The first emperor who established the Morris Empire was a man named Royan. There was once a legend that told about how Emperor Royan united the empire by borrowing the power of a wizard.
It was known that there was a red-haired witch. Upon her disappearance, it was told that Emperor Royan eventually went crazy and was uncrowned of his throne by his younger brother, which was told by Morris citizens mouth by mouth like a sad fairy tale.
Edmund often read fairy tales and history books when he was young and thought about something.
‘A woman with red hair is attractive, so it’s understandable for him to act that way.’
And this time.
He blocked the carriage, which was apparently heading to Baron Stephen’s residence. According to his bodyguard, there was intelligence that the baron would officially meet the woman he was going to marry today.
The carriage came to a stop almost right in front of his nose. The coachman, who thought that he almost killed someone, was out of control as the horse broke into a gallop.
“Hey! Are you crazy? Do you want to die?! How can you suddenly jump in the middle like that?”
“Oh, I apologize about that. I have something to talk about with the person in the carriage. May I come in for a moment?”
“That’s such a ridiculous request…!”
“I’ll give you a lot of money to have worked so hard.”
After saying that, he threw a bag full of silver coins at the coachman’s direction. The coachman took the heavy bag and pretended not to notice that Edmund had opened the carriage door and walked inside.
“Who are you?”
The frowning woman’s hair was red and she exuded a city-girl aura.
‘Strange? Ciel said she looks like an innocent girl with silver hair and violet eyes.’
Edmund curved up his red eyes delicately and smiled.
“My Lady. Are you going to meet Baron Stephen? We have the same destination, therefore I’ll be riding in this carriage as well. I am Ciel.”
Edmund hastily thought of a name, and purposefully pulled out his companion’s name. Edmund realized that he must have been smiling so beautifully. At first, the woman saw his smiling face with her cold expression and that made her mesmerized. After a while, a drop of saliva came out of her opened mouth.
Edmund had met all sorts of women who have become mesmerized by his face, but he had never seen a woman who drooled from such a close distance. Edmund felt that this woman was the type to show her honest feelings through her expression. It was different from her appearance.
“Pfft! If you don’t mind, I’ll lend you a handkerchief.”
Edmund’s handkerchief was embroidered with the initials ‘E’ in gold thread. Haley, who was given the handkerchief, hurriedly covered her face with it. Haley dropped her head in shame and didn’t say anything until their arrival at the Baron’s residence.
Edmund somehow thought Haley was very cute. He continued to stare at the top of Haley’s head as the carriage began to enter the Baron’s manor.
“I will stop for a moment.”
The coachman stopped for a moment. At the entrance of the mansion, a gatekeeper guarding the mansion approached the carriage.
“May I ask for your identity?”
The red-haired woman raised her head and answered.
“My name is Haley Mertes. I came here to suggest to the Lord Baron regarding the marriage proposal.”
Edmund tilted his head upon hearing the name Haley.
‘Is Haley really the name of the woman who’s going to get married to the Baron?’
Edmund thought what Ciel had told him was a different name, Glory if he remembered correctly. The name was somehow familiar to him. There was one thing that flashed through his mind as he kept staring at Haley’s red hair.
He thought about the author of ‘The Red’ and the one who took pictures of the bar workers. She published a brilliant book and successfully became a famous writer as she collected money from it.
There was a site that they both knew appeared in the story. Edmund wondered about the reason Haley came to the Baron’s family on behalf of the bride.
Pure curiosity flooded her mind. It felt as if she was going to bring fun to his daily life which was originally boring.
The gatekeeper quickly opened the way for them, but they actually felt something was off.
‘Why does her appearance look different from what I heard?’
The gatekeeper had also heard that the Baron’s new bride would be paying a visit to the mansion today. There were many stories circulating among the employees, some of them were about the baron’s reception for the young bride. However, the person in the carriage was not the silver-haired and violet-eyed woman that people in the baron’s mansion were talking about. The gatekeeper was surprised and immediately shook his head, thinking that wasn’t his business to wonder about.
Edmund lowered to Haley in front of the mansion and bid her goodbye.
“You go in first. I have business elsewhere.”
After bidding Haley farewell, he entered the third parlor through the back door that led to the kitchen to avoid the butler’s watchful eye. Baron Stephen had a very dangerous aspect, so he built a thin wall in the second living room to create the third living room. Here, he could secretly listen to guests talking to themselves or talking to others.
Edmund wanted to hear what Haley and Baron Stephen were talking about. There was nothing in the world which was more thrilling and exciting than eavesdropping on other people’s secrets.
* * *
I finally arrived at Baron Stephen’s house and was guided to the drawing room. I sat on the sofa there and was asked to wait. The butler, who had a disapproving look on his face, looked me up and down.
“I’m here to negotiate with the Baron, and I’m not Gloria. Tell your master that I wish to see him.”
“Yes, understood.”
The butler bowed his head once and left the parlor, frown still etched on his face.
I waited for an hour for the Baron’s arrival.
Firstly, I waited for him in the proper position, but then I got bored. I laid down on the sofa and leaned my back in a supine position.
‘How can he treat his guests like this? I just have to get married. And I have to enforce discipline in this house.’
I put my hands harshly on the armrest of the sofa and held my forehead, and I heard a knock on the door knob not long after that. I immediately straightened up and looked at the open door.
‘Please let people like George Clooney out. I beg…’
I’ve always wanted to pick, and if he was an old man whom I was going to get married to, I hope at least he would be cool. So, was this the world of romance? Then, if he was a supporting actor of this proportion, he should have a cool face, at least!
I was really looking forward to it. As expected, I only faced the harsh reality where expectations and reality were really different.
The one who opened the door and entered was an old man who had a thin body and white hair who looked about 80 years old.
‘He’s tall.’
The Baron’s height made me have to tilt my head which made my neck hurt, he must be more than 180cm. However, that was all to it. His face was full of dark freckles and he had a terrifying aura that seemed annoying at first glance.
The Baron, Douglas Stephen, looked at me with a fierce gaze, and spoke straight to the point.
“So, you came to see me instead of Miss Gloria? What happened?”
“You didn’t give me a cup of tea first before I had to tell you my intention. Oh, that’s too disrespectful.”
I tried to hide my disappointment and pretended to be innocent while saying so. I blinked beautifully and smiled at him from an angle where it made my face look as pretty as possible.
‘What do you think? Do I look prettier than Gloria?’
Of course I couldn’t ignore the amount of fans the main character had, but there was no doubt I was also very beautiful like my mother. If I decide to seduce men, I doubt if there would be any men who wouldn’t fall for me. That was just because I’ve never tried to seduce a man before.
When the old man saw my smile… I mean, Baron Stephen.
“Butler! Bring me a cup of tea. The one with cheap quality!”
Oh, this b*s**rd. How dare he order cheap tea in front of his own guests? Did my flirting attempt not work on him? I shouldn’t keep doing it this way.
He frowned at me.
“I don’t have much time, so let’s talk first. Why did you come to see me? Does Lady Gloria have any complaints about this marriage? I’ve sent her so many luxurious things that I thought she couldn’t possibly complain about. Don’t tell me you’re going to take those expensive dresses and jewelry and wipe your mouth?”
“What? What jewels? What dresses?”
I had never heard of it.
“Did you mean Lady Gloria didn’t get anything that I sent to her house? Huft! I’ll have to ask the butler to check on it.”
If what Baron Stephen said was true. Gloria’s father must have stolen it first. The Baron was very meticulous in matters related to money, so he would have found out about it on his own later.
I asked him when feeling that something was off.
“May I know how much Gloria’s father owes to you?”“Why, would you want to pay on his behalf?”
“I’m here on Gloria’s behalf, so I’m just confirming it for her.”
Baron Stephen snorted and gave me a ‘How dare you?’ look.
“150 gold coins.”
“Wow, he must be out of his mind!”
150 gold coins was the amount that would cause a buzz among people. Regardless of how rich the nobleman was. What made this old man trust and lent that much to the man who was addicted to dirty gambling? At this point, Baron Stephen’s intentions were deserved to be questioned. I glared at him, and mindlessly shifted my gaze to something behind him, and oh my gosh.
On the wall behind where the baron stood, hung a portrait that gave off a slight vibe of worshiping Gloria. The woman in the portrait was standing with a thin silver dress as she rested her hands on a chair and looked out of a dream. The figure looked like her that made her sure it was Gloria’s portrait.
‘Such an old man! He’s been setting his eyes on Gloria since the beginning!’
Of course. Why would a baron trust a commoner and to lend them such a large sum of money? It was all a trap for Gloria because she was just beautiful. I wanted to save the female lead as the original author of this novel. I didn’t know there was an arrangement like this here.
Perhaps, this old man has been waiting for Gloria to grow up until she became an adult for a long time. I got goosebumps all over my body when I thought about this.
At the same time, I felt a little disappointed.
D*mn it. This was the chance to get rich.
‘But just in case…’
I wanted to try it, so I suggested to Baron Stephen.
“Excuse me, Baron. What about choosing me instead of Gloria? Why don’t you marry me instead?”
As I thought of the sort of responsibilities I’d be taking and the wealth that would come along with my marriage with him. I tried to smile at him and gave him a refreshing wink that reek of capitalism. Would he think I was pretty good and fitting for him? If he would accept it, it would be an honor for me, the character that was supposed to be dead soon.
However, the Baron’s expression upon seeing me was so bad as if he didn’t see any good in me. He flatly rejected my offer.
“That’s a good idea. I like women who are calm and can help me well. About your creepy-looking red hair. What would I think of people like you?”
Along with a click of his tongue, the Baron spoke again.
“It’s a sin for people to act so arrogant, it’s such a sin.”
Is that how I get my ass kicked by this crappy supporting actor?
This is crazy. This picky old man wanted to marry someone who was as young as his granddaughter.
The ugly side of him didn’t end there. Baron Douglas Stephen looked me up and down, lowered his voice and muttered.
“And I like woman with more voluptuous body. This girl is too…”
The Baron looked to where I was with his hand raised to his chest, and I understood what he meant after a moment. Irritation instantly flared up in my mind.
‘Such a crazy old man. Someone who only has money, but too picky when it comes to choosing a woman!’
His taste was obvious.
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