“That was just your one-sided assumption, Anticia. I never agreed to it.”

Lucas replied in a low voice, leaning against the railing.

“But!”

Giselle was about to shout in exasperation, but glanced back and lowered her voice again.

She had closed the terrace door, but the thought of someone else, perhaps her family, overhearing their conversation made her cautious.

They were certainly capable of such a thing.

“Are you really serious about marrying me? Why on earth? Do you think what I said was a lie? Doesn’t it make sense to you that my family will cling to you?”

Perhaps they would. Her family, after all, had a façade of respectability.

A dignified and handsome gentleman for a father, a still radiant-looking stepmother despite her middle age, and a tall and good-looking half-brother — who would think they were going through financial difficulties?

“This house, you see. Isn’t the interior decor lovely? My stepmother has to change the decor every season to be satisfied, of course, and it’s entirely my responsibility to pay for it.”

She gestured towards the terrace, speaking to Lucas.

“I barely pay off the bills before the seasons change again. Then my stepmother calls the interior designers again. And that’s not all. If she’s not up to date with the latest fashion, she summons the clothing store owners…”

“……”

“No, it’s not just my stepmother who’s a problem. My father takes on even bigger debts, all at once. As I mentioned earlier, he borrowed 30 million larcs just a few days ago. That’s the kind of person he is.”

Giselle pressed her hand against her chest, seemingly choking on the words as she spoke of her parents. Her face looked paler under the moonlight.

She was angry at having to recount this sordid story again. Angry at herself, and at the man who had brought about this situation.

“And you think my half-brother is any different? He’s shockingly similar to those two.”

She added, intentionally exaggerating, as she tried to calm her frustrated feelings.

“Those three will cling to you. Do you think that’s trivial? Of course, it may not be a big deal to you, but it is to me.”

“……”

“No, it’s not.”

Giselle spat the words at the silent Lucas, then tightly closed her eyes.

She felt ashamed. Ashamed to be repeating the same words over and over.

But this was her pride. She didn’t want to become shameless just because she lacked money.

Especially not in front of this man, Lucas Taylor.

“Well, that amount of money would be pocket change to me, as you say.”

Giselle heard Lucas’ calm voice near her ear, though she still had her eyes closed. She didn’t dare open them, not wanting to expose her pitiful state or meet his gaze.

“Haa…”

At that moment, she heard Lucas sigh softly.

…Right above her head.

They had been a certain distance apart, with Giselle standing with her back to the terrace door and Lucas leaning against the railing. Yet, when had he approached her?

Startled by the breath on her crown, Giselle opened her eyes and looked up. He was right in front of her, their faces nearly touching.

“…!”

Giselle sharply inhaled, taking a step back. But Lucas was faster, reaching out to pull her into his embrace.

“S-Senior!”

His deep blue eyes, unfathomable, enveloped her. The disheveled black strands above them swayed slightly in the cool night breeze.

Yet, why was it that despite the chilly air, her body felt heated where it met his?

No, not her own heat, but the warmth radiating from him.

No, no.

In fact, none of that mattered.

“Seni…”

As Giselle’s lips trembled, about to call him again, Lucas reached out and lightly brushed her cheek with his fingertips.

She shuddered, as though she was scalded by something hot.

“Ah, well… Senior, I think we’re standing a bit too close.”

It’s a good thing it’s night.

Giselle muttered to herself, forcing an awkward smile. She could imagine how flushed her face must be, without even needing to look in a mirror.

She tried to push against the solid chest that held her, but the firm body didn’t budge.

“You seem to be the one trying to seduce me here.”

Giselle had been so focused on pushing him away that she didn’t notice his amused words until she heard them. Looking up, she saw Lucas smiling down at her. Her face burning, she indignantly refuted him.

“Seduce? Who’s seducing who?”

“Isn’t this seduction? Even if we agreed to marry, doing something this blatant, putting your hands on me like this.”

“Who’s put their hands on your…”

Giselle began to argue, but her gaze fell to where her hands clung to his chest. She could vividly feel the rippling muscles through the thin shirt separating them.

“Kyaa!”

Giselle shrieked, trying to push him away again. But Lucas was quicker, pressing his index finger to her lips and grasping her hand with his other.

“If someone hears, they’ll misunderstand, Anticia. It’s clearly you who is seducing me right now.”

“I… That’s not what I’m doing!”

Giselle didn’t want to repeat the word ‘seduce’, so she mumbled her response, glaring at him with an aggrieved expression. But she didn’t forget to lower her voice, worried about who might be listening beyond the terrace door.

Lucas chuckled at the flustered Giselle, then his smile faded. His expression was neither angry nor his usual indifferent one.

“Why, why are you doing this?”

That’s why she was even more flustered. He didn’t seem like the Lucas she knew.

She didn’t know much about him. He had once been her senior, and now they were in an employer-employee relationship.

‘No, come to think of it, there was the talk of marriage.’

But she couldn’t feel any affection for the man who had asked her to marry him in exchange for paying off her debts, not out of love.

Yet… why was it?

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the man looking at her without a trace of laughter.

As if he had her ensnared in his sight, like a ferocious beast waiting in the undergrowth.

“……”

Giselle unconsciously licked her dry lips. Lucas’ dark blue gaze immediately shifted to focus on her lips.

Gulp.

She trembled her lips, drawing a shaky breath. No, it wasn’t a true breath — how could she be panting like this?

‘If that were the case, there’d be no reason for my heart to be racing so.’

Giselle began to pant, then looked at him again. Lucas was still gazing down at her.

Still holding her hand in his.

At that moment, she recalled the sensation of his fingertip pressing against her lips earlier. The warmth of it.

Thump-thump.

Giselle’s heart started pounding on its own. She hastily pulled her hand from his grasp and took a step back, then fumbled to change the subject while staring at the ground.

“…Anyway, you should go back and explain to my parents. No, I’ll explain it properly myself. Don’t worry, you can just leave.”

She couldn’t tell the man who had come to seek their permission for marriage to retract it. She didn’t want to make him look like a foolish man. So she had to be the one to resolve this.

“But I asked why, didn’t I?”

At that moment, Lucas spoke in a low, serious voice. Giselle looked up at him again, and he was regarding her with an expression she couldn’t quite understand.

Not angry, nor indifferent.

“Why? Well, I… I don’t really know.”

“‘I don’t know’? What kind of answer is that? If you don’t know, who would?”

Giselle grumbled, letting her tension ease as she spoke. She hadn’t realized how tense her whole body had been.

“I see.”

Lucas chuckled at her grumbling, and Giselle pouted, rubbing her shoulders.

“Don’t say it so irresponsibly. It’s not like you, Senior. Anyway, I’ll handle this here…”

“But there is one thing I’m certain of.”

He cut off Giselle’s muttering. She looked at him, pausing mid-sentence.

“If it were any other woman besides you, Anticia, I wouldn’t have proposed in the first place.”

“…!”

Giselle’s eyes flickered with surprise for a moment. And her heart, which had just calmed down, started racing again.

…Until his next words followed.

“Because no other woman is as smart or capable as you.”

“Ah.”

She couldn’t immediately respond to his words, only letting out a single exclamation after a beat. Then, to her surprise, she wiped her face with both hands and gave a small laugh.

Her rapidly beating heart soon calmed down. But at the same time, an inexplicable sense of disappointment washed over her.

‘What kind of words had I been expecting?’

Giselle took a deep breath, composing herself. Then she looked at him again and nodded.

“Okay. …I’ll marry you.”

She had warned him several times about the burdens he would have to shoulder. Yet, if Lucas was determined to pursue this marriage, she saw no reason to refuse.

In a sense, it was an investment in her own capabilities.

Without any sweet confessions or love involved.