"What?!" shouted Lynn spontaneously as she heard the new plan.

"We have to show them that you are totally unsuitable to be a duchess and since we couldn't show them that with the real Lynn-" he said but didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Excuse me?" She interrupted him, raising an eyebrow in a visibly offended tone, "That's a little offensive, don't you think?"

"That wasn't my intention and if I offended you, I apologize. But we made a deal and you have to make it work, don't you think?" he replied directly, without a moment's hesitation.

Lynn sighed angrily and looked away.

"And how exactly am I supposed to make it work?" she finally asked without turning her head back to him.

"It's simple. Since the real Lynn couldn't get them to dislike her, the fake one will," he paused for a moment and looked at Lynn who was looking at him filled with wonder, "You'll have to pretend. My parents won't think it's weird, they've only seen you once." 

"What will my role be?" 

"Uncultured, clumsy, uncouth, rude village girl."

She turned and looked at him with a smile. She had understood what he meant and she liked the idea very much.

"Can you do it?" he asked.

"Are you kidding me? I can totally do it!"

And in this enthusiastic mood she went to bed that night. The next morning, with the same enthusiasm, she got out of bed and began to prepare for her big "performance."

After washing herself, she put on the same dress she had worn the day before. It was an old dress with worn and wrinkled fabric. She left her hair as it was, completely uncombed and messy.

"I'll do it! It won't be hard at all to play the unsuitable bride!" Lynn said, looking at herself in the mirror and laughing.

Then she started dancing and singing excitedly around the room. 

With the money the Duke is going to give me, I'm going to buy a house, art supplies and open an atelier! I'll finally make my dreams come true and I'll-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and a girl hesitantly entered. She wore a simple, dark maid's uniform and her eyes were lowered, her gaze kind but shy.

"Good morning, miss, I am Sophia. I have been appointed as your personal maid. I hope I will be worthy of my position," she said without making eye contact with Lynn.

Lynn looked her up and down. She was young, perhaps the same age as herself, with red hair tied in a low bun. She was also slender, with soft features and a calm demeanor. A very different kind of girl from herself.

"Sophia, eh?" said Lynn, approaching, "So, Sophia, are you good at keeping secrets?"

Sophia looked up, visibly confused by the unexpected question.

"Uh-uh-yes, I suppose so?" she said hesitantly.

"Great!" Lynn replied, clapping her hands excitedly, "Because you're going to have to keep a very big secret."

"Secret?" Sophia looked shocked and didn't know what to think.

"Yes, a secret you can't tell anyone!" she walked closer to Sophia, "The Duke and I aren’t really engaged!"

Sophia stared at her, dumbfounded, and blinked slowly. She was trying to process what she had just heard from Lynn. When she finally realized what she had said, she rolled her eyes and covered her wide open mouth with her hands.

Lynn laughed at her reaction.

"Don't worry!" Lynn teasingly told her, "It's nothing illegal. It's...uh...a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Sophia looked at her in shock, but tried diligently not to look completely terrified.

"So... you... you're not... in love?" she asked hesitantly, avoiding Lynn's eyes.

"Ha ha ha ha! No! Not even a little bit!" said Lynn laughing loudly, crossing her arms. 

"We have a contract. The Duke doesn't want to get married and his parents are pressuring him, so I'm... doing him the favor of looking like the absolute wrong choice. I intend to shock them so much that they'll never ask him to marry anyone again. Once that happens and they break it up on their own, I get my payment and go back to my quiet life. It’s the perfect plan, right?"

Sophia looked left, right, as if she feared an ear was spying on them. Then, she leaned in slightly and whispered:

"And how...can I help you?"

"I need your support. I hope you'll not only be my friend but my ally as well," Lynn told her, and she blushed immediately.

At the same time as Lynn was laughing with her adorable maid, the door slammed again and Evans entered the room holding his pocket watch. 

"Miss Lynn, the Duke-"

His words were cut off abruptly. His eyes fell on Sophia. The two of them looked at each other but neither spoke. Sophia turned her gaze away while Evans approached Lynn, pulling a piece of paper from his pocket to hand it to her.

Lynn looked at both of them, who were blushing, with a confused smile.

What's going on here? Do they know each other already?