The Marquis Is Only Kind to Her - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Young Lady’s First Kiss

Arhin looked around the party hall. At the end of her gaze, a splendid chandelier is visible, with a man seemingly shining even more splendidly under it.

‘……unbelievable.’

Arhin sighed and let out a light sigh. He is so incredibly handsome.

‘I think it would be nice to kiss that man today.’

So, the reason she came up with these unladylike thoughts started with a series of events.

***

A month ago, in a small house in the imperial capital. Arhin and her father, Baron Karl Avand, were confronting each other.

“Father, what do you mean marriage? That too with Count Amu!”

Count Amu, whom her father just said was her marriage partner was a terrible person. He was the one who cut off the little finger of a maid for spilling hot tea. He was also a savage who poured out promiscuous words at young and innocent ladies.

‘One day he looked at me greedily and said something quite embarrassing, like bouncy and fresh.’

If Deborah hadn’t stopped me from jumping up, I might have even punched him.

If you try to find his merits, he is a count and has a lot of riches. He might be a pretty ecstatic marriage partner to someone, but he just wasn’t for me.

Father, will you marry me off to someone like that? Really?

Twenty-three-year-old Arhin Avand. Her father, Baron Avand, could not bear to face Arhin’s anxious eyes.

The business in which all the property was invested was in ruins due to the shipwreck. The prestige of the family had deteriorated to the point where they could barely lift their heads, and the baroness suffered from a chronic illness, so the doctor had to be called in once a week. In this situation, the count’s marriage proposal was a poison that she had no choice but to drink.

The baron smiled bitterly. “I’m sorry, Arhin.”

“Gosh…… miss……. I didn’t raise you to marry such a man…….”

Nanny Dea wiped away her tears. It was sad that her lovely lady had grown up and was getting married, but of all people, her marriage partner was that Count.

“I can’t help it. It’s what my father wants……. There must be a reason why I have to get married.”

Arhin said self-deprecatingly and swallowed a sigh that spewed out spontaneously. She was born into a noble family and grew up without shortage. Under the love of her parents, she learned swordsmanship despite being a woman and never went hungry.

Yeah. I’ve only been receiving it, so it’s time to give it back. Arhin nodded.

How many marriages in noble families were based on love? Moreover, the fact that the daughter of a low-ranking noble like her married into a powerful Count was rather close to a situation where she had to lower her head in gratitude.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been crying and whining, saying I don’t want to get married. If I can’t run away, I’ll have to endure it.

Arhin stared at her reflection in the mirror. A fair-skinned girl with shiny brown hair was looking at her.

***

“I have to kiss someone cool and handsome. Help me, Deborah!”

A few days before going to the party, Arhin declared a bombshell to Deborah.

Yes, it was good to decide to get married. However, if you are going to get married like you are being sold in the first place, wouldn’t it be a bit fair to have your first kiss with the coolest person?

It was Arhin who had purposely not told Deborah earlier about the news of her marriage to Count Amu, because that would most likely shock Deborah’s gentle soul. But now she’s burning with the obsession of the first kiss.

Deborah, the daughter of a merchant and an old friend of Arhin, was speechless at her sudden remark.

“……kiss. Yes, kissing is good……. I wanted to ask about your situation, but it seems complicated, so I held back.”

“Yes. It’s complicated, Deborah.”

“……Arhin anyway. If you want to meet nice people, go to this party.”

“Party?”

Deborah held a party invitation made of silvery, luxurious material.

“All the shining people of the empire will gather here. Cheer up, Arhin.”

“Deborah……!”

Arhin, thrilled by her, hugged Deborah tightly and kissed her soft cheek a couple of times.

‘Thank you, my friend. I will definitely kiss a wonderful person and happily marry the Count!’

She kept repeating her grand ambition in her mind.

That’s how she came to the party. Although she didn’t even know who the organizer of the party was or what the party was for.

Arhin laughed briskly while drunk and raised her glass into the air.

‘Cheers for my first kiss!’

Several pairs of eyes caught on her as she was holding a glass alone.

Shining chestnut hair as if soaked in sunlight, and healthy-looking skin. The lines at the nape of her neck, where a few strands of her hair flowed down, were quite smooth.

However, the men who approached her as if enchanted by her appearance hesitated when they faced her fierce green eyes slightly raised, and haughty expressions.

Her eyes were clearly saying ‘You dare to talk to me?’. However, Arhin was only full of doubts about their retreat.

‘Why the hell are you just saying hello and leaving?’

Is the theme of this party saying goodbye and leaving?

Arhin sighed and quickly took a glass of wine. Her stomach is burning. Now no one approached me.

She had another drink. There were ten glasses of alcohol in total. When she poured alcohol into an empty stomach, a flame rose in her stomach.

Chandelier lights flicker and people laugh like ripples. Arhin looked around the party with her hands resting on the table so as not to stumble.

‘That person…… nope. That person…… no, no. That one…… no…… he’s handsome, but he’s a grandfather…….’

Although she was drunk, she did not forget the solemn mission of kissing a handsome man.

When she leaned against a pillar in the corner and looked around, she made eye contact with someone again. It was already the third.

……I think our eyes had met before. Arhin searched for her vague memories.

By the time that man showed up at this party, she was already drunk. She only remembers that many people applauded him and they gathered around him like moths of fire.

Under the splendid chandelier, the man shone even more splendidly. He was a fantastic man whose behavior and demeanor were extremely elegant, and even the slightly raised corners of his mouth were terribly aristocratic.

With golden hair like honey and an enchanting smile. However, for some reason, the indifferent-looking eyes had a strange atmosphere that gave off a feeling of coolness rather than softness even though he was smiling.

‘……unbelievable.’

Arhin sighed lightly and looked at him closely. Contrary to the appearance of a man who just sits at the table and grows precious, he has hands that look a bit rough.

Is he a knight? Especially his left hand, looked quite solid even from a distance, so it seemed like he was holding a sword with it.

‘It would be really nice if that man is my first kiss.’

However, Arhin smiled and shook her head. He was a man at the center of the crowd, and she was just a drunken woman drinking wine leaning against a pillar outside the party hall.

‘Kissing someone like that is something I couldn’t even dream of.’

Arhin laughed to herself and then met his eyes again.

‘Well, I should stop watching him. We keep making eye contact.’

Pretending that she never looked at him, she quietly looked away.

She popped an unknown number of tarts into her mouth. Salty and savory walnuts coated in sugar, crispy and chewy, with a heavy and deep butter scent. It tasted heavenly.

While munching on the tart, Arhin suddenly remembered Count Amu.

‘Eventually, I will have my first kiss with him……. Let’s get some fresh air.’

When she imagined what would happen next with Count Amu–such as kissing or hugging–she became surprisingly lost her appetite.

Arhin left her seat without regret and walked toward the terrace.

For some reason, she glanced back and saw that ‘that dazzling man’ was shining brightly in the crowd.

Arhin laughed. It was only pathetic for having a desire for such a person for a while.

‘It’s better not to covet gems you can’t have.’

The steps towards the terrace became a little faster.