I Thought It Was a Common Transmigration - Chapter 149

15. Flashback (8)

In the weddings they had over and over again, the flowers that filled the wedding hall, without exception, were white roses of the highest quality.

But the flowers listed on the budget Cliff brought with him were white hydrangeas.

Hydrangeas are large, so they would look abundant even if only a few were placed, but such ‘efficiency’ is far from the ‘main character’ that Lizé wanted.

“I want white roses to adorn the wedding hall, as well as the petals to be sprinkled.”

“But white roses in that quantity are hard to come by these days. White hydrangeas are also popular as wedding flowers……”

“Cliff. You can’t be serious, you too are ignoring me?”

“Of course not, Lizé!”

“Then do what I say. Can you do it?”

Lizé suppressed her irritation and smiled.

“……yes, if that’s what you want.”

Cliff complied with her request, but Lizé found the small sigh that preceded his answer unbearably offensive.

‘At some point, you seemed ready to put the empire under my feet.’

All her life, Cliff had been craving a handful of her affection, and before she could say a word, he’d given her what she wanted.

But the more they talked about the wedding, the more they clashed, and the more he sighed.

Of course, that didn’t make her back down, but then the Duchess, in charge of the family budget, came to see her.

“Lizé. I need to speak to you for a moment.”

Lizé didn’t think much of it, she was rather happy, because the Duchess couldn’t possibly refuse anything she wanted.

But the next words out of her mouth were unexpected.

“Cliff’s been planning a wedding, and I’m afraid it’s not quite right.”

“Yes? How did he plan it?”

“He’s so excited that he’s marrying you. He’s got all kinds of luxuries planned.”

The Duchess shook her head and showed Lizé the wedding plans and budget Cliff had drawn up.

It was exactly everything she had asked for.

“If the wedding continues like this, it will be rumored that the Ludwigs are show-offs and spendthrifts. Cliff loves you, no one doubts that, but this is too different from Killian’s wedding, so……”

She seemed to have no doubt that the whole plan was the result of Cliff’s over-affection for her, and that Lizé would eliminate some things to make the budget more frugal.

‘You all are supposed to throw me a wedding like this even if I don’t want to!’

Lizé replied in a sobbing voice, barely suppressing her anger, “Do you think it’s a waste to spend this much money on me, madam?”

“Li- Lizé……?”

“Yes, I’m an illegitimate child and a lowly woman, but what about Cliff? This is the wedding of Cliff, the heir to the Duke, and it shouldn’t be shabbier than any other nobleman’s wedding.”

The Duchess was at a loss for words, her eyes wide with surprise.

In the end, the wedding went exactly as Lizé had hoped, but at the cost of Lizé never being able to be with the Duchess again.

But Lizé didn’t regret it one bit.

‘There’s no point in getting involved with extras.’

In fact, it was Edith’s attitude that bothered her more than the Duke and Duchess’s distant behavior.

Whether she had no balls or had already moved on from Lizé, Edith was smiling and applauding at the wedding of the woman who had tried to kill her.

Killian and Edith seemed much happier than Cliff and Lizé, the two main characters of the day.

And Lizé hated it so much.

One of the purposes of this fancy wedding was to draw out Edith’s envy and jealousy.

But once Edith and Killian left for Ryzen, her mood improved a bit.

‘Okay, Edith is gone, and I’ll create a new narrative for Lizé from now on!’

A glimmer of hope seemed to shine through.

Besides, there was nothing to stop her from becoming the next Duchess.

‘It’s a good thing I signed a prenup with Cliff before we got married.’

– Cliff Ludwig will never ask Lizé Ludwig for a divorce.

Cliff Ludwig will defend and protect Lizé Ludwig no matter what.

These two clauses alone were enough to put Cliff on a leash and give her a free pass on everything.

‘Nothing difficult. After all, I am the next Duchess of Ludwig.’

But there was one thing she was missing.

Even as she vowed to make her future “better than the original story,” all she could think about was the success and glory of the original story.

Rather than blazing a new trail, it seemed more promising to follow the path she already knew, even if it was a path that had been lost.

That’s why she felt uneasy when the episodes she knew were not happening.

‘Why are there no invitations?’

In the original story, Lizé, who is married to Cliff, receives dozens of invitations a day.

Of course, there were several invitations this time around. But they were fewer than in the original story, and most importantly, none of them were what she wanted.

‘Why are all the invitations only from unimportant extras?!’

However, she couldn’t even send a letter asking for an invitation.

‘I’ll have to go to a lot of parties and make friends with important characters.’

She couldn’t let the original episodes disappear.

And if she was going to attend a party, she needed to stand out more than anyone else.

There were plenty of dresses the Duchess or Cliff had bought her, but honestly, none of them were exactly to her taste.

She’d always chosen dresses that were more modest and innocent than her actual tastes in order to fit in with her character of being a good girl.

‘Now that I don’t have to be looked at like that anymore……’

Lizé began ordering extravagant, sensual dresses that she knew the original Edith would love.

‘I should have made Lizé’s breasts as big as Edith’s when I first created her character.’

She’d created a slender, innocent Lizé, in contrast to the voluptuous body of that stupid villainess, but now she was unhappy with it.

Until now, she had not forgotten how Killian had frowned seeing her wearing a chemise that exposed her shoulders.

But when Lizé looked at her beautiful reflection in the mirror, she regained her confidence.

She’s still the most beautiful woman in the world.

***

‘Why isn’t this going back to the original?’

Even though she knew the power of the author was already gone, Lizé kept asking herself that question.

It turned out to be harder than expected to get close to the important characters.

‘In the original story, they are the ones who send out invitations and beg to meet me……!’

My pride wouldn’t allow me to approach them and pretend to be friendly.

I succeeded in manipulating the people around me to open up, but the relationship never progressed beyond that.

‘No, I have to create a situation where they have to come up to me and say hello.’

Lizé considered several options, and eventually settled on the one that would get her the most attention.

She decided to be the host of the annual year-end party.

As the weather began to grow cooler and talk of the year-end party began to creep in, Lizé beamed at the dinner table.

“I’d like to host the year-end party this year.”

But instead of what she expected to be lighthearted words of approval, the Duke and Cliff’s faces hardened a bit.

“It’s probably too much for you yet. Watch and learn from Jocelyn, and in five years or so, try to host one yourself.”

Despite the Duke’s grim face, Lizé was determined that it had to be this year. Because the final episode had to happen early next year.

“I’ve watched and learned how to host a party for the past five years, and this year, after my marriage to Cliff, I’d like to try my hand at it.”

“Lizé.”

“You know, Duke, that there are still many people who laugh at me as a lowly illegitimate child, and then there are those who laugh at Cliff for marrying me.”

A sigh escaped both the Duke’s and Cliff’s lips at the same time.

The excuse of being an illegitimate child had been used by Lizé time and time again.

But Lizé pretended not to hear their sighs.

“To host the year-end party will be to prove that I am a member of House Ludwig.”

The Duke started to open his mouth to say something more, but the Duchess stopped him.

“Very well, Lizé. Do as you wish.”

“Thank you, mother.”

Unlike Lizé, who thought she had won, Cliff was left disappointed.

Later that evening, Cliff raised his voice and said, “You should’ve listened to my father!”

Lizé snapped, “How long do I have to hide behind you people?”

“You people?”

“Everything I do is for House Ludwig, so stop treating me like an ornament.”

Lizé turned away from Cliff, who was shocked by the way she ended her sentence with ‘you people’.

‘I should have set him up to be more subservient to Lizé.’

Her irritation towards Cliff was growing by the day.

His appearance was no longer special to Lizé, who had lived the same life over and over again.

In fact, it was sometimes boring. So much so that she dreamed of escapism with another character.

‘So at this year-end party, I’m going to meet the heir to Count Liebermann, get introduced to the Crown Prince, and maybe even have a little romance!’

In the original story, the young lord of Liebermann is a miserable extra who falls in love with Lizé’s beauty and invites her to join his “celebrity club,” but is frustrated that he can’t win her heart because of Cliff.

However, since he’s the main character of an episode, his appearance is quite acceptable.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince, who is already married, is also a handsome man and is described as being captivated by Lizé’s beauty.

In the midst of her same, boring, and this time even more disappointing marriage to Cliff, such handsome men were enough to spark Lizé’s desire to deviate.

‘The more men who love me, the better.’

Lizé began preparing for the year-end party, imagining all the other men who would be on their knees, thrilled by her every gesture.