Chapter 4: The Alibu Fruit

His voice was as cold as the season.

Everything about the man bordered on perfection, yet the words he spoke were anything but.

“Marry me.”

That made five times now.

It wasn’t just today that she’d received a proposal that was closer to a command.

Though he might not remember, the days she’d spent with Carlisle remained vivid in her mind.

‘If you can, go ahead and try.’

‘In the end, I’ll always be waiting at the edge of that cliff.’

Maybe those words had been the spark.

Was this the price of ending her own life, now returned to haunt her for eternity?

Leilia gazed silently at the man sitting across from her, her face void of emotion.

“If you want, you can take a lover.”

Some absurd remark slipped from Carlisle’s lips.

In aristocratic society, keeping a mistress wasn’t exactly unusual or shocking, but it was a matter of timing.

No matter how little one cared, who brings up a mistress on the day of a marriage proposal?

It was a level of rudeness even the most shameless wouldn’t cross.

“A lover.”

Ordinarily, she might have asked what he meant, eyes brimming with tears, perhaps even thrown a fit.

But Leilia’s expression didn’t so much as flicker.

All she did was repeat his words in a calm, collected tone, as if asking about the dinner menu.

After making the same mistake four times, was there anything left that could faze her?

She’d heard it so often, it didn’t even hurt anymore—it just felt inevitable.

The first time, she wanted to be loved; the second, she wanted to turn things back.

Even on the third and fourth, she repeated the same mistakes, only then realizing.

Carlisle Liston had always been this kind of man, right from the start.

“Marriage will go forward either way, so it’s only sensible for each of us to have our own plaything.”

“That does make sense.”

Leilia answered indifferently, dropping a couple of sugar cubes into her cup.

Her slender fingers idly stirred the tea with a spoon, as if nothing in particular was amiss.

“Of course, we’ll need to be careful about birth control. The last thing I want is to get caught up in a paternity lawsuit with someone of dubious lineage.”

At his next words, Leilia simply nodded instead of replying.

The naive young lady who used to get anxious just meeting his gaze was gone.

Without the burden of wanting to please him, everything suddenly seemed simple and easy.

For a moment, she felt a pang of rIgret, thinking she should have lived like this from the start, but she quickly shook it off and savored the aroma of her tea.

‘So where did you get that fake, anyway?’

‘Helm Street, Dock 4… At the night pier. But I don’t know exactly who. Everyone just calls him Night Rabbit, so that’s what I called him too.’

‘You handed over that much money to someone you didn’t even know?’

‘I told you, it’s the black market. Getting scammed is common… Night Rabbit, Day Rabbit, whatever he is, I’ll track him down if it’s the last thing I do. So please don’t worry, my lady.’

How exactly was she supposed to find a con artist who’d planned the scam from the start?

After a moment’s recollection, she snapped her fingers quietly.

She couldn’t just let her perfect plan for oblivion fall apart.

This dull conversation needed to end—she’d be better off checking out the pier Timo had mentioned.

“Are we done here?”

Leilia set her cup down with a deliberate clatter, signaling that it was time for him to leave.

There was no way the sharp Carlisle would miss her silent warning.

“We’ll see.”

Carlisle’s vague answer, so different from what she expected, was accompanied by a flash of irritation in his eyes, despite his calm expression.

He must have felt he’d lost the upper hand.

He leaned back, crossing his legs with a smirk and an arrogant tilt of his chin, his eyes dripping disdain.

“How interesting. True to your Charlotte name, you know how to play the game. But it would be boring if things ended here, wouldn’t it?”

With that, Leilia’s golden eyes narrowed, sinking to a dangerous shade.

No matter how the situation changed, she could already guess what he’d say—or do—next.

“I’ll add one more condition.”

“……”

“Bear my child within the allotted time. One year. I promise, it’s not a bad deal.”

He spoke as if bartering goods, not a flicker of emotion in his voice.

But even at such an outrageous proposition, Leilia simply sipped her tea, her face as calm as ever.

Carlisle’s brow twitched at her composure.

“And what exactly do I gain from marrying a duke?”

She replied coolly, matching his rudeness with her own.

Perhaps it was her audacity, but something flickered across his crimson eyes.

Invisible blades seemed to flash between them.

“Who knows? What benefit does our lady hope for?”

He sneered, slowly leaning forward.

A large hand caught her chin, tilting her face to his.

His snakelike gaze grazed over her skin, but Leilia didn’t flinch.

“There’s plenty I can offer your father, but what would please you, I wonder?”

Carlisle’s words dripped with crude provocation, his blunt fingers trailing the delicate line of her throat.

Suddenly, she felt as if a hundred bugs were crawling over her.

His hand slid down to her chest, fingers tracing over an old bruise, and his eyes narrowed.

“That’s a deep mark. Looks like it’s been there a while.”

“……”

“At the very least, if you come to me, you won’t have to worry about things like that. I have no taste for beating women.”

“As bargaining chips go, that’s rather weak.”

Leilia narrowed her eyes, one corner of her mouth twisting upward.

Carlisle, as if intrigued, slowly leaned in.

If he got any closer, their lips would meet—his shadow looming over her, stopping just shy.

Carlisle spoke.

“I’ll guarantee your freedom.”

“……”

“As long as you bear my child, you’ll be free forever. Of course, you’ll be compensated accordingly.”

“How much are you planning to pay?”

“Ten percent of my estate. I’d say that’s a satisfactory amount.”

“And if I refuse?”

The moment Leilia replied, a thin, mocking laugh escaped her lips as she met his eyes.

Carlisle’s brow crumpled at her sarcastic tone, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Haven’t I already said your answer is predetermined? It’s only a matter of whether you take the easy way or the hard way. Consider this me being generous.”

A tension unlike anything before crackled between the two of them.

With an air of certain victory, Carlisle’s tongue lazily swept across his lower lip, one corner of his mouth curling upward.

***

“Lunatic.”

It was the first word out of Leilia’s mouth after their private meeting.

What could possibly describe Carlisle Liston better than that?

She yanked off her lace gloves with rough hands, quickening her steps.

“Wait for me, my lady! Your expression doesn’t look good—did something happen?”

Timo had slipped beside her at some point, chattering away as she hurried after her.

“But honestly, he’s not as bad as the rumors. I expected some huge brute, but he’s more agile than I thought. Looks good in his clothes, has charisma. Even the Marquis apparently can’t get the better of him.”

She pretended not to listen, but she couldn’t help being annoyed.

Would Timo still praise him like that if he knew Carlisle’s true nature?

Leilia clenched her fists and picked up her pace.

“Gossip columns really can’t be trusted. How do they manage to twist things about someone that handsome? Those eyes—so sharp—they’re his best feature. The more talented people are, the more others get jealous—”

Her steps came to a sudden halt, and at the same moment—“Ow!”—Timo bumped into her and rubbed her forehead, frowning.

“My lady, you can’t just stop like that.”

As she opened her mouth to reply, Leilia’s cold gaze landed on Timo.

The words nearly rose to her lips, but she held them back and flung open the door.

There were just three weeks left.

Now that she’d confronted Carlisle, the wedding would proceed without delay.

If she didn’t find the ‘Alibu’ fruit before then, she’d have no choice but to either enter that house or become a fugitive.

After a moment’s thought, she threw open the wardrobe.

All that hung there were a couple of outdated dresses—proof of her past hardships—but that didn’t matter now.

“Why are you rummaging through your wardrobe all of a sudden? Wait, are you planning to go somewhere?”

“The pier.”

“Great idea—wait, the pier? Why? If the marquis finds out, there’ll be hell to pay!”

“That’s why you need to do your job. If anyone asks, say I collapsed from the shock of the sudden engagement. Don’t let anyone in my room.”

Leilia squeezed and released Timo’s shoulder as she spoke in a low voice.

Then she carefully pulled a wooden box out from its hiding place deep in the bed.

Inside was an old, rolled-up scroll.

“Whoa! That’s…!”

As Timo gaped in shock, Leilia pressed a finger to her lips.

In the magic-hostile Feltro Empire, possessing any magical artifact was a serious crime.

She knew this better than anyone—but right now, she had no other option.

Leilia took a deep breath and tore the scroll in one motion.

With a flash of light, space twisted around her.

The scent of roses vanished, replaced by the briny stench of water.

Waves crashed as the decrepit pier came into view.

Just as she stepped forward, a commoner child in a black cloak nimbly called out to her.

“Doesn’t look like you want a love potion… Slave? Here for a slave, right? That’s my specialty. How much money you got?”

“I’m looking for someone. Night Rabbit.”

“Boring.”

“You know something, don’t you?”

Apparently losing interest, the child just shrugged and started to walk the other way.

Sensing something off, Leilia followed after, slipping a silver coin into the child’s hand as she asked,

“Where can I find them? There’s something I have to get.”

“You won’t find that person. They disappeared from here ages ago.”

“Then can you tell me where they used to stay? Or maybe someone who knows them?”

“I don’t know where they lived. What exactly do you need to get? You got scammed out of something, right?”

“Alibu fruit.”

At once, the kid let out a snorted laugh, shoulders shaking.

“Alibu? You’re telling me you got scammed out of that Alibu fruit? Wow, lady, you’re really something. Do you even know where that stuff actually grows?”

“……”

“Tsk, you really got taken for a ride. Maybe I’ll try pulling that scam myself next time.”

The kid gave a soft snicker and picked up the pace.

Baffled, Leilia stepped in front of them, blocking their path.

“What now?”

“Earn your coin. You know more than you’re letting on.”

“Agh, this is why naïve noble ladies are so hopeless. I’ll say it just once, so listen up. That fruit only grows in the far, far south—in a place called Gridana.”

“……Gridana?”

“Yeah, Gridana. The lord of that land is none other than the famous Duke Liston. So there’s no way that fruit would just be floating around in a place like this. Silly lady.”