Her light brown hair was wavy.

Her dark brown eyes were not narrow, but they were not large either.

Her nose was small and not high. Her lower lip was pouty, but not to the point of vulgarity.

Her skin was slightly freckled.

Sereia was not a stunning beauty, but she didn’t think she was so flawed that she would feel discouraged when she looked in the mirror.

So-so. I have a face that’s just about right.

Sereia thought so as she looked at her own face in the mirror.

The reason she was so plain is probably because she was not wearing much makeup. To her, putting on too much makeup somehow will make her look gaudy, so Sereia never tried not to make it too thick.

Then came the matter of dresses. Sereia never liked flashy colors. She tended to go for dark green, rouge, or navy blue. Dull colors. This is probably one of the reasons why she looked so plain.

Plain and dull.

That’s what people said, even before Sereia became an obstacle in the love story of Princess Cornelia and Harold the Knight.

They always started with, “For a fiancée of Harold Randall…”

Now, that Sereia thought about it, it’s been a while since she entered a social circle―

“They made me feel terrible.”

One day, on a carriage ride home from attending an evening party, Sereia was being grumpy at Harold.

“…What did they say to you?”

“Harold’s fiancée is plain and dull, they said. Well, I’m sorry for being plain and dull.”

“…You’re not plain and dull.”

“So…how am I?”

“You have a normal face.”

“Hey! You seriously want to piss me off, huh?”

“Why are you angry?”

“Why are you angry? You’re a big idiot!”

I mean, even if it’s true, you shouldn’t say things like I have a normal face.

Harold really did not understand a shred of a female mind.

Sereia wondered why this man even so popular with the ladies.

Is it really enough for women in the world as long as their man has a nice face and a good family background? 

“If social gathering bothers you, you can always decline their invitation. If you don’t feel comfortable saying so, I’ll ask my father to do it for you.”

“Isn’t social gatherings important though?”

“Once my brother succeeded in the family title, I will leave the Randall family and become a commoner. I will no longer be invited to attend any parties, though I may still be on guard duty. In the future, there will be no need for you to attend any social gatherings.”

Same with Sereia. If she had been an only child in the Palma, she would succeed in the family title. But with the birth of his younger brother, that path was no longer open to her. She did not mean to deny his existence, not even a little. Instead, she felt a little bad for her younger brother.

Harold stared at Sereia in question, noticing Sereia who was lost in thought.

“Do you have a desire to live as a noble?”

“No, no. That’s not it.”

“I am a knight without a knighthood, but I am a knight with a firm position. I am learning and gaining experience for that purpose. I will not allow you to live less than you do now.”

Sereia was so overjoyed to hear that remark. Knowing that his efforts at the knight school were also for the future of the two of them. However, she also felt bad for thinking that he was a man who only had a good face and family background.

“Turns out you also think about our future. I’m sorry I called you an idiot.”

“That’s okay, Sereia.”

Harold stared into Sereia’s eyes, making the girl’s heart race.

“W-what?”

Sereia looked back at the man, her cheeks burning.

“I’m fine with your normal face.”

“Thank you very much for that!” Sereia replied with a barb.

“…Why? Why mad?”　

Did he try to compliment me? He’s still an idiot, Sereia thought.

“I wouldn’t be happy to be told that I have a normal face. There are more…ways to say nice things. It’s not hurt to compliment me.”

“I once read in a book that the destruction of marriage starts with a lie. I won’t make a lie to you.”

“‘I see, I see…”

I guess I was foolish to expect sweet words from this man.

Sereia had known Harold for a long time. 

After that, Harold didn’t write Sereia back for a month or so…

It was only a month later that Harold came with a gloomy look on his face and tried to tell Sereia why he hadn’t replied to her letters.

Sereia felt foolish for having forgiven him.

Dirk Hertl, the frontier count, was a gorgeous, beautiful man.

To someone as flamboyant as him, Sereia was most likely plain and dull.

Anne was so angry with the man that she kept nagging until the night before bedtime.

She was even angrier that Sereia didn’t seem to be bothered by her nagging. At best, the girl probably thought that Sereia was too kind. At worst, she considered her weak.

Like a sermon, Anne also said that it’s not good to be timid.

To be honest, I don’t get angry at all. What can I say, Dirk Hertl doesn’t really matter to me anyway.

But when Harold called Sereia ‘normal’, she couldn’t calm her anger for a month. Even now that she remembered it, she was still annoyed.

It wasn’t that Sereia desperately wanted Harold to compliment her, it was just that a ‘normal face’ was the wrong choice of words.

Sereia brushed her hair and tied it up, looking at her plain face in the mirror, which was neither particularly pretty nor ugly.

Some noble ladies leave the maid to take care of their bodies, such as combing their hair, applying makeup, and even changing their clothes, but Sereia had decided to make a boundary, she will do some things on her own.

She and Anne would be living alone together in the house from now on, so it would be better to share the chores instead of leaving them solely to Anne.

Sereia was not angry at Count Dirk Hertl’s rude behavior. Nor was she angry at being placed in this remote house. In fact, Sereia was grateful because she felt saved.

The date of their wedding has not yet been decided. Currently, Sereia was in the position of a bride familiarizing herself with life in the border region.

Is it a matter of the royal family, or is it a matter of the princess’s feelings? Sereia did not know, but for some reason, her marriage would be held after Princess Cornelia’s.

Sereia thought it was a bit of a muddle, but it sure was good for her to get her feelings sorted out.

And then…

About Dirk Hertl’s words warning her not to add feelings to their fake marriage, not only made Sereia happy, but even very very relieved.

This was her third day in the frontier territory. While Sereia did some light cleaning, Anne had gone to the mansion to get lunch. When she returned, it was not just lunch she had brought, but an unexpected visitor.