Chapter 1795 - 4 - 6

Chapter 4 (Shall We Marry?)

translated by iseuli

edited by: lili

Please do not take out the translations. I choose not to accept donations or profit for a reason. Thank you for your understanding.

The single reason he required a wife-in-name was because he had a love child (child born out of wedlock). It was common to find illegitimate children among nobles, but the Duke wanted this love child to succeed him.

Xenon was a lenient country toward illegitimate children. As long as the love child was registered into the family registry, no unfair rules could be counted against them. However, in order to register the child, both parents had to agree. According to Lucia's memory, the Duke would not have another child with the wife-in-name. It had been unknown whether they could not make children or they had agreed not to have children, but it was most probably the latter.

"I have not planted any spies within Your Grace's faction of people."

To the Duke, her words were laughable. A spy? A mere 16th princess? If such a thing was true, the people in charge of security would need to pay with their lives first thing in the morning.

"Even if you had planted a spy, it doesn't matter. You may continue."

She was feeling uneasy because she believed he would press her for an explanation for all the wealth of information she had on him. However, his answers were surprisingly calm. Actually, he seemed amused at the moment. She looked at him with strange eyes; he was acting so differently than the last time she had seen him. He was surprisingly very patient and mild tempered. It was true that one could never judge a person's character by meeting them only once. A small hope had sparked in her; maybe she would be able to get her message across to him.

"Ah… yes. Like I was saying… If you wish to let your child succeed you, Your Grace will have to marry."

"Thus. Princess, are you implying I should marry you?"

"…Yes."

He laughed under his breath.

"It's not a secret I have a love child. It's an easily accessible information that could be found with little effort. Unless you're trying to keep that fact a secret?"

"No! I'm not trying to threaten Your Grace. I don't dare to have such thoughts. As I have told you, I'm here to propose a contract. I want to show you the benefits you can obtain by marrying me."

He blankly gazed at Lucia and opened his lips.

"What is it? The benefits will I gain by marrying you, Princess?"

His tone was dry and business-like.

"I have no relatives. There will be no need for Your Grace to concern yourself with these things. My status in the royal family is very low as the 16th princess, so you will not have to burden yourself with an expensive dowry. But since I am a princess, I think it will be more outwardly appealing than a no-name noble from somewhere. Although I assume Your Grace does not care about such small matters. I will never interfere with your private life. You can play to your heart's content, no, you may live your life the same way you have been living all this time. If you wish, we may even set up a time for a divorce somewhere in the future."

He was listening quietly, but his expression was strange.

"Oh, lastly. I will not become a hindrance to Your Grace's child. You see, I am unable to get pregnant."

He let out a long sigh. He had to keep his mouth shut tight because he was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. At present, this expression was the most she had witnessed the Duke display.

"What in the world?"

His expression turned frosty once more.

"Princess, I wish I could go into that brain of yours to see what's inside. Really… no, just get lost. Do you really believe these are benefits to me?"

"…Huh?"

"Let's discuss this one by one. Princess, you will become the Duke of Taran's wife. My power isn't so weak to be easily suppressed by some mere nobles. There is a branch in the government that deals with direct families versus relatives related by marriage, so there is no need for me to stress myself over such things. It would be a different story if they decided to commit treason. Even if that was the case, it's no hard matter settling such an event. As for dowry… I've told you already, but the Taran Dukedom is not poor. There's no reason for us to cut corners for some dowry. Things like appealing to other nobles, I have no need to stress myself over it. In the Taran family tradition, we don't believe in such things as divorce. If you wish to separate yourself from the Taran family, you will only be able to do it after death. No, you probably won't be able to even after your death. Anyway, that is the case. As for my private matters…"

He furrowed his eyebrows like he was suffering a headache.

"I can generally guess with what meaning you've proposed such a thing. However, are you telling me after I marry I should continue to play around with this woman and that woman, stamping my reputation to the dirt?"

"…Huh?"

Lucia's mind blanked out into pure white.

"B…but from what I heard last time…"

"I'm not married at the moment. Nobody cares what an unmarried man does with however many women." His words were considerably reasonable.

"It was immature to think you've got a grasp on someone for such simple reasons." Although he wasn't trying to be sarcastic, his words sparked a chord of anger at Lucia's heart.

"Then, Your Grace, have you made a resolution that you will be faithful to only one woman after your marriage for the rest of your life?"

He could not answer for a moment. Of course that would not be the case. He would not make such a preposterous resolution. Wouldn't it be fine to play around every now and then? However, he could not understand why he was trying to justify himself at the moment.

"That is not something you should concern yourself with, Princess."

"Yes, of course not. But still, you don't deny my words."

"It doesn't matter whether it's the case or not. That's not something a princess should concern herself with."

"Of course it's not. Did I ever complain about it?"

A silence suddenly fell upon the quarreling duo. Lucia took hold of her senses that had flown off very far away, and shut her mouth politely. She had said some pointless things. Lucia, who had been worked up just a while ago, turned sullen. If there was nothing he could gain from this marriage, then there would be no reason to settle this contract.

"Then… How about the problem concerning your child succeeding you? Is there no benefit that I'm unable to get pregnant?" Wasn't it a grave problem that a woman couldn't bear children? He fell into confusion at her tone; it seemed like she was asking which dress color looked better at a dress shop.

"It's true that I wish this child to succeed me. It will become a slight pain if my wife were to bear a son, but…. I don't owe you any explanations regarding this point. Anyway, there is nothing to be gained regarding this problem. Also, is there a way you can prove that you cannot bear a child?"

"…No."

Even if she were to get a diagnosis from a doctor, they would not be able to give a 100 percent confirmation. If she were to get pregnant, that doctor would have given a false diagnosis and he would need to pay for it with his life.

"If you cannot prove it, then you cannot list it as one of the benefits."

"Hhaa…"

Lucia let out a heavy sigh. Everything she had prepared had been used up. Then in her dream, for what reason had he married that woman? There must have been a certain condition that they had agreed on. Could it be possible that the rumors of a contract marriage had all been a sham and they had both been madly in love with each other? Lucia, who had fallen into despair, suddenly thought of one thing and lifted her head.

"Then. How about this? I will not fall in love with Your Grace."

"…What?"

"I will make sure to never love you. I keep my heart to myself."

He suddenly burst out in roaring laughter. Lucia looked toward him with an empty gaze. It was the first time she had seen him laughing out loud. So he was a human being who could laugh like this as well. She thought how foolish she was to think that he would have never laughed before.

"From all the benefits, I like this one the most."

How amusing. This woman was truly amusing.

"Fine. Let us consider that your merit. Then, Princess, you're fine with me playing around with women, and it's also alright to settle this marriage with a divorce. But Princess, what do you get out of this?"

"I'm fine… with just obtaining the title of the Duke's wife."

"I will not allow a life of luxury just because of that. Also, I will not allow you to use the Dukedom's name in order to settle your petty personal power struggles."

"I don't wish for any such things. It's just… I have already told you I am the 16th princess. His Majesty does not even know of my existence as he lives his life."

He did not try to comfort her with words like 'that's not true'. Instead, a smile spread upon his lips.

"A princess must be prepared to be sold at a moment's notice for the Kingdom's sake. When a suitable dowry is offered, the kingdom will not bat an eye to sell me off to any place under the Heavens. It won't matter how old he is or how many times he had married; it won't matter how bad his reputation is. Your Grace, at least you are young and unmarried. Before the Kingdom sells me off… I wanted to sell myself. Then at least I would have chosen the position for myself. No matter what happens to me, I won't feel victimized."

Her eyes seemed like they were crying so sadly. He was not someone to easily empathize with others. He wouldn't concern himself over others regardless of their situation. Her proposal didn't have a plan or foundation of any sort; he didn't have an ounce of trust in it. Even so, this was the first time since he was born that he had felt so amused.

"Then it's time I have to leave. I've been under your care, I apologize for all my rudeness. Please forgive me."

Lucia stood up and bowed her head. Once she lifted her head, her expression looked refreshed. She had done her best to fight against her own fate. Whether everything sailed smoothly was up to the heavens now. She had done all she could.

"I will think about it."

Lucia's eyes opened wide.

"I cannot give you my definite answer yet. As you've put it, Princess, this is a contract that can change a life."

"Ah…"

It was hard to believe. It felt like a dream.

"I only agreed to think about it. I haven't agreed to do it yet."

"Ah… I understand."

"Your expression looked like you were proud to accomplish something great, so I was just confirming your understanding."

Lucia frowned slightly and pouted her lips. Was he teasing her? Anger started rising inside her chest out of nowhere. Other than his outer appearance, there wasn't a single thing about him that she liked.

"Then, first…"

When he stood up and reached his hands toward her, Lucia stood dazed without any reaction. He grasped her chin with his big hand and mashed his lips against hers. Up until that point, Lucia had no idea what was going on. A hot piece of flesh invaded her lips and touched the deeper parts of her mouth. She tightly closed her eyes. Her hands were gripped into a tight fist to the point that they were shaking.

The sudden deep kiss didn't last long. His tongue lightly grazed inside her mouth before he parted from her trembling lips. Upon seeing her flushed red face, he laughed.

"I was just confirming."

"What…for…?"

"At least we should not feel any rejection toward physical contact as a married couple. Thankfully, that's not the case for us."

"Oh… I see…"

"Please wait a moment. I shall prepare a carriage to escort you back to the royal palace gates."

He turned around and left, while Lucia plopped down onto the sofa. She massaged her burning cheeks with her hands. As a married couple, of course there would be times when such moments would be required. The physical contact from a moment ago was something so matter-of-factly. However, Lucia held both her hands into fists and began hitting herself.

"You idiot. You're really a hopeless idiot."

It really was unbelievable, but Lucia had thought nothing further than the word 'marriage'. She really had no further thoughts on the status of a husband and wife. 'Even married, he will have a lover of his own,' she had assumed. She couldn't see it any other way. She didn't think that she would have to sleep on the same bed as him at all.

"… I won't be able to get advice on this from anyone."

She fumbled around thinking of her humiliating immature senselessness.

***

For a change, a problem had arisen that required some thinking for him.

"Marriage…"

He was currently 23. He was already at his optimal age for marriage. Even so, he didn't have any thoughts of getting married. Aside from marriage, he already had more than enough problems to settle. He didn't want to waste his time on such an annoying thing like a wife. In the first place, he didn't want to deal with a wedding. He was never in short supply of women.

But if he wanted to let his son succeed him, he had to get married. The only people who could inherit his position were those, who were in his family registry. It didn't matter whether the Duke would be separated by death or divorced, he had to get married to officially adopt his son into the family registry. According to Xenon's law, single men were not allowed to adopt children or officially admit them into the family registry.

The brat was still young. Such a thing like a wedding was not urgent. But someday, he would need to go through it. He would need to find an understanding woman who would agree to let the brat register into the family. With that point in mind, the princess that had come searching for him was quite appealing.

"Freedom in my own private life, you say? That is a nice addition."

He burst out laughing. He had shown the princess a cold reaction, but these factors were all very appealing. He had teased her with a kiss and he laughed once more thinking of her flushed face. She was indeed cute. It was a refreshing change of pace.

However, there were too many doubtful aspects. He had to confirm whether she was truly a princess. He had to figure out who the real mastermind was. What was her goal with this proposal? He had assumed everything she had said today was a lie.

He assumed the worst of situations when he felt any ounce of suspicion. It was his motto in life.

"Your Grace, this is Jerome."

As soon as he replied, 'come in,' his faithful butler walked in.

"I'm at a loss for words, Your Grace. I will make sure an event like today's will never happen again in the future."

"It's not your fault. Even so, you can't hawk over Roy every second of your life."

"I will do so from now on."

Jerome never expected he would cause such a huge accident in the short amount of time he was gone. How could he leave His Grace alone with another person of mysterious background?! Jerome was cautious not to cause any trouble for His Grace, while carefully treading on thin ice in the capital. At the moment, it felt like someone had whacked him in the back of his head very hard; an uncontrollable amount of anger was rising inside his chest. Jerome gritted his teeth while flaring all his anger toward Roy.

"Order Fabian to report to me as soon as he arrives."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Hugo decided he would dig up everything he could about this princess.

***

Late into the night, Jerome greeted Fabian, who arrived in the Duke's mansion. Fabian was the Duke of Taran's personal aide. Fabian tried his best to avoid work outside his regular hours no matter how busy things got. If it wasn't such an urgent business, he would not have made the trip there this late into the night.

"What happened?"

Fabian patted his brother's, Jerome's shoulder, whose face looked as stiff as a rock. They were twins born from the same mother on the same day, but they looked nothing alike, other than their midnight blue eyes. Those who find out were all shocked by the fact.

"It's not such a serious case, so relax a bit. It's just that His Grace has been greatly curious on this topic for a while now. Tomorrow is my day off, so I decided to drop by tonight. Is he still awake?"

"He's not in."

"What's this? Did he leave for a night trip? Now that I'm here, everyone's already gone. Of course that would be the case for me. There's no helping it. Ah, please don't tell His Grace that I've dropped by. Tomorrow is my day off, so I don't want him to call me over."

Fabian was an earnest subordinate, but he was always half a step short due to his laziness. Jerome clicked his tongue, but he didn't rebut him as he had trust in Fabian. If his job was urgent, he would've made sure to finish it as soon as possible. Fabian turned around to leave but suddenly stopped.

"Where did he go?"

Jerome hesitated for a moment.

"Countess Falcon place."

"Falcon… Falcon… Who was…what? He still goes to visit her?"

"Lower your voice. Everyone is sleeping."

"That's not the problem! What are you doing?"

"…What should I be doing? I don't have any qualifications to care who he sleeps with."

"Why shouldn't you care? Three of her husbands died! She's most definitely a cursed woman!"

"…Are you a kid? A curse? Is there such a thing?"

"How are things going with Baron Lawrence's daughter?"

"I've already sent her the roses according to His Grace's wishes."

"Why didn't you tell me anything? If I knew ahead of time…"

"What could you have done? Were you planning to let women into his bedroom? Don't overstep your boundaries, you'll lose your life. Do you know how many necks you have on you?"

"Ah, seriously."

Fabian's whole body shook with frustration as he furiously scratched his head.

"Why do you get so sensitive whenever you hear that woman's name?"

"I already told you. That woman is a witch. There shouldn't be such an unlucky woman sticking so close to His Grace. He has maintained a relationship with that woman for over a year already. He has never acted this way with any of his other women. There's no mistake about it. His Grace has already fallen for her!"

"…I guarantee if you say such words in front of His Grace, you will lose your life."

"I know! That's why I've been quiet all this time!"

The direction of this guy's loyalty had strayed off to a sour direction, Jerome thought. Although Jerome didn't loathe the situation as much as Fabian, he didn't feel very comfortable about that relationship, either. All of her husbands had died a year following their marriage due to unknown causes. They were perfectly healthy yet suddenly an accident would fall upon them. Thus, everyone in high society believed that she was cursed.

Also, the relationship between Countess Falcon and The Duke was different from the others. He would maintain sexual relations with Countess Falcon even while dating other women. He didn't send her expensive gifts like he usually did. Even so, their ties remained strong. Now, it had been over a year.

Three months ago, he had broken up with Baron Lawrence's daughter. So now, Countess Falcon was his sole bedside partner. If Fabian knew of this fact, he would be jumping around even more enraged than now, so Jerome kept it to himself.

"I'm going."

"What are you going to do?"

Jerome took hold of Fabian. He had a bad feeling Fabian wouldn't be quietly going home.

"I'm going to report my findings to the Duke."

He wanted to force himself between the two no matter what. He received orders to do a background search on a princess a month ago. He didn't understand why the Duke required such extensive research on this princess, but in any case, she was a girl. He planned to use his report to resist the witch.

The Duke hadn't relayed any particular words to him while giving out the job, but he had asked about the progress two times already. It meant he was very interested in the report.

"You stay here. I'll be back."

"…You will go?"

"I will go and tell him that you have something important to report to him. If he is willing to return home, I will bring him here. If he wants to listen to it later, you go home quietly. How does that sound?"

"…Fine. Tell him it's the report that he has pressed me about many times already."

"I got it."

Nine cases out of ten, he would decide to return home. If the Duke decided to listen to the report later, he would put some serious thought into the current situation. But those odds were slim. As Fabian stated, they had maintained a relationship for a long time. Before the Countess, there were no other cases like hers. But just for this small reason, he didn't believe the Duke loved her in any way.

The Duke was a cold and heartless person. There had to be a reason why the Duke went to find the Countess, but that reason would not be an emotional one. That was why Jerome didn't worry for the Duke like Fabian did.

***

On top of a wide bed, a man was slightly sitting up with a big cushion to his back, while he was reading some documents. On top of the man, a nude woman held his wide chest while she moved her hips.

"Ha…eung…ah… How is it?"

She seductively moaned while moving her hips and taking in his hard penis, but the man's face, who was looking over some documents, remained unchanged.

"Useful."

"Un…yes. You're…too much. It took me…two months…to make it…"

Anita scowled at the man's calm assessment, but he had not said it was 'trash', so it could be considered a compliment. Anita's head jerked back as she continued to move her hips up and down. Whenever his hard length dug into her deepest parts, she let out a sharp yelp.

"How…is it?"

"It's useful."

"I'm…talking about that."

He threw the documents to the floor and laughed. He squeezed her buttocks with his huge hands making her insides squeeze his length.

"This is useful too."

"Yes…ah…. You're…too stingy with your scores. Don't…think that I never judge you either…"

"How is my score?"

"You're…useful. Too."

"Hmm."

He smirked and took hold of her hips as he got up. The woman laid on the bed while he rode on top of her. He began thrusting his hips into her with great strength. As their flesh smashed together, loud slapping sounds filled the room while the woman screamed.

"Huuk! Aah! Aak!!"

The smooth female body clung onto him. He didn't let the screaming female rest as he continued to thrust nonstop. He didn't stop until the woman said she felt like dying. It was always the female who would raise the white flag to concede her loss.

The smouldering air remained hot around the whole bedroom. Anita giggled, snuggling into his wide chest with a satisfied smile.

She could feel the battle scars under those firm muscles of his. His appearance was hypnotizing; his experienced kisses and fondling technique made her burn with heat. He could easily last the whole night with his insanely strong endurance. There wasn't a single flaw about him. She had met many men, but he stood out from the rest.

At first, she had been charmed by his background. He was the ruler of the North, the Duke of Taran. When would she ever get the chance to sleep with such a man? She had thought that way at first, but his identity was no longer important now. She was rather very frustrated by his high status in society.

Anita already knew he had ended his relationship with Sofia. When she bumped into Sofia at the Victory Ball, Sofia had glared at her like she was her mortal enemy, and she guessed the situation. Anita felt no enmity toward Sofia. Ironically, she felt pity that Sofia had turned into one of his past females. Anita anticipated that maybe Sofia would be able to gain his heart. Anita's mind was split in two – she wished that he would fall in love with another female, but at the same time, she didn't want it to happen.

The Duke of Taran wasn't a famous playboy among high society. Unexpectedly, people did not know of his harem of females. He almost never maintained a relationship with those holding power. Sofia had been a rare case, where they had met through friends.

Sofia was a well-known woman, but she did not hold much power. The Baron of Lawrence did not have a strong family background, either. In other words, she was someone he could play around with and throw away whenever he wanted. Anita understood he always calculated to this extent.

Those, who had shared a sexual relationship with the Duke, never ended up in a happy marriage. Anita could understand the reason now. He was very good at sex. He could send a woman to heaven many times over on the same night. After having a taste of it once, no other man would be able to satisfy them.

Most would approach him being charmed by his power and high status, but as time passed, they would all fall for the man as a whole. Thus, women would continue to cling and obsess over him. In the end though, they would all be trashed.

He was like an icy cold fire. He may give a woman his body, but he would not give her even a little shard of his heart. When had it started? In the beginning, Anita had intended to enjoy the bodily pleasures, by the time she realized, she had already given him her heart. But as soon as she revealed her heart, he would throw her away like all the other women before her.

Therefore, Anita never revealed her own heart. She behaved like she needed him for material needs; it would remain as a give and take relationship. She never asked when she could see him again. She never contacted him first. That was how she could last over a year.

"You'll sign a contract with me, right?"

Anita ran a merchant group. From time to time, he would tip her off and she would have fun investing here and there. Now, her merchant group had grown to a bigger scale and she had drawn up a contract, so he could become one of the investors. She behaved as if she needed him for her merchant group. In reality, she did have thoughts of profiting through him.

"I will review it."

"What is this? I revealed all the core secrets of my merchant group! Must I offer more good will than this?" Anita slid her hands down his chest and rubbed his hips. She smoothly moved her hands toward his center and took hold of it.

"Aren't I the one showing good will?"

"Oh my. How could you be so confident?"

Due to Anita stimulating him, his manhood began to stiffen once more. She brought herself to his chest and sucked his nipples. She licked around the nipples as she massaged his hard length.

"Can you insert it back there?"

When he raised his body, Anita hurriedly raised her butt. His hand pressed against her back as he drove deeply into her.

"Haa…. Ung…"

He entered and pulled out vigorously, while she licked her own lips imagining what was to come. Right then, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

"Madam, I have an urgent message for you."

The voice from behind the door trembled. Anita gritted her teeth. Who dared to interrupt her precious time together with him? She had to whip her and chase her out first thing in the morning.

"I've informed you not to interrupt our time! Be gone!"

"The guest is looking for His Grace. He has requested an audience for some urgent business."

A guest of the Duke? Anita looked at him with shocked eyes. She hoped he would reject this person, but after a brief moment of thought, he slid out of her. Anita yelped shortly from the momentary stimulation.

"Enter."

Anita hid her disappointment and looked outside.

"Show him in."

A moment later, a man opened the door and entered. The woman was dressed in a see-through gown, her chest in plain view as she lay in bed. Behind her, the Duke sat with his chest exposed. Jerome observed all this with a bored expression without blinking an eye, then bowed his head.

"Your Grace, I apologize for interrupting your time off."

"What is it?"

"Fabian is waiting for you in the mansion with the report that Your Grace has requested. I am here to ask Your Grace's opinion on the job you have inquired after many times before."

"I understand. I'll leave, so wait for me."

Jerome left and Hugo got up from bed, while Anita's face paled.

"You're…leaving?"

"Where are my clothes?"

Her heart felt like it was being torn. She wanted to hold him back. She wanted to ask him to stay. Would the sky fall if he listened to the report tomorrow? He did not hesitate to return to work one bit. But she could not hold him back. If she clung onto him, he would push her away. Then, he would never come here again. He had frequented her home many times and her heart had unknowingly grown confident.

She wanted this man. She wanted this man so bad. Although it was her own wishful thinking, it felt like all her blood was drying up inside her.

"Are you still leaving when our bodies are aroused to this state?"

She smothered her large breasts onto him. His eyes did not shake upon her coquettishly seductive technique. He wore a light smile and lightly kissed her lips.

"Order them to bring me my clothes."

Anita pouted her red lips. Still, she ordered her maids to bring his clothes, that had been neatly stored away. Anita personally assisted him while he dressed. She purposely touched him in certain places while fondling others.

"That's enough."

Upon his words, Anita recoiled in fright. He was looking down at her with such icy cold eyes. Usually, when Anita seduced other men that way, they would hastily undress and throw themselves on her. How could he cool down his body so fast? It seemed like his passion from before was a lie. Anita bit her lips with a bitter heart. She didn't want the man to leave her life forever.

"You're all done."

Anita took two steps back and appreciated his appearance with a happy heart. His tall stature and proportionate body were accentuated by his clothes. Anita loved his body equally to his face. Just watching him made her feel delighted.

"I won't be home for the next 10 days."

Anita said with a conceited tone. If one were to try and tie such a man down, he would escape faster. Sometimes, one had to put some distance like this. Her response was a petty revenge for the man who left her with a cold shoulder. But she quickly regretted her petty behavior. He laughed quietly like he could see right through her.

Anita followed him out to her bedroom door. She never followed him out of her estate. When he came to visit her, she never met him by the door. It might have just been an action to protect her own pride.

After a while of standing in the darkness, Anita slowly made her way out to her balcony. His carriage was already a distance away. Even after the carriage had long disappeared, she stood motionlessly gazing in the distance.

Chapter 5

Shall We Marry? (3)

translated: iseuli

edited: lili

"That's it?"

Hugo asked as he flipped through Fabian's report, that consisted of only a few pages. It had been a month since the Duke had ordered him to investigate the princess. No other investigation had taken that long. He had come all this way in the dead of night; for all the effort he had gone through, he was very disappointed.

"There was barely anything to be investigated, so I was exercising my precaution. I'm sorry for not meeting your expectations."

It was the first time Fabian had felt the limit of his own skills. It wasn't the first time he did a background check on someone, but this time around, no matter how much he dug around, it was all for naught. She had been hidden away deep inside the royal palace, so it wasn't easy to interact with her in the first place. Nobody knew about any Princess Vivian, so there wasn't a starting point for his investigation.

Hugo no longer reprimanded Fabian. He understood Fabian's skills well. He wasn't a subordinate who would do a mediocre job, then make up excuses to hide his shortcomings.

The princess had grown up as a commoner until she was 12. Afterwards, she had entered the royal palace. On the surface, she had never left the royal palace since, neither had she made a debut among those of high society. However, once a week she would pretend to be a palace maid and leave for an errand. That was the information Fabian had collected this whole time.

'Since she's never made a formal debut in high society, how was she able to act so naturally during the Victory Ball?'

She had not made a name for herself in the Victory Ball, but it wasn't a place any normal person could easily take on. She didn't stand out in the party; at the same time, she did not make any mistakes or cause trouble for herself either.

"She wrote a permission slip of leave for herself and left just like that? Since when had it been that easy to escape the royal palace's security?"

"The palace gate guards know her as a maid. There are too many royal children in the palace, so the amount of maids that enter and leave are too many to keep track of. They simply check whether they are taking anything out of the palace and that's about it."

He had wondered what she was doing each week, but she always went to the same place. She was going to a famous female novelist's house every week. The female novelist lived a hermit's life as well, and knew only one other person – the house maid.

"And I assume she has gotten the brat's information from her?"

The existence of his son, Demian, was not a top secret, but it was not something a mere princess could come to know on a whim. Hugo had been suspicious over how the princess had come to know of it, thus he'd ordered the investigation.

"She is a famous author. It's known through her novels that she understands high society very well. It seems she has some kind of connections with an informant, who delivers all the latest rumors of high society. I have not been able to confirm the identity of this person, but if you wish, I shall continue my investigations."

"That's fine. It's not important. In the end, what I wanted to confirm was whether she's really a princess or not."

Most of the report was made by speculations. She was a princess with nothing to her name, but at the same time, everything about her was unclear. He skimmed through the pitiful report once more.

"Why are there no maids residing with her?"

"There had been many palace maids that had worked by her side… But most of them left or were reassigned after a few days for an unknown reason."

"Are you sure there isn't anyone pulling any strings behind the scenes?"

"There's no mistake. I've investigated high and low, but she has no connections with any factions within the royal palace."

There was no way to get a more thorough report than this. Hugo was lost in thoughts for a moment. It didn't take him too long to make his decision. He had gone about this like any of his other responsibilities, in a quick and orderly manner.

"Since she leaves the palace the same time every week, she will probably leave tomorrow. Bring her here."

"Huh…? Tomorrow…?"

It was his day off tomorrow.

"Is there a problem?"

"…No. Your Grace."

His stubbornness had resulted in karma taking away his day off. Fabian gritted his teeth, absolutely certain that this was also a part of that witch's curse.

***

Please do not take out the translations outside of Sleepy Korean Translations. I choose not to accept donations or profit for a reason. Thank you for your understanding.

"How did that thing go?"

Norman quietly inquired while peeking at Lucia.

"What thing?"

"The thing about the two paths you asked about last week. Wasn't it about you? I don't know the details very well, but is it something that's difficult to talk to me about?"

"…Yes, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Everyone has a secret or two. There are times when you must keep a secret from your loved ones and family. It just seemed like you were struggling with something… I just wanted to know if you were okay."

Norman's job was to understand other people's emotions and thoughts. She could see into others easily with great accuracy. Although Ms. Phil always had a sour expression, Norman had no trouble understanding her; whereas Lucia, no matter how many times she met Ms. Phil, she couldn't see anything past that sour expression.

"Your words from last time helped me a lot. I decided to take the gamble. Currently, I'm waiting for the results."

"I see. If you hear good news, you must tell me."

"Yes, I promise to do so. But Norman, these days, sometimes my heart doesn't feel like my own heart. The person that is related to me… I will tell you the current situation. It's my father."

Including the time she'd met her father at 12, adding to it the event in her dream, she had only met him twice. Her father was but a mystery to her.

"My father neglects me. He doesn't starve me to death, and feeds me well. However, I've only met him once when I was 12 and that was it. All this time I never thought much of it. I thought it wouldn't matter because it's no different than having no father at all."

One year. Only one year was left. After one year, the Emperor would die.

"I've always thought that person had nothing to do with me. But these days I can't help but feel endless loathing for him… Or something similar to that."

She wanted to enter the inner palace where the Emperor resided and say to his face, 'You will die soon.' She kept feeling the atrocious desire to see his face contort.

She was but one of his many children. It was not like she was born out of love. If only he had shown a little bit of care, she would not have been sold off into such a marriage.

"I feel like if that person dies, I will feel very gratified. Even though he is my father… I really shouldn't be thinking this way, right?"

"What are you talking about? You call that kind of person a father?"

Norman gazed at Lucia with calm and sad eyes.

"It's okay to hate him. It's okay to pour a cup of water and curse him away(1). As long as the pain in your heart goes away, that's fine. As long as that feeling doesn't eat away at your heart, it's okay to hate that person."

Lucia's eyes gradually grew red. It was all Norman's fault. She had never known affection in her life. A total stranger like Norman had showed so much affection and care to Lucia, she couldn't help but compare Norman with her father. Through Norman's care and friendship, the seed of hate for her father had grown. Norman carefully sat next to Lucia and embraced her tight with both arms.

"Lucia. You always act older than you really are. Life is short. Even when you live your life doing what you want, you won't be able to do everything. As long as it's not killing someone, don't hold yourself back, but do everything you want. This is my advice as your senior in life."

Lucia burst out laughing. Technically, Lucia was Norman's senior in life. Lucia opened her arms and hugged Norman. Although Norman was very skinny, her embrace felt cozy and snug. Lucia felt happier in this life than in the life within her dream. Just by getting to know Norman, Lucia believed she had succeeded in her second life.

***

Please do not take out the translations outside of Sleepy Korean Translations. I choose not to accept donations or profit for a reason. Thank you for your understanding.

She was making her way back to the royal palace. A man casually blocked the road in front of her. He was a young man with dark brown hair. Bowing his head towards Lucia, he handed her a white envelope.

She hesitated for a moment before she received it. Inside, the envelope was empty. But on the front side, there was a black lion emblem.

At this point, he would have finished his investigation of her. It wasn't surprising they figured out her regular schedule of leaving the palace.

"I've come to escort you."

She could recognize who this person was due to his cold midnight blue eyes from her dream.

'Fabian.'

He was the Duke of Taran's personal aide. There were only a few powerful nobles sitting together at the center of power within the Dukedom of Taran. The Duke limited the power of everyone around him and disallowed any room for concession. Roy Krotin was among the top well-known nobles of the Taran Dukedom, and just below him was Fabian.

He managed all of the Duke's daily tasks; he was the highest ranked secretary and aide. There was a widespread rumor that Fabian held the responsibilities for accepting or rejecting social party invitations. Therefore, no matter how high and mighty a noble might be, they would bow down and prostrate themselves in front of Fabian.

"Right…now?"

"Our Lord has requested a more in-depth discussion than last time's. You may reject this invitation, I will return alone."

Lucia looked over to the two people waiting for her by a carriage. The carriage didn't have a single window nor the duke's emblem. If Lucia were to get onto this carriage and disappear, nobody would be able to find out that she had been done in by the Duke of Taran.

'How thorough. I'm a little scared.'

Lucia stepped into the carriage without another word. The carriage took off and a short while later, it stopped. Someone opened the door from outside. Lucia recognized that it was the Duke of Taran's mansion. She had been there only once, but she could recognize some familiar landmarks.

"Please come this way."

A different man with the exact same midnight blue eyes as Fabian escorted Lucia into the mansion.

While Lucia waited in the receiving room, Fabian went to knock on his Lord's door.

"We've escorted her here."

"Is she alone?"

"Yes."

"Did she follow peacefully?"

"Yes."

Hugo chuckled. She was a humorous lady. She looked like an uncommon person from the moment she welcomed herself to the Duke's home on her own; today as well, nobody would know the fact that she had been escorted to the Duke's home. She seemed to have no fear as to what could happen to her.

Hugo was supporting his chin with one hand while drumming his desk with the other. The marriage with her had perked his interest, but he was not desperate to get married at the moment. Although he had ordered a thorough investigation, there remained many mysteries about that woman. She didn't seem too suspicious, but that didn't mean he could easily overlook this fact. At the same time, it wasn't much of a problem. He never put his trust in anyone in the first place.

It didn't change the fact that he had to get married. Whether he got married now or later didn't change anything. It wouldn't matter who that person was. Therefore, Hugo tossed a coin. If she rode the carriage and arrived at his home, it would be heads. If she rejected, that would mean tails. He preferred heads. He had decided on his life changing decision that way.

Currently, Lucia was enjoying the crackers and tea that were served by the man who had escorted her here. The tea was very fragrant and the crackers were seriously delicious. Lucia thought she would be able to live a happy life if she had just these two things.

"You are a very good cook. These are the most delicious things I've tasted in my life."

Following Lucia's compliment, the man momentarily paused before answering.

"I'm glad they suit your taste."

She had already finished half of the crackers he'd served very happily; Jerome looked at Lucia thinking she was a unique young miss.

He had served many guests before, but it was the first time he met someone as relaxed as her. Generally, they would be too nervous to touch the food and barely sipped the tea. If he knew she was a princess, he would have been even more surprised.

While Lucia was happily stuffing her mouth with crackers, the receiving room's door suddenly opened. She quickly stood up when she noticed it was the Duke of Taran. He greeted Lucia with his usual frosty expression and took a seat directly in front of her. He waved his hand and Jerome nodded, seeing himself out of the room. Now, only two people remained in this wide receiving room.

"Please have a seat."

Lucia plopped herself down in shock. Her mouth was stuffed to the brim with crackers at the moment. She had no way of spitting them out, so she started chewing them as fast as she could. She had swallowed too quickly and felt herself choke, so she started chugging down her tea. He waited quietly without a word, but that made her even more embarrassed, causing her face to flush.

When she finished ingesting the crackers, he placed a huge envelope onto the table and pushed it to her side. He nodded his head, signaling her to look inside. She did so and took out some documents. She pushed down her embarrassed feelings and calmly read over the documents.

'She should be 18 now.'

Her physical appearance fit her age, but at times she seemed much more mature than her age. It was true that those from the royal family and high society matured quickly, but there was something different about her.

Hugo began truly inspecting the young miss for the first time. Before, he had simply confirmed her physical traits like her hair color and general face structure. This time, he took his time inspecting her as a woman.

She wasn't ugly, but she wasn't an impeccable beauty either. The only thing that stood out was her eye color. At first glance, it seems golden, but it looked more like an orange pumpkin colored jewel.

But that was it. Her looks or body did not entice him at all. It was probably for this reason that he agreed to take her as his wife.

Inside the envelope were two documents. A parental custody waiver and a family registry agreement. Those were the two most precious documents for a female. Usually women had no knowledge of the law, but they were educated on those two things to the last dot. Including divorce papers, they were never to sign those things so easily. Those documents symbolized all the power a woman held.

"As per Princess' request, these are the two documents that you must sign."

"…This is it? How about the other things we've talked about last time…?"

"Other than these two, there is nothing else we can officially document."

"Really? Do you not need freedom in your personal life? Will it be okay to cling onto you and love you?"

She had her eyes opened wide while asking these questions like an ignorant child, and he instantly felt a grand amount of stress build up inside his chest. He abhorred nonsense conversations or lame jokes. He hated it when people tested out the waters uselessly. He had no thoughts to leave any loopholes in this contract.

"Then I shall add those two as well as a verbal contract."

Unexpectedly, she wasn't shocked by his words at all. She nodded while in serious thought and held a pen to sign the documents, inversely shocking him.

"Hold on. What are you doing right now?"

"You told me to sign it…"

"I've told you my conditions of the contract, so you must have your conditions as well, don't you?"

"It's okay to add my own conditions as well?"

"Of course. A contract only beneficial to one side cannot be established in the first place."

He wanted a contract, not to swindle someone. Lucia fell in deep thought. She'd never thought of this at all. Her only goal was to marry him. Since he offered, she didn't want to reject. It would be too wasteful.

"Do you need time? Just for your information, if this contract isn't completed today, everything will be canceled."

"Why?

"Whether this will be a profiting contract is not for certain and there are too many variables."

He had to reorganize everything to meet the princess again and reschedule everything in his life around her; it was just too troublesome. This marriage agreement was on a whim. One never knew how his feelings might change tomorrow.

"Is it okay if I ask you one thing? Why do you hate a woman's love?"

He gazed at her without word and Lucia wondered if she'd stepped on a painful memory, while returning a meek gaze.

"Did I…ask something you didn't want to talk about?"

"It's the first time a woman has asked me such a question and I just found it interesting. I don't hate it. Usually, women hope for their love to be returned. I am unable to do so, thus I told them not to love me."

What painful memory? He was just egotistical to the bones. If the women didn't expect their love to be returned, then that meant it would be okay to love him one-sidedly. He should try and suffer a love that would make him cry out in blood.

To her regret, she did not have such skills. It seemed impossible to change his way of thinking. He was a man who had the whole world in his hands.

"I thought of something."

"There's a blank document you may use to write the conditions for this marriage."

"That's fine. I don't need documentation. All I need is your promise with the Duke's honor on the line.

He feigned a laugh.

"The Duke's honor, you say? That's a level higher than something like documentation. So what are your conditions?"

"There are only two conditions. First, please promise me you will not abuse me physically or mentally. I am not saying this to insult Your Grace at all, please don't misunderstand."

Because of the memories inside her dream, Lucia wanted a safety wall to protect herself.

His facial expression as he had been looking at Lucia all this time, turned a great degree uglier. Did she believe that he was a man who would physically hurt and insult his own woman? It felt a bit unpleasant, but she stated she wasn't trying to insult him, so he decided to believe her. It was a simple condition of the contract after all.

"How about the second?"

"Secondly… I will do my best. However, sometimes humans are unable to control their hearts. Maybe it is easy for Your Grace. If you believe that I am unable to control my heart, please give me a rose."

What in the world… It was impossible to know what this woman was thinking. Hugo thought once more that he really wanted to pry open her mind to see what was inside. He could understand that she had never formed a contract with another party before.

This was clearly a contract intended to benefit both parties. Up until now, he had only agreed to contracts that were beneficial to himself. It had always been that way. He had the upper hand in this contract. But it was not because of his negotiating skills, but because the person in front of him was too immature to notice this.

It would be her own fault if she signed a contract that would be beneficial unilaterally. He had no reason to become her adviser nor a morally righteous person. It was not anyone's obligation to be morally right. He had thought so his whole life.

But he had at least a little bit of conscience while dealing with her. He decided to advise her on this unilaterally beneficial contract.

"Why don't you decide on some more realistic conditions? Princess, you're not aware of the price of these documents."

Usually, when a man asked his wife to sign a parental custody waiver and a family registry agreement, a grand amount of money would need to change hands.

"I am aware. These two documents are expected to be priced very high."

"…That is so."

"I will be the Duke's wife, so all my life necessities will be taken care of. Other than life necessities, I have no need for other things."

For the words 'life necessities' to come out of a princess's mouth was refreshing but shocking.

"The first condition…fine. But what is the purpose of the second condition?"

"To me, there is a purpose. In life, there are many times when things you cannot touch become much more important than any materialistic things. Though that doesn't mean I dislike materialistic things; I'm not taking money lightly. Money, of course it is important. We all need money. Without money, living becomes very hard. But as long as one has enough money to get by, there is no difference between the people that have a little more and those that have less."

He feigned a laugh.

"You talk like you've already lived a lifetime. Princess, this is my conjecture based on your age and experience, but that's not possible, so where did you learn this rubbish philosophy?"

Lucia jumped upon hearing, 'like you've already lived a lifetime'.

"It's fine to call it rubbish philosophy. Anyway, these are my conditions. I believe these are not too difficult."

Not too difficult? They were ridiculously simple. No matter from which angle, this contract was unilaterally beneficial.

"…Fine. I understand Princess' conditions and I agree to them."

Lucia had been nervous and had held her breath. She let out a long sigh of relief. She immediately signed the two documents in front of her and slid them back to him. He looked over them quickly and put them away.

"With this, our engagement has been completed. If you wish an authorized…"

"No. I don't need them. Um, I got it. I will assume that we are now engaged."

The word 'engagement' seemed too grand. Lucia felt strange.

'Then…now I am… Duke Hugo Taran's fiancée.'

It was not like they were married yet, but it was doubtful that he would break the engagement. She had made it through to the end, although the success rate was very low. Her deeply moved emotions showed plainly on her face. Hugo, who had been watching her, wondered, 'Is she the type to obsess over honor?'

(t/n: Hugo had been talking in polite form all this time. Suddenly at this point, he drops any polite forms of speech)

"The sun is down, you should return. You didn't obtain a two day permission slip, did you?"

Was it her own imagination? His speech pattern…

"Slipping out by pretending to be a maid. Don't think of doing something as cute in the future."

…It was not her imagination.

"Why are you suddenly…"

'…Talking down to me?' was too straightforward. Then how about 'talking so rudely'? He seemed to have read her mind before she spoke out, and relaxed his back on the sofa.

"With my woman, I don't speak formally nor with honorifics."

Lucia's face flushed.

"…When did I ever become Your Grace's…woman?"

"Ever since you were promoted as my fiancée."

"But we haven't married yet! Before marriage, anything could happen!"

"Don't you understand the definition of an engagement? In the Taran family's tradition there is no such thing as a divorce. Of course, that means there is no such thing as a broken engagement, either."

If his retainers were around to hear this conversation, they would have wondered whether there was such a tradition.

"E…even so. How come you can't speak to your fiancée with honorifics? Why not? Is that your Taran family's tradition as well?"

"I will not."

"…"

There was no way for her to understand that man. At first, she thought he was a scary man. She thought he was a playboy who liked playing around with women's hearts. Then, she believed he was a man with basic manners. She wondered whether he could be a more honorable man than her first impression. After meeting him today, she saw that he was very logical and didn't let his emotions run over his decisions. But now, she had…no idea.

"I've said you're not allowed to leave the royal palace with a maid's permission slip. Why aren't you listening?"

"…What if I still leave? What will you do?"

"If you're curious why don't you try?"

"…"

Yes. There was nothing more accurate than a first impression. Threatening other people was his life motto. She wondered why she had believed in this man to marry him. The amazement from before had turned into unease. Whether she had hit the jackpot or hit a landmine, her gamble results were still a mystery.

"…This is so sudden… Can't I meet just one person one last time?"

Rather than ignoring his request, she asked for his permission. She had decided it was the best way to go about this.

"What is your plan after meeting her? That female author doesn't know that my dear is a princess."

Lucia was shocked twice in a row. First, because he knew of Norman. Second, because he had called her 'dear' so naturally.

"Still… I want to say my last goodbye."

"I'm not asking you to leave her forever. Our engagement has yet to be announced. Before everything is official, I don't want to deal with any unnecessary rumors floating around."

"Then is it okay to go meet her after our wedding?"

Lucia looked up at him with sparkling eyes, causing him to flinch.

"…Yes. It's fine later on. But don't spill a word about today's contract, ever."

"Of course, I never had such intentions. Your Grace, you are much more understanding than I originally thought."

"…Last time you thought of me as a promiscuous man and this time it's understanding? How pitiful of a human being am I inside that head of yours?

"…Sorry. That wasn't my intention."

Hugo watched Lucia, who had been hesitating all this time, with eyes of wonder. After spending time with her, he understood why he had felt incompatible with others before. In general, people feared and shrank away from him. Whether they were female or not didn't matter. The women he dated would act coquettishly on the outside, but they remained distant in their hearts. This girl however, conversed with him with much ease.

However, nothing was definite yet. Maybe it was because she was unfamiliar with him. He thought she'd never heard of his rumors before. If she'd heard even a little fraction of his rumors, the way she looked at him would change. People considered him a monster. But most of all, he had no thoughts of refuting those rumors.

***

Please do not take out the translations outside of Sleepy Korean Translations. I choose not to accept donations or profit for a reason. Thank you for your understanding.

Five days after her return to the Royal Palace, Lucia found out an amazing fact.

'He hasn't stated whether the wedding would be six months or a whole year later. Until I get married, I won't be able to go visit nor talk to Norman… She will be so worried about me.'

After a lot of contemplation, she decided to write a letter.

'I'll ask him to deliver the letter for me. He could read it over before delivering it. He would probably agree with these conditions.'

– Norman. I'm sorry to send you my message of goodbye through a letter like this. Please don't worry about me. I'm living a very healthy and good life. However, due to some important issues in my life, I won't be able to contact you. Please don't try to find me, and wait for me. We will be able to meet again one day for sure. I promise it won't be for too long. We've shared a friendship that will last our whole lifetime together.

I worry when you stay up too late writing your novels. It's not good for your health for your days and nights to be inversed. Please be wary of your health.

With eternal friendship.

Even if someone other than Norman happened to read this, they wouldn't be able to obtain any new or important information. Norman could recognize Lucia's handwriting, so she would feel relieved after receiving this letter.

After she finished writing, she looked out her window to the blue sky; there wasn't a single cloud in sight.

"It seems like a good day for laundry."

***

Lucia was drenched in sweat from working all morning. She removed all the beddings and curtains from her palace for cleaning. She carried large wooden basins and filled them with soapy water at the front of her detached palace. She placed all the blankets and curtains in various basins, stepping on them to rinse out all the impurities. She busied herself all morning with manual labor and she was feeling quite refreshed. Lucia was stomping on the laundry while humming a tune through her nose.

"Are you a child working here?"

Lucia lifted her head upon a strange woman's voice. She looked like a palace maid judging by her uniform. Labor maids and palace maids wore different colored uniforms, though their overall design was the same.

'What is a palace maid doing here?'

Lucia stared at the palace maid with shocked eyes, not knowing what to do, while the palace maid spoke with a cold interrogating tone.

"Why aren't you answering? It seems you are a child that works here, but this is the first time I've seen you. Is the Princess inside?

'She's looking for me…? Why? Actually, what am I supposed to say in this situation?'

Almost nobody knew of Princess Vivian's real face. In her current state, the palace maid would never believe that Lucia was the princess.

"Alright. Hurry up and answer. Are you unable to speak? We have an honored guest here who wishes to meet with the princess.

'Honored guest? A guest for me?'

It was the first time a guest had come to visit the detached palace.

"I never knew that laundry was one of the requirements for a refined lady."

It was a familiar low-pitched tone from somewhere. There was no way it could be that person, so Lucia froze in place. She craned her neck up with much struggle. It felt like all her bones had suddenly rusted in place. A person who shouldn't have been here, was standing right there. Raven black hair and scarlet red eyes. He wore a black coat over a blue shirt that complimented his black hair. He gazed at her without much of an expression.

Lucia's soul had left her body at the moment.

"How terrible that a servant is unable to recognize a princess. It's because you have such a strange hobby, Princess."

When the truth dawned on all the palace maids present, their faces turned into a black ashen tone. Lucia saw and was sure she looked just like them at the moment.

"H…hello… What are you…doing here…?"

"First, let's talk after you get out of there."

Lucia was shocked senseless. In the process of trying to rush out, she slipped and flopped onto the floor. She didn't fall in an unsightly matter nor did it hurt, but she was seriously embarrassed.

Her face felt hot; she looked up with a wary heart. He was staring down at her with his arms crossed. He remained emotionless as usual, but she couldn't help thinking how pathetic she seemed to him.

As he drew closer, Lucia froze from his sudden presence. He stood next to the wooden basin and offered a helping hand. She stared at his hand with a confused expression and looked up at his face. She had to crane her neck very far to see his face. He was already tall to begin with; at the moment, he felt like a giant. He was very tall with a large frame, but it didn't affect his quick reflexes.

He wondered why she wasn't accepting his hand and wrinkled his brows with a scolding expression. Lucia grabbed his hand quickly in the spur of the moment. His hand was huge. Her hand looked like a child's inside his palm. He easily hoisted her up with one sweeping pull.

Lucia escaped the wooden basin, but now she was barefoot. All this time, his gaze was stuck to her feet. Lucia followed his gaze down to her own feet, her ears going red with embarrassment.

"Aah!"

When her body rose in the air, Lucia screamed in shock.

"You'll get soapy water onto your clothes!"

She yelled in fear that his expensive clothes would be dirtied, but he acted like he hadn't heard her at all as he headed inside her palace. Lucia didn't struggle in his hold and meekly left her body in his care. Hugo glanced down at her, who looked like she wanted to cry, and a slight smile spread upon his lips. But it disappeared the same moment.

(end)

(1) It's okay to pour a cup of water and curse him away. – I'm assuming these actions are referring to witch craft.

Lucia Chapter 6

Shall We Marry? (4)

translated by: iseuli

edited by: lili

Lucia let Hugo wait in the receiving room, while she returned to her bedroom to change.

"Princess, where are your maids?"

"Um… You see…"

When she mumbled out the reasons to the maids following behind her, their faces paled into a blue hue. The top palace maids were usually the ones responsible for assigning palace duties among themselves. Thus, they would be the first ones to be punished following today's events.

While she was changing, the maids put in all their efforts to care for her. They were doing anything possible in order to lighten their punishment.

Lucia feigned ignorance. They were the ones who chose not to carry out their duties. She didn't have any intention to call them out for this, but she didn't intend to protest if they were to be punished.

The palace maids who were here today were not here because they were worried about her. They were here because they feared the honored guest who was visiting. In other words, they were afraid of the princess who had the backing of a powerful Duke.

In the receiving room, Lucia looked at the tea served by the palace maids with amazed eyes. They actually had such skills. There was no tea in this palace, but they managed to get a hold of some and prepare it so fast. How long had it been since she'd drunk tea served by the palace maids?

He looked to the corners of the receiving room; two palace maids were standing in each corner. They were ready to carry out any orders and they were here so that an unmarried princess would not be alone in a room with another man.

"Have you been well? From your strength before, you seemed to be well."

Lucia's face flushed red upon the Duke's greeting.

"Yes, Your Grace. Have you been well? I was shocked from your sudden visit."

"I've just followed your example."

He was currently pointing out her previous action of suddenly visiting the Duke's mansion. She was the one in the wrong, so she couldn't say anything. This guy really held his grudges.

'So when there are other people around… he will speak formally to me.'

It was not a surprising action, but it felt like he was being very kind toward her. It seemed his sudden change of tone shocked her quite a bit.

"I have some important things to discuss with you, so it would be better if you could replace those maids with your most trusted servants instead."

"Huh? Ah… I don't have any maids with me at the moment…"

"Did they leave for a task? There isn't a single one?"

To be precise, she didn't have any maids at all. However, Lucia just nodded her head. He thought silently for a moment, then stood up.

"Would you be alright with going for a light walk?"

Lucia glanced at the two maids on standby and stood up as well. The only place they could walk around was the tiny garden by the palace, but if they distanced themselves a bit, they would be able to talk without being overheard.

"Why are you personally overseeing your maids' duties? Have you mistaken yourself as a maid? You even leave the palace with a maid's permission slip."

As soon as they were alone, he dropped all formalities. It seemed it was his own style to talk casually when they were alone. It was shocking last time, but listening to him talk that way a second time, it felt like they had grown a bit closer and it didn't feel so bad.

"…There's no one else around to do it."

"What are the maids doing then?"

"Um…. That is… Truthfully… I live here alone."

"…You don't have maids?"

"I don't."

"In this detached palace, you live alone?"

"Yes."

"How about your meals and cleaning? Do you take care of those yourself?"

"…Yes. It's not too tiring. I'm not looking after others, I only need to take care of myself after all…"

"Do you think that makes sense?"

He had been suppressing his voice all this time. He suddenly burst out in roaring laughter.

"Since when?"

"…It has been several years now."

"Unbelievable."

So that was what it meant when Fabian reported that she had no other maids residing in the palace with her. He had assumed she had a unique personality that caused people to run away.

Although she was low in rank, she was still royalty. It didn't make sense that a person of royal descent wouldn't have a single servant. That was a major mistake on the administrators' side. It was mind-boggling that they would handle the administration of palace workers so poorly. If the subordinates working under him carried out their duties in such a manner, they would be killed by him on the spot without another word.

"What important things did you want to discuss with me?"

"His majesty has given his permission for our marriage. When the exact date of the wedding is decided, I will let you know ahead of time. You won't have to wait longer than a month."

He felt fatigued after a long morning struggling with the Emperor to get the upper hand. The Emperor had never bothered himself with the princess before, but during the exchange he had spoken of her like the most precious daughter of his royal palace. The Emperor's mind was full of greedy intentions as the intense war of nerves had kept going for a while. In the end, they had compromised on terms they both agreed with.

She had said the Emperor would not remember her existence. During their discussion, it was clear as day that the Emperor didn't know who she was. His lies were too obvious. Hugo had referred to her as 'the 16th princess' from beginning to end, being careful not to reveal her name. The Emperor as a result, referred to his daughter as 'the 16th princess' until the end, without being able to bring up her name once throughout the whole proceedings.

Right about now, the Emperor would be busy trying to find out the identity of the '16th princess.' Though in reality, it would be the servants under him that would be running around the palace like their feet were on fire.

Hugo didn't understand why, but he felt great irritation toward the Emperor. He never liked him to begin with, but held no grudges against him either. Even though he was a father, how negligent could he have been that a lone girl had to walk into a man's house for his hand in marriage like that. Inside her own palace, she had to do her own laundry and clean with her own two hands. She was clearly being discriminated against even with her royal identity.

He empathized with her distress a little, while agreeing with Kwiz' malicious criticism of the Emperor; the Emperor only knew how to piss his seeds in the palace.

"…You're incredibly… fast with taking care of business."

Lucia had to take some time to understand his words. She had thought it would take at least half a year to finalize everything. This speed was astonishing.

"I will look into what happened with the maids."

"You don't need to. Even if you don't act, someone will be punished eventually. If Your Grace personally gets involved, everyone will end up with a harsher punishment. I don't wish for such an end."

"The people who didn't properly carry out their duties should be rightfully punished. You're being uselessly tolerant."

"You might think so, but I liked living alone in this palace. I had complete control of my freedom. In the end, you've also benefited as a result."

"…How so?"

"This marriage. Aren't you satisfied with our deal? I believe it's the reason you were able to close the deal so fast. If I remained quietly in the palace, I would have never been able to offer this marriage, either."

She had a strong spirit. Where could such strong willpower come from such a small body? She seemed like a good candidate to become the lady of the house. Hugo dazedly started picturing her future as Taran Dukedom's lady of the house.

"As soon as our marriage becomes official, I plan to return to the North. We will remain there for a while."

The Duke of Taran's territory was located in the North. It was a wide, barren land with unending wars.

"I don't plan to hold a wedding ceremony. What are your thoughts on this?"

Without the ceremony, all they would need to do was get a couple of people to witness the two sign their names onto a marriage certificate. She didn't want to walk down the church aisle holding her father's hand. The only person who would want to congratulate Lucia for her wedding would be Norman, but because of her commoner status, she wouldn't be able to attend. Lucia didn't care how their marriage would be settled.

"Yes, that's fine."

Any other woman would have been jumping with anger if their wedding was composed of signing documents. A marriage was something women dreamed of their entire lives. However, this wasn't a common marriage, as one party was shamelessly leading it, while the other party agreed like it was some trivial matter.

"Your Grace, I have one request. It's about Norman… the female author you're familiar with. I've written a simple letter to her. Would it be alright if your people delivered it for me? There isn't any significant information in it. It's alright if you read the contents as well. If we are going to the north, it will be some time before I'm able to contact her again. I don't want her to worry about me."

"That's fine. Hand me your letter, I will deliver it for you."

It became strangely quiet and Hugo looked away while his eyebrows twitched. Lucia had been staring at him with eyes that were flowing with overwhelming gratitude as she held her two hands together. Those were the same eyes he would get from females after he gifted them expensive jeweled necklaces. In fact, Lucia's eyes were sparkling with even more blinding joy.

"Thank you, Your Grace. Your Grace is much more considerate than I thought- I mean you are a gracious person as I originally thought."

This female didn't fear him, but she had thought of him as a shameless villain. It seemed very simple to change her prejudiced view of him as a villain to that of a good human being.

He was confused whether it was something to celebrate or not. Anyway, he felt very strange at the moment. However, it wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

'It seems I won't have to spend too much money.'

He lightly cleared his throat and spoke.

"You will need to move out of here. This place is too isolated and with poor security. The news that I've come by will travel quickly. Those who are interested in me won't leave you alone. Many guests will come to find you."

"…I see."

"Don't stray off on your own, be good and stay home. Don't agree to meet everyone who wants to see you."

How was it possible for a person to speak so unkindly? As if she were a stupid girl, like he was speaking to his subordinate. Earlier, Lucia had seen him in a new gentle light, but now all those feelings were no more. All the charming points he'd managed to gather, had gone in the negative.

'It's weird… that I don't hate him…'

Was this the charm that had all those women clinging onto him? He was selfish and rude, but he didn't feel disagreeable.

"Yes. Do you have any other commands?"

He paused for a moment and answered, "No," with a smile.

This woman was definitely different somehow. She always spoke her mind about everything, but remained dutiful during the important moments. Yet at the same time, she wasn't servile. He found the shameless and proud bunch unpleasant, but he disdained those who groveled while licking his shoes. It was difficult to find the perfect balance between those two points. She was a satisfactory person for the contract.

***

The Duke returned to his mansion and made his way to the receiving room. Jerome and Fabian followed him in. Hugo took off his coat, while Jerome took it and left the room. Fabian, who had been keeping quiet all this time, suddenly opened his mouth and a flood of words spilled out.

"Where did you go? I've told you that you shouldn't go off alone in secret. Is it so hard to at least let us know where you are going?"

Fabian was the only person brave enough to nag at Hugo. Even the vassals whose hair turned gray from old age didn't have the bravery to do so. Hugo would often imagine slicing this guy's chest open to see it filled with nothing but guts(1).

"Didn't you say it was your day off today?"

Fabian kept to his scheduled hours like it was the law. After working five days, he would make sure to get a day off. Fabian stated his family was as important as his duties under the Duke. He was the only person who would shamelessly state that to the Duke's face.

Even so, Fabian never hesitated to follow the Duke into months long wars. Fabian wasn't an underhanded or calculating fellow by nature. He never refused important duties, but still made sure to get all the additional side benefits in the process. In this manner, Fabian and Jerome, although brothers, were complete opposites.

"You didn't say anything about leaving the house yesterday. If you brought it up, I would have assisted you."

"I went to the palace."

Fabian let out a sigh. How could a Duke enter the palace without a single attendant by his side? He wasn't like this because he was worried dangers would befall the Duke. There probably wasn't an existence that could get rid of the Duke by physical force under the heavens.

This wasn't the battlefield. Even without a sword, this place had countless other ways to kill a person. A small pretext to an event could snowball into a huge disaster.

The Taran family was originally neutral to all political factions. But it was different this time. It was the first time in history that the Taran family decided to support a side. It wasn't publicly announced as of yet, but holding hands with the crown prince was the same thing as stepping into the whirlpool of power struggles between the different factions.

The crown prince had many enemies. Everyone was eyeing them, looking for the smallest fault in order to create havoc. The nobles with strong political power never went around alone. There had to be an eyewitness around, in case something happened.

There were times when the Duke would be too callous. The person who would have to run around tying all the loose ends was Fabian. The Duke didn't show any care to the circumstances at all. After ordering Fabian to settle the problem, he wouldn't put his mind on the topic again. There wasn't anything more annoying than finding the Duke going around by himself.

"…Did you go visit the Crown Prince?"

"Hmm? Ah… I should have done so since it was on the way."

"If you didn't need to visit the Crown Prince, what was your reason…?"

"I'm getting married. I just got permission from His Majesty."

"…"

Fabian took deep breaths. He had his mouth shut tight as only rude words would come out at the moment.

"With that princess?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Probably within a month's time"

One month? Fabian tried his best to suppress his chest heating up with anger.

During war, he was his adjutant. During regular day to day life, he was his aide. He had always known this about the Duke, but the Duke would often throw him into a random situation without a single explanation. In other words, the Duke would make all the decisions, then he would be responsible for making it all happen.

"Don't let this spread around the Kingdom."

"…Huh?"

"As soon as we finish the necessary documents, we will be leaving for the North."

'And when did you decide this?' Fabian was despondent over having to organize a moving company to the North. Fortunately, he had one month to take care of everything.

"There's no reason for people from the Dukedom to come over for the wedding. A simple note of my marriage will be enough."

He had decided that none of his retainers needed to attend the wedding. Fabian thought of the few people who would be shocked senseless and felt pity for them.

The current Lord and Duke of the Taran family ruled like a dictator. There was nobody else that could act as prideful and self-righteous as Taran's Duke.

Fabian honored his Lord as the Duke, but as a human being, he wanted nothing to do with him. The Duke easily stepped over people's lives. One should not even hope for something like consideration or benevolence.

He felt great sympathy for the princess who would become the Duke's wife. If the Duke's wife was hoping for anything out of this marriage, she would live a very sad life.

"Didn't we have an island? With a mine?"

"…Are you talking about the diamond mine at archipelagos islands at Saint?"

"Yes. Prepare that as the dowry."

"…Your Grace, that is too much…."

Fabian couldn't keep quiet as usual. This wasn't just extreme, this was severe. Fabian had been in charge of investigating, so he was aware of every detail of the situation. That was a lowly princess whom the Emperor could not even remember. Her birth mother's identity was ambiguous, and she didn't have a single relative.

"I've already concluded the discussions with the Emperor. We won't hold a separate wedding. We will settle everything with documents."

"…"

He was at a loss for words. This wasn't a simple bill; how could the nation's Duke not hold a wedding ceremony? Although he was not someone of royal birth, she was still a princess. Wouldn't it be the same as mocking the royal family? All the same, he was just as equally speechless regarding the father who exchanged his daughter with a diamond mine so easily.

It wasn't unusual for a marriage to be concluded informally. Sometimes the situation was too urgent, like during warring periods; informal marriages were common. A single thought passed through Fabian's mind.

"Is that why you are returning to our territory right away?"

The Taran territory bordered a very violent group of barbarians. There was never a safe moment. They always had the excuse of urgent business in the Kingdom.

"It'd be good and we might as well."

"…Is there really something going on in our territory?"

The Duke answered with a light laugh. Fabian understood him well. There wasn't anything going on in the Taran territory. The reason they were skipping the wedding was because the Duke thought it was too troublesome. A proper wedding took at least half a day. He definitely didn't want to do something so annoying.

"I will pass over some things for you to take care of. I don't like annoying things so make sure rumors don't spread."

"Yes, Your Grace."

Fabian easily submitted to his Lord's decisions. He knew his place very well. He simply needed to assist in tying the loose ends of the Duke's decisions. He had no place assisting the Duke in making those decisions. He never crossed the line while working together, thus he was able to continue serving under the Duke for so long.

'Is it… because of his son…?'

It was the only reason the Duke would think of marriage.

'What a pitiful princess.'

He drew a mental image of a lonely princess crying every night while trapped inside the mansion of the monster Duke. If Jerome knew that Fabian considered their Lord a monster, he would punish him to death.

It was because Jerome never saw their Lord in action. If he saw the Duke fight for himself… Fabian suddenly shivered as a cold chill ran down his spine. But it was not like Fabian wished for Jerome to ever see that side of their Lord. He hoped Jerome would see the Duke of Taran as nothing but their noble Lord.

How long would the princess be able to endure under that selfish and heartless man? Women were beings who lived for love. That was what Fabian's wife had taught him all these years. She would become like a flower slowly wilting away as the Duke continued to ignore her.

She would probably become an alcoholic to endure her loneliness. Maybe she would try to fill the emptiness inside her heart with luxuries. There was only one thing that would be guaranteed. No matter how much the Duke's wife changed or despaired, the Duke would not care one bit.

The day the Duke visited Lucia was the day she was told to move out. She was moved from her detached palace to a beautiful small palace that was within the central palace, where those of high status resided. Although the place was considered small, it was more spacious than the detached palace she had lived in for all those years.

It was a small corner of the central palace known as the Rose Palace. The Emperor had great affection for that place. The palace represented the respect and honor he held for his loved ones. The small palace was surrounded by a huge rose garden. In the late spring, every sort and color of roses could be seen in full bloom. The plentiful roses would spread a gentle fragrance far out into the distance.

Lucia would probably not be able to see that view. It was such a pity, she thought.

Her life in the inner palace was very comfortable. All the palace maids acted as her arms and legs, and she felt like an extremely important person, whose life was drowned by nothing but luxury. Different from his warning, guests did not come and visit her. There was only one person who consistently came to bother her.

"Please tell them I am ill."

Today, the Grand Chamberlain was here. Lucia was sitting at a table on the terrace and drinking tea like always. No matter how one looked at this situation, she was feigning illness at the moment. The Grand Chamberlain was having a hard time.

"Princess, His Majesty is not feeling well and hopes Princess could come visit him."

"What a pity. Please send him my regards. I hope he will regain his health soon. I'm feeling ill as well and am unable to move.

"Princess."

"Please see yourself out. Let's not waste our energy here . You already know I won't go there."

Lucia didn't care that the Grand Chamberlain would be getting an earful from the Emperor. Although it was trivial, it was her own way of exacting revenge.

'Since you've never turned around to see me, I will not look for you, either.'

When the Emperor had sent some people to her, that was what she had decided in her heart.

The Emperor didn't want to see his daughter. The person he wanted to meet was The Duke of Taran's fiancée. That position held high prestige. Although she was a mere 16th princess, the Emperor couldn't forcefully drag her out.

The maids didn't seem to be aware that she was the Duke of Taran's fiancée yet. Even so, she was able to treat the Emperor so rudely yet nothing happened to her. The palace maids all struggled to perform their best as to avoid offending her.

It was laughable. Her status had changed overnight. She began to understand why the Duke was so arrogant. If anyone was surrounded by such people all their life, anyone would turn out like the Duke.

Time passed; no one knew this girl would be getting married the next day. Lucia thought he did not wish for senseless rumors, so she didn't say a word about it to anyone. No matter how much the palace maids sucked up to her, Lucia maintained her distance from them.

It was already late into the night, but she couldn't fall asleep. She sat by the window and gazed at the moon in the night sky. Her heart was restless.

All this time, he had not come to visit again. From time to time, he would send some people to check if she needed anything. She already had everything she needed in this place, but just one time she requested for something.

'I don't want to meet with the Emperor. Please protect me from him.'

She was afraid he would appear as a witness during their informal wedding. She had requested this two days ago and she had yet to receive a response. However, it seemed he had gotten the message and had sent out his people to make it happen.

The moon was very bright today. She felt a bit regretful. One of her wishes in life was to live out a happy life together with her future husband, surrounded by their children.

'I'm the one who chose this road.'

She was not going to regret anything. No matter what came rushing into her direction, she would not do such a thing as regret. She had already regretted more than enough inside her dream.

***

"Will you really be this way?"

Kwiz yelled at the top of his lungs. The smooth gentle approach had not worked, so it was time to use anger. If he failed once again, he would try the gentle approach one more time. These days, it was a repeat of this situation.

"Whatever you say is useless, I'm going."

Hugo calmly drank his tea while Kwiz continued to jump around in his seat.

"Why now? Don't you know how many people are aiming for my throat…?"

After Hugo informed Kwiz that he was returning to his territory, he had been acting like a begging child. 'You can't go like this, you'll have to kill me before you can go, how can you be this way?' If anyone heard, they would think he was trying to court a lover.

The Crown Prince's servants were embarrassed, but like Hugo, they maintained a blank expression.

"The Taran family has owned that territory in the North for tens and hundreds of years already. Just because the Duke takes a leave for a while, the land won't disappear."

"A store owner who leaves his shop empty will be in trouble."

He had left his territory for too long due to the war. If he wanted to rest a bit, Kwiz would hold onto him without letting go. He had promised to help the crown prince, but he had no thoughts of protecting him from each and every political enemy. His base was in the north.

"Then you'll leave in two days?"

"I've told you many times already."

"Even when I beg you in this state?"

"Please stop with your crying. Just because I'm not here, it doesn't mean anything will happen to you. Even if I remain here, there's nothing I can help you with."

"Why not? Just by standing there, people will feel wary of me!"

"And you like that? They should feel wary of the Crown Prince. Why should they feel wary of me?"

"It's better that way. Since the war has ended, people will start officially making their move. Do you know how much they are fighting over the spoils of war at this moment?"

"The spoils of war?"

Hugo laughed through his nose.

"Everything is mine."

"Yes, everything is mine."

"I've told you it's mine."

"Everything that belongs to the Duke belongs to me."

Hugo let out a small sigh. His mind was probably filled with nothing but devilish snakes. But Hugo did not dislike the crown prince's character. It was better than the ones who were overly cautious.

Among those with power, Kwiz was the first person to treat him the same upfront and behind his back. Up until now, he was the only person with such a personality. Thus, he had decided to hold hands with the Crown Prince.

"I'll remain there for only two years."

"Too long! Only one year!"

"Two years. Who knows what will happen after the next Emperor is enthroned. His Majesty's health doesn't seem good these days."

"With all the chronic illnesses, his body's age should be in the 80s. Just a few days ago, he had a girl by his bedside. That old geezer. He only has energy for such things."

The Crown Prince's lieutenant faked a cough from embarrassment. The Crown Prince glared at the lieutenant for interrupting his chatter.

The Crown Prince always referred to the Emperor as: that old man, old geezer, horrible vice-emperor. No matter how many times they heard this, they could never get used to it. The only person who could listen with a blank expression was the Duke of Taran.

"I'll take my leave."

"Why don't you eat dinner before you go?"

"I'm busy."

"You never let anyone hold you back."

"Oh. I'm getting married tomorrow."

For a moment, silence hung over the room. The Crown Prince and everyone else in the room was frozen solid.

"…What will you do…? Duke, what will you do?"

A diamond on a dunghill was still a diamond. As an Emperor, he was one through and through. The Emperor had promised his wedding date would not be known to anyone. Until the end, not even the Crown Prince had been aware of the marriage. Although the Crown Prince spoke badly of the Emperor, he never took action to go against him. If he acted rashly, he would only suffer a backlash.

"I've already discussed it with the Emperor. The wedding will be held informally, so there is no need for you to attend. Oh by the way, the person I'm marrying is a princess."

"Duke!"

The crown prince shouted, but Hugo just bowed and left the room. Once Hugo left the room, the spoiled brat-like behavior of the crown prince disappeared at once. His expression was as fearsome as a demon(3). He roared at his adjutant.

"What are you doing?! How is the Duke of Taran getting married tomorrow, yet I wasn't aware until he personally told me?"

"I apologize."

The adjutant's face paled.

"Hurry and figure out what the hell is going on!"

"Yes! Your Highness!"

His eyes burned with rage as he fumed, breathing roughly.

"Princess? Bullshit. How many princesses are in this place? If he was interested in princesses, he should have told me sooner. I would've gladly given him my sister."

When Hugo informed him that he would be getting married to a 'princess,' he could imagine what had happened.

"…That wretched old geezer."

Kwiz gritted his teeth. The Emperor seemed aloof from worldly affairs as he kept to himself within the inner palace, but behind closed doors, he controlled everything from the dark shadows. He imagined the Emperor's smug face, 'No matter what you do, you'll remain in the palm of my hands.'

Kwiz loathed the Emperor. He hated him to the core of his bones. Although the Emperor was aware of this fact, he still gave Kwiz the position of Crown Prince while laughing mockingly, as if asking for a fight.

'Let's see how long you'll be able to remain this way.'

Kwiz' blue eyes burned with rage.

(end)

Foot Notes:

(1): Hugo would often imagine slicing this guy's chest open to see it filled with nothing but guts. – In Korean, Guts/Liver/Bravery is spelled the same. In the Korean text, it said his chest was filled with nothing but liver. This is a sarcastic pun implying Fabian is stupidly brave.

(2): "Taran Family" – I don't want to spoil the story. But as we already saw, Hugo pretty much lives alone with servants in his mansion. But still, I add 'family' for the sake of including all the past people before him.

(3) (Kwiz') expression was as fearsome as a demon: The Korean text said 'a female demon.' But, it just doesn't translate too well. LoL.