Chapter 3.1 – Pursuit

If I drink again, I’m a fool.

Adele pressed her throbbing forehead and then, startled, quickly lowered her hand. The radiant blood-red ruby ring on her left ring finger doubled her headache. Those red eyes. The color was so similar to the ones she had seen all night that Adele turned her head away.

“Crazy.”

A sigh escaped her lips. Her entire body ached, as if it had been beaten, and she felt languid. Adele clenched her fists lightly and tapped her lower back. The sensation in her lower body, as though something was still inside, made it impossible for her to sit still.

Inside the carriage heading home, Adele shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying to find a position that would ease her discomfort, but nothing worked.

‘I have a feeling you’ll pretend this never happened. And you’d do it so skillfully too.’  

“…As if.”

The hot breath that lingered in her ears was vivid. Adele couldn’t forget a single thing. She regretted thinking she could act as if nothing had happened. When she woke up in the office, all she could do was fasten her uniform up to her neck and hide her awkward gait while heading for the carriage.

“Sigh.”

The places Chereph had touched burned and cooled repeatedly. Adele fiddled with the collar of her uniform, which was buttoned tightly under her chin. Surely, there were traces of the man all over her body beneath it. Teeth marks, lips that had sucked her skin. Adele brushed her hand behind her ear but pulled it back as if burned.

Tracing the man’s marks on her body felt utterly unfamiliar to her.

“Haah.”

Even for a brief moment, if she didn’t consciously try, Adele kept returning to the night she spent with Chereph. It wasn’t something she could forget, no matter how much she wanted to. Battling her endless headache, Adele looked down at her left hand.

More than anything, the massive ruby ring, which reminded her constantly of Chereph’s red eyes, seemed to mock her attempts to forget. The ring was undoubtedly a symbol of the Duke’s house, something that had never left Chereph’s left thumb.

“Why on earth…?”

This was the thing Adele couldn’t understand the most. 

Why had he put this ring on me? Did he really want me to never forget? And if I didn’t forget, then what? Did he expect me to marry him?

Adele laughed bitterly at her own questions. It was a position she could never dare to aspire to. Even if Chereph suddenly decided he liked her, the nobles who controlled the Duke’s household would never accept it.

Faces of the nobles she had encountered during work flashed through her mind. It wasn’t hard to imagine their contemptuous gazes. Chereph, unmarried, was a highly desirable match, even politically. Such a position would suit a princess from an allied kingdom, not someone like her.

While there were ways she could stay by his side, Adele shook her head. The best position she could hope for would be as a mistress, someone whose existence was publicly acknowledged but not respected.

“…”

Lost in thought, Adele spent over twenty minutes trying to remove the ring. By the time the familiar buildings came into view, she still hadn’t succeeded and let out a groan of despair.

“It won’t come off…”

It seemed to be a magical artifact. The skin around the ring had turned red, but strangely, the ring didn’t feel tight—it simply refused to budge. Desperate, Adele wrapped a handkerchief around her left hand. Claiming it was an injury was the only excuse she could come up with.

What Adele needed most right now was a glass of water laced with honey and a soft bed.

—Clack.

Adele stepped off the carriage, pondering how to avoid her mother’s attention. As she stood on the ground, adjusting her clothes neatly, a voice she should never have heard greeted her from right in front.

“You’re back.”

It wasn’t Viscount Limier or her older sister Daisy returning; it was the Viscountess herself, who always insisted Adele come to greet her in the highest room of the house. Yet today, the Viscountess had come to the front door with a beaming smile.

Realizing the situation too late, Adele groaned softly as she addressed the Viscountess.

“Mother.”

“I thought you’d return tomorrow afternoon. You must’ve hurried back. Well done.”

The brighter her mother’s smile grew, the more Adele felt that something was amiss.

“The Marquis said he would come personally.”

It was too fast. Everything was moving far too quickly, as if someone had been waiting for this moment.

Adele barely managed to suppress a bitter laugh. The Viscountess wanted to send her away as soon as possible, and the Marquis wanted to claim her as quickly as he could. It was hard to tell who was more eager.

“Go wash up and prepare for the carriage. The water has already been drawn. Oh my, you look pale. Perfect.”

Paleness was beauty. The Viscountess smiled radiantly.

Adele thought it was the first time her mother, the Viscountess, had ever spoken this much to her. Normally, she might have felt a twinge of sadness, but her mind, filled with the events of the previous night, was too preoccupied to care.

“I’ll take care of it myself, so please leave the room.”

As soon as she entered her room, Adele dismissed the maid. It wasn’t unusual. The Viscount’s house was on the brink of ruin, and the first expenses the Viscountess had cut were those for Adele.

“Prepare quickly to greet the Marquis!”

Adele locked the door quietly, listening to her mother shouting orders at the servants outside. She turned around and felt her breath catch in her throat.

“Haah.”

The neat and tidy room, the only place where Adele felt at ease, had already been transformed into a space to welcome the Marquis. It was the beginning of hell. She had been gone for just one day, but her small room was now even smaller, crammed with gift boxes—all from the Marquis.

—Thud.

Adele picked up the box nearest the door and set it back down weakly. Inside was a bracelet so heavy and ornate that wearing it might break her wrist.

‘Such clothes for a noble lady of grace?’

Marquis Beneaire.

Every time he saw her working as a secretary, he would subtly express his disapproval. Sending such things before their engagement day made his intentions clear.

‘He wants me to leave the Order of Knights as soon as we’re married. After all, knights can’t wear such gaudy bracelets.’

Not only that, but the room was filled with items suitable for a “proper hostess of the social world,” which Adele had avoided her entire life. Beautiful and luxurious, they were scattered across her bed and room as if to say, ‘Just put these on and step out.’

“…”

Adele slowly began to undress. Initially, she had intended to wash immediately, but she changed her mind. She didn’t want to wash away any trace of the previous night from her body.

Though she had started with the intention of forgetting, surprisingly…

Adele already missed the events of the previous night.

***

Chereph Riat often divided people into three categories:

Those who approached him because they wanted something from him.

Those who desired him for who he was.

Or, conversely, those who possessed something he needed.

Most people never strayed from these categories.

Adele Limier was one of those people—or rather, she used to be.

Adele Limier belonged to the first group. But unlike others, she only sought Chereph’s professional skills. At least, that’s what he had believed.

‘I have a request’

But how could someone look so enchanting, like a fairy, and not stir something in others? Who could resist such a presence? She became a new, fourth category of person for Chereph. Someone who could drive others mad with just a hint of her scent and a few chirped words.

It was an unforgettable night. A night he could never let anyone else have. Adele, who had always looked at Chereph with a cold gaze, had, in that moment, shown undeniable heat. As if inviting him to desire her.

Do you think I can’t do it? 

That defiant thought surged within him, and he was drawn to her in an instant.

‘Hah…’

What is this? It’s too easy.

That was what he thought—at first. But the deeper he explored inside her, the more that thought began to change.

If she’s this easy… then what about other men?

The thought made his movements grow more aggressive. He thought to himself, it was fortunate that he was Adele Limier’s first. Because there would be no next time.

‘Sign here.’

He recalled the time when Adele had brought him a stack of documents, handing them to him one by one. It was a task she could’ve delegated to her subordinates, yet she insisted on doing it herself. As if no detail could be overlooked. Watching her then, he’d thought:

‘She’s impenetrable.’

It was a misunderstanding, but one he had nonetheless.

Around that time, Chereph had been tasked by the Emperor with regularly visiting the knight order to oversee their promotion evaluations. For those in the order, advancing meant they had to face Chereph at least twice a month. To them, he was nothing short of a nightmare.

‘Sign here.’

But Adele treated him no differently. Even when he showed no mercy during evaluations, she remained the same.

‘Do it properly.’

As the one responsible for the evaluations, Chereph disqualified any knights who couldn’t wield their swords properly, even if they were Dukes by title. If someone couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on him, they didn’t deserve a promotion. This strictness led many to give up on advancing, but Chereph faithfully carried out the Emperor’s orders.

‘You’ve worked hard.’

Regardless of whether anyone sought advancement, Adele was always by Chereph’s side. At first, there had been others. But they all fell away before long. 

The burdensome task of attending to Chereph, who was difficult to serve, naturally fell on Adele—she was the only one who could carry out her duties without causing unnecessary disruptions.

Yet she never complained. She was always prepared, offering water and a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.