The Duchess Is Looking for Her Husband
Chapter 2
A blue sky stretched above her, covered with fluffy white clouds like a painting.
A party was being held by the sea, where the water was even bluer than the sky.
A woman was surrounded by her loving father, healthy mother, and playful friends. She smiled brightly.
“Happy birthday!”
After receiving warm birthday wishes from everyone, the woman walked along the beach.
The cool wind blew through her hair. Soft sand and the waves at the edge of the sea tickled her feet.
The woman hummed happily as she walked. Then her eyes suddenly grew wide.
A wave bigger than a giant was coming toward her.
She turned pale and tried to run away, but the wave was faster.
Crash!
The huge wave swallowed her.
She could not even scream before she was swept away by the water.
Struggling in the cold sea, she thought desperately,
‘No, I don’t want to die. There are still so many things I want to do…!’
Anyone is fine. Please, someone save me!
At that moment, seawater filled her mouth.
After a long time, the woman opened her eyes.
“…I didn’t die?”
The moment she whispered those words, forgotten memories came rushing back like a wave.
Artia von Edenberg.
Her sickly mother lying in bed with a faint smile.
Her father angrily swinging a cane.
Her grand wedding with Royd.
Her father’s sad funeral.
Her marriage that felt like hell…
After remembering everything, the first thing that came out of her mouth was,
“Royd, you bastard.”
Then she stopped.
“No, that’s insulting to all the lovely and brave dogs in this world.”
She corrected her insult with satisfaction.
“Royd, you’re such a horrible bastard that even if I fed you every piece of dog poop, cow poop, and horse poop in the world, it still wouldn’t be enough.”
After that, she calmly organized her thoughts.
She had no idea what had happened.
But there was one thing she was certain about.
She had become Artia.
Strangely, she accepted this unbelievable reality very naturally.
“Maybe it’s because I almost died and then came back to life…”
Artia murmured as she picked up the mirror from the table beside her bed.
The moment she saw the face reflected in the mirror, she let out a genuine sound of amazement.
“Wow…”
Artia had always been ignored by people, so she had believed that she was ugly.
“This is a ridiculous misunderstanding, Artia.”
Her silver hair was soft and wavy, and her skin was as white as snow.
Her pink eyes looked as if strawberry syrup had been mixed into white milk.
She was not the kind of perfect beauty with extremely sharp features.
Instead, she had a clear, innocent, harmlessly pretty face that seemed to say, ‘I’m a good person.’
Of everything about her appearance, Artia liked her eyes the most.
“They made fun of them because they were pale pink instead of the red eyes that had been passed down through the Edenberg ducal family.”
“They called me defective and said I was born wrong.”
But to Artia, those eyes were simply as pretty as spring flowers.
“Getting a face like this… I guess dying and coming back to life isn’t so bad.”
She smiled foolishly while looking at her face from different angles.
Then she frowned.
“But if I entered this body, where did the real Artia go?”
She remembered Artia’s final moments.
Artia sinking deep into the lake, crying that she hated herself and wanted to disappear from this world.
Unlike Artia’s memories, which were clear, the memories of the original body were blurry, as if covered in thick fog.
Maybe that was why.
Instead of feeling confused about becoming someone else, she felt strangely close to Artia, almost like they were twin sisters.
At the same time, she felt sorry for Artia, who had been forced to suffer alone for so long.
Then suddenly—
Growl…
A very embarrassing sound came from her stomach, ruining her serious thoughts.
She looked down and saw how thin her stomach was.
‘Food first.’
Artia grabbed the bell rope and pulled it hard.
But even after waiting for a long time, no maid came.
This happened to Artia all the time, so she was not surprised.
But she was annoyed.
‘I’m the mistress of this mansion. How can they treat me this badly?’
She was about to pull the bell again when—
Bang!
The door suddenly opened, and a woman appeared.
She had huge eyes like a little puppy.
A large ribbon decorated her light-purple hair, which fell in thick waves.
Despite her cute face, she had a very mature figure.
The woman rushed toward Artia.
“You’re awake, sister!”
Lirika.
Royd’s mistress.
One year ago, Royd had brought a woman to the mansion.
“I’ve found a woman I truly love. I’m going to keep her by my side for the rest of my life.”
Lirika, who was being held in Royd’s arms, spoke in a sweet voice.
“Hello! My name is Lirika. Since I’m going to serve the Duke together with you, can I call you ‘sister’?”
In this society, it was normal for noblemen to have one or two lovers.
But bringing a mistress into one’s own mansion was unusual.
It was considered disrespectful to one’s wife.
And for a commoner to call a noblewoman “sister”?
It was completely unacceptable.
But Royd did not care about Artia’s feelings at all.
“Baby bird, call her whatever you want. Sister, brother, anything.”
Lirika giggled.
“Brother? What does that mean? Lirika isn’t some gangster from the back alleys.”
Artia could not say anything to the two of them.
All she could do was tremble as she tightly gripped her skirt.
And so, the strange life of one man and two women living together began.
Royd openly showed his affection for Lirika all over the mansion.
“My lovely Liri, my little baby bird.”
Every time Artia saw them together, it felt as if her heart were being torn apart.
But she could never show her feelings.
She was afraid that Royd would hate her even more.
The only thing Artia could do was bite her lips and turn her back on them.
Then she would hear Lirika’s voice behind her.
“Where are you going, sister? Come play with us!”
What is that unfaithful woman talking about?
Even now, remembering those words made Artia furious, and her eyes became cold without her realizing it.
Whether Lirika did not notice her expression or simply did not care, the latter was probably more likely.
Lirika suddenly hugged Artia tightly.
“I was so worried because sister wouldn’t open her eyes!”
So that’s why Royd was always buried in Lirika’s arms.
She was soft and warm, almost like a hot-water bottle that someone hugged all winter.
‘But unlike a kind hot-water bottle that keeps you warm, this one made Artia’s heart feel as cold as winter.’
Having decided that Lirika was her enemy, Artia frowned and pinched the tip of her nose.
“Could you move away from me? If you stay this close any longer, I think I’ll faint again from the smell of your cheap perfume.”
“……!”
Anyone would be embarrassed if someone told them they smelled terrible.
Especially if it was because they had deliberately used too much perfume.
Lirika’s face turned bright red, and she stepped back.
Only then did Artia feel like she could breathe again. She lowered the hand covering her nose and let out a long breath.
Then, as if she had just remembered something, she spoke.
“I was too harsh to someone who came running because she was worried about me.”
Lirika looked hopeful.
Is she finally going to apologize?
But Artia continued.
“Since I’m sorry, I’ll forgive you just this once. I’m talking about all the rude things you did to me today.”
“R-rude things?”
Artia spoke gently, like a teacher explaining something to a child who was a little slow to understand.
“First, you entered my room without asking for permission.”
“Second, instead of greeting me properly, you called me ‘sister,’ which is an extremely disrespectful way to address me.”
“Third, as if that wasn’t enough, you touched my body without permission.”
Artia looked directly at Lirika, filling her pink eyes with her image.
“For a mere commoner to behave this way toward the Duchess of Edenberg is a crime serious enough that you could be whipped and thrown out of this mansion immediately.”
