Sorry, I got distracted by your looks

I could never understand why my mother’s final words were about finding a

husband.

But in the twelve years since the Marquis of Uzcal dragged me to this estate, I had never once forgotten her dying wish.

Though her words had been garbled by her coughing and ragged breathing, four syllables remained crystal clear in my memory

—”face genius,” meaning absurdly handsome.

So there was no way I was marrying that old, ugly emperor.

I had nodded obediently in front of the marquis and marchioness, but behind their backs, I immediately began planning my escape.

For the past month, I had been discreetly figuring out ways to gather enough money to flee.

And then,

, the marquis and marchioness summoned me again to the drawing room.

I had a bad feeling, and unfortunately, my instincts were dead on.

“So, what you’re saying is… my fiancé has changed? Just like that?”

I stared at the marquis in disbelief.

He had the decency to avert his gaze, as if he felt a twinge of guilt.

But the marchioness, ever indifferent, simply fanned herself and nodded as if it were no big deal.

“For twelve years, you’ve done nothing but freeload in this house. I thought you’d at least repay us by entering the imperial palace, but alas, there’s been a change of plans. His Majesty has made his decision, so you must comply.”

Despite claiming it was

, the marchioness’s expression was practically gleeful—like she had just gotten rid of a troublesome burden.

“You do know about the Kingdom of Pritan, don’t you? The only country that has successfully subdued the fearsome Dark Dragon. You should be

to become the queen of such a formidable nation.”

As if worried I might protest, the marquis went overboard praising Pritan, trying to make it sound appealing.

Yes, the people of Pritan were known for their strength. And in recent years, they had grown immensely wealthy by conquering neighboring territories.

Nine months out of the year, Pritan was a frozen wasteland.

And the widely known nickname of the Pritan king was…

Still reeling, I sat there in stunned silence. My half-sister, Hailey, looked

too amused by my predicament and chimed in smugly.

“Well, there’s a reason they call the King of Pritan a

. All thanks to their unmatched

, of course.”

She smirked, running her fingers through her glossy brown hair, clearly hoping to see me burst into tears.

Too bad for her—I wasn’t about to give her the reaction she wanted.

So my groom had changed from an

to a

.

Big deal.

As long as I stuck to my escape plan, it didn’t matter who I was engaged to.

now that my groom had changed, the wedding would have to be postponed.

Which meant I had

to gather funds.

Realizing the unexpected silver lining, I decided to play along.

Putting on my best wide-eyed, innocent expression, I beamed.

“A

, you say? Wow~ Just imagining it gives me butterflies! I bet I’ll get to wear gorgeous dresses and tons of expensive jewelry! When’s the wedding?”

The marquis, who had been worried I might resist, visibly relaxed at my

response.

“The ceremony will take place in Pritan. Unfortunately, we won’t be able to attend.”

I pursed my lips in mock disappointment.

“Oh dear, you’ll miss my wedding? How

.”

“The carriage from Pritan will arrive in five days. You’ll leave then.”

“…Five days?!”

I blurted out in shock.

I had been prepared to flee before my wedding to the emperor, but now? My

timeline had just been thrown into chaos!

I needed to revise my escape plan—fast. My head spun.

“How exactly did my fiancé change?”

“Well, that’s…” The marquis hesitated.

Before he could stammer out an excuse, the marchioness cut in with a dismissive wave.

“Why does it matter? The only thing

need to worry about is fulfilling your duty to this family as Pritan’s queen.”

She had reacted the same way when I was first engaged to the sixty-year-old emperor—completely indifferent to

feelings, solely focused on what I

the Uzcal family.

But I had never considered this place my home.

From the moment I was brought here at age eight, I had never once been happy.

Marquis Uzcal

to be my father, but under the marchioness’s rule, I had never been allowed to call him that.

And he had never once treated me like a daughter.

So why had he even bothered to bring me here in the first place?

When I turned ten, rumors of my beauty began circulating.

That was when the marchioness and Hailey started

seeing me as a threat.

To protect myself from their scrutiny, I had carefully crafted the image of a

—someone they never needed to take seriously.

Now, the marquis spoke as if he were placating a spoiled child.

“Leah, I know it’s short notice, but the Pritan royal carriage is absolutely magnificent! They say it’s even grander than our empire’s royal carriages.”

At the mention of a

, Hailey’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Really? Father, then can

ride it before Leah leaves?”

The marchioness promptly swatted her with her fan, scolding her with a glare.

“Leah, you enjoy carriage rides, don’t you?”

The marquis watched me expectantly, practically demanding I agree.

He already had the answer he wanted to hear—so I gave it to him.

“Oh,

! I

luxury carriages. And while we’re at it… I really

my future husband is

handsome. What do you think?”

At my exaggerated enthusiasm, Hailey burst into laughter.

“Keep dreaming! A war-crazed blood demon? Handsome? Ha! A demon’s still a demon.”

“Tsk. You were always obsessed with looks. Remember how you used to trail after Sir Pallet when you were younger?”

The marchioness sneered at me with open contempt.

Sir Pallet had been a knight in the Uzcal household—once among the empire’s top five swordsmen.

Having grown up in the slums, I knew all too well the importance of being able to defend myself.

So the moment I saw Sir Pallet, I

I had to learn swordsmanship from him.

But if the marchioness had found out my true motives, she would have tried to interfere.

So I played dumb.

Since the marquis

dealing with annoyances, he allowed it—as long as I didn’t cause trouble.

And so, for the past ten years, Sir Pallet had been my secret swordsmanship teacher.

Of course, to the marchioness, I had simply been a

.

She scoffed.

“Was your mother like that too?”

At the mention of my mother, I nearly lost my composure.

But I kept my face neutral.

The marquis, however, suddenly looked uncomfortable.

After darting his eyes around, he muttered hesitantly,

“No, Leah… doesn’t resemble Yurahel at all.”

Hearing my mother’s name for the first time in years made my throat tighten.

I quickly turned to the window, blinking rapidly to keep my emotions in check.

But I had no time to dwell on this.

I had to escape.

I couldn’t afford to waste time listening to their pointless chatter. I had

.

“Marquis, I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“Pritan is a remote kingdom compared to Harlan. Their fashion must be

outdated. I’d like to visit the Grand Crossroads today and check out the latest trends.”

The Grand Crossroads was the most bustling district in the empire’s capital—a hub for noble fashion and luxury goods.

And the best place to

sell off valuable jewelry.

“As the future queen, I can’t afford to be out of touch with current trends.”

Feigning arrogance, I adopted the tone of a spoiled noblewoman.

My smug act worked like a charm—the marquis

approved my outing.

Not only that, but he even provided a carriage and

.

“Buy whatever you need.”

My mouth nearly fell open.

Three gold coins? Just

to me?

What an

! That would

help my escape fund.

The marchioness and Hailey, however, looked absolutely

.

Before they could find an excuse to interfere, I quickly left the drawing room.

Back in my room, I immediately summoned Millie.

“Millie, we don’t have time. The Pritan royal carriage arrives in five days. We need to leave

that.”

“When?”

“

”

Millie’s face turned pale.

Yes, it was sudden. But the longer we waited, the tighter security would become.

If we wanted the best chance of success, we needed to escape when

expected it.

“I’ll write a letter. Go straight to the Stone estate and give it to Robby.”

“Yes, my lady.”

“You

deliver it to him personally. And get his reply on the spot. Also, bring me my jewelry box.”

Millie rushed off as I scribbled my letter to Robby.

Soon, she returned with the small jewelry box.

“These were gifts from the marquis for your coming-of-age ceremony, right?”

She opened a small case inside, revealing a necklace and earrings—each adorned with tiny sapphires.

“These must be sentimental to you… Should we keep them instead of selling them?”

I let out a bitter chuckle.

“No,

will be the

things I sell. They mean absolutely nothing to me.”