“You said you have liked me for a long time, My Lady.”

Liriope froze in place at the sound of the man’s deep and pleasant voice.

‘This man…!’

It was obvious to anyone that the man standing before her was the Duke of the North.

Black hair, black eyes. A sculpted face with sharp features and a languid yet arrogantly unapproachable air.

Because of their height difference, his downward gaze felt like it was piercing right through her heart, and Liriope instinctively looked away.

‘Why on earth is he here…?’

She couldn’t help but be flustered.

In the original novel she had possessed, there had never been a moment when the male lead—the Duke of the North—had visited the ducal estate.

She had read her favorite romance fantasy novel so many times, including every single side story, that she would have remembered if such an event had occurred.

What made it worse was that the body she now possessed belonged to a villainess who had absolutely no connection to the male lead and was fated to die midway through the story.

Liriope blinked rapidly, unable to tell if this proud-looking man was real or just a hallucination.

And then—

“Liri! Daddy brought the engagement contract with the Duke of Artein!”

Her father rushed in behind the Duke of the North, waving a golden sheet of paper in one hand, and called out joyfully. With that, Liriope began to grasp what was going on.

She shut her eyes tightly as she looked at her overly cheerful father and the impossibly handsome Duke who stood before her, staring down at her like a marble statue.

No, seriously, what are you doing, Father…?

***

Liriope had possessed her favorite novel.

She had read it over and over, captivated by the cold and stoic Duke of the North as he slowly became obsessed and sweet—though only toward the female lead.

But the body she had possessed belonged to none other than the villainess destined to die midway through the story.

Liriope, the lady who had long admired the crown prince, tormented the original heroine out of jealousy and was ultimately killed by the prince himself.

She had despaired at first—why did she have to end up in the body of someone doomed to die? But the despair didn’t last long.

After all, if she could just survive, the perks of being a duke’s daughter were unbelievably sweet.

So she decided to slightly—just slightly—twist the original plot.

First, she decided to sever her ties with the Crown Prince, the main reason for her impending death.

So, Liriope told the Duke—who cherished her dearly—that she actually liked the Duke of the North, not the Crown Prince.

It was only a ploy to nullify the engagement with the Crown Prince by dragging the original male lead into the story. But somehow, things had spiraled into this.

She had forgotten the simple fact that her father, the Duke, was the kind of man who would pluck the moon from the sky if his daughter asked for it.

Sigh…

Liriope swallowed her sigh that rose naturally and looked at the Duke of the North, who was now sitting across from her, sipping tea with her father.

The way he drank tea so gracefully was mesmerizing—so much so that she felt like her soul might slip right out of her body.

This was the male lead she had adored so much she even gave him a nickname—“Duke Northy.” Seeing him up close like this made her wonder if she was still dreaming.

Even more than the fact that she’d possessed her favorite novel, what felt more surreal was seeing the original male lead right in front of her like this.

“I’d like a moment alone with the Lady,” he suddenly said.

Liriope, who had been lost in thought while gazing blankly at Theo, flinched at the word “alone” that came out of his mouth and trembled slightly.

She wasn’t even mentally prepared to be alone with him, and her head shook on its own.

“Oh! Of course, of course. I really must be lacking in tact,” the Duke said with a hearty laugh and stood up.

Whether it was because the man before him was someone his one and only daughter liked, or if he was being cautious because Theo was a man with power second only to the emperor, or perhaps because he didn’t want to risk upsetting the man who could potentially bring his daughter happiness—

Whatever the reason, it was obvious the Duke was thrilled at the idea of a union between Theo, the Duke of the North, and his precious daughter.

Liriope frowned as she watched her father give her a thumbs-up while leaving the reception room.

She didn’t even want to know what that thumbs-up was supposed to mean.

“Now, why don’t you tell me the reason, my lady?”

Once the Duke had left and the reception room door closed, Theo asked.

His uniquely cool voice was intimidating, but Liriope already knew that deep down, he was actually a warm-hearted man. Tilting her head slightly, she asked,

“Reason? What reason?”

“The reason you pulled this adorable little stunt.”

Adorable little stunt…? Surely, he was talking about the engagement contract.

Liriope glanced down at the golden paper sitting on the table.

If he was talking about that, then she had something to say about it, too.

She had never even considered getting engaged to the Duke of the North in the first place.

She had only intended to borrow his name—just for a moment—to cancel the engagement with the Crown Prince.

But her father, who had less awareness than a rock, had gone ahead and brought the engagement contract without even discussing it with her.

“The fact that you’ve been in love with the Crown Prince for over a decade is something everyone in the Empire knows. But suddenly… me?”

Theo, who had been speaking while looking at Liriope with sharply gleaming eyes, suddenly stopped. He furrowed one eyebrow slightly and cleared his throat with a low, deliberate sound.

“…You say you’ve come to like me.”

Then he resumed speaking.

“There must be another reason behind this.”

“Another reason?” Liriope asked.

At her question, the fierce glint in Theo’s eyes softened slightly, returning to their usual sharpness.

“I mean, the real reason you want to be engaged to me.”

At those words, Liriope’s face flushed with confusion.

“The real reason? There isn’t one,” she replied.

When Liriope forced an awkward smile and spoke, one of Theo’s perfectly shaped eyebrows twitched slightly.

And that twitch—looked absurdly good.

How could someone look that handsome even when frowning?

Liriope found herself unintentionally marveling at the man before her, who merely looked displeased.

Just looking at him made her heart flutter and her thoughts scatter. As expected of the male lead.

So this was what people meant when they said someone had a divine glow behind them.

His face alone, so dazzling it could enchant anyone in sight with a single breath, left her dazed.

Maybe her blank expression looked too dumbfounded, or maybe he just didn’t believe her when she said there was no other reason—either way, Theo frowned in irritation.

“There’s no other reason?”

“Nope, none,” Liriope replied quickly.

“Then… are you saying you really did fall for me?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“When did it start?”

“Um… when, exactly…?”

Liriope, caught off guard by a question she hadn’t prepared for, panicked slightly and started thinking fast. What would sound most convincing?

At that moment, Theo once again cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. Then, as if he couldn’t bear it any longer, he brought his clenched fist to his mouth and gave a short, precise cough.

That action triggered a memory in Liriope—an anecdote about Theo flashed across her mind.

She quickly scanned the room with her eyes, looking for something.

Then she let out a small “Ah!” as if she had discovered something.

Picking up a bell from the table, she gave it a quick shake.

The clean, clear sound of the golden bell rang through the room, and the door opened as Liriope’s maid, Gemma, entered.

“Yes, Lady Liri?”

“Remove all the Lazerian from the reception room.”

Liriope had remembered reading in the novel that the white Lazerian flowers, which resembled calla lilies, had a unique property that caused a pollen allergy in Theo, the Duke of the North—and were the only flowers to do so.

Lazerians were a favorite flower among all noble ladies, and even the original heroine of the novel, Lady Rosearin of the Count’s family, adored them.

In the original story, Theo had planted Lazerians in the greenhouse of the northern duke’s castle for Rosearin, despite his allergy to the pollen. There was even an episode where Theo struggled to suppress his coughing while inside the greenhouse, and Liriope had especially loved that scene. So when she saw Theo coughing in discomfort, she immediately thought of the Lazerians.

As Gemma and the other maids removed all the vases containing Lazerians, Theo’s expression stiffened slightly. Then, he watched Liriope with a curious gaze as she personally opened all the windows of the reception room one by one.

After opening every window, Liriope sat down and brushed her palms together as if to dust them off. But when she noticed Theo staring intently at her, her movements froze for a moment.

“We’re airing out the room, so you’ll feel better in a bit,” she said, awkwardly smiling and averting her eyes to escape his piercing gaze.

Then Theo asked in a cold voice, “How did you know?”

Liriope froze at his sharp question and quickly tried to maintain a natural smile as she responded, 

“Know what?”

“The Lazerians.”

“Ah… you didn’t know? It’s been going around quite a bit.”

“Going around?”

“There’s a rumor that you tend to cough whenever Lazerians are nearby. So people have started saying you must be allergic to their pollen.”

It was a story she had made up on the spot, but considering how many rumors circulated about the empire’s top two most eligible bachelors—the crown prince and the northern duke—it didn’t sound too far-fetched.

However, Theo frowned as if this was the first time he’d heard of it.

Before he could think too deeply about it, Liriope quickly changed the subject.

“A-anyway! Let’s get back to what we were talking about. What were you saying earlier?”

As she asked with a bright smile, Theo narrowed his eyes slightly.

No longer interested in pursuing the Lazerian topic, he crossed his legs and leaned back into the sofa.

“You were going to tell me when you supposedly fell for me.”

“Ah, right. When… Hmm, let me think.”

Liriope glanced to the side and muttered to herself, while Theo continued to stare at her with a sharp gaze.

“Maybe… it was during the Founding Festival ball at the imperial palace two years ago…?” she mumbled while tilting her head.

Still keeping his eyes on her, Theo replied, 

“I wasn’t at the palace during the Founding Festival ball that year.”

‘Ah, wrong guess.’