Apparently, I’m a Poisonous Woman Who Sells One-Night Dreams, but I Ended Up Awakening a Hero’s Devoted Love - Chapter 1.5

Mariadoll accepted Jerf’s hand and boarded the carriage.

After instructing the driver on their destination, Jerf sat in the seat opposite Mariadoll and handed her a handkerchief.

“You can use this.”

“Thank you.”

When she wiped her cheeks and hair, the white handkerchief became stained with the red of wine. The stain on her dress was already beyond help. It didn’t seem like it would come out even if she wiped it.

“I’ll return a new handkerchief to you when we meet next time.”

“That’s unnecessary. More importantly, the wound on your cheek stands out.”

Mariadoll flinched reflexively at the finger reaching toward her wound, and seeing this, Jerf hastily withdrew his hand.

“My apologies, did I touch the wound?”

“No, it’s fine. I’m just not used to it, that’s all.”

Her blushing, downward-glancing figure was innocent and fresh—far from what one would imagine of a venomous woman.

Watching Mariadoll hide her reddened cheeks with the handkerchief he’d given her, Jerf raised a suspicious eyebrow, creasing his forehead.

“Thank you for earlier. Thanks to you, I was able to escape that situation.”

“Not at all—rather, I’m sorry I was late to help. Does that kind of thing happen often?”

“Well, yes. I’ve had people come into the gallery a few times. Ah, but the butler helps me at the gallery, so we’ve managed to avoid trouble each time.”

The only servants serving Mariadoll were the butler Legacy and his wife Tarina. Legacy mainly assisted at the gallery while also helping with Mariadoll’s duties as the territory’s lord. Tarina handled all the household chores.

“I see, that’s good then. But since you were injured in my presence, I must apologize.”

“? Why is that? I don’t think it has anything to do with you, Lord Stanley.”

“That’s not true. Even if it’s temporary, we’re engaged. Protecting my fiancée is a natural duty, isn’t it?”

That was certainly true, but she hadn’t expected the act to begin so soon.

(Lord Stanley is being pressured by the princess to marry. He must want to establish the engagement quickly.)

“Then, should I introduce Lord Stanley to the butler as my fiancé?”

“Correct. Before we greet them, let’s prepare a simple backstory.”

“This is rather sudden, but understood. Where shall we say we met?”

“Tonight is fine. I fell in love at first sight and proposed marriage that same day.”

He said it so casually, but Jerf, who had remained single until now, falling in love at first sight with a venomous woman—the premise was far too forced.

(Is this man sane? Or just muscle-brained?)

“Hey, you’re thinking something rude right now, aren’t you?”

“…No such thing.”

“Miss Mariadoll, your emotions show on your face more than one would expect of a noble lady. Right, let’s say that’s what I fell for.”

“No, no, that’s completely unreasonable, isn’t it?”

Wasn’t the setting too slapdash?

Still, she couldn’t think of a more plausible scenario. The whole thing was absurd from the start.

“Not at all. After all, Miss Mariadoll is beautiful enough that it wouldn’t be strange for someone to fall for you at first sight.”

“!!”

Mariadoll’s face flushed bright red. Steam might as well have been coming from her head. How could he utter such cloying lines with a straight face?

(B-beautiful? Me, wearing almost no makeup and an outdated rental dress?)

That couldn’t be.

But Jerf’s face was utterly serious. Which meant…

“Lord Stanley, are your eyes bad?”

“No, rather they’re quite good?”

In the cramped carriage, being smiled at by such a handsome face left her at a loss for how to respond.

She looked outside to see where the carriage was, and fortunately, familiar scenery was passing by.

“We’ll be arriving soon. Then, I’ll go with the setting you proposed.”

“Call me Jerf.”

“Understood. Lord Jerf, then.”

“You can call me Jeff, too?”

“Ugh, I’ll think about that a bit later.”

She felt like she was being teased.

(This is no good. It’s a temporary engagement precisely because I’m a venomous woman. Lord Jerf, with his peculiar taste for liking free-spirited women, fell for me at first sight. I mustn’t break this setting.)

She wanted to maintain a composed, venomous woman’s demeanor here, but the hurdle was suddenly too high.

She straightened her back as best she could, but her face remained red.

The carriage stopped in front of a small gallery.

Accepting his hand to disembark, she used her key to open the door herself.

“So, there’s a gallery in a place like this.”

“My father built this gallery, so it’s small and has no history.”

In this country, Dunbargas, the largest and oldest gallery was the one run by the Haren Marquis family.

They also owned a museum in the royal capital, and in one corner’s event space, they held auctions and exhibitions featuring only up-and-coming painters. Many painters who gained fame started from there, making it arguably the heart of Dunbargas’s art scene.

Beyond the door was pitch black. Thick curtains covered the windows, blocking even the moonlight.

Perhaps because of that, the smell of oil paint hanging in the air felt particularly strong.

“The paintings would get damaged, so I always keep the curtains closed. I’ll light a lamp, so please wait a moment.”

Despite the darkness, Mariadoll lit a lantern with practiced hands and headed deeper inside.

Hidden behind a standing screen leaned against the wall was a steep staircase. As she climbed, the stairs creaking, footsteps could be heard from above.

“Lady Mariadoll, are you back now? You were later than expected, so I was worried. Oh, who is that with you?”

Stopping on the stairs when addressed, Mariadoll turned and illuminated Jerf’s face behind her with the lantern.

“This is Lord Jerf Stanley, the Duke.”

“Eh? Why is the Duke here? And Lady Mariadoll, your face! Don’t tell me the Duke—?”

As they ascended further, the wound on Mariadoll’s face became clearly visible, and Legacy’s gray eyes widened sharply.

His brown hair streaked with white was disheveled, and his small, slender body looked ready to pounce. It was Mariadoll who panicked.

“That’s not it. There was a bit of trouble. Lord Jerf helped me. Lord Jerf, this is Legacy, my butler. His wife Tarina is inside.”

Having reached the second floor, Mariadoll pushed Legacy’s shoulder aside to make space for Jerf in the narrow hallway.

Jerf, upon reaching the second floor, gave a slight bow to Legacy.

“Pleased to meet you. My apologies for barging in so suddenly.”

“Not at all, rather, thank you for helping Lady Mariadoll. Still, you got quite the beating.”

Legacy told Jerf, “Please wait a moment,” and asked Tarina to bring a wet towel. Tarina went downstairs and immediately ran back up.

“Lady Mariadoll, here you are.”

Tarina pressed the wet towel to Mariadoll’s cheek. “Ouch,” Mariadoll murmured softly.

“Please bear with it. I’ll bring the ointment right away.”

“Thank you, I’m fine with this. More importantly, I’ve stained the dress. It’s a wine stain, so it won’t come out, will it? Even though it’s a rental, I suppose I’ll have to buy it.”

“Huh? It’s a rental?”

Jerf, interrupting without thinking, widened his eyes.

Mariadoll nodded as if it were obvious.

“Yes, after all, one doesn’t wear a ballgown many times, and I don’t attend any balls besides tonight’s, so a rental is sufficient.”

Dresses made to order were, by unspoken rule, taboo to wear repeatedly.

If worn multiple times, people would say, “The same dress again,” and it was considered behavior that sullied the family name.

Rental shops collected dresses that young ladies had worn only a few times, altered the designs slightly, and rented them out.

Though they arranged them quite skillfully, they couldn’t deny they were outdated.

“Then, I’ll buy it.”

“There’s no reason for you to do that, Lord Jerf.”

“There is a reason. Mariadoll is my fiancée. Let me make at least this small compensation for failing to protect you.”

(Lord Jerf, you’re jumping in too suddenly!)

To come out with this without any preamble. While Mariadoll panicked, Legacy’s eyes widened, and Tarina’s mouth opened and closed.

“E-engaged!? That is, um… what does that mean?”

“I proposed at the ball, and she accepted.”

“Lady Mariadoll, is that true?”

“Yes, I accepted.”

Here, she had no choice but to brazenly go along with the story.

To Legacy, whose lips were trembling, Mariadoll smiled sweetly.

“G-going to marry the Duke.”

“That’s right. Legacy, aren’t you happy?”

“Of course! I’m delighted! I thank God. But why a poor baron’s house… ah, my apologies.”

Legacy and Tarina were like family to Mariadoll now.

Still, for the butler to say “poor baron” in front of Jerf, whom they’d just met, wasn’t appropriate. Legacy was usually more composed, but he couldn’t hide his agitation.

“I fell in love with Mariadoll at first sight. Even among the many young ladies at the venue, she shone especially bright.”

“At first sight, you say? But that is… you are aware of Lady Mariadoll’s bad reputation, correct?”

“It’s a weakness of being in love. I don’t care about that.”

Mariadoll’s cheek twitched at his determination to push through such an unreasonable setting.

Then, suddenly, a hand was placed on her waist, pulling her close. What? she thought, looking up in surprise, only to be met with a melting, passionate gaze.

“I find her so dear that such trivial matters don’t bother me.”

(!!!)

To resort to such brute force. The sweet aura and words coming from his handsome face had lethal power.

(Lord Jerf, you’re too close! And your acting is too good!!)

Jerf lovingly stroked Mariadoll’s bright red hair. She wanted to ask where his earlier nonchalant expression had gone.

“Hooh,” Legacy breathed an admiring sigh, looking back and forth between them, then elbowed the dumbstruck Tarina. Tarina snapped to attention.

“Is that so? Then I have only one thing to say. Lady Mariadoll, congratulations.”

“Th-thank you, Legacy.”

“U-ugh. You’ve been through so much until now. Lord Stanley, please take good care of Lady Mariadoll.”

“Tarina, don’t cry. You’re making Lord Jerf uncomfortable.”

“No, to be so cherished by your servants—Mariadoll must be a good master.”

Tarina’s brown eyes grew moist, and she began to cry openly. Even Legacy was on the verge of tears.

(Ah, this hurts my conscience. I’m sorry. It’s a contractual engagement. If all goes well, we’ll break it off without marrying.)

As Mariadoll frantically patted their backs, telling them not to cry, Jerf’s smile vanished.

His hand went to his sword’s hilt.

“By the way, Mariadoll, do only three people live here?”

“Eh?”

“Then, I must apprehend the one eavesdropping downstairs.”

With a sharp metallic rasp, Jerf drew his sword.

“Eh, ehhh?”

Though he limped, he was a hero.

The soft smile from earlier was gone, his red eyes gleaming sharply.

When Mariadoll directed the lantern toward the stairs, a small silhouette could be seen in the darkness a few steps down.

“Clemence! Lord Jerf, Clemence is Legacy’s grandson. His parents are away working, so he lives here with us.”

“Grandson? Indeed, the shadow is small. My apologies, I frightened you.”

“Clemence, did we wake you? Can you come here and say hello?”

Clemence climbed the creaking stairs, bowed to Jerf, then hid behind Mariadoll’s skirt. For an eight-year-old, he was small, his gray eyes wide open as he glared at Jerf with all his might.

“Mariadoll, is your injury okay?”

“It’s just a scrape.”

“You shouldn’t let it scar, so I’ll treat it for you right away.”

“Greet him properly first!”

Mariadoll pressed down on Clemence’s messy red hair from above, forcing him to bow.

“My apologies. He doesn’t interact with nobles much.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m the one at fault for coming so late. I’m leaving now, so treat her quickly.”

Jerf sheathed his sword, said “Sorry for scaring you” to Clemence, and went downstairs. Watching Legacy hurriedly follow with the lantern, Mariadoll finally exhaled, feeling the long night had ended at last.