Chapter 1
Prologue
If you open this door, there will be a duke.
Perhaps the man who could save my parents’ lives.
Vivian hesitated for a moment, her hand curled into a fist hovering over the door as she drew a deep breath to knock, but then she stepped back.
Would he listen to me?
Rationally, the last encounter with the duke hadn’t been good. No, it had been terrible. She was certain he had frowned at some of the things she had said. Now, looking back, she regretted the moments when she had shouted and thrown tantrums.
But she couldn’t turn back. She had to plead, even beg the duke.
Resolute, Vivian tapped the door lightly with a stiff expression.
Knock. Knock.
Despite the low sound, there was no response from inside. He was supposed to be here…
“Come in.”
At that moment, the low, resonant voice slipped into her ears, and Vivian inhaled sharply. Without hesitation, she opened the door and stepped inside, her gaze transfixed on the duke as he stood with the sunset behind him, flipping through documents.
“Sit there.”
He glanced at her briefly, offering only a simple command before returning his attention to the papers.
Tentatively, Vivian sat on the sofa he indicated, her back straight, staring blankly at the table. The sound of papers turning was soft and continuous. In the suffocating silence, the duke seemed completely unbothered. Perfect indifference. Vivian suddenly felt a strange sense of being utterly isolated in the room.
Where am I right now?
Just as this thought struck her, she remembered her parents, dragged away by soldiers. Even now, sentenced to die, they must be drowning in despair.
That was why Vivian felt some relief in knowing that the duke had at least briefly stayed at the village estate of Fover, and that this dreadful summer might now give her a reason to reach him.
The duke she had once despised and hated had become her only hope.
The cruelty and misery of that fact made it almost impossible for Vivian to speak.
Plunk.
The sound of a pen being set down brought her gaze up. His calm, dark eyes, always so still, seemed to ask, Why are you here? Vivian nervously parted her lips.
“I thought I had expressed my intentions clearly back then.”
Edmund, turning the pen cap with a slow motion, rose and approached the trembling Vivian.
“Was it insufficient?”
Her anxiety and unease—the dreaded green eyes betrayed every emotion. Edmund slowly crossed the table and stopped near the door, lowering his gaze.
Click.
He locked the door.
Finally, he looked at the woman who had crawled to him through despair, as if finding the right answer at the edge of hopelessness.
“…I need your help, Duke.”
Vivian’s lips trembled nervously. Watching her speak so openly, Edmund couldn’t hide a small chuckle.
“Help?”
He sat across from her, one deliberate step closer, nodding as if to encourage her to continue.
“My parents… were captured—”
“And?”
Tears filled her clear eyes.
“I heard… that you played a major role in this rebellion. You know, Duke… my parents are not like that. They couldn’t possibly have known… They wouldn’t do such a thing!”
“I know very well that your parents are kind and capable people.”
“Yes! So please…”
Even as tears fell onto her dry, clenched hands, Edmund watched leisurely, unbothered.
“Why should I help you?”
Clutching her wavering gaze firmly, he reminded her in a calm, deliberate voice.
“You. Said. What to me?”
“D-Duke…”
A hopeless moan escaped Vivian’s lips, dyed in despair.
This couldn’t be. If she failed to persuade him, she already knew the grim fate awaiting her parents. She had to turn his heart.
“…A deal.”
Edmund’s brow furrowed at the strange word. Vivian wiped her tears and gathered her scattered thoughts to continue, forcing calm into her voice.
“You… saved me, didn’t you, Duke?”
Her quivering, pleading voice carried urgency.
“I’ll do anything. I’ll give you everything. If you need money…”
“Hmm.”
Edmund covered his chin with his hand as if amused, his voice cold.
“The first step in a deal is understanding what the other party wants.”
“….”
“And unfortunately, I want nothing from you.”
As he observed her shocked eyes, he rose, then paused, leaning toward her.
A cold hand brushed the stiff back of her neck. Vivian flinched. Edmund traced her pale skin leisurely, a faint, playful smile on his lips.
“Though… there might be one thing.”
Her trembling lashes were pitiful, like a delicate deer. Once he had satisfied himself by looking at her pale face, Edmund withdrew slightly.
“I… only have my fiancé.”
A faint voice escaped her lips, still speaking of the man she loved.
“What does that matter?”
Unaware that she had already been abandoned.
“Where is that so-called fiancé while you came here?”
Hayden Harper was still in Leman. That fact pleased him. Unlike the woman who still clung to absurd notions like love and trust. Most likely, Bender Harper had done most of the work, but it didn’t matter.
“Don’t act foolishly, Vivian.”
Vivian understood.
“You want to save them.”
Hayden won’t come.
“Your parents, Fover…”
The summer that should have been the most beautiful—the day of her wedding with Hayden—was gone. The promised two days had already passed. Vivian vaguely realized that the wedding that should have taken place this summer had been canceled.
“I’ll do whatever it takes. Just as you said.”
Hearing those words made reality hit. All the emotions she had been holding back surged and spilled.
Vivian staggered toward the duke.
At least he was still in front of her.
She had to accept it. Trapped in this nightmarish summer, the only way to save her parents and Fover was this man: Edmund Lockberg. The cruel man looking at her with calm eyes was now the only answer.
Tears stained her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
The solution wasn’t difficult. Vivian stepped forward, approaching the door where the duke stood. He always wanted the same thing. This time would be no different.
Edmund glanced at her trembling lips, resting his hand on the doorknob. As he slowly turned it, his ash-gray eyes blinked.
Click.
The warmth of lips touching hers—the gentle heat slowly engulfing her body—finally made Edmund relax and process the situation.
His delayed reaction was uncharacteristic, caused by her sudden kiss. A dizzying sensation overwhelmed him, almost stealing his breath. Yet even amidst the dizzying thrill, Edmund smiled, softly tugging her lips.
“Do as you learned.”
Gripping Vivian’s hair roughly, he bent over, pressing his hand deeply into the nape of her neck. Overwhelmed by the sudden closeness, she staggered backward. Thud. Pressed against the door, her slender arms wrapped around his waist as he leaned further, roughly holding her chin.
“Make good use of it.”
His hands pulling her cheeks painfully, he invaded her small, parted mouth. Heat rushed in uncontrollably. Vivian gripped her clothes tighter, closing her eyes desperately.
The rattling door, soft moans, and wet sounds mixed into the twilight air.
Holding her flushed, pale legs, Edmund smiled beautifully.
Finally, the prize of this summer was his.
“Vivian.”
Gripping her thin neck, her bright emerald eyes blinked.
It was a night enough to close a tiresome season.
