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Chapter 02
Psyche blankly stared at the head maid’s strangely flushed face.
Inside the modest dining room, which had been filled with gloom, everyone except Psyche brightened at the sudden good news.
“My goodness, for our Psyche? But His Grace the Grand Duke…”
Even the Countess Clement, whose expression had been consumed by guilt, looked brighter than before.
Yet it seemed she could not be purely happy, as her words trailed off and she closed her mouth. It was because of the rumors surrounding the Grand Duke.
“Madam, the stories about His Grace are merely rumors. Please don’t worry. What matters is that Miss Psyche has finally received a good marriage proposal.”
The head maid smiled gently as she comforted the Countess.
Only the person at the center of the marriage discussion stood frozen, unable to smile or cry.
‘The rumors about the Grand Duke.’
Psyche recalled the evaluations she had heard in passing.
Some said the Grand Duke never revealed himself because he possessed a monstrous and horrifying appearance.
Others claimed he was cursed and unable to leave his castle.
‘There was even a rumor that the monocle the Grand Duke always carried could see through people’s true thoughts.’
She had no way of knowing whether any of those rumors were true.
Only one thing was certain—the Grand Duke was different from the countless suitors who had passed through Psyche’s life.
The public held immense interest in him, enough for endless strange rumors to arise merely because he existed.
His proposal would draw the attention of the world, and unlike before, when she had managed to avoid marriage talks, escaping this one would not be easy.
As she dwelled on that fact, Psyche felt as though an invisible reality was tightening around her throat.
“Greetings to Countess Clement and her daughter. I have come to deliver a message from His Grace, the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Higher.”
At the unfamiliar voice, Psyche forgot her manners and stared in shock.
Not only were they in the middle of a meal, but permission had never even been given for a guest to enter this far inside.
With a bewildered expression, she alternated glances between her mother and the head maid.
Yet unlike Psyche, who had fallen into panic, the two looked as though they would suffocate from joy.
Neither seemed bothered by the messenger’s blatant rudeness.
‘Did the head maid let him in? But that can’t be.’
Though she occasionally pressured Psyche about marriage and made her uncomfortable, the woman was someone who clearly separated personal and professional matters. Under normal circumstances, she would have had the messenger wait in the reception room.
The moment Psyche opened her mouth to point out the rudeness in their place, her eyes met the Grand Duke’s messenger.
Cold blue eyes.
Light filtering through the window shattered softly within them, where waves of deep blue seemed to flicker.
Soon, the light dancing around his eyes faded away.
Then the contempt hidden in those blue eyes revealed itself.
The man stared openly at Psyche without any intention of concealing his feelings.
“Ah.”
A sigh mixed with astonishment escaped her lips unconsciously.
‘Why is he looking at me like that…?’
In the end, Psyche was the first to avert her gaze.
She was accustomed to mocking looks from others.
Yet strangely, she found no immunity against this man’s eyes.
Her gaze wandered slowly before she parted her lips to speak again.
But the Countess spoke first.
“We were given no prior notice, so this visit is sudden… but speak.”
Straightening her back and lifting her chin, the Countess gave permission while trying to hide the tremor in her voice.
Her appearance was shabby, yet somehow dignified. Only the trembling corners of her mouth betrayed her.
The man slowly removed his gaze from Psyche and spoke.
“To Psyche Clement of the Clement Viscount family of the Sigar Empire: His Grace offers her the honorable opportunity to become the Grand Duchess.”
“……”
“That is all His Grace said.”
The messenger gave a slight bow and stepped back.
For a moment, a cold silence swept through the dining room.
Psyche watched the Countess blink dozens of times within those few seconds and swallowed a familiar sigh.
If possible, she wanted to flee immediately.
That was exactly how she felt.
Yet Psyche had a duty to support her frail mother.
“Mother.”
In a quiet voice, Psyche lowered her gaze to her mother’s trembling hands.
Her mother had once been the younger daughter of a prestigious marquis family, but she was unfamiliar with noble society.
More accurately, after falling in love with the heir of a declining viscount family and becoming Countess Clement, she had withdrawn from social life as the family fortunes worsened.
At times, her mother seemed lost in fantasies.
Yet she apparently understood that the Grand Duke’s messenger had insulted her.
Seeing her mother’s hands shake pitifully, Psyche felt a pounding ache in her head.
“W-what exactly do you mean by that?”
The Countess spoke, unable to hide her trembling voice.
“It means exactly what was said. His Grace has proposed marriage to Miss Psyche Clement.”
“What I mean is, was that truly all His Grace wished to say?”
“…Ah.”
As though remembering something belatedly, the messenger let out a low sound.
“His Grace also said that since he cannot yet trust Miss Clement, she will remain in the Grand Duchy in an engagement state for one year before exchanging marriage vows.”
“My daughter is to stay in the Grand Duchy before marriage? Then what of an engagement vow sworn before God…?”
“If you wish, an engagement oath may be made. However, there will be no engagement ceremony.”
That meant weak and powerless Psyche could have the engagement broken at any time.
If that happened, she would spend the rest of her life branded as the woman abandoned by the scandal-ridden Grand Duke.
The Countess knew this, which was why she asked about an engagement oath.
At the very least, vows made before God were not easily broken.
“An engagement oath is a promise offered before God and requires witnesses. If His Grace wants my daughter, then hold an engagement ceremony and swear eternal vows before everyone.”
“The witness to the engagement oath will be a bishop recognized as God’s envoy. The church of the Grand Duchy will personally select and send one. There could be no more reliable witness.”
The Countess and the messenger began exchanging arguments.
No—it was hardly an exchange.
The messenger was simply trampling over both his opponent and the entire Clement family.
“Furthermore, Miss Clement will not be allowed to see His Grace’s face before marriage.”
“……”
It was a strange condition.
Not being allowed to see one’s fiancé before marriage.
Still, it was not incomprehensible.
The Grand Duke had never once appeared before the public.
Suppressing her emotions, Psyche clasped her mother’s pale and delicate hand.
As she gently patted the back of it, the Countess finally began breathing deeply, as though catching her breath.
“My daughter cannot even see her fiancé’s face? No matter who he is, His Grace cannot speak with such insult. I will not send my daughter to someone so rude.”
The Countess spoke in a low voice.
Her jaw tightened as she forced herself to enunciate every word.
The messenger remained silent briefly.
After a low hum in his throat, he stepped closer.
“Next, I will explain the conditions His Grace offers Miss Psyche Clement under the premise of marriage.”
“…How dare you be so insolent!”
Psyche gently squeezed the Countess’s trembling hand.
“Mother, I’m alright. Let’s hear him out.”
How could Psyche not be angry?
Without understanding why, she had been subjected to the insolent gaze of a stranger from the beginning.
Still, she was curious.
Why did the ruler of the Grand Duchy want to marry her?
And perhaps she might find a clue to diverting his interest elsewhere.
“His Grace offers a dowry of one million francs, along with forty thousand francs monthly to the Clement family.”
“……”
Psyche frowned immediately.
The amount spilling from the messenger’s lips was absurdly unrealistic.
The Countess’s hands, which had trembled from humiliation moments ago, now shook for another reason.
The monthly amount alone was three times the income the Clement family had earned during its prosperous days.
Perhaps if every coin earned from the estate had been saved without spending any, it might have reached that amount.
Of course, any money that came in disappeared somewhere just as quickly.
“However, there is one small condition.”
“…What is it?”
The atmosphere of stunned silence was broken by Psyche’s question.
Combined with the dowry, the amount offered by the Grand Duke was far too excessive for merely her attractive face.
Like every man who had proposed to her before, there must surely be hidden conditions.
If one received something, one had to give something in return.
Though the problem was that such exchanges were rarely fair.
“That is…”
The man’s lips slowly parted.
Psyche held her breath while staring at his red lips.
Like someone who had bitten into a forbidden apple, she feared the answer that would emerge.
Yet the words she awaited never came.
Because someone’s furious shout shook the entire dining room.
“Psyche! Stop this at once!”
It was Psyche’s father, Viscount Clement.
