TMGDW 01

Chapter 01

“You should have realized it when the young lord was shielding her.”

“How dare a lowly maid give birth to the young lord’s child.”

Selena was born with the label of ‘bastard’ between the Viscount Serius and a maid.

She received contempt and glaring eyes from many.

Especially the Viscountess Serius, who hated Selena and her mother to the point of loathing. Even though it was the Viscount who had forced himself on the unwilling maid.

The fleeting lust of a season soon withered.

The Viscount neither cared for nor protected the mother and daughter, and the powerless two were relegated to an attic where people’s eyes wouldn’t reach.

But still. She never expected that as soon as her mother passed away—that man, not even worthy of being called a father—would marry her off to the Monster Duke.

No, could she truly say she hadn’t expected it?

Selena had thought that her father would someday sell her off. The timing had simply come sooner than she thought.

So rather than that suffocating mansion, she found this situation—being married off like being sold—to be better off.

Whether fortunate or unfortunate, Selena possessed a pretty appearance, and as the days passed, her beauty only deepened.

Her thick golden hair, as if brushed with honey, and her clear sky-blue eyes contrasted with her white and fine skin, making her look just like a sugar doll.

After calculating his daughter’s worth in his head, the Viscount, one day without warning, meticulously dressed Selena up and took her to an imperial banquet.

It was when her mother was still alive, at the tender age of thirteen.

*“This is my daughter, Selena Serius.”*

From young nobles who had not yet held their coming-of-age ceremonies to old, snake-like aristocrats, all eyed her with desire at her beauty, like a flower bud in full bloom.

*“Truly beautiful.”*

*“She’s just like a living doll.”*

Selena wanted to escape her seat as soon as possible.

But the Viscount, determined to sell his daughter for a high price, had no intention of considering her feelings.

Even at that young age, Selena had to endure the blatant stares and lecherous gazes that swept over her.

Immediately after the banquet, the Viscount called Selena to his office and said this:

*“Selena, shouldn’t you repay the debt to your father who gave birth to you and raised you? Greet her. She will be your teacher.”*

Teacher?

At the unfamiliar word, Selena raised her head, which had been facing the floor.

There was a woman beside the Viscount she had never seen before.

Wearing a dress that revealed her chest and shoulders, the woman glanced at Selena and said to the Viscount.

*“Is this the child I’m to teach? She’s certainly pretty.”*

Selena’s hands began to sweat profusely. The uncomfortable memories from the ballroom were resurfacing.

*“Vis, Viscount?”*

Selena called out to the Viscount in a flustered voice.

After being scolded by the Viscountess for calling him ‘Father,’ Selena had been calling him ‘Viscount.’

Of course, the Viscount had no interest in what she called him or whether she was being abused by his wife. He was merely pleased that he could sell off the daughter he had come to see as a foolish whim of the past for a high price.

*“Shh, it’s alright. You’re learning how to please a man. You’ll thank me later too.”*

How to please a man?

What on earth is this person saying?

Men who looked at least ten or fifteen years older than her had been smacking their lips at her. That wasn’t all. No matter how briefly she tried to step away, they clung to her so persistently.

*“I, I don’t want to. I don’t want to learn that kind of thing. I don’t want to learn how to please a man.”*

Then the Viscount, instead of Selena, turned his violence toward Selena’s mother.

In the end, Selena, crying, accepted the woman from the streets, reeking of heavy perfume, as her teacher.

If before she had been like dust that was there yet not there, now she was completely treated as a commodity.

And so, seven years passed.

The Viscount’s son, Ellen Serius, who had been studying abroad in another region, returned.

One night, Selena, who had left her room due to thirst, encountered Ellen in the hallway, who had hair of a lighter gold than hers.

Selena was so startled she nearly dropped the lamp in her hand.

With a face that closely resembled the Viscount’s, she instantly recognized him as the Viscount’s son.

Upon seeing Selena, he grinned from ear to ear.

*“So you’re that bastard?”*

At his voice, thick with curiosity, Selena reflexively pressed her lips shut.

*“…….”*

The Viscount’s residence had a main building and an annex separated.

The son of the first wife and heir to the Viscount—this man, who should naturally be in the main building, had come all the way to the distant annex. The reason was painfully clear.

*“You’re prettier than I thought.”*

At his words, laced with intent, Selena silently glared at Ellen.

He, seemingly amused, continued speaking with a hint of laughter.

*“I heard you learned some amazing skills?”*

Ellen stared at Selena and strode closer with his long legs.

His lingering gaze slid down from Selena’s face, past the thin slip she wore, and downward.

Selena read the lust in the man’s eyes, illuminated by the lamplight.

A scoff escaped her.

The fact that the blood flowing through that man also flowed through her was quite horrifying.

*“If the Viscount finds out you’re toying with me, it will be a big problem.”*

*“Viscount? Ah, even though we share the same father, you call him Viscount.”*

He chuckled.

*“Why have you come to the annex in the middle of the night?”*

*“I just wanted to see you once before you’re sold off to the North tomorrow.”*

The North?

At the unfamiliar words, Selena’s eyes widened, and Ellen clicked his tongue, *tsk tsk*.

*“How can you not even know about your own marriage? Especially when you’re being sold off to the Monster Duke.”*

*“……What?”*

*“Did you really not know? Father is handing you over to the Monster Duke, and in return, he’s having all of the family’s debts paid off.”*

*“…….”*

*“That bastard must be pretty desperate to get married too. Buying a bastard as his lawful wife, and with money at that.”*

*‘So he’s finally selling me off like this.’*

A disgusting father to the very end.

But Selena didn’t even hate the Duke who bought her.

Thinking back, with her mother gone, she had nowhere to rely on anyway.

She had nothing more to lose. She had lived her whole life without ever properly having anything from the start.

Inside the carriage heading north, Selena quietly closed her eyes and thought of the man who would become her husband.

Calix Elixion.

A war hero who ended the imperial war, which had lasted thirty years, in just one year.

Rumors said he was nearly two meters tall and terrifyingly ugly. That his face and body were covered in scars from the battlefield, with no unmarred skin left.

With pale skin as if devoid of pigment, and he had even lost one eye, they said.

There was even an absurd rumor that if you stared at him for more than three seconds, you would die of a heart attack from fear.

Perhaps because of such fearsome rumors, it was said that no one had ever sent him a marriage proposal, despite him being a war hero and the Archduke ruling the Northern territory.

Well, that’s precisely why the Viscount sold her off to the Monster Duke.

Selena didn’t care what her husband looked like anyway. Even if he was truly a monster as the rumors said, she was confident she could fulfill her marital duties without issue.

It was a sold-off fate, but it was better than being trapped in that damned Viscount’s household for life.

Having grown up in that environment, Selena was quick to resign herself. She placed both hands neatly on her knees and looked out at the frost-covered window.

The carriage, which had run day and night, finally stopped around sunset.

“We have arrived.”

Upon opening her eyes, she saw a massive castle with gray spires rising.

—

As soon as she stepped out of the carriage, maids flooded out from the castle and immediately took Selena to the bathroom.

The maids immersed her in a warm bathtub, then applied jasmine-scented oil to her hair and soaped every part of her body meticulously.

She had come with no expectations since she had been sold for money.

But the hands that handled her so carefully, like delicate porcelain, made Selena uneasy.

“Where is the Archduke?”

In this unfamiliar situation, Selena unconsciously sought out her husband, whose face she hadn’t even seen.

“He is waiting in the bedroom. Your Highness the Archduchess, please feel free to speak comfortably to those beneath you.”

After carefully drying Selena’s entire body, the maids dressed her in a clean formal gown.

“I will guide you.”

Following the maid’s guidance, Selena entered the bedroom where the Archduke was said to be.

The room was like a dark, gloomy cave.

There was no light in the pitch-black room, and black blackout curtains hung in rows over the windows where light should have entered.

Through the faint light coming through the open door, she could tell there was no wardrobe or vanity in the room. All that existed was a large, tall bed.

Selena looked around the room and belatedly realized that someone was sitting on the bed.

He looked so large that she must have mistaken him for a shadow rather than a person.

The moment her eyes met the eyes of the man sitting on the bed, the open door closed without warning.

Following the complete darkness came a heavy silence.

How long had she stood still in the darkness?

“Are you just going to stand there?”

At the man’s voice, which suited this darkness perfectly and sounded as if it came from deep within a cave, Selena snapped back to her senses.

However, in the room where not a single ray of light entered, nothing was visible.

Selena swung her hands through the air to reach him, and stepped on her own hem. But just before she fell, a thick arm wrapped around her waist.

“Not used to the dark, I see?”

A faint musk scent emanated from the man who spoke while holding her waist. Somehow, it suited the man’s voice perfectly.

“I’m sorry.”

Selena apologized to the man.

*‘What if he doesn’t like me and sends me back?’*

Becoming anxious, Selena bowed her head deeply toward the man still holding her and added.

“I’m sorry for the trouble.”

“…….”

Despite her repeated apologies, the man remained silent for a while. After a moment, he simply spat out a short word, as if chewing on it.

“Okay.”

Selena debated whether she should break free from the man’s embrace.

She was worried that if she recklessly tried to pull away, she might offend him, but staying like this also seemed rude.

The dilemma didn’t last long.

The man lightly lifted Selena with both arms.

Supporting her slender legs with one hand and her thin back with the other, the man began to walk silently.

Was it because the warmth touching her body was so comforting, or because his tone wasn’t scolding, easing her anxiety?

Hesitating, Selena slowly wrapped her arms around the neck of the man holding her.

At her action, the man paused for a moment, then resumed walking.

His strides were so long that it felt like he hadn’t taken more than a few steps before they had reached the bed.

The man carefully laid Selena on the bed and pulled the blanket up to her neck, tucking her in.

At that moment, a bright light suddenly burst out and covered her face.

The man had unexpectedly turned on the lamp placed by the head of the bed.

After squinting her eyes at the sudden light, Selena opened them to find the man’s face right in front of her.

Despite her internal resolve, Selena, seeing the man’s face for the first time, froze on the spot.