“Why are you even here?” Eunha snapped at the longsuffering Sojung, who had been, in Yuju and Yerin’s recent absence, actively insinuating herself into Eunha’s daily life while the heiress was, officially, on retreat at the Temple. “Is your lord Duke so insecure that he must send someone to keep an eye on me?”

“Aren’t you glad I’m here though, since you don’t actually have any servants on hand?” Sojung observed, calmly handing Eunha a towel after the girl washed her hands. It was probably a good thing that Sojung wasn’t actually the typical spoiled noble growing up, so she did know how to take care of herself outside. This was proving rather handy in her quest to make herself indispensable to Eunha’s daily life while executing her Great Plan.

Eunha would never admit it, of course, but she was rather lazy and before Yerin’s departure from her side, her cousin had been the one making sure everything was where it was supposed to be for the both of them. Her plot to abscond from home would hardly have worked if Yerin hadn’t been amenable to it in the first place, since Eunha wouldn’t have known what to do with herself after leaving the safety of her estate. 

To be honest, she was rather glad that Sojung was around. When the irritatingly handsome young man wasn’t talking about his liege, he was excellent company in her opinion. Also, he was putting up with all her moods without complaint, and that was something. Eunha knew her temper wasn’t the best at times, but that was only because she didn’t know how to deal with this whole situation.

She knew it wasn’t her uncle’s fault that he accepted the marriage proposal from the Duke, but the thought of having to marry some spoiled brat who wasn’t even the first choice as heir until every other option to the ducal throne perished in the great fire rankled her. No one had even heard of this second son before, them having had a perfectly competent heir prior to the incident, and Eunha didn’t have much confidence in the reputedly young successor, much like the rest of the nobility that remained in the city.

Eunha only ever wanted a peaceful life with her family before even that vanished since her father perished in the fire. She had not realized how vulnerable that left her until the first of the marriage proposals started turning up on her doorstep, and had her uncle not stepped in to assist her in managing them, she might have been forced into a marriage she never wanted.

That, naturally, left an unpleasant taste in , which only prejudiced her deeper against this whole arranged marriage business. Her father had been very lenient in her upbringing, promising to let her marry someone she actually liked, without simply marrying her off for alliances. He had only been a minor baron, hardly worthy of political notice, and only wanted the best for his daughter in his old age. She should have been safe from the political circus, but that dream had been shattered all too soon.

As it turned out, the title was quite a bonus to untitled second sons of minor nobility, which had comprised the first wave of marriage proposals, but the real reason why her doorstep had been so flooded with potential suitors (putting aside her famed beauty of course), was that her father had been wealthy. 

Very very wealthy, as it turned out. Half the mercantile trade in the ducal capital had links to her father and his brother, who was also Yerin’s father and thus her uncle. As the second son who had no rights to inherit, her uncle had gone into trade with support from her father, and the two brothers had done fairly well for themselves in the past decades. 

Eunha had grown up knowing that she was well off, but she had no idea how well off until she gained partial control of the estate (to be given to her in full once she was of age, or married, whichever came first). She didn’t blame all the poor young boys out to court her. Whoever managed to win her heart would be marrying into a lot of money, and that was reason enough for them to try.

She had been prepared to take her time to choose at least, after she had time to grieve, but then in came the Duke and his proposal that her uncle couldn’t afford to refuse, and the dust had settled before she could even protest. Eunha was mad, mostly because she had been deprived of choice. She had never even met the Duke, why should she be forced to marry him?

Not to mention the complete lack of sincerity. Eunha shot a grumpy glare at a befuddled Sojung. She knew it wasn’t the herald’s fault, and it was likely the young man had no choice in the matter either, but really, she wished he wasn’t here on behalf of someone she was inclined to be annoyed with. She would have enjoyed his company more if that weren’t the case.

But having a handsome young man wait on her hand and foot wasn’t too terrible a deal, and Eunha took it in stride. There were occasional whispers, and scandalized looks from people who knew who she was, but those were few, and to be honest? Eunha wouldn’t be too displeased if the Duke broke the betrothal were she to be involved in scandalous rumours. It wouldn’t be great for her own reputation, that much she had to admit, but she wasn’t about to hide her displeasure with the proposed marriage just to make the man look good. 

There were worse people to be in a rumoured scandal with, and Sojung was definitely not one of them. At least he was good looking, and a perfect gentleman. Definitely someone she was inclined to be attracted to at least. Eunha sighed to herself. Why couldn’t she have a perfectly nice and handsome young suitor instead of some spoiled noble waving his privilege around? 

With that in mind, Eunha eyed Sojung more speculatively. The messenger was quietly brewing a fresh pot of tea for her, and that side profile was a fair sight to look at. The young man was polite, thoughtful, and effortlessly charming. Definitely points she wanted in a potential husband.

Would it really be all so terrible to be caught in a scandal with someone like that? The crusty old socialites back home would be absolutely appalled. Eunha thought about it, then smiled to herself. No, she wouldn’t mind at all.