Chapter 4
“Clarice! What the hell are you doing here?!”
The Duke of Leranswell’s face flushed with humiliation. Bound tightly by Clarice’s restraining magic, he couldn’t move a single muscle. No matter how hard he tried, even his fingers wouldn’t twitch.
His jaw trembled with rage and frustration, unable to break free from the invisible force.
Penelope could only blink, frozen in place as she watched the bizarre scene unfold before her.
She was feeling emotions she never thought she would ever experience — all at once.
‘…Amazing.’
No wonder they said he’d once been chosen as a potential next Pope.
The restraint spell was perfect.
“You bastard! Release me right now! Do you even know what you’re doing?!”
The Duke, his pride completely shattered, spat fury through the only thing he could still move — his mouth.
To think that he, who never bowed his head even before the Emperor, was now trapped like this!
All his plans had collapsed, and rage burned inside him. He wanted nothing more than to strangle both his daughter and the High Priest standing before him.
“Tch.”
Perhaps sensing exactly what the man was thinking, Clarice let out a small laugh filled with contempt.
‘Idiot.’
The man had no idea how dire his situation really was. Even now, instead of thinking, he was busy trying to insult others to feel superior. Pathetic.
“Ah, this is actually funny.”
It was almost impressive — to be this stupid took real talent.
‘Were the Leranswells always this dumb?’
If so, he actually pitied himself for having been harassed by such fools for years.
Clarice’s patience finally ran out. He stared directly at the Duke’s mouth — and instantly, the man’s lips sealed shut as if glued together.
A muffled groan escaped the Duke’s throat. The whites of his eyes reddened with bursting veins, but Clarice didn’t care.
He wasn’t kind enough to feel pity for a beast driven only by hatred.
Bored, he turned his gaze toward the Duke’s daughter.
The same golden hair — but a different look in the eyes. Her red irises marked her as true Leranswell blood, yet something about her felt… different.
“…Unbelievable.”
Clarice muttered under his breath. His eyes fell to her cheek — swollen and flushed red.
‘He hit her.’
The bright mark of a palm burned against her pale skin like a brand that would never fade. Her lip was probably bleeding inside, too.
“Damn it.”
Just thinking about it made him feel disgusted — though he couldn’t say why.
“Mmph! Mmmph—!”
“……”
‘Annoying.’
Penelope tilted her head at his silence, unsure what he was thinking. His green eyes flickered with something complicated before he reached a hand toward her face.
Her soft skin, still childlike, brushed against his fingertips.
‘She’s what, ten? Eleven?’ he thought. ‘So small…’
Was it normal for kids to be this tiny, or was she unusually frail? Maybe his eyesight was just terrible.
‘Damn it.’
“You’re bothersome,” he muttered quietly.
Clarice’s fingers gently cupped her cheek.
“Hah.”
“!”
The small sigh that followed was laced with murderous energy. The Duke, still struggling against the magic, froze instantly. Even the tiny hairs on his arms stood upright in terror.
Clarice’s pupils narrowed like a predator’s.
* * *
[The Leranswell Scandal]
Rumors about House Leranswell spread like wildfire — secretly sown by nobles loyal to the Emperor. Whisper by whisper, they stirred the public’s curiosity and resentment.
And they were right to.
“At last! That cursed family has fallen! I never thought I’d live to see it!”
“They deserved it. ‘The Immortal House’? Ha! More like ‘The Doomed House.’”
“Did you hear? The current Duke of Leranswell is going to be executed!”
By the Emperor’s decree, the Duke was arrested at his own mansion and thrown into the royal prison. The same man who once rode a golden carriage into the palace was now dragged through the streets like a criminal.
During his public trial — personally overseen by the Emperor — his crimes multiplied. Among them: attempted murder of the Empress.
The rumors were true. He had indeed tried to poison her.
The crowd agreed on one thing — death was the only fitting punishment.
“How’s your cheek?”
“I-I’m fine.”
‘Please stop asking…’
“Your skin’s unnecessarily delicate. Annoying.”
‘Why do you care about my skin?!’
“……”
She had plenty she wanted to say, but one look at his piercing green eyes made her shrink.
Her red eyes drifted downward instead. Looking out the window was pointless too — his gaze was heavy, sharp, and unyielding.
‘What am I supposed to do here?’
It had seemed like a good idea to get into the carriage with him earlier. It wasn’t.
Now she understood what people meant when they said someone could “kill with their eyes.”
‘Was he always this scary in the novel? I don’t think so…’
“Um…”
At her timid attempt to speak, Clarice tilted his chin, signaling her to go on. She straightened her back slightly.
‘I think… they accepted my contract.’
She had so many questions swirling in her mind.
‘Does that mean I’ve really been adopted?’
Right after Clarice shielded her, the door had burst open, and the knights — under the Emperor’s command — stormed in.
The Duke was dragged out, still bound by Clarice’s magic, unable to move.
It all happened so fast that it didn’t feel real.
He looked less like a nobleman and more like a pig being taken to the slaughterhouse.
All the household servants were arrested too — some for questioning, others charged with treason. Even her own maids were dragged away screaming.
Everyone… except her.
“Got something to ask?”
“Are we… going to the Valentine Duchy now?”
The Duke and all his people had been seized. The only reason she hadn’t been taken too was because of them.
The two men probably wanted to keep her close — to watch her, to figure out how she knew their secret.
Otherwise, why would they bother saving the daughter of their enemy?
“Yes.”
Clarice studied her with those deep green eyes.
“But you—”
A breeze drifted through the open carriage window, gently swaying his silver hair.
“How did you find out?”
‘There it is.’
She’d expected that question. Her heart still raced.
If Castro was a cold monster, then Clarice was a mad one. He might hold the title of High Priest, but he was crueler than anyone she’d met.
Penelope touched her cheek lightly — the swelling was gone. Clarice had healed it with magic.
But that didn’t mean she trusted him.
He wasn’t the kind of man to believe in anyone. Convincing him was harder than reaching the stars.
Of course, she couldn’t exactly say, ‘I read it in a book!’ — she wasn’t suicidal.
“You know… the Leranswell information network,” she said carefully.
“Pfft.”
Clarice snorted openly.
“What a load of crap. You expect me to believe that?”
‘Of course not.’
“…No, I don’t.”
“Good. Because anyone who says that kind of nonsense…”
“But,” she interrupted softly.
Her voice trembled slightly, but she met his gaze head-on.
A child of a traitorous family daring to cut off a duke’s words — it was insane. But she had to.
“…I do know, though.”
Her eyes lifted, locking with his.
“The Valentine family’s secret.”
The Emperor’s three-year time limit.
“You have to find an heir within that time, don’t you?”
If not, the duchy would dissolve — and they’d be forced to divorce.
“So, what — you want to be our heir?”
Clarice tilted his head, crossing his legs arrogantly.
Behind his smooth expression lurked something sharp and dangerous.
Penelope wanted to run — anywhere, just away from that gaze.
“…Yes.”
“Do you even realize how dangerous those words are?”
He folded his arms and tapped her shoulder lightly with one long finger.
“Do you know how many years we suffered because of your damned family? I hate the Leranswells. If it were up to me, I’d have wiped every one of you out — Emperor’s orders or not.”
“……”
“And now you want me to make a Leranswell our heir? That’s rich.”
He leaned closer, voice low and cold.
“Listen carefully.”
“!”
“The only reason we’re adopting you is to keep an eye on you. I need to know how our secret leaked. As for being the Valentine heir? No matter how clever or desperate you are — it’s impossible.”
A crooked smile spread across his face.
“Don’t misunderstand.”
‘You’re not saved — your death has just been postponed.’
