time had passed like that?
“Are you saying this while in your right mind?”
Only after such a long silence did he finally ask whether she was sane. She gave a small, amused laugh.
Still, that was a relief.
At least he hadn’t called her crazy and immediately thrown her out.
“Yes. I didn’t know I would go this far myself, either. But I’m in quite a hurry right now.”
At her implication that she was in no position to be picky, his eyes narrowed.
“If I accept your proposal, what benefit do I get?”
The sudden question made her hesitate.
But only for a moment.
“I won’t live very long.”
“……”
“I’ll die soon.”
By your hand.
Of course, that was a story from the distant future that he didn’t know about yet.
And she had absolutely no intention of telling him.
That way, everything would unfold exactly as she had seen it.
“I know you dislike the idea of marriage, Your Grace. But you’ll have to do it whether you like it or not. So use me.”
“……”
“A bride with a limited lifespan. You won’t find a better deal than that, will you?”
At her suggestion that this might be a much cleaner solution than getting a divorce, the man paused.
But only for a moment.
He let out a short, incredulous laugh.
She tensed instantly.
What if he refuses?
But no matter how long she waited, no words of refusal came.
Yes.
He, too, was seriously considering the situation in his own way.
Seeing that, she slowly smiled.
This might be enough.
To have entered the wolf’s den and gotten this far was already quite an achievement.
She had done enough.
All that remained was to hold her breath and wait for his decision.
But she wasn’t particularly worried.
After all, the future is already decided.
That was right.
In 199 days.
She would die by this man’s hand.
That was her future.
—Two Days Earlier
“……Miss, Miss. Lady Bella!”
At the sudden shouting, Bella frowned and opened her eyes.
Right in front of her stood a maid who was practically hopping from foot to foot.
“Mm. What is it, Roxy? This early in the morning……”
“Early in the morning? The sun is already high in the sky!”
“……What?”
Frowning as though she couldn’t understand what Roxy was talking about, Bella quickly turned her head.
The hands of the clock on the bedside table were already two marks ahead of where they usually were.
She was two hours late.
“Get ready quickly. Quickly! Madam on the first floor has already gotten up!”
The maid took a dress from the wardrobe and began hurrying her again.
Bella scrambled out of bed, roughly wiped her face with a damp cloth, and changed her clothes.
There wasn’t even time to put on makeup, so she hurriedly tied her hair back with a random hair tie.
She was checking herself one last time in front of the mirror when—
“Bella!”
Oh, no.
At the shout coming from downstairs, Bella’s brow automatically furrowed.
It happened every morning, yet she still couldn’t get used to it.
“She’s certainly full of energy this early in the morning.”
Grumbling, Bella got to her feet, grabbed the broom resting beside the door, and left the room.
The moment she opened the door, the staircase greeted her with a thick layer of dust that had settled overnight.
“Haaaaaa……”
Another dreadful day had begun.
“Bella. You really ought to be grateful to us.”
“……”
“We haven’t thrown you out even though you can’t even do your work properly. We feed you, give you a place to sleep…… We even take such good care of you as though you were family.”
At the noblewoman’s booming voice, Bella, who had been pouring water nearby, gave a faint smile.
Not because she agreed with her.
She simply found the woman utterly ridiculous.
After setting down the glass, Bella shot her a sidelong glance.
From head to toe, the woman was dressed extravagantly.
She was the current mistress of this household.
No.
Correction.
She was nothing more than an obnoxious fox who acted all refined as though she were the rightful mistress of the house.
Her gaudy dress clearly didn’t fit her properly, making her look awkward, as though she were wearing someone else’s clothes.
Like a black crow puffing itself up after adorning itself with another bird’s feathers.
If I laugh here, she’ll cause another huge scene.
Being the sensible person she was, Bella quickly wiped the smile from her face.
She pressed her lips tightly together to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out, carried the dishes that had just come up from the kitchen, and then stood pressed against the wall alongside the other maids.
Wait until the master of the house finished his meal.
That was the very first rule they had taught her.
To them, Bella was no different from the maids standing beside her.
She was used to it now, but in the beginning, she could hardly adjust to it.
As a result, she had been beaten constantly, whenever and wherever they pleased.
“Do you think raising someone else’s child is easy? Go on, find me another person as kind-hearted as I am. Anyone else would have sold you off long ago!”
The noblewoman let out another series of ho-ho-ho laughs before asking the little fox sitting across from her.
The girl, who had inherited her mother’s crooked smile, grinned at Bella.
“That’s right. Bella, you really should be grateful.”
Oh, here we go again.
“We protected the count’s title and fortune when they were about to be scattered to the four winds, didn’t we? I never understood why people were so obsessed with having sons, sons, sons. But now I finally understand.”
The girl giggled, lightly biting her red lips before glaring at Bella.
“Oh, but don’t resent us for it. This is all because of your mother, who died without even giving birth to an heir.”
“……”
“What good was being a prophet of the Imperial Family? She was utterly useless. She couldn’t even predict her own death.”
At the girl’s words, Bella frowned.
She could endure almost anything.
But insulting her parents was something she couldn’t tolerate.
As expected, the girl’s narrow eyes stretched even further at the sides.
“Oh my, Bella. I suppose you didn’t like hearing that. Why are you glaring at me like that? You’re scaring me, ah—”
The little fox suddenly put on a frightened expression and began to whimper.
She went on and on about how terrified she was, how she had only been joking, and how Bella was being too harsh.
In the meantime, the little fox made an enormous fuss, acting as though the world were ending.
But Bella saw it clearly.
Inside those teary eyes was a devil enjoying the sight of Bella, who was becoming increasingly furious.
What an irritating little brat.
Bella sighed inwardly and relaxed the fist she had been tightly clenching.
There was nothing to gain from falling for the foxes’ provocations.
They were exactly the sort of people who would happily raise a hand against her the moment she lost her temper.
Right. You don’t avoid shit because you’re afraid of it.
With that thought, Bella quickly flashed them a bright smile.
Perhaps that was what displeased the little fox this time.
The girl, who had been wearing a sour expression all morning, suddenly grabbed the bowl of soup.
Ah. So that’s what’s coming at me today.
Bella squeezed her eyes shut.
She waited for the pain that would soon come.
But—
“Ahem. Cecil, that’s enough. Haven’t I always told you to behave with proper grace as a lady?”
“Hmph. What does it matter? It’s just us here.”
“Even so, not today.”
Huh?
Bella narrowed her eyes at their surprisingly obedient reaction.
Normally, that little fox would have thrown the entire bowl of hot soup at her without hesitation.
Something was strange.
She stood there blankly, sensing the peculiar atmosphere hanging over the table.
Then—
“What are you doing, Bella? Aren’t you going to sit down?”
“……What?”
“You should eat too.”
At the sudden change in the fox’s attitude, Bella froze.
Something was definitely wrong.
No, wait. Why are they acting like this today of all days?
Normally, Bella’s meal time came only after the foxes had finished eating.
And even then, she ate in a corner of the kitchen rather than in the dining room.
She ate whatever food was made from leftover ingredients, together with the working maids.
Of course, Bella had once been served and allowed to eat here as well.
But that was a thing of the past.
Nowadays, she was only called a “young lady” in name.
In reality, she was no different from a servant.
This is suspicious.
After watching them cautiously for a moment, Bella carefully took her seat.
It had been thirteen years since she had last sat in this dining room.
About thirteen years ago.
Bella’s parents, Count Etten and his wife, who were respected by the people of their territory, were murdered by unidentified assassins.
Because the Count had been a longtime friend of the Emperor, a massive investigation was launched into his death.
But in the end, the case was closed without uncovering even the slightest clue about the culprit.
From that moment on, Bella’s life began to unravel.
Under Arhen’s system, only a son could inherit a noble title.
As the only daughter of the late Count, Bella therefore had no right to inherit the title.
Of course, there was a way to bring in a husband who would marry into the family.
But Bella had been only five years old at the time, making that impossible as well.
Just as the entire Count’s territory and fortune were about to be absorbed into the Imperial Family, distant relatives suddenly appeared before her.
They put forward an infant who was barely old enough to open his eyes and took the title of Count for themselves.
The arrangement was supposedly temporary—until Bella came of age and was able to marry.
And so Bella was forced to endure thirteen hellish years under the constant persecution and abuse of her relatives.
Now that Bella had finally come of age, she demanded that they return the title as promised.
But rather than returning the title and fortune, they began arbitrarily rejecting every marriage proposal that came her way.
Eventually, they even went so far as to forbid her from leaving the house so that she could never meet a man.
That was right.
From the very beginning, they had never intended to return her position to her.
They probably plan to keep me locked away somewhere and never let me marry for the rest of my life.
Bella was dumbfounded by such an obvious scheme.
She wondered if perhaps it would be better to die than continue living like this.
At this rate, I’ll probably die from overwork or sheer frustration anyway…… Maybe it would be happier to close my eyes one last time in a way of my own choosing.
It was just as she was thinking about ending this miserable life as soon as possible that—
“A marriage proposal has come for you.”
“……What?”
No. Wait.
What on earth does that mean?
