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CHAPTER 10
“Your Highness, Please Become My Husband”
Just as Serena had said she would come out soon, she really did return after only a short while.
“Miss, are you really leaving already?”
Mae couldn’t understand Serena’s decision to leave before the tea party—hosted by Countess Delphium—had even begun. They had come under the pretense of attending it.
“My business here is finished. I also have somewhere else to stop on the way.”
With the help of the coachman, Serena boarded the carriage, and Mae followed after her.
“Where are we going this time?”
“I want to buy a gift.”
“For whom?”
“A man.”
“A man? That can’t be. You, miss?”
Mae covered her mouth in shock, but Serena simply turned her gaze out the window. Watching the rapidly passing scenery, she replayed her conversation with Salome.
“How could you say something like that…! I—I can’t do it…”
To the flustered Salome, Serena smiled gently.
“I trust you are aware of how the previous countesses died. And you are not unaware of the Count’s cruel nature either.”
Salome tried to say something more, but soon closed her mouth. Her trembling hands were tightly clasped together.
Yes, killing someone is not easy. Even if one steels their resolve, it becomes an impossible task when one must do it with their own hands.
“I’m not forcing you. How could I? I only said it because I hope you find a little more happiness, Madam. Please don’t take it too much to heart.”
Salome kept glancing at the tightly closed reception room door, as if worried someone might overhear.
“Madam, no one could have heard us.”
“Pardon?”
“I took some measures.”
In truth, Serena had cast a soundproofing spell over the room. Their conversation would not leak outside.
“That thing you just said… I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it…”
Salome felt fear under Serena’s piercing gaze, as if she saw through everything. How did she know about the Count’s cruelty? Especially when even the Count himself went out of his way to silence rumors. And how could a young lady who had just come of age know such things? Curiosity flickered within her.
“Madam, I only want to help you. However… I cannot force you. The decision is entirely yours.”
Serena stood up with a soft smile.
“I came today with matters to attend to, so I could not join the tea party. I came instead to offer an apology gift. If my words offended you, you may forget them. However—”
Her gaze fell on a bottle on the table. Salome’s eyes followed it as well.
“I will leave this gift behind. Even if you forget what I said… when another painful night comes for you… this medicine may serve as a small comfort.”
She lightly tapped the crystal bottle with her fingernail. Ching— a clear sound rang out, so delicate compared to the dangerous substance inside.
Serena lifted the hem of her dress slightly and gave a formal farewell before leaving the reception room.
As she stepped out, she glanced back. Salome wore an expression deep in thought.
Count Delphium was one of the most influential vassals of the ducal house. Even if he was elderly, his existence alone could disrupt Serena’s plans. So she had taken a gamble.
A gamble on whether she could truly change the flow of this story.
If this worked—if she could change even one life, even the fate of a noble house—then she needed to test how far she could go.
Clatter!
The carriage came to a stop, pulling Serena out of her thoughts.
“What’s wrong?”
Mae opened the carriage window. The coachman looked troubled.
“The wheel has sunk into the mud.”
The road from Count Delphium’s estate to the square was a forest path. Even though it was relatively well maintained, carriage wheels often got stuck when it rained. If there had been knights as escorts, they might have managed, but with only a young lady and a maid, it would be difficult to free the wheel.
“Let’s wait until someone passes by.”
This road was used not only by the Delphium estate but also by travelers heading to the temple, so people usually passed through.
“Yes, understood.”
The coachman bowed and gave water to the horses. A brief silence settled, but Mae soon spoke again.
“It’s a frequently traveled road… but there isn’t a single person around.”
“True.”
Serena looked out absentmindedly—then a jet-black horse appeared outside the window.
“It seems you need help, young lady.”
At the familiar voice, Serena turned her gaze toward the rider. She blinked, wondering if she was mistaken—but quickly realized it was real and composed her expression.
“Your Highness the Grand Duke.”
Diego pulled lightly on the reins, dismounted, and beside him was the knight she had seen before at Knox’s hideout. She glanced at him briefly before returning her attention to Diego.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I was on my way back from the temple. What happened?”
“The carriage wheel is stuck in the mud.”
“Then my knight and I can assist you.”
Diego tied his horse to a tree. The knight, Chester, followed his master and tied his own horse with obvious reluctance before rolling up his sleeves.
Diego opened the carriage door and extended his hand.
“You will need to step down for a moment.”
Under the bright sunlight, his eyes shimmered like sapphires embedded in light. Serena stared at them for a moment, then a beat later placed her hand on his.
Carefully, she stepped down from the carriage.
After Mae also got down, Diego and Chester helped the coachman lift the wheel stuck in the mud.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Diego smiled brightly, eyes curving with good humor. To Serena, he looked genuinely beautiful.
When she had seen him under moonlight, he had seemed cold and distant—but now, under the sun, he looked bright, almost glowing.
“Just in case you misunderstand, this is a coincidence.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t plan things like this.”
He emphasized it again, as if worried she might doubt him. It almost sounded like he was making excuses, which felt oddly amusing.
As if unaware of her thoughts, Diego looked at her again and said seriously,
“Lady, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh? Is this a date invitation?”
“No.”
“You’re very cold.”
Seeing his brow twitch slightly, Serena realized she was teasing him too much and corrected her expression.
“Very well. Shall we speak here?”
“…Wait. Shall we move over there?”
Diego pointed toward the bushes.
“I thought I explained enough. Is your answer still no?”
What he had to say was, in the end, a refusal. She hadn’t truly expected him to agree easily, nor had she expected to feel excited as if it were a real date—but that didn’t make the disappointment any better.
“I cannot betray His Majesty the Emperor… my brother.”
Diego loved his brother, the Emperor. He was the first family he had ever had besides his mother. Both the former empress and his brother were precious to him. Even if they threw him into death itself, he could not hate them.
“They will aim their blades at Your Highness’s heart.”
“I know.”
“In the end, those blades will pierce your heart… and the hearts of those you wish to protect as well.”
At Serena’s final words, Diego’s fingertips twitched.
“Grand Duke Valter cannot become a wise ruler. He only desires power. He does not care how the people live.”
It was true. Even the current Emperor did not care deeply for the lives of his people. As a result, public order was collapsing. Those without food resorted to theft and plunder, while nobles indulged in luxury and pleasure.
Even the slums where Diego stayed existed because of this.
Still, it wasn’t that the Emperor did nothing—he simply did the bare minimum. Those at the top were often like that.
The empire was like a beautiful fruit on the outside—fresh and flawless—but rotten inside.
“Lady, do you truly care about the people… and wish to place me on the throne?”
Diego asked slowly after listening in silence.
Of course not. It wasn’t altruism. She simply wanted to defy fate. She wanted to question the god who returned her memories. Everything else was secondary—saving the people, and saving the man destined for a miserable end.
“…I can’t say I have such noble intentions, but isn’t that reason enough?”
Diego’s expression subtly changed. He could not tell what she was thinking at all.
“Lady… are you perhaps uncomfortable?”
They had moved to a nearby flower field for privacy. But the ground was soft from recent rain, and walking in shoes made it difficult; she stumbled slightly.
“If I said I wasn’t, that would be a lie.”
“I heard ladies like flowers…”
Liking flowers didn’t mean liking muddy ground that swallowed your feet.
He really has no dating experience.
“Hm, Your Highness, you should look into things a little more carefully.”
At her words, Diego awkwardly fidgeted his fingers.
“I’m sorry.”
After his apology, she looked at the flowers for a moment before speaking again.
“Your Highness, as thanks for bringing me to a nice place, I’ll tell you something.”
“Don’t tease me.”
Serena stopped walking, and Diego also halted naturally beside her.
“Soon, His Majesty will reduce the supply shipments sent to the south.”
Diego’s faint smile disappeared completely and stiffened.
Reducing supplies meant danger for the northern and southern territories suffering harsh winters. They could not survive the cold with only what they harvested during spring to autumn.
“This rotten empire… its military is no different. Instead of skilled knights, it is filled with those who bought their positions. And the ones who actually fight in war are your troops, aren’t they?”
“Yes… that’s correct.”
“The Emperor wants to suppress that army. He will not tolerate anyone whose power might rival his own.”
“That… would weaken the nation.”
“Then what if he scatters your army—and absorbs them under his command?”
The Emperor was that kind of person. Unable to produce perfect results himself, he stole from those who did and made their achievements his own.
A heavy silence fell between them. Serena spoke again before Diego could respond.
“I may have been rejected, but I have no intention of giving up.”
Her eyes, as if seeing through everything, suggested that Diego would eventually move exactly as she intended.
