Surely the Duke of Chesterfield, who adored his son, wouldn’t teach him gambling. At most, he’d probably teach him how to count numbers and praise him for doing well.

Izer’s footsteps reached the end of the stairs.

Celian, who had been walking with her head down, was startled. It was because the man she thought would disappear straight into his room had turned towards her.

Izer just stared at her intently. Celian’s lips quivered. As it happened, she had something to say.

“Thank you for earlier. The ice cream, I mean.”

If she had eaten it unknowingly, she would have suffered greatly. When Celian bowed her head again, an indifferent voice fell on top of her head.

“I don’t like disturbances in this house. Be careful on your own.”

“…Yes.”

Leaving those words, Izer headed to his room. Celian also climbed the stairs she had paused on.

Once out of sight of the Duke’s family members, she felt a bit more at ease. Despite having taken the digestive medicine she had asked Owen for earlier, she felt like the food might come right back up.

That was partly due to the corset she had tightened for the occasion. Her body felt constricted. She wanted to quickly take off these clothes that didn’t suit her status and change into the droopy gray dress that suited her.

But before she could change her clothes, someone called for her.

“Miss Berienne, the Duke is looking for you. He says to come to his room.”

“Yes.”

This time, it was the Duke who called for her. He could cancel the card game he was supposed to have with his family at his whim.

Celian checked her appearance. She was still in the cumbersome dress, but there was nothing she could do. Wasn’t it the Duke who didn’t give her time to change?

The fact that he was once her father’s friend, though now her employer, helped her feel a little more at ease with Harris Chesterfield.

The Duke was alone. His first question was unexpected.

“Celian, why didn’t you eat the ice cream?”

The Duke of Chesterfield must be a petty person. Celian bowed her head and answered.

“I’m allergic to apples. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“Ah, that’s right. I forgot for a moment that you’re allergic to apples. I’m sorry.”

It was the first time he had shown direct familiarity other than calling her by name. She was taken aback by the unexpected response.

Celian blinked and replied.

“Not at all. Just being allowed to join the dinner was…”

“Izer seemed to know about your condition.”

Harris must have seen Izer pushing away her ice cream bowl. But that was no reason to bring up his name.

Harris raised the corner of his mouth as he stared at Celian, who looked puzzled.

“Celian, I believe you remember that I paid off Marcotti’s debt.”

“Of course. I’m always grateful for that.”

Her voice was tinged with emotion. He was not only a war hero who had resolved the enormous war reparations, but also a benefactor to Celian herself.

Harris continued in a gentle voice.

“So I want to ask you a favor.”

“If it’s about Young Master Percy, anything…”

“No. It’s about my other son.”

It felt ominous. Celian swallowed. The dress she was wearing suddenly felt heavy.

Blue eyes gleamed cunningly.

“Seduce my son.”

She was dumbfounded. What is this person saying? Seduce Izer? The fallen Celian Berienne, seduce the young duke of Chesterfield?

Celian stammered.

“Your Grace, what do you mean by…”

“I mean exactly what I said. Seduce my son. If you need money for adornments, I’ll give you as much as you need.”

It was an incomprehensible demand. And it was also something that should never be done. Before Celian could refuse, Harris added an even more absurd proposal.

“And then abandon him. Utterly devastate him.”

His deep blue eyes now gleamed wildly.

Some thirty years ago, Harris had lost Renéee to David Ren. Even after David’s death, Harris couldn’t fully possess Renéee. Only when he offered to adopt her son into the Chesterfield family did she barely accept his proposal.

He had wanted to destroy David more thoroughly, but that bastard died too easily.

What remained was Izer, who looked exactly like David in his youth. Even his contempt for Harris was the same as David’s, which infuriated him.

So he brought in Celian. Hoping that his adopted son would suffer in agony with the woman he hated right before his eyes. He didn’t care whether Celian suffered humiliation or Izer went mad with hatred in the process.

‘I thought even that much would be a success.’

Harris couldn’t hide his joy and snickered.

He had thought that Izer would naturally hate Celian. But the situation was far more interesting than he had imagined.

A perfect scenario had already formed in his mind.

The thoughtless first love who had plunged a man into despair reappeared. The naive man once again gave his body and heart to that woman.

But it turned out that the woman had seduced him on the orders of his adoptive father, whom he hated so much, and that detestable woman’s goal was money. How utterly devastating and miserable!

He could already almost see his adopted son’s face contorting with his red eyes. Harris composed his expression and added.

“Don’t worry about the aftermath. I can get you out of his sight somewhere. Of course, money is important too, right? If you succeed, I’ll give you five hundred pounds. It should be enough to settle down somewhere.”

By then, Celian had come to her senses. Celian put strength into her feet. The dress might have been uncomfortable, but at least the shoes were what she always wore.

“This is not something I should be involved in.”

The conflict between the adopted son and father was far worse than she had thought. Celian blurted out incoherently.

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this. I won’t say anything to the young duke or the madam. I’ll take my leave now…”

Harris cut off her words.

“Your father’s debt to the Count of Winston was seventy thousand pounds.”

Celian’s annual salary as a governess was fifty pounds.

“Fifty thousand to the Count of Rens, thirty thousand to the Count of Croa. Just these three families amount to one hundred and fifty thousand pounds.”

“……”

“And what about the war reparations? Fairville demanded an amount incomparable to personal debts.”

It was the price of the war that her father had pushed for, claiming they could win. And most of it was paid off by Chesterfield. Celian’s body trembled.

“I don’t want to list everything else to stimulate your guilt, Celian, but I must tell you about the young Count of Winston.”

The face of William Winston, that terrible bastard, flashed by. Harris continued his gentle speech.

“If I tell him that you’re in our house and demand another seventy thousand pounds, William would gladly do so.”

Celian gritted her teeth and spat out.

“Everyone will know I’m here anyway. Even if you don’t say anything, Your Grace.”

“I should rephrase then. Celian, that’s not what I mean. I’m saying I could sell you to William without anyone knowing.”

“……”

“The disappearance of young, beautiful women is quite common. Who would know that they’re tied up n*ked on some nobleman’s villa bed?”

Ha, Celian’s lips twisted in despair.

This was Harris Chesterfield’s true nature. Her father’s friend, the hero of Treven, her benefactor. The inner self of the man wrapped in such plausible packaging was infinitely ugly.

Celian cried out.

“So this is why Izer hated you! That his mother is with someone like you…!”

Harris rose from his chair and strode towards her.

Slap. Celian’s cheek turned. The earring, unprepared for the force, grazed her skin leaving a thin scratch.

Mental and physical shock hit at the same time. Staggering, Celian tripped on the hem of her dress and fell backwards.

Harris bent down and grabbed the chin of the woman wearing the dress he had gifted. Light sky-blue eyes and deep blue eyes glared at each other.

Harris spat out.

“Don’t talk recklessly about my wife.”

The hand holding her chin threw her away. Celian put her hand on the floor and gasped for breath. She had nearly experienced rough treatment several times while wandering, but that didn’t mean she was used to violence.

The heartless footsteps retreated as if nothing had happened. Celian raised her reddened eyes.

“What if I fail?”

Izer hates Celian. There’s no way he could love the woman who dragged his life into the mud.

Yes, the Duke of Chesterfield’s proposal was impossible from the first step. Izer would have to fall in love with Celian to be hurt.

A small spark of hope lit up in her heart. Celian looked at him straight on.

Harris turned around and looked at her again. The woman’s body froze under his domineering gaze.

The Duke spoke coldly.

“If you do your best, you won’t fail, Celian.”

“……”

“If you do your best and my son still doesn’t fall for you, then there’s nothing we can do. I’ll have to hand you over to the Count of Winston. Still, you were once the daughter of a friend, I don’t want to make you end up like that.”

In the end, it meant to seduce Izer by any means necessary. Celian glared at him.

“Why go this far? What did he do so wrong?”