“You really saw the Duke there?”

“Yes. He was standing beneath the waterfall. Without his shirt on.”

Roen deliberately answered playfully to hide what had happened there.

In that moment, Cecil’s brown eyes sparkled and a smile spread across her lips.

“So you fell in love at first sight. And here I was imagining all sorts of strange things.”

Love at first sight…

She had no intention of denying it. From the first time she saw him at Uriel Square, he had left a strong impression on her.

Moreover, standing beneath the silver waterfall, he had been captivating enough to fall for at first sight.

Under normal circumstances, she might have fallen in love with him like the ladies from other noble families.

He had that power to captivate people.

However, he was someone who had swallowed a dragon’s heart and survived.

The moment she saw the black and blue dragon scales on his heart, Roen had only one thought in her mind.

Escaping her terrible curse.

That she needed to use him to break free from the curse.

So no matter how captivating a man he was, he could no longer be a romantic interest for her.

“The moment I saw him, I felt it was fate. The kind of connection I absolutely couldn’t let go of.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a lie.

Since she needed his dragon scales to escape the curse, it was indeed fate.

But…

She seemed to have overestimated his desperation.

She had thought he would come looking for her at the general store soon, if not the very next day, but he was acting as if their meeting in the Recluse’s Forest had never happened.

‘Still, I can’t let my guard down. He’s dangerous, and knowing his secret, he won’t leave me alone.’

Remembering those silver-blue eyes glaring at her, she felt goosebumps all over her body.

“What about the Duke? He fell in love with you at first sight too, right? That’s why you made a public proposal.”

Cecil spoke with an excited voice.

“Probably not. He doesn’t know who I am.”

“You mean you didn’t tell him who you are?”

“I did tell him. I said I was a merchant running Simonetta’s Emporium.”

“So the Duke thinks you’re a commoner? Ah, that’s why he hasn’t shown up.”

Cecil spoke with a deeply disappointed expression.

The Adrian Empire was a country with a strict class system.

No matter how beautiful, a common woman could neither date nor marry a nobleman. Perhaps become a mistress, but nothing more.

The smile disappeared from Cecil’s lips.

She seemed to have just realized that the Duke of Reushden didn’t know that the Duchess of Roxburgh and Simonetta were the same person.

“It makes me angry whenever this happens. No one knows your true self. It’s also sad that you always wear a black veil in public.”

As Cecil said, Roen usually wore a black veil in public.

Having done so for ten years, it wasn’t uncomfortable anymore.

Besides, after disguising herself as the merchant Simonetta five years ago, being able to remove the tiresome veil was a breath of fresh air.

Perhaps that’s why no one thought that Simonetta, who ran the general store, was the same person as the Duchess of Roxburgh.

“I don’t mind. There are quite a few advantages. First, because of the rumor about my facial scars, I don’t have to marry against my will. Also, when I wear the veil, I occasionally see truths that others miss. Whether someone is wise enough not to be trapped by preconceived notions from rumors, or simply foolish.”

“Then the Duke of Reushden must be foolish. Since he didn’t recognize you.”

Cecil said grumpily.

“Perhaps.”

When Roen agreed, Cecil seized the opportunity to express her complaints about the Duke.

“Come to think of it, the rumors about the Duke of Reushden are quite intense.”

Roen was well aware of the rumors surrounding Jean.

Upon reaching adulthood, he had gone to the battlefield on Emperor Edwin’s orders.

After he went to war, the stagnant conflict with Gerpion gradually began to turn, and eventually news of victory reached the capital, Carlisle.

Along with this, his reputation and popularity soared.

“I’ve heard those rumors too. They say he’s the greatest knight on the continent of Taran, who led the conquest to victory after five years?”

“Um, that’s not the rumor I meant…”

Seeing Cecil trail off with an awkward expression, Roen pretended not to understand.

“Is there another rumor I don’t know about?”

“Well, I’ve heard that the Duke of Reushden is obsessed with killing. Some people claim to have seen him rip out an enemy’s heart with his bare hands and devour it. And his personality is supposedly so prickly—they say he’s a cold-blooded man without a drop of compassion. It seems he doesn’t have a single close friend. Above all, he doesn’t even appear in social circles.”

“I don’t go out much in society either. In my case, it’s because no one wants to get close to me because of my ‘monster’ nickname.”

“That’s clearly different. You keep your distance from nobles out of necessity. Because you have to hide your secret.”

“I think it’s the same. The result is that nobles see me as a monster, and they see him as a demon obsessed with murder.”

Cecil’s lips moved silently, looking somewhat surprised. She apparently hadn’t expected her master to defend the Duke of Reushden.

“Could it be that you’ve already taken a liking to the Duke? Enough not to care about such frightening rumors?”

‘I had never thought about it before…’

“In a way, I suppose so. I want him enough to place a public marriage proposal in the newspaper.”

It was different from the romantic affection Cecil was talking about, but she did want him.

More precisely, she wanted the dragon scales growing on his heart.

“I’m asking out of genuine curiosity, but do you think those rumors are false?”

“No. But I want to have him nonetheless.”

Cecil’s mouth fell open at Roen’s answer.

Until now, her master had shown no interest in men.

Yet despite the terrifying rumors surrounding the Duke, she was saying she liked him.

“I’ll help you. Just tell me what I can do.”

Seeing Cecil’s expression change, Roen laughed inwardly.

“Nothing for now. I’ve set the bait, so we have to wait until he takes it.”

Cecil nodded in understanding.

“But it is strange. While Carlisle is in an uproar over your public proposal, the Duke himself shows no reaction at all.”

“I’m curious about that too. Why there’s no reaction.”

From experience, a scandal of this magnitude should have turned society upside down dozens of times.

It would have been appropriate for him to publicly challenge her to a duel, citing damage to his family’s reputation.

“Hmm, that is strange. I’d like to think the Duke secretly likes you. That he’s carefully timing his formal response to your public proposal.”

“Cecil, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but that’s absolutely not the case.”

Cecil looked disappointed at Roen’s firm tone.

“He seems to be very cautious. Judging by how he doesn’t move rashly.”

After observing his movements for a month, Roen had drawn her conclusion about him.

‘Well, the person who’s in a hurry digs the well. I’ll have to make another move.’

Having finished her deliberation, Roen picked up her coat.

“Where are you going at this hour? It’s already evening. It could be dangerous to go out without guards.”

“Don’t worry. I’m going to the Reushden mansion. I need to see him once more before meeting His Majesty. That way I can try to negotiate when I meet the Emperor.”

“You’re going to the Reushden mansion now?”

“To hunt a beast, one must go to the forest where the beast resides.”

Roen fastened her coat collar as she left the shop.

“You go home first. Tell the butler and nanny I’ll be back before dinner.”

She heard Cecil calling after her with a dumbfounded expression just before the door closed, but she ignored it.

Her heart was beating strangely with excitement.

It was the first time she’d felt this way since the unfortunate accident ten years ago.

Making such an impulsive and reckless decision was also unlike her.

Endless loneliness and despair.

And the curse of Roxburgh gnawing at her life force.

The nobles’ contempt and mockery that followed her.

The alien feelings of curiosity and hope that arose in her mind, which had been filled with dark and damp thoughts, were certainly poison.

Like the cursed blood filling her body, it was a deadly poison that should naturally be eliminated.

Yet her steps wouldn’t stop.

Rather, her footsteps toward the Reushden mansion were unusually light.

* * *

“Who has come to visit?”

“The owner of Simonetta’s Emporium, sir.”

Jean’s expressionless brow furrowed at butler Alex’s words.

Sensing his master’s unusual expression, Alex added:

“Shall I send her away?”

“No, show her in.”

Surprised by the unexpected answer, Alex stared at Jean, wondering if he had misheard.

When Jean nodded once more, Alex quickly bowed.

“As you wish.”

As Alex left the study, Jean’s lips twisted into a cold smile.

The reason he changed his mind after initially planning to ignore her as usual was her boldness in coming all the way to his mansion.

“Was a month her limit? No. Given her attitude that day, I thought she would come immediately, so perhaps she waited quite a while by her standards.”

The woman he had met in the Recluse’s Forest had introduced herself as a merchant.

Unlike her pure appearance in the moonlight, she had been bold, and those emerald eyes that had glared at him while making mysterious proposals were by no means weak.

“She was certainly different from the noble ladies who are like greenhouse flowers.”

Well, far from being intimidated when he had threatened her with his hand around her neck, she had even proposed a deal, saying she could help him.

‘Regardless of gender, it’s rare to find someone who remains dignified rather than cowering in the face of death.’

That’s why he had let her live instead of killing her, despite threatening her with accusations of treason.

He was certain she was no ordinary merchant.