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Chapter 04
Shuwen stopped mid-motion as she tried to turn her creaking neck.
Wouldn’t it be better not to look?
In this world, if someone was a grand duke—especially a grand duke currently in Lucenia—there was only one man it could be.
Esselian Ranierd.
Instead of turning her head, Shuwen looked past the bearded man.
The moment her eyes landed on the wooden calendar, her face crumpled.
“Of all days—today?!”
In that brief instant, she finished forming a plan: if Esselian had really stopped by, she would somehow cancel his order.
But today?!
Today?!
And at this exact moment…?!
“What are you so startled about?”
For a split second, Shuwen almost answered, thinking the words were directed at her.
If the bearded man hadn’t responded instead, she would have made a fool of herself.
“Oh—n-no, sir. It’s just that… you seem unfamiliar. Ah, of course, I did see you once at the victory ceremony, but that was entirely on my own—”
“That’s enough. Stop there.”
The man who interrupted the bearded shopkeeper stepped up beside Shuwen.
That alone was enough to make sweat bead on her skin.
“I was introduced to this place and came looking for you. You must be Bearded, yes? I need an item made.”
The man speaking was not Esselian.
At the stiff tone of the man presumed to be his subordinate, the bearded craftsman tensed noticeably.
Shuwen subtly glanced sideways at the mirror beside her.
Through it, she confirmed the two men.
“Dear God…”
It really was Esselian.
And if the man beside him was his subordinate, then there was only one possibility.
If her memory was correct, that man was Sion.
“Uh, th-that is…”
While Sion discussed the commission with the bearded man, Esselian scanned the interior of the modest shop.
Then the craftsman’s expression shifted strangely.
Suddenly, his gaze landed on Shuwen.
Already tense and watching him closely, Shuwen flinched and shrugged her shoulders.
Wh-what are you looking at, sir?!
“The item His Highness mentioned…”
N-no way.
Whether he didn’t notice Shuwen’s pale face—or noticed and chose to ignore it—the damned bearded man continued.
“This young lady ordered the exact same thing. And since she says she doesn’t want to use it anymore…”
Gasp.
“Would you consider purchasing it from her? It would be difficult to craft a new one by the requested date, and we’re short on materials…”
“Hm.”
“Oh, of course, since the young lady came to retrieve it today, it’s a brand-new item—never used.”
The bearded man gestured at Shuwen, urging her to seize the opportunity.
Whenever he saw customers like this, he couldn’t help but think of his younger brother who had run away.
He planned to close the shop soon and use his savings to search for that foolish sibling.
That was why, uncharacteristically, he meddled.
From his perspective, selling to the grand duke saved time.
Taking a commission and crafting it from scratch would delay his departure even further.
“That old man…!”
From Shuwen’s perspective, it was completely unnecessary meddling—unwanted kindness.
Truly, utterly useless compassion!
“This woman?”
Booted feet turned toward Shuwen.
She had already fixed her gaze on the floor and now lowered her head even further.
“That can’t be right. You must be mistaken.”
“I assure you, Your Highness. Just look at the item. It’s round and has a cord—exactly as you described.”
Sir, why are you scamming him?!
Esselian didn’t order a ‘neutralization’ spell!
But Shuwen couldn’t say that.
When the conversation paused, she felt as if all eyes were suddenly fixed on her.
“There’s no way this woman entered my mind and came back out.”
In other words: stop talking nonsense.
The probing stares pricked at her skin.
Shuwen lifted her head, pulled the cord of her robe’s hood tight, and glared at the bearded man.
At this point, she had to divert Esselian’s attention!
“Something strange. Something strange.”
The clueless bearded man failed to understand her signals and frowned.
“Yes?”
“Something strange. Something strange! Say it! The reason I bought this—what you’re thinking!”
They said effort pays off.
When she even mouthed the words, realization dawned on his face.
He cleared his throat awkwardly and looked at Esselian.
“May I ask, Your Highness… what do you intend to use this for?”
“Why would that matter when commissioning an item?”
“Well, the young lady ordered it for… that sort of purpose…”
“That sort of?”
“Yes… you see, for the bedroom… somewhat improper…”
A displeased line appeared on Esselian’s impassive face.
Frowning, he looked back and forth between the bearded man and the robed figure standing stiffly beside him.
“I have no such filthy intentions.”
As if—when his real goal was to discipline a disobedient dog…!
Esselian had used that necklace to restrain Titiana.
Even if it wasn’t for that kind of purpose, his intentions were just as impure.
At his scornful tone, Shuwen cried out silently inside.
Still, the intrusive stares finally withdrew.
“Thank goodness.”
Shuwen had no intention of selling the necklace to Esselian.
She needed to keep it—just in case.
If she ever did end up marrying him…
It was insurance for a coward who always prepared for the worst.
“H-here’s the money! I-I’ll be going now!”
When Esselian looked away in the mirror, Shuwen hurriedly shouted.
She practically threw the money down and lowered her voice.
She even deliberately mimicked an odd way of speaking.
Esselian’s gaze followed the fleeing robed figure for a moment—
Then, losing interest, he looked forward again.
“I’d prefer it to be done as quickly as possible. It seems I’ll be getting married soon.”
He swallowed the rest of the sentence as his lips curled upward.
Preparing to welcome that disgusting emperor’s daughter, after all.
Meanwhile, Shuwen fled the shop and hurriedly climbed into the carriage waiting behind her.
The knight, who had been told to wait, scrambled in confusion as she burst out and jumped aboard.
In an instant, the robed Shuwen was inside the carriage, her face tightly hidden.
“Why the sudden rush? Did you see a ghost?”
The knight’s eyes widened.
He stared oddly at Shuwen, who sat there gasping for breath.
Rubbing her chest, she said,
“I wish it had been a ghost.”
“What did you see…?”
The knight was eight years older than Shuwen.
He had served the Berg family since she was a child and had watched her grow up.
He knew all too well how she used to tremble after hearing ghost stories from other girls.
Though grown now, she wasn’t much different.
Shuwen pretended otherwise, but she was still easily frightened.
“I wish it had been a ghost…?”
The knight was certain she had seen something terrifying.
Soon, he figured out what it was.
Silver hair came to mind.
“Ah.”
“So she saw the Duke of Ranierd.”
Anyone would understand her reaction after encountering the duke said to make even crying children fall silent.
“There didn’t seem to be any disturbance… Still, the young lady is quite timid.”
He shook his head.
Then his gaze fell to Shuwen’s hand.
“But what’s that? Ah—was it the item you ordered earlier?”
“Huh?”
Following his gaze, Shuwen looked down and gasped, flinging the necklace away.
Clang! It hit the carriage wall and fell, glinting in the light.
“Why did you buy something so strange-looking?”
Fortunately, the knight didn’t seem to think of it in that way at all.
Shuwen felt a little grateful for the innocence of a man eight years her senior.
No—wait. If you counted her past life memories, wasn’t she the older one?
But she didn’t dwell on that.
She glanced around the private carriage and pulled the half-drawn curtains shut.
“I have no such filthy intentions.”
She should have stopped Esselian from ordering that necklace!
Regret came crashing down too late.
What should she do now?
“Should I run away?”
The thought flared briefly, then died.
This wasn’t her past life.
Now, she had things to protect.
Abandoning her beloved parents to live alone was unimaginable.
Running away together wasn’t realistic either.
It was an imperial decree.
She had no confidence she could endure what would happen after defying the emperor of Lucenia.
In the end, all Shuwen could do was tremble and wait until the wedding day.
She didn’t know how time passed.
After being notified of the marriage, Shuwen strongly voiced her opposition.
Throwing a tantrum wouldn’t change anything, but she had to do whatever she could to stop it.
“I actually… have someone I love.”
First, she confessed feelings she had long hidden from her parents.
She hoped that if her parents explained the situation and begged the emperor to reconsider, he might reflect—being a father himself.
But her parents only wiped away their tears and said,
“Our poor child… I’m sorry. We’re sorry for being such useless parents…”
Seeing them cry softened Shuwen’s heart.
But this was a matter of life and death.
She didn’t back down.
“Cough—cough! I think I’m ill… The doctor said I only have a year left to live…”
“A doctor visited? When? I never heard anything like that. Butler! Did a doctor come?”
After hearing the butler deny it, Countess Berg was so shocked that she fell ill for days.
It seemed her daughter’s first-ever lie had struck deeply.
Still, Shuwen didn’t give up.
She didn’t want to hurt her parents—but her fiancé was the mad grand duke, Esselian.
“Please request an audience with His Majesty. If you don’t, I’ll run away immediately!”
Count Berg couldn’t withstand his daughter’s pitiful yet adorable threat.
He submitted the request—only to receive a reply that, due to a backlog, the wait would be eight months.
“That lazy emperor…”
She needed another method.
“I’ve found my calling. I’ll become a nun.”
A nun who took lifelong vows couldn’t marry.
It was the law.
Even that was rejected.
Shuwen received only one response:
“No outings except to the imperial palace, until further notice.”
There’s no way out… what do I do…?
The one who came to see the despairing Shuwen was unexpectedly the emperor himself.
“Did he read my letters? Why summon me all of a sudden?”
From the day she was told to wait eight months, Shuwen had sent letters.
Every day. At the same time.
All addressed to the emperor.
