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chapter 04
“Please Break Off the Engagement, Duke — I Don’t Want to Die”
The other party was the Romanov ducal house, the most powerful among all ducal families in the Empire. There was no way such a family would genuinely want me. On top of that, from his perspective, he had just received a request to break off the engagement in a manner that completely discarded all etiquette.
‘There’s no way someone as prideful as him would refuse to cancel the engagement!’
At that moment, the Duke of Romanov let out a faint chuckle again. His relaxed expression made it seem as though he could see straight through the complicated thoughts in my head.
A leisurely voice flowed from his lips.
“I can hear the gears in your head turning from here.”
His words were just as rude as mine, and my brow furrowed.
Amused by my immediate reaction, he curled his lips again and struck at the core of our conversation.
“So, what do I gain from agreeing to this sudden request to break off the engagement?”
Get a grip. I needed to give a convincing answer.
“…A marriage with a more refined and properly educated noble lady?”
As soon as I blurted out the first thing that came to mind, he frowned openly, as if dumbfounded.
“I have no interest in that.”
“Pardon?”
“Do I need to explain my intentions in full as well?”
“……”
In truth, I already knew why the Duke of Romanov had entered into this engagement.
‘Because I’ve read his entire life.’
In the side story of the novel, Dante Romanov had once mocked himself, saying he felt like a breeding stallion.
To marry a highborn lady, produce a child of noble blood, and give that child the title of heir.
It might be the natural life of a great noble, but for him—who became a duke at the young age of sixteen—it was a tedious shackle.
The reason he came to view his life with such a twisted perspective stemmed from his lonely childhood.
‘He deeply resented his father. The only time they ever spent together was that night when he inherited the power of the polar night.’
His father was a founding contributor to the Empire, the one who helped the king of the Labit Kingdom proclaim himself emperor and establish what is now the Bryant Empire.
In the process of that proclamation, family inevitably became secondary. In Dante Romanov’s memories, his father was someone who wouldn’t even return home in time when his frail mother collapsed, screaming in pain.
At the age of ten, even when his father returned in tatters, barely clinging to life, he didn’t shed a single tear.
Even after surviving, his father lived in seclusion due to his weakened body, eventually leaving for a villa on the outskirts of the duchy. They were never given time to understand one another.
Meanwhile, his mother had been a princess of the Labit Kingdom. With the kingdom disappearing under the glory of the Bryant Empire’s birth, she became its last princess.
The only sister of the current emperor, and the last princess of Labit.
Living solely as Dante Romanov’s mother under such a title wasn’t easy, but fortunately, she was warmer than his father. She did everything she could to support her son so he wouldn’t be looked down upon as a young duke.
However, after long supporting her son, who charged forward like a lone horned beast, her already frail body deteriorated rapidly—irreversibly so, at far too early an age.
Thus, five years ago, she had no choice but to travel south for recuperation. Tragically, she died in a carriage accident along the way.
When his mother passed away, Dante Romanov took several rough breaths—but he did not cry.
‘It was described that he had long since forgotten how to cry.’
The scenes from the novel played out vividly before my eyes.
‘In a way… that’s rather pitiful.’
Anyway, with such a background, the Duke of Romanov had deliberately proposed to me. My reputation at the time was terrible—making me the perfect target for him.
A woman obsessed with her meager magical talent, devoted only to research, doing whatever she pleased. Tangled hair, hollow eyes, even rumors that she was ugly.
On top of that, although I was a duke’s daughter, I was ignored by my family, and as an adopted child, people constantly mocked that I could be disowned at any time.
‘The Duke of Romanov proposed with a twisted heart.’
Feeling as though I had secretly peeked into his past, I pressed my lips together awkwardly.
The silence that briefly lingered in the room was broken by his voice, now somewhat softer than before.
“By the way, you are quite different from what I imagined. From what I heard, you were…”
“From what you heard?”
“……”
He didn’t answer my question. It was obvious he had stopped himself mid-sentence.
For some reason, I felt like I knew exactly what he had wanted to say.
“You mean I’m very different from the rumors? I suppose you didn’t receive a portrait of me when we exchanged engagement documents.”
“I did not.”
“Even if everything else was handled or omitted in writing, that seems like an important detail to skip.”
“I had no need for a portrait.”
“Isn’t that a bit bold? You heard those rumors and still didn’t check?”
“It didn’t matter.”
“You’ve heard the rumors that I’m a gloomy bald woman, right? Unfortunately for the gossipmongers, I have quite a full head of hair. And my personality is actually cheerful, once you get to know me.”
The rumors—being bald, having a face full of freckles—were nothing new. Back at my debutante, I had tried to alter my appearance with magic, failed, and fled in a ridiculous state. Since then, I had never appeared publicly again, so very few people actually knew what I looked like.
When I shrugged, the Duke of Romanov let out a breathy laugh.
“Ha.”
Hmm? Was that… a laugh?
His lips had lifted for a moment, but his face quickly hardened again, making it hard to tell.
More importantly, how was I supposed to persuade this man to break off the engagement? My expression gradually darkened.
“I’m eccentric.”
“That much is obvious.”
“Despite being a duke’s daughter, my manners are terrible.”
“That hardly needs explanation.”
“You know I’m not Duke Lindberg’s biological daughter, right? In fact, I’m just a distant collateral relative.”
“I’ve heard.”
It seemed pointless to point out how unfit I was to become the Duchess of Romanov.
‘In that case…’
After swallowing dryly, I met his gaze.
Eyes of pure gold, without the slightest tremor.
Now I understood why so many said the Duke of Romanov held gold within his eyes. They shone as if they were the only things of their kind in the world, possessing a power that seemed to draw people in.
A man without a single opening.
With someone like this, negotiation was the only option.
Truthfully, I had never intended to get everything my way from the start. I had something else to offer besides the engagement cancellation. I needed to propose a deal that would benefit him as well.
It was time to play the card I had prepared all along.
“If you break off the engagement with me, I’ll tell you something that will benefit you.”
“Something beneficial?”
His perfectly shaped brow lifted slightly.
“You’re troubled every winter by monsters swarming your duchy, aren’t you?”
This clearly wasn’t something he had expected to hear. A crease formed between his brows.
Monsters that descended to human settlements during winter. They were an extreme nuisance to him.
His face instantly filled with irritation and disgust. On the other hand, I read that reaction and my eyes lit up.
‘It was said that every winter, he returns to his duchy because of the hordes of monsters. He suffers for an entire month.’
Of course, with his immense power, he defended against them without difficulty.
‘Apparently, even monsters instinctively fear him when they face him.’
Still, having to repeat the same ordeal every year must have been incredibly bothersome. Sometimes, accidents followed as well—hardly pleasant.
Filled with confidence, I spoke with shining gray-green eyes.
“I’ll solve it for you.”
Saying it out loud made me feel like some kind of quack salesman, but I had no choice. I had to convince him.
“You, a mere lady, will solve what even knights struggle with?”
The Duke of Romanov tilted his head slightly, eyeing me with suspicion. As he moved, a deep shadow fell beneath his sharp nose. Looking closely, I even noticed a tiny mole under the corner of his left eye.
‘…Wow, he’s ridiculously handsome.’
No—this wasn’t the time for that!
I needed to stay sharp, as if I had walked straight into a black panther’s den.
I steadied my voice and continued.
“There’s a reason those monsters come down to human settlements.”
“…You know the cause?”
“If I tell you the reason and provide a solution, promise me you’ll break off the engagement.”
Should I ask for a written contract too?
I considered it briefly but decided against it. A man of his standing would value honor as much as his life. If he gave his word, he would surely keep it.
The Duke of Romanov seemed to ponder for only a moment before giving a short reply.
