When Lillian opened her eyes, she found herself in a luxurious bedroom. She sat up and looked around the room. This was probably the guest room of Enrique’s house, the Evans family mansion. Surrounded by gold leaf and velvet, Lillian made a brief comment about the room.
"Well, they live well."
Even though they were both nobles, the size of this room was a far cry from the modest bedroom of the Rosetti family. Lillian, having lifted the blanket, stepped out of bed. The feeling of chiffon brushing against the top of her feet felt unfamiliar.
When she lowered her gaze, she noticed the long chemise she was wearing. Her black hair, which she had carelessly tied, was now gently combed and had come undone. It seemed that the Evans family staff had taken care of her. The faint scent of essential oils drifting from her long hair was pleasant.
‘As expected, the Evans family's servants are different.’
Lillian clicked her tongue, recalling Seth’s carefree face back at her house. Despite being the same type of servant, there seemed to be a difference as vast as the sky and the earth. Well, her family and Enrique’s family probably had a similar disparity in status.
She sat down on the sofa, pondering the bitter reality. Then, a sweet and sour scent stimulated her sense of smell. Looking up, she saw that the table in front of the sofa was full of fruit.
"Wow."
Having fasted all day, Lillian was touched. Seeing it placed there, it seemed to be for her to eat. Without hesitation, she greedily began stuffing fruit into her mouth. Although it wasn’t as satisfying as meat, the fresh juice bursting in her mouth was absolutely delicious.
Knock knock—
At that moment, someone knocked on the door. Lillian hastily swallowed the pomegranate she had in her mouth, cleared her throat, and asked.
"Who is it?"
"It’s me, Lillian. May I come in?"
The voice from beyond the well-crafted door was familiar. It was Enrique. There was no reason to refuse his visit. Especially since she had thrown herself into the position in order to have more opportunities to talk with him.
"Come in, Commander Enrique."
Lillian got up without much thought to welcome him. He paused as he was about to enter the room, his eyes immediately drawn to her. She had her long hair down, wearing only a chemise. Upon seeing this, his face suddenly turned bright red.
"Y-You… I… I apologize."
"Huh?"
Lillian, not understanding the situation, blinked her eyes in confusion. Then, Enrique hurriedly stepped back out of the door and added.
"Your attire… no, I’ll step out for now. Please put on something else, and I’ll call for you once you're ready."
The door slammed shut with a thud, as though mirroring Enrique’s embarrassment. Left alone in the room, Lillian stared blankly at her appearance. By Korean standards, she was wearing a long nightgown dress, one that covered her body from head to toe. Was this inappropriate to wear in front of a man?
‘Maybe… it’s because it’s a nightgown?’
What a strange world this was. Lillian recalled the noblewoman’s attire she had briefly seen in the marketplace earlier. The woman wore a deep-cut dress that exposed her cleavage. Such revealing clothing was fine, but Lillian’s chemise, which covered her neck, was deemed unsuitable simply because it was a nightgown.
But then again, this wasn’t South Korea. Clinging to her own sense of logic would be pointless. Lillian glanced around the room and found a robe and shawl, which she wrapped tightly around herself. This should be modest enough to meet someone.
Feigning a shy expression, Lillian opened the door and invited him in again.
"My apologies. Please come in."
"No, it is I who should apologize."
Enrique, now composed, entered the room behind her. Despite Lillian having learned swordsmanship, she wasn’t that tall. Enrique, however, was truly a giant. Lillian could barely reach his shoulder. He must have been naturally tall and strong.
Sitting down on the sofa with an air of confidence, Enrique gestured for Lillian to sit. Since she was too hungry to stand, she complied without refusing. Enrique, blinking his silver eyelashes, turned to her with a cautious gaze and asked.
"Do you remember what happened before you collapsed? You had an altercation with two men to protect the girl."
"…Yes. I remember. Though it’s embarrassing, my skills were lacking, and I ended up troubling you, Commander Evans."
Lillian bowed her head humbly, pretending to seek his sympathy. As she did, her long black hair flowed down like a waterfall, framing her pale face. Her naturally neat and innocent face made her appear even younger.
Seeing this, Enrique’s expression softened a bit. He was weak when it came to women, especially those in distress. It was likely due to his late sister, who had passed away from illness. Sure enough, his voice came out softer than before.
"It’s alright. Though you are not one of my direct subordinates, all knights under the royal banner are my responsibility. So don’t think of it as troubling me. You did your best for proper knightly conduct. I am proud to have someone like you in the knight order."
Touched by his words, Lillian blushed and smiled. Looking at him with her moist green eyes, she responded in a whisper.
"Thank you so much, Commander."
Enrique didn’t answer. He subtly avoided looking directly at her, as though looking at her directly would make something happen.
Enrique was truly a man immune to women. Seeing this, Lillian secretly chuckled to herself. She shamelessly took advantage of the weakness she knew about him from the original story. She had collapsed dramatically in front of him and was now drawing his sympathy, acting as if she were his late sister.
But oddly enough, she felt no guilt at all. The reason was simple.
‘I’m about to die anyway, what does guilt matter?’
She couldn’t even fight well, and she didn’t have any way to make a living. Her family was poor and had no money. Truly, Lillian Rosetti was a dirt spoon pretending to be a silver spoon. Before being kicked out of the knights, she had to figure something out. There wasn’t even time to think properly, so she had to resort to such theatrics. Suddenly, as her situation dawned on her, Lillian felt tears well up in her eyes.
"Are you… are you crying now? Is your head still bothering you?"
Noticing that Lillian’s green eyes were moist, Enrique became flustered. He was uneasy at the sight, just as he had been with Aleina. In the original story, whenever Aleina sniffled, Enrique would give her everything at his feet. With that thought in mind, Lillian secretly felt relieved.
"Yes, it seems the place I was hit earlier is still bothering me… My head keeps throbbing, and before I knew it, tears welled up."
Lillian murmured as she inserted her fingers into her thick black hair. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed in pain, and her large eyes were filled with tears. She looked so fragile, it was hard to believe it was all an act.
"Oh no. That’s a serious problem. We should keep an eye on it, and if necessary, I’ll grant you medical leave."
Enrique furrowed his brows as he muttered. When Lillian saw the kindness in his violet eyes, her heart skipped a beat. It wasn’t because Enrique was handsome. It was because she thought that with just a little more, she could delay her duty to the knights.
"Let me take a look. I apologize for the intrusion."
Enrique stood up and carefully combed through her hair. When he noticed the reddish mark near her temple, he frowned. Seeing the injury with his own eyes seemed to make him more concerned. Lillian, with her head in his hands, thought to herself.
‘That mark must have come from when I slept.’
That was right. She had the habit of sleeping with her hand under her head. Naturally, the pressure on her temple would leave a red mark. And conveniently, that was exactly where Enrique was looking.
But, well, what’s the harm in making the best of it? Lillian decided to keep up the act and continued to pretend to be in pain. Thankfully, her lily-like appearance, when silent, made her seem quite delicate and fragile. Seeing her trembling eyelashes, Enrique, unaware, sympathized with her.
‘It must have been the blow to the head.’
But why was she losing to commoners who didn’t even know swordsmanship? Enrique furrowed his brows, thinking to himself. No matter how weak the 4th Order of Knights was, they were still knights. They had trained in swordsmanship since childhood, so they couldn’t have lost to commoners. The training for knights was that rigorous.
Enrique felt something was off about the situation. He had the right to ask Lillian, and with his violet eyes locked on hers, he asked directly.
"So, what happened? How did you lose to commoners without even having a weapon? That’s not very knightly."
This was the most worrying question for Lillian. She inwardly pulled her hair in frustration. What could she say to avoid raising Enrique’s suspicions?