Episode 105. I'll Go First
"Are you embarrassed?"
Doana lightly laid down Eric, who had a bewildered expression.
They say men pull back when you push them, and pull away when you pull them back.
She was talking about Eric specifically.
"You must have felt embarrassed that you were so angry and came back to me."
Doana thought back to the night before, the day Eric had kicked her out.
She still harbored resentment, but it was okay since he had come to her of his own accord.
Doana tugged at Eric's shirt, starting from the top.
Pressing her body against his, she unbuttoned all the buttons.
Eric didn't push her away. He simply muttered to himself, seemingly confused.
"I'm sure... I saw Rose."
Doana's expression hardened at the mention of Rose.
"That Rose, Rose. I'm dying of boredom."
The person next to Eric was none other than Doana. Even though she wasn't the one carrying Eric's child, it was her, not Rose.
Thinking of another woman, leaving behind her own wife and children.
No matter how much she didn't like Eric, she couldn't forgive him.
"What kind of girl is that!"
Height, looks. She was superior in everything.
Other men would fall for her with a single flick of a finger, but Eric had no intention of falling for her. To be precise, he had, but now he was losing interest in Doana.
"Forget about that worthless woman like Rose. You have me by your side. The child in my womb wouldn't want you like this."
Doana grabbed Eric's cheeks and tried to kiss him.
But Eric pushed her aside.
"Ouch!"
He got up from the bed and stormed out of Doana's room.
"Eric! Where are you going?"
Thrown onto the bed in an instant, she looked at Eric with a puzzled look.
Eric strode briskly around the mansion.
He placed one hand on the side of his head and muttered, looking like he had lost his mind.
“The Count, are you back already?”
The maid couldn’t hide her surprise when Eric, who had left in a carriage, was back in the mansion.
Eric froze in place upon hearing the maid’s voice. He then approached her menacingly.
“What did you just... say?”
Eric grabbed the maid’s shoulder with a violent grip.
His half-maddened gaze was enough to terrify the maid.
The maid trembled like an aspen leaf and replied,
“Yes, yes? I, I was just asking if you came in.”
“I left? Me?”
Why was he asking such a thing?
The maid nodded silently at Eric’s seemingly confirming question.
“Did you take the carriage to the palace?”
“Yes, yes.”
Eric seemed strange asking such an obvious question.
“Where is the carriage now?”
“The carriage hasn’t returned yet...”
She answered in a trembling voice. Her hand pointed to the stable visible beyond the window.
Eric's head went cold at the maid's words.
It wasn't a dream.
Riding a carriage to the palace, seeing Rose, everything.
'What on earth is going on?'
"Are you embarrassed?"
Doana lightly laid down Eric, who had a bewildered expression.
They say men pull back when you push them, and pull away when you pull them back.
She was talking about Eric specifically.
"You must have felt embarrassed that you were so angry and came back to me."
Doana thought back to the night before, the day Eric had kicked her out.
She still harbored resentment, but it was okay since he had come to her of his own accord.
Doana tugged at Eric's shirt, starting from the top.
Pressing her body against his, she unbuttoned all the buttons.
Eric didn't push her away. He simply muttered to himself, seemingly confused.
"I'm sure... I saw Rose."
Doana's expression hardened at the mention of Rose.
"That Rose, Rose. I'm dying of boredom."
The person next to Eric was none other than Doana. Even though she wasn't the one carrying Eric's child, it was her, not Rose.
Thinking of another woman, leaving behind her own wife and children.
No matter how much she didn't like Eric, she couldn't forgive him.
"What kind of girl is that!"
Height, looks. She was superior in everything.
Other men would fall for her with a single flick of a finger, but Eric had no intention of falling for her. To be precise, he had, but now he was losing interest in Doana.
"Forget about that worthless woman like Rose. You have me by your side. The child in my womb wouldn't want you like this."
Doana grabbed Eric's cheeks and tried to kiss him.
But Eric pushed her aside.
"Ouch!"
He got up from the bed and stormed out of Doana's room.
"Eric! Where are you going?"
Thrown onto the bed in an instant, she looked at Eric with a puzzled look.
Eric strode briskly around the mansion.
He placed one hand on the side of his head and muttered, looking like he had lost his mind.
“The Count, are you back already?”
The maid couldn’t hide her surprise when Eric, who had left in a carriage, was back in the mansion.
Eric froze in place upon hearing the maid’s voice. He then approached her menacingly.
“What did you just... say?”
Eric grabbed the maid’s shoulder with a violent grip.
His half-maddened gaze was enough to terrify the maid.
The maid trembled like an aspen leaf and replied,
“Yes, yes? I, I was just asking if you came in.”
“I left? Me?”
Why was he asking such a thing?
The maid nodded silently at Eric’s seemingly confirming question.
“Did you take the carriage to the palace?”
“Yes, yes.”
Eric seemed strange asking such an obvious question.
“Where is the carriage now?”
“The carriage hasn’t returned yet...”
She answered in a trembling voice. Her hand pointed to the stable visible beyond the window.
Eric's head went cold at the maid's words.
It wasn't a dream.
Riding a carriage to the palace, seeing Rose, everything.
'What on earth is going on?'
It was the kind of thing a ghost would cry out.
He lost consciousness the moment he saw her, and when he opened his eyes, he was in Doana's bedroom.
"What is it, Count?"
The head maid came running in from afar, startled.
"Perhaps this child made a mistake..."
She trailed off and looked at the frightened young maid.
Eric stared at the maid with blank eyes and then let her go.
He asked the maid,
"Did you see me enter the mansion?"
"Yes? Yes. I did."
The maid thought of Eric, who had just entered blankly.
"Then where is the carriage?"
"The Count came walking without it."
"Leaving the carriage... walking?"
It was a maddening thought.
He remembered going to the palace, but he couldn't recall how he got back. It was like he was drunk and blacked out, nothing coming to mind.
"Ugh... Send someone to the palace. And bring the carriage in."
"Understood."
The maid nodded, glancing at Eric's expression.
Lately, not only has he not been eating properly, but he hasn't been sleeping properly either, so perhaps his body is taking a toll?
"Whew... I need to rest for a few days."
Even before he could meet Rose, his body was on the verge of breaking down.
He pressed his throbbing temples and walked weakly.
"I should tell her to quit that weird department store business or something."
Cedric had told him Rose was starting a luxury goods distribution business for the nobility.
Building a shopping center in the empty Artaeum territory?
Eric, who hadn't heard Rose's speech after a late visit to the Grand Duke, couldn't understand the decision.
Eric thought Rose was being played by the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke, in his eyes, was a coward beyond compare.
It was clear that he was using Rose to extort money from people and trying to pin all the blame on Rose.
The naive Rose had clearly fallen for the Grand Duke's three-inch tongue.
“I should’ve given her a generous compensation. Then she wouldn’t have foolishly fallen for that Grand Duke's tricks.”
Eric muttered to himself, insisting she should just throw away both the department store and the swindler. At that moment, Doana suddenly appeared in front of Eric.
“What do you mean? A department store?”
“...What are you? Since when have you been by my side?”
Eric flinched at the sight of Doana standing before him.
He seemed so focused on Rose that he hadn’t even noticed her presence.
“Tell me about the department store again.”
Doana ignored Eric and asked only what she was curious about.
“What good is it for you to know Rose’s story?”
Eric replied curtly, as if he wasn’t going to tell her. Doana’s eyebrows quirked at Eric’s answer.
“Department store?”
There were no department stores in the world.
And yet, the word “department store” came out of Eric’s mouth.
“And what? About Rose?”
Surely... that Rose isn’t trying to set up a department store, is she?
Doana chewed and snapped her fingernails.
She tried to bring modern infrastructure to a novel and become rich all by herself.
'Huh? How absurd!'
She thought it was strange ever since she'd left the mansion without even taking any money.
The brazen attitude of a woman with nothing was amusing, but it was all because she had a plan.
'You made me suffer like this, and now you're going to live a life of luxury, huh?'
Before her possession, Doana had surrounded herself with quite a few people born with silver spoons.
Among them were quite a few children of department store owners, who were incomparably more clad in luxury goods than she was.
That must have been how well-off her parents were.
Rose was tampering with something she'd never dared touch?
Her stomach ached like this.
As she chewed her fingernails, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Doana's mind.
Her once anxious face suddenly became full of pride.
"Is Rose planning to build a department store?"
Eric's expression darkened as Doana asked, as if confirming.
"How did you know that?"
He'd just said it himself, so stupid.
He didn't say "yes," but his answer was a clear affirmation.
Doana smiled inexplicably and turned around.
"Right. I have to make my own way."
Eric, if she kept looking at that foolish man, she might one day be abandoned.
At first, she thought everything would be resolved if she just had a child.
However, Eric had grown colder towards her, and her position had become increasingly difficult.
Furthermore, Beliana and Tercia had joined forces to harass Doana in every way. It was obvious that having a child would only make things worse. While they were currently acting childishly and incompetently, they would undoubtedly become even more brazen.
'One day... they'll try to kill me, and even my child.'
The reason they hadn't touched Doana yet was that they believed she was favored by Eric.
If the woman he loved and his first child were in danger, Eric wouldn't stay still.
For now, she was acting as if she was in Eric's good graces, but she didn't know how long that would last.
Doana didn't want to just sit there and die.
Her first life had ended in vain, and she couldn't do the same for her second.
She vowed to develop her abilities, not by relying on Eric.
Not by relying on her own abilities, but by devouring Rose's ideas.
"You want to open a department store?"
Doana couldn't help but giggle.
Rose, who had been scorning her with her arrogant expression, was so satisfying to imagine her heart breaking.
"I'll handle your business first."
Doana giggled, her eyes gleaming with venom.
Eric left, leaving Doana alone with a bitter grin.
Doana, oblivious to Eric's presence, imagined her future, sitting on a mountain of money.
Just then, a maid rushed over.
"Doana, have you seen Hayang?"
Hayang was the kitten Doana had brought home.
"Hayang?"
"Yes. I was trying to feed him, but he hasn't shown up since yesterday."
"Really? Did you check with the Countess?"
"Yes. But the Countess said she hadn't seen Hayang all day."
Hayang was a cat that Doana had brought home, but he was beloved by everyone in the mansion.
Beliana, too, adored Doana's cat.
Even though she knew Doana clearly hated her, she spent hours with Hayang.
“It’s strange. Look for it again. I haven’t seen the Countess and Hayang together in a while.”
Doana lied despite seeing the cat last night, her expression looking disgusted by the cat.
The maid nodded to Doana and left.
As soon as she left, Doana’s expression hardened coldly.
“Please... look for it.”
She muttered something incomprehensible and gave a bitter laugh.
Meanwhile, Rose met Jane in the capital.
“Wow! Rose! How long has it been!”
Jane ran over to greet Rose as soon as she saw her.
“Jane! I missed you!”
Jane and Rose held each other’s hands and smiled bashfully.
“But Rose. You look completely different today...”
Jane looked at Rose with wide eyes.
“Right? How do you like my outfit today?”
Rose lifted her head, as if showing off her unusually stylish look.
Jane clasped her hands together and exclaimed,
“You look really old today, unlike usual!”
“Huh...? What did you say?”
Rose, who had been expecting a compliment, stumbled at Jane’s words.
“Pfft.”
A mocking laugh was heard behind Rose. It was the chuckle of Neruan, the knight assigned to her by the Grand Duke.
“Hehe. Just kidding! You look intelligent and elegant.”
Jane playfully stuck out her tongue and smiled brightly. “
You’re... joking, right?
It somehow felt sincere.
“By the way, who is that?”
Jane asked, pointing to the knight behind Rose.
“Ah, he’s the one who’s going to be my bodyguard today.”
Jane looked Neruan, who was disguised as a knight, up and down and muttered, “You’re a bit… unusual.”
Normally, he wouldn’t wear a helmet unless there was war, but Neruan had chosen to wear one.
“It’s just his taste.”
Rose glanced at Neruan and shrugged. She still didn’t realize that the knight behind her was Neruan.
“I guess the Grand Duke wasn’t with you.”
It was surprising. The Grand Duke was always by Rose’s side, but he wasn’t there today.
Rose’s expression darkened considerably at the mention of the Grand Duke.
“...He’s meeting someone.”
Rose sighed with a worried expression.
She was about to wrap up the conference and go back, but...
Duke Flice, that guy, came looking for the Grand Duke.
He lost consciousness the moment he saw her, and when he opened his eyes, he was in Doana's bedroom.
"What is it, Count?"
The head maid came running in from afar, startled.
"Perhaps this child made a mistake..."
She trailed off and looked at the frightened young maid.
Eric stared at the maid with blank eyes and then let her go.
He asked the maid,
"Did you see me enter the mansion?"
"Yes? Yes. I did."
The maid thought of Eric, who had just entered blankly.
"Then where is the carriage?"
"The Count came walking without it."
"Leaving the carriage... walking?"
It was a maddening thought.
He remembered going to the palace, but he couldn't recall how he got back. It was like he was drunk and blacked out, nothing coming to mind.
"Ugh... Send someone to the palace. And bring the carriage in."
"Understood."
The maid nodded, glancing at Eric's expression.
Lately, not only has he not been eating properly, but he hasn't been sleeping properly either, so perhaps his body is taking a toll?
"Whew... I need to rest for a few days."
Even before he could meet Rose, his body was on the verge of breaking down.
He pressed his throbbing temples and walked weakly.
"I should tell her to quit that weird department store business or something."
Cedric had told him Rose was starting a luxury goods distribution business for the nobility.
Building a shopping center in the empty Artaeum territory?
Eric, who hadn't heard Rose's speech after a late visit to the Grand Duke, couldn't understand the decision.
Eric thought Rose was being played by the Grand Duke.
The Grand Duke, in his eyes, was a coward beyond compare.
It was clear that he was using Rose to extort money from people and trying to pin all the blame on Rose.
The naive Rose had clearly fallen for the Grand Duke's three-inch tongue.
“I should’ve given her a generous compensation. Then she wouldn’t have foolishly fallen for that Grand Duke's tricks.”
Eric muttered to himself, insisting she should just throw away both the department store and the swindler. At that moment, Doana suddenly appeared in front of Eric.
“What do you mean? A department store?”
“...What are you? Since when have you been by my side?”
Eric flinched at the sight of Doana standing before him.
He seemed so focused on Rose that he hadn’t even noticed her presence.
“Tell me about the department store again.”
Doana ignored Eric and asked only what she was curious about.
“What good is it for you to know Rose’s story?”
Eric replied curtly, as if he wasn’t going to tell her. Doana’s eyebrows quirked at Eric’s answer.
“Department store?”
There were no department stores in the world.
And yet, the word “department store” came out of Eric’s mouth.
“And what? About Rose?”
Surely... that Rose isn’t trying to set up a department store, is she?
Doana chewed and snapped her fingernails.
She tried to bring modern infrastructure to a novel and become rich all by herself.
'Huh? How absurd!'
She thought it was strange ever since she'd left the mansion without even taking any money.
The brazen attitude of a woman with nothing was amusing, but it was all because she had a plan.
'You made me suffer like this, and now you're going to live a life of luxury, huh?'
Before her possession, Doana had surrounded herself with quite a few people born with silver spoons.
Among them were quite a few children of department store owners, who were incomparably more clad in luxury goods than she was.
That must have been how well-off her parents were.
Rose was tampering with something she'd never dared touch?
Her stomach ached like this.
As she chewed her fingernails, a brilliant idea suddenly flashed through Doana's mind.
Her once anxious face suddenly became full of pride.
"Is Rose planning to build a department store?"
Eric's expression darkened as Doana asked, as if confirming.
"How did you know that?"
He'd just said it himself, so stupid.
He didn't say "yes," but his answer was a clear affirmation.
Doana smiled inexplicably and turned around.
"Right. I have to make my own way."
Eric, if she kept looking at that foolish man, she might one day be abandoned.
At first, she thought everything would be resolved if she just had a child.
However, Eric had grown colder towards her, and her position had become increasingly difficult.
Furthermore, Beliana and Tercia had joined forces to harass Doana in every way. It was obvious that having a child would only make things worse. While they were currently acting childishly and incompetently, they would undoubtedly become even more brazen.
'One day... they'll try to kill me, and even my child.'
The reason they hadn't touched Doana yet was that they believed she was favored by Eric.
If the woman he loved and his first child were in danger, Eric wouldn't stay still.
For now, she was acting as if she was in Eric's good graces, but she didn't know how long that would last.
Doana didn't want to just sit there and die.
Her first life had ended in vain, and she couldn't do the same for her second.
She vowed to develop her abilities, not by relying on Eric.
Not by relying on her own abilities, but by devouring Rose's ideas.
"You want to open a department store?"
Doana couldn't help but giggle.
Rose, who had been scorning her with her arrogant expression, was so satisfying to imagine her heart breaking.
"I'll handle your business first."
Doana giggled, her eyes gleaming with venom.
Eric left, leaving Doana alone with a bitter grin.
Doana, oblivious to Eric's presence, imagined her future, sitting on a mountain of money.
Just then, a maid rushed over.
"Doana, have you seen Hayang?"
Hayang was the kitten Doana had brought home.
"Hayang?"
"Yes. I was trying to feed him, but he hasn't shown up since yesterday."
"Really? Did you check with the Countess?"
"Yes. But the Countess said she hadn't seen Hayang all day."
Hayang was a cat that Doana had brought home, but he was beloved by everyone in the mansion.
Beliana, too, adored Doana's cat.
Even though she knew Doana clearly hated her, she spent hours with Hayang.
“It’s strange. Look for it again. I haven’t seen the Countess and Hayang together in a while.”
Doana lied despite seeing the cat last night, her expression looking disgusted by the cat.
The maid nodded to Doana and left.
As soon as she left, Doana’s expression hardened coldly.
“Please... look for it.”
She muttered something incomprehensible and gave a bitter laugh.
***
Meanwhile, Rose met Jane in the capital.
“Wow! Rose! How long has it been!”
Jane ran over to greet Rose as soon as she saw her.
“Jane! I missed you!”
Jane and Rose held each other’s hands and smiled bashfully.
“But Rose. You look completely different today...”
Jane looked at Rose with wide eyes.
“Right? How do you like my outfit today?”
Rose lifted her head, as if showing off her unusually stylish look.
Jane clasped her hands together and exclaimed,
“You look really old today, unlike usual!”
“Huh...? What did you say?”
Rose, who had been expecting a compliment, stumbled at Jane’s words.
“Pfft.”
A mocking laugh was heard behind Rose. It was the chuckle of Neruan, the knight assigned to her by the Grand Duke.
“Hehe. Just kidding! You look intelligent and elegant.”
Jane playfully stuck out her tongue and smiled brightly. “
You’re... joking, right?
It somehow felt sincere.
“By the way, who is that?”
Jane asked, pointing to the knight behind Rose.
“Ah, he’s the one who’s going to be my bodyguard today.”
Jane looked Neruan, who was disguised as a knight, up and down and muttered, “You’re a bit… unusual.”
Normally, he wouldn’t wear a helmet unless there was war, but Neruan had chosen to wear one.
“It’s just his taste.”
Rose glanced at Neruan and shrugged. She still didn’t realize that the knight behind her was Neruan.
“I guess the Grand Duke wasn’t with you.”
It was surprising. The Grand Duke was always by Rose’s side, but he wasn’t there today.
Rose’s expression darkened considerably at the mention of the Grand Duke.
“...He’s meeting someone.”
Rose sighed with a worried expression.
She was about to wrap up the conference and go back, but...
Duke Flice, that guy, came looking for the Grand Duke.
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