The Reincarnated Noble Lady is the Infamous Viscount's Heir - I've Accepted a Contract Marriage for Estate Management. - Chapter 1.2

Claude, my former fiancé, was someone chosen by our parents. The engagement had been arranged by our families when we enrolled in the academy.

Both families, whose townhouses were close to each other in the royal capital, decided it was a good match. Our parents knew each other well and thought the timing was perfect for me and Claude to be engaged.

But honestly…

They should have focused on arranging a match for my eldest sister first.

Actually, they likely did consider it.

Perhaps they overthought it.

My eldest sister is someone who wouldn’t be out of place anywhere—she even received a proposal from a marquis family!

For a viscount family like ours, that’s an incredible achievement. Proposals from a rank above, even from a count family, are exceedingly rare.

When I spent time in my father’s study during my mother’s illness, I found a pile of letters addressed to my sister—proposals from influential families.

But by the time we responded, all of those families had already engaged their heirs to someone else.

“Father, seriously? This is important! I know you care for Mother, but do your daughters mean nothing to you?”

I personally drafted apology letters explaining our family circumstances to all the families that had sent proposals, apologizing for the delays in our replies.

I didn’t stop there—I also sent them specialty goods from our territory, products I’d been working on with my father’s approval since my academy days. I hoped it would pique their interest and build goodwill.

In the end, this strategy was a huge success.

Though my sister didn’t marry into any of those families, we received letters from high-ranking nobles, including marquises, expressing interest in maintaining ties with the Wilcox Viscount family.

As for where my sister eventually married…

Through her own efforts, she secured a match with the heir of the renowned Russells Trading Company, the largest and most respected merchant house in the royal capital.

They treat my sister with the utmost reverence, as if she were a princess.

Comments like, “Our son has outdone himself, bringing home the best bride in the kingdom!” were common.

When lower-ranking noble families tried to interfere after her engagement, they stood no chance against the wealth and influence of the Russells.

Their assets were unparalleled, exceeding those of most noble families. Money truly is power.

To top it off, the Russells family is expected to receive a noble title in the near future.

My sister made a wise choice, aligning herself with their financial might and future potential. Truly impressive.

With the Russells family supporting us financially, I didn’t hesitate to push forward with our plans.

I leveraged their backing to promote our specialty goods, connect with related businesses, and negotiate with trade partners. I even managed to improve the administration of our territory while caring for my sickly younger sister.

It was during this whirlwind of responsibilities, just after my debut into society, that the engagement fiasco occurred.

Claude, my fiancé, barged into our townhouse with another woman in tow and announced:

“I’ve found my true love. Catherine is sweet and charming, unlike you. She actually writes me letters, unlike you. I’m breaking off this engagement. Catherine is my destined woman.”

I was stunned, not just at his gall but also at his lack of foresight.

Was the Autred family going to be okay after this disaster? I couldn’t help but worry.

“You’re staging this drama on my turf? Seriously?” I thought.

The absurdity of it all left me speechless.

“And another thing, I’ve always hated your cold expression!” Claude added, as if that sealed his case.

Excuse me?

I love my face, thank you very much!

Compared to my past life as an awkward, unattractive, socially inept woman, this face is a gift!

It’s not “cold,” it’s “cool and beautiful.”

This face has done wonders for my confidence and has even helped in my dealings as an acting lord.

“Claude, are you stupid? No, really—are you?”

Percival Mayfield, who happened to be visiting to check on my younger sister, Jessica, muttered this with exasperation.

Percival is the second son of the neighboring Mayfield Viscount family, with whom we collaborate on territorial projects. His family’s townhouse is in the same district as ours in the royal capital.

At this time, Percival was actively courting my sister, Jessica, and their engagement was nearly finalized. Despite some political maneuvering, their relationship was a genuine love match.

Just as it seemed like everything was falling into place for my sisters, Claude decided to stage his ridiculous spectacle.

“Lord Autred, this isn’t a mere cancellation of the engagement but a breach of contract. Pursuing another woman while engaged makes you fully accountable,” I pointed out.

My eldest sister Patricia and her husband, the heir of the Russells Trading Company, were also present.

“An engagement is a contract. Breaching it comes with consequences,” Patricia’s husband added, his tone calm but firm.

Patricia often visited our family home, worried about our younger siblings. Her husband frequently accompanied her, though on this day, they had come to discuss marketing strategies for my projects.

“Only a penniless commoner would act like this,” Claude retorted, his face red with indignation.

Claude spat out his words angrily, but… isn’t the Russells family, my sister’s in-laws, much wealthier than his?

They don’t have a noble title, but they have strong connections with nobles. Does he even realize who he’s talking to?

This is what it must mean to be clueless about the world.

And seriously, yelling about breaking off an engagement when it’s your fault? What a fool.

I’m so glad this engagement was just a verbal agreement between our parents.

We were too busy fixing the Wilcox family’s problems to even hold a formal engagement ceremony.

My brother-in-law, the heir of the Russells Trading Company, looked at me as if asking for my permission.

I gave him a small nod, and he turned to Claude, speaking in a calm but professional tone.

“If this engagement was based on an agreement, it should have been formalized in writing. That way, we wouldn’t have issues like this now.”

“It was a verbal agreement between our parents! There was no need for something like that!” Claude snapped.

“Actually,” my brother-in-law continued smoothly, “a written record of this as a breach of contract would make things clear. That way, the Autred family won’t have to worry about dealing with the Wilcox family in the future.”

Wow. He was completely in business mode.

Honestly, I didn’t want anything to do with Claude or his family ever again.

I kept my face calm and neutral as I stared at him. But Claude, not knowing when to stop, huffed and said,

“You think you’re so great just because you’re pretty, but you have no charm. You’re cold and heartless! Unlike you, Catherine is sweet and adorable—”

Just sign the papers already!

Look, beauty comes in all kinds, okay? Not all flowers are roses!

And why do men like him always think their fiancées are madly in love with them?

Do they expect me to cry, beg, and say, “Please don’t leave me!”?

Honestly, I could do it if he paid me. (Though it’d cost him a fortune—this face doesn’t come cheap!)

Watching a grown man yell and act like this… Is he serious? He looks like he’s enjoying his own drama.

In my past life, people often laughed at me and said, “You’re so funny.” Now I’m the one tempted to say it.

No, I can’t say that out loud. But the thought makes me want to laugh. I have to hold it in.

When I lowered my head to stop myself from laughing, Claude thought I was crying. He seemed to feel satisfied and said smugly,

“Hmph. Even if you try to act sad now, it’s too late. This engagement is over!”

With that, Claude and his new lover stormed out of the Wilcox townhouse, throwing those ridiculous words over their shoulders.

Wait, “too late”? Did you just say “too late”? That’s my line!

Of course, no one heard my internal outburst.

My brother-in-law called over his secretary and instructed him to prepare a document officially voiding the engagement. The papers were sent to the Autred family shortly after.

“We have no intention of dealing with the Autred family again,” my brother-in-law muttered.

With that, the Autred family had made an enemy of one of the most powerful merchant houses in the kingdom.

Still, I couldn’t believe it—an engagement cancellation drama, just like that.

In my past life, I never even had a chance at marriage or romance.

When I was reborn as a beautiful noblewoman, complete with a fiancé, I thought my second life would be like a fairytale.

But to think I could have ended up marrying someone like Claude? No way.

I sighed deeply.

Shortly after this incident, my father, likely overwhelmed by guilt for leaving all this to his daughters, passed away.

A few months later, I officially became the head of the Wilcox Viscount family.