Chapter 8

“Why?”

“That’s…”

Mixing personal feelings here would not be wise. No matter how much Dione tried to explain her worries about Raihan’s reputation, it would not matter to the man in front of her.

“It won’t take long for the contents of this article to reach Elvirtein. Elderly nobles always latch onto even the smallest piece of gossip and won’t let go.”

“So, you think spending the night with the 4th Prince will become a scandal?”

Yurik Schwitz asked back, quietly muttering as if wondering, ‘Does she see herself as such a bad person?’ His gaze sharpened with clear displeasure, leaving Dione somewhat stunned.

She responded only to the previous question, nodding as if she hadn’t heard the implied meaning in his eyes.

“If someone is determined to dig up something, they can find anything. For example, if the Prince is labeled an irresponsible man who left behind a woman he spent the night with…”

“The next Emperor, who is known for his strong brotherly bond, won’t just sit back and watch.”

Yurik gently stroked his chin, nodding as if he understood the reasoning, then let out a small, inexplicable laugh.

“I get what you’re trying to say.”

“……”

“No need to worry. The person in question is still in Essen, so you don’t have to be concerned.”

Dione didn’t understand that statement for a moment, her lips parted in confusion. Only after regaining her senses did she manage to ask,

“What… Who… No, you mean Prince Raihan?”

“Yes.”

“But he returned to Elvirtein yesterday, so how…”

“He returned?”

Yurik let out a short, dismissive laugh at Dione’s words, then spoke in a sharply honed voice.

“No way. He’s still in Essen, probably hoping to get your attention.”

“……?”

‘Raihan hadn’t gone back to Elvirtein?’

‘And for what reason…?’

Dione was so flustered that she didn’t even notice how Yurik’s tone had changed. She just stared in confusion.

Yurik, as if pushing forward, steered the conversation back to the main topic.

“Anyway, I have a condition for retrieving the newspapers.”

“…What is it?”

Barely regaining her composure, Dione tried to imagine what kind of condition he might propose. Was it a deal between families? Or something personal? She swallowed dryly, anxious.

But Yurik’s condition was completely unexpected.

“Don’t sleep with that bastard.”

The moment she heard those words, Dione’s mind went blank. People say you’re left speechless when you’re truly shocked—this was exactly that.

She let out a confused breath, then managed to guess who ‘that bastard’ was, and couldn’t help but laugh weakly.

“You don’t mean… Prince Raihan?”

“Excatly.”

“…No, but first, about what you said earlier. You mentioned he was trying to get someone’s attention. Whose? Mine?”

Her head throbbed. She pressed a hand to her forehead and looked up to see Yurik staring at her in disbelief. She couldn’t help but understand the meaning in his gaze, especially since he’d said ‘your attention’ earlier.

So, so…

“Why… Why? Why would Prince Raihan…”

Stammering, Dione recalled a moment when she’d felt a flutter in her heart, then looked up and met Yurik’s blue eyes, protesting,

“Don’t be ridiculous. He and I are just friends…”

“No crazy person looks at their friend the way he looks at you.”

At those words, Dione couldn’t help but remember the look in Raihan’s eyes when he held her that night. Unlike his usual gentle green gaze, his eyes had been darker, almost devouring…

Momentarily lost in thought, Dione bit her lip as she came back to herself.

“…Thank you for telling me the Prince hasn’t returned home. I suppose very few people knew that.”

“Yes. On the day you didn’t show up, I stood in for you, so only I and a few members of the Imperial Family knew.”

“……”

But… Raihan had said he didn’t like her romantically. Yurik was certain Raihan liked her, and Raihan hadn’t returned to his country. Both confused Dione, leaving her thoughts tangled.

She took a sip of tea that had gone cold and cautiously spoke.

“Then… why are you making this condition?”

“……”

Yurik, who had been slowly crossing his long legs, now uncrossed them and paused, as if taking several deep breaths. The tension made Dione swallow nervously.

The condition itself felt almost… like jealousy. But that made even less sense. It would be easier to believe there was some political reason.

After several moments, Yurik finally spoke, his answer abrupt, surprising, and heavy.

“Because I like you.”

‘…What?’

People say you freeze up when you’re too surprised, and Dione felt that now. Her mind and body went stiff, and all she could manage was, 

“…Pardon?”

“You look like you don’t believe me, but it’s true.”

Yurik squinted one eye and smiled—a smile so devastatingly attractive that even Dione, used to handsome men and women, was so flustered she couldn’t meet his gaze and turned her head away.

Seeing this, Yurik’s tone grew playful.

“So you won’t even look at me after my confession?”

“You should say something believable…”

“Why isn’t it believable?”

“Well, we’ve only met a handful of times. Nothing special happened when we did.”

That was the truth. The reason this confession was so bewildering was just that.

Of course, Dione knew love doesn’t always depend on time, but every time she’d met Yurik, it had been strictly official, with no warmth or personal conversation.

She’d never had the kind of comfortable talks or moments of getting to know each other that she’d had with Raihan.

Could one really fall in love in such stiff circumstances?

“Well, who knows? Maybe something special did happen.”

“…?”

Yurik peered at her face as if trying to memorize her confusion, then let out a short laugh and returned to his usual demeanor.

At the same time, the conversation got back on track.

“I’m not the editor-in-chief, but as the biggest investor, there’s nothing I can’t do.”

“……”

“Do you accept the condition?”

In this situation, Dione had only one answer.

“…Yes.”

“Good. As you know, I won’t go so far as to take away what people are already reading. I’ll do what I can.”

Dione nodded slowly, trying to hide her confusion. Yurik smiled contentedly, his handsome smile almost blinding, but she couldn’t bring herself to smile back.

* * *

Back at the Marquis’ mansion, Dione collapsed onto her bed. The newspaper problem that had first overwhelmed her seemed more or less resolved, but now a new problem had arisen.

Raihan Elvirtein and Yurik Schwitz.

Dione had rarely been flustered in all her years navigating high society, but in the past few days, she’d lost count of the times she’d been thrown off balance.

‘Marriage…’

…Of course she had to marry. She had to inherit the marquisate. There was no option not to. Unlike other high-ranking noble families, the Estellon marquisate had no collateral branches. Dione had no cousins.

Well, maybe if she searched her mother’s family, she could find someone with shared blood… but she doubted they’d covet a title from the Essen Empire. Even if someone did, she certainly didn’t want to give it away.