Boom! Bang! A dazzling fireworks explosion lit up the sky over the imperial palace. Vibrant colored flames began to adorn the night sky. A sharp pain and strange heat spread from my collarbone outward. Sensitive senses made me realize many things. The sticky summer heat, the heavy scent of John, and the commotion of the banquet blended together. His touch, both precious and harsh, swept over me roughly, while a sweet breath seemed to soothe the pain. Lost in this strange atmosphere, John, perhaps sensing my excitement, pressed his lips to the traces he had left.
“I can’t stay here any longer now.”
As John moved his face away, a vivid red mark was clearly visible above my collarbone. My dress was designed to reveal shoulders and collarbones. If I stepped out in front of everyone like this, they would immediately realize what had happened between us.
“I even marked it as mine.”
John stroked the mark he left with his thumb, as if pleased.
“Another guy won’t mess things up again.”
Unconsciously, my eyes turned red, and I stared blankly at John.
“Damn it.”
He then, seeming unable to hold it in, pressed his lips to my nose.
“If only I felt the same, I’d want to devour you right here.”
His muffled voice carried a faint excitement, growling.
“I’ll rip out the eyes of those who dared to look at you with disgust.”
“…”
“I’ll cut off the limbs of those scoundrels who dared to lay a hand on you.”
If it were John, I truly believed he’d do it.
‘Thinking about the Anton incident…’
John’s crimson eyes shone sharply. Perhaps this was a mercy, a moment of leniency. But it also was not.
‘But Anton and the Crown Prince are vastly different beings.’
Duke Blanchet, John, would have nothing to gain if he crossed the line with the future Crown Prince. The events involving the Crown Prince weren’t lies to deceive me. The Crown Prince wasn’t someone easily swayed by others.
‘He’ll toy with me and then discard me…’
I couldn’t understand why John, just a fake wife, was protecting and jealous of me as if I were the real one. John took a deep, ragged breath and asked.
“Tell me in detail what that brat Crown Prince said to my wife. Don’t tell me it was nothing, like just now.”
From the start, John had eliminated any possibility of me escaping. I guessed he might have remembered how Erich had hidden things before.
“His Royal Highness… told me to be his overnight partner.”
John bit his lip, as if holding back. The corner of his mouth trembled slightly with a faint smile.
“And?”
“If I did well, he said he’d make me his concubine.”
John’s face froze into an expressionless mask.
“Hah.”
Then he let out a hollow laugh, breaking the tense silence.
“I shouldn’t have just let that brat go.”
John seemed extremely angry. To calm his fury a little, I added in a calm voice.
“I was going to refuse because I have a husband…”
“Don’t trust him. Well done.”
John smiled contentedly and winked at me.
“But I regret not being able to cut that brat’s limbs.”
Suddenly, the fireworks that had been exploding in the sky stopped. Soon after, the banquet hall of the palace erupted in loud, golden flashes. John, facing away from the light, exuded a dangerously decadent aura. His lips, unrestrained and clearly tinged with madness, revealed raw emotion. I briefly wondered how dazzling and beautiful John must have looked amidst the palace’s splendid lights.
“Too bad.”
Surely, John must have captivated not only me but all women’s hearts.
“I wanted to dance at the ball.”
“…Should I go in now?”
“It’s okay.”
Today, John showed even more rage than usual. But because it wasn’t directed at me, I didn’t find it frightening.
“Just seeing the night sky with the duke is enough for me.”
Perhaps because it was the first time I saw fireworks in the night sky. It was so magnificent.
“Even if I die right now, I probably won’t forget today. Ah, that’s not to say I want to keep attending the parties. I don’t need to go to any more parties or masked balls.”
Prince Carlos was a future crown prince who neglected his duties and only indulged in parties and pleasures. There was always a risk of him appearing at any gathering.
‘Better not to go unless absolutely necessary.’
John’s crimson eyes flickered slightly.
“Why?”
“Because there’s no reason to experience something once more just to waste time.”
And knowing his flaws, doing it again would be foolish.
“…There’s no reason to waste time. Especially since I’m with you.”
Caught off guard by this unexpected reaction, I blinked briefly and quickly searched for a suitable reply.
“Still, Duke, you’re busy. Doing various things together might make it less boring for you too.”
“My thoughts aren’t important. Only what you want to do matters. You tend to overthink my feelings. It’s not unpleasant as your husband, but…”
John gently stroked my head, as if handling something precious.
“If you do that too much, I sometimes feel sad because I think you forget that sometimes.”
“About which parts?”
I flinched, worried I might have annoyed him with some secret misstep. Then John, with his usual languid yet arrogant smile, said:
“Your husband is quite enough of a man.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
Crown Prince’s Palace. Crown Prince Carlos only regained consciousness at noon. The events of the previous night vividly flooded his mind, filling him with anger. Estelle, whom he had anticipated so eagerly.
‘How dare she dismiss me like that?’
Even with himself standing before the crown prince, he looked for her.
‘How foolish—she doesn’t realize what a rare opportunity she’s throwing away.’
Rumors in high society swirled that John never officially registered his marriage to Estelle, merely to toy with her and then abandon her. He checked at the palace himself. Sure enough, they weren’t officially married yet. Estelle was still affiliated with Libertan. So, the crown prince decided to confront the emperor and report Duke Blanchet’s rudeness.
“Father. I have something to tell you. Last night—”
“Carlos.”
The emperor cut him off with a blank expression.
“Did you provoke Duke Blanchet at the ball last night?”
Carlos frowned.
“Has Duke Blanchet already come to tell you? Father. Actually…”
“Don’t blame the duke. It’s your fault.”
The emperor didn’t even listen to Carlos’s words.
“Stay in confinement for a few months. If you reflect on your actions, Duke Blanchet will probably forgive you.”
“Father!”
The angry Carlos raised his voice.
“Why won’t you even listen to me? Duke Blanchet was the first to be rude to me. And, we aren’t even officially married, are we?”
“Duke Blanchet submitted an official marriage registration, approved by the temple and the royal consent. She is now officially Duke Blanchet’s wife.”
“What?”
Stunned by this unexpected news, Carlos’s face went blank.
“Is it true that he married Estelle officially?”
“Yes! Now do you understand what you’ve done?”
“Hah, but…”
If Estelle truly became Duke Blanchet’s wife, then Carlos’s fault was clear. Yet, he didn’t want to accept that fact.
“No matter how great Duke Blanchet’s family is, he’s still just a duke who recently regained favor with the royal family.”
It’s true that Duke Blanchet’s family was once very prestigious. But that was in the past. Now, they were a fallen family that had been revived.
‘Even if Duke Blanchet is a remarkable man—’
He couldn’t compare to the crown prince. The crown prince’s face contorted with outrage at the absurdity.
“Even if Duke Blanchet’s family is great, I am the Crown Prince. For the dignity of the royal family—”
“Can’t you even grasp the situation? How can you still spout such nonsense? Do you still call yourself the imperial crown prince?”
The emperor grimaced and struck the crown prince’s cheek.
“From now on, Duke Blanchet… is not someone we can dismiss lightly.”
For the first time, his father hit him. Shocked, the crown prince, clutching his swollen cheek, asked.
“So, the royal family has to bow its head?”
“I don’t want to hear any more of your nonsense. Leave.”
Carlos was forcibly dismissed from the audience chamber. Watching his son, the emperor sighed deeply. To the emperor, Carlos was a disobedient son who only indulged in pleasures and did not fulfill his duties.
‘He doesn’t even understand his father’s feelings.’
And the weakness of the royal family that Duke Blanchet held in his grasp was too powerful. Moreover, Duke Blanchet even elevated the imperial power on behalf of the emperor himself.
“Have you come?”
A neat, short silver-haired knight with clear blue eyes and ascetic features bowed to the emperor in armor.
“Your loyal servant, Liandro Felcis, reports. I have come to see Your Majesty.”
“…Did you see the prince’s disgrace as well?”
“I did not attend that ball, so I did not see it.”
The emperor sighed again at Liandro’s blunt reply.
“What is this orphan from Libertan causing all this trouble for?”
No matter how beautiful, Estelle was just an ordinary girl. For the emperor, it was absurd that the crown prince was swayed by just one woman and had crossed swords with Duke Blanchet. How long would he continue to be troubled over women? After a long silence, the emperor finally asked Liandro.
“You know, I realize you’re connected to that orphan too.”
“…Yes. I was once engaged to her, but we broke it off.”
“Why did you break it off?”
Liandro’s normally emotionless face slightly faltered.
“Originally, I was betrothed to Yesstella Libertan, the daughter of the Libertan duke. It was an arrangement between families, but since the partner changed, we broke the engagement. That’s all.”
“I see.”
The emperor clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“Anyway, the reason I called you, the captain of the royal knights, is because of the upcoming summer banquet. Since the crown prince is in confinement, we’ll need to adjust the schedule for the knights’ activities.”
The emperor explained what needed to be done as a knightly leader. But Liandro’s ears didn’t catch a word of his words.
‘Estelle.’
Not Yestella—that was the fiancée he abandoned. Back then, he thought it was just some petty scheme by Libertan and cut her off coldly.
‘Honestly, she was a foolish and wicked girl.’
Using the memory of the dead to seek glory proved that Estelle was indeed as vicious as the rumors said. But as a noble knight, he didn’t wish for Estelle’s death.
‘Even if she’s a wicked woman…’
He thought it wouldn’t be right for her to die cruelly, caught up in Duke Blanchet’s revenge.
‘Maybe I’m partly responsible too.’
If he hadn’t broken the engagement in the past, Estelle wouldn’t have become someone unrelated to Libertan.
‘For the sake of my knightly duty, I must save her.’
Liandro’s expression, gazing out the window, was filled with sorrow.
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
The day after attending the masked ball. John returned with an unknown gift. It was in a luxurious box, just like when he gave the bracelet.
“…What is this?”
Inside was an ankle bracelet. It was decorated with a high-quality ruby, pure and vivid, resembling John’s eyes.
‘This isn’t an ordinary gift.’
I still showed the bracelet on my arm and said:
“I just received a bracelet not long ago.”
“I wanted to give you something better. Well, specifically—”
John’s crimson eyes, brighter than the ruby, looked at me with a strange, twisted expression.
“I want to fill you completely with me.”
Somehow, I felt that the spot near my collarbone—where John had asked about at the masked ball—tingled again. Blushing, I responded, “Thank you.” The ankle bracelet fit perfectly around my ankle. It didn’t feel heavy or burdensome at all. I looked at John again, wearing the bracelet. His gaze, fixed on my ankle, made me feel strangely conscious.
‘It’s just an ankle.’
Just as I was about to quickly lower my dress to hide my ankle, John reached out a hand toward my ankle. The moment his elegant finger touched the ruby, a faint spark flickered.
“Duke?”
Perhaps startled, John furrowed his brow and bit his lip. It was unlike him. He stared at me with shock in his eyes. I tilted my head, worried about him.
“Is something wrong?”
“Wife.”
John muttered softly, as if in pain, lowering delicate eyelashes. It seemed he had no intention of answering. So I quickly concealed my ankle.
“I’ll take good care of it.”
“By the way, do you know what the ankle bracelet means?”
John, who had suddenly regained his composure, asked with a relaxed smile.
“Does the ankle bracelet have a meaning?”
I only knew the significance related to gemstone colors, so I tilted my head.
“You really don’t know, huh.”
Then John’s smile deepened.
“I’ve been waiting for this.”
“Well, I’m sure the duke didn’t give me a gift with any strange meaning.”
“Are you confident?”
John grinned mischievously, leaning closer.
“I’ve been thinking some pretty strange things about you, you know.”
“…What?”
“If you don’t understand, there’s nothing I can do about it.”
His thumb touched my lips as he whispered.
“Soon, I’ll tell you everything in the secret chamber.”
Secret chamber. It was an unspoken topic that had never been discussed between us until now.
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
