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Chapter 1
Prologue
In the silent office, Duke Vines quietly set down his teacup without a sound.
Marin, who had been staring blankly at his cup, flinched slightly at the movement.
With an awkward smile on her lips, Marin picked up her own teacup, the opposite of the Duke.
The faint aroma of tea lingered at the tip of her nose.
This was her first tea time with Duke Vines—the superior of her superior—and she felt nervous and out of place. Even now, she couldn’t guess why he had arranged this meeting.
“How is life in the ducal residence?”
“With Your Grace’s great consideration, I am living very comfortably. I am always grateful.”
Marin spoke with heartfelt sincerity.
“You like living here?”
As if confirming it, the Duke asked back.
“Yes. I like it very much.”
Although the Duke could not see her, Marin nodded vigorously.
A warm bed, abundant food, and even a generous salary.
The ducal residence was the best!
“Then let’s get engaged.”
“P-Pardon?”
Her voice cracked at the end from sheer shock.
“Are your ears not working?”
Duke Vines, his eyes covered by a black silk cloth, asked in a dry tone.
“No, that’s not it…”
Marin trailed off, looking bewildered. Had she heard him correctly just now?
“Engagement.”
“Y-yes, that… hic.”
Marin quickly covered her mouth and glanced at the Duke’s reaction.
The Duke maintained a blank expression, as if he hadn’t heard her hiccup—or perhaps truly hadn’t.
What did liking life here have to do with engagement?
Was he telling her to stay here permanently? That didn’t make sense…
Marin quickly shook her head and pushed away the useless thoughts.
Dangerous.
Her instincts were warning her.
Quietly, Marin slid her chair back and stood up, intending to escape.
“Your Grace, I think my hearing really might be the problem. I should go see the ducal physician, so if you’ll excuse me…”
“Sit.”
“Yes, sir.”
At his command, she sat back down obediently like a well-trained puppy.
Having lost his sight due to a monster attack, Duke Vines was extremely sensitive to sound.
He reacted sharply even to the slightest noise, so when moving in front of him, one had to be as quiet as possible. Even speaking to him required a very soft voice.
Before he lost his sight, it wasn’t like this—but Marin had never met him in those days, so she had no way of knowing.
“Shall we return to the main topic?”
“Yes, sir.”
Marin answered energetically, like a disciplined rookie soldier.
“That was quite brief. Did you understand what I said?”
The Duke slowly brushed his long fingers across his lips.
“Y-yes…”
Of course, with her high comprehension, she had understood him immediately.
“Short answers are better. And preferably more natural.”
The Duke slightly covered his mouth with his hand, as if hiding a smile—but Marin was too nervous to be sure whether she had imagined it.
“Yes.”
When the superior tells you to do something, you do it.
Marin answered properly with effort, fidgeting with her fingers.
The office fell silent once again.
Unable to guess Duke Vines’ intentions at all, Marin accepted the silence willingly.
“What do you want?”
He abruptly broke the silence.
“Pardon?”
“Marin Schwentz.”
At that moment, Marin’s face turned deathly pale, and she felt her breath stop. Even her fidgeting fingers froze.
“When you entered the ducal residence under the guise of a commoner, hiding your noble identity, you must have had a goal, no?”
“H-how… hic…”
Marin’s hiccups wouldn’t stop, so she covered her mouth entirely with her hand. She could feel her heart plummeting in real time.
Duke Vines leaned back loosely in his chair and parted his red lips.
“If you believed you could deceive the House of Vines so easily… should I call that naïve?”
Marin quickly scrambled her thoughts, her eyes shaking.
Her lie had been exposed.
The House of Vines was the most powerful noble family in the empire.
And she had deceived that very family.
A horrifying future flashed through her mind—being dragged to prison, tortured, and killed.
How could she get out of here alive?
Trembling like a soaked kitten, Marin cautiously watched the Duke’s expression. She still couldn’t read his impassive face.
“I’m sorry. I was wrong. I needed money…”
First, she had to apologize for deceiving him.
Today, the Duke’s poker face felt even colder than usual.
“You infiltrated the ducal residence because of money?”
As if trying to read her reaction, he tilted his head slightly toward her.
“…I didn’t infiltrate—I was hired.”
Marin weakly but firmly denied it through trembling lips.
Even if her words were twisted, she insisted on speaking correctly.
Her life and death depended on a single word from Duke Vines. That made honesty even more important.
“Staying by my side was also for money?”
“…I wasn’t ‘staying’—I was assisting.”
Marin corrected him again with a voice tinged with injustice.
“Whispering beside me was also for money?”
“…I whispered because Your Grace dislikes loud voices.”
This part was a genuine exaggeration, so her voice rose slightly—very slightly.
For a moment, the corner of Duke Vines’ lips lifted faintly.
But Marin was too busy correcting his misunderstandings to notice.
“So all of that was for money?”
“Yes.”
“Then how much would it take?”
“…What do you mean?”
Frustrated by the Duke’s continued misunderstandings, Marin looked at him with tear-filled green eyes.
“I said it earlier. Let’s get engaged. How much would it take to approve a contractual engagement?”
“Wh-what??”
Her voice unintentionally rose to an even higher pitch. The tears that had been hanging at her eyes vanished instantly.
“Keep it short.”
Faint wrinkles formed between his brows.
Marin quickly lowered her voice.
“…I’m afraid I don’t understand what Your Grace is saying?”
She looked at him with confused eyes. She felt like she was being tossed back and forth, unable to think straight.
She had thought he was angry about her deceiving the ducal house to get a job—but now he was suddenly talking about engagement again?
“Didn’t you say you liked living in the ducal residence? Congratulations. You’ll be able to continue living in a place you like.”
“Now that I think about it… it might not be that great…”
Marin trailed off and glanced cautiously at the expressionless Duke.
“Oh? Then if you deceive the ducal house, where would you go…”
As soon as she heard him murmur leisurely, Marin interrupted him for the first time.
“B-but! The ducal residence is the best, Your Grace! Didn’t I tell you before? That I wanted to lay my bones to rest in this beautiful and wonderful ducal family?”
Even though he couldn’t see her, Marin smiled brightly with all her might.
You don’t spit at a smiling face.
“I didn’t hear that.”
The corners of the Duke’s lips lifted—clearly this time.
It was a smile rarely seen from him, but Marin found it even more terrifying.
Marin quickly moistened her lips and gathered her thoughts.
“Oh dear, I must have thought I said it already. Until the day I lay my bones to rest here, I will serve Your Grace with utmost sincerity…”
“I don’t need your bones. I want a fiancée.”
Duke Vines declared firmly.
“By any chance… do I have a right to refuse?”
Marin asked cautiously, her eyes trembling.
She hoped so. Please.
