“How rash. You don’t really think killing just me will be enough, do you?”
For a moment, his silver-blue eyes wavered subtly.
It seemed unexpected to him—her attitude of not showing fear in the face of death, but rather acting with audacious courage.
“Right now, it seems killing just you would be enough.”
“How long do you think that will last? You must have felt it too, when the dragon’s power first manifested? That you couldn’t control that power. Isn’t that why you’ve been wandering battlefields until now?”
This was the reason why the young Duke of the Reushden family, known as one of the most prestigious houses along with the Roxburgh ducal family, couldn’t be seen in the capital city of Carlisle.
Just as the Roxburgh ducal family was known as the “Unbending Pen” of the empire, the Reushden ducal family was a prestigious noble house called the “Unbreakable Sword.”
Their exceptional swordsmanship, pride, and remarkable chivalry were recognized not only in the Adrian Empire but throughout the continent of Taran.
It was natural for him to lead the conquest war, but the fact that he had never appeared in social circles or even at the empire’s founding day celebrations was certainly strange.
He must have needed time.
Time to control, suppress, and make his own the uncontrollable power.
The battlefield was probably the best place for someone like him.
“That attitude of knowing everything. I don’t like it.”
“I’m not just acting like I know everything—I do know everything. At least more than you do. And I’m also the only one who can help you.”
His handsome brow furrowed.
He seemed to be weighing how credible her words were.
“You must have seen it too? That my body is made of deadly poison. Yet I’ve survived until now. Have you ever seen such a case before?”
The answer was ‘no.’
When Jean survived after being forced by his father to swallow a dragon’s heart, he had devoured countless books to escape the curse.
In the process, he learned about forbidden magic and discovered that there were people who survived despite harboring deadly poison.
But he never expected to see it with his own eyes.
‘What family could she be from?’
Jean was curious. As far as he knew, he had never heard rumors of a noble family in the Adrian Empire with poison flowing through their bloodline.
Even his father, who was obsessed with forbidden magic, didn’t know about this.
Jean tightened his grip.
The woman’s pink lips turned blue. Her ivory-glowing cheeks also grew pale.
It was a sign of death.
“How can I trust you?”
“Don’t trust me. I don’t trust you either.”
“Isn’t a contract based on trust?”
“No. This case is different. I admit that the contract I proposed is close to blackmail. But don’t forget that if you kill me, your chance to escape your curse will disappear too. And I also need your help to escape my curse.”
“What kind of help?”
“Why should I tell you? You’re trying to kill me right now.”
Roen didn’t trust him.
After all, he wasn’t a companion or friend to break the curse together, but a victim to be used.
Having emotions for him would be of no help to her.
“You think I’ll just extract information from you and then kill you.”
“That’s right.”
With the force squeezing her neck, Roen found it difficult to answer further.
Her mind was turning white, and she felt like she might lose consciousness at any moment.
If she didn’t persuade him…
“Cough, cough!”
Just as she thought this, the force choking her neck suddenly disappeared.
Roen reached out her hand to avoid collapsing as her legs gave way.
Wait, just a moment…
As she thought this, a refreshing scent mixed with deep musk entered her nostrils.
At the same time, she felt something firm and rigid against her cheek and under her hand.
‘Huh?’
Confused, Roen suppressed her cough and raised her head, meeting silver-blue eyes that were frowning.
His gaze was ominous. He looked like he wanted to push her away from his embrace as if something unclean had touched him.
Only then did Roen realize that what she had grabbed to avoid falling was his body, and where she had leaned for balance was his firm chest.
‘Ah, am I really going to die this time?’
As Roen remained dazed in his arms, feeling her life in danger, his lips twisted into a cold sneer.
“You’re quite bold. A lady throwing herself into a man’s arms.”
Instantly, Roen’s earlobes turned red.
Hiding her embarrassment, Roen quickly pulled away and apologized.
“Ah, I’m sorr—”
But before she could finish her apology, he pushed her shoulder and stepped back.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he walked around the desk and returned to his seat.
Roen felt offended by his cold attitude.
His gaze was contemptuous, as if looking at a woman who had jumped into his arms to seduce him.
‘Really, is this something to show such disgust over? Making the person being pushed away feel embarrassed.’
She had only unintentionally leaned against him.
It wasn’t because she wanted to jump into his arms.
Strictly speaking, he was the one who had threatened to kill her by choking her neck. So he was partly responsible for her ending up in his arms.
She felt somewhat wronged.
He seemed to have some kind of obsessive cleanliness disorder. Roen straightened herself and calmly regulated her breathing.
Every time she swallowed, her throat felt uncomfortable as if crushed, but she didn’t want to show it.
She didn’t want him to know that she had felt fear, even for a moment.
“Then should I assume you’re willing to make a contract with me?”
The bold and direct manner in which she had spoken informally until just now disappeared as if it had been a lie.
Instead, Jean’s lips twisted into a cold sneer at her composed expression and courteous manner, as if nothing had happened.
“You seem to have a habit of speaking briefly when you’re angry.”
“When my life is at stake, is there room for manners? Above all, I wasn’t born wrapped in etiquette like nobles born into privilege. Dealing with an ignorant merchant comes with such rudeness.”
Dumbfounded by her brazen answer, Jean stared at the woman standing before him with sharp eyes.
As the sun was just beginning to set, the sunlight streaming through the window highlighted her beautiful features with clear lines and an elegant nose.
Objectively speaking, the woman was extremely beautiful.
But it wasn’t the fragility of a greenhouse flower—it was a beauty resembling the vitality of a wildflower.
“What’s your name?”
“Simonetta. I run a small store called Simonetta’s Emporium in Carlisle.”
It didn’t sound like a lie. So she must be a noble hiding her true identity and pretending to be a merchant.
“What do you mainly sell?”
“Everything. I sell whatever my clients want. From ladies’ accessories to hard-to-find magical ingredients. There was just one thing I couldn’t obtain, but now it seems I can get that too.”
Jean realized that the one thing Simonetta couldn’t obtain was the dragon scales growing on his body.
“We’ll make a contract after I test your abilities.”
“A test… Fine. As long as you also agree to undergo my test.”
Jean’s eyes flashed sharply at Roen’s impertinent attitude. He seemed dumbfounded.
“Now that we know each other’s secrets, shouldn’t we be fair? Oh, I forgot. You said you’re not used to equal transactions.”
“If that bothered you, you shouldn’t have tried to make a contract with me. Right?”
“That’s true. But right now, I’m desperate and not in a position to stand on pride.”
Roen looked at Jean as if to say, what can I do even if this situation is unfair?
“Well then, tell me your conditions first.”
As if she had been waiting for this, Roen took out a neatly folded paper from her coat pocket. She slowly unfolded it and placed it on the desk, causing him to frown.
It was a newspaper. The “Great Moment” that every citizen of the empire knew.
And the article occupying the front page was none other than the Duchess of Roxburgh publicly proposing to the Duke of Reushden.
“What is this?”
Jean’s face visibly hardened. Then, with obvious displeasure, he crumpled it and threw it into the trash can.
“Why are you showing me this?”
“It’s my condition. To make the public proposal between you and the Duchess of Roxburgh as if it never happened. will personally handle that for you.”
Roen waited with a meaningful smile to see how Jean would react.
“Then let me tell you my condition. Make it possible for me to accept the Duchess’s public proposal.”
Roen inwardly rejoiced.
‘I knew it.’
She knew that no matter what condition she set, he had planned from the beginning to make a proposal opposite to hers.
Like a spear that pierces anything and a shield that blocks everything.
“This is truly fair now. More than any contract terms so far.”
Roen’s emerald eyes sparkled with interest. It was such an obviously scheming look that Jean’s brow furrowed involuntarily. But it didn’t matter. Whatever tricks this brazen woman tried, he could just watch from the outside and kill her if he didn’t like it.
“Simonetta, don’t forget. I’ve spared your life twice.”
Far from being afraid of his warning, her emerald eyes glared at him, rippling coldly.
“I wasn’t planning to forget anyway. The fact that you tried to kill me twice. I trust the laws of foreign countries more than Adrian’s laws. For example, ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.'”
This time, Jean’s eyebrows rose.
For a moment, he thought he had misheard, but seeing Roen’s cold expression, he realized he had heard correctly.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
He never expected to meet a woman who would openly speak of revenge right in front of him without any fear.
Yet strangely, he wasn’t displeased. Rather, he was intrigued.
“I look forward to it, Simonetta.”
As her name flowed from his well-shaped lips, a shiver ran down Roen’s spine.
‘Why do I feel so uneasy?’
For a brief moment, she regretted her decision to visit the ducal mansion, but soon gathered her resolve.
In her experience, if danger was unavoidable, facing it head-on was better than fleeing in fear.
“You should look forward to it. Despite appearances, I’m an excellent merchant. You’ll definitely end up making a deal with me.”
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Ravingcrow1118
I really hate when ML’s or other characters think someone threw themselves at the ML or another handsome character. Especially when it’s obvious it was an accident