A Fake Marriage? Sure! …Wait, Is It Actually Fake? Something’s Not Right Here! - Chapter 1

Lidoria had been at the café for nearly two hours now.

The staff member who had been giving her suspicious looks after the first hour had now shifted to pitying glances.

And rightfully so.

When she entered, she had told them, “I’m meeting someone here.”

But.

The person she was supposed to meet never showed up.

(Was I stood up?)

When she first sat down, Lidoria’s heart had been pounding with anticipation, but now it was racing with anxiety, and her stomach was churning with nervous knots.

The letter had arrived for Lidoria three days ago, while she was serving as a lady-in-waiting to Crown Princess Sophia.

In the attendants’ waiting room, there was a sealed letter addressed to “Lady Lidoria Zoe, Daughter of the Count.”

Though it was called the attendants’ waiting room, there were only three ladies-in-waiting assigned to Crown Princess Sophia, including Lidoria.

Sophia, who had married from a neighboring country three years ago, hadn’t brought any attendants with her.

Therefore, her husband, Crown Prince George, had sought out and appointed new ladies-in-waiting for her.

Lidoria was one of them.

Initially, there had been over ten attendants, but as time passed, they left one by one. Most cited “marriage” as their reason, but the truth was closer to “I can’t keep up with the declining crown princess anymore.”

Crown Princess Sophia was doted on by Crown Prince George, but she was detested by his sister, Princess Melissa.

As a result, Sophia’s position in the royal palace was precarious; despite her high status, she constantly had to be watchful and careful.

For noble daughters who had aimed for a “luxurious, carefree life as a lady-in-waiting” until marriage, there were no benefits to staying.

Now, only three attendants remained, including Lidoria.

Since the three worked in shifts, Lidoria was the only one using the waiting room that day.

If another attendant had been there then, things might have turned out differently.

They might have advised her, “If it’s a letter for you, why wasn’t it delivered to your mansion?”

They might have said, “This letter is strange.”

But Lidoria felt no unease at all. She opened the sealed letter addressed to her and scanned its contents.

It wrote something to the effect of: “I saw you at the palace and fell in love at first sight. I want a serious relationship with marriage in mind. To that end, let’s meet and talk properly.”

There was no sender.

It only said, “From a royal guard who has taken a liking to you.”

Her heart throbbed with anxiety and hope, and Lidoria hurried back to her mansion.

There, she reported it to her only family—her younger brother.

“What do you think? I’ve received a marriage proposal,” she said.

If only.

Again, one can only say “if only”—if Lidoria’s parents had been alive, things would have been different.

They would surely have scolded their elated daughter, saying, “You can’t trust someone who won’t even write their own name. Throw it away.”

But Lidoria’s parents had passed away three years ago, and her brother Finley, who had inherited the earldom, was only fifteen years old.

“Perhaps it’s wrong to meet someone who won’t even write their name?”

Back at home, just as Lidoria began to hesitate again, Finley, of all people, encouraged her.

“Maybe they’re someone of very high status! They’re a royal guard, right? Could it be Her Majesty the Queen? Or His Highness the Crown Prince? The Crown Princess’s… no, that can’t be. They’re all younger than you. Don’t tell me it’s His Majesty?! If so, maybe they can’t carelessly reveal their identity! Just go and meet them!”

As expected of a fifteen-year-old, Finley wasn’t wary at all.

And he was a brother who cared for his sister more than anyone.

He often wondered why no one ever approached his beautiful, intelligent sister.

In the end, he concluded, “Ah, I see. They must be intimidated by my sister’s beauty.”

Even though his kind-hearted sister would never treat any approaching man coldly.

“Hiding their name seems pathetic for a man, but still, they gathered the courage to confess to you, sis. Shouldn’t you honor that intent? Meet them, and then decide.”

Spurred on by her brother, Lidoria’s wavering heart was set.

She would meet them.

And the result.

Lidoria was left waiting alone at a fashionable café in the royal capital.

(Wait. Calm down, me. First, calm down. I’m not wrong, am I?)

She took several deep breaths and pulled the envelope from her bag.

She looked at the stationery she had already read fifteen times just today. It listed today’s date and time, and the name of this café.

(Could it be… I’ve been tricked?)

At this point, Lidoria despaired.

Because that morning, when she stopped by the palace for a handover, she had told Crown Princess Sophia, “Actually, today I have a matchmaking meeting. ”

It was only because she wanted to reassure this mistress she respected.

Lidoria was twenty-one and unmarried. At her age, she still had no fiancé.

That was because she had to care for her younger brother, who had inherited the earldom at a young age, and manage the earldom’s territory. Even as acquaintances and colleagues married in quick succession, resigned from their posts, and left their family homes, she couldn’t do the same.

She had to act as her brother’s guardian until he came of age.

Eventually, her brother would join some royal guard unit and begin frequenting the palace. To ensure he could join under favorable conditions, she had used what little money and connections she had to secure a position as a lady-in-waiting to the crown princess.

Though Lidoria threw herself into her work, as she grew older, people began asking, “What about marriage?” and “You’ll quit work eventually, so why not find a good match?”—making her feel increasingly self-conscious.

And she knew Crown Princess Sophia was worried too. Sophia sometimes grew depressed, thinking that the lack of marriage proposals might be due to her own poor reputation as crown princess.

So.

She had told Sophia with a bit of pride.

“It’s a matchmaking meeting.”

She wanted to say: I have this kind of opportunity too, so please don’t worry.

Sophia had given her heartfelt congratulations and said, “Even if you marry, please don’t quit your job.”

Those words had made her immensely happy.

Though she had started the job for her brother’s sake, it was now being valued, and she was being asked to stay.

(Y-yet…!)

Lidoria nearly grew breathless with humiliation.

Far from a matchmaking meeting, the other party hadn’t even shown up.

(What in the world am I going to tell my brother and Her Highness the Crown Princess…!)

Clutching the envelope, as she imagined what lay ahead, dizziness and ringing in her ears began. After somehow pushing through that, what assaulted her next was despair.

(I don’t want tomorrow to come. Please, God. Have the angels sound the trumpet of the apocalypse right now.)

Just as she offered that alarming prayer, not the trumpet of the apocalypse, but the doorbell chimed lightly.

A new customer.

Lidoria turned her face, hoping against hope that this time it would be the “shy royal guard who wishes to remain anonymous.”

But.

“Ew! She’s still waiting!”

The women who entered pointed at Lidoria and laughed mockingly.

Princess Melissa’s ladies-in-waiting.

At their center was Sena Marverick.

She was the de facto leader of Melissa’s attendants and one who actively participated in the harassment Melissa directed at Crown Princess Sophia.

A month ago, Lidoria had admonished her: “Isn’t your method too cruel? Lady Sophia is the crown princess.”

In an instant, Sena had flared up like wildfire, her freckles—praised by some knights as “cute”—turning bright red as she lunged at Lidoria.

But this was Lidoria.

To raise her brother into a proper count, Lidoria had honed her martial skills since childhood. And she had personally instructed her brother.

She caught Sena’s outstretched arm and expertly applied a joint lock.

Sena screamed, the surroundings grew chaotic, and even the guard knights rushed to the scene.

Probably.

This was revenge.

Lidoria understood instantly.

“I never thought you’d still be here! To think you’d believe such a fake letter.”

Sena swayed her beautifully curled brown hair as she approached Lidoria’s table. She lifted her chin smugly.

“A barbaric woman like you would never get a love letter, right? You’d know if you thought about it a little. You’re not too bright, are you?”

At Sena’s words, the attendants laughed in unison.