“Pardon?”
“The ring. The ruby ring you always wore on your right hand. I believe it’s the ring of the head of the family, isn’t it?”
“Ah, I lost it a few days ago.”
“My goodness, you lost such an important ring? That simply won’t do.”
Sylvia looked at my hand with an excessively concerned expression.
But despite her words, she didn’t look concerned at all. If anything, she even gave me a meaningful little smile…
What was that about?
“Then we’ll be going now. Ah, and if you happen to change your mind, feel free to contact me anytime.”
I don’t think that’s going to happen.
In any case, I was simply happy to finally be rid of those siblings, so I smiled brightly and waved my hand.
In other words, please get the hell out of my house already.
***
“Honestly. She’s so stubborn and impossible to reason with. You saw it too, didn’t you, Gerold?”
After leaving the drawing room, Sylvia asked with an irritated expression.
She paid no attention to the servant working at the marquisate who bowed his head as they passed right beside him.
“You’re just as hopeless, you know. What’s so difficult about seducing one woman? You were so confident that you could make her fall for you with just the crook of a finger. Turns out it was all talk. Tsk, tsk.”
“Ah, why are you only blaming me?! Sister, you have to look at the sky to catch a star. What am I supposed to do when that woman never even leaves the marquisate?!”
Gerold protested indignantly at Sylvia’s criticism.
Just as he said, he had diligently prepared himself when his sister told him to seduce the Marquis of Zaherette.
He had even come up with a plan and perfectly arranged various schemes behind the scenes.
The problem was that the target herself simply never came out of the house.
“I should’ve done something back then, no matter what.”
Gerold clicked his tongue as he glared at the closed door.
“But are you really sure that person you said you met outside a few days ago was the Marquis? It’s strange. I’ve never seen her out and about late at night.”
“Ah, I’m telling you, it’s true. I even showed you the proof. You came here today specifically to confirm it, remember?”
“Shh.”
At the word proof, Sylvia hurriedly clapped a hand over Gerold’s mouth.
Her eyes darted around warily, gleaming sharply.
“Still, I suppose you were right.”
“See? I told you I was sure about this kind of thing! Haaah, instead of this, I really should’ve done something back then, even if I had to force it. Once I made it an established fact, that would’ve been the end of it. That woman was damn quick to catch on, though.”
It wasn’t just her ability to catch on.
The fist that had made a complete mess of his face had packed quite a punch, too.
“Just let me marry her. I’ll teach her some proper manners.”
“Exactly. Once you’re married, you can do whatever you want, so let’s just endure a little longer.”
Sylvia patted her brother’s shoulder, coaxing and soothing him.
Her gaze lingered on the splendid corridors of the marquisate.
Once they were married, all of this would practically be in her hands as well.
‘They may call themselves a count’s family, but it wouldn’t be strange if the Valentines went bankrupt tomorrow. And yet that woman, merely because she’s a Marquis, has all this wealth… I hear her business is doing quite well, too, but in the end, isn’t that just because she was born to good parents and inherited it?’
There was no one who didn’t know how talented the Marquis of Zaherette was when it came to business.
Even Sylvia’s husband, Count Oscar, was desperate to establish a connection with her.
“What? You were classmates at the academy? Excellent. Then couldn’t you go and help me establish a connection?”
“A connection? How am I supposed to do that?”
“How? You could give the Marquis a gift she likes, or flatter her and keep her in a good mood. Do I really have to explain every little thing to you? Can’t you think for yourself?”
Her husband’s words had wounded Sylvia’s pride.
Back in their academy days, she had clearly been above Erna.
Yet it irritated her that Erna, who wasn’t even married, was now receiving such social recognition.
‘What’s so impressive about running a business, anyway? She’s still the same unfashionable Erna.’
Sylvia recalled the way Erna had looked when she had returned from work earlier and quickly regained her composure.
Right. What good was having money if you didn’t know how to spend it?
‘Wouldn’t it be better for someone who actually needs it to have it rather than someone who doesn’t even know how to use it?’
That was why she intended to get her hands on the marquisate’s wealth in her own way.
But first, she had to do something about Erna Zaherette.
“But, Sister. Are you really sure this is going to work? What if the Marquis already has someone she likes—”
“What? Pfft. Erna Zaherette? Hahaha. Don’t make me laugh. What does a bookworm know about romance? She probably hasn’t even held a man’s hand before.”
“Really? That’s a relief. I don’t like women who have already been touched by someone else.”
Coming from a man who sleeps around with woman after woman…
But Sylvia held her tongue.
As her brother, Gerold was one thing, but as a marriage partner, he was truly the worst.
If she were in the other woman’s position, she would have wanted to run away before even stepping into the wedding hall.
But the one marrying that bastard would be Erna Zaherette.
It had nothing to do with Sylvia.
She might as well take this opportunity to knock down that haughty nose of hers, too.
Just imagining Erna Zaherette, thoroughly cowed by an unhappy married life, made Sylvia feel positively delighted.
“But, Sister. Why do you hate the Marquis so much?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just disliked her from the beginning. She was always subtly looking down on me, just because she was the daughter of a Marquis. It really got on my nerves—ugh!”
Thud.
As Sylvia turned the corner of the corridor while answering, she collided with something coming from the opposite direction.
Rubbing her forehead from the sudden pain, she sharply raised her head.
“What the hell! Don’t you know how to watch where you’re going—”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
The first thing she heard was a pleasant, low-pitched voice.
The melodious voice struck her ears like a beautiful song.
Then came the faint, fragrant scent of flowers.
‘Huh?’
Her gaze, which had been fixed on the enormous bouquet of flowers, slowly moved toward the face of the man holding it.
Sylvia’s mouth fell open.
“Gasp! G-Grand—Bern…!”
“Your Grace! So you were here. The Marquis has gone up to her office. I’ll show you the way.”
“Please do.”
While Sylvia stood there stammering foolishly, the man holding the bouquet simply walked past her without paying her the slightest attention.
Though he had merely brushed past her, Sylvia’s heart began pounding wildly.
Her breathing grew ragged and heat rose through her body, as though she had just shared a passionate kiss with him.
That was how extraordinary the man was.
A man with such a bewitching presence that once you saw him, you could never escape him.
“S-Sister. Wasn’t that the Grand Duke just now?”
Gerold, too, looked stunned as he repeatedly shook Sylvia’s shoulder, as though he couldn’t believe what he had just seen.
Sylvia felt exactly the same way.
At the same time, an inexplicable irritation began to well up inside her.
‘Why is the Grand Duke of Bernstein at the marquisate?’
What on earth was the relationship between the two of them?
Just then, several articles she had read flashed through Sylvia’s mind one after another.
Soon, her face filled with shock.
Gasp. No way!
***
‘Why is the Grand Duke here again?’
Looking at the man standing before me, I opened and closed my eyes.
Just in case I was hallucinating.
But Laura, standing beside him and discreetly gesturing toward me, quickly ruled out that possibility.
‘Wow. He really came. This is driving me crazy.’
“Looks like we meet again, Marquis.”
“Indeed.”
I hadn’t expected to see him again in less than a week.
Perhaps he knew exactly what I was thinking, because the dazzling Grand Duke was smiling brightly today as well.
‘Come to think of it, he isn’t wearing his white priestly robes today.’
Perhaps that was why.
All he’d done was drape a layer of black fabric over the body that normally wore nothing but white, yet for some reason, it felt strangely different.
It was as though the pure, noble image I’d grown accustomed to had been covered by a dark and dangerous allure.
Dangerous. This man is just way too dangerous.
“I believe I asked you to give me some time to think. Surely you didn’t mean that the time you were giving me was only two days?”
“Of course not.”
He smiled gently, as if to assure me that he wasn’t such a narrow-minded man.
At that single smile, the maids who had brought in the tea blushed and didn’t know what to do with themselves.
Good grief. They’re going to cause trouble if this keeps up.
I gestured for them to leave quickly, and Laura jumped in surprise before approaching them and leading them out.
The look in Laura’s eyes as she disappeared through the slowly closing door was anything but ordinary, but I deliberately ignored it.
That wasn’t important right now.
“So, may I ask what brings you here?”
After hesitating for a moment, I carefully asked.
Unfortunately, I still hadn’t managed to resolve a single thing.
That was why I had been planning to go down to my territory for a while, partly to buy myself some time.
‘I was so distracted by dealing with the aftermath of what happened and finding the ring that I completely failed to pay attention to this. I should have left the capital as soon as possible.’
What if he demanded an answer from me right now?
My palms grew sweaty with anxiety.
I waited nervously for him to speak.
Then—
“Surely you weren’t planning to run far away, were you?”
Gasp.
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