Chapter 74
“Is this… really true?”
“I’m afraid so, yes.”
Rainier frowned at the information Layla had confirmed.
“She really is your younger sister.”
What Layla quickly checked with her eyes was this:
The current Marquis Bruce had a complicated history with women since his days as a lesser marquis. Among the many mistresses he kept then, there were several children born.
Also, the previous wife of the Marquis Bruce, Sonnet’s mother, died in an accident—but it didn’t seem to be a real accident.
Behind it was the current marquis’s wife and the second son.
And it seemed the current marquise was manipulating the marquis so that he wouldn’t acknowledge the children of other mistresses.
“If nothing else, if you marry into the Bruce marquis family, you will suffer terribly.”
After reading everything, Layla looked at Rainier. Despite his rough body, his face was pure and clear as he stared at her.
“If the marquis family is like that, it would be better to break off the engagement.”
“I don’t want to break it off. And I am going to get married soon.”
“In that case, maybe it’d be easier to divorce and live alone.”
“I think I’d be lonely if I divorced and lived alone.”
“If you’re lonely, you can just get a new husband.”
“A new husband? Who?”
“Well… how about a professional husband? Like a doctor or a lawyer? Or maybe a university professor? How about a royal official?”
Layla looked at him as if wondering if he was joking. But surprisingly, he looked serious.
“How about the emperor?”
“So the emperor is a good choice for a new husband, huh? Got it.”
“What do you mean ‘got it’? How many years difference are there between me and His Majesty the Emperor?”
Layla couldn’t help but chuckle, and Rainier smiled while stroking her cheek.
“Sonnet already told me everything. I think I’m a trustworthy husband.”
“Getting stabbed in the back after trusting someone hurts even more.”
“I’ve been through a lot, so my back is pretty tough, Rain.”
“You never give in to a single word, huh?”
“Should I give in?”
“I’ll give in. Then will you be nice to me?”
Layla was flustered because Rainier suddenly hugged her. Of all things, he was only wearing pants, so the heat of his upper body pressed directly against her.
“You said you’d give in…?”
She tensed unconsciously as he pressed his body down on hers.
“I always lose. I never have the intention of winning against you.”
“Why not?”
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter to me.”
“Then what does matter?”
Because the bed beneath them shook strangely, her heart fluttered as well. It seemed his heartbeat was quietly flowing into her ears, oddly offbeat.
“What matters most is that you look at me like this. I don’t care if I lose all the arguments forever.”
His face slowly came closer to hers. Layla felt a tickle as their noses touched, and when they shared breath, she started getting nervous.
“You said earlier you wanted to win.”
“I had to say that for you to want to win, so that you would… notice me.”
Every time he spoke, their lips touched, and Layla closed her eyes without realizing it. Then she felt his lips gently pressing hers to stop her breath.
She moved in sync with his practiced kiss, sensing that whenever she took the initiative, he responded gently with his lips. When she didn’t respond, he would persistently explore her lips.
So, she tried to explore his lips like he did to her.
But while it seemed easy and pleasant when he did it, doing it herself made her jaw ache and feel awkward.
“Huff…”
Noticing she was struggling, he slowly pulled his lips away.
“Haah…”
Layla gasped for air and realized—
“I didn’t draw blood.”
“I guess we have to do it again.”
He smiled brightly and bit her lips, then pressed his lips back to hers.
And so, for a very long time, she had to stay with him.
“What exactly is written in that book?”
Layla asked while looking at the red-covered book Rainier always carried.
She was waiting in her room until the carriage was ready, because today was the day she was invited to the Empress’s tea party.
“This book contains important information.”
“What kind of important information?”
“Information more important than my own life.”
Curious, Layla reached for the book, and Rainier obediently handed it to her. Without much thought, Layla opened the book.
“…A fraud.”
There was nothing written inside.
“Try this.”
Rainier motioned for Layla to flip through the pages quickly. She did as he said.
As the pages fluttered, a picture appeared.
“Oh my.”
“Try it the other way.”
This time, the picture was colored.
“Wow!”
Layla closed the book, then opened it again — nothing remained inside.
“This must be a magic book for children?”
“Something like that.”
Layla wondered why he carried such an odd book, but thinking everyone has their own tastes, she didn’t ask further.
“Are you going to use it at the tea party later?”
“William will be there.”
Thinking about it, Layla felt uneasy because she hardly knew anyone at the tea party. Then she suddenly remembered Sonnet wasn’t invited either.
“Oh, right. Surprisingly, Sonnet didn’t get an invitation.”
“Maybe because the marquis himself is going, not the lesser marquis.”
Rainier said casually, brushing Layla’s stray hair behind her ear.
“How many times do we have left now?”
“About 330.”
“Don’t you think we can finish within a month?”
Layla said excitedly. Rainier smiled happily, looking into her eyes and whispered,
“Shall we reduce the number a bit before getting on the carriage?”
“No, I won’t. I just put on makeup.”
Because of her lipstick, Layla couldn’t kiss him more, or else he’d smudge it all.
“Do it after you get back.”
She said casually, and Rainier chuckled.
“If you wait obediently, will I get more kisses?”
“I’ll wait.”
“And, miss.”
“Yes?”
“I’ve bought all the shares of Vicious Bank.”
“That’s great, Rain.”
Layla smiled satisfied and praised him. He smiled back with the same expression.
Before long, Layla had to go to the palace for the tea party.
“I told you to keep this a secret, but you’ve already spilled everything to Rain.”
Layla said as she linked arms with William, who had come as her partner to the tea party. William stretched his arm out stiffly as if trying to avoid touching her and walked like a machine.
“My lord is quite perceptive.”
“It’s one thing to be quick, another to hand over the entire document.”
“I didn’t write details about Lord Hugo Ronald’s case; I memorized it to tell verbally.”
William looked at her and said this, and Layla chuckled.
Currently, he had the same eye and hair color as Rainier but his face was different, making his features seem a bit vague.
“What is it about?”
“Count Ronald’s land ownership rights went up for auction. It seems my lord already bought them. This can mortgage the estate’s ten years of farming fees.”
“Oh my…”
“Miss hasn’t registered the name officially yet, just in case.”
Layla realized Rainier’s words about taking revenge on Hugo were true. She wondered if her buying the land was part of his revenge plan.
“Tell me the truth.”
“I only told the truth.”
“Did Rainier tell you to say that too?”
William gave a bitter smile and then looked away when their eyes met.
William wasn’t used to women. Especially beautiful women like Layla.
“Land like that must be expensive. I don’t think my salary is nearly enough.”
“There’s advance pay… too.”
“Did he make you say that as well?”
William looked away again, and Layla realized it was a yes and smiled.
They whispered quietly until they reached the Empress’s garden.
“Welcome, Layla.”
“You’re late.”
Waiting at the entrance were Princess Weimar and Crown Prince Anasis.
“The crown prince was late.”
“Sorry, both of you.”
William apologized, and Anasis sneered at him. When the mask came off, his mysterious and beautiful features were gone, leaving an ordinary appearance, making the sneer more cutting.
“Your Highness, did you have a pleasant conversation with the princess?”
Anasis smiled, maybe because he found it cute that Layla asked as soon as she saw him and the princess.
“Oh, yes. It was so pleasant I lost track of time.”
“I see.”
“Oh, Your Highness.”
Princess Weimar smiled brightly at Anasis, who looked over at Layla, then back at the princess with a grin.
The atmosphere between them was quite peaceful.
“Layla?”
However, the voice that followed was a problem.
“How did you get here?”
Layla turned involuntarily at the unwelcome voice.
“Sister?”
