“…No?”

My voice wavered unintentionally.

Always quick on the uptake, that one. How he caught on, I couldn’t tell.

“…….”

Finley scanned the room with a suspicious gaze.

Then his eyes settled on one spot.

The slightly ajar wardrobe.

Before I could react, Finley strode over and flung the wardrobe door open.

Revealing the manager hiding inside.

“…….”

“…….”

Eyes met between the two with matching red hair. A chilly silence followed.

Finley quietly looked at me, as if waiting for an explanation.

I shifted my eyes and murmured quietly,

“He’s my boyfriend.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Instantly, both the manager and Finley reacted.

The manager hurried to my side and whispered,

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What else should I say if we’re caught together in the evening?”

It wouldn’t make sense to sneak him in if he were just a friend. That’s why I blurted out the excuse.

Finley narrowed his eyes.

“Really?”

“Have you ever seen me lie?”

I did it every day.

“…….”

Finley crossed his arms and looked skeptically at the manager.

Then he spoke,

“Let’s have dinner together.”

“…What?”

The manager asked in disbelief.

Finley responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“If he’s your boyfriend, shouldn’t you introduce him to dad?”

That made sense… In a way that left me unable to argue.

“Let’s see then.”

After leaving those words, Finley left the room, his departure marked by a loud door slam.

His reaction was strangely cold. 

“…….”

Was this really okay?

The manager seemed to share my thoughts, judging by his expression.

* * *

Dinner time approached soon enough.

Given the situation, there was no backing out. The manager and I eventually made our way to the dining room.

Inside, Finley and Duke Erpeso were already present. The atmosphere in the dining room was tense.

“…Hello.”

The manager greeted calmly, drawing the attention of the other two.

Broadcasting this would have certainly been a hit with the viewers. It was a shame I couldn’t turn it on because of the manager’s strong opposition.

Duke Erpeso didn’t say much. We sat down awkwardly.

“So, Anais’s boyfriend.”

“Yes, yes.”

The manager replied in a fluster, a rare sight of him being nervous.

“Family name?”

“He doesn’t have one. He’s of common origin.”

I spoke up instead of the manager. I had anticipated this kind of question.

Being of common origin would surely invite opposition. So we could pretend to break up on that ground.

But what Duke Erpeso said next was unexpected.

“How about an engagement?”

“……?”

The manager and I looked at Duke Erpeso in shock.

I reiterated, thinking I might have misheard.

“He’s of common origin, you know?”

“You’re not inheriting the position of the head of the family, so it doesn’t matter.”

When did he become so lenient?

Apparently, Duke Erpeso was fine with anyone as long as it wasn’t the Heyward family.

It seemed like he was rushing an engagement with the manager to prevent an engagement with Kabir. Was he so afraid I might get engaged to Kabir? He had a strange way of doting on his daughter.

The manager gave me a look as if asking me to handle the situation.

I scratched the back of my neck awkwardly and responded.

“Uh… sure?”

“What?”

The manager blurted out in disbelief but quieted down under the scrutiny of the others.

Just like that, I gained another fiancé.

* * *

After the meal, the manager and I stepped outside to talk.

“What are we going to do?”

“…What indeed?”

“What indeed?”

The manager pulled my cheeks. I was too powerless to resist.

Having just broken off an engagement with Kabir, now it was the manager’s turn. It was a situation I couldn’t even show on the broadcast, completely tangled.

Duke Erpeso, as if to prevent any escape, even designated a room for the manager to stay in, right next to mine. He was treated just like a real fiancé.

Was he trying to hurry up and marry off his disobedient daughter? Or did he like the manager’s first impression? The reason was unclear, but it was certain that it would be difficult to claim a sudden breakup in the current situation.

In the meantime, Finley came out of the dining room. The manager quickly removed his hand from my cheek.

We instantly separated as if nothing had happened. Finley looked at us suspiciously.

“His name was Hans, right?”

Recalling the introduction from earlier, Finley asked the manager. The manager nodded.

“If he’s a commoner, where exactly did you meet my sister?”

It seemed like he was asking now because he couldn’t during the meal in front of Duke Erpeso.

Well, where did we meet?

As I pondered, the manager spoke up.

“Lady Anais and I happened to meet in the streets during the royal festival. After that, I was smitten at first sight and expressed my feelings.”

The manager was calmly fabricating a story that didn’t exist.

The contact with commoners was only possible at that time. It was a good timing since Finley wasn’t there either.

“It was only for one day?”

“Love often begins in an instant…”

I crossed my arms and said nonchalantly.

“You know it too, don’t you, Finley?”

“What, what are you talking about!”

Finley shouted with a flushed face. It was too amusing to stop when it came to talking about Selena.

Still indignant, Finley said,

“I won’t recognize someone whose origins I don’t know as family, just you watch!”

With that, Finley left alone.

We watched Finley go and said,

“Why is your brother like that?”

“I don’t know either.”

I thought that if OnlyFinley saw it, she would probably like it a lot.

 

* * *

 

I stared at the manager who took a place next to my room.

‘Anais’s decisiveness must have come from the Duke of Erpeso.’

Strange things seemed to be hereditary.

With the manager present, I couldn’t start the broadcast. It didn’t matter to me, but the manager was strongly opposed, so it was difficult.

If it was just a day or two, it would be different, but if we didn’t start the broadcast for several days, the viewers would find it strange.

“What are you going to do?”

“Why are you asking me that?”

The manager looked at me incredulously as I stood in front of the door, arms crossed and leaning to one side.

The manager, fastening his cufflinks, said,

“Just say I stayed for a while and then went down to the main house because something came up.”

“It seems the Duke of Erpeso has taken quite a liking to you, though.”

It seemed he wouldn’t let go easily. It looked like the Duke of Erpeso intended to settle things once and for all this time.

“At this rate, there might be an engagement ceremony in a week.”

“Ha…”

The manager let out a weary sigh. Getting involved with me was really becoming complicated.

Seeing the manager so tired, I felt a mischievous urge and spoke teasingly.

“Why? Just think of it as doing what you usually do during your vacation.”

“If it’s with you, I absolutely hate it.”

“I’m hurt, you know?”

Why was it that he enjoyed it with others, but disliked it with me? It was truly annoying.

The manager, fully dressed, stood in front of the mirror. Seeing him dressed in this world’s attire was a novel sight.

“With the Duke of Erpeso even preparing clothes for you, it’s too late to run away now.”

“What did I do to deserve all this care…”

But then, at the dinner, the manager had acted too respectfully. Being so polite, it was no wonder he had won favor from the elders.

“It’s like you live here.”

“You know that’s not exactly a compliment.”

“That’s why I said it.”

“Don’t be so annoying.”

The manager walked past me. I followed the manager, laughing quietly.

* * *

The place we were heading to was a ball at a certain count’s house. It was because of what the Duke of Erpeso had mentioned at dinner yesterday.

‘Daemon, a count and a close friend of mine, is holding a ball. It’s not far, so why don’t you show your face there for a bit?’

He’s even arranging for me to greet others. At this rate, it’s practically as if I’m already the fiancé.

It didn’t take long to get there since we used a teleportation magic scroll. Just as the Duke had said, Count Daemon’s residence was nearby.

The count’s residence was more modest compared to a duke’s or archduke’s mansion but had its own quaint charm.

When we arrived, the ball was already in full swing. It was just a social dance, not a significant event, and we were only supposed to make an appearance, so arriving early wasn’t necessary.

“The attention might overwhelm Hans, so you two enter later.”

The Duke of Erpeso said that and entered first with only Finley. It seemed he intended to distribute the attention appropriately.

(I wish) the Duke would care for his own daughter as much as he does his future son-in-law. I never knew the Duke of Erpeso was such a considerate person.

“It’s not our first ball anyway.”

“It’s my first time here, in this body…”

To kill time, we decided to spend some time in the garden right next to us.

“How long should we wait before going in?”

“I guess about 30 minutes?”

While we were chatting and walking, we spotted someone in the secluded garden.

It was a petite woman, looking troubled as she examined the bushes around the garden.

‘What’s that?’

Neither I nor the manager were particularly meddlesome, so we intended to naturally move on. However, our eyes met with the woman’s.

“…!”

The woman looked at us with bright eyes and a radiant smile, clearly seeking help.

“….”

It seemed like we were about to get entangled in another tiresome situation. I let out a wry laugh.