The sound of footsteps rushing as if to attack the carriage, murmurs, and the scratching of pen nibs approached frighteningly. Small notebooks and pens. They were all journalists.

“Miss Wilton! How do you feel?”

“Please tell us how it feels to return after five years!”

It seemed best not to face them now. But making that thought meaningless, the door opened as soon as the carriage stopped.

Janet firmly pressed her lips together and clutched her skirt. She stared intently at the closed door of the mansion. Her heart pounded. She was overwhelmed by the instinctive thought that she needed to enter the mansion.

And the moment she escaped from the carriage.

“……”

The mansion door opened.

There stood a man.

A man with black hair swept back and deep blue eyes. His eye lines had deepened since five years ago, and he had grown a bit taller.

“Janet, you’re back?”

It was a gentle voice. Amid the noisy barrage of questions, that quiet inquiry pierced her ears. It couldn’t be possible, but she felt as if the world contained only the man and Janet.

The man walked toward Janet with large strides. His steps, devoid of any unnecessary movement as if there were no other destination, were almost rough.

“Welcome, Janet.”

The man embraced her.

The sound of moving pens continued incessantly.

He whispered in Janet’s ear.

“To hell where no one welcomes you.”

Rihanel Reynes.

It was a reunion with her fiancé after five years.

Rihanel’s maternal grandfather, the late Duke Luisen Reynes who passed away last year, had commanded,

Rihanel must marry Janet Wilton.

Even when Janet was revealed to be an arsonist and stood trial five years ago, his grandfather remained firm.

Breaking the engagement was not allowed. He lived with those words on his lips.

Whether he coveted the Wilton family’s vast fortune so much, or whether he absolutely couldn’t accept the dishonor of breaking an engagement. Rihanel could not understand his grandfather at all.

Even after his grandfather’s death, he couldn’t escape this damned situation.

If he didn’t marry Janet Wilton, he couldn’t receive 90% of the inheritance. That content was even left in a will with five notaries.

So Rihanel ended up in this f*cking situation.

“…Rihanel.”

Janet’s low, composed voice reached him.

Indeed, even meeting after five years, she remained an unlucky woman. His insides twisted at her gaze that seemed to accuse him of witnessing something terribly rude.

Rihanel, who had been looking at her with eyes creased as if gazing at a beloved, turned around. Standing side by side with Janet, he naturally wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

“Smile a little, Janet Wilton.”

He whispered to Janet in a voice too soft for the journalists to hear.

Instead of answering, Janet looked at the journalists and lightly lifted the corners of her mouth. It was such a gentle smile that it was hard to believe she had worn such an expression just before.

This woman went a step further and even placed her hand on top of Rihanel’s hand that was wrapped around her shoulder.

Rihanel’s hand tensed. The slightly cold fingers felt through the thin gloves, the relaxed smile and gestures irritated him.

“…I think we should go inside now.”

While inwardly cursing, Rihanel announced the end of the gathering.

“Thank you for your interest in my fiancée’s return.”

Rihanel roughly pulled Janet’s shoulder and walked toward the Wilton mansion. Her steps, which had been matching his pace, slowed, and she clutched his shirt.

“Rihanel.”

Janet Wilton stopped in place.

What the hell are you doing? One of Rihanel’s eyebrows rose.

“Let’s go slowly. My body is stiff from riding in the carriage for so long.”

“Ha.”

Rihanel sent her a contemptuous sneer.

This Miss who had lived preciously for 24 years hadn’t changed even after just leaving prison.

Her stiffly raised head and restrained movements.

She probably had never run in her entire life. Being from a noble family, and especially with Rihanel’s grandfather paying particular attention, they would have treated her preciously even in prison.

Even on the way back to the capital, she had taken her dainty steps riding in the luxury carriage he had sent.

Rihanel narrowed his eyes and glanced down at Janet. He wanted to see that elegant and detached face flush with embarrassment.

Better yet, with shame.

Rihanel slipped his hands behind Janet’s back and under her knees, lifting her up in one swift motion. It happened in an instant.

“What are you doing…!”

“Your steps were getting in the way of me leaving the place.”

Rihanel looked down at Janet with a smirk.

The shocked gaze looking up at him quickly cooled into something dry. Janet lowered her golden eyes and remained silent like someone without will.

Rihanel’s eyebrow twitched. This wasn’t amusing at all. The smile had long disappeared from his face as he strode forward with large steps.

But these subtle exchanges were beyond what the reporters could see.

All they could see from behind was Rihanel’s broad back and the white dress fabric sticking out from the side.

Based on that limited information, the articles would surely add another line. Things like ‘A romantic who treats his fiancée like a princess,’ or ‘A young duke driven mad by a witch’s curse.’

Creak, click. As the door closed, Rihanel put Janet down as if tossing her aside.

“……”

A strange silence fell. They were the only people inside the Wilton mansion now. Outside, the muffled sounds of Flan and the guards sending the reporters away could be heard.

Rihanel sighed heavily and roughly loosened his tie.

At least when it came to matters involving Janet Wilton, he had no talent for hiding his emotions.

Just pretending to be a beautiful pair of lovers with this woman for a short time made his chest feel tight and suffocating.

Of course, it was Rihanel who had informed the reporters about Janet’s release and invited them to the Wilton mansion at the right time.

But he hadn’t expected so many people to gather. Nor had he expected Janet Wilton to casually place her hand on his without hesitation.

How dare she, knowing her place.

Rihanel looked at Janet with an undisguised sharp gaze. Janet, seemingly unashamed of her crime, didn’t avoid his eyes but met them directly.

‘I have to be in love with a woman like this?’

Rihanel’s head felt dizzy.

Yes, Rihanel now had to not only marry Janet Wilton but also ‘date’ her.

Romantically and ridiculously, in this country, marriage to a commoner was only permitted if the couple was ‘in love.’

Strategic marriages weren’t allowed. They had to go through what someone had dubbed the ‘normal process’ of dating.

This rule had emerged alongside the establishment of the Noble Special Law, which prioritized nobles in all industries.

Those who already bore noble names were extremely wary of commoners becoming nobles through marriage, not wanting to share their piece of the pie.

This applied to Janet Wilton’s case as well.

Janet Wilton, the only daughter of a railroad company president who had lived comfortably as part of the middle class.

Thanks to her father, who had started with a transportation business and quickly invested in railroads to expand, Janet had grown up unaware of class differences.

But she was clearly a commoner, and now that had become a significant obstacle.

For Janet, who was subjected to the Noble Special Law, and for Rihanel, who had no choice but to marry her.

So Rihanel and Janet needed to show something. That they were in love.

“I received the flowers and gifts well. Thank you.”

Janet’s quiet yet clear voice rang out.

“I’m glad. They seemed to suit you well.”

The meaning of yellow carnations was contempt and disappointment.

Whether she knew this or not, Janet nodded lightly. The emerald earrings dangling at her ears swayed into her brown hair.

Seeing that made him feel queasy, so Rihanel spoke again.

“…You look better. Did prison life suit you?”

It was clearly a sarcastic remark. But Janet seemed to contemplate her answer for a moment, then asked him with a composed face.

“Why did you send someone? And these clothes too. If I had appeared before the reporters in the same state as I was released, it would have created a stronger contrast with you.”

She sounded genuinely curious. Rihanel answered simply, as if it didn’t matter.

“Because an unsightly woman would be embarrassing.”

Janet nodded as if she understood. As she did so, she habitually fiddled with the ring finger of her gloved right hand.

Rihanel’s gaze shifted to her hand. Sensing this movement, Janet moved her hand behind her and asked him.

“By the way… why is my house empty?”

“Well. You should probably ask your uncle directly. Ah, but would he want an arsonist like you in his home?”

Rihanel tilted his eyebrows as if in pity. However, his voice carried a distinct tone of amusement.

Janet stared at Rihanel quietly, then said with her hands neatly folded.

“Yes, thank you.”

Thank you? For what? He hadn’t answered her question and had mocked her by saying her family wouldn’t want an arsonist like her. So what was she thankful for?

Looking at her calm and mysterious golden eyes made his throat tighten. He felt an impulse to shake those fragile shoulders violently.

“Oh right…”

Janet took a small breath.

“I’m sorry about your father. And… congratulations on becoming duke.”

Rihanel’s expression hardened. Janet Wilton truly had a talent for bringing out the worst mood in others. She maintained her dignity while making the other person feel like a criminal.

When the real criminal was her, Janet.

Who had committed an unforgivable, inexcusable crime.

“…Aren’t you going to pack your things?”

In the end, with a crumpled face, this was all he could say in response.

I won’t take much of your time. Janet quietly replied and climbed the central staircase. Her movements were frustratingly slow.

***

House Reynes had been busy for days. They were preparing to welcome the duke’s fiancée.

The servants cleaned every room meticulously, paying special attention to the room at the left end of the second floor.

They changed all the bedding and curtains, and even hung a world map above the fireplace instead of a painting for the railroad company’s heiress who supposedly enjoyed traveling.