I'm A Fake Bride Who'll Run Away Someday - Chapter 1
Translator and Editor: Maru and Tea
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Chapter 1
‘…What if I’m also hated there?’
Erica thought to herself, looking dejected.
Her frail frame jolted around as the carriage shook violently, but that wasn’t enough to break Erica’s train of thought.
‘I’m scared. I’m really scared.’
She knew it didn’t take long to travel from the Blanche Marquisate to the great temple in the capital, but she still wanted to postpone her arrival as much as possible.
Rattle!
The carriage shook violently again.
Tears welled up in her eyes when her backside smashed into something.
The girl’s frail frame may have made the pain worse, but the carriage itself was the biggest problem.
It was rather poor quality for something owned by the marquisate.
To make matters worse, it didn’t stop shaking, as if the driver had purposely driven on a bumpy road.
The same could be said for Erica’s concern.
‘Will I be able to do well? What if I make a mistake…’
Just thinking about it sent chills down her spine.
She had been styling her hair since dawn, but now her bangs were sticking to her forehead due to her cold sweat.
She couldn’t calm herself.
‘Will I be able to hold out until the end?’
It was quite a daunting task for a young child like her.
Could it be because of that?
Her already low confidence began to burrow deeper into the tunnel of misery as soon as she acknowledged her fear, and bad thoughts constantly ran through her head.
‘W-What should I do? If I make a mistake, then…?!’
Thud-! Just as the dejected Erica banged her head against the carriage wall…
Clench-!
A big hand gripped the girl’s shoulder forcefully.
“Agh…!”
Erica was in shock, but she quickly came to her senses.
As the girl looked to the side with her round eyes, she saw Vonvieshu’s face, which had deep crease lines across her forehead.
“M-Mrs. Vonvieshu.”
Erica’s voice trembled when speaking her name.
Her mouth got dry.
It was difficult at best for Erica to deal with the head maid of the Marquis family and the Marquis’ right hand, Vonvieshu.
Vonvieshu didn’t even try to hide her irritation.
“Are you trying to get caught?”
There were only Erica and Vonvieshu in this carriage. Still, Vonvieshu glared at Erica for no reason.
The timid girl tried to make excuses with trembling lips.
“I-I didn’t mean that…”
“Talking back, huh? You’re back with that bad habit of yours.”
Grip-!
Vonvieshu added strength to the hand that still imprisoned the young girl’s shoulder.
“I-I’m sorry.”
When Erica shrank her shoulders and closed her eyes tight, Vonvieshu continued to berate her coldly.
“I’m sure I taught you that sighing is an ungainly manner. And keep your posture straight.”
“Oh…I-I’m sorry.”
Even though Vonvieshu was only a head maid, Erica had no choice but to walk on eggshells around her.
She knew that Erica wasn’t the real young lady despite having dressed her in a noble lady’s outfit.
But Vonvieshu’s eyes didn’t lose their coldness despite Erica’s apology.
Erica cowered even more at her sharp voice that rang next.
“Keep that in mind. You are the representative of the Blanche Marquisate. It’s much better if you engrave it on your bones.”
“…Yes.”
Erica replied instantly, but her voice lacked confidence.
“You need to remember that you have a responsibility to fulfill when you take on this duty. You should take extra care to act as Lady Erica perfectly before the coming-of-age ceremony so as not to embarrass Marquis Blanche’s family.”
Vonvieshu added.
“Make sure that the Archleiff Dukedom doesn’t sniff out even a single thing. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes, Mrs. Vonvieshu.”
When Erica obediently answered with a nod, Vonvieshu clicked her tongue irritably.
“Don’t nod. A lady of a noble family won’t give such a crude answer.”
Crude.
Erica’s shoulders shank even more at the words that were clearly meant to be an insult.
The girl tightly clutched the hem of her skirt, but she soon relaxed her grip when she thought how much this dress cost.
Instead, she bit the soft flesh in her mouth and let go before answering in a barely audible voice.
“Yes. I will keep that in mind.”
Vonvieshu clicked her tongue as if she was really annoyed and reiterated again.
“I don’t know why you became the representative of the Marquisate of Blanche, but it can’t be helped since things have turned out this way. Please be mindful of your actions.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
Erica always had her head down and now pinned her gaze on the floor and answered weakly. Her voice continued to falter.
She almost nodded out of habit, but she came to her senses and kept her head still.
Vonvieshu still looked displeased by Erica, but fortunately, she stopped berating Erica.
“Do well.”
Vonvieshu warned menacingly as she released her grip on the girl’s shoulder. She casted a disapproving glance at Erica before turning to the other side.
‘Phew.’
The girl sighed inwardly and lowered her gaze further. Erica could relax a bit now that she was free from Vonvieshu.
The girl avoided clutching the dress and only lightly stroked it with her fingertips out of concern that she would wrinkle the priceless dress.
She realized only then that she had been fiddling with it.
Just then, the carriage began to slow.
‘Already? So I’m near the Grand Temple.’
Realizing that she had reached her destination, Erica closed her eyes tightly before opening them again.
‘There’s no way out for me now.’
Erica also knew that she had no means to escape the moment she entered this carriage.
‘I have to make it work somehow.’
Even though she couldn’t erase her growing anxiety, the girl gulped in silence and consoled herself.
Today was Erica’s wedding day.
Erica Blanche.
The only daughter of the Blanche family.
She was born prematurely, which caused her to be weak from birth.
After giving birth to her daughter, the marquis’ wife also passed away from painful labor.
The child who was born after so much hardship was raised with abundant love by the people in the marquisate.
As everyone raised her with great concern, as if a gush of wind would scratch her, it was not surprising that the child grew up arrogant.
She was so unbelievably abusive as a child that they needed to change the nannies countless times.
As her caregivers continued to get replaced, the child naturally strayed from a normal upbringing.
The last person that they hired was a commoner named Julia.
By a strange twist of fate, the young nanny also had a daughter the same age as Erica Blanche.
Even her daughter’s name was Erica. They resembled each other greatly.
Thus, Lady Erica hated the nanny’s daughter with a passion.
“Don’t use that name! It’s my name! It’s not a name that can be used by the likes of you!”
Everyone, including her, knew that it was a ridiculous claim. But Erica Blanche was young, so she was allowed to force that regulation.
Marquis Blanche, who was willing to do anything for his sickly and frail daughter, summoned the nanny.
“Julia, why not give your daughter a new name? It confuses people. She’s still young, I’m sure she’ll quickly adapt if you call her by her new name.”
Of course, it was a pressure disguised as advice.
“It’s the only legacy left by her father. I’m afraid I can’t agree to that.”
“I will compensate for your grief. Why are you so stubborn? It’s just a name.”
“I’m sorry, master.”
However, the nanny was very determined and even strongly hinted that she’d hand in her resignation letter if the marquis continued to coax her to change her daughter’s name.
“…..Oh, well. I didn’t know that you’d be this stubborn. Alright, the child can keep that name. But I hope you can refrain from calling your daughter’s name rashly in front of my daughter.”
“….”
After much consideration, Julia nodded.
“I will be careful in front of the young lady.”
From that point on, the girl’s real name was replaced by nicknames like “nanny’s daughter,” “Riri,” or “Rika.”
The nanny’s daughter was saddened by that.
Mainly because Julia was the only person left who still called her by name.
But she had no choice but to bottle up her sadness.
Because her mother was employed by the marquisate, and she was living off her mother’s back.
That’s how she lived quietly in the Marquisate Blanche family.
Until one day.
“Did the marquis look for me?”
Erica, the nanny’s daughter, received a sudden call from Marquis Blanche.
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