Chapter 1: The Fastest Way to Become a Successful Fan (1)

The basics of stanning is to always maintain a normie image. This is especially true for any noble with a reputation to uphold.

And right now, I was dangerously close to being exposed as a stan.

This could be the biggest crisis of my 30-year life as a devoted stan.

“Lady Heathcliff,” Duke Hades Louvremont — the man widely recognized as the epitome of perfection here in the Crescenta Empire, a land overflowing with talent — quietly called my name.

My heart skipped a beat. Duke Louvremont was indeed a very charming and attractive man. But that wasn’t the reason why my heart was beating so hard.

“I assume you already know why I’ve summoned you here?” He crossed his legs and picked up the teacup in front of him.

He could come off a little overbearing, but even that was consistent with his villainous charms.

“I’m sorry…. I don’t understand.” I decided to play dumb.

Over the tilted teacup, the duke’s crimson eyes were piercing, fixated on me. The way his eyebrows arched up revealed his dissatisfaction with my blatant lie.

Tap-

The sound of teacup meeting the tabletop broke the silence in the room.

Whoosh-!

At the same time, the wind rushing against the windowpane buzzed in my ears.

I glanced at the snowy scenery beyond the window and felt like crying all of a sudden.

Even the weather in the North was cold like its master.

“As I recall, you attended the harvest festival that took place in Marchen county a year ago. That’s where it all started, it seems.”

“…P-pardon?” I gasped and covered my mouth in surprise.

“And you also attended this year’s debutante ball in the capital, even though you’re well past the age to make your debut. Don’t say you were there just to enjoy the festival. I know about House Heathcliff’s financial circumstances. One trip to the capital would cost you a fortune.”

It hurt because he was right. He was ruthless when it came to facts.

“Your Grace, I….”

But there was still some room for excuses. Two coincidences were hardly enough evidence to assert that I’d been chasing after Louvremont.

Trying to muster up an excuse, I forced myself to sit up straight. Beads of sweat rolled down my face and fell onto the teacup in front of me. I could feel the duke smirk. He soon moved his hand to the inner pocket of his jacket.

I flinched at his movement. I felt as if I was a rabbit being chased by a hound dog atop a snowy mountain. Based on what I knew about the duke, the thing that would pop out from his pocket was….

A dagger? A dart? A noose? A bottle of poison? It had to be one of those four.

Then he’d drive me to the corner and threaten me to answer why I’d been after his son. There was no question about it. After all, the duke cared for his son above all else.

“…Gasp.”

I instinctively covered my neck with my hands, but what was thrown in front of me was a surprisingly harmless object: a black handkerchief with golden embroidery.

“Have I made you nervous? You seem to be sweating a lot.”

“Ah…, it’s not that. I tend to get hot easily.”

“Here, in the freezing North? I see. Perhaps the heating was too excessive.”

“Right! The fire! Over there, that fireplace! It’s, err, burning so well….”

I pointed at the burning fireplace as I wiped off my sweat with the duke’s handkerchief.

“Let’s continue. When I was staying in the capital, I received a rather expensive gift from an anonymous sender. It was sent to my son, Abel Louvremont, to be precise…. The Sword of Sanctcria.”

“You don’t say! Such a valuable treasure?”

“Yes. The sender must have thought that anonymity would protect them. However…, I can only say that they grossly underestimated my resourcefulness.”

“….”

“The sender was Viscount Stanley Anning. Further investigation revealed that he’s been your family’s patron for the past three years. I believe this is enough evidence to say that you’ve been following my family.”

The duke paused to look at me in the eye before breaking into a smile.

His smile was surprisingly innocuous, considering how angry he must be.

“However, if you’d like more evidence, I shall continue. The succession ceremony that took place at the Kyrie marquisate, the royal ball, the Imperial knight appointment ceremony….”

“Ah! Please, Your Grace, th-that is enough.”

Wow, I couldn’t believe I was that obvious. I thought I was hiding it pretty well too. I never thought that I, the daughter of a humble baron, would stand out among the many high-ranked nobles at those big events.

But if you’re a devoted stan, you have no right to insult me. Memorizing your bias’s schedule from top to bottom in order to see him from up close is a norm among us stans.

And it wasn’t like I did anything illegal either. I’d only been to places I was allowed to visit. And, though much lower in rank than Louvremont, I was still a noble, and I’d never done anything to give my family a bad name.

But all my excuses were useless right now. There was no way the duke would understand my intense need for stanning. He probably thought of me as nothing more than an old, crazy woman who’d been chasing after his 10-year-old son.

Now, that’s just sad.

“And the fact that you are here now….”

Okay, so, traveling all the way here…. That might have been going too far.

“I must say, you are not particularly good at inventing excuses. You said you wanted to experience life in the North, as part of your… what was it again? Research trip? You’ve never had physical training, and you look fragile enough to be blown away by the warm southern breeze. It’s absurd that someone like you would take an interest in this duchy, a land notoriously overrun with dangerous beasts.”

Okay, yeah, but who cares? Safety was never a concern to me in deciding to travel to the North. It might sound cliché but it was true: the freezing northern territory was home to countless beasts and many unexpected dangers. Still, the duchy shall be a safe haven under the protection of the cold but powerful guardian of the North with black hair and red eyes, Amen.

Seriously though, now wasn’t the time to be talking about the duke. It was just that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure a way out of this situation.

The fate of the young daughter of a baron — that is, me — was sealed the moment the duke caught me stanning. It seemed that I was destined to die here. Duke Louvremont was famously a sucker for his son, so he wouldn’t hesitate to kill his son’s stalker. I thought I probably had less than 3 hours remaining before I died….

From his adoption into the family to succeeding the duchy, his son, Abel Louvremont, was met with countless dangers and walked the fine line between life and death.

His father, Duke Hades Louvremont, was a man who did not hesitate to shed blood if necessary and protected his son from any harm. He was the perfect competent father.

Knowing his love for his son, I mourned quietly for my soul.

It was a pity I that I wasn’t able to see Abel all grown up in person, but I was happy enough to have witnessed his lovely childhood, which the book never mentioned.

Indeed, I did live quite a satisfying life. I’d shed countless tears of joy over my bias. I’d watched him from afar, showered him with gifts, and followed him around wherever he went.

So, may you so write on my tombstone: ‘Here lies Aisha Heathcliff. She lived a happy life in South Korea for 27 years and then 3 years here in the Crescenta Empire. At the age of 30, she died as a peerless stan under the heavens!’

“You were quite persistent in your pursuit. Not only did you send numerous gifts of unimaginable value, you’ve ventured all alone to these harsh lands without any fear for your life….”

“My apologies. I’ve no further excuses for my behavior.”

“Very well then, I must admit utter defeat. Your devotion is, without doubt, unquestionable.”

“…You think so? I do have to admit that my devotion is unparalleled.”

“I’ve had countless women across the empire pursue me in the name of love, but never before have I seen a woman who is more persistent and devoted than you. I supposed we should hold our wedding at the earliest possible convenience.”

“Haa….”

“….”

“Very well. I accept.”

“….”

“No wait, wh-what did you just say?”

Thud-!

I shuddered like a bird that had been hit by a stone. The table shook with me, and some tea spilled onto the tabletop.

…What in the world did I just hear?

It hurt me to have my inevitable doom spelled out to me, so I didn’t pay attention to what he said. There was a need to replay what he just said.

At the earliest possible convenience…. Before that, err, he said something about… a wedding?

Maybe I just heard him wrong. He probably said something like, “Die, Lady Heathcliff,” or “I sentence you to hell,” right?

But the duke looked me in the eye and, with a grin, reaffirmed his earlier statement.

“I said I’ll do it. Let’s get married.”