Meanwhile, Duke Pruis was waiting in his bedroom with an unpleasant expression for the woman Aaron would bring.

He was a handsome man with tall stature, a high nose bridge and sharp jawline that seemed crafted with God’s utmost effort, large and sharply shaped red eyes, and white hair like snow. His beautiful appearance didn’t match the provocative nicknames he was called by in the world.

Two weeks ago, Aaron reported to the duke in the duke’s office with a pale face.

‘Baron Brian fled to the eastern continent? What are you talking about?’

The duke asked him with a sharp expression. While he had been away at war with the Kingdom of Lavinia, Baron Brian, who had borrowed business funds, had suddenly fled with his family.

‘I’m sorry, Your Grace. It’s all my negligence. When I heard the news and went to the baron’s residence, the baron had already left for the eastern continent by ship. Instead, I will bring the baron’s daughter according to what’s written in the contract.’

‘The baron’s daughter? You said the baron ran away with his wife and daughter. Is there another daughter?’

‘Yes, that’s right. The baron left a paternity acknowledgment before departing.’

Aaron handed over the document. It confirmed Liana Brian as his legitimate child, with the baron’s signature visible at the bottom.

He then handed over another paper, which briefly listed the address and personal information of a woman named Liana.

[Liana Brian, Age: twenty, Profession: theater actor.]

‘He acknowledged his illegitimate child as legitimate to offer her in place of debt and fled.’

Dain’s face wrinkled with displeasure. Though it was his aide’s doing, just thinking about being deceived by such a shameless person made his anger boil.

‘Continue tracking Baron Brian. Make sure this matter doesn’t leak out.’

If the fact that he had been ridiculously deceived by the baron’s absurd fraud became known, the Pruis ducal family’s prestige built over hundreds of years would crash to the ground. This matter had to be kept thoroughly secret.

‘Yes, I understand. But what should we do about the baron’s daughter?’

‘Since the baron put her up as collateral, we can’t just leave her alone. We need to hold onto her somehow and use her appropriately. That woman might know the baron’s location, so bring her to the ducal castle. As quickly as possible.’

‘Yes, I understand.’

Aaron, who finished his report, immediately went to the imperial capital with the knights. That was exactly two weeks ago. If he had departed with the baron’s daughter immediately upon arriving at the imperial capital, it would be time for them to arrive at the ducal castle now.

While Aaron went to the imperial capital, Dain received an examination from his personal physician. It was a regular checkup due to his rare disease.

But the personal physician opened his mouth with a more serious expression than usual.

‘Your Grace, your physical condition is serious. If it continues like this, there’s no longer any way to help.’

‘Is it that severe?’

‘Yes. You should reduce handling government affairs, and it would be better not to participate in wars anymore. It seems to have worsened from engaging in combat.’

‘……I understand. You may go.’

‘Yes, Your Grace.’

After his personal physician left, he irritably pressed his forehead.

He had been suffering from pheromone accumulation for several years, and since returning from the war with the Kingdom of Lavinia, his headaches and chest pain had become so severe he couldn’t bear it.

‘Is there really no choice but to embrace a woman now?’

Dain Pruis. He was a snake beast-human.

Beast-humans were a race that possessed characteristics of both humans and animals, with physiques far superior to humans and excellent strength and abilities. They lived in the human world while hiding their identity and accumulated wealth through their outstanding abilities.

However, Dain had a problem not known to the outside world.

Snake clan members produced pheromones in their bodies, and if these weren’t regularly relieved, they would accumulate in the body and make it sick. If the accumulation was severe, it could even lead to death.

To prevent this, they had to take pheromone suppressants or spend nights with women.

Ordinary snake clan members wouldn’t accumulate pheromones if they took pheromone suppressants, but Dain was different. He had been afflicted with a rare disease where pheromones were produced in increasingly larger amounts since becoming an adult. No matter how many pheromone suppressants he took, they had no effect.

If pheromone suppressants didn’t work, he had to spend nights with women to relieve them, but he no longer felt like spending nights with women.

Consequently, unrelieved pheromones had accumulated, leaving his body in a very poor state.

Moreover, snakes were most sensitive when winter was ending.

Dain was the same. Though he didn’t hibernate, early spring when snakes awakened from hibernation was the snake clan’s breeding season and also when pheromones were most vigorously produced.

Tap tap. He drummed the desk with irritated gestures.

That’s why he had been waiting for today. Though he didn’t feel like it, he had no choice but to try spending the night with the baron’s daughter.

Since she had been sold in place of money, she wouldn’t be able to say a word even if she saw his strange body.

If she helped with pheromone relief, he would just keep her, but if not, he planned to make her pay for her father’s crime of daring to mock the Pruis ducal family.

“Your Grace, Sir Bart’s carriage has passed through the castle gate.”

Then, the attendant outside the door announced that Aaron’s carriage had arrived. Dain rose from his seat with a cold expression.

* * *

“We’ve arrived. This is Duke Pruis’s castle.”

When the carriage stopped in front of the main castle, Aaron opened the carriage door and got out first.

“Ugh. I’m dying.”

Liana, who had suffered from motion sickness in the swaying carriage for ten days, dry heaved immediately after getting out of the carriage. Now there was nothing left to come up, only bitter water.

After a moment, when she raised her head, a magnificent and enormous stone building came into her view.

‘Wow, it’s incredible. This is Duke Pruis’s castle?’

She forgot about her dry heaving and opened her pale blue eyes wide.

Duke Pruis’s castle had several buildings that looked like large palaces. After passing through the massive gates guarded by soldiers and riding the carriage for quite a while, a well-manicured grand garden appeared in front of the main castle. Behind the castle, a forest densely packed with tall trees spread out like a folding screen.

The entire castle’s size seemed wide enough to build over a thousand theater venues where she performed. Moreover, ornate sculptures and large fountains were installed here and there, making it much larger and more beautiful than the palaces she had seen on television or in books in the real world.

“Welcome, Lady Brian. I am Philip, the head butler of Duke Pruis’s castle.”

Following Aaron up dozens of stairs into the enormous lobby, a middle-aged man with a mustache was waiting.

“Nice to meet you, Philip.”

Liana smiled and greeted Philip.

“From now on, Philip will guide you. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Aaron, who bowed his head to Liana, went up the central staircase with hurried steps.

“Lady, please follow me.”

Philip, who spoke politely to her, walked ahead.

Liana followed Philip down a long corridor with high ceilings. On the walls of the endlessly long corridor hung high-quality famous paintings that seemed quite expensive.

On the ceiling was painted a huge white snake. The snake’s eyes, which seemed somewhat menacing, had red pupils that were vertically elongated.

Her body trembled like a living snake was glaring at her.

Come to think of it, the black uniforms worn by the ducal knights also had white snakes drawn on them.

High noble families of the Mancus Empire each had an animal that symbolized their house. Apparently, the animal symbolizing the Pruis ducal family was the white snake.

“This is the annex where you will stay, Lady.”

Philip took her to a second-floor bedroom in an annex located a little away from the main castle.

“Yes……”

The annex was also large and beautiful, no less than the main castle. The room where she would stay had everything — bedroom, bathroom, reception room, living room.

“My goodness.”

Liana, seeing such a large and luxurious room for the first time, opened her mouth in admiration.

“This is the dressing room. If you need anything, please let me know anytime.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The dressing room Philip showed her had high-quality dresses, everyday clothes, robes, and other garments she had never worn before hanging in it.

“Then please rest comfortably. The servants will bring meals to your room.”

“Yes, thank you, Philip.”

After Philip left, Liana slowly looked around the room and sat on the huge bed that seemed large enough for five grown men to lie down with room to spare.

She had come to the ducal castle following Aaron because she feared the consequences, but the future looked bleak regarding what she should do. Except for the rumors of his brutality, she knew nothing about what kind of person the duke was.

She couldn’t fail to keep the contract. But she also couldn’t live her entire life as the duke’s bedroom companion.

‘What should I do……’

Liana chewed her lips and fell into deep thought.

‘How long will I have to stay in the ducal castle?’

The aide said it depended on the duke’s will, but since she couldn’t know the duke’s thoughts for certain, it was frustrating.

She went out to the balcony feeling frustrated. Outside, an ice-cold wind was blowing. The strong wind wrapped her long dress around her slender legs, but she forgot about the cold and looked outside.

From the balcony, she could see the blue sky, distant high mountains, and the ducal castle’s scenery in one glance. The well-made grand garden and small gardens, large fountains and sculptures also came into view.

‘It’s magnificent. A ducal castle is indeed different……’

Several gardeners were trimming the trees in the garden, seemingly preparing for spring. The Pruis duchy was in the north, so the weather was very cold to call spring, but seasonally it was spring anyway.

Soon sap would rise in the bare branches and flowers would bloom on the flowering trees.