CHAPTER 12…………………………………….
“Irina…”
“But Brother, you’re truly remarkable.”
“…….”
“You knew that the princess had been injured, yet you…”
There had been a single remark he made to bring me to the duke’s house.
“How could you say that you would treat me as a princess?”
Lian’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.
“You could have easily guessed that I’d be used as a double again for another year.”
“Irina, I really…”
“Or did you truly believe that I wouldn’t be used and would actually be treated as a princess?”
If he truly believed that, Lian wasn’t naive—he was simply foolish.
By the situation alone, he should have known I would be used.
“Irina, I wasn’t trying to deceive you…”
“I’m not saying this to blame you. It’s just…”
I brushed off the dust from his shoulder and smiled.
“I just thought you really are the kind of person the Rise family produces.”
The kind who pushes forward without considering how the other person might feel.
The kind who insists on what they want even when they know the other person doesn’t want it or wouldn’t like it.
I tilted my head at him as he stood silently.
I had thought he’d feel proud to hear that he was “truly of the Rise family,” but his lack of reaction told me he knew my words were meant to tease.
“Well, I’ll be going now, Brother.”
I brushed past him and headed toward the study where Duke Alexis would be.
A maid, having noticed my departure and return, hurried over.
“Princess? Were you out?”
The use of “Princess” made me flinch. The maid, noticing my sharp gaze, nervously rolled her eyes.
“Did I… make a mistake?”
“No, nothing at all.”
I had said I would act as the princess for a year, yet I hadn’t expected anyone to openly call me “Princess.”
It sounded flattering to me, but if April were here in this mansion, that would have made me an immediate target.
“Is Father in the mansion?”
“Yes, he’s in the study.”
“I’ll be seeing Father, so leave the robe in the room. Also, take the papers from the desk into the study.”
“Yes, Princess.”
Handing the robe to the maid, I strode toward the study.
Even without Barak and April, the duke’s house was surprisingly quiet.
It was like the calm in the eye of a storm.
I lightly knocked on the study door.
“It’s me.”
After no response, I knocked once more. Only then did a voice from inside reply, “Come in.”
The once battle-hardened duke sounded rather weary.
His face lacked color, making him appear colder than usual.
Perhaps it was because of the commotion with Barak earlier? I had assumed only Duke Alexis would be in the study, but Patrick was there as well.
After taking a sip of water Patrick brought him, the duke forced a smile and asked me,
“What brings you here?”
“You said you’d grant me whatever I wanted while acting as a double, right?”
“I did.”
“So I came to tell you what I want.”
The duke, reclining in his chair, stood and gestured toward the sofa in the study.
“What is it that you want?”
Just as I was about to answer, a knock echoed in the study.
“Come in.”
At the duke’s permission, the door opened silently to reveal the maid’s innocent face.
“The young lady asked me to bring this…”
She quickly handed over a paper and left as fast as she had come.
I placed the papers on the desk and said,
“Please sign this contract, Duke.”
Reading it would make it clear that the contract was not unfairly one-sided.
It stated that for the next year, I would faithfully act as the princess, performing as her double according to the duke’s wishes.
“Pay 100,000 Luks per month…?”
The last clause slipped from the duke’s lips as he quickly scanned the document.
“Yes, Duke. This is the amount to be paid to me while the princess recovers at the villa after her accident.”
The cost of the double would be borne by the duke’s house.
“Irina.”
He urgently called my name as he stared at the contract.
“I know it’s not a small amount, but it’s not so much that the duke’s house couldn’t afford it.”
100,000 Luks was roughly the living expenses of an ordinary four-person household in the empire’s capital for one year.
A large sum for most, but not significant for the duke’s household, which could earn money effortlessly even while breathing for ten seconds.
Consider the income from the Rubella mines in the southern empire alone.
“Is money really all you want?”
“For me, it’s not just money.”
Once my plan was complete, I intended to leave the empire.
To give Alicia half of what she deserved, to live without using sexual energy to avoid the temple’s eyes, the money from the duke’s house was necessary.
Moreover, the duke’s family had failed to keep a promise to my father, which had led to his death… 100,000 Luks was a reasonable compensation.
“I believe the duke’s house can provide this amount.”
“I thought you would want something other than money.”
“I don’t know what you expected, but for two women living alone, money comes first.”
I had once thought that things like sacrifice, family, love, care, and time mattered more than money.
But after being expelled from the duke’s house, my perspective completely changed.
To survive, and considering the duke’s family’s actions toward me and my father, I realized that money and power mattered more than noble concepts like family, love, or sacrifice.
“I also heard from Patrick that you’d give a great reward in a year.”
His ash-gray eyes on the paper slowly met mine.
Seeing him unusually pale today, he even looked like a sick patient.
“But such a reward is unnecessary.”
The duke’s Adam’s apple moved slightly.
He looked as confused as Lian had moments ago, which I found fascinating.
“So please, just sign the contract.”
The paper in his hand crumpled slightly.
Though his expression remained calm as ever, the slight crease revealed his discomfort.
Had something I said just now annoyed him?
Ha.
With a heavy sigh, Duke Alexis picked up the quill.
“Is 100,000 Luks enough?”
He asked without even looking at me. I nodded slightly, even though he didn’t see it.
“Yes.”
The quill touched the white paper.
“I ask for neither more nor less.”
The duke’s pen moved slowly.
“…Irina.”
As I waited for his signature to be completed, he spoke.
“I didn’t bring you here only to have you act as a double.”
His heavy, serious voice made me pause. His voice trembled slightly as he spoke without looking at me.
“Even if April hadn’t been injured, I would have called you here.”
“I see.”
Words are easy to speak.
“But it’s also true that you wanted to use me as a double.”
His hand froze mid-motion.
“Miss.”
I ignored Patrick, who seemed to restrain me, silently asking me not to speak harshly anymore.
“Even now, you wouldn’t want me to reveal my identity, right?”
“……”
“So you needn’t say such things.”
As the duke completed his signature, I gathered the contract and smiled.
“I’m no longer a child who takes comfort in such words.”
I had foolishly been swayed by the duke’s family before.
Rolling up the contract, I left the study. I saw the maid standing nervously and asked curiously,
“Why are you here?”
“Because the princess is inside. Is everything okay?”
“……”
“I thought the atmosphere seemed tense.”
“Princess,” she said. Her innocence made me smile.
I didn’t care what happened to the Rise family, but I felt some advice was necessary for a young, unaware maid.
If she were to fall out of favor with the duke’s household, it would be difficult for her to work for another noble family.
“Don’t ever use the title ‘Princess’ in front of Barak or the real April.”
