1. The Dignity of a Son-in-Law

The marriage contract that arrived before Frederic Graham was no different from a brand of humiliation.

“The Graham ducal family has really lost all its clout. Talk of taking in a son-in-law from a merchant family without so much as a decent title.”

“They say the late duke, who died a violent death, squandered the entire family fortune on womanizing and gambling?”

“It would’ve been fortunate if he’d only lost what he had. Word is he racked up hundreds of millions in debt on top of that. Using his heir’s ability to repay as collateral, borrowing that enormous sum from vicious loan sharks without a shred of fear.”

Those who loved gossip fretted over the social standing of the Graham ducal family upon hearing the news……

“I heard Ian Flynn paid off every last bit of Graham’s debt. A clean lump sum, all at once!”

“Hundreds of millions is pocket change to Flynn, please.”

“Well, of course. Ian Flynn, founder of ‘Royal Flynn Company,’ which dominates steel, real estate, ports, and logistics, is the wealthiest man in the Empire.”

“And not just any rich man. A rich man with no son to inherit the company, only a single daughter. What does that mean? It means anyone willing to swallow their pride and flatter Graham just a little could inherit every last bit of Flynn’s fortune!”

“They say a lucky man who trips over a stone still lands in the lady of the house’s bed. Hmph.”

People envied Frederic Graham’s luck for having obtained so effortlessly the sole qualification to claim an enormous inheritance.

“But still…… Do you think it’ll work out? The Graham family’s lofty young duke, who thinks dignity puts food on the table, actually bowing and scraping to a lowborn father-in-law?”

“Even just a moment ago, his chin was so high it looked ready to snap off.”

“Whether it’s inflexibility or sheer pride.”

“Perhaps both.”

“Our dear Duke Graham is rather, well, known for that sort of thing, isn’t he? That aristocratic sense of superiority……”

“And what good does it do him. He’s flat broke, not a penny to his name.”

“They nearly ended up on the street, and after being rescued, instead of gratitude he reportedly put forward one difficult condition after another and made an absolute fuss.”

“The matchmaker was said to be at a loss for words. Said they’d never seen such a stubborn, pigheaded man.”

“After having all his father’s debts paid off, he should’ve been groveling on the floor, yet he carried on with such insolence…… If I were Flynn, I think I’d have been completely put off.”

“In a capitalist world where everything else can be bought, there’s exactly one thing that can’t be sold or purchased outright, and that’s a noble title. The royal family has kept strict control over that for hundreds of years.”

“Ian Flynn is a businessman through and through. Which means he never invests where there’s a loss to be made. So why would he humble himself like that and go crawling to Graham?”

“To gain the right to vote in parliament!”

Several voices chimed in together and broke into snickers.

“New money has no right to enter politics, and the only way into the political arena is marriage to a noble. Well, one might as well call it a marriage where both parties’ desires are perfectly clear……”

“Frederic Graham really is lucky.”

“Shh. The ceremony looks like it’s about to begin.”

At someone’s low warning, the crowd fell silent all at once.

“Oh my.”

“Good lord. What a striking face.”

“A wedding where the groom is more beautiful than the bride.”

The guests who had been mocking him for riding on his ancestors’ titles despite being penniless soon found they couldn’t tear their eyes away from Frederic’s overwhelming beauty.

His golden hair called to mind fine threads drawn from the purest gold, and his green eyes, deep with dignity and an air of superiority, evoked a perfectly cut emerald. His green irises in particular inspired a tremendous sense of pressure in anyone who met his gaze, owing to the old taboo that green was a fatal color said to have driven many to death and madness throughout the ages.

Even so, no one could easily look away. It was a beauty that made one understand, viscerally, why blind devotion at the cost of something vital might be worth it.

“Dressed up like that, Graham’s dazzling looks really come into their own.”

“I’ve seen plenty of cases where good looks are enhanced by fine clothes, but clothes being enhanced by beauty? That’s a first in my lifetime.”

“He’s still technically in the navy, though near the end of his service. Apparently he took extended leave for the wedding and honeymoon.”

“Being a military man adds a masculine edge to those refined features. Quite a presence all his own.”

“What woman on earth could possibly refuse that man?”

It was a face that made the rumor entirely believable, that Flynn’s only daughter had fallen for Frederic Graham and chased after him.

“That’s probably why the bride looks so absolutely thrilled.”

Every word of it was true.

The bride, Margie Flynn, kept stealing glances at her soon-to-be husband’s profile, unable to contain the thrill of possession, and broke into a beaming smile. That endearing sight was unmistakably the face of a girl head over heels in love. The guests who witnessed her sweet joy found themselves unable to hide their own warmth, feeling like fond aunts and uncles watching over her. Her charm was more than enough to draw affection even from complete strangers.

Yet the one person who never once looked at her, never once smiled at her, was Frederic. Throughout the entire ceremony, the groom, Frederic Graham, kept his eyes fixed straight ahead, cold and unyielding. Unfeeling and frigid.

“Look at that arrogant expression on His Grace’s face.”

“Even so, that’s going too far! Looking like he’s being dragged to a slaughterhouse rather than a wedding. What dreadful luck that is.”

“D*mn Graham. What in the world does he have to be unhappy about? If I were him, I’d have spent a hundred days on my knees in gratitude for a wife as lovely and charming as that!”

“Someone go whisper in His noble Grace’s ear. Tell him that if he finds the prospect of taking the beautiful daughter of a wealthy man, Margie Flynn, as his wife so utterly unbearable, he’s welcome to break off the engagement this very moment. There are noblemen lined up from here to the palace gates who would be more than happy to play the role of that dear woman’s husband!”

Among the guests at the grand wedding, those who erupted in frustration were the unmarried men of marriageable age. They felt both contempt and a gnawing sense of inferiority toward Frederic, who had seized the luck of a lifetime yet carried on with arrogance as though he didn’t even know it.