And unfortunately, the dream did not end. I just realized once again that this place was reality.

However, there was one advantage to escapism: time passed very quickly.

As proof, I couldn’t even remember how I spent the week, but my body had already been delivered to the Duke’s residence.

Waking up in the soft bed of the Duke’s mansion, I frowned at the consistently warm morning sunlight. It was a perfect morning without any fine dust or car noise.

This was the seventh morning I was waking up in this world.

By now, I was really starting to worry about the future.

“Lily, if you had to choose between a hell paved with flowers and a heaven paved with thorns, which would you pick?”

Staring blankly at the ceiling, I asked Lily, who had been hired as my maid a few days ago.

Lily, who had just turned twenty, answered with a bewildered expression.

“Isn’t there a heaven paved with flowers?”

“Unfortunately, life isn’t that easy.”

“What?”

Of course, I want it to be easy! More than anyone else!

But the title of noble lady was just a facade, my family was so poor it was indistinguishable from commoners, and my fiancé was about to commit treason.

I would have preferred if my fiancé were at least a bit lacking, but this Duke was the head of a family that operated the largest knight order and merchant guild in the empire.

Can someone like me, who only knows how to eat, sleep, and breathe, really escape?

I was willing to bet my remaining life that I’d be caught within a day. Well, how much longer do I have left anyway? Six months?

“Lily, they say the men in the capital are handsome. Is that true?”

“No matter how handsome they are, can they compare to the Duke?”

Who cares? A Duke who doesn’t even come out to see his fiancée.

“You said before that my face was all over the newspapers, right?”

“Of course. Even snot-nosed kids know your name, Miss.”

“Ugh, then flirting is out of the question.”

Ultimately, even the hell paved with flowers wasn’t guaranteed.

I thought I could enjoy the rest of my short life with the handsome men of the capital instead of a Duke who wasn’t interested in me, but who would approach me knowing I was the Duke’s fiancée?

No matter how I thought about it, dying like this felt too unfair. But I couldn’t bring myself to suggest breaking off the engagement first.

“What should I do…”

After writhing under the covers for a long time, I suddenly got up.

Come to think of it, this wasn’t something to worry about.

If I couldn’t do it, then Ilion should be the one to suggest breaking off the engagement, right?

For that, he would need a shock big enough to make his composed face contort.

“Lily, prepare the carriage. Let’s go to town!”

“What? Why?”

“I have somewhere to go.”

I came up with a better plan than I expected.

***

It had only been two days since I arrived at the Duke’s mansion, but I could roughly grasp the atmosphere.

First, this mansion wasn’t very kind to me. They weren’t rude, just not friendly.

Well, a fallen noble lady marrying into the Duke’s family, beating out all the other noble ladies? Even I wouldn’t be pleased.

Moreover, seeing the master of the house not even coming out to see his fiancée, they must have already realized how much of a puppet fiancée I was. It would be strange if they didn’t notice.

Where did the endlessly kind man from the original story go, and where did this cold Grand Duke of the North-like man come from?

It’s not even the North!

Basking in the unusually warm sunlight, I lamented how shallow and broad my fantasy world knowledge was.

Although the treatment was worse than expected, I could somewhat understand it considering the original story.

Ilion wanted a bride who could be publicly displayed, not known in social circles, and wouldn’t make unreasonable demands using marriage as leverage. Ravenne, a fallen noble lady, fit that condition perfectly.

Since it was strictly a business relationship, it wasn’t unfair for Ilion to have no interest in me.

So why should we die together as if we were in some tragic love story?

He can have his grand love story with the heroine, but why should I share a grave with him? That would be so unfair!

“Miss, we’ve arrived.”

Lily’s words snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked at the bustling city.

Watching the busy people coming and going, I finally started to feel that this was indeed a world within a novel.

“Lily, you said you lived in the capital, right?”

“Yes. I received maid training here.”

“Then you must know the geography well?”

“Of course! Is there somewhere you want to go? A café? A dress shop? Just say the word.”

Lily, with a confident look, clenched her fists, excited to guide me anywhere.

“Then, can you show me a real estate agency?”

“What? Real estate?”

Lily asked, bewildered by my unexpected request.

“Yes. Preferably the shabbiest one with the most crook-looking owner.”

“A crook? Why would you want to go to such a place when there are better options?”

Lily looked utterly confused, not understanding why I would want to visit such a place.

Because such a place is perfect for a naive noble lady to get swindled!

Of course, I couldn’t explain the detailed reasons to Lily, so I just smiled in response.

Unsuewif guiding me was the right thing to do, Lily slowly started walking, occasionally glancing back at me.

“Oh my, Lily. Are you lost?”

“N-no way! Follow me, Miss! I’ll take you to the most notorious agency in the capital!”

Adorable. Falling for my provocation, Lily began walking briskly ahead.

The Duke of Celestine despised naive noble ladies who were oblivious to the ways of the world and had nothing but flowers in their heads.

They would pester him, calling coincidences fate, just to have a conversation with Ilion.

My thoughts on this were slightly different though…

If my head were truly filled with flowers, I wouldn’t act like that.

But Ilion, having been fed up with such ladies, must have deep-seated prejudices against them.

Choosing Ravenne as his bride was proof of that.

But what if the woman he chose to marry not only met all the conditions but also planned to squander the family fortune with her flower-filled brain?

The smart Ilion would naturally bring up breaking off the engagement after experiencing my insane financial sense a few times.

He would think I wasn’t fit to be the mistress of a family that operated the empire’s largest merchant guild.

If neither path led to a flower-filled road, at least I shouldn’t end up in hell.

That was the conclusion I reached.

The place we arrived at had a sign that looked like it could fall off at any moment.

Carefully opening the door to avoid the dangling sign, a man with a strange mustache was almost lying down in a chair reading a newspaper. He glanced at me.

He squinted his eyes and stared at me for a long time before springing out of the chair. He hurriedly tidied his clothes and approached me.

“Oh my, what brings the young lady of Rischefeld to such a shabby place?”

Lily’s words about everyone in the capital knowing my face seemed to be true. It was good that I didn’t have to explain my status and wealth.

“I want to buy some land.”

“Land?”

“Yes. Could you show me some good forested land?”

“Not a building, but forested land?”

“Yes. It would be great if it had good air and clear water.”

Smiling, I made my request, and the realtor’s eyes changed. He looked like he had caught a perfect gullible customer.

Alright, I’ll be the biggest sucker you’ve ever caught, so go ahead and name the highest price.

“Many nobles are looking for vacation spots these days. Shall we look at the map and visit the place?”

He bustled around, bringing a map and spreading it out on the table.

“This place is close to the capital, has good air, and great scenery. It’s perfect for a vacation spot.”

The owner pointed to a place on the map and began extolling its virtues. He hadn’t completely abandoned his conscience yet.

I looked at the map he showed me and pointed to another spot.

“What about here?”

I asked, pointing to a land that was inconveniently located, mountainous, and uninhabited. The owner hesitated.

“Here…”

“The shape of the land is very pretty. I like it.”

And it was heart-shaped.

“Pardon?”

The owner asked, bewildered by my nonsensical statement. Lily, who had been listening quietly, also looked shocked.

She seemed to want to ask why I would buy such useless land.

“Right, it’s very pretty. You have a good eye, young lady. Shall we go see the land?”

“Yes, let’s.”

But the owner quickly regained his composure and smiled.

Now he looked more like a competent con artist.

***

“Ugh.”

“Oh my, are you okay, Miss?”

“Ugh, no… How much farther?”

I asked, holding my queasy stomach. Outside the window, there were only trees and rocks. It felt like an hour since we left the village, but all I saw were mountains.

If I knew it would be this bad, I would have chosen a closer place!

Every bump on the rough road made me feel like the soup and bread I had for breakfast were coming back up.

“Ugh…”

I covered my mouth again, swallowing the rising nausea.

“We still have a long way to go. Please hang in there a little longer, Miss.”

Damn this world. Why is the land so vast? Seriously…

It seems people suffer when they do things they’re not used to.

After driving for a long time, we arrived at a place that looked even more desolate than on the map. The terrain was rugged, making farming difficult, and there weren’t many trees, so it was hard to find anything profitable.

Ah, but there were plenty of suitable stones to throw at the Duke’s head.

“How is it?”

The real estate owner, who seemed to have not realized how desolate the land was, wiped the sweat off his forehead and asked. He seemed worried that I might say it wasn’t good now.

But I really liked it. Yes, it should be this bad!

“This land is much better than I thought! Hohoho. I guess land like this must be quite expensive?”

I asked, maintaining my air-headed, naive noble lady persona.

I’ll be the biggest sucker you’ve ever caught, so go ahead and name the highest price.

Keeping a constant smile, I waited for the realtor’s answer when Lily suddenly grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear.

“Miss, are you really going to buy this?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Even though I don’t know much and can’t read, I can tell this land is terrible. Plus, that realtor smells like a scammer…”

Smiling as reassuringly as possible, I calmed the worried Lily, who was fidgeting anxiously.

“Don’t worry about that. He even has a proper real estate license.”