Celebrity Lady - Chapter 26

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Celebrity Lady
Chapter 26
It wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to broach the subject—but not quite.
‘To be precise, he’d been turned down indirectly.’
Victor cleared his throat and scratched his cheek.
“The thing is…….”
He stood there deliberating whether to tell the whole truth, then shook his head firmly.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I’m afraid I can’t help you—you’ll have to figure this out on your own.”
“What?”
“Well……, you see, it’s awkward, isn’t it? An older brother who hasn’t looked after you much suddenly shows up and urges you to hurry up and marry—I couldn’t do that to her.”
“Suddenly?”
Victor flinched at the piercing look.
After studying his expression for a moment, Lark sighed and spoke.
“Listen, my friend. But that’s not what I asked for. Whether she marries or goes to war later, first we need a point of contact so something can happen, so I just asked you to create an opportunity naturally.”
Lark rose from his seat and leaned against his desk, then fixed Victor with a sharp stare, arms crossed.
“If she’d rejected me, so be it—but you should have at least tried. Thanks to you, my plan’s fallen apart.”
He waved a stack of documents in his hand.
“Two weeks for preliminary research, an hour and a half for venue arrangements, six hours and thirty minutes just for planning. Do you have any idea what that time is worth in money?”
“Pardon? What’s all this?”
Victor approached with a puzzled expression and took the documents from Lark’s hands, beginning to read.
His mouth fell open in shock.

▶ Contact Plan for Building a Smooth Relationship with Target
-Date: Imperial Calendar 1519. 07. 11.
-Venue: Fine Restaurant, 896 Decan Street.
(95%+ positive reviews among survey samples. 95% of respondents intend to revisit. Most preferred by noble ladies aged 15-20.)
*Estimated arrival time: approximately 6:30 PM.
-Menu Selection
1) Course A, beef steak entree.
(Alcoholic order to be added after inquiring about target’s drinking preferences. Default setting: Allevisan Red Wine 1405.)
*After exchanging names, assess target’s personality and reactions to select tone, questions, etc.
**Target bonds quickly with you. Target appears tense. If inducing relaxed conversation is necessary.
Q1. My lady, do you drink at all? This beef steak pairs beautifully with Allevisan Red Wine.
**Target values courtesy. Prefers formality. If bonding should occur over time
Q2. My lady, are you familiar with wine? If you’re amenable, I would recommend one. Allevisan Red Wine has quite fine notes.
……
“W-w-what…….”
What had he just seen?
Victor, rendered speechless, turned the pages with trembling hands.
From the first meeting at the restaurant to the next venue, a dessert café (which itself had seven possible selections depending on the target’s reaction), a walk or carriage ride for the final course, and all the way to the moment of parting…….
‘This man is insane.’
A report that mapped out every minute after the meeting, predicted dozens of potential developments based on various responses, and devised the most efficient method to maximize favorable impressions—it was nothing short of perfect……!
‘……or so it would be?’
How was one supposed to make sense of this meticulously “calculated” madness?
‘Is he serious about this? Right now? Did he really draft this in all earnestness? Spending six hours and thirty minutes on it?’
At Victor’s expression of distaste, Lark raised his eyebrows as if asking what the problem was.
“You’re not joking around, are you? You’re actually serious about this?”
“Joking? Why would I waste all this time on something so inefficient?”
Victor set the bewildering document on the desk and steadied his breathing.
‘This man really is serious.’
Victor Diolus was seventeen this year.
He’d joined the Knights Order at fourteen and spent three years side by side with this man, Lark van Rashmah Decard, boasting that he knew him better than anyone.
A man pathologically obsessed with “perfection,” and as obsessed as he was, nearly flawless in his perfection.
That Lark could “fail” at something, “find it difficult,” or “be unable to do” something—everyone who knew Lark would find it hard to imagine.
But today, Victor discovered something astounding. This perfect man had something he couldn’t do.
“Pardon, Your Highness.”
“What?”
Victor spoke with grave seriousness.
“Romance isn’t conducted this way.”
Lark immediately furrowed his brow.
“What?”
“Dealing with people—or more specifically, courting someone—isn’t like shutting yourself in an office studying statecraft or receiving lessons in economics. You can’t approach it with such systematic methodology.”
“……? Coming from someone who’s never even held a woman’s hand, I’m not sure that’s advice I should take…….”
Lark shrugged as he continued.
“There’s nothing in this world that can’t be grasped through study and analysis.”
“Wow…….”
Victor was dumbfounded.
“Who meets a woman like this? Each person likes different things, expresses themselves differently, gets excited about different things.”
“That’s precisely why I’ve predicted all possible scenarios and devised multiple courses of action to derive the most efficient outcome, haven’t I?”
“Are you studying right now? Solving problems?”
“Not fundamentally different.”
“Ugh…….”
Watching the flabbergasted Victor, Lark brushed his hair back with a weary expression.
“And I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’m not trying to fall in love.”
“Then what?”
“Lady Lubet is currently my most ideal betrothed candidate. I can’t just abruptly suggest she become my consort. She needs to at least know me and develop some degree of affection before I make an offer, and this plan is simply a means to that end.”
“Your Highness.”
“I’m listening.”
“I told you clearly. Lubet has liked Cedric Raijer for seven years. She’s faithful to her heart.”
“I know.”
“Lubet is different from you. She places great importance on affection—that human-to-human connection with someone.”
“So?”
“But if you were to say, ‘I don’t love you, but for the Decard Empire’s bright future, let’s marry!’—do you think she’d agree?”
“Am I an idiot? Would I say something so blunt?”
Lark frowned and continued.
“Naturally, at first I’ll act like a man interested in her romantically. Then, as we grow closer and I understand her properly, I’ll simply transform into a more refined version of whatever she desires.”
“……So you’ll succeed at marriage and spend your whole life pretending?”
“If there’s a version of myself she prefers, I’m willing to continue matching it.”
“…….”
Victor stared at Lark in stunned silence, then shook his head decisively.
“If that’s how you’re going to do this, find yourself another woman.”
“What’s this sudden about-face? You were saying just before that you’d help even without a wager, that any man would do as long as it wasn’t Cedric Raijer.”
“Yes, I did say that before, but no. I’ve changed my mind.”
Victor’s eyes sharpened as he continued.
“How could a happy marriage be possible with a husband who’ll spend his whole life pretending to love you? I’m Luby’s real brother, and because I want her to be happy, I’m stepping in to stop this.”
“Ah.”
Faced with Victor’s fierce insistence, Lark raised both hands in surrender.
“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not trying to deceive the lady or anything like that…….”
“How is that any different?”
“Hmm.”
Lark, stroking his chin thoughtfully, nodded plainly.
“You’re right. Now that I think about it, it’s not different.”
“Sigh.”
“But…….”
It’s difficult. Lark rubbed his brow, lost in thought.
“I’ve never learned about romance or love before.”
“No, I’m saying that’s not something you learn!”
“I understand what you mean. But since I haven’t experienced it, I don’t know it right now, and if I’m to understand what it is, I need a teacher to guide me, don’t I?”
“…….”
Victor stood with his mouth agape before this incomprehensible logic, and Lark smiled slightly.
“So if your worry is that I won’t treat the lady sincerely, at least grant me a chance to try.”
“What…….”
“I have to meet a woman to understand, don’t I?”
Lark spoke casually, though Victor could tell his inner calculations remained at work.
Victor let out a hollow laugh, then shook his head.
“Fine, then. But I won’t help, so figure it out yourself, Your Highness. Go ask Luby directly to go on a date or whatever.”
“This uncooperative?”
“Hmph.”
“The lady stays cooped up inside and rarely leaves the house anyway. If she were easy to meet, I wouldn’t have asked you in the first place.”
Lark let out a heavy sigh, his face growing weary.
Eventually, Victor, unable to resist, blurted out.
“Luby seems to go out every day recently. She exercises in the evening at the vacant lot on Seban Street.”
* * *
Seban Street.
Located on the outskirts of the city, Seban was an area under development, with many open lots where old buildings had been torn down.
The perfect place for morning and evening jogs without worrying about others’ eyes.
Today, as always, as I jogged alone in the evening, Wishert spoke to me through telepathy from within my mind.

The moment Victor suddenly brought up having dinner with the Crown Prince, a memory I’d forgotten came back to me.
‘That’s right. Victor came home today as planned.’
I’d wondered why Victor suddenly came home, but thinking about it, he came exactly on schedule.
Victor had originally come home that day to…….
‘Introduce someone to me.’
Thinking back, that day was truly the worst.
“Cedric, Cedric, Cedric! I’m sick of it! That pretty-faced bastard—there’s nothing interesting to see about him!”
“Don’t badmouth Cedric! And if you’re going to tell me to meet other men, don’t even come home! I’m chubby and ugly—who would want to meet me!”
Lubet, who was infatuated with Cedric at the time, had flatly refused to meet anyone else.
Victor, unable to even reveal who the intended person was, had left in a huff.
‘So the person Victor was trying to introduce to Lubet was the Crown Prince.’
Realizing this, I immediately declined Victor’s dinner invitation.
“Tell His Highness the Crown Prince that if an opportunity comes up another time, we can meet then.”
Here I was, burning with desire to meet the Crown Prince, yet I was throwing away this golden opportunity—why?

It’s similar to the political marriages of conglomerates.
I am the only daughter of Duke Diolus. Setting aside everything else, by status alone, I’m quite an appealing candidate for the current Crown Prince.

The Decard Empire already boasts strong imperial authority thanks to the existence of Spirits.
The fact that Diolus, another Spirit Mage family with power, exists means the nobility can still check the imperial house to some degree—but…….
‘If we consolidate the bloodlines of the scattered Spirit Mage families into one, the imperial household would become truly omnipotent.’
I spoke, understanding the Crown Prince’s scheme.

Crown Prince consort. The seat that, when she becomes Empress later, will see her hailed as the highest woman in the empire, lauded by all.
I licked my lips.

In many ways, the Crown Prince is a top-tier marriage prospect.
Even if my marriage to the Crown Prince would increase imperial power, frankly it’s none of my business, and besides, I’d be the one receiving privileges and ruling.
But…….