Chapter 22
“White-blond hair, that sly snake-like personality, and the way he tries to solve everything with money—I don’t like a single thing about him! And yet if I meet Duke Lufellen, then what? Am I supposed to pretend to fall in love with that man? Just to push this novel along?”
“Hm.”
“You know it too. The duke is really not my type.”
Arines had a point. Duke Lufellen was a character created entirely to match my tastes. He was the complete opposite of hers.
“Besides, Gianna, you didn’t even stick to the original story, did you? If things had gone according to the original, the novel would’ve ended the moment the dragon was slain.”
I let out a small sigh and replied.
“That’s true.”
“Well, since things have already gone off track, I’m just going to live as I want. Instead of Duke Lufellen, I want to meet a man who’s exactly my type.”
“And what is your type?”
“Obviously, someone like Rio Blair! He’s the one I want to get close to.”
“Blair? That insane Tower Master?”
“Don’t you dare insult my Rio.”
“Our Rio, huh. What, did you already file for marriage?”
“If I could’ve, I’d have done it a hundred times over already!”
Arines clasped both hands together with a dreamy expression on her face.
“Glossy black hair that shimmers, mysterious violet eyes, a heavy presence that never wastes a word! He’s the very model of the ideal man, isn’t he?”
“I’m going home.”
“Ah, don’t go! I still have something to ask you.”
As I sprang up from my chair, Arines hurriedly grabbed onto my sleeve.
“Hero, please, let me meet the Tower Master.”
“Why are you asking me? You could just reach out to him yourself.”
“He won’t take my calls……”
Arines immediately drooped, looking dejected.
“Why? Did you already have a fight with your precious Rio?”
“If only! Even fighting with him would be an honor. I haven’t even seen his face once.”
I asked in disbelief.
“You still haven’t met the Tower Master? From what I remember, by now you should’ve run into him about a month ago……”
“Exactly! Something’s seriously messed up.”
Arines looked on the verge of tears.
“That was right around when I transmigrated here. Originally, I was supposed to be out on a stroll near the Tower and bump into him by chance, right? And the moment the Tower Master saw me, he’d fall hopelessly in love.”
“That’s right.”
“But a month ago, just before I transmigrated, I apparently came down with a terrible fever. By the time I woke up, the day I was supposed to go out had already passed. I never went on that stroll, and I never met the Tower Master. And once the chance is gone, it never comes back!”
Arines kicked at the table in frustration, sending a few blueprints scattering to the floor.
“What’s the point of creating a black-haired, violet-eyed character that’s exactly my type if I can’t even meet him? I built him to fall in love with me at first sight, but if we never meet, it’s all for nothing!”
“Calm down. Just calm down first.”
“Must be nice for you. How does it feel, sticking around a man who looks exactly like your type every day? Must be fantastic, right?”
“Mm… honestly? It’s awful.”
“Awful? Why?”
I let out a deep sigh and shook my head.
“His personality’s a nightmare. In the novel he was charming, sure, but having him as my boss? It’s pure hell.”
“But he is handsome, isn’t he?”
“Ugh, being handsome only gets you so far. What really matters is personality. You’ll get what I mean when you finally meet the Tower Master yourself.”
“No way, I think it’ll be amazing! Maybe I should just storm the Tower with a contract quill in hand. Like, ‘Here’s our marriage contract,’ and shove both my face and the document at him. Don’t you think he’d sign it?”
Um, that’s a crime.
I clicked my tongue as I watched the deranged princess Arines ramble on.
Your Majesty of Tian. I don’t think there’s any hope of restoring your daughter’s sanity.
“Your Grace, are you going out?”
“Yes. I’ll be back soon, so you stay put.”
“No, I’ll accompany you. I am your aide, after all.”
Elliot quickly grabbed his coat and followed behind Duke Lufellen.
“Having baggage around annoys me.”
The duke muttered in displeasure, but still allowed Elliot to tag along.
“The weather’s quite nice. Almost enough to make me want to settle here in Tian Kingdom.”
“If you want to stay, just say so. Leaving you behind here would be nothing to me.”
“Oh, come on, that’s a cruel thing to say. I’m loyal to you for life, Your Grace.”
“You sure talk well.”
On the surface he was scolding him, but the duke’s expression was faintly cheerful.
The two of them chatted as they made their way to a market on the edge of the capital.
The duke loved browsing markets. Whenever he traveled somewhere new, he always sought out the local market first.
“What are you buying today?”
“If I told you, it wouldn’t be fun.”
The duke shrugged and then began examining stalls one by one, eyes sharp with focus.
‘There it is again—that look. Best to leave him alone when he’s like this.’
Elliot took a step back. He had been part of the Lufellen ducal knight order since he was a boy. He knew the duke better than most.
‘He used to be such a mischievous, optimistic child.’
He smiled faintly as he recalled the young Nox Lufellen, only son of the ducal house, who had grown up showered with love.
He could still clearly picture the boy bawling after falling from a tree, or hiding in the barn after causing trouble.
But everything changed when he was twelve.
An unexpected accident claimed both of his parents. Overnight, he had to inherit the family title—and endure multiple attempts on his life besides.
‘No wonder he grew up unable to trust others, insisting on doing everything himself.’
Elliot knew well that even he, the aide, was never fully trusted by the duke.
Sometimes, when the man drew those sharp lines between them, Elliot felt a chill run down his spine.
“What are you brooding over? Here, carry this.”
The duke tossed him a bag of apples he had just purchased.
“Apples again? They’re still so green. Will they even taste good?”
“Is that why you came along—to nag? If so, just go back to the inn.”
“N-no, of course not.”
Elliot hurriedly took the bag from him.
After his parents’ deaths and the flood of assassination attempts, the young duke had struggled to find his footing. Until one day, while wandering through a market, he bought a basket of apples.
‘Keep the change.’
He had tried to walk off after paying more than enough, but the fruit seller stopped him.
‘I believe in giving and receiving fairly. If you refuse your change, then I refuse the sale.’
The vendor had forced the coins back into the boy’s hand. And in that moment, the young duke realized something profound.
That everything received must be properly paid for. That there was no such thing as loyalty without cost.
From then on, the purges began.
Anyone who seemed even remotely suspicious was expelled, and new people were hired at ten times the usual wages.
‘And the more he paid, the stronger their loyalty became.’
Soon the ducal estate was filled with retainers making staggering salaries.
It was just around then that an invention shook the world.
“Carry this too.”
The duke tossed Elliot a bundle of contract quills.
Elliot nearly fumbled them to the ground in shock.
“Y-you can’t just throw around something this expensive!”
“As long as it works, that’s enough.”
The contract quill.
It was the perfect tool for binding people with money.
Hand them enough gold, and anyone would sign without hesitation.
Freed from betrayals and assassination attempts, the duke began to prepare meticulously for revenge.
And thus, eight years slipped by in the blink of an eye.
