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Chapter 02
“You don’t even love me, you don’t even know who I am, so why are you trying to do this to me? Just who do you think you are?”
Erin’s voice rose sharply.
Of course, she didn’t mean “love” in the literal sense.
She understood perfectly well that political marriages were common among nobles. She possessed at least that much sense.
But the reason she had ultimately brought up the word was because she could not tolerate this utterly one-sided declaration that lacked even the barest proper order.
How dare he. How dare he treat her this way.
At that, he let out a breathy laugh.
“Love… So you think love is necessary for marriage.”
The man’s gaze wandered across the ceiling as he pondered for a moment before slowly lowering again.
“How amusing. I thought the only daughter of a ducal house would know a little about reality. Unfortunately, it seems that isn’t the case.”
“…What did you say?”
“I suppose that’s why your family finances have collapsed lately.”
“Excuse me?!”
At the insult directed toward her entire family, Erin nearly screamed.
“I’m not wrong, am I?”
His tone was cold and utterly emotionless.
And this was half true.
Even without a man like him, Erin’s nerves had already been stretched to their limit lately for precisely that reason.
‘The missing duke and duchess, and the daughter left behind. Is the reason ultimately the stock collapse?’
It began with the reporters.
Despite repeated announcements that the duchess, whose health was frail, had gone to the family estate to recuperate, they stubbornly dragged their only daughter, Erin Cornu, into sensational gossip articles.
The praise that once overflowed around her transformed frighteningly fast.
Gentlemen discussed the declining business of the ducal house, while ladies offered mocking condolences to the fallen princess of high society.
Even her activity as a ballerina became endless fuel for gossip.
Anyone could pay to see that pitiful face of hers at any time, and it was unprecedented for a noble lady to stand on stage as an official company member.
Though it was called the “Royal Ballet,” it had only recently been reorganized from private dance troupes that existed largely for men’s entertainment. The dancers came from all sorts of backgrounds, and scandalous affairs constantly circulated around them, so naturally its reputation was dreadful.
And within that environment, the noble blood of Erin Cornu merely became a convenient handle for people to grab and drag down.
Even so, she could not leave the ballet company.
Pretending nothing was wrong and continuing to stand her ground was the one thing she did best—and the only thing.
“My, my. This is surprising in many ways. Even with the duke gone, I didn’t think someone could still be this unaware of their own situation.”
“Don’t sneer at me. More accurately, I was trying to point out that there’s an order to these things.”
“Well then, I almost feel sorry for never having considered such nonsense at all, Miss Cornu.”
At Erin’s sharp retort, Eden Fletcher chuckled.
The curve of his eyes and lips. That hostile laughter.
He had never been particularly gentlemanly to begin with, but now his attitude had clearly shifted in an even worse direction.
“Is that really so important? What matters to me is… ah, should I even say this honestly?”
He slipped both hands into his pockets and leaned back slightly. His gaze swept over her from head to toe as if measuring her worth.
Unbelievably, there was mockery in it.
“The only important thing is that you’re currently the most valuable woman in this country.”
“What?”
“You know this too, don’t you? When choosing goods, you have to consider cost-effectiveness. The price paid should roughly match the item’s intrinsic value.”
“Are you calling me—”
“We should conduct a transaction that benefits both sides.”
For a moment, Erin was too stunned by such treatment to respond.
Then she regained herself and glared at him.
“A transaction?”
“Looks like your debts have piled up tremendously. It seems your house is about to be taken away. Even Her Highness the Princess can’t protect you this time.”
“……”
“You should consider it a blessing from heaven that I can actually afford to pay it off. Or perhaps simply be grateful that your pretty little face hasn’t been ruined yet.”
Even though she couldn’t fully grasp the meaning behind everything he was saying, strength began draining from her body.
The man standing before her was exactly the man described in the rumors.
“…Vulgar man. You’re a shameless, materialistic brute.”
“I know.”
“How dare a tasteless nouveau riche like you… dare speak to me this way.”
“My apologies. Regrettable that I’m this sort of man.”
Pulling his hands from his pockets, the man crossed his arms and stepped back.
“Yes, I’m perfectly willing to admit that it’s regrettable.”
Tilting his head, his eyes slowly traveled over Erin’s body.
“This is rather unexpected. I thought you’d be delighted and follow me immediately.”
“What?”
“Hasn’t it become tiresome already? Wearing those tiny scraps of clothing and shaking your body around?”
His gaze traced the lines of her figure, and a chill crawled over her thin stage costume.
The sweat that had dampened her skin turned cold, sending a shiver through her.
Erin snatched up the shawl draped over the vanity chair and wrapped it tightly around her shoulders. Then she turned away from him.
“Get out. We have nothing more to discuss. Leave immediately.”
Silence lingered for a moment.
Though he surely heard her, the man standing before her didn’t move at all.
Grinding her teeth, Erin turned back toward him.
“I said get out!”
“……”
The man’s blue eyes lingered on her shoulders before slowly lifting to her face.
To the pale face that looked ready to leap forward and strangle him at any moment. To the eyes filled with contempt.
“And let me make this clear. I will never marry you.”
“Really?”
“Never. Absolutely never.”
“No, I don’t think that’s possible.”
His expression finally broke as he smiled irritatingly.
“I’ve already paid the price for you. In a sense, you’ll become one of the rare display pieces in my department store. Isn’t that better than being sold off as some old man’s second wife?”
Smack!
His head snapped sharply to the side.
“You filthy bastard. Shut up.”
Erin, who had slapped him in anger, quickly curled her palm into a fist in shock at her own action.
After glancing down briefly, the man unexpectedly looked intrigued. Then he stepped close enough that she could feel his breath.
“I quite like this. It’s stimulating. If you want, I can let you hit me every day… but you won’t act like this in front of my customers, will you?”
After finishing his words, he stepped back and bowed.
“Ah, what an incredible honor, Miss Erin Cornu, to have my proposal accepted with such passion. Then I shall see you again soon. In consideration of the enthusiasm you’ve shown, I’ll move up the schedule.”
Erin clenched her fists tightly.
She felt as though she had suddenly been splattered with filth.
“…Erin?”
A little while later, a short-haired girl cautiously opened the door and stepped inside. It was Hailey, the only fellow troupe member Erin considered a friend.
She glanced around the quiet dressing room in confusion before spotting Erin collapsed on the floor. Startled, she hurried over.
“What’s wrong, Erin? Did something happen?”
“…Hailey.”
“Why are you sitting like this? Everyone outside is talking about you. Is it related to that?”
Hailey’s wide eyes drew closer.
“Talking about me?”
“They’re not shouting about it, just whispering among themselves. I couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying. Did you make a mistake on stage? Hmm, no, I don’t think so. From backstage, everything looked fine.”
“……”
“Erin?”
While examining her pale expression, Hailey placed her hand gently over Erin’s.
Whatever had happened, it clearly wasn’t normal.
‘There’s no way she’d react this strongly just because of jealous gossip from the girls. This is strange.’
Though puzzled, Hailey hesitated to ask further.
Meanwhile, Erin, who had been staring blankly into space, suddenly stood up. She grabbed cream from the vanity and began wiping away the heavy makeup around her eyes.
‘Something is definitely wrong.’
There was somewhere she needed to go immediately.
Someone she needed to meet.
She had to correct the absurd nonsense that man had filled her ears with.
A marriage where she was sold off to someone like him? Ridiculous.
Calming her turbulent thoughts, Erin fastened the buttons of her coat neatly and pulled a brown wool hat low over her head.
“What should I do? I have somewhere I need to stop by, so I think I’ll head to the dorm separately. Sorry, Hailey.”
“O-Oh, it’s fine. Go ahead. I’ll wait in the room.”
Hailey glanced awkwardly at the bouquet on the table before shaking her head with a strained smile.
“Right. See you at the dorm.”
Forcing the corners of her lips upward as though nothing were wrong, Erin immediately left the dressing room.
A small-framed woman hurried out through the theater entrance.
Recognizing her instantly, Jin tapped lightly on the carriage window.
“Boss!”
Eden, who had been sitting with his eyes closed, slowly opened them.
He soon spotted the woman walking beyond the small window.
Her neat, proper steps headed toward the carriage stand lined with private coaches.
Even with her face hidden beneath the hat, she was unmistakably Erin Cornu.
Jin, his secretary and an employee of Lepite, leaned into the carriage window.
“What happened? Things didn’t go well?”
“What wouldn’t go well?”
Eden’s emotionless gaze followed Erin’s retreating figure.
A woman who only traveled between the theater and dormitory would only take a carriage for one obvious destination. She was probably heading to Princess Hestina to demand answers.
“If it went well, then both your expressions looked a bit…”
“Enough. Stop talking and head to Second Avenue.”
“Hm. Our boss definitely has talent when it comes to charming ladies… Maybe you didn’t fully demonstrate your skills today? Of all days?”
“Shut up and drive to Second Avenue.”
“You said this was the most important task. Something about securing valuable goods first. Honestly, it sounded like we came to purchase jewelry or something.”
Frowning deeply, Eden shoved Jin’s head away from the window and closed it. After drawing the curtain shut as well, Jin circled around and climbed inside.
“Anyway. This is all going to work out, right?”
Keeping his lips tightly sealed, Eden leaned his head back against the seat and quietly closed his eyes. The carriage wheels slowly began to roll forward.
‘…It’s not like I’m some kind of pervert.’
The image of the trembling woman resurfaced in his mind. It seemed their meeting still lingered vividly despite how little time had passed.
‘Tomorrow’s newspaper should be entertaining too. I wonder how much longer she can endure this.’
There was no point even saying it aloud.
The process might become slightly more amusing, but the outcome was already decided.
He would place her directly at the center of Lepite and make everyone come admire her personally.
While calculating schedules in his head, Eden suddenly opened his eyes.
“By the way, did you actually do your job properly?”
“…What?”
Under Eden’s irritated stare, Jin tilted his head in confusion.
“You spread those newspapers everywhere, so why doesn’t that woman even know my name?”
