27. I Fell in Love

“What? Getting married? And to His Highness the Grand Duke?”

Bianca jumped up from the bed in shock and turned to her sister lying beside her.

The sisters were about to sleep together in the same bed for the first time in a while.

Though it was a reaction she expected, Katya felt embarrassed and hid completely under the blanket.

Bianca also came under, making the blanket rise like a tent.

The nearby lamp shone brightly through the thin white linen.

“Hiding won’t solve anything, you know?”

“You’re the first one I’m telling.”

“That’s good.”

Pleased to be the first to hear the news, she lay down facing her sister with a broad smile.

“It’s still a secret from Father.”

“When will you tell him?”

“Soon. Actually, I only received the proposal recently. I was thinking about it and just agreed this afternoon.”

“So that’s why Ivan stormed out kicking everything in his path.”

“Really? What a funny guy. Seems he has anger management issues.”

Katya snorted in derision.

“But when the butler mentioned those things were expensive, suddenly he got his control back? After that, he cleaned up and left quietly.”

Imagining his petty and pathetic figure as he left after clearing things up, she couldn’t even laugh anymore.

Katya felt renewed resentment at having been pushed around by such a worthless person until now.

“But I’m hurt. When did this happen? Did you know His Highness before?”

“Actually, it was when I escaped from the Petrovsky villa. Ivan’s men chased me to the horse rental shop.”

“Were you hurt? Why are you telling me this only now? I won’t let this slide!”

Katya grabbed Bianca’s hand as she tried to get up and made her lie down again.

This was exactly why she hadn’t told her before.

Her sister was usually quiet and gentle, but when it came to her older sister, she became unstoppable.

“Anyway, I was almost caught then, but His Highness the Grand Duke happened to be there and saved me.”

“His Highness did?”

“Yes. And then he escorted me back to the residence. That’s how I made it back safely.”

“…Wait. Sister, didn’t you say you stayed at an inn that night because it was raining too hard?”

She has a good memory. At this sharp observation, Katya cleared her throat and poked her head out from under the blanket.

Bianca quickly followed suit.

“Sister, don’t tell me you and His Highness…? Mmph!”

The bride-to-be, her face turning apple-red, covered her sister’s mouth.

It had actually been her unofficial first night together with Nikolai.

At that time, she really hadn’t known it would turn out like this.

After pulling hard with both hands, Bianca finally managed to escape her strong sister’s grip.

“Ow, I couldn’t breathe! Sister, is it true?”

“It’s not!”

“What’s not?”

“Whatever it is, it’s not! Absolutely not!”

“Then why can’t you look me in the eye?”

At those words, Katya quickly turned her head toward Bianca, but her green eyes were looking elsewhere.

“Look at you! Something must have happened.”

“The important thing is! Back then, I didn’t even know he was the Grand Duke and I was terribly rude to him in ways I don’t even want to think about.”

“Then how did you end up deciding to marry?”

“I wonder about that too.”

Where exactly, and why did she fall in love?

Though Nikolai had carefully explained the moments he fell for her, Katya still couldn’t quite understand.

If she had been a man, she would never have fallen in love with a woman like herself.

No doubt, like Bianca, she would have proposed to a platinum-blonde beauty as delicate as a lily.

But strangely, despite having crossed paths with Bianca several times at the Duke’s residence, Nikolai had shown no interest in her at all.

His eyes were always on Katya.

“They say the gods are fair, and indeed they are. They gave him everything and threw in strange tastes and peculiar standards too…”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

Either way, she was the beneficiary.

As things stood now, he showed such devoted love that she couldn’t even imagine him looking at another woman in the future.

Unlike Ivan, who had blackmailed her by holding her secret as leverage, Nikolai didn’t use his position as Grand Duke to force marriage.

He simply waited patiently until she accepted his proposal.

Such men were truly rare.

No, perhaps he was the only one in the world.

“Sister, do you love His Highness?”

At that moment, Bianca asked her as she was lost in thought.

Katya lay back and stared at the ceiling for a moment.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“But I don’t think I’ll ever meet someone else who loves me this much.”

He was a man who would willingly drink tea that might be poisoned if it meant winning her heart.

And above all–

“He said he loves me for who I am, not some made-up or refined version.”

He wasn’t a man who tried to tame her tomboy nature to suit his tastes.

A smile slowly spread across her sister’s face as she watched her.

“Then he passes.”

When such a positive response came so easily, Katya turned to face her.

“Aren’t you scared? They call him the Bloody Grand Duke in the North. Because he’s killed so many people around him.”

“If you’re happy with him, I’m happy. And if he were really that bad, you wouldn’t have agreed to marry him.”

“You think I have good judgment? You’re just believing everything.”

“You said you wouldn’t marry if it meant lowering your standards.”

“That’s right. I never thought it would be possible to marry without lowering my standards.”

What had seemed impossible had become reality.

It felt like a dream, really.

She hesitated because the position of Grand Duchess seemed burdensome and being a lady of the house didn’t suit her, but Nikolai was always exactly the ideal she had imagined.

If he hadn’t appeared in her life, perhaps Katya would have lived alone without ever marrying.

It was a position anyone would covet, and remarkably, it came with a return policy.

This marriage contract was beneficial to Katya in many ways.

After experiencing married life for a year, she could divorce and maintain both her freedom and the Duke family’s fortune.

But not for Nikolai.

“Then what do you gain by marrying me, Your Grace?”

“A thrilling honeymoon with you?”

“Other than that, there’s nothing left for you, Your Grace.”

“Why would there be nothing left? There would be lifelong memories to look back on before I die.”

Could that really be all he wanted from her?

What was so special about me?

Katya wondered if she truly deserved such love from him.

“Ah, thanks to sister’s persistence in holding out all this time, it was easy to reject suitors, but now that’s disappointing.”

Bianca complained with a playful expression.

Duke Smirnov had set the condition that he wouldn’t allow his second daughter to marry until his eldest daughter was married, but now that Katya was getting married, Bianca would no longer have an excuse.

“Did you find him? The one you said was your first love?”

“Not yet. I was planning to look for him in the North. Sister, your wedding will be in the North, right? Then I can stay at your place and search! Since it’s the palace, I’ll be able to easily meet the nobles there, right?”

“Ah! Come to think of it, I haven’t told you about that either.”

Katya muttered as if just remembering.

Except for Katya’s family, no one in the South knew about the Grand Duke’s journey to the south.

Duke Smirnov had strictly forbidden the people at the Duke’s residence from speaking about it, and Ivan was too afraid of Nikolai to dare speak carelessly about it.

“Since his covert mission in the South isn’t over yet, the wedding might have to be postponed until after that.”

“There aren’t many days left to call you sister. Once you become Grand Duchess, I’ll have to formally address you as Your Highness.”

“Nonsense. Do that when others are around, but when it’s just us two, keep calling me sister.”

“Oh my! Your Highness the Grand Duchess, already thinking of bending the rules!”

“The Grand Duke said he would welcome such a Grand Duchess any day.”

Katya shrugged as she responded to the playful criticism.

“Really? I want to make a good impression on brother-in-law.”

“Brother-in-law?”

“Of course he’s brother-in-law. He’s my sister’s husband.”

Her sister seemed very excited about welcoming a new family member.

Father would be surprised at first, but he would eventually be happy.

Katya suddenly realized that marriage wasn’t just between two people, but between families.

She could already imagine how sad Bianca and Father would be when she got divorced.

They were her most beloved family, but precisely because of that, she thought it better to hide the fact that this was a contract marriage.

***

Early in the morning, a visitor came to the Grand Duke’s lodgings.

“I brought what you asked for.”

Luka handed over a box across the table as soon as he sat down.

Nikolai, sitting opposite him, took the box but placed it on the adjacent seat without checking its contents.

“Why aren’t you opening it? Aren’t you going out today?”

“Never mind. I’m just meeting men anyway, no need for perfume.”

“Then why did you ask for it so urgently in your letter?”

“Do I smell of anything?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“No, I’m seriously asking. What do I smell like?”

Nikolai’s eyes had become quite serious.

Katya always had a pleasant scent.

So he wanted to have a nice scent too, at least when meeting her.

He had insisted on bringing perfume because he suddenly worried that he might have only smelled of sweat around her.

“How strange. You never cared about such things when you were in the North. You’re acting like someone who wants to impress a lady.”

Luka threw out a casual joke.

Usually, this would have gotten a strong reaction, but there was none at all.

Had the joke gone too far?

“Your Highness…?”

“You’re right. I’m in love.”

“Pardon?”

“To the point where I can’t live without her now.”

Nikolai murmured with the warmest expression Luka had ever seen on him.