What the Fuck?
I wanted to get out of here as fast as humanly possible, but I forced myself to ask with every ounce of politeness I could muster. “You… you can’t leave right now.”
“May I ask why?”
If it had been anyone else, I would have brushed them off like I usually did and walked away without a second thought. But right now, that wasn’t an option. The moment I treated the protagonist of this novel rudely, it might somehow come off as strangely charming. For the sake of my own survival, it was safer to act exactly like everyone else.
“Um… well…”
She glanced toward the terrace doors. Through the frosted glass, I could see a silhouette pacing back and forth. It wasn’t the pot-bellied middle-aged count I’d seen earlier.
Damn. Another one. This is getting annoying.
It looked like the man outside had followed her here. If I stepped out now, he’d clearly see the two of us together. I’d somehow gotten dragged into someone else’s mess without even realizing it.
She couldn’t seem to find the words to explain. I’d already pieced the situation together, so I could only frown slightly. Still, I couldn’t stay here forever.
The truth was, I found the weight of the Helios Marquisate more cumbersome than anything. A high title didn’t bring me any real benefits. I would have been perfectly happy with a decent family and a comfortable fortune. Of course, I was well aware that being born into the marquisate had given me a life of luxury and ease.
“If you have nothing more to say, I’ll be taking my leave.”
Whether the prestige was cumbersome or not, the name Helios carried real power in situations like this. I gave the hesitant woman a graceful bow and, without waiting for a response, opened the terrace door and stepped out.
“Ah…!!”
She tried to say something, but I had moved too quickly for her to stop me.
The moment I opened the door, I came face to face with a man who had been pacing outside. Hmm. He was fairly handsome, but there was something sly and unpleasant about his features. I let out a quiet internal groan. He had the exact look of a disposable villain extra.
He was a little shorter than me. As I looked down at him, I spoke bluntly.
“Would you step aside?”
He stared at me for a brief second, then strained to look past me. At my words, he turned back and scowled.
“Who the hell are you?”
Just from the way he spoke, I could tell. Another trash noble.
“How dare you stand there with your head held high in front of me, the second son of the Artolis Count family?”
The Artolis family. They sat somewhere in the middle of the nobility, but when you counted the numbers, they were still fairly high-ranking. Aristocratic titles formed a pyramid—more at the bottom, fewer as you climbed. There weren’t that many families above the rank of count.
Which meant most of the so-called “trash” nobles in stories like this came from count families.
“The Artolis Count family, you say.”
The problem was that I also belonged to one of those rare families above the count rank. And I was also known as a trash noble with quite the personality.
As I rolled the name around in my mouth, the guy stood with his legs apart, smirking at me with total confidence. It was such a textbook example of a stuck-up noble that I almost felt sorry for him. There were elegant ways to act like trash. Why did he have to behave like some cheap thug?
I swallowed a rising sigh and spoke again.
“I asked you to step aside. I’m in a bit of a hurry right now.”
I kept my manners intact not for the sake of this Artolis whatever-he-was, but because of the woman still behind me. Showing off or giving him a “proper education” here was absolutely out of the question.
Even when I spoke quietly, the Artolis brat just sneered and poked me in the chest with his finger.
“If you’re in a hurry, why should I move? Huh?”
I stared at the irritating little pest for a moment, then lowered my voice.
“You said you’re the second son of the Artolis family?”
“…And?”
“It seems the Artolis Count family doesn’t know how to educate its children properly.”
There was no point dragging this out any longer. To escape this place as quickly as possible, I had no choice but to get rid of the idiot in front of me.
“What…?”
The second son of the Artolis family widened his eyes and stared at me blankly, as if he’d never heard anything like that before—only ever said it to others. I didn’t flash a sly smile like he had. I simply took one calm step closer with a perfectly neutral expression and continued.
“To think you would dare insult the Helios Marquisate. It almost seems as if the Artolis family looks down on us.”
“…He-Helios?”
“Is that your family’s intention?”
As I’d said before, it was perfectly normal for people in high society not to recognize me. It had been a very long time since I’d attended any parties or banquets, and I hadn’t shown my face since I was a child. If anything, knowing what I looked like now would have been the abnormal thing.
Even so, that didn’t justify this trash noble insulting and disregarding me. When you didn’t know who you were dealing with—especially when you yourself held only a middling position—it was only natural to be more cautious.
I looked down at the rapidly paling Artolis brat as he began to tremble.
“Get out of my sight. That is my final mercy.”
I held no real power within the Helios Marquisate, but that didn’t mean I was raised to quietly accept insults to my face. If I let this slide, it would only tarnish the family’s honor.
At my words, the Artolis brat bowed his head deeply and hurried away.
“Th-thank you.”
He might not lose his head, but he was clearly grateful that I had generously overlooked the fact that his family was about to punish him severely. I watched his stumbling retreat for a moment, then let out a short breath and began walking.
I had helped her without meaning to, but it wasn’t anything that would earn me favor, so it should be fine.
…Stop overthinking and get out of here quickly.
It would be a headache if she caught me again. I left the terrace at a pace that was neither rushed nor leisurely and headed back toward the main party hall.
“Ugh.”
In the end, I hadn’t gotten to enjoy the party food properly, nor had I managed to slack off by myself. I’d only accumulated stress from coming to this party. I could only scowl fiercely.
“Fix your expression.”
“Yes, sir.”
Of course, the moment I saw my father I had no choice but to force a bright smile. Sigh. My life.
The carriage seat, which would normally have been unbearably uncomfortable, felt softer and more welcoming than anything else right now. I leaned back lazily, unbuttoned the top of my shirt, and loosened my tie. I ruffled my perfectly styled hair until it was a mess, let out a long breath, and gazed out the window at the sky.
“Hoo…”
It had been an endlessly long day.
My father’s displeased gaze kept pricking at my face, but I deliberately ignored it. I had done everything asked of me. I hadn’t caused any incidents, and I had stayed hidden well enough that no strange rumors should have spread. There had been that one little accident in the middle, but since it hadn’t reached my father’s ears, it was fine.
I had followed my father’s instructions well, so I figured I could relax a little on the way home.
I had handled everything perfectly. Probably.
I had gotten entangled with what seemed to be the protagonist, but I’d resolved that too. Everything was okay. All I had to do now was return to the family estate and live quietly like a dead mouse, just as I always had.
I blinked slowly, let out a long yawn, and closed my eyes. It had been such a mentally exhausting day that my eyelids felt heavy. I didn’t resist the oncoming drowsiness and gradually let my consciousness slip away.
I probably won’t get involved with that woman again anyway.
The original story? Let it flow on its own. Not my problem.
That’s what I had thought.
In hindsight, that was probably the flag.
“…Hello? It’s nice to see you again.”
A few days later, I found myself sitting in our family’s reception room, rubbing my eyes at the sight of her smiling gracefully across from me.
What the hell? Was this a dream? I was pretty sure I’d never once thought about her that way. Is it really okay to trespass into someone else’s dream like this?
As I sat there with my mouth hanging open, my father, seated at the head of the room, calmly sipped his black tea with a perfectly composed expression and looked at me.
“What exactly is going on here?”
At my dumbfounded question, my father answered in the same calm tone.
“Greet her. She is your fiancée.”
What the fuck?