Chapter 1 – Pressure (Part 1)

“I was captivated at first sight. Please marry me.”

Elysia von Serenze thought as she looked at the man in front of her, who was proposing with a wedding ring, with a face more expressionless than a marble statue.

‘What did I do wrong to have my life tangled up like this again?’

The man proposing to Elysia, Duke Cassius de Grendel, the only Duke of the Kingdom of Brunchia, stood still, urging for her response. 

The words he just uttered, if heard at a glance, were lines that would make one’s heart flutter, but Elysia, Cassius, the people of the Serenze family eavesdropping outside the room, and even the dust floating in this space knew that there wasn’t a single ounce of sincerity in them.

Elysia scrutinized the rude Duke who had suddenly barged in without warning after being rejected from a marriage proposal he had abruptly made. His appearance was flawless, like a statue, making one doubt if he was even breathing.

Underneath his neatly combed black hair was a straight forehead, thick eyebrows, and dark blue eyes. Indeed, he was a fitting candidate for the number one groom in Brunchia.

However, the problem was his eyes that showed no emotion. When Elysia opened her mouth to answer, those deep blue eyes emitted an even colder chill. Elysia could sense the hidden meaning.

‘A refusal is a refusal… If you refuse, you won’t see a good outcome… Is that it?’

Swallowing a sigh that was about to escape, Elysia recalled just two weeks ago. Until then, as the world’s greatest idler, she had been enjoying her unemployed life, pondering what to do to kill time each day. How did her carefree life as an unemployed person end up facing such a predicament?

In retrospect, there was only one thing that came to mind…

‘The Spring Ball.’

Could it have been a mistake to attend there?

Gathering her thoughts, Elysia steadied herself and carefully chose her words.

***

Elysia von Serenze was the eldest daughter of the Serenze family, a baronet family barely hanging onto the noble class cutoff. Elysia, grateful for her peaceful daily life, hadn’t risen from her comfortable bed in her room, even with the sun high in the sky.

The civil war that had torn the continent apart was an event from 300 years ago, and among the countries formed from the divided continent, the Kingdom of Brunchia had grown prosperous and strong on a land blessed by nature.

Thanks to its abundance of resources, including various crops, Brunchia had developed commerce and trade. Riding this flow, Tobias von Serenze, the only son of the Serenze baronet family, Elysia’s father, had successfully managed his business, amassing wealth to a level that left little to envy.

Elysia’s mother, Lillian von Plum, came from a similar level of lower nobility as her father, Tobias. Though her family, like the Serenze family, could only boast the title “von,” they were a household that lived without major financial difficulties.

Every year, the King of Brunchia held a ‘Spring Ball,’ a court noble gathering, to promote harmony among the nobility and royalty. There, Tobias met Lilian and fell in love at first sight, marrying without much difficulty and having two daughters, Elysia and Marion.

Afterward, Tobias fully inherited the family’s business, which modestly profited by mediating the trade of local specialties to commoners, and expanded it.

Despite the changing times, he solidified his position by mediating trades between conservative high-ranking nobles who were reluctant to deal directly with commoners and commoner merchants who found it difficult to cater to such nobles.

‘It’s said that to live comfortably without worrying about others, being a child of a solid medium-sized business is better than a too-famous large corporation. Though my past life was a mess, my current life has a decent standing. As long as I don’t overdo it, I can enjoy a leisurely life without any problems. Ah, today my life is truly satisfying!’

Elysia wriggled under the covers with a satisfied smile. Although she felt unjust when she died tragically after only suffering in her past life, after realizing that she had been reborn into a fortunate family as a reward for that suffering, everything seemed good.

Recalling the memory of conversing with something like a god right after dying in her past life, she smiled contentedly, thinking that she had expressed her wishes well back then.

“Elysia von Serenze!”

The peace abruptly ended. Startled by her mother Lilian, who burst in, calling her full name, Elysia quickly sat up in bed.

“Uh… Mother? What brings you to raise your voice so indecorously?”

Following her mother, her younger sister Marion stood at the door, looking at Elysia with her usual disdainful eyes. Being seven years younger than Elysia, she was sixteen this year, but she sometimes acted as if she was the older sister.

Marion looked at Elysia with eyes that seemed to say, ‘Tsk tsk, she’s asking for trouble.’

“E. L. Y. S. I. A. V. O. N. S. E. R. E. N. Z. E. I’ve told you several times how important today is, but you listened with only half an ear, didn’t you? I thought you might finally get your act together and prepare for your future, but I guess not.”

“Mother, I thought that discussion was over…”

With an unusually stern and determined expression, Lillian glared at Elysia and spoke loudly.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes, Madame!!”

The voices of several maids answering in unison could be heard from outside the room.

“Then, let’s begin!”

As soon as Lilian’s words ended, the maids rushed into the room, grabbed Elysia’s limbs, and began dragging her out. Elysia was lifted off the bed and shouted.

“Mother, I’ll start looking for something to do now. I’ll really get out of bed and go for walks and attend social gatherings. So please don’t throw me into such a lion’s den! Mother! I don’t want to go!!”

Clinging to the bedpost and doorknob, she resisted fiercely, but in the end, Elysia couldn’t overcome the strength of several people and was helplessly dragged out. Behind her, her mother Lilian von Serenze’s determined voice could be heard.

“Everyone, do your best to make Elysia shine brightly! Transform her from the usual reclusive lazybones into a beautiful flower hidden in the Serenze family. Make it clear that she has the will to find a proper groom!”

***

“Oh, my fate. I don’t have grand dreams, nor do I wish for an extraordinary husband. I just want to live comfortably… Is that such a big greed, Alma?”

Despite Elysia’s continuous lamentations, Alma, who had been Lilian’s personal maid and recently became the head maid, didn’t pay any attention and scrubbed every corner of Elysia’s body.

“Miss, please lift your arm. It’s not getting cleaned properly.”

“Alma, you’re always siding with Mother. Is it because you feel closer to her, having looked after her since her maiden family? Even so, do you understand why she’s suddenly so eager to send me to the Spring Ball this year? Someone like me will only be a bystander there, right? I went once before, and there was no gain, so is there really a need to go again?”

“Yes, you attended once, four years ago. You had to show your face at least once in society after your coming-of-age ceremony. And didn’t you make all sorts of excuses and sneak out that time too? Of course, there was no gain. Now, tilt your head back and close your eyes.”

Alma, responding in a tone that left no room for argument, poured water over Elysia’s head. Elysia held her breath and tilted her head back to prevent water from getting into her mouth and eyes.

The capable maids soon finished Elysia’s bath, applied fragrant oil, and dressed her. Failing to elicit the desired reaction from Alma, Elysia targeted her personal maid, Daisy.

“Daisy, don’t you think there’s no real benefit to me attending something like this? Really, to find a groom, wouldn’t it be better to start with small social gatherings and slowly build friendships? At such banquets, all the dazzling young ladies from prominent families will be there, so I have no chance. So let’s skip this banquet and attend the next social gathering. Mother trusts you, so could you please speak on my behalf—ugh!”

However, a strange scream soon escaped Elysia’s mouth. Daisy had pulled the corset string of the undergarment worn under the dress so tight that her waist felt like it was about to snap.

“Thanks to you enjoying snacks and reading books without moving an inch in your room every day, Miss, your body lacks elasticity despite your young age. Your waist circumference has even increased compared to when you last tailored your clothes. The dress made to your previous measurements might be a little tight, but don’t worry. There are excellent corsets available these days. Especially recently, they use alchemically reinforced knots, so they never break unexpectedly like before.”

Elysia twisted her body, letting out strange groans as the reinforced corset tightened her waist.

“Is that something that should come out of a noble lady’s mouth? I thought they were slaughtering a pig somewhere.”

Marion, with her arms crossed, mocked her sister.

“You… ugh… How could you say that to your sister… agh, Daisy. Stop tightening it, my waist will break in two.”

Ignoring her words, the maids finished tightening her waist and began dressing her in earnest. Marion watched with amusement as Elysia, helplessly subjected to it, was dressed by the maids.

“Why aren’t you getting ready?”

Elysia asked, seeing Marion still in her casual clothes.

“Even though you haven’t had your coming-of-age ceremony, it’s a regular event held by the royal family for nobles, so you can go as a family member, right?”

If they were forcing Elysia to this ball to find a groom, it would be good to have Marion make an impression for her future, which wasn’t far off.

To that, Marion looked at Elysia with a disdainful expression and said.

“Well, that’s because the attention should be focused on you. If someone as outstanding as me, who’s even younger, goes out with you, wouldn’t you be overshadowed?”

As always, Marion’s self-praise continued, but Elysia didn’t care and muttered to herself.

“Mother really does think of me so… much.”

“Don’t you understand what I’m saying? You’re blocking my path.”

Elysia thought as she looked at her cunning sister.

‘Who does she take after to be so arrogant and cunning? Sometimes, the way she talks makes it seem like Marion is the one who’s lived two lives, not me.’