1. The Riverton Family Had a Sickly Young Master

The first day I met the Riverton young master was on a very warm spring day.

That day, I walked up incredibly high stairs, passing through a garden full of purple-blue flowers that emitted a subtle fragrance.

The outer castle of Riverton, located in a remote area away from the central fortress, was extremely tranquil.

The gentle flowers spread throughout the castle reminded one of the fading life of the person living there.

People referred to Young Master Jace Riverton like this:

‘A pitiful person chosen by no one.’

The sole heir to the noble Riverton ducal family was said to have contracted a terrible incurable disease. It was such a terrifying illness that rumors claimed merely approaching him would shorten one’s lifespan.

In fact, long ago, many of those who had attended to him had supposedly passed away in succession.

Because of this, the young master had, from some point, refused to appear in any public place and confined himself to this outer castle, the least conspicuous among Riverton’s many fortresses.

I raised my left ring finger close to my face.

An engagement ring with a softly glowing small jewel was on my finger. It was a token obtained in exchange for clearing all my family’s debts.

The female children of the Brienne comital family were said to possess healing powers passed down through generations.

But that was just a very old story.

According to the legend, our family’s founder was a legendary figure with healing powers that could cure any disease.

Had that power weakened over time?

The healing power I possessed as a distant descendant was merely a trivial ability. At best, I could only stop nosebleeds or heal very small wounds like cuts from grass.

The Duke of Riverton had sent a matchmaker to our family, clutching at straws.

‘I want the daughter of the Brienne family as my son’s spouse. Not a single penny of dowry is needed.’

My family rejected the proposal on the spot. They were probably concerned about the rumors that the young master drained the life force of those around him.

But I secretly followed the matchmaker and told him:

‘I’ll marry him! But since I’m accepting this marriage prepared to lose my life, I’d like all my family’s debts to be resolved.’

The duke, upon hearing my words, readily agreed to my request. He immediately sent a carriage to me, indicating that I was welcome to enter his castle.

I left home just like that and spent several days in a small castle provided by the ducal family. There, I received intensive training in all the virtues required as the young master’s fiancée.

It wasn’t much different from the basic etiquette a noble should possess, so learning wasn’t difficult.

The person in charge of my lessons was a woman called Mrs. Wellers. After completing the general lessons, she gave a very important directive.

‘Visit the young master as his fiancée. From now on, you must visit him at least once every ten days.’

She added that the frequency would gradually increase.

As a final reminder, she said:

‘When you see the young master, always maintain a neat appearance and dignity. Remember and remember again the etiquette I taught you.’

I thought it wasn’t a difficult proposal.

But as the entrance to the castle drew closer, I honestly became a little afraid.

I wasn’t particularly afraid of having my life force drained as the rumors suggested.

Rather, a vague fear of meeting a stranger for the first time settled deep in my heart.

As I stood under the wide-open castle gate, I could hear birds chirping peacefully in the distance.

What kind of person would the young master be?

From what I knew, he was a pitiful person forced into a solitary life by an unwanted disease. Having been confined to the castle for such a long time, I couldn’t imagine how lonely he must have been.

Looking at the castle up close, moss had sprouted here and there on the walls, as if no one had taken care of it for a long time.

I controlled the slight anxiety rising in my heart.

In truth, it didn’t matter what kind of person he was.

It was enough that my parents would no longer struggle with debt.

It would be fine even if the person who became my fiancé was someone twisted by loneliness.

I felt I could endure whatever venting he might direct at me. I had decided to consider any humiliation as payment for the money received.

With that firm resolve, I crossed the small bridge over the waterway leading to the castle gate and entered through the massive door.

The interior of the castle was as quiet as the gardens that had stretched out on the way here. I had heard that except for occasional carts delivering food and supplies, no one visited this castle.

The inside of the castle, like the exterior, was built in a classical style.

Occasional trick doors or sudden flying poison arrows couldn’t fool my eyes.

Having narrowly escaped with my life, I took deep breaths.

‘By the way, is this castle really for living? At this point, isn’t it just a fortress?’

With the feeling of a knight breaking through enemy lines, I passed through the obstacles placed sparsely along the path one by one.

Finally, after overcoming all adversities, I reached the floor Mrs. Wellers had mentioned.

But in the middle of the pathway was a huge tank with what looked like a man-eating crocodile swimming around.

I would probably die miserably to the crocodile before even crossing the tank.

I approached the tank boldly.

The large, black crocodile, swimming freely in the water, seemed to notice my presence and leisurely swam toward me.

The crocodile was visibly huge. About the size of three adult men combined, it increased its speed as if considering me its prey.

“It’s really hard to meet the young master, crocodile.”

I muttered to the crocodile as if complaining.

Its yellow eyes, now visible above the water, were staring at me silently. They were extremely cruel yet calm eyes, like those of a predator eyeing its prey.

In this place where no one came, this crocodile probably hadn’t even eaten proper food for a long time.

It seemed a bit strange for me, a human, to feel such pity for a man-eating crocodile. But perhaps because of the melancholic air enveloping the entire castle, everything looked lonely.

This crocodile must have been very lonely, just like the master of this place.

“You know, crocodile. Could you tell your master later?”

I put my foot into the tank.

The moment my two feet touched the water’s surface, there was a splash.

“Once upon a time, there was an adventurer who died trying to meet a prince trapped in this castle. The path was so treacherous that it was impossible to meet…….”

At that moment, the crocodile, which had opened its mouth to me, passed through my two feet. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I stood there with my legs in the water, momentarily dazed.

The crocodile swimming leisurely, shaking its head and opening its mouth, looked vividly real. But whenever it touched my body, it simply passed through me.

“……Huh?”

This phenomenon repeated several times.

The crocodile approached me threateningly a few more times, but frustratingly, it just passed through me.

After observing a few more times, I noticed that the crocodile’s movements were fixed in a certain pattern.

Slowly approaching and ambushing from below, swimming quickly and suddenly opening its mouth wide, floating to the surface to threaten, and so on.

I never expected the crocodile in this tank to be an illusion.

It seemed that the master of this castle was extremely averse to visitors.

Most people might have turned back at the obstacles starting from the entrance.

Unless they were someone like me, crossing the crocodile’s tank with a resigned determination to fulfill the duty of a fiancée.

I hoped he wouldn’t dislike my visit too much. I had only come for a formal sick visit and had no intention of bothering him at all.

I jumped completely into the tank.

The water in the tank came exactly up to my waist.

The expensive jeweled decorations and dress I received from the ducal family got soaked and ruined, but I continued to splash forward.

It might not be polite to appear wet at the first meeting with my fiancé, but since he had also been quite rude to me by creating such obstacles on the path for guests, this was a complete mutual fault.

After the tank that blocked the passage ended, the path continued.

Having reached that point, I emerged from the water, dragging my heavily soaked dress.

I wrung out the water from my dress with both hands and slowly walked to the room at the end of the corridor. The dark blue carpet created long dark blue traces from the water droplets I left behind.

Feeling a bit guilty for dirtying the carpet, I opened a window.

Blindingly intense sunlight came in through the window.

The dress, which had been giving off a red hue, gradually dried, forming light pink spots closer to its original color here and there.

After passing through the long corridor, I saw a massive iron door that looked very heavy. It was covered with fine dust, as if no one had touched it for a very long time.

My fingertips trembled slightly as I reached out to grasp the handle.

The heavy door, once moved from its place, flew open surprisingly easily.

Inside, I could faintly see something fluttering in the wind. It was a translucent canopy with a bluish tint.

The bed beneath it occupied the center of the enormous room.

A thick chill, unsuitable for the season, lingered in the room.

Except for the massive pillars sparsely supporting the ceiling and the central bed, there was nothing else.

I stood at the doorway, unable to move forward or backward.

Looking closely, I could see someone lying as if dead under the swaying canopy.

Could that person be Young Master Riverton?

Recalling Mrs. Wellers’ teachings again, I couldn’t approach him rashly.

‘Always keep yourself clean and proper.’

My current appearance, completely soaked like a drowned rat, was far from the word “clean.”

If Mrs. Wellers had anticipated this situation, she would never have given such advice, I tried to rationalize.

Though I looked a mess, I moved forward, dripping water, thinking I should at least greet him properly according to etiquette since I had come all this way.

The person, with hands neatly folded in front of his chest, was deeply asleep.

Contrary to expectations, his face was breathtakingly beautiful the moment I saw it.

Forgetting to breathe, I couldn’t take my eyes off his face for a long time.

Then at some point, eyelids with a reddish tint so light they were almost transparent opened. Large, round pupils beneath them reflected my image.

His eyes, like a mixture of tender sprouts and the sky’s color, were like emeralds.