Chapter 4 (Part 1)

It wasn’t just an empty statement—Duke Richard truly brought her to the dressing room. One side of the large room attached to the Duke’s bedroom was neatly lined with armor and various helmets, all well-maintained.  

The sudden appearance of the Duke and Duchess caused the cleaning staff to quickly retreat to the corners. Standing in front of a mirror decorating one of the walls, he glanced at Therese over his shoulder.  

The Duke’s jacket was so large that it covered more than half of her body, but her legs below the knees were still fully exposed. His face turned red as his gaze swept over her pale ankles, which looked as if they might break at a touch.  

Duke Richard let out a sigh as he rubbed his face with one hand before speaking.  

“It seems you might catch a cold, so it would be best to change out of that dress.”  

At his signal, a servant quickly brought Therese’s dress and guided her behind a screen. The screen was large enough to completely conceal her.  

‘But this is uncomfortable.’  

Therese’s expression stiffened. There was no real need to change her dress in the Duke’s personal space.  

“Madame, I will untie the laces.”  

However, with the servant present, she had no choice but to silently let them assist her. She didn’t want to give anyone a reason to gossip before the divorce was finalized.  

“Madame, could you please lift your arms?”  

“……”  

With a soft rustling sound, the red fabric of her dress fell to the floor with a thud.  

“All done, Madame.”  

She emerged wearing a light sky-blue dress that exuded an elegant atmosphere, her face feeling inexplicably warm.  

“Be sure to store that dress separately and carefully.”

The Duke instructed as he looked at the red dress the servant was holding.  

After standing idly for a moment, the Duke offered his arm to Therese and led her to stand in front of the wall where a newly tailored suit was hanging.  

“How does it look?”  

At his question, Therese bit her lip. It was a question that didn’t even need to be asked.  

Even if Duke Richard attended in nothing but a chemise, he would still be the most handsome man there.  

The pure white suit was adorned with gold buttons that matched his blond hair, and his chest was decorated with numerous medals. A red sash draped diagonally from his shoulder to his waist, which seemed to suit him perfectly.  

As Therese stared blankly at the suit, the Duke spoke again.  

“I was thinking—how about you wear a white dress as well?”  

At his words, she imagined the two of them standing side by side at the ball, both dressed in white. It was an awkward and unfamiliar image.  

“I don’t want to attend the ball.”

She said firmly, having been too distracted to answer properly before but now making her stance clear.  

‘Besides, my mother-in-law feels the same way.’  

But then the Duke said something unexpected.  

“His Majesty the Emperor has expressed a special request. He said he would very much like to meet you this time. He mentioned how disappointed he was that he couldn’t attend the wedding.”  

“……Ah.”  

The emperor’s command was not something that could be easily ignored.  

“Also, Baron Demori will be attending as well. It would be good for you to see each other.”  

With the emperor’s request and her father added to the mix, Therese’s eyes filled with confusion. Observing her, the Duke subtly continued.  

“I trust you don’t intend to send me there alone.”  

“But……”  

He wouldn’t understand, but for the past five years, Therese had always gone to balls alone.  

‘Why would you be incapable of going alone?’  

Therese almost blurted out the question but quickly turned her head away, closing her mouth. She didn’t want to prolong the conversation by saying something unnecessary.  

‘Besides, the Duke now is the same as before, yet different.’  

She couldn’t get angry over past events. With a tired expression, Therese spoke indifferently.  

“I understand about the ball for now.”  

“We’ll go together.”

Perhaps because she had been deceived too many times, the Duke reconfirmed her answer. Therese lightly nodded before speaking.  

“I’m busy, so I’ll leave now.”  

As Therese left, the Duke gestured to the servants.  

“Everyone, leave!”  

Alone in the dressing room, only the faint dust particles floated in the air.  

“……Ha.”  

Opening the large window, Jeremy cooled down the heat in his body. Otherwise, the unfamiliar impulses surging through him threatened to consume him.  

Leaning his back against the window frame, the Duke rubbed his face roughly with both hands.  

“What am I doing? I didn’t even feel like this during puberty……”  

The moment he first saw Therese in that short red dress, a fire ignited in his chest. His mouth went dry, and unfamiliar emotions overwhelmed him.  

‘Why is she dressed like that?’  

For a moment, he felt as if only he and Therese were left in the reception room. Her abundant silver hair cascading over the red dress seemed to dance chaotically. Jeremy Richard was seized with the desire to hold her immediately and spend an intimate moment together.  

‘……Ha.’  

When he came back to his senses, he found himself annoyed that everyone else had seen Therese dressed like that. That was why he told her to change, but that only created another problem.  

‘Am I going crazy?’  

The sound of Therese undressing made his nerves tense up.  

When the red dress finally fell to the floor with a soft thud, he felt as if his rationality was about to snap. Although the screen was excessively large and the fabric thick enough to block any view, his imagination ran wild.  

In Jeremy’s mind, the dressing room transformed into a desert for an instant. A faint melody flowed through the oasis in the golden sand. Under a palm tree stood a goddess in a red dress, beckoning him.  

As he slowly approached, he imagined Therese lying n*ked, smiling at him. Her pale skin shimmered with a golden glow, dazzling his eyes.  

‘Am I hallucinating?’  

Confused, unable to distinguish between reality and dreams, he heard Therese’s seductive voice.  

‘Jeremy, hurry……’  

Therese’s urging voice drained Jeremy of all self-control. He wanted to claim her lips, hold her tightly, and share the excitement surging within him. Imagining their bodies intertwined, his head throbbed painfully.  

“……Ha.”  

To shake off these thoughts, Jeremy rubbed his face vigorously.  

Having such lewd fantasies in broad daylight—he might truly be losing his mind.  

“Get a hold of yourself, Jeremy Richard.”  

Despite his resolve, his wildly pounding heart refused to calm down.  

‘Could Baron Dupont’s words be true?’  

According to Georges, a self-proclaimed master of romance, a healthy young man must fall in love. Otherwise, both the body and mind would suffer.  

Looking down, he saw the evidence of his arousal bulging beneath his trousers.  

He didn’t even act like this during puberty—why was it happening so often now? As he ran a hand over the fabric of his trousers, he sighed deeply, frustrated by his excessive excitement.  

“It seems I’ve spent too long on the battlefield.”  

Muttering to himself, Jeremy’s nape flushed red.  

***

In the most secretive place of the Caspian Empire’s Imperial Palace, chaotic music was playing. A woman singing loudly enough to tear one’s eardrums looked terrified.  

“It would be troublesome if you stopped singing.”  

The gray eyes of the Emperor, Felipe Morciani, lying slanted on a chair covered in red velvet, gleamed cruelly.  

The woman’s gaze fell on the other singers collapsed on the floor. They had stopped singing and were beaten unconscious. Not wanting to die, she drew strength into her stomach and resumed singing, and the Emperor quickly lost interest.  

“The effects seem weaker than the last one.”  

The Emperor, holding a long exotic smoking pipe and exhaling smoke, asked, and the attendant standing beside him bowed his head.  

“I will investigate thoroughly.”  

“And we’ll need to replace the canary. I’m starting to grow tired of that voice.”  

“As you command.”  

As soon as the Emperor’s order was given, a whip lashed across the back of the woman who was singing with all her might.  

Slap, slap!  

The frail woman couldn’t endure the harsh beating and quickly collapsed. The Emperor frowned deeply as he looked down at the woman drooling at the corners of her mouth.  

“With such a lack of resilience, how could she survive in this harsh world? Don’t you agree?”  

“Your Majesty, you are absolutely correct.”  

“But seeing the blood flow unsettles me. Apply some medicine to her back.”  

As the Emperor made a sympathetic expression while looking at the two or three women fainted and bleeding, the attendant quickly signaled to the servants with his eyes. The servants, who had been hiding in the corners, hurriedly carried the collapsed singers out on stretchers.  

“The music is grating on my ears as well.”  

When the attendant clenched his fist, the musicians playing the instruments also disappeared in a rush.