The father is always the right choice chapter 4

Derrick was persistent. Every day, he sent a different servant to come and greet me.

But that caused the opposite effect of what he'd intended. The Marquis was beginning to believe that Derrick was a rude person.

Rather, he should've just visited me in person instead.

Then, he could've made the excuse that he loved me so much that he wasn't thinking straight. A couple of people would believe it.

But all he did was send his servants.

Under his orders, his servants spent their whole day walking back and forth in front of the Marquis' gate. Though, they weren't as stupid as their master.

They were ashamed of what they had to do, but Derrick was scary and they were forced into it.

The Marquis thought that such a person wouldn't be able to gain his respect. They say that a servant's personality reflects their master's. Marquis Heart was from a prestigious family, so the servants also demonstrated self-respect.

I didn't overlook his peculiar behaviour. Everytime Derrick servants passed by the gate, I gave them a glare.

Even my parents were displeased with the situation.

Eventually, they were fed up with him and threatened Derrick , telling him to keep his servants away from the Marquis' vicinity.

Oh well; I sat to the side and drank my tea.

As Derrick reputation plummeted into a grave of his own creation, I got a bit closer with the cat. For now, i've named it Livie , I named it livie Because It means blue just like the cat eyes Is blue .

"Miss, i've put the carriage on standby."

Hearing her words, I stood up. Livie jump up and rested on my shoulder.

I lowered the little cat down without batting an eye.

"It's no fun watching something you've already seen."

"Howl?Meow!Meow!"

Livie was dejected and in tears when I left him inside.

While I was in the carriage heading for the main road, I noticed Derrick servants secretly following me.

In the dressing room, there were four ladies waiting for me.

Sarah Benjamin welcomed me with enthusiasm.

"Judi! Thank you so much for inviting me! I wanted to buy a new dress, but Abigail Designer Boutique is too popular these days and is always overbooked."

"I'm just glad you'll be accompanying me today. I hope you'll be able to find your favourite dress."

I was in a good mood, so I smiled.

Sarah lowered her head and whispered quietly.

"I looked at the room beforehand. I don't really have good taste when it comes to dresses, so I was wondering if you could advise me….."

"Of course. You're looking for a dress to wear to the upcoming royal ball, right?"

"And a dress for Nina birthday party. Thank you so much, Judi! As expected, you're the only one I can rely on!"

I tilted my head to the side.

"Nina's birthday party? Do you need me to come too?"

Last year, Sarah was treated like some fashion terrorist at Nina's birthday party. It was a simple dress, but of course Nina overreacted.

"It's fine. It's not like she's going to beat me up constantly when I'm there. I'm sure it'll be worse if I don't go."

I sat down with Sarah, who was used to Nina tyranny, and looked at the catalog. Within it, there were various sketches of exquisite dress designs.

I came here often, so I didn't need to take any measurements.

I checked the fabric samples that will be used in the dress and picked out some lace, frills, buttons, jewelry sets, and finally some shoes.

As expected, shopping is nice. Spending money is the best. Sarah also had her arms folded and a satisfied expression on her face.

"Judi, I made a reservation at a restaurant. Will you be coming with me?"

"Oh yes, there's this delicious dessert shop too!"

"I'm determined to spend a lot of money today. Let's enjoy ourselves until sundown!"

"That's right! The first to go back will have to eat everything they ate today once more!"

When the other ladies heard Sarah's words, they all looked shocked and were wondering if she was cursing them or not.

I smiled and was the first to leave the dressing room. But then, I made eye-contact with a man waiting in front of the dressing room.

Derrick , in all of his glory, stared down at me.

Just watching him make a person sick

"You must be feeling better."

I could hear the steps of the other ladies approaching.

I replied with a bright smile.

"Oh my, that can't be. I still have a raging fever."

"Do you really expect me to believe that lie?"

"Really? But I'm afraid that if I don't leave to buy jewelry and dresses, my sickness will get worse. I forced myself to come out here with my sick body."

Of course, that was all bullshit. Derrick looked like he was about to pop a vein so he also replied with bullshit.

"That's enough. This is also hard for me to see."

"Uhum?"

"All you're trying to do is attempt to make me worry about you."

...Pardon?

Has he gone insane at this point? In the middle of his maniacal laughter, I furrowed my eyebrows. I clenched my fist so hard I felt my bones. Then, I relaxed my hand.

He must have been so upset when I ignored him. It'd be nice if I could punch him.

He died in the novel anyways. I wouldn't be making any bad choices if I were to cut him off early on.

Though the soft-hearted Eckles might be sad, since they're related by blood after all. The male lead, Eckles , was Derrick brother. Though Derrick would rather beat him up than call him 'brother.' His inferiority complex towards Eckles caused a bunch of problems in the novel, it even caused a mishap.

Ugh, maybe it's okay to kill him after all.

"i've already told you, I'm not going to marry you."

It seems like he thought I was joking because I answered him with a smile.

"That's not true."

"It's true."

"ladyjudith , I don't have a lot of patience. Don't forget that I'm already fed up with you."

His hazel eyes stared at me, resembling those of a beast. They seemed to say 'yield whilst I'm still ordering you nicely.'

To Derrick, Judith organa was just the Marquis' only daughter. Like a flower in a greenhouse that had never been watered by anyone but her parents.

A fierce woman who wields the sword, yet has never been compared to anyone else or met the cruelty of the world.

I gave him a mocking smile.

"I'm serious."

"...."

"How ridiculous of a man you must be to believe that bullsh..."

I was right about to swear at him when someone pulled me from behind.

It was Sarah standing in front of me.

"Can you stop? Judi doesn't like that."

Sarah straightened herself up and faced him.

"You are not her fiance. Actually, I don't even think you're her friend. Act appropriately."

I could feel that Derrick was about to explode in a few minutes. Yet Sarah didn't stop.

I tried to hid my smirk

Oops, looks like you picked the wrong person to mess with.

Benjamin was a warrior family whose mission was to defend the borders from savage tribes in the west. Regardless of gender, those who were born with the Benjamin name wielded the sword. As a result, Sarah , who was from Marquis Benjamin's family, was used to being in dangerous situations. Even if she was just clumsily choosing a dress a minute ago.

I didn't know how he was planning to make me face his fury and pressure when there were so many people watching us.

Look, Abigail is also a loud person. Since she deals with a lot of nobles, she's well versed in spreading rumours about them.

"Don't go. Sarah will solve this."

Anne, who was well-known for being shy, grabbed me with trembling hands. Near tears, she looked like she'd never experienced this kind of thing before, yet still tried to reassure me.

Of course I was fine. If I wasn't able to handle his shitty temper in the first place, I wouldn't have provoked him.

I wouldn't fight a losing battle.

Derrick gritted his teeth as he tried to persuade Sarah , who was defending me.

"Step aside, please. Let's not make a bigger problem out of this. I just need a proper conversation with ladyjudith , who's been avoiding me."

You look like you want to grab me by the neck right now. Who would believe you?

Sarah wasn't persuaded and remained firm,

"i'll call the guards."

"Do I look like a bastard that would hurt a lady? I said I just wanted to talk. If you look down at me like this, it'll come back to bite you. In the future, i'll become Grand Duke winter and will rule all of the northern territory...!"

"Please leave, young master. Before your reputation plummets even further."

"….Ha."

Finally, Derrick took a half step back.

When he passed the surrounding ladies, I heard him grit his teeth. Sarah's guards followed him as soon as he left the dressing room.

Sarah entered a nearby cafe, shared a few words with the owner, and gestured for them to come in.

The knights blocked the doors as soon as we entered.

We offered the owner a large sum of money for briefly monopolizing the cafe and he welcomed us with a big smile.

The ladies sat down first and asked me,

"Judith, are you okay?"

"Do you need me to call a carriage? Do you wish to go back home?"

"I believe it's better if we take a break here before going back. What if the young master follows us?"

Their intense reactions puzzled me.

They seemed like they just wanted to attack him; all I wanted to do was ruin his image. The ladies seemed to have already recognized him as an enemy.

Sarah, in particular, was glaring at him so intensely that it almost seemed like her eyes were going to set on fire.

When I made eye-contact with Sarah, who remained deadly silent, she hesitantly opened her mouth.

".....Judi."

"It's all because of that marriage contract."

She seemed curious about the situation, so I explained it to her.

The marriage contract between my grandfather and Grand Duke winter father was already a well-known 'secret.'

But only few people knew about the details.

Sarah scrunched her nose. Her face, which normally looked good in sunlight, displayed her obvious anxiety.

"Do you have to get married? Can't you just talk to the emperor or something to destroy the contract?"

"Well....", I spoke vaguely.

Sarah didn't know that I was going to marry his father and kick Derrick out of the winter household. Fortunately, Anne directed the attention towards her before Sarah could enquire any further.

"It's such a waste. If Judi were to put in effort, she could even become empress."

I'd rather start a revolution than marry the prince who asked for my cup size.

I laughed softly at my thoughts.

"I'm sorry to worry you. I didn't know I was being followed."

My consciousness stopped working long ago.

"Why would it be your fault? I'm just upset I wasn't able to stop it. Anyways, rumours will never be anything more than rumours. Count Hertran is infamous for being a flirt, but he'd never be anywhere near as rude as the young master. I hope he falls down and cracks his skull open."

Anne , who was on edge the whole time, laughed when she heard Sarah's complaints.

"Pffft, ah, sorry. It's just… that's so funny to imagine."

Thanks to her laughter, the older ladies started to calm down as well.

Soon, everyone shared one thought about Derrick.

"How can he treat Judith like that? Does he treat other women even worse?"

"Did you see that look in his eyes earlier? Absolutely savage. If we weren't there, I think he might have forced Judith to come with him."

"The way he treats her is the absolute worst. What the hell's the Grand Duke doing? I can't believe he's letting the winter name be shamed like this."

Secretly, Sarah asked me to listen to what the ladies had to say.

"Judith, why don't you increase the number of guards?"

"If he does it again, make sure to kick him just like the prince's, pfft."

Anne bursts into laughter once again, tilting her head down. I responded to her,

"Such a method, i'll make sure to remember it."

All of a sudden, Sarah held my hand.

"Judi, make sure to tell me if any trouble comes your way. You've been helping me so much, so it's a bit shameful for me since i've only ever been on the receiving end. This is the least I could do for you."

"Um, i've never given you anything though?"

"It's not always good to be so humble! You've always taken care of me, haven't you? When I wasn't able to find a partner for the party, when you told me about how the man my sister is meeting was an asshat.... And...."

"All right. I'll ask for your help when the time calls for it."

I nodded enthusiastically on purpose.

Sarah smiled widely.

"Good. Shall we go for a second round?"

That day, I ended up returning at 12 pm.

Deep, focused golden eyes.

The man looked noble yet apathetic, like a well-known god who ruled the underworld. He possessed an unrealistic beauty. His behaviour, too, was unrealistic.

It had already been three hours.

'What do you think the letter's about?'

'Don't ask me.'

The knights stayed in their seats, holding their breaths and communicating with their eyes.

Though they weren't in a position to inquire, they couldn't help but be curious about the letter that had their lord staring into space for three hours straight.

To be continued….