Chapter 1 (Part 4)

“……It’s nice.”

It had been years since she had walked alone like this. After her marriage, she was always followed by someone under the pretext of protection.

“More like surveillance.”

In the Richard castle, there were many who served as eyes and ears for her mother-in-law. They reported her words and actions, adding even things she hadn’t done. Therefore, Therese always felt anxious even when she was just in her room.

“Ha, I feel a bit dizzy.”

Perhaps she had overexerted herself today.

Her head spun, and her legs wobbled.

She stretched out her arms to prevent falling, but she lost her balance in an instant.

“…!”

Just when she thought she would fall helplessly, Therese found herself in someone’s arms.

Without looking up, she knew who it was.

The firmness of his arms and the scent enveloping his body were all too familiar.

Therese had once foolishly loved. Despite being ignored and verbally abused, she had harbored feelings for her husband, Duke Richard. Shaking off her deep thoughts, she opened her eyes wide.

‘Why is he here now?’

Therese’s mind went blank with the sudden occurrence.

After the wedding, Jeremy Richard had gone straight to the battlefield and hadn’t returned to the estate for a year.

‘Why on earth?’

As the veins in the hand gripping her waist bulged, he spoke.

“Why are you out here alone without any servants?”

Therese barely regained her composure at his almost accusatory tone.

“Let go of me.”

She quickly brushed off his hand and faced the Duke.

Jeremy Richard was dressed in a neatly tailored military uniform under his fluttering cloak. His abundant blond hair slightly shook in the wind, and under the sunlight, his sharp and melancholic black eyes and tightly closed lips sparkled.

He was still dazzling.

And Therese realized how trivial her resolutions could sometimes be.

She should have avoided seeing his face upon their reunion.

Yet, here she was, naturally taking in the sight of the Duke.

Caught off guard by this unplanned reunion, Therese remembered the desperate gestures he had shown her before she died.

It seemed he had something to say.

But it was too late for that.

A mix of palpitations and pain intertwined, causing her heart to ache as if it were splitting.

‘It’s a useless memory.’

Therese slowly withdrew her gaze and bowed her head.

“Greetings, Your Grace.”

Her cold greeting amidst the desolate road stirred the dust around them.

For a brief moment, the Duke looked puzzled by Therese’s cold voice but then he bowed his head neatly. His gesture was flawless, as if he had stepped right out of an etiquette book.

‘Yes. Duke Richard was that kind of person.’

He had always acted with excessive politeness throughout the five years.

‘Our marriage is merely a formality.’

That was the first thing she heard from him right after their wedding ceremony.

With eyes devoid of any emotion, he stabbed a dagger into Therese’s heart.

‘Thinking about it now, there was no reason to be hurt…’

She didn’t know why humans tended to have useless regrets.

Lost in the thoughts of the past, Therese suddenly noticed the Duke, who had mounted his horse, extending his hand towards her.

“…?”

Confused, Therese could do nothing but blink, unable to understand.

‘Why is he offering his hand?’

Could it be that he intends to ride the horse together?

She had never done such a thing before.

Unable to grasp the situation, as she stood still, he who had been staring ahead spoke.

“It’s unbecoming for the Duchess Richard to walk on a dirt road.”

“…Ah.”

If that was the reason, there was no need to refuse his hand.

Duke Richard was a man who lived and died by appearances.

After hesitating for a moment, she pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around her gloved hand. The Duke watched her do this and frowned.

Soon, the two rode in silence toward the castle, but the short distance felt eternally long.

‘……Uncomfortable.’

To avoid touching the Duke’s chest, she had to sit stiffly, but she couldn’t control her body swaying back and forth with the horse’s movements. Cold sweat ran down her spine, but fortunately, they soon reached the entrance of the castle.

“…Ah.”

She let out a sigh of relief without realizing it.

❖ ❖ ❖

In front of the fireplace in the Duke’s office at the Richard ducal residence.

The Duke’s face was quite serious as he looked down at the burning flames.

“Something seems off…”

It was hard to pinpoint, but everything felt suspicious.

“Did she dislike me that much?”

Recalling his wife, whom he had met by chance on the way back to the castle, the Duke furrowed his brow deeply.

Just a month ago, at the wedding, Therese’s cheeks would redden whenever she saw his face.

Not only that. She seemed like she might cry just from a few words exchanged.

It was a recent memory, so he was certain.

“But.”

The woman he saw just now felt unfamiliar.

Rather than being glad to see him, she seemed more rejecting.

Jeremy, recalling Therese’s small back, tense from trying not to touch him, lightly tapped the wall with his long fingers.

“Why?”

Due to sudden disturbances in the borderlands, he had no choice but to head to the battlefield immediately after the wedding.

“……Ha.”

Approaching the window, he roughly brushed back his falling hair.

Jeremy Richard had lived a life admired by all.

As the heir to a prestigious Ducal family, he had shown exceptional talent in swordsmanship and scholarship from a young age. He made significant achievements in his first battlefield following the previous Duke, earning recognition from the Emperor at a young age.

‘Duke Richard’s face is truly the empire’s blessing!’

With his noble status, he was tall, broad-shouldered, and handsome. There was no one in the empire, regardless of age or gender, who did not admire Duke Richard.

But even someone as seemingly perfect as him had a problem.

‘Jeremy Richard’s heart is as cold as ice.’

He was famous for not allowing women near him. No matter how beautiful and graceful a lady was, she couldn’t capture Duke Richard’s attention. For this reason, Duke Richard was publicly known to pursue celibacy.

‘Could it be that the Duke likes men?’

Since there were quite a few nobles who engaged in same-s*x relationships, such rumors briefly circulated.

Then one day, the Emperor commanded Duke Richard to marry.

‘Your Majesty! What do you mean by marriage all of a sudden?’

Of course, the Duke strongly resisted.

The Emperor, who had studied together with him at the academy during their youth, was one of the few people who knew his condition well.

‘You know well that I am not fit for marriage.’

Recalling a problem he couldn’t reveal to anyone, the Duke looked troubled.

‘Duke Richard, things get quite troublesome if you don’t marry.’

There were countless cunning people aiming for the Duke, the empire’s top bachelor. An invisible war had erupted with people trying to leverage the Richard family name to gain more power. Some even bribed employees of the ducal household to arrange coincidental meetings.

‘For people like us, marriages of convenience aren’t strange at all.’

‘But Your Majesty…….’

Despite the Duke’s refusal, the Emperor did not withdraw his command.

‘This is not advice; it’s an order.’

The Emperor added that he had chosen the most suitable bride for him, but by then, the Duke wasn’t listening to anything.

“Perhaps the real viper is the Emperor.”

Muttering a curse at the Emperor in secret, he pulled a cord on the wall.

He thought he should take a cold bath to cool his head.

❖ ❖ ❖

A gentle atmosphere surrounded the Richard family’s dining table for once.

“Duke, you returned without notice. You have no idea how surprised I was.”

Maria cast a loving gaze toward her eldest son, Jeremy.

“I managed to handle the urgent matter more quickly than expected.”

The scale of the demonic disturbance at the border was not so large, so there was hardly a battle before the victory was decided.

“Indeed, our Duke.”

Looking at her son, who was perfect in looks, swordsmanship, and strategy, Maria felt as if she was full even without eating.

While she was happily watching her eldest son, the source of her headache appeared.

“You’re already here.”

Dressed in a dark gray dress and with her hair tied up in a single bun, Therese offered a brief greeting before taking her seat.

“So you’ve decided to do as you please now.”

Maria was annoyed when Therese showed up late even for tea, and now she was late for dinner too!

Her behavior was far from proper etiquette.

Moreover, what was with that attire when her husband had returned?

“Did someone die, or are you hoping someone will?”

Maria’s sharp gaze fixed on Therese’s somber dress.

“I will order a new dress tomorrow.”

“Indeed, you can’t hide your origins. Thinking of ordering a dress while there are subjects groaning for a piece of bread…”

Maria’s harsh criticism made Therese bow her head deeply.

It wasn’t that she had nothing to say.

She was so astonished that she almost laughed.

‘Those pearl earrings, that necklace, the robe made of silk, shoes made of calf leather.’

The cost of everything Maria Richard wore for dinner could feed the poor for a year and still have some left over. As Therese quietly spooned her soup, Maria raised her voice again.

“Can’t you hear what I’m saying?”

“I’m sorry. I have a severe headache.”

Therese raised her head and apologized with a pale face.

“Have you taken any medicine?”

The Duke, who had not yet sat at the table, asked his wife who hadn’t looked his way even once.

“….”

After hesitating for a moment, Therese raised her head and briefly met the Duke’s gaze.

“It’s nothing to concern yourself with.”

She meant it.

He could just continue as he always had.

Maria, sensing the strange atmosphere between the two, clicked her tongue sharply.

“To think she’s even sickly, how can this be? Our family is too precious, and with her like this, how can we expect an heir!”

Maria’s gaze towards Therese was fierce.

‘How dare such a thing presume to match my son…’

The Richard family had produced many outstanding individuals, but there were many cases of early deaths. The previous Duke had died in his prime, and Jeremy Richard’s brother was also slightly unwell.

“Mother, I heard there was a fire somewhere, is everything alright?”

“A few tenant farmers died, it’s a trivial matter that someone as precious as a Duke need not worry about.”

Maria quickly shifted her focus away from Therese in response to the Duke’s question.