SWGMBWD CH 07

Bella fell into deep thought.

‘What should I do? Now that things have come this far, should I just beg him to kill me instead?’

It felt as though all the blood in her body had rushed to her head. Her mind was spinning rapidly.

She only wanted one thing, after all.

Marrying him was merely a means to that end.

The honor of becoming the Duchess? She didn’t care about that at all.

The desire to make the man before her fall in love with her? She wasn’t even remotely interested in that.

Because what she wanted wasn’t a new beginning with him.

It was an ending.

As long as she reached the same conclusion, the process didn’t matter.

If that was the case, then why not try another method instead of marriage?

She was still pondering this when—

“I’ve heard your story, so now answer the questions I’m going to ask.”

Saying that continuing the conversation any further would only be a waste of time, he calmly asked,

“What do I gain by choosing you?”

“……Pardon?”

“I’m asking why I should choose you instead of one of the other young ladies.”

He was going to be forced into a marriage anyway, so he intended to choose the woman who would benefit him the most.

As expected.

Perhaps because he was a duke, he was an extremely calculating man.

“To add to that, there was one young lady who offered to bring her entire fortune as her dowry. Another said she would never interfere with my relationships with other women and asked only for the title of Duchess in name. There was even someone who said she would willingly accept any illegitimate children I might have—”

“……”

“So, can you really offer me something better than any of those?”

Bella was rendered speechless by his question.

When she failed to answer easily, a satisfied smile finally appeared on the man’s face.

There was even a hint of leisure in his relaxed voice.

“Go on. Try to surprise me.”

Bella showed no reaction to his provocation.

She was too busy thinking.

‘A price…… A price, huh…….’

No matter how hard she racked her brain, she couldn’t think of anything that could possibly satisfy him.

‘Well, I suppose that’s only natural.’

To the master of an enormously wealthy ducal house, whatever dowry a bride could bring would probably amount to little more than pocket change.

And affairs or illegitimate children were hardly unusual in high society, so promising not to interfere with his relationships with women would be meaningless as well.

What could she possibly offer that would truly surprise him?

Bella thought.

And thought.

Then, suddenly, something came to mind.

—I have no intention of getting married.

He had definitely said those words.

He had no intention of marrying.

There was only one thing he wanted.

Not to get married.

But Bella had to become connected to him in some way.

And at the moment, the only possibility she had was marriage.

To make that happen, she needed to give him what he wanted.

It was somewhat contradictory, but in reality, it was possible.

And it was something the other young ladies could never offer.

Only she could do it.

Bella smiled faintly.

The man, however, did not notice.

He was still wearing that same amused expression.

“There’s nothing, is there?”

“……”

“Yes, I suppose there wouldn’t be. Then let’s just—”

“There is.”

Bella quickly raised her head.

The confidence in her voice made the man pause.

He stared at her for a while, as though wondering what on earth she could possibly say.

“I won’t live very long.”

“……”

“I’m going to die soon.”

“……”

“I probably won’t make it until next spring.”

The man’s eyes widened dramatically.

Seeing that, Bella smiled faintly.

At the very least, she had fulfilled his demand to surprise him.

But she wasn’t finished yet.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I cannot offer you a mountain of gold as a dowry. However, at least none of your wealth will ever be divided or inherited by me. Because I’ll be dead soon.”

“……”

The man’s lips fell silent.

Seeing this, Bella sensed a small victory and continued.

“I also heard that you have no desire to marry, Your Grace. For someone like you, the only thing I can offer is a small justification.”

“……A justification?”

“Yes.”

Bella calmly nodded.

“It wouldn’t be a divorce. It would be bereavement. Even His Majesty would have difficulty immediately ordering you to remarry. And even if he did, you could simply say that you still haven’t been able to forget your deceased wife. He wouldn’t be able to force you after that. It would look bad both from a humanitarian standpoint and politically.”

Bella gave him a bright little smile as if to say, Am I not right?

He still couldn’t say a word.

Yes.

This was where the tables had finally turned.

“What do you think?”

Having successfully taken the leisure out of his expression, Bella grinned and leaned back comfortably against the sofa.

“Is this enough to surprise you, Your Grace?”

At her confident question, he paused.

Soon, his red eyes narrowed as though he were searching for something to say.

“You’re going to die soon?”

At his question, Bella quickly nodded.

Then she answered with an innocent smile.

“Yes. I’ll die.”

Right in your hands.

“Hmm. You’re going to die soon…….”

He was silent for a moment before running a hand along his jaw and muttering thoughtfully.

Watching him lost in thought, Bella desperately tried to calm her pounding heart.

‘What if this doesn’t work either?’

She was pretending to be relaxed, but inside, she was burning with anxiety.

And understandably so.

It was practically as if she had already revealed every card in her hand.

Yes.

This was a gamble.

A gamble in which she had nothing to offer, yet was trying to gain the upper hand by bluffing.

And in that gamble—

“That is certainly an interesting condition.”

Thankfully, he showed interest.

‘He’s more straightforward than I thought.’

Bella looked at him in surprise.

Normally, nobles of high status had enormous pride.

If they disliked something, they disliked it to the bitter end.

And if they believed they were right, they would stubbornly insist they were right even when they were clearly wrong.

In that sense, someone who could change his mind and calmly acknowledge that he had lost must be a thoughtful and rational person.

‘Maybe he won’t be so bad as long as I don’t provoke him first.’

With that thought, Bella revised her first impression of him.

She had been certain that he was a violent man after seeing him mercilessly swing his sword in her dream.

But that had only been in the dream.

Of course, it was something that would eventually happen in reality.

But for now, it hadn’t happened yet.

“All right. Then let’s say that’s the price.”

He nodded as he muttered.

Bella quickly bit the inside of her lip.

Otherwise, she felt as though she might burst into a huge smile.

She was almost there.

If she grinned so widely that she looked ridiculous and somehow offended the duke, everything could fall apart.

She was firmly reminding herself of that when—

“But are you really satisfied with that?”

“What?”

“I’m asking whether you’re truly okay with it.”

Bella finally understood what he meant.

He was asking whether she really intended to go through with this marriage even if it meant staking her life on it.

Bella smiled faintly.

This man didn’t know her.

He didn’t know that her current life was far more hellish than death.

And he certainly didn’t know that he would become the savior who would rescue her from that hellish existence.

He didn’t know that she was trying to use him.

“Of course.”

Rather, it was precisely because she had decided that this was worth it.

“It’s worth risking my life for.”

Bella raised her head and stared straight at him.

The duke’s red eyes shook violently.

“Do you hate marrying that old man that much?”

After falling silent once again, he asked,

“To the point that you would rather choose death?”

“Yes.”

Bella quickly nodded.

The truth was a little more complicated than that, but she couldn’t sit there and explain every little detail.

‘Even if I told him the truth, he wouldn’t believe me.’

I can see the future through prophetic dreams, and you appeared in one of them and killed me. I had no attachment to my life, so when I realized you were my destined fate, I came here.

How many people would actually believe something like that?

“Most people consider nothing more important than their own lives.”

“I’m not an ordinary person.”

“……So you’re saying you’d rather choose me than that old perverted bastard.”

“Yes.”

Bella nodded once again.

Anyone—even a child passing by on the street—would probably agree that a young duke was preferable to an old perverted viscount.

Of course, in Bella’s case, it was the other aspects of him that had drawn her to him.

‘But why does he keep checking?’

It was almost as though he wanted her to change her mind even now.

Pushing down the uneasiness rising inside her, Bella stared at him.

For some reason, it felt as though he was subtly trying to push her away.

But she couldn’t give up.

This might be her final chance.

Until now, she had done nothing but give up and resign herself to her fate.

But this time, she would have it.

She would claim it for herself.

Perhaps her determination had reached him.

The duke’s red eyes flashed strangely, and soon, his expression began to twist into something sharp and fierce.

How long had they remained like that?

“……Have you never considered that choosing me might actually be more dangerous?”

He suddenly asked.

“Judging by the look of you, I don’t think you realize what a frightening person I am.”

He lifted the teacup, which had already gone cold, and spoke leisurely.

Yet there was a faint chill in his voice.

Bella let out a small laugh.

She instinctively knew she shouldn’t.

But she couldn’t help it.

“……Why are you laughing?”

Naturally, he didn’t let it pass.

He frowned and questioned her.

“I’ve never met someone truly frightening who had to announce that they were frightening themselves.”

In other words, what she really meant was:

I’m not afraid of you.

Perhaps he realized the meaning behind her words as well.

His expression twisted strangely.

“Then you’ll get to see one this time.”

“……”

Bella froze.

Judging by how seriously he said it, perhaps there really was something to be afraid of.

She suddenly became cautious.

Watching his expression, she hesitated before asking,

“Do you hit women?”

“What?”

“Or…… do you feel some kind of pleasure from beating people for no reason?”

She asked cautiously.

She knew she wasn’t exactly in a position to ask such a question.

Still, she wanted to live peacefully until the end of her life.

It would be rather miserable to spend her remaining time being mistreated by him and suffering through violence before finally meeting her bitter end.

‘At least until that day comes.’

That was why she had asked, just in case.

But for some reason, his expression looked terrible.

Almost as if he were angry.

“I’m sorry.”

Bella quickly apologized after seeing his expression.

“You kept saying that you were dangerous, so…….”

She began offering excuses, explaining that she had only asked because she couldn’t help wondering.

But—

“The reason I told you that you should be afraid of me……”

He let out a small sigh before continuing.

“Is because I am cursed.”