Volume 1 - CH 16

(Campbellina’s POV)

She passed through the alley and got into the Desmond family’s carriage that was waiting on the street.

Campbellina let out a deep sigh as she rocked in her moving carriage.

(I’ve already given Alme the money, so I won’t think about that woman anymore. I’ll be happy with Julio from now on, so I’ll just have to think about that.)

Even though she thought so, the annoyance in her chest didn’t go away.

She couldn’t help it, so she decided to distract herself with a view of the city. She hoped this irritation would subsided for her by the time she got home.

It was a long time ago, but she used to be sickly and lived without freedom.

Every day on the same bed, in the same scenery, eating the same food…

It was such boring days, but the only thing she enjoyed was immersing herself in a love story.

A man and woman’s dramatic love unfolds in the story. She is a heroine who is loved, pampered, and cherished by a handsome man. She recognized herself in that form, and made it her solace in her dull days.

She fell in love with a love story, something she wished for many times. Someday she wanted to have a dramatic love affair herself, she thought.

She couldn’t help but wish, even though she gave up on the idea that it was a dream that would never come true.

–No, but, not long after that, she got an unexpected chance.

Surprisingly, she got her status as a noble’s daughter. By the fact that her merchant father received the rank of baron.

Baron’s daughter, Campbellina Desmond. It became her new identity.

She was already in good health by then, and she decided to take full advantage of this status and her healthy body to pursue her long-held dream.

She attended soiree parties, balls, theaters, dinners, art galleries–and at every encounter she sought romance with a nice man.

However, she could not meet the love she had envisioned.

The only men who approached her with fervor were ugly or insignificant poor men. A short man is also out of the question. Sweating is also unsightly, so she rejected them all. A fat man is absolutely out of question.

No matter how kind and gentle he may be, she doesn’t want an unattractive lover.

Most of the people she thought were nice were men of high status…However, her status as an upstart Baron’s daughter was not taken into consideration by such upper class people.

“It seems that this status is more difficult to use than I thought.” She clenched her teeth in unfocused annoyance.

She was pretty herself, so of course she was often invited for a “night out”.

But that’s all there was to it. In the morning, the relationship is clean cut, refreshing, and nothing remains but emptiness.

Depressed, she resented the wicked gods, she asked why don’t they give her what she truly wants.

――That strong resentment seemed to have reached the gods.

After a while, they were finally able to fulfill her fateful encounter.

In desperation, she was able to get acquainted with a handsome man at a cheap evening party that included middle-class commoners to low-ranking aristocrats.

The man’s name is Julio Beatos.

He has quirky brown hair and gentle green eyes. He is a rather slender and gentle man.

He’s about as tall as a normal adult man, or a little shorter. He’s tall enough to look tall for her petite self.

Julio took her hand and whispered sweetly.

“What a pretty woman you are. Like a flower spirit. I may have attended this evening party to meet you. Please spend some time with me tonight.”

She instantly fell in love with Julio as he knelt down and kissed her hand. It seemed that Julio also fell in love with her in the same way.

It was a fateful encounter, like a gift from the gods. She was overjoyed that she finally had the dramatic romance she had always wanted.

From that day on, their love flared up, their hearts and bodies overlapped, and their feelings grew day by day.

It seemed that Julio had a fiancée, but he said he was going to break up with her, and although it took a while, it actually happened.

“My dream has come true.” she was happier than anyone else in the world because she had a big romance with the handsome and passionate Julio. She thought so from the bottom of her heart.

“…it should have been.”

When she got engaged to Julio and started a new life, she began to feel a little uneasy.

The cause was that the shadow of the woman in front of her, Alme, flickered and did not disappear.

Ever since she started helping him as his new partner, there’s been a phrase she’s heard over and over again.

“Since I entrusted Alme with office work, I would like to ask you to do the same.”

“Since Alme was doing this, I’m begging you too.”

“I should have taken over from Alme, sorry.”

Alme, the name of the woman in front of her came out of Julio’s mouth many times. Each time, her chest felt sore, and she felt resentment.

She didn’t like taking over his previous woman’s job, so she decided instead to support Julio in what only way she could do.

She had heard that he had never had physical contact with Alme before, so she decided to devote herself to Julio to the best of her ability.

He was delighted, and she hoped it would be a good cure for stress.

…However, in the end, the two of them ended up getting a scolding from the director.

Julio had his private office taken away, and she had her own entrance pass taken away. She was thereby prevented from entering his workplace.

She was finally deprived of the routine of going to the library that she had become accustomed to, and she began to waste her time. She had no plans to go out in search of romance anymore, and she had nothing to do.

She took part in the city event – seeing off the Luorio army, as a way to pass the time and relieve her worries.

The white falcon, Falkert Raltoze, from the far north greeted her, put his hand on his chest and give her a graceful salute.

At that moment, she was sure his golden eyes were staring at her.

On that day, she turned to Shirotaka and called out loudly, “Please turn to me.” Everyone was calling out to him, but It was right after she did, that he turned his attention in her direction.

She prides herself on being better looking than most people. Perhaps this beauty caught his eye.

Shirotaka was beautiful like a male god, and his demeanor was as wonderful as that of a prince. When she realized that there were such good-looking gentlemen in the world, she forgot to breathe and fell in love.

Shirotaka lightly greeted her and rode away on his horse briskly. He made her heart flutter with mischief, and she was still shaken…

After that, she imagined a romance with him out of an old habit. She wondered how it would feel to dance her first dance with him at the ball.

…but she just kept it in her imagination.

Because she already have a fiancé. A beloved fiancé who had a fateful encounter with her.

Also the other party is a high-ranking priest. Like other high-ranking aristocrats, he probably wouldn’t deal with someone like herself, who was an upstart baron’s daughter. Trying to get closer to him will only make her feel empty again.

In the first place, she doesn’t even know how to approach him.

She wanted to settle down with Julio as soon as possible in order to calm her shaky heart.

Julio is reasonably handsome, he’s taller than she is, and he’s from an upper-middle-class family. He is reasonably rich and he has a job and he loves her.

–For her, he’s the perfect option.

“Know your place. You should date someone worthy of you,” she had said to Alme, which was also a warning to herself. 　　　　

She should choose a partner who fits her stature. She quickly forgot how she felt about Shirotaka.

In order to love Julio wholeheartedly, she wanted to erase the existence of Alme, the cause of her heartache.

She handed over the money and ordered her to stay away from him. She won’t meet him again, and Julio would soon forget about Alme.

To her, she only has a man named Julio her heart. She thought it would be best to fit in this form. This should make her happy.

Campbellina narrowed her eyes as she looked out over the city from her carriage.

This central boulevard is the road that the military passed the other day. In other words, it is the road that Shirotaka took the other day.

Unconsciously, the image of Shirotaka’s salute from that time revives in her chest.

(…But if it’s just a send-off, I wonder if it’s okay to come again.)

A thought popped into her head.

As soon as she thought about it, a series of pleasant fantasies begin to flow through her head.

(…When I go to see him off again, he would eventually remember me and talk to me. If he invited me to spend the night with him, I would definitely ride with him! Even if he had a fiancée, it wouldn’t be a problem if it was just for a night. If he gets hooked and wants me again and again, then…)

While imagining this and that, the frustration she had felt with Alme until just now had completely disappeared.