IWBCAS 14

Chapter 14

As the door closed softly, Reina and Kalhail were left alone. Reina spoke first, clearly annoyed.

“What are you trying to do right now?”

“What do you mean, what am I trying to do?”

“You suddenly show up and talk about marriage? What is that supposed to mean?!”

Kalhail answered calmly, “I thought about it… and marriage doesn’t seem like a bad idea.”

Reina, frustrated, held her head, then looked at him.

“You want to marry someone you have to kiss every day. Wouldn’t it be more convenient if we were married?”

“Every day? I thought it was every three days.”

“Every three days, once a day—it doesn’t matter.”

‘This man… seriously?’

“There’s a limit to how long we can keep hiding it. It would be better to get married and do it legally.”

“……”

“And you can’t meet anyone else right now anyway. I’m the only option left.”

…He wasn’t wrong.

Wait a minute, “option”?

That word reminded Reina of something he said a few days ago:

“Let’s go with that. You won’t have any other options anyway.”

He mentioned “options” back then too… could it be?

“Your Grace, when you kissed me at the café… You didn’t do that on purpose, right?”

“On purpose? Me? Of course not.”

But he avoided her eyes.

“Ahem.” Kalhail cleared his throat awkwardly and continued.

“Isn’t it a good strategy? We help each other.”

More like everything benefits him.

Reina was annoyed but had to admit, he had a point. Her original plan was to steal the Holy Grail, get married, and leave the capital quietly.

But this crazy duke had kissed her out of nowhere, ruining her chance to marry anyone else. Her only remaining option was to leave town, pretending to be sick—but Kalhail wouldn’t allow that either.

‘Should I just marry him…?’

While she was still thinking, Kalhail kept tempting her.

“I’ll say it again—I’m the best husband in the empire.”

Sure, whatever.

“I’m handsome.”

Yes, confident too.

“And very rich.”

…Rich?

That part caught Reina’s interest.

“How rich are you exactly?”

Kalhail gave a smooth smile, full of noble confidence.

“Rich enough to buy anything my wife wants.”

Wow. That did sound nice.

Reina’s eyes sparkled. “Then… could you buy land in the South?”

“Land in the South?”

“Yes! My dream is to live warmly and comfortably in a nice southern place and live a long, healthy life.”

Kalhail, who had looked so sure of himself, suddenly looked awkward.

“Only the Emperor can grant land like that. You can’t just buy it. I only own land in the North.”

What? But he just said he could buy anything.

Reina looked disappointed.

Still, she had no real plans to marry him anyway.

Pretending to think a little longer, she finally shook her head.

“No. I can’t marry you.”

“…What?”

Kalhail looked like he didn’t hear her right. Reina spoke more firmly.

“I said no.”

“You… won’t marry me? Why?”

Kalhail looked genuinely shocked, like no one had ever rejected him before.

Well, maybe no one had.

Most noblewomen would’ve thrown themselves at him just for a chance to be near him—some even jumped into his bed without clothes just to have his baby.

‘Not that I ever heard it worked.’

That ridiculous confidence of his probably came from those experiences. He thought every woman wanted to marry him.

But he didn’t know the truth about Reina.

She had lived a poor, hard life. She feared cold and hunger more than anything. She wasn’t like other noble girls who chased power or fame.

People who never lived in a cold house, wrapped in a thin blanket, chewing on uncooked ramen, wouldn’t understand.

Instead of money and power, Reina wanted a peaceful, warm life.

“For me, just being warm and well-fed every day is the most important thing.”

Kalhail didn’t get it.

“You think marrying me would make you cold and hungry?”

“You’re the lord of the North! Even if I’m full, I’ll be freezing! The North is too cold!”

The cold in the North was so bad, it took three full pages to describe in the original novel. Even monster beasts came down from the mountains in winter because they couldn’t stand it either.

‘Why would I walk into that frozen land when I finally have a chance to live comfortably?’

She’d rather run away.

Just because she was hungry didn’t mean she’d eat anything. And Kalhail, right now, was “anything.”

“Even if there’s no one else to marry, I won’t marry you. And who knows? Maybe someone who doesn’t care about scandals will want to marry me.”

Kalhail’s eyebrows twitched in annoyance.

He didn’t like that.

Reina noticed his scary expression but stood her ground.

“…Is that so?”

He brushed back his hair with his fingers and repeated her words, almost mockingly.

“Fine then, Lady Reina. I won’t marry someone who doesn’t want me anyway.”

Oh? Is he finally giving up?

Just as Reina felt relieved, Kalhail added:

“Then before I leave, heal my illness completely. If kissing isn’t enough, we’ll try something else.”

“Something else…?”

“Body fluids aren’t just saliva, right?”

He licked his lower lip in a suggestive way.

What was that look?!

He couldn’t really mean here and now?!

Kalhail leaned forward, and Reina backed up as much as she could.

“What… what are you doing, Your Grace?”

“I’m asking you to keep your promise.”

“Promise?”

Reina looked confused. Kalhail smirked.

“Don’t tell me you forgot… Today is the third day—our deal.”

What?! The kiss deal?!

‘He wants the kiss now?’

She had totally forgotten because of his sudden proposal.

But thankfully… all he wanted was a kiss.

‘Whew. I thought he was going to jump on me or something.’

Compared to that, a kiss wasn’t so bad.

Kalhail got up, came close, sat beside her, closed his eyes, and tapped his lips with his finger.

“Eh?! You want me to kiss you?”

Reina shouted, but he didn’t open his eyes.

“What’s the problem? You kissed me fine when I was unconscious.”

He didn’t even blink. He was serious.

‘Ugh, this is annoying.’

So he just gives his lips and expects her to do everything?

Sure, this was just for curing his illness. But still—it wasn’t easy.

Looking at him calmly waiting like that made her angry.

‘He’s blackmailing me, but without me, he can’t get better either! Why do I have to be the one to give in every time?!’

She wanted to scream that and storm out.

But… Kalhail scared her.

So, hiding her anger, Reina leaned in and lightly touched her lips to his. She made a big ‘smooch’ sound with her mouth, then quickly stood up.

Kalhail opened one eye and stared.

“…What was that?”

“That was the kiss you wanted.”

“…Are you kidding me?”

His eyebrow twitched.

He clearly didn’t like her attitude.

But Reina wasn’t going to do everything by herself while he just sat there with his eyes closed.

“You never said how I had to kiss you!”

She forced herself to say it, even though her voice shook a little.

Kalhail narrowed his eyes, his smile gone. His gaze was sharp like a blade.

‘So this is how the North’s ruler carries its cold with him…’

Even though the snowstorm behind him was just her imagination, she felt frozen.

‘Did I go too far…?’

Should I just apologize and do what he wants?

While she was thinking…

Suddenly, a loud sound came from Kalhail’s stomach.

Grrrroowl…

‘…What was that?’

A growling stomach? Now?

She looked at him and saw his face twist in embarrassment. The imaginary snowstorm vanished.

‘So it was his stomach.’

Poor guy.

He looked like he hadn’t eaten anything.

“You sound really hungry. You should go back to the palace and eat something, Your Grace.”

Reina looked at him with sympathy.

She always felt bad for people who were hungry—even someone as scary as Kalhail.

“If you’re too hungry, you can eat here at our house too.”

It was past mealtime, but who would kick out a Grand Duke?

“Well then, I’ll go now. I’m still grounded.”

She bowed politely and left.

Kalhail stood there, stunned.

From being rejected to being treated like a hungry beggar—it was a lot.

And then… his stomach growled again.