MPGF 15

Chapter 15: You Don’t Know the Pain of Unrequited Love
My head hurt as if it was going to split open.

I had a nightmare. I couldn’t remember it. I figured there was no need to recall an unpleasant dream.

“You didn’t act like a prince.”

“You don’t know, Osen.”

A familiar male voice.

Come to think of it, was it Edward who saved me?

I tried to open my eyes. The tears stuck to my eyelids made the area around my eyes sting.

As my vision cleared, I saw two people.

“What don’t I know?”

“…Pain.”

A ringing echoed sharply in my ears. It was quite intense.

“Ahhh…”

I closed my eyes again and covered my ears.

“Miss!”

A man’s hand firmly wrapped around me. As soon as I felt his touch, the ringing disappeared as if washed away. I removed my hands and opened my eyes.

“Your Highness, the Grand Duke?”

Hertian was looking at me with worried eyes.

“Your Highness… why are you here?”

Slowly, memories came back.

My parents had sent a letter telling Hertian to cancel the marriage, and I boarded the ship to go on a date with Edward.

But why was Hertian here?

“Did Hertian save me?”

My memories were fuzzy.

I remembered waiting for Edward by the lake and someone boarding the ship.

Was that person Hertian instead of Edward?

He nodded at my question.

“You sent me a letter, didn’t you? By the way, are you feeling alright? I will call the doctor.”

He sat on a chair by the bedside, carefully inspecting me. His gaze was intense but not uncomfortable like Edward’s.

“No, I’ll be fine after some rest.”

“You fainted right before my eyes. How can you say resting will fix you?”

“I’m just weak. I guess it was the fatigue and being by the water after so long.”

I calmly explained to reassure him, who seemed more shocked than I was. He knelt beside me, sighed with relief, and murmured softly.

“You didn’t like water, did you?”

A story he never told me.

“Did I ever say that?”

As far as I remember, no. Except for my family, very few knew about my bad memories related to water.

“—That’s my guess. Normally, no matter how tired a person is, they don’t just faint.”

Hertian smiled and added,

“You should hear the whole story in the Imperial language.”

Though I found his vague attitude strange, I pushed aside the discomfort and asked the whole story.

“Did you come here after reading the letter I sent? How did you know I was here?”

The place we agreed to meet was the fountain in front of the square. Even if the coachman delivered it quickly, it would have taken at least an hour to get here.

“Actually, after receiving the letter about canceling the marriage, I was going to visit your mansion but learned you were here, so I changed direction.”

“I’m sorry. I asked for the marriage first but didn’t get proper permission.”

Despite that, Hertian’s movements were gentle. He slowly helped me sit up on the hospital bed.

“Thank you.”

Now it was time to get to the point.

I swallowed once, sat up straight, and called him.

“Hertian, there’s a reason I asked to meet today.”

“What is it?”

He focused on me, curious about my reason.

“My father heard some strange rumors and is against my marriage with Your Highness.”

I wanted to tell him everything honestly since we would be on the same side.

“So that’s why you suddenly rejected it. It’s my fault. Since there’s a rumor about me being a war orphan, the Count wouldn’t like it.”

“No. He rejected it because he heard Your Highness has a complicated love life.”

Hertian’s face slowly clouded with embarrassment. His subordinate beside him showed the same reaction.

I could understand why.

He’s not interested in women at all. Nothing changed from the original story.

“That’s not true.”

He denied it a moment later, looking troubled.

“If it’s not true, then it’s not. And even if it were, I wouldn’t care. Even if you have a mistress later, it wouldn’t matter to me.”

I smiled harmlessly to reassure him so that he wouldn’t back out of the contract in anger.

“Mistress? That’s nonsense. Whoever spread those rumors, they’re completely untrue.”

“That’s right! The commander didn’t even hunt a female deer on the battlefield!”

This time, his subordinate added.

I know, I know.

“I trust Hertian. But aside from me, my parents misunderstand. They worry a lot and think marrying the Grand Duke will be difficult. Even if I explain, they’ll probably think it’s just words.”

At the mention of evidence, Hertian frowned.

“Strange. We’ve only met a few days ago, and I went to propose yesterday. If someone spread fake rumors in that time…”

He was right.

Honestly, I had to suspect Serdis.

Who else but Serdis, who obsessively monitors me, would try to stop my marriage?

“There’s at least one person who doesn’t want me to marry.”

I was almost certain. That’s why I felt even more determined not to back down from the original story. I was fired up to make this marriage happen.

Hertian tilted his head in confusion. Of course, he didn’t know my full situation.

“It seems you’re not the only one who hopes you won’t marry.”

But what he said was not what I expected.

“Oh. There might be one more. Edward Youngsik.”

From today’s conversation, it was clear he liked me.

But Hertian smiled, lifting one corner of his mouth. His red lips curled up, giving off a subtle sensual charm.

“You underestimate yourself.”

“That’s not really the case.”

“Only two? If someone else heard that, they’d be upset.”

He left a mysterious comment.

I didn’t care much. There was something more important.

“So Hertian, I’ll handle my parents. Please proceed with the marriage safely.”

An unbreakable contract.

The reason I wanted to meet him today was to get that promise.

“I will persuade your parents.”

“How will you do that?”

“They changed their minds because of strange rumors. I’ll persuade your father the same way.”

I recalled the newspaper article I left in the dining room. By now, their thoughts must have changed one way or another.

“So please promise me one thing. No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, our marriage will proceed as contracted.”

Who knew what variables might arise.

He might change his mind out of anxiety. I could handle everything else, but if Hertian turned his back on me, I would lose all hope. I had to keep his heart.

“Are you worried?”

Instead of answering, he asked me, as if wanting to confirm something.

“Yes. I’m afraid I won’t be able to marry Hertian.”

That everyone would end up unhappy as in the original story.

So please give me a definite answer.

I gave him a desperate look.

But he did not answer easily.

‘It must be annoying. In the original story, he didn’t save the Grand Duchess until the end either.’

I worried he might leave the room, so I added why I had to be his partner.

“Think of it as repaying a favor.”

Only then did he look me in the eyes properly.

“A favor?”

“Yes. The favor I owe you from the victory ceremony.”

“That debt was settled with His Majesty the Emperor.”

A faint smile bloomed on my lips at his response. It seemed he already knew what almost happened at the victory ceremony and how it was stopped.

“So you already knew everything. Then this will be easier.”

I straightened my back and looked at him clearly.

“His Majesty must have told you about my abilities as well.”

The power to occasionally glimpse the future.

He raised one eyebrow, as if understanding my intentions.

“If I become your partner, even without granting wishes like the Emperor, I will help you on my own. Until our contract’s valid term.”

How’s that? Tempting, right?

It was an ability even the Emperor didn’t get for free, offered for a limited time for free. It was worth more than just being the Grand Duchess in name.

“I will be the best trump card for Your Highness.”

But unlike I expected, Hertian had no particular answer.

‘Is it not enough?’

I forced a cough and added.

“And as you can see, I’m a fragile body that collapses from small fatigue. Like my brother, I don’t know when or how I might die. Don’t worry about any consequences from the contract marriage later.”

If he rejected me because of my illness, that would be enough.

“That illness. You don’t know when you’ll die?”

Finally, his tightly closed lips opened. His voice was dry and hoarse like dry hay.

“Yes. Unfortunately.”

“Is there no cure?”

I shook my head slightly, tasting the bitter truth. This wasn’t a pretense but fact. After Rian left, I locked myself in the academy lab for years researching a cure, but found nothing.

“I spent years researching without any results. Probably only a few years left.”

In the original story, Anette married a Marquis and died shortly after.

The atmosphere in the room grew heavy after my bitter answer.

“That’s not your concern. I will take care of my illness. I don’t want your worry or involvement. We only need to benefit from this marriage contract.”

I immediately drew a line. I didn’t want to leave awkwardness, but Hertian didn’t seem to like it. The veins bulged as he swept his black hair roughly back.

“You always seem to test me, Miss.”

“I hope you think well of it. This isn’t a deal where you lose.”

“A loss…”

He repeated that word several times. Then he climbed onto the bed, sat close, and moved his face nearer. His sharp nose was close enough to touch with a little movement.

I blinked with surprised eyes. My gaze wandered and landed on his lips, the most vivid color. When his lips parted, I quickly looked away.

With calmer eyes than before, he asked me,

“Then, in the little life you have left, will you give it all to me?”