“Oh, you’ll have to be more careful,” he said with more bluntness than concern. His arms were shaking as he held me, as expected. It couldn’t be due to weight because I was light. He just hated physical contact that much.

I looked up, putting a hand on his chest. “You saved me. Thank you, Laz.”

Laz... We hadn’t agreed on that nickname. His eyebrows twitched upon hearing it, but that was no matter.

People had seen the archduke’s luxurious carriage and were already looking at us with much interest.

“Any time, my Nia.”

My fake name, Titania Oberon. Titan was a weird nickname, so I preferred Nia, which sounded cute. I patted his chest a few times to compliment his improvisation.

At that moment, it hit me.

Oh, I feel them. The sharp gazes on my back. I could feel the women glaring daggers at my back, as if to say, Who do you think you are to touch his chest like that?

But I knew that while fans would first feel uncontrollable rage toward the woman next to their idol, once they realize that the couple was a match made in heaven, they’d start liking them together.

Of course, some will really want to kill me and attempt to put a curse on me… But that was just the price for having such a popular man to myself.

I walked alongside Lacius and entered the art supply shop. People assessed and studied me with envy, but I didn’t avoid their gazes and kept my back straight.

She’s really good at this.

Lacius was once again impressed to see this side of her. He’d already known that Shaye didn’t care about what others thought of her, but she was currently perfectly at ease in front of all these people.

Three horseback riders had followed them since they left the manor and five newspaper and magazine journalists appeared the moment they left the carriage. He couldn’t even count the number of women hiding in the shadows. They had come into the shop, pretending to be customers, and now they were all stealing glances at them.

“Don’t mind them,” a small but determined voice said. He looked down to find Shaye holding a set of paints with forty-eight colors. “Hold this for me, please.”

Unlike when she whispered to him, she spoke so gracefully in front of others. She was now a perfect noble lady. She surely must have been brought up in a prestigious family, Lacius assumed, even though he knew nothing about her past. She didn’t hesitate to pick the most expensive items, so it was hard to imagine that she used to be a commoner.

“Don’t you need brushes as well?” he asked.

“Hmm, I do need brushes. It’d be good to buy a lot at once.”

“Please, buy as many as you want.”

Lacius pretended to look at some brushes and stood behind Shaye. She was smaller than him, so his whole body covered hers. She’s small, he couldn’t help thinking so. She was tall for a woman, maybe about five foot six, but he was six foot three. Her wrists are thin... but sturdy.

As Lacius was a knight, he sorted people into those who would make good swordspeople and those who wouldn’t. Shaye had no reason to pick up the sword, but he thought with some regular practice she could easily wield a rapier.

“This shop has many different brush sizes. I like it.”

He studied her delicate wrist, thin fingers, and her beautiful bone structure. Lacius thought her hand would look pretty when holding a paintbrush.

“Laz?”

Lacius was deep in thought, so he heard her a beat late. Then, it happened.

She turned to look up at him just as Lacius slightly bent his head down to ask what she’d just said. Something soft as a feather brushed past his cheek, near his lips. His blue-gray eyes widened in surprise, and angry gasps filled the shop. It looked like they’d kissed, even though it was just the angle.

***

Everyone became silent as rage, fear, and shock swirled in the air. I was surprised as well since I hadn’t meant to show us kissing so soon.

How will I deal with this?

I’d created the “Getting Rid of Crazy Fans” project in detailed steps, but I’d just skipped the first steps and jumped straight to the middle of the plan.

I-I hope this won’t start all kinds of assassination attempts.

I was slightly anxious, but thankfully, I’d always been good at dealing with emergencies. I thought hard about what to do, and then I grabbed Lacius by his collar. Well, if I was going to die, I’d rather give everyone a spectacular shock before I went!

“Sorry,” I whispered and pulled him closer.

Then... I smashed my mouth against his pretty lips with passion and energy.

Voices from the crowd started shouting out to me.

“Ugh!”

“You... you little...!”

His lips felt good. They were soft, not rough. The shouts and angry huffs were still coming from behind, so I tilted my head a little for them to see.

I gave them a look as if to say, See? Now his lips belong to me. They all trembled with rage.

Oh... but this is fun.

Perhaps I had a dramatic soul that I hadn’t been aware of, or an exceptional talent for enraging people. I smiled with contentment at my newly found ability.

“Oh, but I didn’t mean to...” I gasped, clinging onto Lacius’ arm and smiling, rather than stepping away from him. I was making it clear as day that I’d done everything to be seen. Lacius failed to give me a loving gaze, but he didn’t push me away either. Even that much was enough to give the ladies the biggest shock of their lives.

“I’ll pay now,” Lacius said as we moved toward the cashier.

“Oh, um, of course!” the boy said.

The cashier had been shocked first by the unbelievable kiss and then twice by seeing my beautiful face from a close distance. He stood frozen even when Lacius put down the art supplies I’d chosen in front of him. He snapped out of it and went to work only when Lacius spoke to him.

While Lacius was paying, I linked my arm with his and put my cheek on his muscled forearm. He saw what I was doing and gave me an embarrassed but content look, which was enough to make us appear like a couple fresh in love.

The newspapers and magazines were going to have a field day tomorrow.

Shouldn’t they give me some of their profits in that case?

I gave it some thought. I knew that the princess already had the press under her control, but perhaps I could win a newspaper to our side by promising exclusives.

It would make Lacius’ life far easier, and I’d get paid for giving them exclusives. It wouldn’t be much if I’m paid per article, though. It would be better to ask for some percentage...

While I thought deeply about all this, Lacius finished paying and an employee came to carry my huge shopping bags.

“Let’s go now,” Lacius said.

“Yes, let’s.”

I held my chin high with confidence. I kissed him because I wanted to. I can do that, but you can’t. My gaze said as much to the shocked fans as we left.

Once we got into the carriage, I found a handkerchief from a handbag I’d brought and offered it to Lacius. “Here, wipe your lips.”

He stared at me as if he couldn’t believe me.

“What? You don’t want it?”

I was just being considerate but his gaze made me embarrassed. I grunted and was about to put the handkerchief away, when Lacius took it from my hand.

“What about you?” he asked, holding the handkerchief.

“What about me?”

“Don’t you want to wipe your mouth as well?”

“Why would I?”

I rather felt good after kissing a handsome man’s lips. I couldn’t help noticing how good-looking Lacius was every time I saw him. The line of his jaw, his sharp eyes, and his strong nose totally made me understand his fans. Plus, he had clear and smooth skin, probably because he’d done lots of exercise since childhood, or because he just took good care of himself. I’d actually gasped when my lips touched his by accident. I grinned, and then put my hands together and stretched.

Lacius looked at me as if I was the biggest weirdo in the world, and then looked away.

“Where’s our next stop?” I asked.

“The dress shop.”

Spending money was the most exciting thing in the world. More accurately, spending someone else’s money was the most exciting thing in the world. Even watching others buy and unbox luxury bags gave me some vicarious satisfaction, so being able to buy stuff myself was even better.

I already knew which shop we should go to. The capital had forty-five dress shops, but we couldn’t go to the most expensive place, since it was like the home base of Villainess No. 1. Everything people did and said there was reported directly to her. I also couldn’t go to the shop that specialized in elegant styles, since it was the princess’s territory.

I needed a madam who wasn’t under their influence and could make dresses for me. She could also gather information from her other customers and deliver it to me so that I could stay on top of all the happenings in society. I needed someone who had skills but was about to be driven out of business by a much more popular shop. Even better if she was a rival to the madam of that popular shop.

In the novel, the heroine ends up there by coincidence. I’m sorry, but I really need to take it first.

The bell rang as we pushed open the door, making a clear sound.

“Welcome... huh?”

The madam, her assistants, and the workers were all so happy to see me, but then they saw Lacius come in after me and their excitement faded to confusion. They seemed to be wondering why an archduke would come to their simple shop. They all looked like they were all eager to ask how we knew each other. I looked back at him, waiting for him to give them the answer.

His jaw muscles tensed at their intense gazes. Soon, he gave the perfect answer.

“I’d like to see some dresses for my fiancée. I’m a man who doesn’t know much about dresses, so I trust your judgment. I don’t mind the price, so just bring what would suit her the best. My lady said this shop makes excellent dresses.”

He even added a line of his own. I grinned broadly, feeling like a teacher whose student was getting better by the minute.

There you go! After hearing that, they should be reacting like...

“Oh, of course! We will do everything we can for your future archduchess!”

“You can count on us! We’ll make her the best lady of this empire!”

“You must be so happy, miss!”

Of course, their flattery was perfect. It was a required skill for any dress shop employee.

The madam was stunned too, but she seemed to like being asked to do something by the famous archduke himself. “Thank you for coming to our shop. We shall do our best for you.” She lightly bent her knees to curtsy.

The archduke had come in with a mysterious woman, who turned out to be his future wife. She and her employees weren’t ignorant of the abnormal obsession the noble ladies had for Archduke Schuebeiden. But if his secretive fiancée bought dresses from this shop...

After today, everyone will be eager to shop here. This shop will become so famous!

They kept exchanging meaningful looks. The fact was, they’d been wondering if they should close the shop. Although they all loved making clothes, they couldn’t work if they weren’t paid. Their few lady customers had all moved on to their rival shop, so the business had started to go downhill.

“I want splendid dresses,” I said to the employees surrounding me. They were ready with the perfect at-your-service mindset.

In the novel, the workers of this shop really gave their all to make dresses. There was a scene in which the madam, pale and weary, gave a dress to the heroine. The dress was made of a special lace fabric that she’d developed herself, and it would become a huge hit later. I wanted that particular lace fabric. As the madam wasn’t famous yet, coming here and befriending her was a wise choice for my future.

I lifted my chin slightly and ordered, “I want all the dresses, from here to there.”

I didn’t bother to take time to choose, since I knew I’d look good in anything.

* * *

After shopping around for hours, Shaye fell deep into sleep soon after they returned to the manor. She had dozed off while talking in the drawing room, so she was sleeping on the sofa.

“I will take her to her bedroom,” Maynard offered, his hands politely clasped together.

But Lacius shook his head, as he feared that it would wake her up. She might not be able to go back to sleep, so he wanted to move her only when he went up to sleep himself. He dismissed Maynard and picked up the glass of wine in front of him. He meant to quench his thirst, but the wine’s red hue reminded him of the woman in front of him.

She moaned in her sleep and turned, making her red hair cover her cheek. Lacius reached out and put her hair behind her ears.

It didn’t feel so bad.

He didn’t hate touching her either. He felt his lips with a finger. It felt strange to recall what had happened in the morning. She’d unexpectedly led him into what was more of a smashing of the lips than a kiss, but he’d felt shocked nonetheless.

Why do I wish to do it again?