Chapter : 4
Did I speak too bluntly?
Because my mind was racing, my words came out combative.
At this rate I’d be so disgusted I’d rather never marry.
As I expected, Duke Cassiar’s brows twitched slightly.
Come to think of it, even when he frowned he still had a face that perfectly matched my tastes.
If only the ending hadn’t been doom and gloom — I could’ve polished him up and put him to use. What a shame.
“So what is your taste, then?”
“Huh?”
“What part of me don’t you like, and why?”
Duke Cassiar — his expression unreadable — leaned his upper body toward me.
As the distance closed, his flawless, beautiful face became even more evident.
This is definitely a face that hits all my preferences.
In short: pure radiance!
But telling him my thoughts plainly would be as good as digging my own grave.
I needed to deny that he was my type at all costs.
“First, those fierce, leopard-like eyes! I like someone who looks tame and obedient, like a well-behaved puppy.”
Honestly, it was his sharp eyes that I liked the most.
I pointed toward Duke Cassiar’s gaze as if I were completely uninterested.
“And next?”
“Rather than black hair, I prefer mysterious silver like mine. Black hair looks kind of dark, don’t you think?”
Boldly, shamelessly, I fluttered my long silver hair for him to see.
Truth be told, I die for black hair.
That subdued, lonely vibe — I love it! Black hair is the best in the world!
“Indeed.”
“Huh?”
“Beautiful. Your silver hair is beautiful.”
Though he spoke in an utterly indifferent tone, Duke Cassiar’s gaze met mine directly.
He’s agreeing with me so sweetly?
Somehow I felt like I was being tamed.
Get a grip, Riel.
Don’t be charmed by his looks — think of him as a rock.
Duke Cassiar is a rock that talks. A nicely polished rock.
As I talked about the parts of my taste that were different from his surface, Cassiar — expressionless — flipped a strand of hair half over his forehead, making a little comma-shaped fringe and fiddled with it.
“Ah, I almost forgot something important. I prefer hair let down rather than hair pushed up.”
“Hair pushed up?”
He looked as though he didn’t understand what I meant.
Well of course.
Why would a duke know the expression “hair pushed up”?
“I mean, I get more fluttered by hair that’s let down than by hair that’s pinned up.”
I kindly explained the difference between hair pushed up and hair let down.
Actually, let-down hair is my true preference.
I was glad the duke had just flipped his hair.
If letting-down hair had been my taste too, I’d probably be having a nosebleed.
Anyway, I was listing very specific reasons why I didn’t like him and didn’t want to marry — even if Duke Cassiar insisted he needed me, he couldn’t help but feel offended.
I sensed my complete victory.
Now hurry up and cancel this marriage yourself, Duke.
Sure enough, Duke Cassiar seemed irritated; with one hand he ruffled his hair mercilessly.
Is he angry?
Did I speak too bluntly?
I should’ve softened my words. What if something bad happens?
I moved stealthily like a stray cat, ready to bolt at the first sign of danger.
“Is it this?”
Concentrating on moving as quietly as possible, I was startled by Duke Cassiar’s voice and looked up at him.
“I mean your taste.”
What is this — an angel?
Before me, an angel — no, Duke Cassiar — looked at me awkwardly, his fringe modestly let down.
Yes, that is absolutely my taste, Duke.
May I kidnap him right now?
No, what am I thinking.
For a moment I almost thought about risking my life to marry him — he’d shot straight through my heart.
That was dangerous.
I nearly fell for the duke’s charming act without realizing it.
After a private sigh of relief, a question flashed through my mind.
According to the original story, the duke could have abducted me and everything would’ve been fine — so why is he going so far as to match my tastes?
His behavior — unexpectedly accommodating of my preferences despite being the villain in the shadows — was suspicious.
Now’s the time to be direct.
“Why are you bothering to accommodate even these petty preferences of mine? Acting all gentle in front of my parents. If you’re the duke, you could’ve brought me here by a much easier method.”
Even I thought that was a sharp remark.
If the mastermind is matching me from head to toe, there must be some ulterior motive.
A man who only cares about himself even bothered to act like a good person before my parents.
I almost got swept away by his looks and missed the important parts.
What a sly-faced beauty criminal.
“You’re right. If I wanted, it wouldn’t be hard to take you to my mansion. But I prefer not to use force if possible.”
Duke, did you drop your conscience somewhere?
Wasn’t our first meeting forceful enough?
Seeing Cassiar so serious, I thought he might actually mean he hasn’t started using force yet.
Would he really lock me in his mansion if he decided to?
“Then why don’t you peacefully give up and go back?”
“Impossible.”
I thought I was making a serious suggestion, but Duke Cassiar rejected it without hesitation.
So resolute. I could’ve fainted.
He’s determined to take me somehow in the end.
If this isn’t forceful, what is?
“Honestly, I’m so angry I can’t hold back. You speak as if you care for me, but you’re forcing someone else to sacrifice themselves for your sake. You don’t think it’s a waste for my youth to be sacrificed for your sleep?”
Even a worm will wriggle if stepped on.
If I’m destined to be taken by Duke Cassiar anyway, I want to at least say what I want boldly.
Whether I get to return alive to my home from that mansion is another question.
At this point I regretted the past like crazy.
Spending so much time absorbed in work that I had little time with my family.
Having no time that was just for myself.
Why do people only realize what they’ve done wrong after experiencing it?
I’m such an idiot.
It’s okay — it’s not over yet.
I tried to console myself, thinking there might be a way to live like the female leads in other possession novels I’d read, but tears sprang to my eyes from sorrow.
Why are my tears falling after saying such cool words?
This makes shouting at the duke feel pointless.
“Do you remember the people who were there when we first met?” Duke Cassiar asked while I hurriedly wiped my tears.
“How could I remember all those people? It was a holiday and a busy shopping district.”
“If I hadn’t met you that day, everyone who was there would’ve died. All because of me.”
When Duke Cassiar said that, his eyes looked as lonely as a winter tree stripped bare.
As if recalling something heavy, his unfocused gaze was shadowed by an indelible guilt.
He didn’t look like he was lying.
“A week without sleep. Even sleeping pills didn’t work; I was exhausted. I struggled not to run wild, but the more I tried, the more my mind clouded. I was on the verge of losing the last shred of reason.”
Duke Cassiar turned to look at me.
His golden eyes, which held me, shimmered wistfully.
“You appeared. As if that meeting had been meant to be.”
The day I met him, he had been on the verge of losing control?
This was something not described even in the original.
I had no idea either.
Suddenly it occurred to me that the stories in the novel might not be the whole truth of this world.
After all, I’m a character who doesn’t even appear in the novel, so it’s possible.
Come to think of it, Milter hadn’t the slightest interest in Duke Cassiar.
So my knowledge about him came only from superficial rumors and a few fragmentary encounters.
If I learned more about Duke Cassiar, I might find a way to cure his illness.
While I sorted my thoughts, Duke Cassiar — who had been quiet — continued in a low voice.
“I don’t want innocent people to be sacrificed because of me again. That doesn’t mean I take your time lightly. I know my proposal asks you to sacrifice yourself.”
His large hand, coming forward with long strides, cupped my cheek.
His hand stroked my tears like a comfort.
Was Duke Cassiar someone who could offer comfort?
Even now, he felt distant from the villainous mastermind I’d read about.
Honestly, if he comforted people kindly with that face, he might’ve become Milter’s lover.
Who could resist?
Looking at him shimmering like a panel from a comic, my tears instantly dried.
“So I want to compensate you in whatever way I can. Money, honor, your preferences — whatever you want. Will you lend me your strength?”
I know the Duke Cassiar in the novel is a cruel mastermind who torments the protagonists.
But at least right now he felt sincere toward me.
“What I want is to be involved with you as little as possible.”
“You want me to be coming in and out of the marquis house every day, don’t you?”
At my frank answer, Cassiar’s brow creased.
He really does have a villain’s streak sometimes.
That ruined the budding romantic mood that could’ve bloomed like roses.
I had no intention of making a romance with Duke Cassiar.
This is a survival game for my life — staying alive comes first.
I needed to decide.
Leaving Duke Cassiar alone without Milter was definitely risky.
And if I refused his offer and he kept visiting the marquis house and then lost control, it would be a disaster.
“If what you say is true, then if you can sleep without me, the marriage will be over?”
“That’s right. Whether such a method exists is uncertain, though.”
Cassiar’s worries didn’t register with me.
On second thought, this proposal seemed more advantageous to confront than avoid.
Why had I been so scared and ready to flee?
“Alright. I accept. This marriage. If I’m to sacrifice myself as you say, I should also gain something.”
By marrying Duke Cassiar, I could raise the marquis family’s honor, expand trade channels for our guild, and gain many advantages.
I would lose my first marriage, but if I stayed by Cassiar’s side, I wouldn’t die unjustly like Milter.
And innocent people might be spared harm.
“However.”
I placed my hand over the duke’s on my cheek and smiled.
And if Duke Cassiar found a way to be able to sleep alone—
“There are conditions.”
I would gain wealth and honor and still be free.
The next day, at Duke Cassiar’s mansion.
I stormed into his mansion early in the afternoon.
“Do we have to do this?” he asked, looking uneasy as he sat in a gold-adorned chair staring skeptically at me standing before him.
“Duke, you must trust me completely. You promised. You said you’d cooperate with everything I suggest.”
It was obvious at a glance.
Duke Cassiar regretted agreeing to my “conditions” in less than a day.
“Even if I promised, isn’t this too fast? We haven’t even set a wedding date yet…”
As he tried to say more, I put my hand under his chin to lift it and closed his mouth.
“What does ceremony matter? The sooner the result, the better.”
Gazing to dominate him, I tilted my mouth into a slanted smile.
“So leave everything to me. Everything of yours.”
