Chapter 1. The Perfect Ideal Type

“We meet again.”

“How did you get here…….”

“Indeed. How did I come to be here?”

The man I had spent a passionate night with last night spoke to me with a crooked smile on his lips. I, who had never dreamed of meeting him here, could only stare at him blankly.

He looked much neater than when I saw him last night. The atmosphere was the complete opposite of his loose and languid appearance yesterday, almost making him unrecognizable.

He slicked back his shimmering silver hair with wax, revealing his forehead unlike yesterday.

The man’s expression naturally turned colder, chillingly so. No, it seemed that way. To be precise, I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. For starters, I couldn’t believe he was here.

The person I was supposed to meet today was definitely the heir to the Blanche family. Why was this man here instead?

While I remained silent, the man who had approached me ruffled my hair lightly and murmured,

“I was worried when you left like that. I know it was quite a strain.”

His gaze naturally drifted towards my waist. As his eyes slowly moved up and met mine again, I remembered last night and felt a warm sensation in my belly. His blatant gaze contained affection. I felt a sense of closeness to the person I had spent the night with.

In fact, last night was a mistake. It was all because I drank too much, losing my senses over the fact that I had to marry the heir of the Blanche family no matter what.

I acted impulsively, recalling Serri’s words while I was not in my right mind.

‘But seeing him in daylight, he’s even more handsome.’

The man was definitely my type. I hadn’t realized it in the dim lighting at night, but his pure white silver hair seemed to glow on its own. Despite reminding me of the color of Blanche, strangely, I didn’t dislike it because of his face.

The sight of his hair, not fully set with wax and flowing softly in the breeze, gave the illusion of flowing honey.

Not just that? His red eyes gazed at me with a dizzying light, reminiscent of last night’s heat. His high nose bridge, red lips, prominent chin, and neck looked so sleek they could slide down a slide.

Perhaps because my gaze was too obvious, he let out a chuckle. As he lazily curved his lips, I held my breath and made an excuse,

“It doesn’t seem like it was too much trouble. Not really.”

Trying to hide my agitation by acting nonchalant.

Truthfully, last night was fantastic. It was a blissful night where it seemed I could even see the stars.

Before I knew it, his hand had reached my waist. The gentle stroking made me shiver unwittingly.

“Should I have done more? Were you disappointed?”

“…….”

“I was cautious because it seemed like your first time. I shouldn’t have held back.”

As he tilted his head and asked, my lips parted slightly. The slight smile in his eyes made my heart fail to stay put.

“I-I’m disappointed! It was just a one-night mistake anyway.”

“A mistake? ……You’re not suggesting we pretend it never happened, are you?”

At that moment, the hand that was stroking my waist strengthened. He pulled me closer so that the distance between us narrowed to just an arm’s length.

His red eyes stared intently at me, urging me to answer. Swallowing nervously under his fiery gaze, it felt like I might be swept away by him again because he was exactly my type.

‘Why did I have to meet my ideal type at this time? It’s not even attainable!’

As I regained my composure and lightly pushed him away, he stepped back willingly.

“Let’s pretend it never happened. After all, it was just a mutual attraction for one night.”

Of course, it was my first time, but there seemed to be no need to explain that much.

At that moment, his eyes flashed fiercely like a wild beast.

“Do you usually spend nights with just any man?”

The atmosphere turned cold in an instant, as if he were addressing an unfaithful wife. If I said yes, it seemed like he would dig up all the men I had spent nights with and bury them in the ground.

Of course, the first one who would need to be buried would be the man before me since he was the only one I had ever spent a night with. I coughed awkwardly and looked away,

“Why does that matter? We’re nothing to each other anyway.”

“We are nothing to each other.”

“I have a fiancé. So, it would be nice if you could leave now. My fiancé is supposed to come soon.”

When she mentioned fiancé, the man seemed noticeably calmer and then asked softly,

“Do you love your fiancé?”

Love? As if!

How could I love a man whose face I’ve never even seen?

I laughed as if I heard something ridiculous. It was an arranged marriage from the start. One that the Emperor had forcibly arranged.

The Francis family and the Blanche family had been enemies for generations.

There’s a saying that if two members from these families meet on a narrow bridge, one must die before they can cross – that’s how bad their relationship was.

This generation was no exception, and eventually, when bloodshed occurred, the Emperor devised a plan. To marry the heirs of both families.

So, it was an engagement made under compulsion. Until now, we had managed somehow since the other party was studying abroad at the Arendt Empire’s Academy, but we could no longer delay the marriage.

It was because he was supposed to return home this year. And today, I went out to meet that fiancé or whatever he is.

I might not get married unless something unexpected happens. So, the ideal type in front of me should be passed off as just a one-night incident.

“I don’t love him, but I guess I should marry him. It’s an imperial command.”

“That’s good to hear. I was just about to decide to get married myself.”

“Marriage? So, you have a fiancée too?”

I was shocked and raised my voice, which made the man smile.

I never thought he would have a fiancée too.

Yet, he came to find me, making me wonder if his mind was in the right place. Of course, I was one of those crazy people, so I couldn’t really say anything.

I quickly grabbed his arm.

“Well, that’s good for you. Go to your fiancée then. I have to wait for my fiancé.”

“I’m already here, actually.”

“What do you mean? It’s just the two of us here.”

I thought the man was being stubborn and pulled on his arm again. Then, as if he was going to interlock fingers with me, he kissed the back of my hand instead. That touch made me remember last night and my shoulders shuddered.

His lips were soft and moist, drawing all my nerves to the back of my hand. He looked up at me intently and whispered softly.

“Your fiancé, that is. I’m already here.”

“I’m not in the mood for playing words with you. My fiancé will be here soon. If you don’t want to run into him, you should leave quietly. You might not know this, but my fiancé is Blan……”

“It seems you haven’t fully understood me yet, Miss Camilla Francis.”

The moment he called out my name from his mouth, my mind went blank. I reacted a step too late.

“How do you know my name……”

Could it be that he approached me on purpose?

I was so startled that I stumbled backward, but he didn’t let go of my hand. Holding my hand tightly, he looked at me with soft eyes that glowed lazily.

“How could I not know? I’ve always remembered the name of my fiancée.”

“Fiancée……?”

“Because I am your fiancé.”

“……What?”

What nonsense is this?

As I blinked in confusion, he smiled brightly and introduced himself.

“I apologize for the late introduction. I am Aster Blanche, who has just returned from studying abroad.”

At that moment, only one thought crossed my mind.

I’m doomed.  

* * *

  One day earlier.

“Aster Blanche is returning to the capital?”

I jumped up from my seat upon hearing this shocking news. My fiancé, who had not come to the capital for over 20 years, was suddenly returning.

Normally, we should have had our engagement ceremony by now, but the war broke out and it was replaced with paperwork. There was a lot of talk that this was another cowardly scheme by the Blanche family to screw over the Francis family. I had let it slide since they were keeping their distance anyway.

After that, he didn’t return under the pretext of finishing his studies, so we only maintained a nominal engagement. If he didn’t return even after my debutante ball, I planned to send a breakup notice.

It would have been a perfect opportunity to save face for the emperor and get back at the Blanche family.

But why now! Why come back at this time?

As I stood speechless, my maid, Serri, casually responded.

“Yes. It seems he hurried back to coincide with Miss’s debutante ball.”

“I’m not grateful at all! What if we really get married? It’s obvious that the snakes of Blanche will boil me alive!”

Right. Just looking at Paris and Helen from the Blanche family—Paris, who has no ability but pretends a lot, and Helen, who’s famous for her rudeness—wasn’t it clear?

Just thinking about having to serve such people as my brother-in-law and lady made me jump out of bed even in my sleep.

Our relationship was beyond repair through marriage. If it were so easy to mend, we wouldn’t have been enemies for so long!

Moreover, the heir of Blanche was a bastard child. He inherited all the family’s abilities and surpassed Paris, the eldest son, to become the heir. Of course, it wasn’t because he was a bastard that I disliked him. I just hated Blanche.

“Really? But I heard that unlike Lord Paris, Aster Blanche is considered normal.”

“There’s no way anyone from the Blanche family is normal. It’s not some mutation.”

“Miss is too harsh on the Blanche family. Maybe because you’re from the Francis family.”

“I just hate their very existence. Even seeing the phoenix crest makes me feel bad.”

I frowned at the mention of the Blanche family’s symbol, the phoenix. Then Serri chuckled while folding towels.

“Anyway, you’re meeting your fiancé tomorrow, so you should go to bed early tonight. It would be troublesome to meet him with a tired face. It’s still your first meeting after all.”

“No way. I’ll stay up all night and go out looking like a mess. I want him to want to run away as soon as he sees me.”

As I stubbornly insisted with gritted teeth, Serri retorted with a sarcastic tone.

“Why? If that’s the case, why don’t you just elope?”

At that moment, a light bulb went on in my head.

“That’s a great idea!”

There had been a case where a fallen noble lady who was about to be sold off to an old nobleman ran away with her lover. When they were found, they had already completed their marriage vows, rendering her marriage to the old man useless.

“Are you serious?”

Serri jumped in disbelief. Of course, I wasn’t serious.

That would only be possible if I had a lover in the first place. Unless my ideal type suddenly fell from the sky, it was useless.

“You’re always making a fuss. If you hated it so much, you should have found a lover long ago. You’re always work, work, work.”

“Is it wrong to live diligently?”

“It’s not wrong, but since you’ve ended up marrying into Blanche because of it, I’m just saying.”

“Serri, should I find one now?”

“If lovers were that easy to find, Miss wouldn’t have been single until now.”

“Not a single word of support.”

As I glared at her, Serri smiled mischievously and stood up with a basket full of folded towels. She had been a close companion since childhood; she could be comfortable at times but very annoying at others.

“Go to sleep.”

“Just go away.”

I waved my hand dismissively and flopped down on the bed. Naturally, my thoughts deepened.

‘Eloping alone? As if there’s a man willing to do that.’

Still, I didn’t want to enter the den of Blanche’s snakes.

“Ah, so frustrating. Maybe I should have a drink.”

I gave up on trying to sleep and got up from bed. At this time, I craved the special cocktail from my regular bar that would be open by now.

I casually retrieved the escape rope from the drawer. It was the rope I used to escape from the window without my parents knowing. I securely tied it to the pillar and threw it down below the window. Then, wearing my hood, I grabbed the rope and smoothly slipped out of the room.