I Became the Substitute for the Runaway Heroine - Chapter 74

I knew it! She remembered me.

Odette rose with a bright smile. The Dowager Marchioness had not only immediately understood the message Odette intended to convey but also seemed to have seen through the fact that Odette had come to ask for help.

“It is a pleasure to see you again. I thought of you occasionally, wondering if you had made a successful escape.”

“I am safe, but I am technically still in the process of escaping, my Lady.”

“Which is why you came to find me, I suppose.”

I have to do this right.

Odette recalled the etiquette her mother had taught her and gave a formal greeting.

“My name is Odette Ballon. I am honored to finally introduce myself properly.”

Holding the hem of her skirt, Odette stepped back slightly, sank into a graceful curtsy, and rose while slowly meeting the lady’s eyes. However, the look in the Dowager Marchioness’s eyes had changed.

“You use a Southern greeting?”

“It is the greeting I learned from my mother.”

“Was your mother a Southerner?”

“She never spoke of her life before I was born, so I have no knowledge of it, my Lady.”

“That is a pity. Anyone who remembers that Southern style of greeting—one that has now all but vanished—surely would have had some connection to me.”

The Dowager Marchioness took the seat of honor and gestured for Odette to sit. Once Odette had gathered her skirts and settled into her seat, the Marchioness spoke.

“Tell me. What happened?”

“I was forced into a marriage I did not want, so I fled the day before the engagement ceremony.”

“I take it the man who ordered the blockade of Raon Town was quite terrible?”

“He was actually more than I deserved. He held a noble title, possessed a beautiful appearance, and was very wealthy.”

“Ah, then his character must have been rotten.”

“Pardon?”

Odette blinked, sensing a hint of anger in the Marchioness’s voice.

“There is no way you would have made such a desperate escape from a man with perfect conditions unless there was a serious flaw. He must have been defective in some way.”

Defective? Odette wondered. What could be considered a flaw?

The fact that his face was maddeningly handsome even first thing in the morning? The fact that he possessed an excessively strong body, so much so that when Caesar wrapped his legs around her waist, she couldn’t budge an inch? The fact that he was a good kisser? Or that he frequently enchanted people with his beautiful smile?

Despite all that, he never crossed the line unless Odette permitted it. And then there was that moment.

“Don’t go.”

Caesar had spoken with a desperate expression from beyond the barrier.

“I will do better.”

A sudden, tightening pain in her chest made it hard to breathe. Odette shook her head to clear her thoughts of Caesar and spoke.

“He is not a bad person, but… he was not the one for me.”

“That makes him bad. It makes him the worst,” the Marchioness said, looking out the window with a look of disapproval. “My daughter also married a self-centered man and suffered until the day she died.”

“I am sorry to hear that.”

“Thank you. It feels as if you are getting revenge on my behalf.”

“Pardon?”

“Oh, no, I mean… it feels as if you are offering me comfort. Ahem!”

Odette tilted her head, not quite sure what she had just heard, but she stammered out a response. “I… I am glad if I can be of any comfort.”

“Now then, where is it you wish to flee to? I shall help you.”

The Marchioness gave a benevolent smile. Odette took a sip of the tea a maid had brought before answering.

“I plan to go to Neapolitan. I intend to board a passenger ship to the Eastern Continent there.”

She had agonized over this during the journey—whether she should accept the duties of the Great Saintess or live her life pretending she knew nothing. Looking at the cheerful people here in the South, she had made her decision.

I want to live my life traveling.

She could simply send the Saint’s Staff to Caesar’s house before boarding the ship in Neapolitan. Caesar had inherited divine power from his mother, who had been the strongest Great Saintess in history. He would be able to amplify that power with the staff.

In the original story, Caesar was the one who stopped the rifts.

He had wiped out all the monsters using only his sword, not divine power. It would take a long time and be incredibly difficult, but since he succeeded back then, he could do it again.

Caesar could be the Emperor, the High Priest… he could do it all. There was no need for Odette to remain in the Empire.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

The Dowager Marchioness spoke as if she fully supported Odette’s departure for the Eastern Continent.

“Then should you not hurry? The passenger ship to the East only departs twice a year. If you miss it, you will have to wait six months.”

“I believe I must meet Her Highness the Princess before then.”

“Princess Trisha?”

“Yes.”

It was to ask for help regarding Vera, but there was another reason.

She is my sister.

Before leaving the Empire, she had to see Trisha one last time. Once she left for the East, they would never meet again in this lifetime.

I have to give her some information so she doesn’t die in Caesar’s place.

“The Princess is scheduled to visit for the festival. She should arrive tomorrow or the day after at the latest.”

The Dowager Marchioness agreed readily, as if arranging a meeting with Princess Trisha was no difficult task.

“Tell me where you are staying, and I will arrange the meeting. Or…” The Marchioness paused, looking at Odette. “I could offer you a guest room here in the mansion.”

“I appreciate the offer, but…”

Odette had more than one or two people with her. She couldn’t bring them all in and impose on the Lady’s kindness. Just as she was about to politely decline, a voice interrupted.

“Grandmother, here you are.”

A man with chestnut hair and teal eyes entered the drawing room. For a split second, the Marchioness’s eyes distorted with disapproval. It was such a fleeting expression that Odette wondered if she had misseen it.

“Gawain, I am in the middle of a conversation with a guest.”

“Ah, my apologies. I have interrupted you.”

Though the man named Gawain looked flustered as if he didn’t know what to do, he strode forward and kissed the back of the Marchioness’s hand.

What is this? Such rude behavior.

The Marchioness glanced at Odette and let out a very faint sigh. Why did she look so weary, as if this were a common occurrence?

Unlike the troubled Marchioness, Gawain sat down with a casual attitude, crossed his legs, and signaled a maid to pour him tea. When he caught Odette’s eye, he offered a manufactured smile.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, young lady.”

By etiquette, a social inferior should only introduce themselves after a superior grants them the right to speak. However, Gawain broke all formalities, puffing out his chest proudly.

“I am the Marquis of Belmonte.”

Odette thought the Marquis of Belmonte was quite a pathetic man. Between ignoring the Dowager Marchioness’s instructions while a guest was present and his lack of manners, he was unimpressive.

Wait, Lady Marchioness. Where is your son, and why is the grandson who became Marquis like this?

The saying that the Belmontes were the masters of the South and did not bow even to the Emperor seemed to only apply to the older generation. The Marquis of Belmonte before her eyes was as shallow as a sheet of paper. Moreover, she felt an unexplainable sense of revulsion toward him.

“How much longer must I wait? I did not realize introducing oneself was such a difficult task.”

“My introduction was delayed because I am the daughter of a nameless family. I am…”

Odette’s lips parted, but then she pressed them shut. For some reason, she did not want to reveal the name she had given the Marchioness to this man.

“I am…”

“Christine, it seems the Marquis has frightened you with his mischievous behavior.”

The Marchioness called Odette by the name ‘Christine’ and gave a slight wink, as if telling her she didn’t need to reveal her true name.

“I enjoyed our time today. I will see you again, Christine.”

The Marchioness rose, gave a nod, and left the drawing room. She sent a silent look that suggested she would contact Odette later. In that case, there was no reason to stay.

“Then I shall take my leave as well.”

Odette bowed to the Marquis and began to walk across the room. But then, she heard footsteps behind her.

Is he following me?

The moment she turned her head, the Marquis’s face was inches from hers.

Eek! And he’s so ugly!

The Marquis’s face contorted as he saw Odette’s look of disgust.

“You are strangely irritating.”

The Marquis of Belmonte grabbed Odette’s arm. In that instant, Odette was nearly choked by a horrific, foul stench.

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