TBKU 01

Chapter : 01

“You really don’t have to worry. I’m doing well. The Duke is still very kind, and Mother takes good care of me as well. Oh, and I’ll be attending the upcoming Hunting Festival with the Duke again. I’m looking forward to it; I think it will be a pleasant time. ……Please give my regards to Father. And to Void as well. I’ll end my letter here. Mother, I love you.

Your daughter, Sheyla.”

“……”

Sheyla struggled with all her might not to let her hand tremble until she finished the final signature.

If it was her mother, she would be able to recognize even the slightest shakiness in her handwriting.

After writing her mother’s name on the blue envelope bearing the symbol of House Higgins and setting down her pen, a tear that had been pooling in her large eyes finally slipped down.

She hurriedly wiped it away.

This was no time to sit around crying pitifully.

Sheyla’s nose had turned red. Taking a deep breath, she recalled the dream she had had not long ago.

‘It was on the road to Blackhill.’

The steep hill road she had seen in her dream was undoubtedly the road leading to the hunting grounds.

Every year, the royal family hosted a Hunting Festival at Blackhill.

At the beginning of last winter, Sheyla had attended that Hunting Festival for the first time.

The memory of being terrified as she traveled along that road, which had been much rougher than she had expected, came rushing back along with the dream.

‘An accident…….’

An accident had occurred on that terrifying road.

For some reason, the horse had suddenly gone wild. The carriage, whose connection to the horse had broken, slid down the slope.

She had been unable even to think of getting out of the carriage because of the cries of some beast whose origin she could not identify and the eerie sound of the wind.

Even while trembling violently, she had simply waited, vaguely believing that someone would come to rescue her.

Fear and cold had engulfed her entire body.

The sky had darkened, and then brightened again.

After spending the night frozen with cold, Sheyla finally realized.

It wasn’t that they hadn’t found her.

They simply hadn’t looked for her.

After waking from the dream, she had sobbed silently in the room where she was alone, unable to make even a sound.

Because she knew it was something that would actually happen, tears kept falling even though she desperately did not want to cry.

The bridge of her nose began to sting again.

She fanned her flushed face with her hand, trying to cool the heat.

‘It’s all right. I need to steel myself.’

Her dreams always came true.

So this time would be no different.

Sheyla had decided to leave on the day the carriage accident occurred.

She would leave the Duke and House Higgins, who had no need for her, forever.

“Sheyla! Come out here!”

At the sudden loud voice, Sheyla flinched and closed the book she had been reading.

For someone as timid as her, it was hardly a welcome situation.

Suppressing her pounding heart, she stepped out of her room.

Standing in front of the door was Viscount Livrook, his face flushed with excitement.

Sheyla idly thought that her panting father looked like a bull snorting steam as it prepared to enter a bullfight.

“You don’t have time to stand around looking so dazed! Get yourself ready immediately.”

“Ready for what……?”

“A message came from the Duke’s household, House Higgins! Now is not the time for long explanations. Hurry up, get ready, and come out! Make yourself look as beautiful as possible. Quickly!”

The Viscount shoved a thick pearl necklace and a pair of earrings into Sheyla’s hands before pushing her back into her room.

She opened her palm and looked down at the tangled jewelry.

Judging by how carelessly he had given them to her, they were obviously imitations.

Even if she went there covered in these fake jewels, she would only look ridiculous.

Besides, something this flashy did not suit her at all.

“Haa…….”

She collapsed into the chair before the vanity and met her own eyes in the mirror.

An utterly ordinary twenty-three-year-old young lady from a viscount’s family.

An inconspicuous young woman with the common blond hair and blue eyes that could be seen anywhere in the kingdom.

That was Sheyla’s own assessment of herself.

The public’s opinion of her was probably no different.

Ever since her debut in high society at eighteen, she had not received a single marriage proposal, nor had even one man approached her.

Her self-esteem had consequently sunk endlessly toward rock bottom.

Her father’s constant blaming of her passive personality only made her shrink further into herself.

“I hate this.”

The words escaped in a small, resigned murmur.

There was no one who could possibly be listening, but she could not bring herself to say them loudly, lest they carry through the door.

It seemed her father, desperate to marry her off, had even sent a proposal to the Duke’s household.

Sheyla did not want to cling to something so pointless.

Why would a Duke, of all people, take a completely insignificant viscount’s daughter as his wife?

Her father’s absurd dream was almost enough to make her laugh.

Even so, she began diligently getting herself ready.

If she dawdled and arrived late, her father’s thunderous shouting would surely rain down upon her.

The Viscount’s patience had been growing shorter by the day.

The impoverished viscount’s household could not even afford a maid to help with her grooming.

After living that way for so long, Sheyla had become capable of handling almost everything by herself.

Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she did not know.

“……”

She skillfully twisted her hair up and reached for the necklace.

She hesitated, but she had no choice.

‘Better to be embarrassed for a little while than to upset Father.’

She put on the incredibly light necklace and finished adorning herself with the dangling earrings.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror and checked her appearance.

As expected, she was embarrassed even by her own appearance, decorated with jewels that were obviously not hers—and were even fake.

Ashamed, Sheyla lowered her eyes to her dress.

An ivory chemise dress that her father had paid dearly for her debutante ball.

It was her only dress for going out.

She had not had time to repair the worn-out sections, so she hid them beneath the abundant ruffles.

Her hands moved naturally, as though she had done it countless times before.

Even after finishing her preparations, she could not easily bring herself to leave.

Only when her father roughly pounded on the door and flung it open could she finally move.

It was time to throw herself out there as an unimpressive young woman and become the protagonist of some ridiculous farce.

Sheyla reluctantly took a step, her feet heavy.

“Your Grace.”

“What.”

“It has already been thirty minutes.”

“What has?”

“It’s not a matter of ‘what’…… I told you earlier that there are guests waiting in the drawing room.”

“What guests?”

Donovan, the Duke’s aide, was sweating profusely as he watched the man answering absentmindedly with his nose buried in documents.

Unable to withstand the pressure from the man named Viscount Livrook, who had come to the Duke’s household, Donovan had come to hurry him along, but the Duke showed no intention of moving.

“The marriage proposal. The one you told me to invite over yesterday…….”

“Ah.”

Only then did he raise his head.

Lennon Higgins.

A trace of annoyance crossed the young Duke’s gray eyes.

Interrupted from his work, Lennon tossed down the pen he had been holding, his expression turning cold.

Thinking that he had finally managed to get his attention, Donovan hurriedly added,

“The lady who is to become your wife has come as well. You should go and meet her.”

“……”

At Lennon’s sharp gaze, Donovan flinched but did not close his mouth.

“I-I’m right, aren’t I! Your Grace clearly said……!”

“I know, so shut up.”

His words came out like a bite, making his already sharp jawline stand out even more.

Silencing Donovan with a fierce glare, Lennon clicked his tongue and stood.

On the large coffee table were piles of letters.

Marriage proposals.

In order to never have to look at that irritating sight again, he had decided to get married.

It might sound absurd, but he had made the decision quite seriously.

The only Duke in the Kingdom of Roches.

Young, wealthy, tall, and handsome, he was the most desirable bachelor in the kingdom.

Marriage proposals had flooded in even before he inherited the dukedom, and after he entered high society, there was not a single peaceful day because of women who even resorted to throwing themselves at him.

As time passed and Lennon reached marriageable age, his mother also began pressuring him to marry.

He had been perfectly comfortable living alone, but yesterday, he suddenly wondered whether everything might become easier if he simply got married.

In any case, there was no family that could compare to the Duke’s household, so it did not matter who became the Duchess.

He did not believe in love, either.

He simply wanted the world to stop being interested in him.

And so, for the first time, he reached out toward the marriage proposals he had never even bothered to look at.

The person who would become the Duchess was decided with that one careless gesture.

Lennon lowered the sleeves he had rolled up and straightened his clothes.

He also smoothed his disheveled hair.

With his neat forehead exposed, his previously untidy appearance had returned to its polished state.

“I’m only going to show my face, so you explain everything.”

“Explain what?”

“How things are going to work from now on.”

“How am I supposed to know what that means?”

“That’s your job, too.”

“It’s not my marriage. It’s something Your Grace should handle, so why should I…… have to? Yes, of course. You must be busy, so I’ll take care of it myself.”

At the murderous look in Lennon’s eyes, Donovan quickly changed his words.

He knew that merely leaving his seat in the middle of his concentrated work had required an enormous amount of patience from him, so he decided not to provoke his temper any further.

Lennon left the study and headed toward the drawing room on the first floor.

He was not particularly pleased about it, but he descended the stairs in one swift stride.

“Ahh, Duke! Your Grace! It is an honor!”

The moment he entered the drawing room, a thunderous voice rang out.

Already feeling exhausted, Lennon’s brows furrowed slightly before quickly settling back into place.

“I was delayed because I had a lot of work. ……Viscount Livrook.”

With Donovan’s whispered cue, Lennon finished the greeting and led the Viscount to his seat.

As he moved, he saw a woman with similarly colored hair behind the large blond man.

Her face was so pale that not a trace of color remained, as though she were ill.

Or perhaps she was simply too nervous.

Lennon’s gaze traveled from her trembling eyelashes and tightly pressed lips to her slender nape.

She was wearing a dress that had been fashionable several years ago and had adorned herself with crude accessories whose origins were impossible to guess.

It was rather comical.

The Viscount looked at his daughter, then observed the Duke, whose lips had curled upward, and inwardly let out a cheer.

There was no doubt about it.

The Duke had taken a liking to her.

Feeling that the large sum he had spent obtaining the necklace and earrings had been well worth it, the Viscount proudly straightened his shoulders.

“So, may I ask why you contacted us……?”

There was a subtle expectation in the Viscount’s voice.

Lennon considered simply pretending the whole thing had never happened, but after looking at the Viscount’s daughter, he changed his mind.

Her presence was so faint that one could barely tell whether she was there or not.

Exactly what he wanted.

Lennon lowered his head and slowly looked her over.

Her appearance was shabby, but underneath it all, she was quite decent.

‘Once the servants get their hands on her, they should be able to make her presentable.’

He would rarely have to go anywhere with her, but on the occasional occasion when they had to attend an official event together, she at least needed to be someone he would not be embarrassed to be seen with.

At that moment, she slowly raised her head.

And her eyes met Lennon’s.

Her blue eyes widened in surprise, blinking several times before quickly disappearing again.

“Why are you keeping your head down like a criminal?!”

Seeing his daughter bowing her head like a condemned sinner, the Viscount scolded her quietly.

He had intended to whisper, but his naturally booming voice could not be helped. Even Donovan, standing some distance away, could hear him.

At the Viscount’s rebuke, Sheyla flinched and barely managed to raise her head.

Heat rose to her face.

Even without looking in the mirror, she knew that an unpleasant, bright flush must have spread across her cheeks.

From across the room came a small chuckle, followed by Lennon’s gentle voice.

“Let’s get married.”