Chapter 35
“Your Grace?”
Jianna called out to him, sounding worried.
“Are you all right? Don’t tell me you’re already drunk?”
“I’m fine.”
The Duke raised a hand and thought to himself,
‘Why does her voice have to sound so sweet again?’
Just then, a streak of light shot up into the night sky—then boom!—it exploded into a burst of colorful fireworks.
“What’s that?”
Jianna’s eyes went wide as she turned to the Duke.
“Fireworks? Don’t tell me… you prepared that in advance?”
Abandoning the tongs she’d been using to grill shrimp, Jianna sprang to her feet.
Soon, hundreds of fireworks bloomed one after another, painting the night sky in dazzling colors. It was a grand, resplendent display that perfectly showcased Duke Lupellen’s immense wealth.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
The Duke smiled as he asked, and Jianna, her eyes still fixed on the fireworks, nodded dazedly.
“It’s so beautiful! Wow, really. Watching fireworks in Yeouido was one of my lifelong dreams…”
He didn’t know what Yeouido was, but it seemed the fireworks had struck a chord in her heart, and that was all that mattered.
“Your Grace, I didn’t realize you were so good at planning events! If you do this for whoever you marry one day, you’ll win a ton of points!”
The Duke’s lips, which had been curved in a faint smile, stiffened for a moment—but Jianna was too absorbed in the fireworks to notice.
“…One day?”
One day? Was there really such a day?
Preparing fireworks, drinking together, sharing secrets—with someone other than Jianna?
Could that ever happen?
No. It couldn’t.
As he watched Jianna’s radiant smile, the Duke reached that conclusion.
The “bright, shining person” his mother once spoke of was standing right before him now. He would never find another like her elsewhere.
I thought I’d fallen for my diver’s seafood dishes, he mused.
But no—it wasn’t the seafood he’d fallen in love with. It was Jianna herself. That must be why he’d confessed his family’s deepest secret, trying to keep her by his side.
He felt an almost overwhelming urge to reach out and pull her into his arms—but restrained himself.
She was already talking about “ending the contract” almost every day. If he made a wrong move, he might only drive her away faster.
I just want her to think staying by my side isn’t such a bad thing.
If only she would stop trying to run away. If only this wouldn’t end as just a simple employer-employee relationship, bound by money and a contract.
Then suddenly, a small scream pierced the darkness.
“Ah!”
One of the sailors launching fireworks must have lost his footing.
A firework that should have shot straight into the sky veered off course—and hurtled directly toward Jianna.
Without a moment’s hesitation, the Duke threw himself at her, wrapping his arms around her protectively.
***
Huh…?
My vision went black for a second—and then a familiar scent filled my nose.
What’s happening right now?
I remembered seeing the misfired firework heading toward me and reflexively summoning a stream of magic to form a shield, but…
Why am I lying on the ground?
Blinking in confusion, I tried to gather my thoughts.
“Are you hurt?”
Warm breath brushed my ear, followed by a voice that sent tingles down my spine.
When I came to my senses, I realized I was lying in the Duke’s arms.
“P-please let go of me!”
Startled, I squirmed a little. The Duke released the strength in his arms, but still held my hand as he gently helped me sit up.
Even then, he didn’t seem inclined to let go of my hand.
“I—I’m fine. Not hurt at all,” I stammered, pointing behind him.
The stream of magic I’d summoned had formed a transparent shield still floating in midair, and the misfired firework had exploded right against it—brilliantly, but harmlessly.
It did make for a spectacular up-close view of the fireworks… but—
Ugh, this is so awkward!
The problem was that the Duke’s face was far too close. His breath, my pounding heart, and the sound of fireworks bursting above—together they created a strange, overwhelming harmony.
The Duke didn’t even spare the magic shield a glance. His eyes were fixed solely on me, scanning me from head to toe as though he didn’t want to miss a single detail.
“I said I’m fine. Just a little startled, that’s all.”
I grumbled softly, but he didn’t seem to hear me.
“I shouldn’t have done something as foolish as a fireworks show, if it only ended up frightening my diver.”
“What are you talking about? It was so beautiful!”
The fireworks began to fade; only an occasional boom echoed through the night.
The last firework burst, and the beautiful display came to an end.
But in the Duke’s eyes, a vivid red flame still burned fiercely.
Unable to bear the awkwardness, I pulled my hand free and blurted out,
“W-we’re not that kind of relationship, you know!”
“Oh? Then what kind of relationship are we?”
“Well… a purely professional one? An employer and employee, bound only by money?”
I tried to lighten the mood with a joking tone—but it didn’t work.
“I’m not so sure,” he murmured. “What I want is…”
He trailed off, hesitating.
What do you mean? Want what? Why stop mid-sentence?!
He pressed his lips together, staring at me for a long moment—then suddenly smiled.
“It’s late, Jianna.”
“Ah…”
The bonfire where we’d grilled shrimp was burning low, and the night air had grown cool.
“We’ll rewrite the contract tomorrow. For now, get some rest.”
His eyes still blazed with that same fire—but his voice was gentle as he said softly,
“Good night, my diver.”
***
The next morning.
“Good morning, Jianna. No hangover?”
The Duke greeted me casually, as if nothing had happened.
Seeing that familiar, mischievous smile on his face made me feel… strange.
Did I imagine everything last night?
The mood had definitely been weird.
He’d talked about secrets, trust, even entrusting his life to me. I never thought Duke Nox Lupellen was the type to say things like that so easily.
He’s not the kind of man to say something he doesn’t mean just because he’s drunk.
Even if the sky split in two, Nox Lupellen would still be Nox Lupellen.
He was my carefully crafted creation—a character born of vengeance and consumed by it.
Sure, the world I’d ended up in had deviated from the original plotline. I could admit that much.
But his revenge still isn’t over, right? That much hasn’t changed.
I had no idea where things had started to go off track.
He was exactly my type—too much so. If I wasn’t careful, I might start believing in him. Start trusting that face.
Calm down, Jianna. You can’t let yourself be swayed.
He might look relaxed now, but the moment he finds a clue about his true enemy, he’ll change.
He’ll become the obsessive man who only lives for revenge—just like in the original story.
We’re heading down different paths anyway. I just have to focus on what’s in front of me now.
…Or so I thought.
“Jianna, you don’t look well. Still feeling hungover?”
The Duke reached out and pressed a hand to my forehead.
What—why is he always doing this kind of thing all of a sudden?!
“Your face is red. You feel warm, too.”
“T-that’s because I washed my face with hot water! This ship’s hot water system is, uh… unusually good! Ha ha…”
Even I knew how ridiculous that sounded, and my face only got redder.
“If you’re too tired, you can rest in your cabin a bit longer.”
“No way! You promised to rewrite the contract today!”
“That can wait until later.”
“Absolutely not!”
Why else had I come all the way to the distant Kinsia Sea, catching shrimp and cooking seafood for him?
Before he could protest again, I quickly pulled out the papers.
And thus began the nerve-wracking negotiation.
“I need at least two days off a week.”
“No, one.”
“If you don’t agree, I’ll serve nothing but clam soup for ten straight days.”
“…Fine. Two.”
“And I need a monthly leave day.”
“A what?”
“One day a month where I can take time off whenever I want.”
“You’re already taking two days off a week, and you want another one?”
“Well, I might get sick or injured. Or just really, really not feel like cooking.”
“Why are you assuming you’ll get sick or hurt?”
“Should I just make clam soup again?”
“…Ugh. Fine. Do whatever you want with your ‘monthly leave’ or whatever!”
Nice.
The renegotiation went extremely smoothly.
