[Liz Clairemont, poised to be named Woman of the Year as she rises to become Bellum’s most distinguished lady……]
Beneath the sensational headline were several photographs: the two of them walking in, the kiss, the hurried exit into the carriage.
“……The revelation that Duke Johann von Ashworth’s bride was not the widely anticipated Miss Amelia Bonecia but Miss Liz Clairemont has sent shockwaves through the city, and according to a guest who witnessed the couple’s passionate kiss……”
Liz got that far before letting out a pained groan and squeezing her eyes shut.
It was baffling enough that the articles had appeared this quickly, but every one of them had dressed it up as a fervent love story.
She set the paper down on the desk, her cheeks burning.
“You’re not planning to just leave these absurd articles as they are, are you? If a correction were issued now……”
“Why on earth would I bother with that?”
The indifferent question made something surge up inside her, but Liz reined in her unsteady expression and pressed back.
“What do you mean, why. News of your marriage to me will damage your reputation, Your Grace. You said yourself earlier that you were concerned about your dignity being harmed by the bride running away.”
She asked with a pleasant face. Johann sank deeper into his chair, crossed one leg over the other, and fixed her with an unreadable look. His gaze rested quietly on Liz, who swallowed, then took on an odd light.
“I appreciate the concern, but I don’t particularly mind. Now that the marriage is official, dignity is the last thing I’m worried about.”
Ease settled at the corner of his mouth, the look of a man who simply did not care what anyone did.
Liz was still searching for a response to his smooth, unyielding answer when a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
A composed-looking man entered after a polite knock, then bowed at the sight of Johann and Liz.
“There is a request to finalize the southern continent coal investment before the next port of call.”
“Is there anything else?”
Liz shot a glare at Johann as he asked, then turned away with a huff. She thought she heard a low laugh from somewhere behind her.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
Johann watched Liz lean against the railing out on the private deck, accessible through the sitting room, and let out a quiet laugh.
His aide Kyle followed his gaze and glanced at her.
“She looks quite upset. Are you sure you don’t need to go to her?”
“She’s never been one to sulk for long. She’ll be fine.”
Kyle nodded at the reply, delivered as though Johann knew her well, and resumed his report.
“……I have spoken separately with Baron Russell Clairmont and the baroness and explained the situation.”
“Their reaction.”
Johann kept his eyes on the documents as he asked. Kyle straightened with a satisfied expression.
“They seemed surprised, but they said they look forward to it. They appeared pleased to hear they would receive regular updates as well.”
“Their disposition is as bright as their daughter’s. That side won’t be a problem.”
“They’re not a couple with grand ambitions to begin with, so I don’t expect any complications. They simply thanked us repeatedly for taking their daughter in.”
Johann thought of the Clairmonts, who were exactly the sort to do just that, and scrawled his signature across a document. Then he lifted his head as though he had nearly forgotten something, and his expression turned serious.
“The Bonecia marquisate. What are they doing?”
“As expected, Marquis Bonecia’s fury is considerable. He has already sent out every man available to search for Miss Amelia.”
“His intent will be to frame the bride’s escape as an abduction.”
Johann set aside the signed documents and placed a newspaper in their spot, then rested a finger at a leisurely pace on the photograph of Liz from the article he had teased her with moments ago.
“Send someone to lead the marquis’s men astray and buy time. Also have them report Amelia’s movements to me on a regular basis.”
“Yes, sir. Though the marquis’s anger will affect us to some degree as well.”
“He ought to blame his reckless daughter. I have not broken anything on my end, so tell him to honor his end of the arrangement.”
“Will he, after the wedding fell apart?”
Kyle’s skeptical question made Johann tap his fingers.
“He is the one who caused this, so it is only right that he pays the price. I did not break the promise to hold the ceremony.”
Johann answered as though it were of no concern. Kyle shook his head in weary disbelief. He felt as though he had glimpsed a new side of his superior, a man unparalleled not only in his mastery of finance but in turning an opponent’s weaknesses to his own advantage, and the words slipped out before he could stop them.
“Miss Amelia will be waiting for you to come for her, none the wiser.”
“Should I not remind a woman of her own foolishness for thinking I wouldn’t notice she practically left me a map to her destination?”
Johann recalled Amelia’s brazen behavior, dropping hints about where she was going as though inviting him to chase her, and gave a dry laugh. His gaze drifted briefly toward the deck.
Liz had apparently forgotten her irritation already. She had her head craned over the railing, entirely absorbed in watching the white wake the ship cut through the water and the spray of blue foam.
Candid by nature and endlessly curious, she was the type to stop brooding quickly and find something else to capture her attention. That quality had made her shine at the academy, and it had been well within expectation that she would grow into a fine young woman. What he had not anticipated was that she would go around dismantling weddings. Not that it had ultimately worked against him. All things considered, it had turned out rather well.
“Have everything unsettled dealt with before we return to Bergen.”
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
‘That’s what I agreed to, but……’
Liz glanced back toward the cabin and moved along the private deck under the pretense of sightseeing. She had put on a reasonable show of accepting the terms in front of the duke, but she had no intention of simply going along with it.
“A short while is one thing, but two months is too much.”
She shook her head firmly.
“He must think I’m just going to sit here quietly. Absolutely not.”
She had never buckled under warnings that her social life would be ruined, or under ugly threats to watch her back at night.
Rather than wait under Johann’s watch, she set off to learn the layout of the ship, looking for any way out. Guards with stern faces were stationed at intervals all across the deck.
‘He even brought bodyguards on the honeymoon. How thorough.’
She counted more of them than she had expected, then moved past the garden and fixed her gaze on the sea beyond the railing.
Whatever madness surrounded her circumstances, the open expanse of ocean was undeniably beautiful. Under the spring sunlight, the vast surface of the sea shimmered in gentle waves, as though scattered with millions of sapphire fragments.
A loose sea breeze drifted through just then, and clusters of blue hydrangeas and pink tulips swayed softly in the salt air. The garden laid out on one side of the deck was finer than any she had seen in a noble estate in Bellum, and it was easy to imagine the fortune that had gone into it.
Liz lingered a moment, lost in the sweet floral scent and the sea, then turned back toward the railing. Bergen was already far in the distance.
The sight made her feel all the more urgent.
“I should find out where the ship docks first.”
She had no information at all and no idea where exactly the ship was stopping.
She was walking along under the guise of sightseeing when she spotted a staircase leading down. A stern-faced man stood guard at the top, checking the credentials of every crew member who passed.
He would almost certainly demand the duke’s permission even from the duchess. Liz thought for a moment, then began to sway beside the railing, pressing a hand to her head.
The guard rushed over and steadied her.
“My lady, are you all right?”
“I’m sorry. I suddenly felt dizzy. Could you fetch me some water?”
She put a strained note in her voice. The man glanced back at his post and hesitated.
“Ah, I think I might be seasick. My stomach feels strange and……”
“……Please wait just a moment.”
Liz brought one hand to her mouth and made a convincing show of distress. The guard wavered, then hurried off toward the cabin. The moment he was gone, she slipped down the spiral staircase.
A few levels down, she stepped onto a deck that was noticeably more crowded than the one above. Ladies with parasols and gentlemen in hats were taking in the view of the sea. Liz walked out calmly, as though she had been there all along.
“Have you heard? They say the Duke of Ashworth himself is on board.”
“That’s right, the wedding was today, wasn’t it. Reporters tried so hard to find out the honeymoon destination and got nothing. If he’s on this ship, they must be heading to Simond, that southern resort.”
Every conversation she passed on her way through was about the duke and the wedding. Her face grew hot and she tried to move away, but it was the same topic in every direction.
“I heard the bride was switched out. Not Miss Amelia Bonecia, apparently. Apparently the whole hall was in an uproar over it.”
Translator
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Ravingcrow1118
Ah, the classic ML had a secret crush on the FL, but x, y, and z circumstances prevented them from connecting, so he orchestrated a plot to trap the FL in marriage. This will be funny. 🤣😅