She had to follow the rules Kahar set if she didn’t want to be thrown out of this place. It was sad, but that was reality.

“The ceremony will be held alone in the White Castle hall. The officiant will be the High Priest. No guests.”

Kahar made significant decisions one after another with nothing more than brief instructions.

“Yes. Understood.”

“The ceremony will consist solely of signing the vows, then conclude.”

“Yes, yes. How grand that will be.”

Mihael was being sarcastic, but Kahar leisurely sipped his wine and added that they should handle the ceremonial attire and gifts on their own.

It was an expression that showed not even a speck of interest.

Regardless of how the wedding was conducted, Meliciel didn’t actually care. But it was hard to welcome being dismissed right in front of her face.

She heard that noble weddings were a grand unification of two houses, so they were usually planned a year in advance.

Even when held in a simplified form, “simplified” was only in name. What was reduced in scale was compensated for in other ways.

Rose had told her that expensive gifts, long honeymoons, and extravagant newlywed homes were exchanged.

But Kahar was treating it like a tedious matter to be disposed of……

“Is there anything else needed?”

“Hmm. Your Highness has skipped everything, so there isn’t even anything left to deliberate over.”

Mihael scratched his nose and answered insolently.

Of course, the biggest reason was that Duke Dexter practically dumped Meliciel off at the Grand Ducal Castle, but still.

Meliciel was not pleased at being treated like something to be processed and dealt with.

Even in all of this, she was still supposed to be a ghost.

Meanwhile, expensive tableware and glasses were brought out before Meliciel one after another. Chayden was at the center of it all.

Meliciel composed herself and smiled faintly.

“……Good afternoon.”

“Good afternoon, my lady, it is an honor. I have prepared warm water for easy drinking.”

It was probably warm because her stomach was empty, but she was burning up inside right now.

“Could I have cold water? Very, very cold.”

“Are you sure that will be all right?”

She nodded, and Chayden quickly brought cold water. Meliciel divided the cold water into the cup on the other side.

She liked cold water but rarely drank much of it. She always gulped it down too fast and ended up feeling sick, so at some point she started dividing it up like this.

As she drank, she felt a gaze from somewhere. Kahar’s blue eyes were directed her way.

What?

Meliciel slowly emptied her glass and narrowed her eyes as she picked up her spoon.

“Grand Duke, do you have something to say?”

“No.”

Kahar answered coldly.

Having almost never held utensils in her life, it still felt awkward to hold a spoon or fork in her hand.

She tried to pick out the carrots from the gently cooked soup and eat around them, when Chayden tilted his head slightly and spoke.

“Picky eating won’t do.”

“……I feel like this will get stuck in my throat.”

“I will prepare the carrots in smaller pieces next time.”

“……Mm-hm.”

Again. She met Kahar’s eyes again. Kahar tilted his head slightly and was touching the corner of his mouth.

Meliciel reached for a piece of bread and put it to her lips. Rather than tearing it with her hands, she held it to her lips and took small bites.

Kahar outright stared at her.

Why is he like this?

“Do I bother you that much?”

It was blunt. He let out a low breath, hah.

“No, eat.”

Kahar rose from his seat and the head butler stepped forward to hand him his jacket. As Kahar passed by her, his brow was slightly furrowed.

Did he want to avoid running into her altogether?

But thinking about things like that would leave her unable to do anything. She couldn’t let herself be intimidated by Kahar’s moods already.

“The main course is soft steamed fish. Is that all right?”

“Yes.”

Once Kahar left, the atmosphere became more relaxed than before.

Meliciel finished her meal doing her best to recall the table manners she observed while living in Kahar’s shadow.

She made a few mistakes, but fortunately Chayden quickly cleared away the food she dropped, and Belita was actually more concerned about Meliciel.

It was an apology to the real Meliciel, but the image of a young lady who spent her whole life bedridden was a rather useful excuse.

It served as a shield for Meliciel’s inexperience in everything.

After finishing her meal, Meliciel spoke to everyone with genuine gratitude.

“Thank you for the meal. The sherbet was especially delicious.”

“The peach sherbet, my lady?”

“Yes. I hope I can have it again sometime.”

Unaware of what effect her words would have, Meliciel also fell into thought when asked what else she enjoyed.

Then she began listing off the fruits she knew, one by one.

“It seems you enjoy fruits with a reddish tint.”

“That too, but I also like sweets that have fruit in them.”

As Chayden asked a few probing questions, she listed the names of her favorite desserts as well.

Not knowing how busy the head chef would become because of her words, she chattered away to her heart’s content, and before she knew it, everyone had gathered around her in a little cluster.

“Did I talk too…… much?”

“No, not at all!”

“Of course not.”

Everyone said no in unison, but she felt she had gotten a little too carried away, so Meliciel added a small explanation.

“I plan to eat well because I need to get stronger. But I’m sorry for having so many dislikes.”

In truth, she hadn’t tried many different things, so she was averse to unfamiliar ingredients.

As for desserts, she developed preferences because she ate what Kahar gave her many times while living with him.

“Of course. You must get healthy.”

“I will keep this in mind for the next meal.”

Belita and Chayden were smiling with what seemed like satisfaction, and Meliciel felt something warm and soft stir in her chest.

She felt she could forget about the cold Grand Duke Kahar from just a moment ago.

***

Kahar’s cold indifference continued for several days.

The only time she could run into him was almost exclusively at mealtimes, and each time, Kahar only looked at Meliciel in silence without even offering a greeting.

Only when Meliciel greeted him first would he finally meet her eyes.

He’s awful.

One moment he was pressing his lips against hers and sucking at her skin like some scoundrel, and now he was ignoring her.

On top of that, Kahar was somehow strange. At certain moments he seemed to look at Meliciel with heat in his eyes, and the instant Meliciel tilted her head in question, his gaze would snap back to cold in an instant.

He really is a strange man.

By this point, Meliciel felt a flicker of defiance rise in her. She wanted Kahar to properly acknowledge her.

But a relationship built on begging and clinging was meaningless.

“Still, he does seem at least a little interested in my body……”

Meliciel muttered to herself and looked down at her body.

No matter how she looked at it, it was an attractive body. The gaunt frame filled out a little, and her skin had a glow to it, making her look far healthier than before.

Maybe because it wasn’t truly her own body, she could praise it as freely as she liked.

“It really is beautiful.”

As an artist, it was a beautiful human form she wanted to give two hundred points out of a hundred.

So that must be why Kahar pressed himself close to her too, right?

After the wedding, they would inevitably be physically intimate. To carry on the Grand Ducal line, the Grand Duke and his wife needed to produce an heir.

“……Mm.”

How wonderful would it be if Kahar became so captivated by this body that he couldn’t pull away?

That would be so satisfying.

But she needed a more reliable method than that. Meliciel wanted nothing more and nothing less than to be seen as a person in Kahar’s eyes.

“Rose.”

Rose, who was cleaning the bedroom, came running at the call.

“Yes, my lady!”

“Is there a book written about things like…… how to attract someone?”

“Pardon?”

“How to…… seduce someone.”

Only after she said it twice did Rose understand.

“A book on capturing someone’s heart!”

Belita, who was tidying the table at the far end of the room, slightly fumbled with her hands but forced herself to pretend she hadn’t noticed and asked again.

“……Are there really books like that?”

“Of course, there must be. Books cover an enormous range of subjects, after all. I’m sure the Grand Ducal Castle library would have one. There’s nothing it doesn’t have.”

“Then would it be all right for me to visit the library?”

“Of course. But why would you want something like that……?”

Rose asked in a voice that seemed to half understand and half not.

“Because it infuriates me that the Grand Duke treats me like a ghost.”

“Goodness, my lady.”

“It doesn’t have to be seduction exactly. I just want him to acknowledge me.”

Rose was startled by Meliciel’s honest answer. But soon, sympathy took over.

Rose’s eyebrows drooped with a forlorn look.

Oh. Our poor young lady.

Knowing that Kahar had a lover he couldn’t forget, and that it was Lady Viviana, Rose could only feel sorry for Meliciel.

But reading a book alone won’t be enough to surpass her.

And of all things, she said she was Lady Viviana’s younger sister.

What a cruel fate this was!

“For your sake, I’ll get you anything, even forbidden books! I will find everything!”

Rose clenched both fists and declared loudly. Meliciel felt as though she had gained a reliable ally.

With one more goal added, that of making Kahar yield, she felt even more energized than before.