~Chapter 11~
Why on earth is he taunting me like that?
Adeline wanted to retort right then and there. But she was too confused by the Grand Duke’s gaze — a look she couldn’t tell was born of anger, hurt, or something else entirely — to open her tightly sealed lips.
*‘Stay calm. I just need to say what I have to say clearly.’*
Just as Adeline was organizing her thoughts in her head, a thick, cool scent suddenly pierced her nose right beside her.
Wynster, who had somehow appeared next to her without her noticing, lifted Adeline’s chin with a single long finger. Their gazes met directly, and his eyes shone coldly. They were eyes that sometimes looked like a clear blue, and other times a greyish color, depending on the light and mood.
“So.”
“……?”
“I’m not your first?”
Wynster grabbed a handful of Adeline’s hair. The soft strands flowed through his long fingers, but he didn’t put force into his grip. However, the tendons on the back of his other hand bulged as if revealing suppressed emotion.
“So.”
“……?”
“Are you going to dare pretend you don’t know about my first time?”
“…….”
“Just what kind of bastard dared to take your virg…”
“Your Grace. No, Your Highness.”
Without realizing it, Adeline pressed her finger firmly against his lips. Her hand trembled subtly at the sensation felt from the man’s red, plump lips.
“I merely wanted to discuss… how wise it would be to view this situation with a broad mind.”
“……?”
“We’re not that young, are we?”
*So.* Wynster’s blue eyes were asking, *‘What are you getting at?’*
“A young man and woman met at a banquet. Depending on the mood, doing this and that is not strange at all.”
Wynster tilted his head slightly, looking as if he didn’t understand.
“I’m not trying to argue about whether it was your first time or not. What’s good for both is good. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
Finally, the Grand Duke removed Adeline’s hand from his lips while gently pulling her toward him.
“I’m not interested in pointless talk.”
“…….”
“Wynster Blackwood…”
“……?”
“…has no intention of letting Adeline go, even if it kills him.”
“……!”
“That’s the only thing that matters.”
A soft touch grazed the back of her hand. But the following growling voice held no softness at all.
“Even if I’m not your first, it’s fine.”
“…….”
“Of course. The bastard who took your first will die by my hand.”
***
Adeline wished the time for blushing over such things was past, but it seemed the time for her heart to be shaken hadn’t passed yet.
After that, Adeline thought of Wynster every time she closed or opened her eyes. While reading or working, she repeatedly imagined the process of their relationship deepening and then ending.
She imagined interesting conversations and crafted elegant letters, but every imagined scenario ultimately ended with him leaving her.
*‘There’s no way a man like him would work out with me.’*
How much better would it be if I didn’t know the future?
The idea that the man she had always found irritating could fall for her due to a single moment’s mistake was impossible.
*“It doesn’t matter if I was your first, as long as I’m your last.”*
*“That day was a mistake for both of us.”*
*“How can such an important event be a mistake?”*
*“……You don’t remember, right?”*
*“I do.”*
*“What if I don’t?”*
*“We’ll do it again. Until you remember everything.”*
Wynster was more serious than ever. The eyes of that man, who was always so cold, felt strangely hot, mysterious, and embarrassingly intense.
*Don’t indulge in foolish thoughts. The more it’s like this, the more you need to keep your wits about you.* Adeline knew her position better than anyone.
*‘I can never be anything to that man.’*
Her first life was nothing special. She was married off as if sold, tried to adapt somehow, but was ultimately executed. That execution was so trivial it didn’t even garner attention. The problem back then was that her husband had seriously offended the Blackwood family.
In her second, third, and fourth lives, whenever she looked back on her deaths, the Blackwood family was always involved. Wynster never killed her directly, but he was never *not* a cause of her death either.
*‘I thought I was avoiding the Blackwoods and living well this time…’*
Everything Adeline did — entering the academy, starting her business — were things any imperial citizen could do if they just put in the basic effort. Moreover, during her academy days, Wynster disliked Adeline. She couldn’t not know, since he glared at her every time.
*‘Is he just tormenting me by talking about marriage? Why on earth?’*
No matter how much she thought about it, Wynster was a man whose motives were impossible to discern.
“Boss.”
Besides, there were so many women following the Grand Duke. There’s no way she could *actually* be his first. Unless he’s just saying it to mess with her.
“Boss.”
Wynster was a man who received attention and admiration wherever he went. She never could have guessed she would draw the attention of such an extraordinary man.
*‘If it were just like before, picking fights and leaving it at that, I wouldn’t have cared at all.’*
“Adeline!”
“……!”
Startled, Adeline’s eyes widened into circles. Ian was staring right into her eyes from directly in front of her. He touched her forehead to check her temperature for a fever. At that moment, Adeline tightly grabbed Ian’s hand and urgently opened her lips.
“Ah, Ian. Um, when did you get here?”
“Are you feeling unwell again?”
“Hey, listen. Ian.”
“Yes?”
“Do you… happen to have a woman you’re planning to marry?”
“……?”
“A fiancée or something.”
“Ah, no. Not yet. Why are you suddenly asking…?”
“Then… will you marry me?”
“……What?!”
“Just for a year… no, even half a year would do.”
“Suddenly, what kind of talk is that…?”
Ian’s pupils shook as if in turmoil. Adeline was well aware how foolish and absurd the words that had just left her mouth were.
“No.”
“……?”
“No matter how desperate I am, this isn’t right. I’m sorry. I must have lost my mind.”
“Could it be… Is it because of Count Hamel’s family?”
“How do you know about the Hamels?”
“I met a woman yesterday who claimed to be your younger sister. I had my suspicions, but it seems it’s true.”
“My sister?”
“Yes. She said marriage talks are currently going on with Count Hamel…”
“I have absolutely no intention of getting married.”
The real problem wasn’t Count Hamel, but Wynster. Adeline couldn’t bring herself to talk about that, so she awkwardly raised the corners of her mouth.
“Boss.”
“Yeah?”
“You know I’ve always respected you, right?”
“I know. I’m always grateful to you too, Ian. Let’s pretend you didn’t hear what I said today. I must have really lost my mind.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ian scratched his cheek, looking somewhat embarrassed.
“Do you remember that day? The day I fell into the water.”
“Ah, that day. Of course I remember.”
“Honestly, I was ready to give up. I thought even God had abandoned me.”
That cold winter. She recalled when Ian fell into the water. He was more passive and quiet back then than he is now. It was before Adeline supported and encouraged him by her side, helping him regain his current vitality.
“That day, you yelled at me that if I gave up, I’d die by your hand. That’s why I survived.”
Ian smiled faintly and took Adeline’s hand. A sincere smile and earnest eyes shone brilliantly.
Adeline felt deep gratitude seeing him like that, but she couldn’t bring herself to nod at what he said next.
“……I may not be a great actor, but I think I could be of help when needed.”
***
Returning home, Adeline threw herself onto the bed.
*‘Using Ian is definitely not right.’*
Instead of getting angry at her insane proposal, Ian tried to understand her first. Using such a kind person wasn’t something a decent human should do.
Maybe I should just find someone to play the role of a fake husband? It’s not a real marriage, so I can just think of it as hiring a new employee.
Adeline grabbed her hair. A throbbing headache was rising.
*‘I thought contract dating and contract marriages were just stories that happened to other people.’*
Sigh. Her sigh stretched out long and weary.
The role of an extra was perfect for a ruined country noble lady. What business would a girl as insignificant as dust have proactively seeking a contract marriage?
*‘Sometimes I really don’t like this world.’*
In the Odescian Empire, parents still commonly forced marriages. She had no intention of being sold off in marriage again, but she also had absolutely no desire to marry a man she had never seriously considered before.
*‘I’d rather live happily as a lifelong single person.’*
Had she been too complacent about other things while focusing only on making money? Adeline closed her eyes tightly and recalled her past lives. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out what the problem was.
*‘Wynster and I have never been entangled like this before. That was the natural order.’*
The Grand Duke was the male protagonist of this world, and by his side was always the female protagonist, ‘Layla Penecia.’ So the idea of the male protagonist marrying an extra whose role wasn’t even clear was utter nonsense.
*‘But this novel… When did it start again?’*
