Prologue

It was a ball as ripe as the midsummer sunshine.

Under the sparkling chandeliers, young men and women paired up, gracefully dancing in circles. The waltz melody filled the ballroom like flowing water, and the laughter of groups sharing conversations sporadically burst out like blooming flower buds.

Liese walked away from it all and approached the table of refreshments. She could use some juice to soothe her burning throat.

She was about to reach for a glass containing a liquid the color of green apples with trembling hands.

“Is it uncomfortable here?”

A subdued voice from behind interrupted her. Startled, Liese, who was taken aback, stopped in her tracks before turning around. Even without looking, she could identify the owner of the voice.

“No, Your Grace.”

“Your Grace?”

“…Marcus.”

“Right.”

The laughter-tinged breath tickled her ear. Marcus, who had approached closely, pulled Liese’s lower back with one hand. The proximity was so close that it seemed like they would touch without seeing each other up close.

“This is a white wine from Haile. It’s quite a bit stronger than it looks.”

Reaching out with his other hand, Marcus pushed the glass at her fingertips away.

“I know how tempting it is to drink it, but I think it would be wise to avoid strong liquor on a day like today.”

“I just mistook it for apple juice. I didn’t plan on drinking alcohol.”

“Were you nervous?”

“…Just a bit thirsty.”

The sight of a woman flirting with a man who could draw attention anywhere was a sight to behold for everyone in the ballroom.

Curious glances flew her way, and an eerie silence fell over the room, which had been filled with music. Liese, who had been glancing around, spoke quietly.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make mistakes.”

The man’s low chuckle followed, and she could tell from her back that he was enjoying the situation immensely.

Liese stared down at the forearms wrapped around her waist. She felt foolish for allowing herself to be drawn into the Duke’s pace. I knew he had no choice but to follow his lead, wherever it led.

“It’s not that I worried about your mistakes.”

A large hand grasped Liese’s wrist, turning her around. The movement was as smooth as the waltz being danced in the ballroom.

“It’s the brazenness of your behavior that bothers me.”

“….”

“Some men mistakenly assume that the unattainable young lady is trying to seduce them.”

His blonde hair glistened in the chandelier’s light, along with his beautiful silver-blue eyes. It was a wonder that such a beautiful face, without a single angular feature, could say anything but piercing words.

Liese raised her eyes rebelliously and looked at him.

“If it’s a gentleman, he wouldn’t have such foolish misunderstandings.”

“Look over there.”

Marcus gestured with his eyes to the end of a long table. A group of men gathered, sipping wine and glancing in their direction.

“Lustful gentlemen are eagerly waiting for you to tilt your glass.”

“….”

“Even though they clearly know that you are my partner,”

“Your Grace, no… You’re the one making a fuss.”

Liese’s heart pounded hard as she hastily corrected his title. Her hands twitched like a child who had done something wrong under the attention she was receiving.

She wondered why she chose to do things that would get her in trouble, especially in front of this man who, unlike her, was so good at pretending to be a lover in love….

“There’s no way they’re making fun of me, so that must mean you’re the problem.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“You don’t seem to love me, so all that crap is just trying to get to you.”

Marcus’s fingers, imbued with cool energy, brushed against Liese’s cheek.

“I know your acting skills are terrible, but I didn’t know you weren’t desperate.”

“No, it’s not like that; I won’t make a mistake again.”

“Then, try kissing me.”

A mysterious smile spread across Marcus’s face. Perplexed, Liese’s lips parted slightly.

“If it’s going to be a lame misunderstanding, would you rather I do it? ”

She’d seen this coming since she took the wad of money he handed her. She just didn’t realize it would be in a ballroom with dozens of eyes watching under bright lights.

“It’s okay for us to have such misunderstandings in our relationship.”

Marcus’s voice was as light as a hum, but the unspoken submission in it weighed heavily on Liese’s shoulders.

She glared at his chiseled face and slowly reached out her hands. Her cold hands gripped his wrinkle-free jacket and tugged. His body, which shouldn’t have been able to move with any amount of force, obediently yielded.

Liese glared at him, then brought her hands up and cupped his full cheeks, her eyes tightly shut and her cocked head raised.

Her lips parted in an insincere smirk as she realized how close he was to laughing at her.
She refused to imagine what her jerky movements must have looked like to the people standing around them. The unscrupulous and rude duke took her clumsy first kiss with satisfaction.

Marcus Balthasar del Bachmann, everyone’s hero, was the reason she was always sulking due to the buttons from their first encounter, which had been misplaced for a long time.