The Leander Grand Duchy is the name of the territory ruled by the Archibald family.
It is the region that produces the finest knights in the Kingdom of Malakar and has been renowned for its formidable military strength for generations.
The largest and most prestigious military academy in the Kingdom of Malakar is located here.
It is therefore not surprising that many people from other duchies who dream of becoming knights and soldiers of the Kingdom come to the Leander Grand Duchy to study martial arts and swordsmanship.
For generations, the Grand Duke of Leander has always been entrusted as the commander of the front lines in battle.
Grand Duke Cedric himself, although only 22 years old, has already been to the battlefield several times on missions, because his father died four years ago, when Cedric was 18.
Cedric is known for being cold and ruthless in using his sword against enemies who threaten the security and stability of the Kingdom.
But that day, Cedric finally realized that his long-held belief—that swords were the most dangerous and most threatening things in the world—was wrong.
He didn’t know that the simple dress, which revealed silhouette, was armor; that the thin, fringed chiffon fabric fluttering in the wind was a battle flag; that beautifully flowing, fragrant hair was a weapon of war; and that beautiful body was a deadly, sharp sword.
Cedric only realized this when he met Emily.
That afternoon, Cedric was already seated, waiting for his fiancée’s arrival at one of the pavilions in the garden of his residence.
The day before, Philip had asked Butler Sebastian to convey to Emily that he wished to meet her for tea, to celebrate her recovery after a month of bed rest.
‘Isn’t it inappropriate of him not to check on his fiancée, who has just survived the brink of death?’ Cedric thought at the time.
“Philip, are you sure you’ve conveyed this invitation to Lady Emily?” Cedric asked impatiently to Philip, his childhood friend who was now his right-hand man in administration and strategic planning.
“I did, My Lord.
Please wait a moment,” Philip replied confidently.
“Before that, I’d like to remind you once more, My Lord, not to be too harsh or intimidating in front of Lady Emily,” Philip explained.
“All right,” Cedric replied briefly.
Cedric listened carefully to Philip’s advice, out of concern for Emily’s mental state.
He had already known that Emily had a shy and quiet personality ever since she first arrived at the Archibald residence.
Moreover, Cedric understood that his engagement with Emily was a political and business alliance between the Archibald family and the Maynard family of Maginhard Duchy, initiated by King Malakar, to maintain peace among two of the four pillars supporting the Kingdom.
A political war could break out if anything happened to Emily before the wedding.
Therefore, Cedric had to be careful in dealing with Emily; he couldn’t let her do anything reckless that might endanger herself again.
“But Philip, is the Emily we’re talking about is the woman approaching us right now?” Cedric asked, pointing toward a woman walking toward them.
She wore a red off-shoulder dress made of thin, fluttering chiffon, her long blonde hair cascading down her shoulders, and she walked with confidence toward Cedric.
Her companion, Anna, followed a ways behind.
“It seems so, My Lord,” Philip replied, equally in disbelief.
“Grand Duke Cedric, have I kept you waiting too long?” Emily asked as she walked toward Cedric.
But suddenly, just as she was close enough, Emily accidentally (?) tripped and fell, landing in Cedric’s lap.
“Ah… I’m sorry, Your Grace, I accidentally tripped over something,” said Emily, wrapping both her arms around Cedric’s shoulders, as if trying not to lose her balance after tripping.
Philip and Anna, who witnessed the shocking incident, felt embarrassed as well and turned away, looking in another direction.
Cedric’s face flushed bright red with embarrassment and shock, caught off guard by this absurd, unexpected turn of events.
‘Is this woman really Lady Emily, the one he met two months ago?
Has she lost her mind from the fall?’ Cedric thought, unable to believe it.
Emily, without hesitation, wrapped her arms around Cedric’s shoulders, bringing the cleavage of her Off-Shoulder dress so close to his face.
Cedric was at a loss as to where to look.
The fragrance of Emily’s perfume wafting from her body at such close range left Cedric unable to think.
Then, one of Emily’s hands, which had been wrapped around his shoulders, now gently touched Cedric’s cheek, while the other held onto his back.
“Your Grace, are you okay?
Your face looks red—am I too heavy?” Emily asked in a seductive tone as she brought her face close to Cedric’s.
At that moment, for the first time in his life, Cedric couldn’t think.
His common sense rested in peace.
Cedric just stared silently at Emily’s face.
Since there was absolutely no response, Emily grew confused.
Then she tried her last resort.
Emily slowly brought her face closer to Cedric’s, who remained silent and unresponsive, and… “Chuu…” Emily’s lips gently touched Cedric’s in an instant.
‘Waaaaaaaaa….
What is this?
What is this girl doing?
What kind of indecent act is this?
But why didn’t I pull away?
Is it because I’ve never been close to a woman before?’ Cedric thought to himself, feeling frustrated.
A few moments later, Cedric, who had finally managed with great difficulty to regain his senses, broke free from Emily’s embrace by trying to stand up, causing Emily to be forced to get up from Cedric’s lap as well.
“I think Lady Emily might catch a cold if she wears such revealing clothing,” Cedric said as he removed the military cloak he was wearing and draped it over Emily’s shoulders.
Emily, who had been flatly rejected and met with a cold shoulder from Cedric, could only stare in disbelief.
All the effort and bold moves she had so carefully planned had failed so miserably.
“It seems Lady Emily is fine, and I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I’ll take my leave first.” Cedric took his leave without even glancing at Emily, and with very quick steps left the pavilion, followed by Philip who struggled to keep up with his master’s pace.
Emily slumped weakly into a chair, seeing her efforts go to waste.
‘Does that bastard even know that was my first kiss in my entire 40 years of life?
How dare he just ignore me like that?’ Emily muttered with a scowling face.
“Anna…” Emily called.
“Yes, My Lady.” “Do you think Grand Duke Cedric is impotent?” Emily asked bluntly.
“My Lady, please don’t speak carelessly; we could get into trouble,” Anna scolded her in a panic, glancing left and right, afraid someone might overhear.
“It’s okay, Anna, I can fix him.
I think it’s time we took a walk into town to get some fresh air and find some effective medicine,” Emily said, still annoyed, as she got up from her chair.
But as she walked toward her room, she realized she was still wearing Cedric’s military cloak over her shoulders, and she caught a whiff of its scent.
“Damn it, I love his scent.
Don’t even think I’m giving your cloak back!” Emily said, sticking her middle finger out at Cedric and Philip as they disappeared.
“My Lady, what are you doing?
Why are you sticking out your middle finger?” Anna asked, confused.
“It’s okay, this is a symbol that I love Grand Duke Cedric very damn much,” Emily replied, showing her middle finger.
“Hmm… all right,” Anna responded helplessly.
Anna realized that after waking up from the accident, Lady Emily had changed a lot.
She, who was usually shy, quiet, and always followed others’ orders, had now become brave and ambitious.
Especially since last night Lady Emily had asked for her help so she could win the Grand Duke’s heart, and for her master’s happiness, of course Anna would gladly help.
‘This is a good change, isn’t it?’ Anna wondered to herself.
—— The night before today’s meeting —– That evening, Emily and Anna received word from Butler Sebastian that the Grand Duke wished to meet them for tea tomorrow afternoon.
Emily immediately accepted the invitation.
A month had passed since Emi first realized she had been transported into the world of a novel she had once read.
And to make matters worse, she had to become the pitiful villainess—the very character she had once hated.
“Is this what they call karma?” she thought to herself.
Emi tried to accept that she was already dead in her original world; there was no way for her to return.
The only path left for her now was to survive.
Finally, Emi reluctantly accepted that her name was now Emily.
She suspected that the original Emily’s soul had died when she fell from the balcony, and somehow, miraculously, her own soul—which had died in the real world—had entered Emily’s body in the novel’s world.
“All right, Emily, rest in peace.
I promise, I’ll make you happy!” she said confidently in front of the mirror.
During her month of rest in her room, Emily took notes on the key events in the novel she was reading.
In the novel, because the Grand Duke finally discovered evidence that Emily was a spy and had committed crimes at her family’s behest, she was exiled to a remote village, where she lived as a poor farmer without a penny in her pocket.
Honestly, even if exiled, Emily was confident she could survive with her knowledge as a doctor.
But… ‘After dying of a heart attack due to overwork in her previous life, why must she suffer by working so hard in this life too?
I don’t want to be poor!
I want to enjoy this wealth!’ ‘And what matters most right now is that I must fulfill my mother’s one and only wish.
In this life, goodbye to work!
I’ll get married and live happily in my lover’s arms!” Emily vowed silently.
“Lady Emily, are you all right?” Anna asked with a worried expression.
“Don’t worry, Anna!
I’ve never been this determined!
I’ll make Grand Duke Cedric fall in love with me no matter whatever it takes!” Emily replied, clenching her right fist in the air.
“You have to help me, Anna—make me the most beautiful and sexy woman tomorrow,” Emily pleaded, clasping Anna’s hands.
“Yes, My Lady,” Anna replied just as confidently; she had never seen Lady Emily this enthusiastic before, and she felt happy too.
And so began the mission to seduce Grand Duke Cedric into falling in love with Emily!