Odely neither confirmed nor denied it.
She simply stared at him, studying him with a searching gaze.
Ludville found it deeply irritating.
“So, if it means gaining power, you’re willing to sit beside a madman who chases a different woman every single day. What remarkable ambition.”
Openly mocking her proposal, Ludville muttered in a low voice.
Then, at the end of it, he spat out—
“Just what I’d expect from someone of that family.”
…It was undisguised hatred and resentment toward House Cardel.
For a moment, Odely looked at him in confusion.
It had begun the instant he heard her surname.
From that moment on, his expression had turned icy, and every word he spoke carried naked disgust.
He didn’t even seem interested in hiding it.
‘Could it be… he remembers something else?’
If he had truly lost every memory related to Odely, then he shouldn’t know the truth about House Cardel either.
So where was this hostility coming from?
Quietly, Odely asked,
“Do you dislike the fact that I’m a Cardel?”
Perhaps because the question was so direct—
“Hah.”
He seemed momentarily speechless before letting out an incredulous laugh.
“What if I do?”
“May I ask why?”
“…”
A slight crease appeared between Ludville’s brows.
Why did he hate the Cardels?
Was that really something that needed explaining?
The ducal House of Cardel.
Noble blood.
Descendants of heroes.
The Empire’s blessing…
A sacred family that had endured for centuries, untouchable by anyone.
When had it begun?
He couldn’t remember the exact reason.
Or even when.
He only knew that, at some point, every word they spoke had begun to sound like lies.
Like hypocrisy.
A hatred rooted so deeply it defied explanation.
Simply looking at them made his stomach twist.
They disgusted him.
They were filth that stank while pretending to live with dignity.
Parasites that had no right to exist in this world.
He wanted to crush every last one of them.
To grind them into the dirt.
To erase their bloodline forever.
The reason…
Surely it was—
“Ugh.”
A sharp pain struck his head, and Ludville pressed hard against his temple.
As though merely looking at her was enough to trigger another headache.
“Are you alright?”
Startled, Odely instinctively stepped closer, intending to purify his pain as she had before.
“You don’t have to force yourself to remember.”
“…”
“Sometimes you dislike someone for no particular reason. That’s simply how the human heart works.”
Her calm voice.
Her worried eyes.
The kindness she showed without even realizing it struck directly at Ludville’s nerves.
His violet eyes flared with anger.
The next instant, he grabbed Odely’s chin roughly.
“A noble lady who’s been missing for three months suddenly appears in the North, proposes to a man she’s never met, and even says she doesn’t mind if I insult her family…”
His grip tightened as he growled in a low, hoarse voice.
“Stop pretending to be virtuous. I’d much rather see your true colors.”
Fragments of uncontrolled emotion flickered within his once-empty violet eyes.
His lips parted.
“The way you speak… that expression…”
But he couldn’t finish.
As though he himself didn’t know what words were supposed to come next.
Confusion lingered in his silence.
Afraid he might grasp another fragment of his memories about her, Odely spoke quickly.
“That’s right.”
“That’s right…?”
“Yes. You saw right through me, so there’s no point pretending anymore.”
“What are you…”
“I have ambitions.”
To remain by his side, she needed a reason he could accept.
If she told him she only wanted to protect him, he’d dismiss it as hypocrisy.
“I want to use Your Grace to obtain the power I desire.”
Odely had no intention of telling him she had been exploited by her family her entire life.
He would surely think she was fabricating a pitiful story just to manipulate him.
Besides…
The image of the “blue-eyed woman” Ludville had been searching for surfaced in her mind.
Fragile.
Delicate.
A woman with a tragic past.
Someone who looked as though she might shatter at any moment…
‘…Of course.’
To Ludville, she had always been someone who died, no matter how many thousands of times he tried to save her.
Now that he’d lost his memories, all that remained was the impression of someone fragile and pitiable.
‘Then I’ll become her complete opposite.’
She would make absolutely certain he never associated Odely with that blue-eyed woman.
Outwardly, she would remain calculating and distant.
Inwardly, she would quietly guide him back onto the right path.
Completely unnoticed.
From closer than anyone else.
“At the very least, I need to become the Grand Duchess if I’m going to achieve what I truly want.”
“…”
It wasn’t exactly a lie.
What she truly wanted…
Was Ludville’s happiness.
His peace.
Hiding her true feelings, Odely answered coldly.
“That’s why I called it a deal. I’d like to propose a contract marriage.”
The moment she said those words, an old memory suddenly resurfaced.
In her previous life…
The proposal Ludville had blurted out the instant he saw her.
The words she had just spoken sounded strangely similar.
‘Was this how he felt back then?’
Maintaining a cold expression.
Drawing a firm line by calling it nothing more than a contract.
All while desperately trying to save her.
“Five years.”
“If you decide I’m no longer useful before then, you’re free to end the agreement at any time.”
Odely never looked away.
Instead, she met his eyes head-on.
“The internal problems Your Grace is currently facing… the unnecessary attention from outside… your position among the nobility…”
“There are many areas where I can help you.”
“Quite a few, in fact.”
“Oh.”
She lightly tapped the side of her own head.
“And your headaches as well.”
“…”
Ludville stared at her for quite some time as though he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Then…
He suddenly burst into laughter.
It wasn’t cheerful laughter.
It was laughter colored with twisted amusement.
Odely could only stare blankly.
It was the first time she had ever seen Ludville laugh aloud.
She had witnessed it many times through recovered memories, but seeing it in person felt…
Entirely different.
“…Now this is becoming interesting.”
He reached up and lightly took a strand of her silver hair.
Slowly winding the waist-length locks around his fingers, he smiled lazily.
There was mockery in the gesture.
Curiosity.
And a dangerous sort of anticipation.
“I’ll give you fifteen days.”
“…”
“If you manage to earn my interest within those fifteen days…”
His violet eyes narrowed.
Even stripped of his memories, they still carried the darkness and madness of a man who had lived far too long.
After deliberately letting the silence linger, he leaned close enough to whisper beside her ear.
“Then I’ll give you the marriage you want.”
****
Ludville did not drive Odely away.
Though he hadn’t fully accepted her, either.
“For the next fifteen days, no one will be informed that the young lady is staying here.”
“Not even House Cardel.”
The corner of his mouth curled upward, as though he found that possibility far more entertaining.
Shortly afterward, he declared the banquet over.
The gates of the Grand Duke’s castle were shut tight.
No more blue-eyed women were admitted.
Fifteen days.
It was only a brief reprieve…
‘…At least I’ve caught his attention.’
Odely was escorted to the finest room in the castle.
A bedroom more luxurious and extravagant than any noble’s chambers.
One that even an imperial princess might envy.
She immediately realized what this room had once been.
It was where the women who had caught Ludville’s interest had stayed temporarily.
“Young Lady, this will be your room for the time being.”
The head butler, Theodore.
After escorting Odely there, he bowed respectfully before continuing.
“After that, His Grace will personally decide your future.”
He phrased it politely.
But what he truly meant was your disposition.
‘So I’m being treated just like all the others.’
His thoroughly professional attitude made it clear.
He did not believe she would be staying here for very long.
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