Moreover, it seemed this place was somewhere in the Duke’s residence where the ball was held.
The castle of Gerlach Cygnus, the Grand Duke of the Mouton Empire.
What on earth did I do in the castle of someone with power rivaling the Emperor’s?
Besides, if I caused a disturbance at the ballroom and was dragged up here, this is really serious.
‘I’m amazing, really. Perhaps this life, I’ll be hanged for making such a mistake while drunk? Or locked in an underground prison for a fortnight?’
I always died at the hands of Grand Duke Cygnus.
He was the male protagonist of The Tumultuous Life of Leonie and a pure romantic who loved Leonie more than anyone.
Today, he meets Leonie Almaz for the first time at the ballroom and falls in love, and he’s the man who puts me on the gallows to protect his beloved Leonie.
Knowing that he would try to kill me, I desperately avoided him during my twenty reincarnations.
I tried my best not to encounter him.
At first, I thought I might be able to postpone my death that way.
More precisely, I was afraid of the male lead.
The scene of him looking down at me coldly from afar before my death was too vivid.
Although I had never seen him up close, I always died the moment his hand fell.
I swallowed hard once and carefully asked the man.
“Excuse me.”
“……”
“May I ask you something?”
The man nodded silently in response.
“Will I be hanged for this incident?”
“What?”
“I mean, I want to know if I’ll be executed for making such a big mistake.”
“……”
“Hahaha!”
He’s laughing?
Wow, I’m talking about life and death, and you’re laughing?
“What’s your name?”
I felt offended, but what could I do.
Yes, if you’re curious about my name, I should tell you.
“Liberata Bernadette.”
“You’re the young lady of the Marquis Bernadette?”
“Yes.”
The moment the name of Marquis Bernadette was mentioned, I instinctively flinched.
“Why do you think you’ll be hanged?”
“Well, because I made a mistake while drunk.”
“You mean the incident where you ruined not only your dress but also my clothes?”
“I’m sorry. I truly apologize.”
This time, I couldn’t help but hang my head low.
Should I kneel down instead of just this?
“I don’t know much about the Bernadette Marquisate… but seeing you, it seems to have quite a free atmosphere.”
Is this a compliment or an insult?
I showed an ambiguous smile and nodded a couple of times.
Anyway, if he’s from the Grand Duke’s family, it would be better to humor him.
“I’m sorry. I’ll take the clothes I ruined and wash them clean, iron them crisp, and return them to you. Where should I send them?”
“That’s not necessary. I threw them away.”
“……”
So, it was beyond saving.
I truly made a mistake.
It seems living recklessly should be done in a different way.
Alcohol is not the answer.
If I die and come back to life in this world again, I’ll live recklessly in another way.
How should I live recklessly?
Eat all the food I want?
“Then, you’re saying I haven’t committed a crime worthy of death?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, that’s a relief.”
He stared at me for a while and then chuckled again.
“Are you afraid of dying?”
I didn’t know how to answer that question.
Of course, the moment of death isn’t pleasant.
Fortunately, except for when I was shot in the chest, I died without severe pain.
No, the gunshot was quite bad. Blood gushing out and feeling all the pulses in my body beating at once.
But other deaths were similar to falling asleep.
As if extremely sleepy, when the power suddenly turns off, I would open my eyes again as the young lady of the Bernadette Marquisate, in a carriage heading to the ballroom.
“Yes, I’m afraid.”
Even if I come back to life, death is not a pleasant experience at all.
A sensation that doesn’t get familiar no matter how many times you experience it.
Moreover, standing on the gallows under people’s gaze was more terrible than I thought.
I do want some attention from people, but not such blatant stares.
Especially if I’m ending my life being pointed at as a notorious villainess.
It was at that moment.
“I don’t understand why you’re so afraid.”
Then, showing an irresistible smile revealing his white, even teeth.
He took off the mask covering his eyes and nose.
“Don’t worry, I won’t let you die.”
“Huh?”
Deep black hair like stillness, a sharp nose with defined lines, skin as white and fine as the first snow.
‘I knew it already, but…’
As he roughly brushed back his bangs that had fallen on his forehead, his reddish-brown eyes shone sharply.
‘He’s breathtakingly handsome.’
No, wait. Why do I know this face?
At the same time, I felt a reflexive chill.
‘Oh, my goodness.’
I knew these eyes all too well.
Why didn’t I realize it until now!
This person is Gerlach Cygnus!
Leonie’s lover, the man who dedicates everything to her.
The cruel man without blood or tears who puts me on the gallows for her peace.
The very man I avoided again and again to survive.
The male protagonist of The Tumultuous Life of Leonie!
‘Wow, my brain isn’t working, is it?’
Yes, it stopped working long ago because you were drinking so much.
In fact, it wasn’t just the excessive drinking, but also because I had never faced him directly up close before.
In my previous nineteen lives, the only time I saw the Grand Duke was on the execution platform, when I had resigned myself to everything.
Meanwhile, I thought I was pathetic for being distracted by his piercingly white and beautiful face.
‘No, wait. Why is Grand Duke Cygnus here? Did he meet Leonie?’
Contrary to my confused mind, I couldn’t utter a single word.
It was as if someone had poured wax over my head.
“You were chattering like a parrot, why have you suddenly gone quiet?”
Gerlach Cygnus tilted his head to one side and asked me.
But now is not the time to answer his question.
“P-please forgive my excessive rudeness until now, Your Grace.”
I’m not trying to suddenly act like a refined lady.
I just know from my multiple reincarnations that his temperament is quite eccentric, so I’m being cautious.
Gerlach then cocked his head.
“This is my first time seeing you, but how do you know me?”
“Ah, well…”
Oh, right.
The Grand Duke and I have never properly met.
It’s natural that he doesn’t know me.
What should I do? How should I answer?
“How could there be anyone in Mouton who doesn’t know Your Grace?”
I tried to gloss over it, but even I thought it was a strange answer.
In fact, Gerlach had been living in his cousin’s house for some reason and returned to Mouton to receive his title after his father passed away.
“Please think of it as a parrot’s information network.”
As I added with a chuckle, Gerlach chuckled.
He laughed.
Wow, I’m really grateful that he just laughed without probing further.
Taking advantage of the slightly relaxed atmosphere, I timidly raised my hand as if asking a teacher a question.
My posture was already that of a student dragged to the teacher’s office.
“May I ask just one question?”
“By all means.”
I swallow hard once and steady my breath.
As I opened my mouth again, Gerlach leaned slightly forward.
As if expecting some interesting topic to come up.
This expression is exactly like watching monkeys at a zoo.
“Why are you here?”
Hello, Grand Duke. You shouldn’t be here right now.
When Leonie left the ballroom, you should have been walking in the garden.
And you should be falling in love with Leonie Almaz, so why are you here!
“What?”
“No, I’m just curious why you’re here.”
Gerlach slowly closed and opened his large, deep eyes once.
“Is it strange for me to be in my own house?”
“……”
“Isn’t it stranger that you’re in my house?”
This man seems kind but subtly hits the nail on the head.
Of course, I’m really sorry about that.
But you should be meeting Leonie now, and I’m worried because things seem to be going strangely.
If he doesn’t meet Leonie today, what will happen to the story?
At that moment, another character crossed my mind.
‘Wait, then where is my fiancé?’
While Leonie’s heart is stolen by the male lead outside the ballroom, I’m supposed to meet my fiancé, Nathan, in the ballroom.
That man who kept flattering me, saying things like “Lady Liberata, you have heavenly beauty,” “You’re an angel,” “Where are your wings?” “Oh, I see a feather here,” but eventually proposed to Leonie.
I glanced up at Gerlach, but decided to keep my mouth shut for now, feeling that asking about Nathan’s whereabouts wouldn’t yield a good response.
Yeah, forget about that guy for now.
There’s something more important.
“I’m sorry. I think I’ve made a really big mistake. So…”
I don’t mind living recklessly myself, but I didn’t want Leonie’s life to be disrupted.
That kind and pitiful woman needs to meet the male protagonist.
She’s done nothing wrong.
If I hadn’t acted out unnecessarily today, she would have met the person she loves.
Remembering Leonie’s smile, always kind to me, I felt unbearably depressed.
“What time is it now? Is it still night?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because there’s someone you absolutely must meet right now, Your Grace.”
“What?”
“I know what I’m saying sounds strange. But there’s someone you must meet today, Your Grace.”
Ah, how should I explain this to make it sound more plausible?
I just want to enjoy my life moderately, so I hope you two have a beautiful love.
And I don’t want to destroy the original story.
A blonde beauty suits the black-haired Grand Duke.
“You really are…”
“……”
“Hard to understand.”
“Pardon?”
“You seemed so scared, afraid of dying for a mistake made while drunk, but looking at what you’re saying now, you don’t seem to have any fear at all.”
Grand Duke Cygnus lazily uttered these perplexing words, then.
“What if I say I don’t want to?”
He cut off my words.
But I’m not one to give up here.
Why are you like this, I’m a woman who has died nineteen times.
“Aren’t you curious about who I’m talking about?”
There’s a modern theory that humans are creatures of curiosity, you know.
I’ll stimulate his curiosity and make him rush out of this room.
“No.”
“……”
“I’m not curious.”
This medieval handsome man doesn’t seem to follow modern theories.
‘Seeing how firmly he’s cutting me off, let’s retreat for today.’
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