Reborn: No Care's

Duke Von Roseblood

Eliz breathed a sigh of relief.

Alobela brought another dress that looked a little better - again, a combination of purple and white.

There were too many strings hanging from it... at least it didn't have so many petticoats and skirt layers.

The torture began. Eliz had always thought that dressing up in novels was exaggerated. The heroine would need help to achieve that snobby look. How wrong she was.

Eliz would probably end up a mess if she tried to do it alone.

But with Alobela, it only took 15 minutes.

The skirt was simple, ending above her ankles, the waist cinched with intricate ties, and the dress had puffy straps on her arms, exposing the tops of her shoulders and neck gracefully.

Alobela further adorned Eliz's neck with a delicate silver chain bearing the Roseblood family crest.

Then she sat down at the dressing table and applied subtle makeup.

Eliz looked at herself in the mirror, impressed and amazed. She still couldn't comprehend that this was her face.

Elizabeth was truly beautiful. She could have had anyone she wanted. And yet she was stupid enough to fall in love with the jerk Gray, who suffered from a megalomaniac complex.

"Your father is waiting outside, my lady," Alobela said.

Eliz took one last look in the mirror before standing up. "Let him enter."

Alobela opened the door, and her father, Duke Von Roseblood, entered.

Alobela tactfully left, leaving father and daughter alone.

"Father," Eliz greeted him, feeling nervous in her mind. The duke had been shown little in the story.

But what she did know was that he was a capable politician and an even more capable warrior who had earned his promotion from baron straight to duke.

He was supposed to be an intelligent and strategic man.

And also, somewhat clichéd, a doting father. At least as far as Elizabeth was concerned.

Which was also his undoing.

While Elizabeth sat in prison awaiting execution, he rounded up his entire household and set out to rescue her, even though she had been convicted of attempted murder. On the one hand, Eliz thought it was nice that he supported her against all odds.

On the other hand, she had to condemn the author for getting the entire Roseblood family out of the way so he wouldn't have to deal with them in the story after the main villain was eliminated - except, of course, the treacherous Eren, who distanced himself from House Roseblood and became Gray's dog.

The big man smiled, reminding Eliz of a satisfied cat.

This was quite a shock to her. She thought such things existed only in stories or cartoons.

"My child! How are you feeling? Yesterday must have been terrible for you!" He walked over to her with his arms outstretched.

Eliz's eyes fluttered around.

Did he want a hug?

"It was not pleasant," she admitted and soon found herself in a hug.

Eliz felt uncomfortable at first, for he was a stranger to her. But she soon relaxed. It reminded her a lot of being hugged by her own father. It wasn't a bad thing. But it pushed away thoughts of her life and family back home.

She raised her hands and patted his massive back.

"It's all right, Father. Do not worry about a thing. You did not raise a weak woman," Eliz reassured him.

Her father let go of her, stepped back, and nodded in agreement. "That's right. I heard how you handled the whole situation. Well done, my child."

The father raised his hand and clenched it into a fist. It almost sounded like he was crushing something between his fingers, even if it was just air.

"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to drag that womanizer Gray here and make him grovel before you? Do you want me to go to battle against House Ironhoud?" He asked Elizabeth what she wanted to do.

Eliz gulped. Is this how a doting father behaves with power?

She walked over to the work table. "Nothing of the sort, Father. There is no reason for you to go so far. Besides, I could never ask you to argue with your good friend Duke Ironhound. Conflicts between children should not affect your relationships. Just send a message to break off the engagement."

Father frowned. "You're going to get involved? Just like that?" He asked.

Eliz shrugged her shoulders. "What more can I do? I have tried to keep Gray from making a mistake. I'm not going to do any more for a cheating fool." She smiled.

"Besides, I have a sneaking suspicion that Gray will soon realize that things in life are not as simple as he thinks." Eliz turned away so her slightly evil smile wouldn't be seen.

She was supposed to be the villainess. How could she not get her revenge? She would make sure that these two bastards wouldn't have it easy.

"I understand, my child. But what do you want to do now? Your reputation is damaged. Even though you handled the situation well, it still left a mark."

Eliz pondered this. She was at the story's beginning, but should she stick to it? What should she do next?

Of course, she wouldn't allow herself to be executed. Ah, why should she stick to the script? The only thing she should avoid was death, right? The voice didn't make any more rules.

"Elizabeth?" Duke addressed his daughter.

Eliz turned to him. "Perhaps I should disappear from the public eye for a while. Why don't you leave me in charge of the Roseblood estate in the Eastern Province?" She asked.

The duke blinked. "Eastern Province? Do you mean the Blue Rose estate? But no one's been there in years. It's probably in terrible condition. The land will be neglected too, and we have long since relocated the residents to more prosperous areas."

"Then give me some more money, and I will fix everything. I will make it a prosperous place again." Eliz raised her hands to him, increasingly excited by the idea.

"Elizabeth, it's a long way and will take a lot of work and people..." The father hesitated.

So Eliz decided to use every daughter's secret weapon, guaranteed to work against any doting father.

She looked at him with an innocent puppy-dog look. "Please, Daddy."

"Ugh." The duke clutched at his heart as if an arrow had struck him.