Estella took a moment to reflect on Adriana’s situation. The Marquis of Astez was on high alert for any sign of his daughter running away before the big wedding. There wouldn’t be many places where they could talk without being watched. Given Adriana’s situation, it was understandable that she was being cautious.

When Estella didn’t answer right away, Adriana explained.

“I asked because you seem to be quite comfortable with the Duke.”

‘Easygoing’ wasn’t the most fitting expression to describe both herself and Adriana, but outright denying it would have been unusual. Estella replied a beat later.

“……I heard. You asked him to marry you.”

“Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t know that much.”

Estella shook her head. She didn’t need to turn Diego into a snitch just because she knew the truth about Adriana’s situation.

Adriana didn’t seem to ask the question with the intention of prying. It appeared that she was hesitating for a moment, trying to determine where to start her explanation. As soon as the leading lady appeared on stage, she took a deep breath and began.

“I’m about to get married. It’s a common misfortune that befalls noble women of my age.”

At the sarcastic remark, Estella smiled fleetingly. As the tension eased, Adriana spoke in a softer voice.

“In fact, I had already prepared myself for my future husband. Even if he were a man twice my age, I would have considered him quite remarkable. However, my father turned out to be more than I had thought.”

“Is it a remarriage ceremony?”

To expedite the progress of the story, Estella interjected like a prompter. Adriana responded with a wry smile.

“It’s the worst case even among remarriages. The previous wives are all still intact, with over ten children among them. Since we’re disclosing specific information, the prospective groom is none other than Granton III of the Kingdom of Maribel.”

“Isn’t he already… over eighty?”

“There are even rumors that he beats his wives. How can any powerful figure respect a woman who can only cross the border and live in her in-laws’ home?”

Adriana smiled wryly as she asked. With that, the heroine’s monologue began. Adriana’s eyes were naturally drawn to the commotion on stage. The heroine was cupping her red cheeks after her fateful first meeting with the hero. Adriana’s cool gaze lingered for a moment in that pink world.

Biting her lower lip, Adriana continued, sighing.

“I’m not of age yet, which means my father can choose who I marry against my will. It’s not about my father, but about finding someone I can live and grow with. That’s why I need someone who will protect me.”

Adriana took a deep breath as she spoke, her voice thick with regret.

“A man to be my protector…….”

It’s pretty self-evident who it means.

“It hurts my pride. But what could be more terrifying than leaving for a foreign country where I can’t speak the language?”

“That’s why you’ve come to see him, Diego.”

Estella replied bluntly. Adriana wrinkled her nose in a bitter smile.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, he had to be powerful enough to stand up to my father, and he has to have no fiancée. Those were the only two requirements. Once I weeded them out, there was only one man left out of all the men in the capital.”

It wasn’t uncommon for a man like Diego to be unmarried at such a late age. The better the conditions for marriage, the faster competitors would emerge.

Estella was suddenly a little curious. What had Diego said to reject Adriana?

“What did the Duke say?”

“He said he couldn’t marry someone like me.”

It was the exact same argument she’d heard from Diego before. He would undoubtedly have driven Adriana away with an overpowering attitude. Estella couldn’t help but imagine Diego’s furrowed brow, almost bursting into laughter at that moment. However, she wasn’t lacking in social skills to the extent of engaging in such thoughtless behavior.

“You’re going to ask me for help, aren’t you?”

Adriana froze in place at Estella’s question. Then Adriana nodded coolly. She looked at Estella with a serious face.

“I spent quite a bit of money on these tickets, and even though I’m from a marquis, I don’t have a lot of money.”

Perhaps her reserved demeanor wasn’t solely for the purpose of concealing her identity.

“I’m poor and I’m not famous, which are things that don’t really fit my status.”

Adriana is exaggerating her flaws. Her status as a Marquis’s daughter is objectively remarkable, and her family name alone had the power to intimidate people. Perhaps Adriana could have used the threat of severe consequences if Estella didn’t cooperate to intimidate her.

But like any good heroine, Adriana was just, and what she brought out was not coercion, but a sincere request.

“I know it’s unseemly to ask for a favor without offering anything in return, but my situation is so urgent that I can’t afford even basic courtesy. I can’t afford to look the other way, and I desperately need to convince him.”

Adriana looked at Estella with pleading eyes.

“Miss Margaret, I wonder if you could help me arrange a meeting with the Duke.”

She didn’t have an immediate answer. Diego was a living person, and even Estella, who knew the contents of the book, could not bend him to her will. When she predicted a smooth future for Adriana and Diego, it was simply because that’s what she read, and there was no other basis for it.

So when Estella saw Adriana’s desperation, she panicked. What could she do to change Diego’s mind?

Neither she nor Adriana had an answer. Estella was silent for a while, until a powerful baritone sang into her ears. The play was going on as scheduled, whether or not Adriana had a serious conversation with her.

Estella absentmindedly turned her head to look up at the stage. The world of unnatural encounters, so-called fateful love, and ridiculous circumstances was as hopeful as it was unrealistic. Adriana’s future could certainly look like that. Estella had seen it with her own eyes.

Estella clenched her fists absentmindedly. Estella blinked rapidly.

“I’m not sure.”

Adriana didn’t seem to understand Estella’s words. The answer was so unexpected. Estella cleared her throat again.

“But I will do everything I can to help you get out of that misery.”

“Uh…….”

Adriana was taken aback by the unexpectedly quick agreement. At a loss for words, she quickly grabbed Estella’s arm.

“There’s nothing I can do for you right now. If I do end up marrying the Little Duke,…….”

“No.”

Estella cut Adriana off immediately, knowing what was coming next. Adriana was probably going to promise to give her what she wanted after she married Diego. Whatever it was, it wasn’t what Estella wanted. Estella’s wishes were already fulfilled by her promise to Diego.

In a way, her decision to help Adriana was a price to pay for the benefit. Adriana was lost and wandering in a future that Estella had changed.

“I don’t really ask for anything in return. Those things usually don’t end well.”

Estella said in a nonchalant tone. Adriana fell silent, feeling embarrassed, her expression unreadable.

Adriana awkwardly lifted one corner of her mouth, biting her lip, and then lowered her gaze. With a contorted face, she spoke.

“Even if you feel sorry for me, it’s fine.”

“…”

“Thank you.”

Estella smiled with an uncertain expression.

“Please express your gratitude when I have actually been of help.”

It didn’t occur to her that the thank you would be unearned. She wasn’t optimistic enough to the extent of intervening in a hopeless fight. Nevertheless, Estella still believed in fate.

* * *

Diego flipped through the pages slowly, half lying down on the couch. He looked serene as he read the lines with languid eyes, but inside he was not as calm as he appeared. Eventually, Diego blurted out the words that had been running through his head.

“I’m not her type?”

Diego stopped laughing. The tutor, who had been annoying him the whole time, had finally gotten under his skin. He can’t forget the serious look on her face when she told him that she was going to marry someone she liked, and he wondered if she had actually heard that naive, stupid comment.

While it was impossible to fully grasp her intentions, there was one thing that was certain: she had a keen eye for men. As Diego recalled the old men she had mentioned, he let out a chuckle. If a gluttonous person was her type, she would’ve turned him down. Diego’s eyebrows arched in annoyance.

“Someone thinks this is really my style?”

As he spoke, he pictured Estella’s face. Her eyes, blue as the mid-autumn sky, were cold at first glance. Her eyelashes are full, but that’s not always a good thing, as they often curl into her eyes and cause her pain. She probably find herself looking in the mirror for foreign objects.

And what about the sharp nose and pouty lips? They’re pretty harmonious, but no matter how beautiful your breathing and talking organs are, they have no bearing on your main function…….

“What the fuck am I talking about.”

Diego said and pressed his eyes shut. Apparently, the sleeplessness had impaired his judgment. Diego eventually pressed the book over his face. The musty smell of the paper is against his nostrils. He tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t manage to slip into unconsciousness.

His sleeplessness had become chronic, and his body would only give him a break when he was deadly tired. The doctor who examined Diego said it was caused by excessive stress. At first, Diego was convinced, but when the same diagnosis was made after the death of Duke Berta, his distrust grew.

The bad memories that had haunted him for so long were already gone. Nothing could unsettle him now, and yet he still couldn’t rest easy.

“It’s over.”

Diego cleared his throat, as if to remind himself. He had been defeated by the Duke of Berta for so long, but it was he who had triumphed at the end. Diego recalled his father’s last face as a display of triumph. He felt no relief, as if the medicine had already worn off.

He couldn’t sleep, but he didn’t feel like picking up the papers again. Diego lay there like a corpse for a while. After quite a while, he sighed and said,

“…I have to go do something else.”

Unsurprisingly, he didn’t make a habit of talking into thin air, and even though he was blindfolded, he could still detect the slightest hint of activity nearby. The light footsteps were enough to give away the identity of his opponent. There were only two other children in the manor, and they had completely different personalities.

Diego pushed the book away from his eyes. Cecilia was looking down at him curiously. The sight of those innocent eyes that seemed to know nothing made him feel like shit.

Cheeky little brat. Muttering under his breath, Diego pushed himself up. Cecilia grabbed his knees. She pressed her lips together in a deliberately cute way. Cecilia spoke with a twinkle in her eye.

“Look ‘am pwetty.”

It was like she had something else she wanted. Diego said coldly.

“Our deal is long over, child.”