Chapter 9

“Your Grace, are you all right?”  

“No, I’m not.”  

Adrian threw aside what he was working on and grabbed his coat. He had to head to the Iaron Earldom immediately.  

“I must go see her right now.”  

Seth, his aide, blocked the door.  

“Don’t you have a breakfast meeting with His Majesty the Emperor today?”  

“Cancel it.”  

Adrian, without a second thought, decided to cancel his meeting with the Emperor. However, Seth, who had served by his side for a long time, wasn’t someone who would back down so easily.  

“That’s not possible.”  

This wasn’t just any other meeting; it was an appointment with the Emperor. No matter how much the Emperor favored Duke Bartman, canceling on the same day was a breach of etiquette. It would be even more problematic if the reason for canceling was related to a woman.  

The Emperor’s intelligence network rivaled even that of the Bartman family. It would be nearly impossible to hide the real reason for canceling from him.  

Hearing Seth’s refusal, Adrian acted like a petulant child.  

“Then make up a reason to cancel it.”  

“Meet His Majesty first, and then go to Lady Rivera.”  

Adrian’s brows furrowed.  

Seth, knowing Adrian’s mood was sour, addressed him with a slight tension. Based on his experience, he estimated that this situation wasn’t severe enough to cost him his life.  

While rumors claimed that Duke Bartman treated human lives as less than insects, that wasn’t true. In reality, Adrian valued human life more than most.  

“His Majesty wishes to personally commend you for subduing the barbarians and rescuing the missing women. You can’t simply cancel.”  

“Why would he summon a busy man to commend him? I’ve told him many times that I don’t need such recognition.”  

Adrian, who was desperate to see Rivera and talk to her, had no interest in anything else.  

“Do I need to curry favor with the Emperor?”  

“Of course not. But it’s widely understood that you acted against the barbarians under His Majesty’s orders. Denying that now won’t do you any good.”  

Seth offered his advice to Adrian without holding back, keeping his tone as neutral as possible.  

The Helios Empire was still at war. The current Emperor had expressed his desire for Duke Bartman to participate in the war, but Adrian had refused. This fact had never been made public out of regard for the Emperor’s dignity.  

Adrian’s refusal stemmed from two reasons. First, the war was being fought in the northern region of the Empire, while the Iaron Earldom was in the south, far from the conflict. Second, he didn’t want to sacrifice his time with Rivera.  

“I will handle the matter with Lady Rivera. Please proceed to the Imperial Palace without worry.”  

“Do you have a plan?”  

“I believe it’s possible.”  

“……”  

Adrian stared at Seth with a dissatisfied expression but decided to relent, albeit reluctantly.  

“…I’ll trust you this once.”  

“Pardon? Ah, yes.”  

Seth found it strange that Adrian had given in so easily, but he chose not to dwell on it.  

There was a mountain of territorial work to finish today. Stacks of documents related to the estate quickly piled up on the newly replaced desk.  

Watching Adrian efficiently handle his duties as if nothing had happened, Seth quietly left the room. The only task left was to convince Rivera.  

* * *  

Meanwhile, at the Iaron family estate, everyone was at their wit’s end because Rivera had locked herself in her room and refused to come out. She had bolted the door from the inside, allowing no one to enter.  

“Why can’t I remember anything?!”  

Rivera clawed at her hair in frustration.  

She had already guessed what had happened when she woke up n*ked beside Adrian in bed. The marks left on her body and the faint soreness confirmed that she had lost her virginity.  

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall anything. It was as if the memory had been erased.  

Clutching a pillow and trying to suppress her frustration, Rivera looked as though her world had collapsed.  

“This is so unfair.”  

In both of her lives, this was her first time sleeping with a man. She was certain it had been a passionate and sweet night, but all she could remember was climbing over the wall of the Bartman estate.  

“…Since I woke up n*ked with Adrian, it must’ve been with him. But why can’t I remember?”  

When she had gone to see Trisha, she had been too flustered to think clearly. But upon returning home and undressing to bathe, Rivera had been shocked. Her maid, who assisted her with her bath, had been equally stunned.  

Red marks shaped like flower petals were scattered across her chest, below her navel, and on the insides of her thighs. These were shocking enough, but the bite marks on her back and the countless kiss marks covering her body seemed almost excessive.  

“…So that’s why my back felt itchy.”  

Rivera glanced at the kiss mark on the inside of her wrist.  

“What kind of lunatic leaves kiss marks all over someone’s body after one night?”  

It was hard to believe that one person had left all those marks. For a moment, she wondered if she had slept with someone else before Adrian, but she quickly dismissed the thought.  

‘But Adrian, with his obsessive cleanliness, would never allow that.’  

Adrian was the kind of person who wouldn’t even hold hands with another man’s lover. There was no way he would kiss her body if another man’s saliva had touched it, let alone share a bed with her.  

Hugging her pillow, Rivera rolled around on her bed before sprawling out flat.  

“In times like this, it’s best to just ask the person directly.”  

But if she asked Adrian whether they had slept together, he would sulk. He’d probably brood for months, asking if their night together had been so forgettable that she didn’t even remember it.  

‘This is driving me crazy.’  

Adrian, contrary to his appearance, was surprisingly old-fashioned.  

Originally, Rivera had planned to live her second life recklessly. She wanted to experience fiery, passionate love instead of innocent romance. She had intended to date multiple men, sleep with them, and find someone she was compatible with. But Adrian had practically brainwashed her with his values.  

– I hate people who sleep around the most. It’s disgusting.  

– But wouldn’t it be better to experience relationships before marriage to ensure compatibility?  

– No? I would never, ever share a bed with someone I wasn’t going to marry.  

– What about kissing?  

– How could you kiss someone you’re not even dating?  

If it had stopped there, she might have let it go. Adrian’s opinions were his own, and she had no intention of convincing him otherwise or suggesting he live recklessly.  

– Rivera, you feel the same way, don’t you?  

– …Huh?  

What she hadn’t expected was for him to persuade her instead.  

– You’re not like those trashy people who treat their bodies carelessly, right?  

Although the aristocracy was rife with scandalous drama, Adrian found it all repulsive. He refused to associate with men who slept with women young enough to be their daughters, and he glared daggers at those who engaged in affairs.  

Somehow, Adrian always managed to uncover people’s dirty secrets and would warn Rivera never to live like them. Over the years, his words had influenced her so much that even when she was dying to spend the night with a boyfriend, she would outwardly insist on remaining chaste until marriage.  

‘He said he wouldn’t even hold hands with someone he wasn’t going to marry.’  

Then why had he slept with me? What had changed in his mindset to make him do such a thing?  

Rivera felt like her head was about to explode.  

“If someone just smacked me on the back of the head, maybe it would jog my memory. Who knows?”  

As she rolled around on her bed, lost in absurd thoughts, there was a knock at the door.  

Knock, knock.  

“Miss, it’s me.”  

It was her personal maid, Meriang. Since Meriang was the one bringing her meals every day, Rivera cracked the door open slightly to ask why she had come.  

“What is it?”  

“A letter has arrived.”  

Rivera, who had been avoiding the Bartman family’s messengers to the point of not leaving her room, couldn’t hide her curiosity when Meriang handed her the letter.  

“What’s this?”  

“It was delivered by someone from the Bartman family. I don’t know the details, but they insisted you read it.”  

So now they were resorting to this?  

Rivera, though reluctant to read anything from them, couldn’t suppress her curiosity. Besides, there was no way they would know if she read it or not. She figured she could always deny having seen it later.  

Taking out the paper from the envelope, Rivera read it and muttered one thing.  

“This is insane…”  

[If you continue to refuse to meet, we will disclose the incident where you impersonated His Grace the Duke.]  

The Duke Bartman impersonation incident.  

It was a case that had caused quite a stir within the Empire.  

A brazen individual had impersonated Duke Bartman and attempted to commit investment fraud. Although no one had suffered financial losses, the Imperial Family had recognized the seriousness of the matter and had been about to dispatch investigators.  

The Empire had nearly been turned upside down, but the Bartman family had resolved the situation by capturing the culprit first.  

‘That’s ancient history. Why bring it up now?’  

The man who had impersonated Duke Bartman was said to be a young man in his early twenties with a history of fraud. However, the truth was that the so-called impersonator wasn’t a three-time offender but Rivera herself, disguised as a man.  

After repeated failed relationships, Rivera had grown disgusted with men who said one thing to women’s faces but behaved entirely differently behind their backs. She had wanted to infiltrate their world and find a decent man, which had led to her disguise and the misunderstanding that spiraled into the impersonation incident.  

‘How was I supposed to know that Adrian’s clothes were one-of-a-kind and instantly recognizable across the continent?’  

Adrian’s personal designer created exclusive clothing for him, and fashion-conscious noblemen had immediately identified the outfit. Everyone knew Adrian wasn’t the type to lend his clothes to anyone.