Chapter 4: Acts of Desperation

This really was a case of ‘when it rains, it pours.’

Aurora looked down. Her legs lay sprawled on the carpet in a W shape. If Balian saw her like this, it would be no less mortifying than being caught by her parents while taking off as a pilot.

Absolute social death.

Fear drove Aurora to muster all her strength. She snarled viciously.

“If you dare come in, I’ll gouge your eyes out!”

“Y-yes.”

Balian, who had been about to push the door open, immediately fell silent. He tiptoed backward step by step, closed the door, and turned his back to it.

He had no idea why Aurora was so irritable today. But generally speaking, women have a few days each month when they’re in a terrible mood.

Better not provoke the lady…

Aurora had far more to consider.

She stared at the messy carpet and made a snap decision. With speed, accuracy, and steadiness ten times greater than when she’d played games at her desk in her past life while dodging the boss, she pounced onto the bed, thrashed around under the covers, and left the sheets in complete disarray.

Then she jumped down, grabbed a goblet of white wine, and splashed it over herself. She dropped the goblet with a thud onto the beautifully embroidered wool carpet. Glass shattered, liquid splattered—right where she had just collapsed.

Hearing the clatter from the bedroom, Balian grew increasingly anxious and couldn’t help asking, “Milady, are you alright?”

“I’m fine. My back hurts. I knocked over my water glass when I got out of bed…”

“Shall I fetch a life priest to examine you?”

“No. Don’t bring a well-trained doctor. Just get me some water. My clothes are dirty and I need to change.”

“O-okay…”

“Wait! I don’t want ordinary water. You need to do this, that, and the other… In any case, don’t come back for half an hour!”

“Understood!”

Balian dashed away.

‘Plan successful.’

Now, continue erasing the evidence!

If anyone discovered she had escaped while in public, her life would surely be over.

So she had to clean up all traces and at least make a simple disguise of her clothes.

After Balian had gone far enough, Aurora immediately started struggling with her outfit.

She casually tore off her headscarf and tossed it aside, then undid the knot behind her neck. The not-so-thick dress slid down her body, revealing what lay beneath.

From the teardrop-shaped opening at her chest and the slits at her calves, the garment underneath looked like a pair of sheer tights. Only after removing the dress could one see it was actually a combination of suspender stockings and a tight bodice—a two-piece design.

Though it might seem deceptive, this design allowed Aurora to strip quickly without a maid’s help.

She rummaged through the wardrobe until she finally found a dress that at least looked decent, covering everything it should. Then she spent several minutes squeezing into the obviously tight garment.

Finally, peace reigned.

Aurora sat on the edge of the bed as if perched on a pine tree on Huangshan, offering a cigarette to the setting sun.

‘What is all this…’

She was depressed.

Aurora knew that this world was very unfriendly to women who wanted to maintain their chastity. Even the dresses tailors made were the kind that, in her previous life, would have been considered the attire of a “benefit girl.”

But she had never imagined that the future would give her some kind of succubus constitution, causing her such embarrassment.

How could she have become like that?

“You’ve grown weak, you old thing!”

As if the **were still before her eyes, Aurora clutched her lower abdomen and growled viciously.

However, there was still a turning point.

Though vague and evasive, she now had information about the future.

With this intelligence from the future, she could definitely defy fate and rewrite her ending of becoming Balian’s Nihonbashi!

‘I, Aurora, have never bowed my head in all my life!!’

Just as she was pondering how to overturn her destiny, Balian’s footsteps sounded again. He pushed open the door and entered, startling her so much she jumped up on the spot.

“Milady?”

On the surface, at least, Balian wore an innocent expression as he carried a basin of water into the room and then withdrew.

But Aurora clearly noticed that Balian’s eyes went straight for a moment.

‘This dress really is a bit too tight.’

‘It’s practically a bodycon dress!’

“Hey, you!”

Aurora wanted to scold Balian, but unfortunately, she had no excuse.

This guy was very much like a golden retriever—he knew how to play innocent when doing bad things, which was infuriating.

‘He pretends to be a monk!’

Aurora threw the dirty clothes into the basin, then left the room.

The first thing she did was kick Balian.

But he dodged it.

Balian showed no reaction, merely saying, “His Lordship the Marquis requests your presence, Milady.”

“Did you rat me out? I know you’ve been tailing me.”

“Milady, this is for your safety. I couldn’t have retrieved you from the Queen alone, especially with so many good men lost this time.”

“Sigh, don’t mention it.”

Remembering the scene where her attendants died protecting her, Aurora’s heart raced again.

They were all acquaintances—dead, never to be seen again.

She shook her head, forcing the fear out of her mind, and instructed Balian, “I need to think about compensation. Never mind, I’ll talk to Father about it… You’d better speak up for me later. You know I’m smarter than my father; I need him to listen to me.”

“I have never doubted your wisdom. It’s my honor, Milady.”

Balian performed an exaggerated knightly bow and tried to take Aurora’s hand, but she shook him off.

Aurora gave Balian a glare and headed toward her father.

The study of the Olivia Marquis’s mansion was not luxurious, because His Lordship was unwilling to spend money on replacing broken magic lamps. At this moment, it was filled with the darkness of the Olivia family.

His Lordship stood with his arms crossed before the window, his back to Aurora as she hurriedly pushed open the door, silent.

There was a distinct feeling of an impending explosion.

“I called you here to announce something.”

Marquis Ed turned around, looking at his daughter, and spoke slowly, almost mechanically.

“You are not to stay in the capital. Go back home.”

“I object!”

“My Lord, let me escort milady back…”

“Hey, how can you turn on me?!”

“Balian, you stay. Aurora will go back alone.”

Balian: “!”

Aurora: “!”

After a few seconds of shock, Aurora reacted: “Why?”

“Why what?”

Marquis Ed retorted.

He laughed scornfully, holding up a stack of elegantly written letters as he berated the two:

“You caused such a mess and you think you can just brush it off? By the Goddess, your mother was right. You certainly need discipline.”

“And you, Balian. I am much older than you. As your senior, I must remind you: oracles are merely possibilities pointed out by the Goddess. Your future still depends on your own efforts.”

“Yes, My Lord!”

Balian stood at attention.

Marquis Ed said not a word about the prophecy concerning the Goddess’s reincarnation and the future relationship between the two, as if it didn’t exist.

Balian understood the Marquis’s subtext: a poor squire crawling through service could not win the hand of the Marquis’s daughter. Only a newly promoted young noble, recognized by both the Goddess and “the ancient families with glorious histories and traditions,” could hope.

This was good news.

He had already received divine recognition. If he continued working hard and obtained a title, he might gain the Marquis’s approval and marry the beautiful, wealthy girl.

Aurora was a clever woman and bore the Olivia name. If he married her, he could obtain a fief from the Marquis, manage it well, produce a dozen children, and build a prosperous family.

He might even sit in the position currently held by Marquis Ed.

Aurora’s thoughts were not so far-reaching.

Compared to the future of the family, she was more concerned with the present—whether she was enjoying herself.

“I’m not going back.”

Aurora crossed her arms in an X.

“I might die here, but going back means certain death. If you want me to attend your funeral in the future, Father, don’t send me back!”

“Why would you definitely die?”

Hearing this, the Marquis’s anger immediately dissipated, replaced by a mixture of laughter and tears.

“Child, how could a mother harm her own child?”

“When I was sick as a child, she wanted to cut me with a knife to let blood! Do you think she treats me like her own?”

“Don’t speak of your mother that way…”

Aurora had an extremely poor relationship with her mother, mainly because her mother was responsible for raising the children, and this noblewoman’s childcare techniques and philosophy left much to be desired.

She was a bit too feudal.

In comparison, Marquis Ed, who spent his days wielding swords and guns, seemed far more amiable.

On the other hand, Aurora’s appearance was indeed quite different from her mother and her siblings.

Her family was almost entirely brown-haired. Aurora was the only blonde. As a child, she was often teased by her brothers about this, until Balian was sent to the household, which improved the situation.

Compared to the little sister who was always tattling, the thick-skinned Balian was clearly easier to bully.

For these reasons, Aurora was unwilling to go home, especially not without Balian.

She could guarantee that the moment she returned, she’d be married off the next day!

“Give me a reason for you to stay.”

Marquis Ed said curtly.

“You come to the capital just to cause me trouble. You study at the university, but you can’t even pass the exams!”

“I help with your accounts!”

“I can hire any merchant to do that. Is it necessary for you?”

“I still have a case to investigate!”

“A case? Pure nonsense! Do you know how much the King borrowed from the Queen’s family? You anger her over such trivial, baseless matters, causing me great trouble!”

“Uh, I want to stay and keep you company?”

“I’m not so old that I need a child’s company!”

The Marquis roared.

But his expression clearly softened; Aurora’s appeal to emotion seemed to have worked.

Balian seized the opportunity to help: “My Lord, milady hasn’t passed the graduation exams at the University of Frania and needs a retake. If she gives up now, she might be seen as cowardly, damaging the family’s honor…”

“Hmm!”

Ed nodded emphatically.

Family honor!

Those words struck a chord.

“Very well, then. Aurora, you must pass the retake. Until you do, you are forbidden from running around. Balian, you will supervise her!”

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