Chapter 22
[Benefactor! Don’t be discouraged! Your exposed eyes are perfectly proportioned horizontally and vertically! Truly the golden ratio!]
‘Th-thanks…’
Pipi cheered me on, but my hunched shoulders wouldn’t straighten easily.
I tried to smooth out my hair, which was frizzed from last night’s disaster, but no matter how much I brushed, it only got worse, so I gave up.
Fiddling awkwardly with my bangs, I suddenly noticed the video orb in the corner of the waiting room.
This royal-sponsored group meeting was already in its 13th session, and from this session onward, they decided to try something special.
Apparently, the meeting would be broadcast live across the Empire through that orb.
The organizer, a woman named Serra, had begged us to understand, saying it was meant to generate publicity.
‘Why does it have to start from the session I’m in!’
Aside from the embarrassment of my face being seen, there was nothing else to worry about.
Even if my uncle saw it, he wouldn’t suspect that I had some scheme to regain my title through marriage.
‘He’ll probably just think I got dumped by Felix and now I’m desperate to marry someone else before my prime.’
I had been playing the role of the “can’t-live-without-a-man” fool for over ten years…
…Though the sad truth is, it wasn’t even acting.
Anyway.
Who’s really going to watch this weird matchmaking event? Ratings would be low anyway, so I decided to ignore the orb as much as possible.
My real goal today was to meet the benefactor who would become my husband.
With the orb broadcasting, I couldn’t openly discuss the contract, but I planned to feel him out and secretly meet him afterward.
‘It’s probably best to approach the one who seems the most financially motivated first.’
The lawyer had said as much.
After all, almost no one participating in this bizarre matchmaking program is really looking for love—they’re all after the subsidies.
I had even taken a loan ahead of time just for today.
Fortunately, with my advance pay, overtime bonus, and the generous bonus from Senior Aaron, I only needed a small loan.
Then Serra, looking nervous, spoke:
“Time’s up. Please enter one by one in order.”
I stood up with a determined expression.
Please wait, my future temporary husband! I’m coming with a stack of cash in hand!
On a quiet café terrace in a busy district,
Both the patrons inside and passersby on the street stole glances at the woman seated at the center.
The women clinging to either side of her shouted excitedly:
“Oh my, Lorena! What’s that necklace? I’ve never seen it before!”
“Oh, this?”
The beautiful woman at the center of attention, Lorena Belmont, smiled shyly.
“Felix gave it to me yesterday. He thought of me as he passed by. Isn’t he so kind?”
“Isn’t that the necklace displayed at Sorel Jewelers? I’ve always wanted it when I passed by!”
“It looks incredibly expensive. To buy something like that just passing by… As expected of the Rohheim Viscount’s daughter.”
The Rohheim Viscount family, which had once been declining, had gradually revived over the past decade and was now a respectable high-ranking noble family.
It was all thanks to the Viscount’s successful investments.
Someone gazing at the emerald around Lorena’s neck said,
“You’re lucky, Lorena. When you become the Viscount’s wife, you’ll get all sorts of things like this in the future, right?”
“Ahaha. I don’t know much about jewelry…”
“Why are you so unambitious? Felix is really lucky. After dealing with parasites, he finally found the right match.”
“Don’t call Frill that. Felix and Frill just weren’t compatible before, that’s all.”
“Lorena, you’re just too kind for your own good.”
At that moment, the video orb in the corner of the café started broadcasting something unusual.
[You! Be mine! Thrilling Youth Love Operation, starts now!]
“What’s that?”
“A surprise? What operation? How tacky!”
People cast curious glances at the orb.
Inside, men and women stood in line, introducing themselves one by one.
“Is this… a meeting of some sort?”
“But the participants… all of them…”
There was someone who blew their nose immediately upon sitting.
Someone who was excessively rude.
A middle-aged, balding man with three divorces.
“Wow… what kind of confidence did they have to come here?”
“Honestly, I think I understand why they couldn’t find a match.”
Next, the female participants began introducing themselves.
Lorena’s close friend, Dotty, watching with a bored expression, suddenly widened her eyes.
“Uh, isn’t that… Freesia?”
“What? No way… oh my gosh! It really is Freesia!”
Everyone turned to the orb, stunned.
Even from the screen, her messy hair and ugly glasses made it hard to look at.
Her bangs had been trimmed slightly to reveal her eyes, but the change was minimal; it was still unmistakably her.
Even riding past in a carriage, it was Freesia Violet.
“Why is she there? Could it be because Felix dumped her?”
“No matter what, why go to a place like that… wow, she’s really gone all out.”
Hearing her friends’ ridicule, Lorena’s eyes widened.
‘Oh my, that really is Frill.’
Since graduation, she hadn’t been in contact with Freesia and had been worried.
‘She said she wouldn’t allow the annulment until she got alimony. What kind of stubbornness is that?’
It seemed she wasn’t planning to let go of Felix easily.
‘She even threatened to make our child illegitimate.’
Lorena secretly rubbed her stomach and gritted her teeth.
The girl, whose only virtue was innocence, had somehow learned to speak so sharply and boldly.
‘I was planning to arrange a partner for her at the upcoming graduation ball…’
The academy graduation ball was a major social event, essentially a debut into society. Attending without a partner was almost social suicide.
But Freesia had no connections with any other men besides Felix.
Freesia was terrified of being alone.
This trait became stronger after losing both her parents at once.
‘There’s no way someone like Freesia could attend a grand event like the graduation ball alone.’
So she would desperately try to meet a new man beforehand.
I thought that might be the case, but…
‘I never imagined she would go to such desperate lengths.’
On the orb, Freesia was being humiliated by a middle-aged balding man with three divorces.
[“I dream of a large, happy family. At least five children, ideally.”
“…Ah, yes…”
“I also dream of receiving breakfast from my wife myself, haha. You could manage ten-course breakfasts every morning, right?”]
Freesia appeared flustered and speechless.
Seeing that, Lorena let out a sympathetic sigh.
The girl who had been treated like a princess without envy as a child was now in this situation…
‘You really never know how life will turn out.’
Lorena’s mouth curved slightly as she covered her face, feigning concern.
When she was very young, Lorena had become Freesia’s playmate almost by “selection.”
The first time she entered the Violet Mansion, it had been like a different world.
‘Why? Why does she get to live like a princess?’
Why are their parents rich while ours are poor?
Why are her parents harmonious and cherish her, while ours fight over money every day?
Why does she get all the happiness?
I’m prettier, cuter, and know how to behave for adults.
So I kept striving, to take the luck Freesia was born with for myself.
After the conversation about values, the participants began exchanging personal information.
When Freesia revealed her occupation, the onlookers stirred.
“What? Freesia became the Mage Tower Master’s secretary?”
“No way. Who’s ever heard of that?”
