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Chapter 16
“Count Montenejando. Count Montenejando. Count Montenejando.”
Nox muttered the name repeatedly, as if determined not to forget it.
“But hey, sis. What kind of con are you planning for the Count? I need to know that to figure out how to start.”
Maddy slowly replied as she idly spun a pocketknife in her hand.
“Whatever job we pull, we investigate first.”
“How much are you planning to bleed him dry? To the roots?”
“Well… maybe just mess with him a little, or strip him clean. Or maybe, do it cleanly without any backlash…”
After a brief pause, Maddy added,
“Anyway, I’ll think it over.”
“Do it cleanly, what? You were just about to say you’ll take him out, weren’t you? You’re planning to off him again!”
Nox had never killed anyone himself, but he’d lived rough in the slums. And he’d been tagging along with Maddy for years, so he wasn’t clueless about her “work.”
Naturally, he expected her to answer yes.
But Maddy was firm.
“I’m not killing him.”
“Huh? Why not?”
It was unexpected. The Maddy Nox knew lacked any sense of guilt about taking someone’s life—actually, she didn’t have any guilt at all.
A memory from when they were on the run after a particularly risky errand came rushing back to Nox.
[“Aaaaah! Sis! Did you kill this guy?! Oh man! He’s bleeding like crazy!”]
[“We’ve gotta run, but he kept chasing. And if he’s lucky, maybe he’s not dead. Just a lot of blood.”]
[“Still!”]
[“Then you get caught.”]
[“Ugh. Sis, you’re seriously trash.”]
[“Yup.”]
[“Huh? Sis, there’s your house.”]
[“What house? I don’t have a house.”]
[“Right there. The dumpster.”]
[“You little brat.”]
That was then—and probably now too.
Nox folded his arms and stared at Maddy.
She gave a sheepish smile.
“Someone told me not to kill people recklessly.”
“Who?”
“The Grand Duke.”
“Pfft! And you listened to that?! Ha! Like you’d ever listen to that. That’s like saying a dog decided to stop pooping.”
Nox snorted and leaned back in his chair, laughing.
But then, a familiar murderous aura crept in like mist.
Maddy had fetched a new bottle of liquor from the cupboard and was quietly watching Nox.
She was holding the bottle upside down by the neck and smiling sweetly at him.
Whether that bottle would be used for drinking or for smashing someone’s skull was still up in the air.
Nox quickly straightened up and changed his tune.
“…Of course, even dogs can change. Why not? I believe in you, sis. People can change. Love conquers all. You and the Grand Duke are perfect together. Marriage goals!”
Only then did Maddy silently open the bottle and down it in one go.
Even after finishing two bottles, her face didn’t change a shade. She looked completely fine, like she’d just had a sip of water.
“Mox. Listen up. The Grand Duke proposed to me. And I accepted because I like him. That’s all.”
“What about Count Montenejando? If you’re investigating him, it’s not like you’re completely out of the game.”
“…That count tried to mess with what’s mine.”
Maddy scratched her head and added,
“And… well, he’s the kind of guy who’ll keep getting in the way of me entering high society. He just has that kind of face.”
“…Okay. Got it.”
She was seriously planning to enter high society?
That Maddy?
Crazy Maddy was actually going to get married?
Love?
Nox was skeptical, but decided not to question it further.
After all, Maddy was still holding the bottle.
Nox smiled brightly.
“Wishing you both eternal love and happiness! I support you!”
“…I’ll be back in three days. I’m counting on you, Nox.”
“Yes, sis! Take care! Be happy! Wow, I never thought you’d actually get married! Congrats!”
Maddy left without a single expression. Just like when she came, not even her footsteps could be heard.
After she was gone, Nox peeked his head out the door. Only after confirming she had vanished into the darkness did he let out a long sigh.
“She gone?!”
The alley was dead silent.
“Hey, Maddy! You didn’t leave anything behind, did you?!”
Still silence.
“Maddy, you bastard! …Oh, she really left.”
As he went to close the door, Maddy’s pocketknife suddenly flew past, grazing right beside Nox’s eye and sticking into the door.
Nox calmly pulled the knife out and muttered,
“Haha! You forgot your knife. I’ll return it when you come back. Best of luck with the wedding! Let’s go!”
Back inside, Nox let out a heavy sigh.
He teared up a little at the thought of all the liquor Maddy had taken.
“You don’t even get drunk… why do you even drink?”
He hugged the few remaining bottles tightly from the cupboard.
“You guys are better off in me than in that monster’s body, right? That’s your true purpose, isn’t it? Say goodbye to your siblings who passed for nothing. Sniff.”
Nox stashed the remaining bottles deep inside a large drawer, grabbed two empty ones, and headed outside.
They cussed at each other every day, occasionally fought—well, mostly he got hit—but Maddy was a good person.
She had saved his life, kept him alive, and was the only one who’d ever kicked his ass to keep him moving forward.
As he tossed the empty bottles on the street, Nox mumbled,
“…But seriously, poor Grand Duke. Should I go warn him? The guy’s a noble, for god’s sake. Does his life really need to be this pathetic?”
The human in him felt some sympathy.
But first came Count Montenejando.
Because the Maddy he knew never let it slide when someone messed with what was hers. Pity for the Grand Duke came second.
He had three days to dig up everything on the Count, his family, and even the hole their dog used to get out of the fence. Not much time.
News of the engagement of His Excellency Yulikian Kun Lodenes, the only son of the former Crown Prince, sent shockwaves through high society.
Everyone had been wondering which lady would take the seat of the Grand Duchess.
And now, of all people, someone from nowhere was sitting there?
People clicked their tongues and muttered that the Grand Duke must’ve gone mad.
Yes, the ducal family had faced a bloody purge during the imperial succession, but it was still the ducal house.
Currently, the throne belonged to the late emperor’s second son, Rafadit Paragon Lodenes. But had the former Crown Prince lived, the position would’ve gone to Yulikian.
He was the only one to bear the name “Kun,” passed down only to legitimate heirs.
And yet that man had fallen in love with that woman?
Politically, morally, socially—no matter what lens you used—it was an impossible, unacceptable situation.
Apparently, the Emperor felt the same.
The letter he sent Yulikian contained no greetings. Just two lines:
<Your bride will be chosen by me. On behalf of your dead father.>
Left alone in his study, Yulikian clenched his teeth and crushed the letter.
‘He killed him with his own hands. And now he dares to choose a wife for me? Will he kill her, too? Or use her to finish me off?’
A fire burned in his chest, rising to his throat.
His mother’s coughing echoed in his head again.
He tossed the crumpled letter into the fireplace. The greedy flames devoured the paper.
Yulikian instinctively covered his ears.
But the coughing grew louder.
And then, the same cough slipped from his own mouth.
Pathetic.
To have his life decided by others. To be unable to avenge his parents’ deaths.
After several dry coughs, Yulikian finally exploded, screaming into empty air like a madman.
“Damn it, stop! I’m trying! I’m doing what Mother said! I’m trying to survive! Please! Just go away! Shut up already! I said I’m trying to live! Even if I have to crawl like a dog!”
He struck his ears repeatedly, unable to contain the rage. He swept everything off his desk—papers, ink, pens—sending them crashing to the floor.
The spilled ink spread like blood.
Panting, suddenly—
A relaxed voice echoed in the room, even though he had been alone.
“Well, what a mess. I hate stepping into places like this. But more than a messy house, I really hate violent husbands.”
Maddy was sitting on the windowsill, no one knew when she’d come in.
Her teasing, light tone infuriated him.
“…Get out.”
“I’ve got something to say.”
“Say it tomorrow. Get out.”
“Aw. You don’t love me anymore?”
He wanted to shut that mouth up.
“Can’t you just shut the hell up?”
Grinding his teeth, Yulikian stormed over and grabbed Maddy by the collar.
She let him.
Sweat clung to his pale face as he stood close.
“All you need to do is what I say. Keep acting like trash when we’re alone, and put on a show in front of others. Is that hard to understand?”
Even while being grabbed, Maddy kept smiling.
“Got it.”
“If you understand, stop screwing around and leave.”
“Hey, babe. Wanna screw around together instead?”
“…What?!”
Maddy suddenly threw her arms around Yulikian’s neck.
“W-What are you doing?!”
As he struggled to pry her off, she whispered in his ear.
“Someone’s watching. In the tree across the street. No—don’t look. I’ll show you.”
Maddy grabbed the back of his head and pressed his face into her neck.
“One, two, three.”
Kicking off the windowsill, she spun herself and Yulikian to face away from the window.
From the broken mirror shards on the floor, a shadowy figure could be seen in the tree.
“…That?”
“Yup. Babe.”
Had to be someone sent by the Emperor.
Maddy slowly pulled away and brushed the sweat-matted bangs from Yulikian’s face.
She smiled, her usual ease returning. Then suddenly, she grabbed his collar and yanked him in.
Her lips touched the corner of his.
It wasn’t quite a kiss, but not something that could be called anything else either.
Softly, Maddy murmured like reciting poetry,
“Put up with it. I’m not enjoying this either.”
But the corners of her lips curled up like someone in love. Her fingers in his hair were filled with affection.
Not a drop of it was sincere.
And for some reason, it felt a little unfair. Maddening.
Yulikian pulled back and looked straight into her face.
“If we’re doing it—do it right. I don’t feel anything either.”
For a moment, it looked like Maddy’s mask cracked.
She gazed at him with the cold, sharp look she only showed when they were alone.
“…Alright then.”
Her cool smile approached again.
And their lips met fully.
