Chapter 1 – Arrange Marriage (Part 4)

At the time she met him, Sophia was a child full of a sense of justice. So she couldn’t just stand by and watch as the boy named Victor was bullied for his frail body, short stature, and perceived weakness.

Feeling sorry for him, she took care of him separately, which led to some special feelings. However, to call it love wouldn’t be accurate; it was closer to sympathy.

She wondered if that boy had grown up well by now, if he had escaped the bullying around him.

The reason Sophia knew nothing of Victor’s fate was that one day he suddenly disappeared. Typically, when someone vanished, it was likely they had moved to another village, but that might not have been the case for Victor.

Unlike nobles, commoners had no guarantee of safety. Even if they were beaten by family, there was nowhere to seek help. If someone took a life and erased the evidence, that was the end of it.

If Sophia had been older, she might have been able to help him somehow, but at that time, she lacked the power to assist Victor. All she could do was endlessly wait for the boy who suddenly stopped appearing.

The regret of not being able to help him back then lingered, and so it was natural for Sophia to still worry about Victor.

“Then, should we try to find him before the marriage?”

“What would be the point? He might already be married. Besides, my feelings weren’t that deep. I was just a bit concerned.”

Though she thought the likelihood of his death was high, Sophia didn’t voice this thought. There was no need to speak such negative words.

Who would have thought that the young boy she had special feelings for, though not quite love, would be her last love?

Sophia had to smile bitterly, recalling the boy who was both her first and last love, conjured up with effort.

“Miss, you’re a lucky person, aren’t you? So, if you set your mind to it, couldn’t you find your first love right away?”

“Yes, I have been lucky.”

Strangely, from a young age, Sophia had a peculiar kind of luck following her. Her good fortune was also related to the cessation of Marcus’s bullying.

After Marcus’s direct bullying stopped, his henchmen would push Sophia to make her fall, dunk her in the lake, or deliberately spill wine on her dress to ruin it.

‘Did you hear? The young master of Suffolk was found n*ked by the lakeside after losing consciousness.’

‘I heard too. What suddenly happened?’

‘They say he drunkenly fell into the lake, but it seems strange.’

The day before the incident, the young master of Suffolk had played a prank by pushing Sophia into the lake. Because of his mischievous act, she almost drowned, as she couldn’t swim, but she was saved by a patrolling guard who rushed over at her scream.

The very next day, the incident of the young master of Suffolk falling into the lake occurred, but initially, Sophia thought it had nothing to do with her. Others thought the same.

However, when the same thing happened again, suspicion towards Sophia began to grow.

‘This time, they say the young master of Berkshire broke his leg after slipping on the stairs? They say he screams at the sight of a knight’s uniform, as if he’s seen a ghost.’

‘Could it be the ghost of a dead knight he saw?’

The young master of Berkshire had deliberately bumped into Sophia the day before, causing her to sprain her ankle and have to rely on a cane for a while.

It was surprising enough that the young masters, who had been fine, suddenly got injured, but what was more surprising was the commonality that they had all bullied Sophia the day before and suffered injuries similar to hers.

‘Could it be related to Lady Dveshi? Maybe she has a guardian spirit?’

[Must be a coincidence.’

Although everyone thought it was just an accidental incident, they couldn’t shake the idea that it might have something to do with Sophia.

However, since two instances could be seen as a coincidence, not many people associated the incidents with Sophia. But when the third incident occurred, the perception of Sophia changed.

This time, it was a lady who had spilled a drink on Sophia.

‘Oh, sorry.’

Having deliberately dirtied her clothes, the lady apologized insincerely and chuckled.

‘I think you should be thanking me instead. Don’t you think the stains suit you better?’

The lady, who had uttered all sorts of insulting words to Sophia, suddenly returned home soaking wet one day, trembling as if she had seen a ghost, and reportedly didn’t leave her room for a while.

At first, it was thought to be a coincidence, but as such incidents repeated, the way people looked at Sophia at banquets changed. Regardless of age or gender, most attendees would whisper about her.

‘She’s here again. Who will she curse this time?’

‘Who’s brave enough to talk to her?’

‘Just don’t bully her, and it doesn’t matter, right? Did you try to bully Lady Dveshi?’

‘N-no, but isn’t it scary?’

Opinions about Sophia varied. Half were scared without having experienced anything, and the other half said it didn’t matter as long as you didn’t wrong her.

Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Sophia was called a cursed lady for a while because of it.

But that was only temporary. As those who bullied Sophia disappeared and no more incidents occurred, the nickname of the cursed lady gradually faded. Thus, Sophia considered herself lucky.

However, seeing that her luck wasn’t working at the most crucial time, it seemed her fortune was coming to an end. Or perhaps she had been lucky all along just for this misfortune to find her.

Is my luck ending here?

Sophia sighed deeply. Though she felt regret, she decided to be grateful for having lived without discomfort so far and let go of her feelings.

Still curious about who she would marry, Sophia instructed Emily to investigate the three brothers of the Loden family.

Of course, she knew well that the eldest would never be her marriage partner, but she also told her to investigate him out of curiosity to see if he was still causing trouble.

“Here it is.”

An hour after she had asked for the investigation, Emily presented the investigation report to Sophia.

“You’ve already finished the investigation?”

“I asked the butler, and he said there was already a report, so I brought it.”

“Oh…”

Come to think of it, it was unlikely Duke Dveshi hadn’t conducted an investigation. As soon as the marriage talks ended, he would have immediately assessed what the young masters of the Loden family were like and who would be her partner.

Receiving the report, Sophia began reading it slowly from the first page. The first entry was about the eldest, Marcus Loden.

What she knew about him was exactly what was written in the report. A hasty and hot-tempered personality.

Surprisingly, it noted that he had unexpectedly excellent work skills and was a surprisingly devoted man who couldn’t forget a princess married to another man.

It also mentioned that, in his youth, he bullied not only Sophia but several other young ladies and gentlemen, but after maturing, he apologized sincerely and maintained good relationships.

He never apologized to me!

Sophia, filled with indignation, hurled all sorts of curses at Marcus but then paused. No, come to think of it, he hadn’t entirely not apologized.

‘I apologize.’

She had once heard those unexpected words from him when they met at a banquet. At the time, she thought Marcus had lost his mind, but now it seemed it was his way of apologizing.

Since it wasn’t a satisfactory apology, Sophia thought she wouldn’t get along well with Marcus. No matter how much she thought about it, she felt she could never maintain a married life with him.

“I’m really glad my marriage partner isn’t Marcus Loden.”

Letting out a sigh of relief, Sophia continued reading. Expecting the second son, she was surprised to find the report was about the third son, Killian Loden.

“Killian Loden…”

Like Marcus, Killian Loden was a man she didn’t want to be involved with as a marriage partner, but for slightly different reasons. If the eldest was disliked, the third was more of a fearful presence.

Killian was the most handsome among the three and was intelligent. Moreover, he was highly skilled, having risen to the position of Captain of the Royal Knights at a young age.

With black hair tinged with a hint of red, eyes like a blazing sun, sharp features, and a chiseled face, he looked like a sculpture.

His broad shoulders and solid build suited his neat knight’s uniform, complementing his intense and imposing image.

His movements were also restrained and dignified, so much so that Sophia almost developed a crush on him based on appearance alone, but it was only for a moment.

Why does he look at me like that?