If I Don’t Get Married I’ll Die

The maids next to me then rudely stole a peek at my letter and started giggling amongst themselves.

“Marquis Rodrian must have fallen for Her Highness the Princess!”

“Pfft, he said his soul was burning!”

In the end, they even took the letter that was in my hand and read it themselves.

“Give me that!”

I reached out to the maids, but the maids, excited by the love letter from a strange man, didn’t even listen to me.

‘What to do.’

I was conflicted. If I was my normal self, I would have been intimidated by the attitude of the maids, unable to say a word.

But now I had the courage to scold them harshly.

‘What should I do?’

After thinking about it briefly, I chose to just leave them alone as usual.

Thinking that I have to catch Andrea off guard.

‘If I act differently, it’ll reach Andrea’s ears right away, and Andrea will think it’s strange.’

Since I humiliated Andrea last time, he might really start doubting me if I scold the maids this time.

‘Come to think of it, he hasn’t shown his face ever since that day. I thought he’d come running right away and nag at me for embarrassing him that day.’

They said that tigers come when you think of them, and Andrea came in just in time.

[T/N: Like speak of the devil.]

“Chloe, I heard Marquis Rodrian sent you a present?”

‘Word spreads fast.’

As soon as the gift from Kalius arrived, one of the courtiers probably ran to Andrea immediately.

Today too, Andrea appeared, dressed like a peacock, and the gossiping maids quickly fell silent and courteously lined up.

Andrea, who was quick witted, snatched the letter the maids were passing around.

“What the hell is he planning? To my sister who has a fiancé!”

He rapidly skimmed through the letter and laughed in astonishment.

“These writing skills, don’t tell me you’re tempted by mere flattery?”

“That can’t be.”

“Yes, only a crazy girl would fall for such flashy words.”

If there was anyone who was at the forefront of seducing young noble women with flashy words, then that would be Andrea. He’s the most enthusiastic about it than anyone else.

“What the hell did you talk about with Marquis Rodrian without me last time that he’s doing this? This older brother really can’t stand it.”

“Why?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Doing something like this means he’s taking you lightly.”

Which part? The question filled my throat, but I chose to keep my mouth shut.

I also wondered what Kalius’ intentions were for sending the letter and so many flowers, but if there was something I was certain of, it was that,

What Andrea said was a load of crap.

However, if I were to say anything now, the preposterous talk would only get longer, so I just vaguely agreed.

“I see.”

Perhaps thinking that I had agreed to his argument, he said triumphantly.

“Chloe, this older brother is saying this because I’m worried about you, so from now on, even if Marquis Rodrian visits, never meet him. He is a very sinister man.”

I refuted Andrea’s words in my mind.

‘Worried about me? My eyes are so red since I can’t sleep because of someone.’

Not knowing what I was thinking, Andrea prattled on as he pleased.

“Honestly, why would he approach you? It’s because you’re easy. You must act properly, Chloe.”

“……”

“Don’t be quick to accept things like this.”

“…….”

“No, but are flowers the best he can give? Ha, really, how easy does he think you are to win your favor with cheap flowers? Even if he brings you expensive jewels, it won’t be enough!”

“…..”

He ran away because he didn’t have the courage to talk to his face, but now he’s talking so much because he’s not here.

Yes, it’s worth holding it in up to this point.

However, it was hard to listen to what Andrea said after that.

“Compare it to the jewels Viscount Perseus sent you. He has to be at least that serious. Look, you know how much Viscount Perseus thinks of you, right?”

Viscount Perseus. Hearing my ex-husband’s name made me feel sick.

Memories of being whipped and humiliated by him flashed through my mind in an instant.

My fears from back then came to life vividly and so my body started trembling.

Andrea misunderstood it. He looked back at me and furrowed his brows.

“Why? Are you mad at your older brother?”

“……”

How would I have reacted to Andrea’s words if I had been my past self?

I probably would’ve blamed myself.

– I looked easy to others because I did not behave properly.

– Why am I like this?

– Who could love me like this?

– What if my older brother abandons me because he can’t stand how pathetic I am?

– How embarrassing it must be for Viscount Perseus to be married to me.

– I have to give him my best. He’s the kind of person who has accepted something like me.

I would have put myself down thinking like this and cowered like a sinner.

I closed my eyes tightly.

‘Among the many thoughts I had, none were for my sake. Why did I only swing the cane at myself?’

When I took a step back and looked at myself in third person, I felt so sorry for myself.

I talked to the past me who was crouching in a corner.

‘Chloe, there is nothing wrong with you.’

Yes, I didn’t do anything wrong.

The moment I thought so, tears suddenly welled up in my eyes.

I’m not pathetic.

Andrea shouldn’t talk to me that way.

I am not a person to be treated carelessly.

Even if I’m at fault, that doesn’t give others the justification to do me wrong.

And whether it’s Kalius or Viscount Perseus, I must only judge based on what I’ve seen and felt.

I don’t have to follow Andrea’s ideas.

Now I will trust my own thoughts and my judgment.

‘Because my life is mine.’

‘I’m not Andrea’s doll.’

Suddenly, I felt strength rising somewhere in my body.

Being on my self’s side is so overwhelming and reassuring.

Tears ran down my cheeks. These tears were neither because I was sad nor angry.

They were tears I shed to comfort myself.

“Chloe? Why are you crying all of a sudden?”

“Thanks to older brother, I gained enlightenment.”

It wasn’t entirely wrong. After all, Andrea being the cause of my enlightenment was correct.

Andrea looked smug at my words.

“Yes, yes. Everything I say is for you. I’m glad you know that.”

It looked like he would start with his speech again.

Pretending to agree with Andrea, I held up one of the flower vases that Kalius had sent me.

“Brother is right. I need to get these all out of sight.”

“Good thinking. Hey, help Chloe and throw away these measly things.”

The maids, who didn’t even move when I tried to remove the vase myself, got busy as soon as Andrea’s order was given.

“Princess, please give it to me. I’ll clean it up.”

“Thank you.”

I handed her the vase and then dropped it towards Andrea as if my hand slipped.

Crash!

The fallen glass vase hit the marble floor and shattered, sending shards flying everywhere.

One of them grazed my cheek and cut it.

“Heuok?”

I was already used to seeing blood, so I didn’t mind, but Andrea, who saw the blood flowing down my face, freaked out and ran screaming away from me.

“W-What?”

Along with Andrea’s panicked cry, his knights rushed into the drawing room.

“What is it, Your Highness!”

The knights blocked and separated me from Andrea.

It was as if they were afraid that I, like a monster, would pummel the frail Andrea to death.

‘I’m the one who got hurt.’

Instead of asking if I was alright, Andrea roared from behind the knights.

“There is no need to break them! A lady should know how to be sophisticated. You’re being too aggressive right now.”

This was the attitude of the person who said he was worried about me like a habit.

“Apologies. We’ll need to clean up.”

The maids came with cleaning tools and moved around busily.

As this distracted him, Andrea forgot what he was about to say and turned away, clicking his tongue.

“Anyway, I’m glad you understood well, let’s end this here and I’ll go.”

Having achieved my purpose of making Andrea leave, I wiped the blood on my cheek with my finger and turned around.

The injured cheek tingled, but it didn’t matter.

More than that, I was just glad I didn’t let Andrea eat away at my soul with his snake-like tongue.

***

“She’s crazy. She must truly be out of her mind. Right Mother?”

Andrea stood there, rubbing his arms in fear.

“Who does she resemble to be so violent?”

He somehow found fault with Chloe and ran straight to Kavala’s palace to report it.

Kavala twisted her crimson lips into a seductive smile. It was malicious.

“She must be like her mother. Wasn’t that woman also eccentric?”

Kavala was more interested in Marquis Rodrian than Chloe.

“By the way, Marquis Rodrian is infatuated with Chloe?”

Andrea rapidly fired.

“I don’t know what the heck he’s up to. Why did he write a letter as if he was about to take out his liver* and gallbladder*?”

[T/N” Overly bold/courageous.]

“Really?”

Kavala raised one eyebrow. Her expression said that she found it interesting.

“What if Viscount Perseus asks to cancel the marriage?”

Kavala thought about something, and then she gracefully came to Andrea’s side and patted her son’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry too much, Andrea.”

She whispered softly.

“I’d like to watch a little longer.”

“Are you going to leave Marquis Rodrian alone? Our secret…!”

“Shh.”

Kavala cut Andrea off. It was a cold, chilling look. In an instant, the surrounding air turned sharp.

“You have to watch your mouth, Andrea.”

At her soft but firm warning, Andrea gulped and shut his mouth.

“Yes, yes. Very good.”

Kavala smiled again. Andrea let out the breath he had been holding in.

Kavala patted her son on the head and returned to her seat opposite him.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Your mother doesn’t run a losing business. Let’s just let Marquis Rodrian do whatever he wants for the time being.”

A meaningful smile crept across her lips.

***

‘What’s his intention?’

I was deeply troubled as I looked at the letter and flowers that arrived today.

Kalius has been sending flowers and letters every day for a full week now.

It seemed that he even wandered around my palace a few times before leaving. You don’t know how ecstatic the maids were when they saw it and told me about it.

“According to rumors, Marquis Rodrian calls out the name of Your Highness the Princess every night.”

“I heard he fell ill while missing Your Highness?”

“I heard he refused to eat and drink.”

The maids suddenly pretended to be friendly and were busy asking me about Kalius.

It was an interesting pastime for them.

As I listened to them, my confusion only grew.

‘Who are these people getting these rumors from? No, more than that, what was Marquis Rodrian thinking? Could he be sending some kind of signal that I’m not smart enough to notice?’

It was frustrating because I can’t communicate with Kalius under Andrea’s iron-clad surveillance.

‘He has to persuade the emperor and the queen to get their consent to the marriage. Why does he keep sending me flowers and letters?’

Is it okay to trust him and stay still? Maybe I should do something?

I was getting more and more anxious.

But one night, to my surprise, Queen Kavala called me and immediately said.

“Chloe, you should go to Lonheim.”

What……?