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chapter 11
I Don’t Want to Die, So Please Break Off the Engagement, My Duke
It might have been uncomfortable for him because I wasn’t his biological daughter. Or perhaps, unlike other noble ladies, my constantly odd behavior had embarrassed him.
Either way, I could understand both possibilities. So it was only natural that I felt puzzled when I was suddenly told to attend the festival.
“Why… me?”
The answer came not from Harry, but from my father.
“A letter just arrived from Duke Romanov.”
“Duke Romanov?”
I had seen him just this morning. I tilted my head in suspicion.
“A letter?”
“Yes. He’s submitted a request for you to be his partner for the Founding Festival.”
…Suddenly?
“Ugh… a partner?!”
For a moment, the Duke’s fierce expression flashed before my eyes, and I almost imagined his sharp voice ringing in my ears.
Just imagining holding his hand and walking beside him made me dizzy. I didn’t even need to think twice—it felt like being a livestock animal led to slaughter. Or like being escorted to the underworld by a grim reaper.
“Ughhh…”
Just the thought made me shudder, and an involuntary strange sound escaped me.
My father pretended not to see my bizarre expression or hear my noise and continued speaking.
“…He said he would respect your wish to break off the engagement. But I don’t understand what Duke Romanov is thinking—this behavior is completely unlike him.”
At that moment, while he murmured in a low voice, Lucian, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly shot up and shouted at me.
“What?! A breakup?!”
His loud outburst made Father frown and cover one ear. Even as Father and my brothers looked stern, Lucian didn’t back down and kept fuming.
“A breakup?! Hey! Hazel! What kind of trouble did you cause?!”
His nostrils flaring like he was showing off some hidden madness, Lucian’s face was as red as a ripe apple.
I looked at him with a half-lidded, unimpressed gaze and immediately shot back.
“Me? No, I didn’t.”
I had always thought I would bear his hostility, but when faced with it directly, I didn’t exactly feel like accepting it obediently. We weren’t blood-related siblings, but we had spent so long bickering like real ones that maybe this was just habit.
“Then why would there be a breakup?!”
“I didn’t get dumped.”
As Lucian and I bickered, Father sighed and waved a hand.
“Everyone, leave. My head is pounding. Hazel, think about it slowly and let me know if you need anything.”
As soon as the dismissal was given, Harry wrapped an arm around Lucian’s shoulder and, smiling, dragged him out. Watching them, I quietly left the room as well.
I was about to head straight to my room when I noticed Eden following me. At first I thought our paths just happened to overlap, but his pace gradually matched mine—it was clear he was following me.
“Uh? Why is he following me?”
I glanced sideways at him. Our eyes met. Unlike my startled reaction, Eden’s expression was calm and composed.
“You don’t have to accept Duke Romanov’s proposal if you don’t want to.”
Don’t have to accept?
I tilted my head slightly.
“It’s a bit unexpected, but until the engagement is officially broken, I don’t think I have grounds to refuse such a request.”
“Grounds? You don’t need things like that.”
There was no way I didn’t need grounds. My opponent was Romanov—and he was my official fiancé. I knew that refusing him without a valid reason would be considered rude.
“It’s fine.”
Not only my words, but I genuinely felt it would be fine.
“Up until now, I’ve avoided going outside as much as possible…”
But now I had a reason to move.
It was time to start becoming independent. It meant adapting to the outside world. In the original story, I had only envisioned a future with Duke Romanov, so there was no need to look beyond that world.
But now it was completely different.
I needed to gather as much information as possible. I needed to wander around, observe, and see how other people lived.
“Actually, I’m kind of looking forward to the Founding Festival.”
“…?”
Eden looked puzzled at my response. I must have seemed unfamiliar—me, who used to avoid everything outside, suddenly acting like this.
His stiff expression gradually softened, and his eyes widened slightly as he looked at me. I noticed it too.
“I’ll be going now.”
I pretended not to notice and slipped back into my room.
Meanwhile…
Duke Dante Romanov found it difficult to shake off thoughts of Hazel Lindberg, his fiancée, after their first meeting—like a stain that wouldn’t fade.
“…What is this feeling?”
He had never once paid more attention than necessary to any specific person. Yet from the moment that strange woman appeared before him, he realized something in him had also become strange.
It felt as if every nerve in his body had turned into a sharpened blade, all pointing toward her. She kept scratching at his senses without end.
“She shows up out of nowhere as my fiancée…”
And then immediately demanded a breakup.
“…Unbelievable.”
Of course, he had never placed much meaning on the engagement either. It had simply been a kind of rebellion against the constraints of his life—the obligation to produce a proper heir and continue the power of eternal night.
So why did it feel like betrayal? Why was he irritated, as if he had been wronged? When he looked at her, even his jaw felt strangely tense and unpleasant.
That was why he had attached a condition to the breakup instead of releasing Hazel Lindberg outright.
“There’s still time. I can figure things out gradually.”
Whether he was going insane, or whether that woman—who boldly threw out unpredictable proposals—was hiding something, he intended to keep her close and observe.
An engagement was a safeguard.
“If she ends up with someone else, that would be troublesome.”
Despite her talkative nature, Hazel was still a noble princess of the empire. A desirable bride for ambitious young men of high status. And despite rumors of ugliness, she was an unforgettable beauty once seen.
“Tch. Useless thoughts.”
Knock, knock.
While lost in thought, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
The person who entered was Joel, the long-serving butler of House Romanov.
“A reply has arrived from House Lindberg.”
Taking the letter and opening it, Dante’s red lips curved slightly upward. It contained their acceptance of his proposal to be festival partners.
“I thought she would rush here asking why I made such a suggestion… yet she accepted so easily.”
As he muttered, Joel hesitated before carefully asking,
“My lord… have you perhaps had any prior connection with Lady Lindberg?”
At the unexpected question, Dante shook his head slightly.
“What connection could I possibly have with such an odd woman?”
“I see… It is just that this is the first time I’ve seen you treat someone like this… I apologize for speaking out of turn.”
At Joel’s words, Dante felt a strange, unfamiliar sensation wash over him again, like a rising tide. It was an unpleasant tangle of emotions.
Meanwhile, Joel stood calmly—but inside, he had different thoughts.
He had served Duke Romanov since childhood and believed he could read his master’s moods to some extent.
‘The Duke entered this engagement for political reasons and never cared about the lady before…’
Joel barely suppressed a smile.
‘But now that he’s met her, he seems interested. She’s as beautiful as rumored—it makes sense.’
When the stunning fiancée appeared, not only Joel but all the servants of House Romanov had struggled to hide their excitement.
‘What a perfect couple. Our Duke will finally become a husband… and a future father!’
Completely unaware that Dante and Hazel were viewing each other as bizarre, hostile creatures, Joel’s satisfaction only grew higher.
In his imagination, Hazel had already become the Duchess of Romanov.
