Chapter 2
“He noticed immediately.”
The hand resting on my shoulder tightened. His grip was incredibly strong.
Fighting through the pain, I forced myself not to recoil and instead met his gaze head-on.
“So this was the Count’s doing? I can’t forgive merchants who switch out the merchandise.”
He referred to a person as merchandise without the slightest hesitation. His eyes were utterly devoid of emotion.
Before he could crush my shoulder as casually as if he were breaking a toy, I quickly admitted the truth.
“I never intended to deceive you, Duke Bluois. As you’ve already realized, I’m not Linier. I’m her younger sister, Ruwayne.”
“Why are you here?”
He was the kind of villain described as capricious, ruthless, and merciless.
Knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to kill or cripple someone on a whim, I chose my words carefully.
“I didn’t think it mattered who the bride was. I heard you were simply looking for a woman from a respectable family. Was I mistaken?”
He tilted his head.
Perhaps because I wasn’t entirely wrong, the pressure on my shoulder eased slightly.
He reminded me of a well-fed cat lazily toying with prey purely for amusement.
A well-fed cat sometimes lets its prey go depending on its mood.
Other times, it snaps the prey’s neck and leaves it there without even bothering to eat it.
“I’ve heard abusing beastfolk like me is your favorite pastime.”
He let out a quiet laugh, as though genuinely amused.
Unable to tell what that laughter meant, I swallowed nervously before answering with more boldness than I actually felt.
“As far as I know, when you negotiated with my father and my sister, there was never a condition stating that the bride couldn’t be someone who abused beastfolk. I satisfy all the other requirements, so there shouldn’t be any problem.”
His emerald eyes flashed dangerously.
It felt as though I’d escaped one crisis only to step directly into another.
Before he could respond, I hurriedly added,
“If my hobby is the issue… then I promise I’ll never mistreat you, Your Grace.”
“…What?”
The Duke of Bluois burst into loud laughter.
Whether it was mockery or genuine amusement, he laughed his fill before casually handing me back over to the butler without another word.
The butler explained stiffly that the Duke never allowed first-time visitors to stay in the main residence and escorted me instead to a room in the detached guest wing.
If he’d accepted me as his bride, he wouldn’t have assigned me a room in the annex.
According to the novel, Linier was taken to a bedroom on the fourth floor of the main mansion—a floor reserved exclusively for the Duke’s family—on the day she arrived.
I, however, wasn’t even allowed into the main residence.
I’d been sent straight to the annex.
I didn’t need anyone to tell me what the Duke intended to do with me.
Still, I refused to panic.
I didn’t come up with this plan recklessly.
Soon enough…
He would need me.
I knew exactly what Linier was supposed to witness on her first night in the Duke’s mansion.
If the novel unfolded as written, the same event would occur around midnight tonight.
“If you require anything, pull the bell cord.”
With that final greeting from the butler, I was left alone in the cold room.
“I wonder if I can come up with a convincing excuse to wander outside the Duke’s room around midnight…”
Midnight wasn’t far away.
The Duke’s Study
After Ruwayne left, Dimitri sat behind his desk, pressing two fingers firmly against his aching temple.
A knock sounded.
Someone entered.
It was a sharp-featured man with dark blue hair.
Carrying a tray with a bottle of wine, he poured a glass before asking,
“What do you intend to do with her?”
“Who knows.”
Dimitri swallowed a large mouthful of wine.
As the burning liquid slid down his throat, warmth spread through his body.
“If she’s Ruwayne Larsel, isn’t she the woman the Emperor has his eye on? I heard His Majesty caught her kissing Count Erman Hers during the last imperial banquet.”
Suppressing his pounding headache, Dimitri recalled the woman who had looked up at him moments earlier.
She’d seemed bold.
But perhaps she was even more troublesome than he’d first thought.
Not only had she captured the Emperor’s interest…
She’d dared kiss another man inside the Imperial Palace itself—under the Emperor’s very nose.
Unless she was an incurable flirt, she must have done it deliberately to provoke the Emperor’s jealousy.
Either way… she must have been confident she had the Emperor wrapped around her finger.
So why…
Why would a woman like that suddenly abandon the Emperor and insist on becoming his bride instead?
“Judging by her behavior, it didn’t seem like Count Larsel forced her to come. What exactly is she plotting?”
Was Count Larsel involved?
Probably not.
The Count was a businessman through and through.
His only concern was selling his daughters to whoever offered the highest price.
Still…
Dimitri leaned lazily against his chair.
She smelled good.
Ruwayne’s scent had been so pleasant that, for a brief moment, he’d almost forgotten his relentless headache.
It was unlike anything he’d ever smelled before.
It reminded him of dry tree bark…
Or freshly crushed herbs.
The fragrance was so intoxicating that he’d had to stop himself from burying his nose against the back of her neck.
Some kind of seductive magic perfume?
I’ve never heard of one that powerful.
His eyes narrowed.
He slowly licked his dry lips.
Then another wave of pain struck, and he frowned.
“Is it getting worse?”
his blue-haired aide, Hael, asked with concern.
Dimitri pressed his fingertips hard against his skull, as though trying to crush the pain.
“I think the illness is acting up again.”
“But… it’s too early for that, isn’t it?”
Hael’s expression immediately hardened.
He hurried over and touched Dimitri’s forehead.
It was burning with fever.
“I’ll escort you to your bedroom.”
Quietly, I left my room.
To return to the main mansion from the annex, I had to cross the vast rear gardens.
Along the way I encountered two guards and one servant.
Pretending I was simply enjoying a leisurely stroll, I walked calmly enough that none of them found me suspicious.
Once I reached the main building, I removed one of my gloves and casually tossed it into the bushes before entering through the back entrance.
A butler carrying a tray with a damp towel spotted me while climbing the stairs.
He turned around and came back down.
“What is it?”
“I think I left one of my gloves in the Duke’s study earlier.”
The butler glanced anxiously at the towel on his tray before replying,
“You could have asked a maid to retrieve it instead of making the trip yourself.”
“When I saw the gardens earlier, I thought they were beautiful. I wanted another walk. Besides…”
I smiled.
“I might be thrown out tomorrow. I figured I should enjoy the scenery while I still can.”
Just as I’d expected…
The butler didn’t deny that I might indeed be expelled tomorrow.
“I’ll have a maid bring it to the annex.”
“It’s something I treasure. I’d rather not have too many people handling it.”
Looking slightly annoyed, the butler frowned for an instant.
The expression vanished just as quickly.
“As you wish. Follow me. No one may enter the Duke’s study without his permission. Wait outside the door while I retrieve it.”
“Of course.”
I obediently followed him upstairs.
The Duke’s study was on the third floor.
His bedroom was on the fourth.
Since he’s carrying a damp towel, the Duke must have been moved to his bedroom.
I quietly followed the butler to the third floor.
The instant he entered the study—
I sprinted up the stairs.
Which room…?
I peeked up and down the hallway until I spotted a blue-haired man emerging from one of the rooms with a troubled expression.
I recognized him immediately.
Viscount Hael Vilfran.
The Duke’s personal aide.
“What’s taking him so long to fetch a towel?”
He grumbled as he walked toward the stairs.
I quickly ducked behind a marble statue beside the staircase and held my breath until he passed.
Once I saw him head downstairs in search of the butler, I hurried to the room he’d just exited.
Heart pounding, I grasped the doorknob and turned it carefully.
The door slid open.
The windows were all open, making the room pleasantly cool.
Passing the sitting area and table near the entrance, I ventured deeper inside.
There…
The Duke lay in a large bed.
In the novel, what Linier witnessed around midnight was the Duke being carried into this room with Viscount Vilfran supporting him.
Afterward, the Duke threatened her into silence without offering any explanation.
His illness…
Was actually the result of a magical poison infused with a curse.
It wouldn’t kill him.
Instead, it condemned him to unbearable agony for the rest of his life.
The reason I’d secretly sneaked into his room was simple.
The Duke’s curse was one of the family’s greatest secrets.
No one would ever willingly allow anyone to see him in this condition.
But I had to meet him while he was suffering.
Carefully, I approached the bed.
Perhaps sensing my presence, the Duke—whom I’d assumed was asleep—suddenly opened his eyes.
“Shedim.”
The instant he spoke…
Something black burst from beneath his feet.
It looked like dense, elongated mist.
The shadow wrapped around my body.
Like a giant boa constrictor coiling around its prey, the black fog tightened relentlessly.
“Ugh…”
The Duke frowned and sat upright in bed.
His emerald eyes fixed on me with razor-sharp intensity.
“Should I ask why you’ve sneaked into my room like a rat?”
Pain made irritation obvious in his voice.
His expression practically said,
Should I just kill you? It’d be less troublesome.
I hurried to speak before he made that decision.
“Please accept me as your bride.”
“Hah.”
“Were you planning to throw yourself at me to achieve that?”
He laughed at me in disbelief.
Cold sweat glistened across his forehead.
Ignoring the crushing pressure of the shadow binding me, I remained as calm as I could.
“I can make that pain disappear.”
