Chapter 3 – Part 6

“I will pay you five hundred guilders per call.”
 
The Liese’s light green eyes widened.
 
“Yes, 100 gils will be added for each hour exceeded from the existing working hours, not including the cost of maintaining your dignity or any other niceties. I’m even willing to pay you double that once we start socializing, if I see that you are doing an excellent job. What do you say?”
 
Marcus’s bland voice carried an amount of money that most people would never dream of.
 
A few calls could pay for his grandfather’s hospitalization.
 
By summer, she figured. Even if Charlie’s case dragged on, she’d have enough money to pay for her defense, plus the mortgage on the orchard.
 
She would be completely freed from the weight pressing on her shoulders. Just the thought of it made her chest feel lighter. It was truly an amount that could solve all the worries she had.
 
If she could end her relationship with the Duke after this deal, that would be enough to save her family.
 
Liese did not hesitate.
 
“I will.”
 
Marcus smiled wryly at her resolute answer.
 
“You’re going to pretend to be a woman who clings to me like a cat, right? Can you do it?”
 
“…I’ll try my best.”
 
With just one grip on her clothes, her helpless body was violently shaken. She let out a suppressed groan as if her throat were dry.
 
“Fix that look in your eyes right now. No woman should stare in disgust at the man she loves.”
 
His eyes flashed with expectant command. The button she hadn’t realized she’d fumbled with clattered to the floor. Liese bit her lower lip until it was white.
 
“I will try, Your Grace. There is one last thing I would like to ask you.”
 
“What is it?”
 
“I know what it’s like to be a lover, and I know what it’s like to be in contact with you.”
 
Liese shivered but met his searing eyes that seemed to pierce through her.
 
“Does that mean I am to engage in such… behavior with the Duke?”
 
“You’re asking if you have to go to bed.”
 
Marcus chuckled.
 
“…Yes.”
 
“If we must. Do you want to?”
 
“I just thought it would be good to know in advance.”
 
Her voice, which she’d tried to keep stoic, trembled. There was no bottom left to be seen, but for some reason, the tears kept rising from the bottom of her throat.
 
She was only grabbed by the collar, but the power was unrelenting. She felt an instinctive fear of a man who could do anything with that power.
 
Marcus traced the moisture at the corners of her eyes, then her parted lips. The pulsation of their heaving br*asts sent a chill down his spine.
 
Then his throat rippled as he spoke.
 
“You think I find you interesting enough to want to take you to bed?”
 
“Maybe.”
 
Marcus raised an eyebrow at the unexpected answer. He let out a small chuckle.
 
“Your self-consciousness is through the roof. You are a remarkable woman in so many ways.”
 
“It doesn’t matter what my self-consciousness is.”
 
Liese gasped, but continued.
 
“I’ve seen the letters in your office. If my guess is correct, they were sent by many young ladies wishing to become your partner, and I doubt that any of them came close to meeting your requirements.”
 
Liese blinked her tear-stained lashes at the man’s smirk.
 
“Even if that were the case, I’m not sure I’d be the best choice for the Duke; I’m not used to socializing, and you’d have to give me a lot of money. Isn’t that exactly the unprofitable thing the Duke was talking about?”
 
“So it looks like I care about you?”
 
“I can’t help but think you mean something else, at least.”
 
“I admit it.”
 
Marcus replied dryly.
 
“This is a joke to me. I chose you because I wanted to have a little fun during this boring season. For the sake of realistic entertainment, I am willing to pay even insignificant amounts of money.”
 
“Then answer me this.”
 
Liese looked Marcus straight in the eye. The candle flame flickered precariously in the darkened bedroom, and Liese’s eyes grew wide.
 
“Should I even consider sleeping with the Duke?”
 
His bed was only a few steps away, through the archway. Depending on the Duke’s answer, Liese might have to strip down to her barely-there clothes immediately.
 
Marcus stared down at her for a very long time. The longer the silence lengthened, the more he could see the anxiety in her eyes as she paced the floor.
 
Still, Liese did not avert her gaze. A sound that she didn’t know whose belonged to was beating violently in the chests that touched each other.
 
“All you have to do is pretend.”
 
Marcus said quietly.
 
“You don’t have to have anything to do with me, unless you have a hobby for showing off in front of others.”
 
Liese breathed a sigh of relief, as if releasing a pent-up breath. She felt like she was going to fall into place with the release of tension. Funnily enough, she might have done so if it weren’t for the hem of the duke’s robe.
 
The Duke frowned, recognizing her change of heart like the flip of a palm.
 
“If that’s what you want, I’m willing to respect it.”
 
“I don’t have such preferences…!”
 
Liese exclaimed before he could get to the point. The Duke responded with a snort and released his grip on her collar. Liese drew in a sharp breath.
 
Marcus shuffled over to a chest of drawers against the wall, opened it, and pulled out something. It was a stack of bills.
 
“Take it.”
 
Her lips parted at the sight of the stack of bills. Mesmerized, she reached over and took the money, then began frantically counting the thick wads of paper.
 
“50, 100, 150, 200….
 
By the time she had finished, she still had a lot of money left, and she recognized the Duke, who was watching her intently. Liese clutched the bills she hadn’t even counted halfway. Marcus’s face broke into an unmistakable grin.
 
“I’ve given you a generous sum to commemorate the deal, and I think you deserve it for stripping in front of me, don’t you?”
 
“…….”
 
“Not enough?”
 
“…No, Your Grace.”
 
She couldn’t tell if it was enough or not. She had no idea how much she should be paid to show a man her body beyond her flimsy underwear.
 
Liese kept her head down and fidgeted with everything in her hands. The white apron and the wad of money. All of it was the result of the choices she’d made to protect her family.
 
She shouldn’t feel the slightest bit ashamed. Why did she feel so miserable?
 
“Now tell me.”
 
Liese snapped her head up.
 
“Tell you what?”
 
“Your circumstances. I said I would listen.”
 
Pulling out a thin shirt, Marcus slipped his arms through it lazily. It was a relaxed gesture, like he’d just woken up in a cesspool, even though it was full dusk.
 
Liese’s gaze drifted away for a moment, lost in thought. Marcus buttoned his shirt and waited patiently for an answer. The silence was not long.
 
“I don’t think I need to tell you about my situation.”
 
“I thought so.”
 
Marcus laughed languidly.
 
“It was all about the money, wasn’t it?”
 
His tone was condescending, but Liese simply clenched her jaw.
 
“…Yes. That’s right, Your Grace.”
 
“Call me by my name.”
 
The sudden demand snapped her out of her blurred focus. Liese narrowed her eyes and looked at Marcus, gauging his sincerity. He couldn’t have been more serious.
 
She batted her eyelashes awkwardly, then, feeling the unspoken insistence, moved her lips cautiously.
 
“…Marcus.”
 
“Straight, no fumbling.”
 
“…….”
 
“Say it more naturally.”
 
“Marcus.”
 
The man’s name was terribly unfamiliar. How dare she call the Duke of Balthasar by his first name. Of course, she didn’t want to keep things casual now that they’d made their deal.
 
“We need to appear intimate, so I’ll leave out the honorifics and call you by your first name.”
 
That’s why I felt uncomfortable with his next request. Liese looked confused, then hesitantly asked.
 
“Do I still have to call you by your first name when we’re alone? Since you said it’s an act, it seems like how you look in front of others is the most important thing.”
 
At Liese’s question, Marcus blinked slowly through his lowered lashes. After a brief eye contact, his gravelly voice answered.
 
“Do as you please, as long as you don’t make a mistake.”
 
“Very well, Your Grace.”
 
Liese clenched her jaw tightly. After an appropriate amount of time, she lifted her chin again to look up at the Duke, whose eyes were strangely cold. Delicate eyelashes fluttered at a slow pace, just as they had a moment ago.
 
As if caught off guard, Marcus opened his mouth.
 
“I’ll be sending an entourage and a carriage tomorrow morning. Wait for them. Since we need to get rid of your filthy wardrobe, which is quite obvious even without looking,”
 
The notoriously impatient duke seemed intent on beginning his ball preparations as soon as the sun rose.
 
As Liese tried to think of something to do with her hair, she remembered something. Looking at the duke, who looked even more unsightly, she spoke calmly.
 
“As much as it pains me to ask, Your Grace, if it were possible, would you be so kind as to change the time of our appointment to around noon?”
 
Marcus laughed hollowly.