Although I was a swordsman, it was still terrifying to see Marilyn handle the knife.

"The rest will be custom-made and delivered later."

She laid a knife on me and threw some work at the assistants.

Soon after that, a pretty pink dress was made.

"There are a lot of sophisticated designs, but I made these clothes to be worn comfortably as daily wear."

Although it was not an outfit with delicate decoration or lace because it was made in a hurry, the wrinkles were luxurious and fit perfectly on my body.

"Oh, my."

Leslie, who had already approached, laughed as she loosened the tie on my hair.

"You look like someone else. It's so pretty."

"Really?"

"Of course, if you feel too uncomfortable, you can just wear training clothes, but this is a gift, so take it."

It was Marilyn who then interrupted Leslie.

"No, it's not."

She said with an indifferent look on her face, grabbing my one-piece.

"This is a simple, quick-made outfit, so I'll just give it to you as a service. Leslie ordered training suits, but I can't make them right away."

"Oh, really?"

"Instead, Leslie ordered other dresses with different designs."

It was amazing that everywhere Marilyn touched the fabric turned very pretty.

"It's my gift to you, because I can't stand that dirty old training suit."

I didn't really think anything of it, but it must have been really bad that her eyes, which specialized in clothes, were showing disgust.

Although it was made roughly, the dress I wore was more comfortable than the training clothes because it was well made and light.

"Anyways, I've measured all the sizes, and I'll send the rest of your order to the duke's mansion within the deadline."

"The duke's mansion?"

When I asked awkwardly, Leslie replied with a big smile.

"Sure. Don't you come there often anyway? I heard you come every day."

"Well, that's..."

"Make sure you come to me after stopping by Ian. Or the other way around."

I didn't mean to go every day from now on, but now I really would have to go every day.

"Now, let's go to dinner."

"...What? Eating again?"

"It's time for dinner. It'd be perfect to go back to the duke's."

Leslie casually said the next meal.

No, we were going back to the duke's place together again?

Then, a thought flashed across my mind.

"Because I'm going to cripple Ian Wade somehow. I've only failed twice. There's still a chance. I have prepared a terrorist attack for tomorrow night as well. This time, I really paid attention."

"Tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, I've done all the work behind the scenes. You know the item I told you about, right?"

I forgot about it because I was being dragged around by Leslie after being drunk without a plan.

"Yes! Let's go, Duchess."

The best way to patch it up now was to follow Leslie to the duke's residence together.

Any trace of the item must never end up in Ian's hands.

Because if he tracked the item, he would find my name on the client's list.

'I have to retrieve it no matter what.'

A warning was not enough. I really had to come forward myself.

I had no choice but to go to the duke's house and have dinner first, pretend to go back home, and then go into Ian's room and retrieve the evidence.

"Duchess Leslie..."

"Yes?"

I asked carefully on my way back to the carriage.

"Where is Ian's room?"

"Right above my room. Why?"

"Oh."

I answered, wiggling my fingers.

"I'm just trying to be enthusiastic by looking outside whenever I can and not stumble there."

"You're in a good position. When I was as young as you, I used to gnash my teeth at the Duke of Wade a lot."

Leslie said with a smile.

"But being the duchess of that mansion is a life you never know."

"That's right, you would've never known."

I wholeheartedly agreed.

Because I also never dreamed that one day I would suddenly remember my previous life.

I looked at Ian from an objective point of view, whom I also hated to death, and even saved him.

"Duchess Leslie."

I said awkwardly while stroking the hem of my skirt.

"I heard that you and the Duke kept fighting for 1st and 2nd place. But how did you even get married?"

"I didn't fight for 1st or 2nd place... I was just always in 2nd place."

Leslie answered with a smile.

"Honestly, I really hated Braden. But I couldn't be honest like you, so I was annoyed internally while being polite up front."

That was a common sense attitude...

"You know, having a title doesn't mean you'll be very well off, but I just wanted to have one. I wasn't in the same situation as you, of course."

You couldn't have great wealth or fame just by getting a title.

Having a high-ranking aristocratic father, I could see it as a special situation.

"It was the time before the final swordsmanship competition. I was twenty-one then, and Braden was nineteen."

Her words quivered slightly and she had a look of reminiscence.

"It was my last chance, and Braden had two more chances."

I was scared to even continue to listen.

Being 2nd place in the last competition, and the 1st place had a bright future ahead...

Besides, the 1st place already had a title...

"But right before that swordsmanship contest."

My heart pounded as I listened to the story.

"My father got into an argument at a bar... He was drunk and got into a riot and then fell from a five-story window."

"What?"

"To be precise, I saw my father fall and I kind of caught him and we fell together. Thanks to me, he survived, but I couldn't hold the sword again. In fact, my family said that being able to live a normal life was close to a miracle."

I knew she couldn't hold the sword because of an injury, but I didn't know it would be such a sad story.

As I hesitated without answering anything, Leslie continued.

"So I had no choice but to give up at the swordsmanship competition."

"Right..."

"But then, Braden's expression was very strange. The look on his face said that he couldn't accept my withdrawal. It was ridiculous."

This was the start!

Originally, talking about love was the most enjoyable, so I swallowed dry saliva and looked into her eyes.

"After that, I was living happily ever after, and when I came to my senses, it was my wedding day."

"...Oh?"

I think there were a lot of missing stories. However, the carriage arrived at the duke's residence just in time, and I could not ask any more.

~*~

On a quiet evening, Ian was reading a book in his room.

Anyone who saw him would say he was peaceful, but his heart was never calm.

Annabelle had been at the duke's mansion since yesterday afternoon.

But it was kind of funny that he had never seen her.

The reason why she was here originally was to meet him.

He even heard that Leslie went to dinner with her and got her clothes tailored.

"What does it have to do with me?"

He sighed and took a cookie out of the cookie box on the table and placed it in his hand.

While eating cookies with his eyes on the book, he almost dropped one and felt his spine chill.

This was because he remembered the curse Annabelle mumbled that when he picked up something that he dropped on the floor, he would get caught by the woman he liked.

A woman he liked, that couldn't be it.

He wanted to do his best with only a sword until the last swordsmanship contest.

If he inherited the duke title, he would have to consider marriage for the sake of his succession anyway.

Originally, it was his mother's job to give him a suitable fiancée in the aristocratic family, but Leslie drew a line that she would never intervene in her son's relations.

So, he was never really close to any girls.

Of course, he had many women who wanted to be close to him.

He was the heir to the Duke of Wade who won 1st place in the swordsmanship competition, so the background alone was great, and even his appearance was quite good.

Because he was always number one, he had the advantage of ignoring others and being a no-brainer when it came to swordsmanship, but other than that, he was okay.

It was also Ian's pride that his way of thinking was very normal.

For example, he never did anything like Aaron who liked to make fun of someone or fanning himself after hearing other people swear.

Ian was so predictable that Leslie would often grumble, 'my son, you're not having too much fun'.

So it was only natural that he hated Annabelle Nadit, who threw all kinds of curses on him.

How many years had he been tormented by her, even if she had done something that was helpful to him these days?

He didn't really need that help either.

If it hadn't been Annabelle, he didn't think he would have been hurt too much...

So it was absolutely absurd that Annabelle's face popped up with the phrase 'the woman he likes'.

It was a phenomenon that occurred because the only woman he had ever been entangled with in his life was her.

Ian Wade was a normal person.

'Don't tell me...'

He gulped down his dry saliva.

It was because when he returned on horseback, the feeling of Annabelle, who had lost consciousness and leaned on him, was clear.

Her breathing, colorful purple hair in his arms, the weight that touched his chest, and the soft skin that somehow grazed him...

'Why am I thinking about that again?'

Ian began to press his temple, which started to throb.

'Don't tell me she used some kind of forbidden magic.'

Otherwise, that moment wouldn't have stayed in his head.

'I'm not some kind of perv...'

It was then.

The door burst open without knocking.

Damn it.

Ian looked at the woman in front of him and shook his head and eventually dropped the cookie.

A light pink dress, loose hair down to the waist, a subtle scent...

'Did you use real magic?'

At the same time, blood was dripping.