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Chapter 8
A deep black that absorbed all the surrounding light.
Visible magical energy swirled around the Duke’s hand.
“G-Guh!”
Whatever expression he made, Marquis Gaspar inhaled like a man being strangled.
The fake family members were so shocked by the Duke’s unexpected appearance that their mouths hung open, completely forgetting to close them.
“D-Duke Ibernum?!”
A delayed scream rang out, startled by the surreal presence of the man.
Julian, who let out a high-pitched squeal without realizing it, hiccupped unattractively and quickly clamped his hands over his mouth.
‘Seriously? He was throwing his weight around with our merchants just moments ago. But I guess the Duke scares him, huh?’
While I was sarcastically muttering in my head—
“……”
The Duke silently swept his gaze over the room.
Even with just that slight movement of his head, no one in the room dared to move a single step.
That was how overwhelming his presence was.
“What is the meaning of this outrageous behavior?!”
Marquis Gaspar, belatedly getting up from the floor while staggering, shouted with a flushed red face.
“Even if you’re a Duke, how could you just break my cane and intimidate me like this?!”
“Intimidation?”
When the Duke turned his head back toward him, the Marquis visibly flinched and started stepping back with a pitiful excuse.
“Y-Yes! You must not forget that you are dealing with someone of His Majesty’s bloodline!”
The Marquis had always wielded the shield of being related to the Emperor as he pleased, and it seemed he expected that shield to work again today.
Thud!
“H-Hey!”
The Duke drove the broken cane squarely into the floor in front of the Marquis’ feet, showing clearly that the man’s words had no effect on him.
If the cane had landed just slightly off, it might have stabbed his foot. The Marquis gasped and stumbled backward in fright.
“W-Why are you doing this?! What have I even done…?!”
“The intimidation…”
Step.
The Duke took a step forward, and the Marquis quickly tried to back away, falling flat on his butt with a thud.
“…refers to what you were trying to do to my fiancée.”
There was a chilling edge to the Duke’s emotionless voice.
‘Wow… So when I barged into his office to negotiate the other day, he really let me off easy.’
Unlike the Marquis, who probably clashed with the Duke during noble council meetings due to their opposing factions, I must have been harmless in his eyes. The coldness in his voice now was incomparable to how he had spoken to me.
Then the Marquis shouted, his tone filled with injustice.
“W-What nonsense! Duke, what fiancée are you talking about—”
“Right here.”
‘Huh?’
At that moment, a large hand gently wrapped around my shoulder where I had just felt a chill.
“She’s standing right in front of you.”
Before I knew it, I was standing naturally beside the Duke, and his firm voice fell from above my head like an undeniable fact.
“My fiancée.”
“W-What?!”
Immediately, all eyes fell on me, wide with shock.
“E-Evely? How could you—?”
“What on earth are you talking about?!”
The fake family turned toward me with voices full of disbelief and scolding.
‘And even now, not one of them dares question the Duke directly. How transparently cowardly.’
So consistent. They still see me as easy prey.
I felt the corners of my lips twist with a smirk.
“Don’t lie! This girl is the one the Sincere family was sending to me—!”
Rustle.
The Duke unrolled a scroll. The Marquis’s protest died down instantly.
“T-That is…!”
‘What is it?’
Because the Duke stood in front of me, I couldn’t see what was on the scroll.
So when the next words burst out, even I was shocked.
“A-An engagement contract?!”
“It even has the official seal on it! This can’t be real!”
‘Wait, what?’
Hold on. When did I get officially engaged without knowing?
Wasn’t it just a few days ago that I said, ‘Let’s go ahead with this contract marriage!’? How is it already approved?
Everyone knows how sluggish the imperial administration is—how did he get an official engagement document so quickly?
As I reeled from all these questions, I instinctively grabbed the Duke’s arm.
“Ah.”
I startled myself by doing that.
Even if I’d agreed to a contract marriage, this was still the Duke of Ibernum—wasn’t I being too familiar?
!
Then, his gloved hand wrapped around mine.
The surprising warmth of his touch made me flinch.
Holding my hand gently, the Duke remained silent for a moment and then whispered,
“Don’t worry.”
Huh. Is this really a situation where I don’t need to worry?
Maybe the confusion showed on my face, because the Duke’s eyes seemed to flicker with amusement as he looked down at me.
‘Excuse me, Duke, but I’m not doing this to entertain you.’
Was that really a playful expression I just saw on the Duke’s face?
While I was still stunned—
“H-How dare you be so rude to me, a sixth cousin of His Majesty!”
Now standing far away from the Duke, the Marquis shouted with indignation.
His finger pointed as he shook with rage.
“Marquis! You’re leaving already? We can’t just let you go like this—”
The fake family members scrambled to stop him.
“I will never forget this humiliation!”
“S-Sir!”
With Marquis Gaspar storming out and slamming the door behind him, the fake family looked like they might faint any second.
“H-How could this happen…!”
My mother turned to me with trembling lips, screaming.
“Y-You! How could you do this?!”
So furious she could hardly breathe, tears welled up in her eyes.
“After everything I’ve done for you! How could you cause such a disaster?!”
“Exactly! Getting engaged without even telling us?!”
Julian shouted, flushed and indignant. Next to him, Chiabil lost all pretense of dignity, jumping around like a child.
“This was such an important meeting for the family! Do you even understand what you’ve just ruined?”
“If it was that important, maybe you should have told me too.”
“What?!”
Their eyes screamed that I was the problem.
As the six eyes bore into me with blame, I sneered—and Chiabil immediately exploded.
“Is that something you should be saying right now?! You should be kneeling and begging for forgiveness!”
He looked like he’d throw me at the Marquis’ feet right now if he could.
“I heard from Mother that you were upset over the age gap, but marriage is not your personal matter! It’s a family matter!”
Clearly agitated over losing what he expected to inherit, Chiabil roared like a volcano.
“She was going to be the wife of a Marquis—one tied to the royal family!”
Yeah. Tied to the royal family—which only benefits you, not me.
“You don’t even appreciate the position you were given!”
“If it’s such a great position, I can gladly give it to you, Brother.”
Since he was so passionate, I offered it cheerfully—but of course, he didn’t want it for himself.
Chiabil’s face twisted in anger.
“You… I’ve spoiled you too much.”
‘Oh? He’s going to raise his hand?’
Really now. When did he ever raise me?
I snorted internally but still braced for the slap.
If taking a hit meant exposing the fake family’s phony “love” for their youngest daughter, it’d be a small price to pay.
Whoosh—
He raised his hand so hard I heard the wind. But the expected slap never came.
“Aaaargh!”
A large hand had grabbed Chiabil and immobilized him.
Apparently, the Duke’s grip was quite painful, judging by Chiabil’s twisted face and scream.
“Khh! Duke Ibernum!”
“……”
“L-Let me go!”
Even though he was fairly large, Chiabil twisted and thrashed in vain. The Duke’s hand didn’t budge an inch.
When all his struggling proved useless, Chiabil screamed with bloodshot eyes.
“This is a family matter! Even if you’re a Duke, you have no right to interfere!”
“No.”
The Duke threw Chiabil’s arm aside like garbage.
“Did you not hear me earlier? I told you who my fiancée is.”
“T-That’s… that can’t be—”
“She’s my fiancée now. And with that, I hold the authority over her ‘family.’”
The Duke cut him off without even letting him finish.
“Evely.”
He called my name so naturally—like a man speaking to his true fiancée—and stepped toward me, extending his arm in a silent offer to escort me.
I placed my hand on his arm, matching his rhythm, and glanced back.
The fake family stared blankly, their mouths agape in complete stupor.
