HPCM 06

Chapter : 06

The old knight frowned. It was obvious what he must be thinking.

“Don’t think too hard about it, Count. If my words sound like lies to you, you can simply ignore them.”

Charlotte gave the kind advice, but in the end Count Olivier could not ignore Charlotte.

“Ethan! Escort Miss Charlotte out. Make sure you escort her politely all the way to the front gate!”

He summoned his most loyal knight to see Charlotte out.

And that was exactly what Charlotte had wanted.

While walking toward the carriage under the pretense of Ethan escorting her—though in truth it was closer to surveillance—she casually dropped a remark.

“It’s a shame I have to leave right away. There’s a rumor spreading throughout high society that Duke Edouard is coming here today to propose to the young lady of this house. I came hoping to see it in person.”

“…The young lady of this house?”

“Lady Laila, of course. She’s such a lovely girl, isn’t she? I wanted to congratulate her. But… it seems you didn’t know?”

“I-I didn’t know.”

Of course he didn’t know.

The marriage talks hadn’t been properly finalized yet; they had merely aligned their intentions loosely.

Naturally, the rumor spreading throughout society was also a lie.

But how could Ethan, a mere orphan-born commoner knight, possibly know that?

Charlotte calmly lied and then boarded the carriage, offering him a gentle smile.

“Really? Then please tell the young lady that I said congratulations on her marriage.”

She even added a kind word to the knight who clearly couldn’t hide his expression.

The result was obvious.

‘In the past, the story about the two of them eloping in the dead of night and causing Olivier to panic had been quite famous.’

It was even said that Count Olivier fainted from the shock and hovered between life and death.

—If they had told me honestly, I might have been angry, but I would have given permission… How could they run away without saying a word…?

The shock of his beloved daughter running away with the loyal knight he had personally raised had been immense.

Even while drifting in and out of consciousness, Count Olivier reportedly repeated those words several times.

‘Now that it’s known, they’ll handle things themselves.’

In any case, thanks to this, Charlotte wouldn’t have to humiliate Laila and ruin the marriage proposal herself. It worked out well for everyone.

‘In the past, I used to overturn the entire board without hesitation.’

As long as the marriage proposal was ruined somehow, it was easier to crush the other party so thoroughly that they could never show their face again rather than resort to this kind of behind-the-scenes maneuver.

Yes, she had thought that was only natural.

Until Alfonso once asked her this question.

—Charlotte. If you truly wanted to sabotage my marriage proposals, there were other methods. Did you really have to use such unnecessarily cruel ones?

—Because that method is easy and certain. Why should I consider their circumstances?

—Every action comes with responsibility. Do you only understand that if someone tells you?

—No. Even if you tell me, I still don’t quite understand. If those ladies were clever, they wouldn’t have fallen for me. Do I have to take responsibility for their foolishness too?

At Charlotte’s sharp reply, Alfonso wore an expression mixed with unease and contempt.

He didn’t need to say anything for her to understand.

Ah.

‘He’s going to hate me.’

You’re going to see me that way too.

Just like those familiar gazes directed at her when she entered Count Olivier’s banquet hall.

Eyes that looked at her as though she were someone unfit to associate with.

Perhaps realizing that made her feel a slight bitterness in her mouth.

She couldn’t remember clearly. Charlotte wasn’t the type of person who dwelled on her emotions.

But one thing was certain: after that, Alfonso never brought up the matter again.

Instead, he ran around everywhere trying to compensate and take responsibility for the people whose engagements Charlotte had ruined.

That was how his connection with Adeline Laverouse began.

‘I regretted it a little back then.’

If she had used another method, she wouldn’t have had to watch Alfonso discussing jewelry businesses and such with Adeline.

Unfortunately, Charlotte still didn’t fully understand what Alfonso had really wanted to say back then.

‘But I have to make Alfonso happy.’

It would be troublesome if he felt guilty because of the broken engagements she had caused.

Charlotte vividly remembered how Alfonso had run around everywhere trying to take responsibility for her misdeeds.

She also remembered how exhausted he had looked back then.

‘So it can’t be helped.’

For Alfonso’s sake, everyone should only experience good things.

“Send good medicinal herbs and wine anonymously to the Olivier family. The Count must recover if his daughter is to marry.”

“Understood. Is there anything else you would like to order?”

At the maid’s question, Charlotte set down the perfume bottle she had been holding with a soft tap.

“This perfume—its scent is wonderful, but the bottle isn’t pretty enough to present publicly. Decorate it and bring it back. Use plenty of jewels.”

“Yes. By when should it be ready?”

“The day after tomorrow. I’ll bring it with me when I attend the Aubigny family’s ball.”

It was time to ruin Alfonso’s second marriage proposal.

* * *

The ballroom of the Aubigny mansion.

On the second-floor balcony overlooking the hall, two women were having a secretive conversation.

“Fix your face, Devona Aubigny. Anyone who sees you would think something terrible happened.”

“…You don’t know anything, sister.”

“Why wouldn’t I know? I’m the one arranging your marriage with Duke Edouard.”

Jacqueline Aubigny, the head of the Aubigny family, said as she lightly fanned herself with a peacock-feather fan.

The sisters usually had a good relationship, but today a cold tension hung between them.

The reason was simple.

The marriage proposal with Duke Edouard.

“Sister, I told you I’m not ready to get married yet.”

“Marriage isn’t something that happens according to your wishes. You won’t find a better match than this.”

“I know that. But—”

“Devona! Do you have any idea what kind of family the Edouards are? They’re far beyond our reach. And this is Duke Edouard himself! Why on earth would you refuse this? Do you know how happy I was when I received the letter bearing Edouard’s seal, thinking I could send you to such a great family?”

“Of course the Edouard family is truly magnificent. But…”

Devona hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.

Jacqueline narrowed her eyes.

“But what? Don’t tell me the reason you’re hesitating is because of that perfume shop or whatever nonsense it is?”

“D-don’t call it nonsense! I’m serious! More and more customers are coming. Not long ago, someone who looked like a high-ranking noble even visited. If I just have a little more time, it will definitely grow. Please, just trust me this once!”

Devona clung to her desperately, but Jacqueline merely sighed.

“Devona. I already gave you one year, didn’t I? And within that time you failed to grow the shop as promised.”

“But there’s still one month left!”

“Yes. And after that month, your wedding will take place. Unless you’re saying you can make the shop grow rapidly within a month?”

Devona pressed her lips tightly together.

It hurt, but she couldn’t argue.

Her perfumery skills were excellent, but people preferred to use perfumes from famous brands.

And since Devona only knew how to make perfume and had no talent for business, she had no sense for marketing.

Naturally, sales remained sluggish.

Seeing her younger sister struggling to hold back tears, Jacqueline sighed again.

“Devona. If you enjoy making perfume, you can do it as a hobby after you get married.”

“I don’t want it to be a hobby. I want to build my own brand.”

“You can still do that after marriage—”

“When? After having children? Or after they grow up? Do you think a family as prestigious as the Edouards would accept their duchess neglecting family duties to run a business?”

“Well—”

This time Jacqueline was the one left speechless.

“If it’s not now, it’ll never happen. You know that too. Forcing me to marry even though you know that is just your greed!”

“D-Devona! Where do you think you’re going?!”

“Don’t follow me!”

Devona shook off Jacqueline and ran, staring at the ground.

If she lifted her head even slightly, she felt as though the tears would spill out.

While forcing herself not to cry as she pushed through the crowd, a familiar scent suddenly reached her sensitive nose.

“…Huh? This scent…”

It’s from my shop.

Since Devona personally made every perfume sold in her store, there was no way she could fail to recognize it.

Moreover, this was the exact fragrance bought by that female customer who had looked like a high-ranking noble.

Following the scent, Devona turned her head and saw a crowd gathered together.

“The fragrance is wonderful. I can’t believe a perfume like this isn’t widely known.”

“It’s a small shop in the alley of Fourth Street. They sell quite unique perfumes. I don’t know who the perfumer is, but their skill is excellent.”

And standing in the center of that crowd was a woman with red hair.

‘Charlotte Noha!’

Then that meant Charlotte had been the customer.

Because Charlotte’s reputation as the infamous villainess of the Noha family was so widespread, anything she used quickly became the talk of society.

Which made sense.

Charlotte possessed striking beauty that matched her notorious reputation, and she was a famous figure no one in high society could fail to recognize.

“If you ladies are interested, why don’t you visit the shop?”

“I think we will. You said Fourth Street alley, right?”

“The bottle is so beautiful too!”

“Oh, I decorated the bottle myself. The original was too plain. If I ever met the shop owner, I’d like to tell them this.”

At that moment, Charlotte met Devona’s eyes within the crowd.

As if speaking directly to her.

“You would have gotten better publicity if you had decorated the perfume bottles nicely.”