* * *
My plan seemed deceptively simple at first glance. However, I soon encountered a major problem. At this moment, no one knows the whereabouts of that renowned doctor.
Since Marquis Berto hadn’t yet discovered this extraordinary doctor, there was only one thing I could do for now.
All I know is that he brought back a famous doctor who voluntarily went to some island village and hit the jackpot by consulting the doctor about the potions.
I tried to track down the doctor, but with only the information of a ‘doctor who went to an island,’ it was impossible to find him.
With eyes weary from fatigue, I entered the fitting room of the House of Florette. But then…
“I’ve prepared about a hundred dresses for the event. I’ve also ordered around a thousand pairs of shoes.” Count Florette was enthusiastically showing off various dresses, his eyes wide with a crazed look.
“A thousand pairs of shoes? I didn’t know I was a centipede.”
“Hahaha! Your sense of humor is just like Count Sehera’s. You really are your father’s spitting image.”
It wasn’t a joke.
Seeing him clutch his stomach in laughter only made my heart grow colder. What was my real father’s personality like, anyway?
I squinted at him, then turned my gaze to my contract husband, who maintained a stoic expression beside him, and said softly, “I see. But is there really a reason for both Count Florette and Duke Kalinos to be involved in preparing my dress?”
Count Florette clenched his fists and made a sniffling sound. “You couldn’t even have a wedding… so I have to do this at least.”
Though those tears seemed fake, I decided to play along.
Count Florette’s involvement was understandable, but why was Duke Kalinos here? If I had to pinpoint it, his attitude changed a bit after I mentioned wanting Lord Neslan to recover…
Lately, I felt like he was observing me in a peculiar way. He would stare at me quietly and then quickly look away when our eyes met.
Oh well, whatever.
With a blank expression, I nodded and replied. “Yes, of course. I’ll get changed now.”
“Y-Yes. Go ahead and change.”
With that, I opened the fitting room and tried on the dress tailored by the seamstress.
“The purple dress suits you perfectly. I’m glad we used all the rare dye from the Eastern Continent. Oh, by the way… what do you think, Your Grace?”
Duke Kalinos, glancing at his father-in-law’s petty provocation, furrowed his brow and thought deeply. “Well, if I were to express my thoughts now.” He stroked his chin as if pondering something, then spoke briefly. “Giselle, are you familiar with the Fibonacci sequence?”
“What? Suddenly?”
“The Fibonacci sequence leads to the golden ratio, which is perceived as the most ideal proportion by humans.”
“And, so?”
“Right now, you look exactly like that golden ratio.”
I accepted it casually, but Count Florette had a different reaction. He poked my side and whispered, “What does he mean?”
“I have no idea.”
“So, is he always like that?”
I looked at Duke Kalinos’s seriously dilated pupils and recalled his past behavior. “Ah, yes. I think he’s always been like that.”
Count Florette rubbed the back of his neck and muttered again. “So Giselle has such peculiar tastes… Just like Count Sehera…”
I wondered what kind of person my biological father was… And what kind of woman was my mother to marry such a man?
Count Florette whispered in my ear. “Next time you get married, I’ll make sure you meet someone better.”
Why are we already talking about the next marriage? But thinking about the future divorce, I decided to build up enough groundwork and nodded silently.
With a troubled expression, Count Florette let out a deep sigh and muttered toward the duke. “So, what’s the conclusion, Your Grace?”
“It means my heart skipped a beat at the precise golden ratio, Father-in-law.”
“And if you were to explain it with elegant prose?”
“…I’ve never read poetry.”
Not wanting to get caught in the bizarre argument between the two, which felt like a clash between the arts and sciences, I intervened lightly. “Ah, I see. That’s impressive. Wonderful. I’m so happy. The Fabonacci sequence, indeed. Hahaha!”
“It’s the Fibonacci sequence.”
I glanced at him again with dead-fish eyes.
Duke Kalinos nodded earnestly and continued. “Come to think of it, maybe my heart raced because I encountered the aesthetically perfect golden ratio. Centuries ago, a mathematician named Kukle wrote a book called [Perfect Proportion] praising the golden ratio. Perhaps he felt the same way.”
What’s that supposed to mean? So what?
Anyway, he seemed genuinely excited to have discovered the source of his feelings. Since listening to him wasn’t costing me anything, I decided to just hear him out.
Count Florette sighed deeply, looking disappointed, and spoke. “But Giselle, there’s something I’m truly disappointed about. I ordered a purple feathered hat as well, but before I set sail, the artisan who used to handle our family’s hats disappeared. When I think about it, he really made excellent hats.”
“What? Why did the artisan disappear?”
“There’s a peculiar illness that only hat makers suffer from. When they fall ill, they retreat to an island called ‘Blue Lagoon.’ This artisan ended up going there too. It’s unfortunate.”
A world where only hat makers suffer from a peculiar illness…
I squinted and asked again. “An island called Blue Lagoon?”
“Yes. I wanted to send him ample compensation, but it’s hard to know where exactly it is. Still, I’ve heard there’s a rather skilled doctor on Blue Lagoon, so I’m somewhat relieved.”
Hold on a second.
“A skilled doctor on the island? Can he bring people back from the dead?”
“Hmm? I’ve heard rumors like that, but they’re probably exaggerated.”
“Tell me more!”
“Well, that artisan was on the brink of death, but thanks to the doctor, he barely survived. I even received a note saying he might return someday. Though not immediately, of course.”
I blinked. Could this be a stroke of luck from the heavens for someone who always gets the short end of the stick like me…?
With a sparkle in my eyes, I quickly asked, “So, where exactly is Blue Lagoon?”
The survival probability of my father-in-law just shot up to 100%!
“Hmm, Giselle. I’m not sure. It’s probably one of the over 2,000 islands in the sea right next to the capital’s coast.”
…Or maybe not.
Two thousand islands? Being the female lead in a regret-filled story really is just one obstacle after another, damn it!
* * *
“…Huh?”
[Location of Blue Lagoon! (●‘◡‘●)☆
Doctors of Blue Lagoon! : .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:
Features of the renowned doctor’s face! ☆╰(*°▽°*)╯
Montage!]
While lying in bed, pondering how to find that doctor, a note suddenly fluttered onto my blanket.
“Ivanka found out!”
All I did was roll around on the mansion’s bed, muttering to myself about how to find the skilled doctor of Blue Lagoon. And yet, Ivanka came running to me in less than a day. With this note!
“W-What is this?”
“Ivanka has found out about the doctor at Blue Lagoon that Madam Giselle is curious about! Ivanka knows everything! Ivanka never misses the information you want because Ivanka is so good at hiding herself!”
I might as well create a saying: one well-raised Ivanka is worth more than ten information guilds.
“My goodness, our Ivanka. You know things so precisely!”
“Ivanka can hear all the rumors from people!”
“Oh my, our genius baby hamster!”
Ivanka blushed and smiled with pride. “All Ivanka needs is praise from Madam Giselle! That makes Ivanka happy!”
I hugged Ivanka tightly and playfully showered her with affection. Ivanka’s face was adorned with a smile of happiness for a long time, and then I spoke gently.
“But Ivanka.”
“Yes?”
“Never push yourself too hard, okay? Even if you want to do something, if it’s dangerous, you must never do it.” I held Ivanka’s hand firmly and smiled warmly. “Promise me.”
“Yes! It’s a promise!”
After hearing Ivanka’s firm promise, I scanned the location of Blue Lagoon with a subtle expression.
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Ivanka 🤩