Chapter 5

“If you have no intention of telling me, I’ll go find her myself.”

Diego rose as though he intended to leave the reception room immediately.

Rex deliberately tried to make him understand the situation.

“You came here without warning, and now you’re saying you want to go to my sister’s bedroom? My father will be here soon, so please wait.”

“Hah.”

Diego let out a hollow laugh.

The atmosphere, which had been relatively calm until then, instantly froze like ice.

“I’m going to see my bride. By what right are you stopping me?”

His cold voice made Rex’s expression harden.

“She is not your wife yet, and my sister is still an Orelsian. Your Grace, I think you’ve forgotten that.”

“You seem to be under some misunderstanding.”

Diego gave a faint laugh as he looked directly at Rex.

His blood-red eyes were sharp enough to make it seem as though they might slash Rex apart at any moment.

“The Viscount’s family will receive no rights or benefits from this marriage.”

Rex frowned at the unfamiliar information and exchanged a glance with his mother, Jad.

But it seemed she knew nothing about it either.

“I understand that the Viscount already received a substantial bride price several weeks ago in exchange for those conditions. Not only from the Grand Duchy, but from the Imperial Family as well.”

“……”

“And yet you sent back the escort knight I sent for Miss Anais. Wouldn’t that be an unreasonable thing to do?”

Having revealed the official reason for coming all the way here himself, Diego wiped every trace of amusement from his face.

“Now that you understand, bring Miss Anais here. In front of me.”

With the Grand Duke’s command growing shorter and colder, Rex could no longer resist.

If what he said was true, then their father had effectively sold Anais off for a hefty sum already.

Rex bit down on his lip before speaking.

“……Please wait a moment.”

While he ordered a maid to bring Anais, Jad remained stunned.

‘Necthar didn’t even tell me about something this important.’

Still dazed, she eventually bowed to Diego and left the reception room.

Meanwhile, Diego, having thrown the spark of discord into the Viscount’s household, calmly kept his eyes fixed on the door.

Not long afterward.

Anais finally entered Diego’s field of vision, though he had never once taken his eyes from the door.

“I greet Your Grace the Grand Duke.”

Unlike the elaborate attire she had worn during their previous meeting, she appeared in a simple indoor dress.

Her flowing silver hair had been neatly tied back, giving her as modest and proper an appearance as possible.

Seeing that she wore no jewelry or anything else to adorn herself, Diego’s expression hardened bitterly.

He clenched his teeth for a moment before relaxing them, composed his expression, and strode toward Anais.

“I wanted to see you again, Miss Anais.”

He carefully examined her as though confirming something.

Then he slightly raised the corners of his lips.

“I apologize for not coming sooner.”

He lightly kissed the back of Anais’s hand.

“……”

When he finally raised his head and their eyes met, Anais did not let down her guard.

In a quiet voice, she spoke.

“I heard you were looking for me.”

Instead of answering, Diego turned his head toward Rex Orelsian, who had been standing beside him and glaring at him the entire time.

“I wish to speak with Miss Anais. Please leave us.”

Rex clenched his teeth at Diego’s habit of speaking to him so informally, but eventually gave a slight nod and left the reception room.

With the unwelcome guest gone, only Anais and Diego remained.

Seated at the reception room table, Anais was the first to speak after a moment.

“Have you made your decision?”

She was asking about the contract marriage.

Although no one else was in the reception room, she deliberately spoke indirectly in case any servants were listening.

She had not yet told her father about the contract marriage, so she needed to be careful.

Unlike their first meeting, the Grand Duke looked at Anais with steady, unwavering red eyes.

“Before that, may I ask why?”

It seemed he had understood her intention, because he continued the conversation without mentioning the contract marriage directly either.

Anais carefully chose her words in response to his unexpected question.

“It’s simply…… for my sake.”

“……”

When the Grand Duke remained silent, Anais slightly furrowed her brows and asked,

“Is that not enough?”

“Oh, no. It is more than enough. I accept your proposal.”

Anais had assumed he had come to refuse.

So when his positive answer came so quickly, she could only blink in surprise.

“Then may I propose to you now?”

“Not yet. I’ll accept your proposal after we sign the documents.”

Anais trusted a written contract more than a verbal promise, so she firmly shook her head.

The Grand Duke paused before nodding.

“I understand. We’ll do that.”

With a smooth smile, the Grand Duke seemed somehow more relaxed than he had been during their first meeting.

Perhaps because of that, Anais watched him with even greater caution.

Then the Grand Duke naturally asked another question.

“When would you like the wedding to be?”

His tone was rather serious, so Anais tilted her head.

“……Do I have a choice?”

“Of course. As for the wedding date, I intend to proceed according to Miss Anais’s wishes.”

An unfamiliar phrase had been attached to her name.

According to Anais’s wishes.

Anais repeated those words silently to herself.

She had always moved according to what her father wanted, so Diego’s question felt remarkably fresh to her.

If she truly had a choice, she wanted to say that she wished to refuse this marriage.

“If you tell me what you prefer, I’ll arrange everything accordingly.”

“……”

Anais swallowed the words she wanted to say and quietly looked at him.

Strangely, he did not seem to be lying.

‘Why is he taking such good care of me? What is his intention?’

Confused, Anais turned the unanswerable question over in her mind.

Then she suddenly remembered the box she had left beneath her bed.

There was something she needed to ask her father before the wedding.

She intended to find out what the box of poison Lady Jad had given her actually meant.

Even though it had happened only moments ago, the Grand Duke’s sudden visit had made it feel like something from the distant past, and she had forgotten about it.

Remembering the box, as well as the preparations she had made while searching through the books, Anais cautiously asked,

“May I give you my answer by tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

Diego readily nodded.

Anais gave him a faint, polite smile of gratitude.

That was when—

The door suddenly flew open, and hurried footsteps sounded from outside.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

“Your Grace, what brings you here so suddenly……? Ha ha. As a matter of fact, I was just about to contact you.”

Anais’s father, Necthar Orelsian, had hurried home as soon as he heard the news and immediately came to the reception room.

He had already extracted everything he could before the wedding, but he had been considering whether he could squeeze even more out of the situation.

That was why he had kept Anais from appearing and even sent back the escort knight Diego had dispatched.

‘I didn’t expect him to come all the way here himself in such a hurry. Damn it.’

Cold sweat formed on Necthar’s forehead as he struggled to hide his panic.

Diego did not even rise from his seat at the sight of the Viscount.

He tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“I believe I warned you, Viscount. Miss Anais is my person, so I asked you to cooperate and ensure that nothing happens to her.”

His voice was low and filled with coldness.

Diego rose from his seat and walked directly toward Necthar.

“The matters concerning the marriage before the wedding are settled. So, if Miss Anais permits it, I’ll have her protected in the Grand Duchy until the ceremony.”

It was a unilateral declaration.

But Necthar had already taken the money and even signed a written agreement with the Imperial Family.

He had only one possible answer.

“I-I understand.”

“I haven’t heard Miss Anais’s answer yet, so I’d like to stay here tonight. Would that be all right?”

“Ha ha…… Of course. I’ll have dinner prepared, so please make yourself comfortable.”

Necthar nodded repeatedly before turning stiffly toward Anais, who stood behind the Grand Duke.

“Anais. Show His Grace to the guest room.”

After showing Diego to his room, Anais was about to leave when the Grand Duke made a suggestion.

“If it isn’t too much trouble, would you show me around the estate?”

“……Follow me. There isn’t much to see.”

Anais walked from floor to floor, giving him brief explanations.

“This is the floor where my father and younger brother’s rooms are.”

“So this is where the direct members of the family stay.”

“That’s right.”

The Grand Duke tilted his head and asked,

“Wasn’t Miss Anais’s room on the lower floor?”

“Yes.”

Anais did not add anything else and moved on.

To change the subject, she approached the objects displayed beside the stair landing and pointed toward a pendant.

“This is a royal heirloom of the Renium Kingdom. It belonged to my mother.”

“The crest is different from those of the Empire.”

As expected, just like everyone else who had visited the Viscount’s estate, the Grand Duke was interested in the Kingdom’s artifact.

That was enough for Anais.

She merely smiled faintly and gazed sadly at the only remaining trace of her mother in the entire estate.

After a while, Anais returned to the lower floor and added one final explanation.

“If anything makes you uncomfortable, please let me know. My room is at the end of this floor.”

After watching Anais enter her oddly shaped room, Diego went into the guest room.

His expression immediately hardened.

Inside the room was a fruit basket that the servants had left there.

Diego took out a bright red apple that resembled his own eyes and repeatedly tossed it into the air before catching it.

Thud.

“At the Viscount’s residence.”

Thud.

Clutching the apple in his hand, Diego walked toward the window and looked toward Anais’s room.

In a low voice, he murmured,

“They don’t value Anais.”