The Duke’s Fake First Love - Chapter 1

Chapter 1.1

Even though it was a commemoration of escaping death, did I drink too much? The sunlight pouring through the windows made my eyes sting, and my head throbbed as if it might split.

“Still, I don’t think I drank past my limit…”

Pressing my temples, I slowly sat up from the sofa, only to find myself in a place I didn’t recognize. One wall was lined with a decorative vanity and mirror, while sofas and chairs were scattered throughout the room.

‘Is this the lounge of that mansion from yesterday?’

While I was still trying to figure out why I was here, a soft voice reached my ears.

“Someone spiked the drinks at last night’s banquet.”

It was the man I had run into in the hallway, right before my memories went black.

“They confessed to attempting vile acts targeting unmarried young ladies.”

When I realized the voice belonged to a beautiful blond man, my entire body stiffened. Now that I think about it, the coat covering me looked like the one he had worn yesterday.

‘Damn it.’

The moment that thought crossed my mind, my mind went completely blank.

“Did you…bring me here?”

It seemed unlikely, but if he didn’t, I couldn’t fathom any other reason for his presence.

“I wondered if that might be the case, but last night’s incident…”

The man tilted his head, his expression puzzled.

“You don’t remember?”

His gaze, persistent as it was, only made the gap in my memories feel wider.

But unfortunately, my memories felt severed, as if someone had sliced them cleanly away.

‘In the original story, there’s no connection between me and this man.’

I calmly retraced what I knew about him.

‘Duke Louis Arvan.’

He was a secondary male lead in the novel, infamous for his cruel nature and for treating everyone except the heroine as vermin.

‘In the story, he was only ever lenient toward his first love, the heroine.’

But even his ‘leniency’ was relative, meaning he wouldn’t kill someone unless they truly crossed him.

“You really don’t remember?”

A chilling air brushed past Louis’s gently smiling face.

Fearing he might harm me, I quickly replied.

“…To be honest, I have no memories after encountering you in the hallway, Your Grace.”

“Is that so?”

He paused for a moment as if pondering something, then tilted his head slightly.

“Even the part where you said you’d always been searching for someone like me?”

“…I said that?”

“Yeah.”

Louis gave a short nod, then added with a faint smile.

“You also said I was your first love.”

There was no way I said that. Did I start rambling because of the drug? What if he thought I was toying with him and decided to kill me?

Just then, Louis burst into a bright, carefree laugh.

“That’s right. It’s a lie.”

The way his lips curved, almost mocking me, was infuriating.

“I was the one who sought you out.”

“….”

“And I was the one who said you were my first love.”

Before I even realized it, Louis had stepped closer, gently straightening the coat that had slipped from my shoulders as he spoke.

“Because you are my first love.”

‘…What?’

I blinked in bewilderment.

‘What kind of absurd joke is this now?’

“Your joke is going too far.”

Naturally, I believed he was messing with me again, just like before. Otherwise, there was no way his attitude would shift so abruptly, like flipping a switch.

“Do I look like someone with the leisure to make jokes?”

The words, ‘Then what was that just now?’ rose to my throat, but I clamped my mouth shut. Louis’s face was eerily expressionless, sending chills down my spine.

“You visited the mansion a few times as a child.”

That was impossible. I could count on one hand the times I had left the count’s estate during my childhood.

“You came to see Lian Arvan, my brother, and after that, he occasionally spoke of you.”

In other words, that story wasn’t about me… it was about my sister. My sister was the heroine of this novel, and she had visited the ducal mansion when she was young.

‘He must have mistaken me for my sister.’

I had no idea how things ended up like this, but right as I was about to open my mouth and correct him that it wasn’t me, but my sister—

“You said you knew my brother well. You even knew he hated roses.”

My voice froze.

‘…Did I really say that?’

“It was nice to talk about him after so long. After his death, everyone was too busy avoiding the subject.”

“…So we even talked about that.”

I forced myself to sound calm, but this was undeniably my blunder.

‘There’s no way to cover this up now.’

If I told him he mistook me for my sister, I would’ve to explain how I knew the details I spilled last night.

‘But I only know because I read the original novel.’

If I said that out loud, I would either be sent to a mental hospital or, worse, killed on the spot by Louis for deceiving him.

‘…Why did that bastard have to spike the drinks with drugs last night, of all things?’

I couldn’t even remember what we talked about yesterday, and now I have to explain how I know those things?

At this rate, there was only one way to survive.

⸝⸝ Nabi’s Note: ˚‎ ༘☆

Noted that the chapters for this novel are going to be split in half, which will also lessen the pressure on the translating staff involved. However, they’ll be numbered normally to make things simple. Since splitting into parts like this lessens the pressure on the translator, I’ll update more often to compensate for the length!

Thank you as always for your constant support and understanding! ♡