GDTN 02

Chapter 02

At a time when the presence behind her—Varas—was piling discomfort upon discomfort in Selene’s back, a small rumbling sound from her stomach echoed softly.

A low, cold voice brushed past her ear.

“Go have your meal.”

And then Varas strode out of the room.

As the faint warmth behind her disappeared, the room felt as though the scent of blood had returned. The bedding had certainly been cleaned, but a faint trace still seemed to linger.

Selene opened all the windows wide. Only then did it fully hit her—this was the North.

Even though spring had begun, the air remained bitterly cold, and more than anything, snow still lay piled outside without melting.

She slowly looked around the bedroom again.

As expected of the North Duke’s estate, the walls were decorated with various fur hangings, and the floor was covered in thick, warm-looking carpets without a single gap.

Suddenly, she remembered Varas’s footsteps from the previous night—heavy, dull, and resonant. Her own steps, even if she ran, probably wouldn’t make a sound like that. So how exactly did he step to create such noise on such thick carpet?

Soon her eyes fell on the empty, cold-looking bed.

And then she remembered Varas—spattering blood with an emotionless face.

Should I run away?

In the original story, Selene would faint before the consummation of the marriage, and immediately afterward, confinement would begin. The Duke, declaring he would no longer go to war and retiring from the battlefield, would return to his territory and hold the wedding.

Publicly, he would claim he planned to live quietly farming from then on—but in reality, he would essentially live in the Duchess’s room. Of course, the idea of “farming in the North” was absurd from the start.

As a dark, abusive romance filled with imprisonment and coercion, the story’s male lead was a beast among beasts who would not even properly look into the eyes of a twenty-year-old girl sold off for money.

Selene sensed, dimly, that what awaited her was far from hopeful. What dream or happiness could exist between a woman sold for money and a beast in a cage of a marriage?

She had read many stories of pure, fairytale-like love… If she had known she would end up inside a dark, abusive novel, she would never have read that one book.

Still, it was fortunate that confinement had not begun immediately. At least she had time to prepare herself mentally.

The cold gaze of Varas and his blunt voice lingered in her mind, and she began to worry about their first night together—something that would surely not be gentle.

She sat down to eat, but in the end couldn’t take a single bite.

She just sat still, staring blankly out the window.

The newly made Duchess Selene wasn’t brave enough to run away into an unfamiliar world she had suddenly fallen into.

She didn’t even know where to go or how to get there—and stepping outside now would mean freezing to death on the road.

Having already once stood on the brink of death from hunger and cold in her past life as Yumi, the fear of running away with nothing was even greater.

And as for trying to manipulate that towering man—she couldn’t even imagine attempting it.

No matter how she looked at it, there was no answer.

While Selene sat by the window, Anna came in, tidied the fresh bedding, and urged her to eat lunch.

But she had no appetite.

Thinking she might not even see the sun starting tomorrow made even the fading daylight feel cruel.

She thought briefly about her life as Yumi.

Yumi, who was not so different from Selene, had been an orphan. Since school, she had dreamed of becoming an actress, joined a small troupe, and even appeared as an extra in several successful works.

She had just begun to receive proper roles.

And now that dream had become nothing but scattered fragments.

The sun in the North was short; darkness soon crept in. The wind slipping through the window turned colder.

A faint cough came from outside the door, followed by a knock.

“I will enter.”

Varas stepped inside.

The sound of the door closing—thud—made Selene’s heart drop as well.

That watchful gaze returned.

The first thing Varas looked at when entering the Duchess’s room—aside from Selene herself—was the window.

She was a woman from the southwest.

She must be cold.

But the North’s wind was at least refreshing; perhaps she liked it and had left the window open. He studied her face.

She had sent away her lunch and looked exhausted, but there were no signs of her body temperature dropping.

He found himself inexplicably observing her again.

Suppressing a dry laugh, he suddenly met Selene’s eyes.

She had been staring out the window, so he assumed she disliked his presence.

Which probably wasn’t entirely wrong.

Still, meeting her gaze directly felt… good.

Her eyes did not avoid him. No disgust, no fear—just calm, straight, unwavering attention. He liked that.

More than anything, she did not seem to fear him.

Selene’s heart was pounding so violently it felt like it might burst out of her chest.

Years of training her expression allowed her to conceal her condition.

But just looking at him honestly—he was her type.

Massive, solid, sharp-featured. His overwhelming presence resembled that of a top actor she once admired.

An aura that dominated everything without doing anything at all.

And that man was her husband.

Can fear and excitement coexist in the same place?

She steadied her shaking gaze and looked away.

His eyes felt like those of a predator—if she showed even a hint of weakness, she felt like she would be devoured alive.

After watching her for a while, Varas spoke slowly.

“Are you hungry?”

Selene felt something strange.

It sounded like a gentle King Kong asking a rabbit, “Shall I bring you some grass?”

She let out a faint laugh—one eyebrow slightly raised, lips awkwardly curved.

It was an expression of disbelief.

Varas, however, felt a flicker of interest.

It was the first time he had seen any expression on her face.

He thought, absurdly, Ah. So Selene likes being asked if she’s hungry.

A ridiculous conclusion.

He had never once properly looked at lace on women’s clothing before turning ten, having spent his entire life on battlefields.

Even at imperial victory balls he barely attended, no woman ever spoke to him. More precisely, no one except his comrades and the imperial couple ever approached him.

If anyone made eye contact, they would tremble and look away.

He was not a man in their eyes—only a source of fear.

Selene, emboldened by his strange gentleness, decided to ask for what she wanted most.

“Outside.”

Just one word.

Then she fell silent again.

Even her own voice felt unfamiliar.

After steadying her breath, she spoke again.

“I want to go outside.”

She immediately regretted it. She didn’t think he would allow it.

In the book she read, he was coercive, violent, and utterly unfamiliar with restraint.

And yet he had just asked her about hunger—so she had briefly misunderstood.

She thought he might refuse coldly and lock the door again.

But then Varas slowly stood up.

Varas recalled Anna, who had visited his office twice that day.

“She hasn’t eaten anything all day and only stares out the window.”

When Selene looked up, he gestured slightly with his chin.

“If you want to go outside, you should stand up.”

At his words, Selene slowly rose.

Even standing straight, the top of her head barely reached his chest.

So this was how it had been at the wedding too?

He couldn’t even remember the first impression. Probably because he felt nothing.

He had thought she would be someone he would live with as his wife for life, yet not a single emotion stirred.

Instead, what lingered was the image of her curled up in the dark, clutching the blanket.

He glanced down at her head, then away.

Unintentionally, his gaze drifted to her collarbone.

From above, she looked… stimulating.

He clicked his tongue internally and took a thick coat and cloak from the wardrobe, wrapping it around her.

Selene looked confused.

As if asking why he was wrapping her so tightly.

Her face, lit by the crimson sunset pouring through the window, was beautiful.

But more than that, her gaze trying to meet his directly was striking.

He turned away and walked ahead, opening the door.

Cold air rushed in.

Selene tried to follow quickly, but the long coat kept getting caught under her feet.

Varas watched her clumsy steps and waited.

Strangely, he did not feel impatient.

Watching her carefully adjust herself, slightly embarrassed but trying to move forward step by step, felt… peaceful.

Before long, she came close enough to meet his eyes again.

Her expression almost seemed to say: I made it. Did I do well?

Even he found the thought absurd.

And yet, in his eyes… that was exactly how it looked.