Chapter 3:
The Life I’d Dreamed of, and the Dream Life I Got
MIRRORS LARGE ENOUGH TO REFLECT SOMEONE entirely were very expensive, and there was only one at the Chandelan estate. Naturally, it had been set up in my sister’s room.
I’d often gone inside her room to clean; however, I’d always averted my eyes. I’d also do the same with smaller mirrors. My hair was always tangled, my skin was sunburned and covered in freckles, my face was a horrible sight, and I only ever wore that tattered work dress of mine—I couldn’t bear to look at myself. Hence, I hated mirrors…
Yet now, here there was one right in front of me.
One of the walls of the guest room I’d been assigned to was practically one large mirror, far bigger than the one that’d been in Anastasia’s room. Inside it was the reflection of a woman.
Who is that? She was beautiful. I’d never seen her before, but somehow, she looked like me. Who is she?
I was watching the woman in the mirror when someone knocked on the door. I welcomed them to enter, and Mio came in, followed by Lord Kyros. He looked like he was about to say something, but before he could speak, I lowered my head and blurted out, “Lord Kyros! I’m terribly sorry for my rudeness earlier!”
Lord Kyros stumbled forward, as if caught off guard. “Huh? For your rudeness?” he asked.
I kept my head low and continued, “I was so surprised by these abrupt talks that I lost my composure and… Ah, I’m so sorry!”
“It’s all right. You don’t need to apologize. Please, lift your head, Marie.”
I did as he ordered, and my eyes met his. Immediately, he turned away.
I knew it… He despises me so much he can’t bear to look at me.
Mio stomped on his foot. He didn’t complain and turned his head back at me. His face was bright red. “I apologize,” he said. “I rushed into things without asking you for your opinion first.”
“My…opinion?”
“I assumed you’d come here out of your own volition and that it’d meant you’d agreed to marry me. I’m sorry for making assumptions like that. I shouldn’t have.” He lowered his head contritely.
Of course, I had no idea what he was apologizing for.
“We had a terrible misunderstanding,” he continued, “and I want to correct it. I truly want you to become my wife.”
I finally understood what was going on and I nodded. “Understood. I place myself in your care, my lord,” I said.
“Huh?” he let out, flabbergasted. Behind him, Mio seemed just as surprised.
I quickly realized that, this time, it was my conduct that had been misunderstood, so I tried to explain myself. “I only said that I couldn’t do it because I was so surprised! I’d never be so unreasonable as to refuse.”
“So… Um… Huh?” Lord Kyros still seemed confused.
“Thanks to you allowing me to rest in this room, I’ve had the time to compose myself. I’m honored by your proposal, and would like to thank you for the favor you’ve shown me.”
Lord Kyros sank into silence and Mio spoke up in his stead. “L-Lady Marie… Does that mean you’ll accept marrying his lordship?” Her tone was weak, as though what I’d said wasn’t the answer she’d been expecting.
I nodded three times and assured her, “Of course. I truly was just surprised because it was very much unexpected.”
“Why do you say it was unexpected?” Lord Kyros finally asked. “Your father brought you here so you would become my fiancée, didn’t he?”
“Well, I was fully convinced we’d be turned away at the gates,” I replied.
That was why I’d been so shocked. Now that I’d calmed down, I understood why this was happening. Lord Kyros had been wanting to marry a daughter of House Chandelan from the start.
“When I learned that my sister would marry you, I took the liberty of doing some research, my lord,” I continued. “To take over your father’s duchy, you must first marry, and your partner must be a noble woman. I also heard that your hatred for women had made your search for a prospective wife rather difficult.”
“Well, that’s…true.”
“Isn’t that why a man as important as you found himself at the birthday party of a destitute baron’s daughter? You only came because you had made up your mind to marry for convenience. As it’d happened, you got lucky because Anastasia was far more beautiful than you’d imagined.”
Mio and Lord Kyros froze.
I apologized for wording my thoughts in such a crude way, then continued. “Dramatic circumstances brought me here instead of my sister, but I thank you for accepting me nonetheless. Please rest assured that I know my place. You may use me as you see fit, my lord.”
“W-wait! Hang on!” Lord Kyros exclaimed.
He seemed flustered. I’d probably gone too far. I understood the situation, though, so I confidently asked, “Am I mistaken, my lord?”
I could see that the count was greatly troubled. Even Mio had a grave expression.
“You’re not mistaken… You’re right, I did go to that party with a proposal already written. But it’d been addressed to ‘Marie,’ not ‘Anastasia.’”
“Huh?”
“And I tore it away there and then. After returning home, I wrote another proposal for ‘Anastasia.’ That night, after seeing ‘Marie’ and ‘Anastasia’ in person, my feelings changed, and I poured my heart into that second proposal.”
“Well, yes. That’s what I assumed. After meeting me in the courtyard, you went to the party hall and saw Anastasia, right? That’s when you fell in love with her at first sight and—”
“No! That’s not it! I got it wrong!”
I was starting to get lost again.
“Aah, this is all so confusing. Give me a minute to gather my thoughts…” he pleaded.
“O-of course, my lord,” I reassured him. “Please take your time.”
Lord Kyros brought his hand to his chin and then stopped moving entirely. I was looking at him in silence when someone knocked on the door. It was a servant pushing a tea wagon with food on it. It seemed to be time for dinner.
Mio started setting the table while whispering to me, “You’d normally take your meals in the dining room, but please eat here tonight so you can finish this conversation.”
I didn’t have any objections, and Lord Kyros and I sat, facing one another.
In the Dilts Kingdom, it was common even among nobles to have just a simple dinner. People usually enjoyed a large meal at midday, but they didn’t eat much in the evening to allow their body to rest. This custom seemed to be observed at the count’s castle too, as there were only three dishes on the table: rye bread, bouillon, and pork cutlets in white sauce. The number of dishes was the same as what I served at the Chandelan estate, but even at a glance, I could tell the quality of the ingredients was worlds apart.