Chapter 1.8

Valentine clenched his reddened fingertips into a fist.  

The servant, noticing this, spoke quickly.  

“I’ll fetch new gloves for you.”  

“No.”  

Valentine shook his head.  

The servant stared at him in surprise.  

Valentine typically disliked soiled gloves, carrying multiple pairs of white silk gloves at all times.  

Instead, he reached out and untied his golden cravat.  

“Bring me another color.”  

He dropped the cravat into the servant’s hands as he spoke.  

“What color would you prefer?”  

He lowered his gaze.  

Beside the dressing room mirror, colorful flowers were arranged decoratively.  

He pointed to one of them.  

“Red, Your Grace?”  

The servant asked again, slightly puzzled.  

The flower was a bright red rose, the same color as the current cravat.  

“No. Not that color.”  

What Valentine pointed to wasn’t the flower itself.  

It was the green leaves trembling beneath the rose.  

“This color.”  

He flicked the rounded green leaf with his finger.  

The quivering leaf fluttered down onto the table.  

The servant, understanding his intent, motioned to an attendant and whispered softly.  

“Green, then.”  

The attendant quickly ran to the wardrobe.  

Valentine, without glancing at the scene, spoke.  

“Hurry.”  

Shortly after, the attendant returned with several green cravats, which he laid out on the table.  

Valentine pointed to one without hesitation.  

It was a deep green cravat with light brown embroidery along the edges.  

“There’s still time before the reception. Do you have anything you’d like to attend to first, Your Grace?”  

The servant tied the cravat skillfully and cautiously asked.  

“Perhaps you’d like to visit the matron’s seat on the second floor….”  

“No.”  

Valentine replied curtly.  

“Prepare the bride’s waiting room first.”  

While Valentine’s dressing room remained quiet, Liz’s waiting room was bustling with activity.  

The elderly head maid, Martha, placed a cloth soaked in tea water over Liz’s eyes and spoke.  

“Oh, Miss, if you cry like this, your eyes will swell.”  

In truth, Martha found the situation absurd.  

Just hours ago, Martha had ordered Liz to bring the curtain.  

And now, she was addressing the maid as “Miss.” What on earth was happening?  

But Martha refrained from questioning Valentine.  

Having served him since birth, she knew his temperament well.  

Valentine was a man who couldn’t comprehend doubts about his decisions.  

His choices were so bold that they always shocked those around him, but they were invariably correct.  

In his first year as Duke, amidst opposition from distant relatives, he had lobbied the royal family and secured coal mining rights.  

“What’s so special about that black rock? Has the Duke gone mad…?”  

“Shut your mouth, you fool! You’re banned from the matron’s quarters from now on!”

Looking back, it was Martha who had silenced the servants back then.  

In the end, that decision had been an excellent one.  

The decaying roots of the collateral family’s lumber business could not resist the tides of time.  

Eventually, the collateral branch of the Winchesters, having lost its foundation, emigrated to the Florang Kingdom a few years ago.  

This was how Valentine Winchester always proved the process through results.  

Thus, Martha once again obeyed Valentine’s words without complaint, while simultaneously soothing the young maids.  

“Who knows? It might actually be easier than serving the real Lady Isabel. You’ve seen her a few times, haven’t you? You know how demanding she can be.”  

The young maids, despite their reluctant expressions, diligently massaged Liz’s hands, all thanks to Martha’s influence.  

“If we don’t hurry, we’ll all get scolded. Calm down now.”  

At Martha’s words, Liz took a deep breath.  

Liz, being a maid like them, could roughly guess what was happening.  

When Isabel threw a tantrum, it was the maids around her who bore the brunt of Count Myra’s wrath.  

“Hah… Yes. I’m sorry.”  

Liz closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.  

Martha exaggeratedly jumped in response.  

“Oh, don’t say that! And speak more casually. If the Master hears, he’ll be furious.”  

“Ah, o-okay… uh….”  

Liz awkwardly attempted to speak informally, then pressed her cheeks with embarrassment.  

Though it was fine to speak casually with the other maids her age, it felt awkward to do so with someone older like Martha.  

Still, seeing that Liz’s tears had stopped, Martha sighed in relief.  

“For now, we’ll need to redo your makeup. Sarah, bring the evening dress.”  

“What? No, no. Why? Isn’t it over now?”  

Liz, flustered, asked, and Martha replied matter-of-factly.  

“You need to head to the banquet hall. The reception is about to begin!”  

“Reception?”  

Liz half-rose from her seat in shock.  

But Martha gently pressed her shoulders to make her sit back down.  

“It’s the Duke’s order. Most of the guests are people you already know, Miss.”  

“This can’t be happening!”  

Liz, overwhelmed, covered her mouth with her hands.  

At least the wedding had only required her to walk silently from a distance.  

She hadn’t even managed to do that properly, and now she was expected to do even more.  

‘At the banquet hall, I’ll have to face people up close and even talk to them.’  

The thought of standing before the nobles, gentry, and bourgeois she had served just hours ago made her vision go dark.  

“Can… can I even do something like that?”  

“Yes, Madame.”  

Startled, Liz inhaled sharply and turned around.  

The damp cloth resting under her eyes slipped off.  

Valentine, fully prepared, stood at the door.  

“Of course, you must go. It’s a celebration of our marriage.”  

Smiling softly, Valentine approached and placed a hand on Liz’s shoulder.  

The two figures reflected in the mirror were starkly different.  

His dark evening coat and deep green cravat highlighted his golden hair, making him look as though he had stepped out of a painting.  

In contrast, Liz’s appearance was disheveled.  

The extravagant wedding dress tailored for Isabel didn’t suit her at all.  

Her makeup was smeared, and her barely-recovered eyes were red and bloodshot.  

“Everyone will be celebrating the new bride, Isabel Winchester. Isn’t that right, Head Maid?”  

Martha quickly nodded.  

“Of course. Where could you find a bride as lovely as this?”  

“Indeed. She’s far more beautiful now than she was at the ceremony.”  

Valentine responded immediately, and Liz let out a hollow laugh.  

At least at the ceremony, she had managed to hold herself together. Now, she was utterly a mess.  

It was hard to compliment her even as a lie.  

Valentine must have been trying to coax her into the banquet hall with empty words.  

Martha seemed to think the same, as she rolled her eyes briefly before replying with a bright smile.  

“Perhaps it’s because you’ve become a married couple now that she looks even more beautiful.”  

“That could be it.”  

Valentine smiled faintly and lightly brushed Liz’s hair with the back of his hand.  

The spot where his hand passed tingled.  

Even though she knew all of this was a fabricated show, her heart raced.  

“So, get ready, Isabel.”  

Hearing herself be called Isabel, she snapped her out of her daze.  

‘Don’t fall for it.’  

Her pounding heart gradually calmed. Liz shook her head firmly.  

“You said I was a stand-in. This is different from what you said earlier….”  

“In the Winchester Estate,”  

Valentine interrupted Liz’s words coldly.  

Then, leaning down, he whispered into her ear.  

“I made it clear that Liz Garrett’s existence would not be acknowledged.”  

At his frosty words, Liz inhaled sharply.  

He was reprimanding her for using the term “stand-in” in front of others.  

Liz forced herself to ask boldly.  

“But the wedding is over, isn’t it? So my duty… shouldn’t it be over too?”  

“You’re making me repeat myself.”  

Valentine sighed softly as he murmured.  

“Did I ever say it was over?”  

Liz’s mind went blank at his words.  

It was only now that she understood the cryptic statement he had made at the ceremony.  

He had no intention of ending this charade just yet.  

“The dresses from Myra don’t suit you as well as those from Winchester. Don’t you agree?”  

Valentine smiled as he spoke, as if he hadn’t heard Liz’s protests.  

Martha, perceptive as ever, bowed her head.  

“Yes, Miss. Now that you’re part of the Winchester family, it would be better that way.”  

“P-part of the Winchester family?”  

Liz was startled by her own words and quickly covered her mouth.  

For someone who hadn’t even been treated as a person before, to be called part of the Winchester family—it was unthinkable.  

Yet Valentine continued to smile.  

It seemed he had no intention of listening to her words at all.  

“In that case, I’ll wait outside. Once you’re ready, come down to the outdoor banquet hall.”  

With that, Valentine turned to leave.  

Liz, as though making a decision, abruptly stood up.  

“Miss?”  

Leaving the startled Martha behind, Liz grabbed Valentine’s arm.  

Before he could turn around, Liz stammered in a pleading tone.  

“A-as your wife, I have a request, my dear….”  

Valentine froze in place.  

Not only him, but the maids around them also stared at the two in shock.  

Liz knew full well that this was an audacious act.  

But Valentine had dismissed her opinions entirely until now.  

To make her voice heard, Liz had no choice but to become Isabel.  

For Liz, it was a desperate cry for help.