Cliff was already sitting at the table, and Killian, who had followed, also sat down with a cold face. Lize, the hostess of this place, poured tea into the guests’ teacups and gave a brief explanation of the refreshments prepared today. She sipped tea with Cliff and Killian as they raised their glasses.

‘I miss coffee, but this isn’t bad either.’

The tea Lize served was fragrant, like the tea drunk in a duke’s family, and somehow sweet, with a clean aftertaste. As she was admiring the taste of the tea, Cliff, who was sitting across from her, made eye contact with her. He was the second most handsome man she had ever seen, so her heart skipped a beat without realizing it.

“Life here… You seem to be adjusting well.”

She was really curious about where the hell he was talking and what he was saying, but she smiled nonchalantly.

“Well, it’s thanks to everyone in the Duke family for being considerate of me.”

“But isn’t it already too early to help mother with her work? You’re newlywed… How about going on a trip with Killian?”

At those words, Killian’s eyes suddenly became ferocious.

‘Aha! Are you using me to get rid of Killian?’

She got to witness the love battle between the brothers over Lize right in front of her nose. It looked like a shrimp’s back would explode in a whale fight.

“Um, well. Killian seems to be very busy…”

“Killian is not busy. He has nothing to do.”

Then Killian snorted and counterattacked.

“Brother, wouldn’t it be better to go inspect the estate soon? Winter is over.”

“Hmm… Indeed it is. Lize, do you want to go inspect the estate together? You said you wanted to try a trip before.”

Gosh, the male lead was one step above the sub male lead. Among them, Lize was the only one who was confused.

“Oh, I, I…”

“Why are you making Lize difficult? Lize, you don’t have to pay attention to what my brother says.”

“But if I’m gone from here… Because of you, Lize will get into more trouble.”

Lize’s gaze was momentarily directed at her and then moved away. Killian’s love for Lize was nothing more than speculation by the luxury men. It’s a bit forced, but nobody could argue that they’re living like brother and sister with good friendship. If it was now that Cliff was hanging around Lize with Killian. But what would happen if Killian didn’t leave Lize’s side after Cliff went on a tour of the estate? Even under the same circumstances, the two would instantly look like a man-woman relationship. It was true that Killian loved Lize, and even though he was married, he had not made up his mind, so rumors would quickly spread that Edith was cold food in the Ludwig family. But there would be worse rumors about Lize.

‘As expected, even if he was born only a year earlier, his level of thinking is different from that of his little brother.’

She felt a bit like a spectator. In the meantime, the refreshments prepared by Lize were really good, so she ate an eclair instead of popcorn and watched the brothers fight. But then Cliff passed the ball to her with a gentle smile, probably not liking her nonchalant attitude.

“What do you think of, Edith?”

“Yes? What do I think?”

“Your opinion about me being the only one leaving this mansion. In other words, the situation where Lize, Killian, and you will remain.”

Unlike Cliff, who was smiling round and proud, Killian and Lize’s expressions were pitifully hard. But rather than feeling sorry for Killian, she was a little annoyed with Cliff’s behavior for getting her into this fight. Knowing that Killian loved Lize, she knew that they forced him to marry Edith, and knowing that she was in a position where she would not be loved by Killian, Cliff put people on the palm of his hand and played with them… So, without realizing it, she answered in a slightly pointed tone.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…yes?”

“It is Lord Cliff’s duty to inspect the territory, so if Lord Cliff goes, he goes, well. Do I have the right to say go or not?”

“That’s not what I mean…”

“But if I were to express my honest opinion about taking Miss Lize, I think that would be a bit unreasonable. Long-distance carriage trips are quite arduous, and it’s a bit much to recommend such a thing when Lize isn’t Lord Cliff’s wife… I also think it will be burdensome.”

It must have been a completely unexpected answer, Cliff and Killian’s expressions changed at once. Cliff was still smiling, but somehow looked cold, and Killian looked a little surprised. And Lize…

‘Uh…?’

She thought Lize would be embarrassing to get involved in a sibling fight, but Lize smiled lightly with her head down.

‘Something… Strange.’

She didn’t know why that felt strange. It must feel good to have gotten out of an embarrassing position thanks to her defense, but… Somehow, she thought that this was not a reaction that the character Lize would show…

“Cliff. Do you really need to go inspect the estate right now?”

However, when Lize raised her head again, the smile from before had disappeared, leaving only a worried expression that Lize might have.

‘Did I see it wrong?’

Well, maybe it was. The corners of Lize’s mouth look like they’re raised, so she has the impression that she’s always smiling.

“No, that’s just what I said.”

Cliff reassured Rize by showing a real smile, not the fake one he used to give Edith. And Lize looked at her again and grinned.

“Edith seems to have a very generous heart.”

That son of a bitch was uncharming to the end. A guy who pretended to be an adult and was easygoing while peeling pumpkin seeds behind his back was more uncharming than Killian who openly expressed it.

“I tend to try to be generous. Even at this moment.”

Couldn’t she turn it around? Did she know how to do it too? She looked at Cliff and smiled brightly. Oddly enough, it was a bit scary to see Killian staring at her.

‘Killian, did you see I was on your side? Even if you feel bad, don’t kill me. Understand?’

With such selfishness, she gave Killian a slight wink. Even the face that was distorted at once was also handsome.

* * *

Returning to her room after a slightly awkward tea time, she sat down in front of her desk and thought about the original story, <I refuse to obsess>.

‘I’ll have to sort out Edith’s dead flags.’

The Law of Survival in the Villainous Possession Romance… oh, that’s too long. From now on, she would just call it ‘survival rule’. Anyway, all the Romance characters of the possessed novels come up with a plan to organize and avoid the dead flags, remembering the original story. So she also had to sort out the evil done by Edit in the original work and think of a way to avoid it. She took out a piece of paper and wrote down the part where Lize and Edith collided in <I Refuse to Obsess> step by step.

‘I didn’t bring Sofia with me, so did I avoid putting poison in the car or releasing poisonous snakes in Rize’s room?’

Sophia quickly and accurately put into action whenever Edith gave her a word. In that respect, Sophia can be said to be a greater villainess than Edith. As if her girlfriend, who prepared everything she asked for in a short time, was more amazing than the boy detective KimbaIl. Once again, it was a good thing to leave Sophia behind. But other than that, there were many other attempts by Edith to frame or kill Lize.

‘It’s normal to go to all sorts of parties and gossip about Lize, pour hot water on Lize’s head as she walks around the garden, and present poisoned embroidery needles. In addition, I poisoned the cake Lize sent and ate it myself. Ugh, a bitch.’

Edith tried to ingest the poison herself and frame Lize as the poisoner, but she didn’t have the courage to swallow the poison herself. She hated being sick. Being sick in a previous life was already enough.

‘There seems to be more than this, but it’s vague.’

She felt like she should write it down if more came to mind. She replaced this paper with a word that only she could recognize so that it wouldn’t be seen as ‘evidence of a conspiracy to harm Lize’ even if it was discovered.

<Right lifestyle>

– Refrain from social activities for the time being (= do not go out to parties and talk dirty)

– Don’t put too much sugar in your tea (= don’t put poison in your tea)

– Because insects come in, be sure to close the window and sleep (= don’t release poisonous snakes)

– Don’t throw trash out the window (= don’t pour tea over Lize’s head)

– Hygiene management is for myself and others (=don’t eat poisoned cake, don’t give Lise something poisoned)

– Be grateful for what you have (= never covet Killian)

‘For now, to this extent…’

No matter how much she squeezed her head, she could only remember this now. She nodded as she read through what she had written down once more, then paused at the last sentence.

‘I should be grateful for what I have, and I can’t covet Killian.’

But she didn’t know why his subtle eyes as he was looking at her came to mind. She didn’t know what he was thinking, his watery eyes on a cloudy day… How beautiful would it be if love was put into those eyes. If those gray eyes in love looked at her… Umm, if he looked…

“Hey, I can’t even imagine.”

All she could see was him looking at her with eyes full of contempt, and she couldn’t imagine him looking at her with eyes full of love. It’s so frustrating that it’s kind of funny.

‘It’s a good thing. What am I supposed to do with imagining something like that?’

She smiled to herself and circled the “Be grateful for what I have” several times.

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