Chapter 001
“Do not follow me, Your Grace. And do not kneel, either. I am tired of this now.”
The Duke was walking behind Vanessa, at a distance that was neither too close nor too far.
The palace night was quiet. In the long corridor, only the moonlight cast a faint glow.
“I do not quite understand, Miss Vanessa. Which part of me causes you such discomfort?”
‘Ha, where do I even begin?’
Was it the fact that he sent custom-made dresses without even asking for her size?
Or that he claimed ignorance while always being one step ahead of her everywhere?
…Or that he set fire to the house and didn’t even tell her why?
Vanessa turned around. She scanned the massive man before her from head to toe.
She knew this was rude, but she didn’t care anymore.
Even if he was a member of the imperial family, it made no difference. Because his method of courtship—if she could even call it that—had become nearly obsessive.
This man. The man who wrapped his head in a black hood as usual, hiding his face.
The one who whispered all sorts of sweet words yet hadn’t revealed his face even once.
Vanessa pointed her hand toward his head.
“First, that long, dangling hair.”
The Duke’s hair, black as ebony, hung down over his shoulders, casting a shadow over his face.
With a reclusive personality that was kindly described as ‘unsociable,’ the high society called him the ‘Gloomy Grand Duke.’
“Ha.”
With that ambiguous response, the Duke suddenly drew his sword. It was a sharp, jagged hunting knife. As clouds covered the moon, the surroundings fell into total darkness.
Vanessa hesitated, on the verge of stepping back.
Snikt— Snikt—
“……?”
What had been cut was his hair.
‘Wow, I made a mistake.’
Watching his hair fall onto the marble floor, Vanessa stopped thinking.
“Miss Vanessa?”
When she raised her head, the clouds covering the moon dissipated.
She could have made up dozens of reasons to reject him. But the moment she saw his face under the moonlight, she forgot every other reason.
Eyes like a frozen lake. Eyelids that looked somewhat bored, and a nose as perfectly curved as if it were drawn. And finally, lips that curled into a faint smile.
“…..Your Grace.”
“Please, call me Phileas.”
His steady gaze upon her was pressing. Eyes like ice, yet they seemed to be burning. Vanessa stepped back without realizing it.
‘It looked like his eyes tilted slightly… is that normal?’
“I just remembered something. We’ve known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”
“It has been exactly two months and twenty days, Miss Vanessa. Since we met at the ball.”
“…..Indeed. Perhaps this is the first time I’ve seen your face in two months and twenty days.”
The Duke fell silent for a moment. His elegant eyebrows rose slightly.
Even with the haphazard haircut, he looked incredibly sophisticated.
“I see.”
“The required answer isn’t ‘I see.’ Why have you been hiding your face until now?”
“Do you like it?”
“What?”
“Do you find my face to your liking, Miss Vanessa?”
“…..If I were to answer that, I would seem rude one way or another.”
“If responding to my foolish question is considered rudeness, then I think I like your rudeness.”
Vanessa gave a bitter smile.
Maintaining a calm facade didn’t work in front of this man. No matter what expression she put on, he engaged her without care.
“That is one of the strangest compliments I’ve ever heard.”
“Then I shall correct myself. I love you, Miss Vanessa. Not just your rudeness.”
Vanessa finally looked away.
She had already died once in a horrific way. To avoid a second death, she had to anticipate what was coming next.
And this crazy Duke, by his very existence, was a variable she could not ignore.
“I am sorry, Your Grace, but you must keep that feeling to yourself. You are not the person I need right now.”
“Then, what kind of person does Miss Vanessa need?”
He asked without a twitch of his brow.
“Have you ever killed a human being before?”
“Yes, Miss Vanessa.”
At that direct answer, Vanessa’s eyes swiveled toward him.
“That’s expected. The Empire is still at war. But what I mean is a simple, personal killing, Your Grace. Have you ever committed an act of personal revenge for the sake of a single person?”
The Duke appeared to think for a moment, then shook his head.
“If it’s about that….. then I don’t think I have.”
“See?”
Vanessa moved to turn her back on him.
“Don’t you have more questions?”
Vanessa stopped walking at the sound that followed. The Duke had approached her until he was directly behind her.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“You asked if I had killed anyone before. But you didn’t ask if I would kill from now on, did you?”
Vanessa pressed her lips firmly together.
“If your question was meant in that sense, Miss Vanessa, then I will. For your happiness, no matter the target. So…”
“So?”
“Call me by my name from now on.”
The Duke smiled with a face so beautiful it gave her chills.
Well, it was going to be a long night.
* * *
Vanessa Claudia Lang was the flower of aristocratic society. That hadn’t changed for the eight years since her debut as a young lady.
But no one knew how much she struggled and fought behind that glamorous, decorated fan.
Her father, Count Lang, was a drunkard and a gambler. He squandered his fortune and beat his wife until he forced her to flee.
Once her mother left the house, Vanessa became his next target. He would beat her for the slightest reason, but he never touched her face.
<Since you look like your mother, that pretty face of yours is the only useful thing about you. Go to society, or anywhere else, and catch a rich man. That is your only use.>
‘Hah, predictable words.’
Yet, the drunkard Count’s words weren’t entirely devoid of logic. He had nothing to leave her; in fact, he would likely leave her debts if luck didn’t favor her. Even if he had money, a daughter had no right to inherit it.
The fastest way to escape the swamp she lived in and secure a decent life was marriage. Marriage to a wealthy man or someone of high aristocratic standing.
Of course, high society wasn’t an easy place to survive with just a pretty face, but Vanessa knew how to stay alive. She had gained incredible intuition from long years of beatings and humiliation.
She could read in people’s gazes what the nobles wanted and understand the hidden tensions between people without a single word being spoken.
On top of that, luck was on her side. After Lady Evangeline, the queen of high society for years, suddenly left the country, everyone was looking for a new face.
Then the Count’s daughter appeared. The daughter of Crystal Lang, the woman who had once enchanted the capital with her beauty.
Perhaps because she was deceived by the ease of success, Vanessa accepted the Prince’s marriage proposal without hesitation.
She thought he was just a frivolous young man, but he was actually arrogant and made enemies easily. However, his personality wasn’t a problem in their married life—until the Crown Prince suddenly fell from his horse and died in a mysterious accident.
Prince Konrad wasn’t qualified to become Emperor, but staying close to the palace was necessary to avoid the assassination attempts that surrounded him.
Vanessa tried repeatedly to convince him not to relinquish his succession rights to his uncle, Duke Bastian, but he wouldn’t listen to her.
<Now every member of the imperial family is lurking for me. Originally… originally it was you who pushed me to this, Vanessa. I never wanted to be a Crown Prince, nor am I fit for it!>
Those were his last words to her. In the end, during their journey to leave the capital, both were assassinated inside their carriage.
“Vanessa…. Vanessa, save me…. I’m in pain, Vanessa. The doctor…. call a doctor….”
The blood-stained Konrad was writhing at her feet, crying. From Vanessa’s neck and chest, blood flowed without stopping.
Vanessa exhaled a long breath. For some reason, she felt relief.
‘Finally, maybe I can rest. Perhaps all my life I was just clinging on to stay alive.’
“…..It’s not a big deal.”
Even death.
And when she opened her eyes, she found herself returned to the night of her debut in society.
* * *
“This…. this is the Emperor’s palace…. have I returned to the capital? Where is Konrad?”
Wait. Vanessa reached her hand up to feel her neck. She felt the coarseness of lace.
“This dress….. I haven’t worn a cheap dress like this since the engagement party.”
A lady’s fan snapped shut with a sharp sound. Her image was reflected in the ornate mirror.
A woman with copper hair and a rigid smile like a porcelain doll. A black dress wrapped tightly around her neck right up to her chin.
There was no doubt. It was spring.
The noble girls were all wearing bright pastel colors, while she alone looked as if she were attending a funeral.
She was trying to hide the bruises on her neck, but in doing so, she drew even more attention.
“Are you okay, Vanessa? You froze up suddenly…”
She raised her head toward the familiar voice.
“Mason…?”
Mason Surrey, her childhood friend who had been killed five years ago on the Southern Front.
Vanessa rushed toward him and hugged him tightly. A moment of surprise flashed across his face, then he smiled as he always did.
“You were pretending to be calm, but you were nervous too, weren’t you?”
Vanessa opened her eyes, which she had squeezed shut.
There was no mistake. Time had returned her to a spring eight years ago.
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