28. Nikolai’s Plan

“You’ve gotten better at joking lately. Haha……”

Luka forced a smile while breaking out in a cold sweat.

Since he had been someone who treated women like stones, there were even rumors circulating that suggested he and Luka might be ‘that kind’ of relationship.

Though Luka always vehemently denied it, fearing it might block his own marriage prospects, Nikolai rather let people think that way.

Despite his nickname ‘Bloody Grand Duke,’ some brave northern nobles still tried to push marriage proposals to make their daughters the Grand Duchess, and noble ladies captivated by his looks would cling to him at every party.

When everything slowed down due to rumors about the Grand Duke enjoying male companionship, he thought it was rather fortunate, as it was already bothersome enough.

Only Luka felt wronged, being used thoroughly just because he was the only friend the Grand Duke kept close.

That’s how far Nikolai was from love and marriage.

It was impossible for such embarrassing confessions about falling in love to come from his mouth.

That wouldn’t happen even if the world turned upside down.

“Why do you think I called you all the way to the South?”

“Did you cause some trouble? Something Boris couldn’t handle?”

Luka asked carefully, lowering his voice.

He could almost hear Boris’s crying as if it were an auditory hallucination.

“Getting married soon.”

“Boris is?”

“I’m getting married.”

“Oh, is that so? Why make such a big deal about… Wait, what?”

Did I hear that wrong?

Luka, who had been responding indifferently, belatedly caught the meaning and asked again.

“Your Highness is getting married? Why so suddenly?”

“Why are you so surprised? I’m of marriageable age now, so I should get married.”

“Who’s your partner? Don’t tell me you’ve decided to marry the match the Former Grand Duchess arranged?”

“No. A woman from the South.”

“The South? Who exactly?”

Nikolai had no connection to the South whatsoever.

He had lived his entire life in the North, and more than half of that confined to the capital.

That’s why this was his first journey to the South.

Southern nobles also rarely left their territories except for the Senate meetings of the great noble Boyarins.

How could he have already arranged a marriage so quickly, like cooking beans in lightning, when he’d only been in the South for such a short time?

“Katarina Smirnov.”

“Duke Smirnov’s daughter?”

Luka knew Duke Smirnov by face.

He was apparently the wealthiest Boyarin in the South with a good reputation all around.

However, he heard that the Duke disliked forming factions and lived quietly without trying to flaunt his power in Southern social circles.

While the Grand Duchy of Hersen had long suffered from factional fights between old and new nobility, Duke Smirnov didn’t take either side.

Naturally, he didn’t curry favor with Former Grand Duchess Oksana either.

This was a very rare personality among the great noble Boyarins.

“Does the Former Grand Duchess…?”

“Of course she doesn’t know. That’s why I called you here secretly.”

“I had quite a struggle making excuses at home, saying I was going on a trip since you told me to keep it secret. Why did you call for me?”

“To be a witness at my wedding. You’re the only friend I can trust.”

At those words, Luka felt his nose tingle with emotion.

He had earned remarkably deep trust from Nikolai, who lived a life suspicious of everyone.

His father, Duke Oblonsky, was a follower of Former Grand Duchess Oksana and stood in direct opposition to Nikolai.

During the time, when Nikolai suffered the most from persecution, Luka could only stand by and watch, lacking the power to protect his friend.

Thinking about those times still filled him with bitter regret and pain that cut to the bone.

Nevertheless, the Grand Duke hadn’t forgotten their childhood companionship and their time studying under the same teacher, and continued to trust him.

“Why do you keep me close? I’m a coward who couldn’t do anything while watching what was done to you. Don’t trust me. Don’t reach out to me!”

“Back then, both you and I were powerless and too young, weren’t we? Now that I’ve become strong, I promise. I won’t create situations where you have to face such painful dilemmas again.”

Looking at him who had opened his heart, Luka thought.

If the day ever came when he had to choose between his father and his friend, he would definitely stand by his friend’s side.

To do that, he needed to build up his strength.

That’s why he was walking a tightrope, carefully balancing to deceive his father.

Oksana and Duke Oblonsky’s side thought they had planted Luka as their spy next to the Grand Duke.

Not knowing that Luka had sworn a lifelong loyalty to Nikolai.

He was a kind of double agent.

“Are you really getting married? Then earlier when you said you fell in love…”

“I’m not good at jokes.”

Nikolai said with a slight smile.

Katya was the only one he would joke with, as he rarely opened his heart to others.

It was delightful to watch her expressions change moment by moment.

“You said you needed a woman who could stand by your side until everything was over. Why did you fall in love?”

When leaving for the South, Nikolai thought he would find someone suitable to marry in a place beyond Oksana’s reach.

He had thought a marriage for love was impossible anyway.

He needed someone to play the role of Grand Duchess, not a wife.

Then Katya appeared before him.

Falling in love with her wasn’t part of the plan.

Before he knew it, he had fallen deeply for her.

Like falling into a swamp he could never escape from.

“I know. I don’t know what I’m doing either.”

“……”

“But I always keep in mind not to be greedy. I’ll give her everything I can while she’s alive and then let her go.”

He married Katya not just because he loved her, but ultimately for another reason.

“I wish I were strong and muscular like you.”

“What?”

“If I were strong, no one would dare look down on me.”

When he learned that she was a victim of an unwanted marriage, and that Ivan had nearly starved her at the villa, Nikolai felt his blood boiling.

He wanted to make sure no one would ever treat her carelessly again.

He could make her the most revered woman in the Grand Duchy, with the most noble status that everyone would look up to.

He had that power.

For the first time, he felt fortunate to have been born into the Grand Duke’s family and to have become Grand Duke after overcoming those trials.

Even if the moment came when he could no longer be by her side, by then, she would be the Former Grand Duchess.

At least in Hersen, there was no one who could look down on the Former Grand Duchess and her family.

“Your Highness…”

“As you know, I’m not allowed to have a happy family.”

“Is it because of the prophecy?”

The Grand Duke had the power to take the woman he wanted even if it meant going against the prophecy.

But he didn’t seem to want to do that.

There was a reason why Nikolai had set a one-year limit on this marriage from the start.

Even Luka could see that he didn’t want to make her sad.

“You truly love that woman.”

“She’s someone I can’t help but love.”

“Even though you’re getting married, will you still proceed with your plans? Wouldn’t it be better to stop now……”

“If I was going to stop, I wouldn’t have started in the first place. That’s the reason I’m still alive today.”

During the years of persecution, revenge was all that remained for Nikolai.

Grand Duke Yuri de Vasily had four children.

His first wife, Yevgenia, bore twins but died of puerperal fever right after giving birth to the daughter.

The second wife, Tatiana, raised the twins like her own children and gave birth to the second son Nikolai, but she was falsely accused and deposed, losing her life in an accident 13 years ago.

Oksana, who became the third Grand Duchess, gave Yuri an adorable youngest son.

Including Yuri, everyone unanimously thought that Ruslan, the firstborn son from Yevgenia, would inherit the Grand Duke position.

When Ruslan died in an unexpected accident, Yuri spent his final years in madness and passed away without designating an heir.

“A completely useless bastard.”

It wasn’t just his deceased father Yuri who had said such cruel words to Nikolai.

When his maternal family was wiped out for treason, both nobles and palace servants pushed young Nikolai to the edge.

The Boyarins, Hersen’s great noble group, and the clergy led by the Archbishop were pushing for the youngest, Mikhail, as the next Grand Duke.

However, Nikolai, the despised son of the deposed empress, seized the position of Grand Duke with support from new nobles and the loyalty of the guard officers and knights.

Though captured assassins always took their own lives without revealing their backers, Nikolai knew.

He knew that his stepmother Oksana, who acted like a loving mother, and the great noble forces were constantly watching for a chance to take his life.

In Santeburg, the capital that was like thin ice, there were extremely few people Nikolai could trust.

Luka was one of them.

“Since I bought a gift, it would be polite to open it. You must have had trouble carrying it all the way here.”

“Why are you saying such uncomfortable things?”

Luka shuddered at the uncharacteristically kind attitude, rubbing his arms.

“I’m trying to become a nice person from now on.”

“…Is that possible?”

“I thought it would be better than being a scary person, at least.”

It had been bothering him that Katya had whispered to Laika about him being scary.

Nikolai decided that from now on, he would try to use pretty words, gentle words, and think kind thoughts.

Smiling as he opened the box, he sprayed the perfume on himself and immediately froze.

“I take back what I said about you being my only trustworthy friend, as of today.”

“What? Why?”

Luka cried out in indignation, not knowing that Bianca had accidentally put cheap perfume inside.