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Chapter 10
“…Proof? How exactly?”
At my question, the woman looked up at me shamelessly.
“Anything will do—as long as it proves you spent the night with the Duke of Argenta.”
At her words, I tilted my head slightly, pretending to think.
“Proof?”
Do people usually leave proof after their first night?
I furrowed my brows, feigning discomfort.
This was a crisis.
If we had really spent the night together, there would have been some trace. But we had literally just held hands and slept.
This was definitely a crisis… Or it would have been—
—if I hadn’t asked Dielo in advance to prepare something.
“Ah.”
I opened my hand, as if I’d just remembered.
I recalled Dielo’s flustered face last night.
His slightly flushed cheeks, his uncertain expression—
And that strange, heated sensation.
—Click.
I undid one of the buttons at the top of my dress.
Just the memory of last night made my face flush a little.
To the watcher, I probably looked like a bashful bride remembering her first night.
—Click, click.
I undid a few more buttons and pulled back the fabric slightly.
The woman would likely see it now.
The clear mark of ecstasy engraved on my collarbone.
“Will this… do?”
I spoke confidently, but didn’t forget to act flustered too.
It was a spot I couldn’t possibly have marked on my own.
The watcher stared intently at the exposed area, then gave a small nod.
“It has been verified.”
Then she abruptly turned around and activated an artifact. She transformed back into a child and darted away across the clearing.
“Yay! I found the way!”
The way she acted like a child again was chillingly convincing.
Before I could even chase after her, she had already run off and was now in the arms of an Allozé maid.
“Oh my!”
The maid widened her eyes and quickly scooped up the girl.
Then she gave me an apologetic bow and disappeared from sight.
“I figured they’d send someone to verify.”
But I didn’t expect it to be like this.
I brushed off my clothes and straightened them.
In the original novel, there had been no scene like this where the first night was verified.
The entire focus had been on how the original Croa tricked Dielo into spending the night with her. I didn’t even remember how things played out afterward—it had been glossed over.
‘I have a favor to ask.’
Thinking back to last night, I turned around.
Since the Duke of Allozé was known to be meticulous, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to prepare.
‘I want you to leave a mark… around here?’
When I pointed to my collarbone, Dielo had looked genuinely shocked.
‘Are you really okay with that?’
‘Of course.’
I mean, I was the one asking, wasn’t I?
Not that it didn’t make me feel weird.
But really, a mark of pleasure is just… a wound, when you think about it.
It would heal and disappear with time.
So I gently wrapped my hand around the back of his head and pulled him close to me.
‘Let’s do this properly.’
Firmly, like pressing down gently.
To the still-hesitating Dielo, I whispered again:
‘You said it yourself: do it, or don’t.’
Besides, we needed practice anyway, right?
Hearing that, Dielo finally ended his hesitation with a short sigh.
‘Ah…’
In an instant, he was hovering above me, warm breath falling onto my bare skin.
I tensed up slightly when it touched my exposed collarbone—I’d only been wearing a gown, after all.
Sensing my flinch, he intertwined his fingers with mine.
Then, with gentle eyes, he looked down at me.
‘Then… Croa.’
He whispered softly, “I’m sorry.”
He kissed the tip of my nose, then wrapped his arms around me, slowly drawing closer.
The breath brushing my ear, the lips gently pressing against my neck, and the fingers trailing softly down my shoulder—I could still feel them vividly.
I remembered how the fabric slipped off, exposing my skin and how my shoulder had flushed with heat.
How close his body had come, not letting even a thread of cold air slip between us.
“What on earth…”
As I recalled the moment, I instinctively started fanning myself with my hand.
The heat rushing to my face this time wasn’t deliberate.
Just thinking about last night made my cheeks burn, no matter how much I fanned them.
“…Seriously.”
One question I hadn’t dared to ask last night kept echoing in my head:
‘Why is he so good at this?’
“Argenta’s walls are sturdy.”
Dielo muttered quietly, leaning his chin on his hand as he stood by the window.
Through the slightly parted curtains, he looked down at the garden.
There, Croa Allozé was walking back.
—Tap, tap, tap.
His fingers, which had been rhythmically tapping the window frame, came to a stop.
Yes, the walls of Argenta were strong.
To outsiders, they were a tall, unyielding barrier.
To those within, they were a reliable shield and firm foundation.
“Croa Allozé…”
She was a person of Allozé.
She came under the orders of the Duke of Allozé, became the Duchess of Argenta according to his plan.
Of course, she had revealed herself as a false Ferro and proposed a contract marriage until the real one arrived.
“….”
Dielo narrowed his eyes.
The eyes she had once compared to the sea were now quietly shadowed.
He still didn’t trust her completely.
Even though they were married.
Because trusting someone completely was a foolish act.
Even if Croa Allozé seemed to lay all her cards on the table, no one could know what hidden motives she might still have.
There were countless people in the histories of the three ducal houses who had smiled sweetly while stabbing a dagger in someone’s back.
Croa Allozé, too, was from one of those houses—Allozé.
And not just any bloodline—one skilled in schemes and manipulation.
People like that didn’t hesitate to use even a child’s appearance to disarm others.
“….”
That’s exactly why Dielo Argenta had let her inside the walls.
Inside Argenta’s sturdy, impenetrable defenses that moved only for Argenta’s sake, any strange behavior from her would stand out.
And when it did, she could simply be cut out.
Coincidentally, this generation’s head was weak, and rumors that Allozé’s Ferro had entered their household were causing unrest among some of the retainers.
But such fickle people were unnecessary for the future of Argenta.
When the real Ferro came, they would be dealt with according to Argenta’s law.
“Do it, or don’t.”
—Tap, tap, tap.
He resumed tapping the window frame with his fingers.
Croa Allozé would have to make her position clear.
If she was someone who came with Allozé’s schemes, she would have to deceive them thoroughly.
But if she had truly come to join hands with Argenta, she would have to become Argenta in full.
‘I have a favor to ask.’
Thinking back to Croa’s words from the previous night, Dielo tilted his head slightly.
She had boldly asked him to leave a “mark.”
Saying it was to prepare for any unexpected situations.
‘The Duke of Allozé might grow suspicious, right?’
And just as she’d predicted, a watcher had come today.
Seeing Croa smoothly drive away the spy while acting perfectly natural, Dielo held his breath in silent awe.
The Duke of Allozé, who tried to verify the wedding night in such a crude manner, was utterly detestable—but Croa, who had anticipated this in advance, intrigued him.
“I hope you really did propose this contract marriage in good faith.”
I hope it becomes a clean deal—no betrayal, no lies.
He decided to keep a close eye on Croa Allozé.
Very closely—
as a bashful husband watching his bride.
