I Don’t Want to Be a Lady

Morning has already come… It was the time for the people in this house to do their activities.

But… he walks into the den on his own?

It must have been his intention to catch people’s eyes right away and make it like real things. But this is not what I intended.

Standing with Duke Kaien in front of my father, talking about our burning love and irreversible accident, he tried to get permission to marry me…

We already wrote the contract. Did he think my father would agree right away because the water had already spilled? He’s like a human being with a pea-sized brain!

“Charter… Next time we meet, I will pull out a handful of his hair!”

I once again unleashed my boiling anger against the innocent cushion. How many times I huffed and puff as I slammed the cushion down a few times.

My wrath was over, and now I had to calm my anger and make up my mind in a hurry. I need to face my father.

After a long time has passed, someone knocks on the door.

“Come in,” said me, who pretended to be calm.

It was the butler who opened the door and entered. It was extremely rare for him to come to my room. He probably came to me for what I expected.

As expected, the butler spoke so coldly that you couldn’t feel the warmth at all.

“Lady, Master is looking for you.”

What was going to happen was something that couldn’t be avoided or prevented. I will have to face it boldly if I can’t avoid it.

I rose as if I had waited and followed him. It would be nice if the time would stop, but I was already in front of my father’s office.

My hands were wet with sweat. It was the first time I had done something against my father’s will. Of course, my father would never forgive me for that. I thought it wouldn’t be strange if I was beaten to death by his hand today. My father often beat people to death as he pleased when it came to his business, and I was well aware of that.

“Master, I have brought Lady here.”

“Come in.”

A cold voice was heard.

Huu. Sighing, I managed to move my feet that didn’t want to enter.

Creek.

The door behind me closed. It sounded like my heart was going to fall.

Thump. Thump.

My heart started beating wildly.

My father, Count Bornes, was sitting in a chair behind the desk. The desk was made of the highest quality mahogany, and the chair was made by the best craftsmen of the empire with magnificent and luxurious high-end furniture. But the person sitting there was the worst person in the empire.

At that time, I wondered if the only thing left for me was to be beaten to death.

“I thought you were gentle, but you did something extreme.”

Count Bornes’s cold purple eyes were fixed on me. My eyes, who thought he would beat me right away, widened.

In the midst of not being able to figure out what the situation was, Count Bornes rose from his seat and approached me.

Well then. This is the beginning.

He raised his hand. I closed my eyes unknowingly and prepared to get slapped. But nothing happened. When I slowly opened my eyes, I saw him touching my hair with his hand. He curled my hair with his fingers, loosened it, and then placed his hand on my shoulder.  

“I want to sell you bitch to the dirtiest and most miserable place right now. After all, to Duke Kaien… Be glad you’re useful.”

Is it… success?

The moment I let out a sigh of relief without realizing it, Count Bornes’s cold and bloody eyes turned to my face. Then he grabbed my shoulder harshly. 

“Ugh!”

A pain came over my shoulder as if it was going to fall off. As expected… The strength that man used was the same strength to beat people to death. My body trembled with pain.

Looking at me trembling like a bug, he pushed me away and shoved me down. He didn’t have the slightest bit of affection to easily pass over his daughter’s guilt for violating his plan. He stopped to this extent only because of his daughter’s value as a product.

Thud.

I fell to the floor and grabbed my shoulder for a while, not thinking about standing up.

Ouch! It hurts so much! You fucking xxx.

Count Bornes returned to his seat without looking at me groan on the floor. Then he said,

“Philip, take her away.”

As if waiting, the door opened, and the butler brought maids to support me. I was dragged out of the room. Still, I feel relieved that I didn’t die only after being put on my bedroom bed, and soon I fainted from the pain.  

* * *

“Lady, he is still waiting.”

“Yes.”

I slowly wiped the guns laid out on the table, ignoring the restless maid. Every morning, I was conscious of what he did.

It’s already the third day. I didn’t show my face to Charter despite his subsequent visit. It was still hard for me to move due to my shoulder pain, but I did this for timid revenge for making me end up in this state.

My face showed no sight of anxiety or nervousness, even though I had kept the Duke of the Empire waiting for me for three days. But at this point, I thought he would have realized.

The busy and arrogant Duke Kaien has been coming to see me for three days? I can take this as an apology in its own way.

I, who arranged the guns on the table, instructed Madrenne.

“Madrenne, can you bring me a shawl?”

“Yes, Lady.”

The quick-witted Mardrenne brought a large shawl and covered my shoulder. Thanks to this, the bandages wouldn’t be visible. I gently raised my arm. There was no abnormality with my shoulder bone, but it was still uncomfortable to move.

“Bring him here.”

“Yes, Lady.”

After a while, I sat face to face with Charter across the table. Just like where we signed the contract a few days ago.

I stared at Charter sitting opposite me with a pouty face. He looked perfect today as well. It seems as if he planned even a single strand of his hair combed back to prevent it from protruding out.

Really, even if I stab him, there won’t be a drop of blood that will get out.

TL/N: It’s a Korean proverb for saying someone who is cold-blooded.

It was an appreciation full of feelings for a man that everyone admired.

Charter also fixed his gaze on Arianne. In fact, he was a little upset. He signed a contract as Arianne wanted. And for him, the most important thing in everything was efficiency. The same applied for dealings with her. However, seeing Arianne’s expression, which doesn’t hide her displeasure, somehow makes him think he did something wrong. But what did he do wrong?

He didn’t know.

I was even more offended by his indifferent attitude. He didn’t seem to know his fault or terribly just shameless. My sweet words couldn’t get out.

“What the hell have you done?”

A sharp sentence popped out. 

“I was just making an offer that your father couldn’t refuse.”

Charter replied as if he didn’t understand why I was being like that. And I asked, “Of…fer?

Didn’t he just walk out of the mansion? Did he meet my father?

Come to think of it, my father was a villain famous for his mercilessness in this empire, and his mercilessness was no exception to me. He was never a great person to overlook his child’s rebellion. Of course, it would be different if you paid him a very high price.  

“You offer a very high price, don’t you? Seeing that I’m still alive.”

I was still in a bad mood about him, so I kept being sarcastic.

“Yes, that’s right. I put up the diamond mine and emerald mine as the offer.”

My eyes widened.

Isn’t the diamond mine he’s talking about the mine I know? The Sorbe region…

The diamond mine in the Sorbe region was the largest diamond producer in the empire. It was the mine that I wanted to take as alimony.

“I thought your father would accept it if I offered the diamond mine in Sorbe and emerald mine in Meria.”

Eventually, I couldn’t stand it and shout.

“I beg your pardon? That’s my alimony! Why did you do it in your own way!”

At that moment, I didn’t miss the look Charter looked at me as if I were a pathetic human being who only knew nothing but money – less than a crawling bug. It didn’t matter how he looked at me. The important thing is.

I was aiming for one of those mines, but why did he hand it over to my father!

I tried to soothe my bitter heart. But…

Even if my cousin buys that land, my heart will still feel bitter. But of all people, he gave it to my father.

Ah… my heart. My heart hurt so much. My diamond…

Just imagining my father getting wealthier made me feel sick. When I clenched my teeth in the pain of my stomach tightening, I felt his gaze.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“What do you think I saw?”

Charter replied brazenly, without changing a single expression.

What did you mean? You’re looking at my face right now.

I didn’t bother pointing out that he had a face that looked like he had chewed the horse’s poop.

Charter was startled inwardly. He thought he had already managed his expression well, but how did she know?

“You didn’t forget the diamond mine on the contract, did you? But why!”

“You didn’t specify which diamond mine it is.”

“That’s true, but…”

Wait, what? So he has more diamond mines than that?

As my eyes widened, Charter’s eyebrows rose proudly.

Oh, shit.

Anyway, things were like that.

“So you mean my father accepted the offer?”

“Yes. It was said that the diamond mine should be handed over to your father and the emerald mine to the crown prince. I thought that if we got married, the crown prince would be aware of it. That’s why if I do that, your father will be able to make up for it, and we will be able to proceed without any problems.”

What? Did this man really care about me? But…there’s no way for my father to give up on me except under certain conditions.

And this man is saying that it must be because he desperately needs the secret ledger. Still, my resentment against him melted away when he was considerate of me.

“And the very next day, I brought the proposal, but for some reason, you keep avoiding me…”

“Well… at least I’m still alive. First of all, my father already gave us permission to get married.”

I quickly cut him off before he could be rebuked. It was because I thought it was better to interrupt him and make him label me as rude rather than make excuses for him.

Charter’s black eyes shone sharply.

“Something must have happened.”

“Isn’t it disadvantageous if the mine was given to the crown prince’s side? Would that be all right?”

I didn’t want to reply to it, so I changed the subject of the question. At this, Charter crossed his legs and leaned his back on the sofa, giving an indifferent look on his face, and said,

“Well, I will get it back in the near future.”

There is only one way for him to get the mine back. It was only when the second prince became the emperor, purged the crown prince’s faction, and then took away their family’s property.

 “Ah~ I see. You speak as if the second prince will become the emperor.”

“He will. And it will be good for you too.”

Charter was confident about it. But…

“No. I don’t care who the emperor is. The only thing I care about is to receive the alimony.”

Charter’s expression became like he chewed a horse’s poop again at my words.

In my mind, men tend to think only about the best and the worst future they can predict. They always kept thinking about the worst thing that could happen in their mind to avoid becoming miserable.

I then opened the shawl to show it off.

“As you can see, I’m not feeling well right now. I’m sorry, but I need to rest.”

My heart might come out if I talked more, so I asked him to leave.

“Yes, Arianne. Then I will see you again as soon as your body recovers.”

Charter was strangely pleased by Arianne’s cold manner. It was the first time anyone had ever been rude to him. But he didn’t feel uncomfortable or dislike it for some reason. Rather, he felt it was interesting. After greeting her politely again today, he strode with his long legs, opened the door, and left the room. This time he didn’t hesitate.

Left alone there, I immersed myself in my thoughts. The crisis has passed. Now I had to prepare for the worst. Because I refuse to get that miserable ending.

“Then, first of all…”