Inside the carriage, Alley Jane smoothed the wrinkles from her modest dress and wove tiny flowers, picked from the baron’s garden, into her fluffy hair. With no ornaments to adorn herself, she braided her long hair, hoping to appear even slightly cute to the husband she was meeting for the first time.
Glancing outside the carriage, she saw an avenue lined with blooming flowers.
It was as though the petals were dancing in celebration of Alley Jane’s departure.
The flower clusters swayed in the wind like waves.
The petals fluttered down like butterflies.
A rainbow of colorful petals carpeted the ground.
As the carriage followed the flower-strewn path, it seemed to offer comfort to Alley Jane, who couldn’t express her anxieties about marrying into a place she had never seen.
“Welcome, Lady Alley Jane,”
At the entrance of the viscount’s mansion, the butler, standing at the head of a long line of servants, greeted her warmly.
“I am Alley Jane. Pleased to meet you,”
Alley Jane said humbly, bowing her head. The eyes of the servants widened in surprise. Our new mistress is a noble lady, yet she’s so gentle, modest, and not at all arrogant! In an instant, Alley Jane’s popularity among the staff skyrocketed.
“Come now, Lady Alley Jane, the master is eagerly awaiting you,”
The head maid stepped forward with a radiant smile to guide Alley Jane.
Though filled with anxiety about marrying a man she had never met, Alley Jane was somewhat relieved by the warm welcome from the household staff.
“My lord, Lady Alley Jane has arrived,”
The head maid announced as she opened the door, revealing the man from last night. Alley Jane’s eyes widened in shock.
“…She really is cute…”
Levias muttered softly under his breath as he gazed at her.
“Cute. It wasn’t just a passing thought; she really is cute.”
Levias placed a hand on his chest, as if confirming his own feelings.
“And seeing you makes my heart race,”
His heart pounded, a sharp pain stirring within.
“Who knew being cute could be so painful…”
“Listen to me. I haven’t been able to sleep since last night,”
Levias gently took both of Alley Jane’s hands in his, his large hands enveloping her delicate ones like a cage. His silver eyes, flecked with gold, gleamed like a beast eyeing its prey.
“Since I was a child, women have flocked to me, drawn to my face and family name, and I’ve had terrible experiences because of it. Some have drugged me, others have stalked me. Because of that, I’ve never found women to be cute. But last night, for the first time, I thought a woman was cute. It was you. I found you cute. And since then, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. I couldn’t sleep.”
“Um… Are you sure this isn’t a misunderstanding? I’m often called ‘dust fluff’ because my appearance is nothing special…”
With low self-esteem, Alley Jane looked down, shaking her head, as though a shadow had fallen over her. She had been criticized for her appearance for so long that the bad reputation had soaked into her. Even though Maria Belle often reassured her by saying she was cute, Alley Jane lacked confidence in herself.
“What? You’re the cutest in the world. It’s the world that’s wrong for not seeing how cute you are. You are cute. You alone are cute. No one else is cute but you.”
Levias’ firm words chipped away at the bad reputation that had clung to Alley Jane like a stain. His tone was too sweet to dismiss, like deep water—if she took one step forward, she felt like she might drown. His voice was utterly intoxicating.
But Alley Jane, unwilling to believe and afraid of being hurt, averted her gaze and resisted.
“Are you just saying I’m cute because I helped you recover from your magic sickness last night and you want to keep me close?”
“Oh! I completely forgot to thank you! Thank you. You saved me. I always suffer terribly from headaches whenever I get magic sickness, and you relieved it. It’s amazing! Is it some kind of new magic? Oh, if it’s a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”
The only known remedy for recovering from magic sickness was a horribly foul-tasting potion that could even cause temporary loss of taste.
This is precisely why Alley Jane’s method of recovery was invaluable. Yet, Levias didn’t seem particularly interested.
Levias was someone she had met only the previous night.
But he was also the first person to propose marriage to Alley Jane.
Alley Jane thought that rather than regretting dismissing Levias’s sincerity as a lie, she would prefer to believe in him, even if people later mocked her as a “gullible young lady.” Besides, ridicule had been an everyday occurrence for her, so what difference did it make now?
To be called “cute” by someone was like a dream for Alley Jane, and if it was a dream, she had to respond before it vanished.
Alley Jane took out a small, round object from the hidden pocket of her dress.
It quivered in her palm with a slight tremble.
“I found this when I was a child. My sister and I looked it up in a bestiary, but there was no matching creature. We thought it might be a new or variant type of slime… It’s small enough to fit in a teacup, so we named it Teacup Slime. Its name is Teacup-chan.”
Plop, plop, Teacup-chan wobbled, as if proudly puffing up its tiny body. It was only five centimeters long. While normal slimes were flat like amoebas, Teacup-chan was round, resembling a perfectly spherical water dumpling.
“Slimes are omnivores, but there’s no slime that feeds on magic. However, Teacup-chan’s food is magic. I used to suffer from magic sickness, but Teacup-chan would eat the stagnant, muddled magic inside me, and I would feel better.”
As she gently stroked Teacup-chan with her finger, Alley Jane continued, “Moreover, when I have Teacup-chan with me, it can absorb excess magic from others as well. That’s how I was able to help you last night. Until today, it was a secret shared only between my sister and me.”
Alley Jane took a deep breath. If Levias is deceiving me, she thought to herself, I’ll escape with Teacup-chan, set up a barrier, and take my sister’s jewelry box with me.
Unaware of Alley Jane’s inner resolve, Levias smiled.
“I’ve never seen or heard of such a creature. Keep it hidden well. It’s a rare being, so I’m sure many would want it. Of course, anyone who tries to take it from you will be eliminated by me,” he said, his smile widening.
“I may be a viscount, but my father is a duke. I will inherit the title someday, so I have both power and wealth. If it’s nobles, I’ll crush them openly; if it’s royals, I’ll crush them from the shadows. I will protect you and anything precious to you. Leave it to me—I pride myself on being the most cunning and ruthless in the kingdom.”
With a predatory smile that could be likened to a carnivorous beast, Levias’ eyes glowed with intensity. Alley Jane’s instincts screamed, Don’t defy him. Simultaneously, the passionate gaze he gave her from such close proximity made her heart pound wildly, as if it might leap out of her chest.
Plop, plop, plop, Teacup-chan shook with concern for the now-red-faced Alley Jane, its little body trembling with a clear, cooling sound.
Alley Jane, calming herself by gently petting Teacup-chan, who helped her through the overwhelming shock, met Levias’s gaze.
“…I, um, I don’t know if I love you yet,” she mustered all the courage she had and said softly.
“But we’re married now, and I’ve always dreamed of being part of a loving couple. I think I might already like you a little. And, well, there must be countless ladies who want to be your bride, Levias, but I promise I will do my best not to bring you shame.”
“There may be many stars in the sky, but there is only one sun that shines brightly. Alley Jane, you are my sun. My only love. You belong to me, and I belong to you. As for shame? Anyone who dares speak ill of you will be made to regret it in the deepest pit of despair.”
Having become entirely devoted to Alley Jane, Levias smiled like a demon lord.
The butler and head maid, who had been standing by the wall, were inwardly overjoyed by Levias’s transformation. The man who had rejected women so coldly up until yesterday now seemed like a different person—a miracle! The servants and Levias’s parents had half-resigned themselves to the idea that the family line would end with him.
The butler discreetly gestured to a subordinate to send a fast messenger to inform Levias’s father, the duke, while the head maid exchanged glances with her staff to ensure that Alley Jane would be surrounded by comfort and care, preventing any escape.
Despite having no eyes, Teacup-chan somehow sensed all this and trembled in response. Plop, plop. Imagining Maria Belle’s unparalleled beauty, Teacup-chan, if it had shoulders, would have shrugged. It seemed like Maria Belle riding in on a white knight to rescue Alley Jane wouldn’t be necessary after all.
Unaware of all these swirling thoughts, Alley Jane, overwhelmed by Levias’s confessions, fled to the corner of the room. The overly sweet words she had never heard before made her heart race, and unable to stand any longer, she curled up in the corner like a small winter bird.
Looking up at Levias with tearful eyes from her corner, Alley Jane’s adorable expression made Levias clutch his chest.
“She’s too cute…! We’re married on paper, so… just a little, right? It’s okay, right!? It is, isn’t it!?”
Having no experience in love, Alley Jane didn’t realize that her moist eyes and upward gaze were driving Levias wild. She simply looked puzzled, wondering what he meant by “it’s okay.”
Levias slowly inched closer.
The household staff, inwardly cheering him on, could barely contain their excitement.
Teacup-chan trembled, its soft marshmallow-like body quivering with a gentle, ruru-ruru, as if laughing at the situation.
Thus, on her first day at the Viscount Serpentaria household, this was the first event marking Alley Jane’s journey toward happiness.
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