06. Marriage Transaction
The third day of the Duke's promise dawned. It was the last day of the deadline for giving an answer about the marriage. Chloe prepared to leave the house without hesitation. After saying goodbye to the Viscount, who was still unable to get out of bed, she left the castle, leaving behind her father, whose eyes were filled with concern.
The Duke of Tisse had castles scattered throughout his kingdom as if he were collecting them. One of them was a villa on the coast, three hours away by coach from the Verdier estate. Chloe looked outside, her curtains drawn softly, inside the rattling carriage.
It was already noon when the blue sea began to appear on the right side of the carriage running along the mountain road. The Duke of Tisse's villa was located at the very top of a steep cliff. Chloe slowed down and slowly held her sweaty hands in the running carriage.
“Did you make a promise?”
The butler, who seemed to be the caretaker of the villa, asked her in a polite but distant tone. Chloe raised her head a little more, tightening her grip on the cane.
“I am Chloe, the eldest daughter of the Verdier family. Please tell the Duke that I have come to offer my hand in marriage to the Duke.”
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Chloe left in the living room where the sunlight poured in brightly and there was no place to hide, trying hard to shake off her tension.
Kkuruk. Kkuruk. The spacious first-floor living room of a peaceful villa, where the sound of seagulls crying could be heard from somewhere, had all the windows wide open. The curtains were fluttering. Looking at the sea reflecting the sunlight, Chloe briefly lost herself in absurd fantasies, wishing that all this was a dream.
“The Duke has ordered you to wait a moment.”
Chloe, who had been lost in thought at the butler's words, suddenly came to her senses.
“Would you like some tea and snacks while you wait?”
“It’s okay, thank you for your kindness.”
She had no appetite, and her hands were shaking, so much so that she was afraid she might drop her teacup. The butler came back and guided her only after a long time had passed, when her refusal to drink tea seemed meaningless, and her back was stiff.
“This way.”
Contrary to Chloe's expectations that she would wait in the office or study, the place the butler guided her to was the outdoor balcony at the top of the castle. As she climbed the stairs with difficulty, the sound of blue waves crashing against the cliff greeted her first. It was a beautiful scene like a painting, but that wasn't the problem.
“Did you like the marriage proposal enough to come to me in person to tell me your acceptance?”
The Duke sitting on a long chair made of twisted rattan was not in the posture of a nobleman welcoming guests. His bare skin, not wearing a shirt, was a deep red-brown color, having been thoroughly exposed to the blazing midday sun. It seemed as if he had just woken up from a day of enjoying the sun, like a cat enjoying itself.
“I didn’t think it was something light enough to convey by letter.”
He waved his hand as if mocking her polite attire, which included putting on her cleanest dress and carrying a hat and parasol.
“Have you ever caught an infectious disease?”
“...What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“If not, come closer and talk. Even enemy generals sit together at the negotiating table.”
Chloe felt something welling up in her chest and walked closer to him. Even though there was a white canopy where he could hide from the sun, the Duke was sitting in the pouring sunlight without any shade.
“Sit down.”
Chloe questioned with a slightly furrowed gaze since there was nowhere else to sit but the long chair he was straddling.
“Come and sit next to me.”
“I'm fine.”
“Are you refusing the order?”
Thud. The ribbon on her sun hat fluttered around her neck in the strong sea breeze. Chloe swallowed dryly and sat down on the low chair as he commanded. She even had the illusion that she could feel the heat coming from the body of the man sitting next to her.
“The wound keeps getting worse.”
Chloe, who had been staring straight ahead, finally turned her head to examine the wound on his shoulder. She hadn't noticed it from afar because it was too bright, but when she looked up close, the wound was indeed red.
“Have you seen a doctor?”
"No."
As Chloe glanced up at him disapprovingly, the Duke picked up the vial of medicine he had kept beside him and handed it to her.
“While you’re here, pour me some of this.”
The Duke looked at her and smirked.
“Your Excellency, don’t you have hands?”
“...”
“You have a face that makes me want to say, ‘I want to say that.’”
It was natural to panic if her insides were discovered. Chloe quickly looked away from him and quickly took the vial. The moment she poured the medicine, something began to bubble up from the infected wound. Chloe frowned involuntarily at the sight that was so painful to look at.
“It's over.”
Chloe set the bottle down next to her with a clank and then opened her mouth after some hesitation.
“It is not good for sweat to get into an injured area.”
Sweat dripped down from his shiny torso.
“The temperature in the Tisse Estate is quite cool even in the summer, so you can’t enjoy this much sunlight.”
The Duke added as if he had seen through Chloe's mind, which seemed to be wondering why he was going through all that trouble.
“It feels good like my head is going to burst.”
Chloe wanted to get to the point quickly before her flesh burned away.
“What is the reason for the refusal?”
Is he really a mind reader? The Duke skipped all the steps and asked the main point at once. Chloe turned her body slightly toward him and puffed out her chest. From now on, she had to handle everything as the eldest daughter of the family. It would have been nice if it was a place a little more formal than this, but in reality, she was in no position to ask about anything.
“Because something went wrong with my younger sister.”
“What problem?”
The Duke looked straight at her, his eyes shining.
“If your younger sister hadn’t died suddenly, she would have to get married.”
Chloe tried to control her breathing, which was getting faster, in front of him who was casually spitting out cruel words that she could barely even think of. She already knew that he was not an easy opponent.
“Before I tell you the truth, may I ask you a question, Your Excellency?”
“Try it.”
Chloe opened her mouth without avoiding the Duke's gaze, which was staring straight at her prey.
“I wonder if the reason Your Excellency wants to marry my younger sister is because of me.”
“What does that mean?”
The Duke asked back with an inscrutable expression.
“I asked if it was because I didn’t like it that you proposed marriage to my sister.”
“I wonder how the thoughts come to mind like that.”
“I wonder if you intend to completely ruin me by interfering with my family.”
The Duke burst into laughter. Chloe didn't move an inch as she listened to the Duke's loud laughter echoing along with the sound of waves crashing against the cliff.
“You told me that. Not all the women in the world are desperate to marry me.”
The Duke raised his eyebrows and spoke without hesitation.
“Young Lady, aren’t you being too self-conscious? To think that I would marry a child of a low-class nobleman with nothing but debt just to harass a woman who is not even in good health?”
“Yes. I thought so.”
“Do you know that you are surprisingly funny?”
"No."
Chloe was serious at every moment, but at this moment, she was even more serious.
“Then do you love my sister?”
“There is no romantic around me who thinks that aristocratic marriages are based on love.”
“Then there must be only one reason why the Duke proposed to her.”
“What is it?”
“Your Excellently, there must be something that makes it imperative for you to marry into our family. It’s something you can’t easily tell others.”
Crunch. Another wave crashed against the cliff, breaking into a white foam, and the wind blew hard. The ribbon came loose and her hat flew somewhere. The Duke lowered his voice slightly as he watched Chloe's hair flutter across her cheek.
“Keep going.”
His face was completely devoid of any smile. Chloe knew that this was the adventure of a lifetime. But there was no other way. A cornered rat might not be able to kill a snake, but at least it could bite its tail.
“If for some reason Your Excellency must marry a lowly family, ignoring the kingdom’s most prestigious brides, then honestly, I don’t think it matters who it is. No...”
The last words, which she had rehearsed in her head over and over again, came out a little slower and more labored.
“Wouldn’t it be better to have someone with flaws that are so obvious that no one would pay attention to them?”
The Duke slowly lifted his lips as he looked at her. His eyes, shining with interest, stared intently, and her mouth naturally dried. Chloe unconsciously moistened her lips with her tongue, and the Duke raised his eyebrows and added.
“For example, you can’t use one leg?”
The lower part of her leg, where she should not have felt anything, felt like it was being stabbed. Chloe thought it was fortunate that the blazing sun was blinding her eyes. It would give her a reason to contemptuously contort her expression. Chloe's heart was heaving silently.
“If I couldn’t use both my legs, would I have been a more perfect bride to the Duke...!”
The moment the Duke grabbed the back of her head, her vision went dark. What was this? She realized the situation after the Duke bit her lip painfully. Chloe trembled without even closing her eyes, wondering if it would feel like this if the world ended. Her lips parted on their own, and the moment the Duke invaded her without permission, her heart pounded so hard that it felt like it was going to burst. The inside of the Duke that she felt directly was much hotter than the scorching sun. She felt like she was going to collapse from suffocation.
“Breathe.”
The Duke grabbed her head, pressed his arrogant nose against her cheek, and whispered with his blazing eyes. Only then did Chloe start to breathe heavily. But the words were not coming out properly. Her red, wet lips trembled thinly.
“...What the heck is this?”
“I was wondering if your tongue was like that because your tongue is full of thorns. But it’s the other way around?”
The Duke cupped her cheek with his large hand, and his thumb stroked the round lips that he had so passionately possessed just a moment ago. His deep, low voice tickled her ear.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to find out whether or not I can have a successor.”
Something exploded inside Chloe's chest. She pushed him away with all her might, then slapped his flawless, sculpted cheek hard. Crunch. There was a crashing sound like the sound of waves, but the Duke didn't even blink. Only one side of his white skin felt a tiny bit of heat. Chloe realized this wasn't a dream when she felt her palm burn.
“Haa... Haa...”
The Duke chuckled as he watched her, who was breathing heavily and unable to open her mouth.
“Relearn the basics of negotiation, Young Lady Chloe Verdier.”
As he rang the small bell, the butler who had been waiting somewhere quickly appeared. Chloe tried to come to her senses and wiped her mouth with tearful eyes. She didn't want to show her disheveled appearance, but her heart was still beating so hard that she felt like she would collapse at any moment.
“I heard the guest is passing away. See her off well.”
In the clear refusal to pay homage to the Duke, Chloe ran out of the castle without even paying any attention to him. If she could run, she would have. Gray, who had been waiting in front of the carriage, came running with a frown as he watched her approach, limping, limping, dragging her legs.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go back, Gray. Come on.”
The carriage on the way back was unusually bumpy. It felt like she had a fever as if her whole body was on fire. Chloe felt a sense of foreboding as if she was feeling the same way as she did three years ago when she was very sick, and she closed her eyes tightly. The despair of having left her cane behind again followed.
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The third day of the Duke's promise dawned. It was the last day of the deadline for giving an answer about the marriage. Chloe prepared to leave the house without hesitation. After saying goodbye to the Viscount, who was still unable to get out of bed, she left the castle, leaving behind her father, whose eyes were filled with concern.
The Duke of Tisse had castles scattered throughout his kingdom as if he were collecting them. One of them was a villa on the coast, three hours away by coach from the Verdier estate. Chloe looked outside, her curtains drawn softly, inside the rattling carriage.
It was already noon when the blue sea began to appear on the right side of the carriage running along the mountain road. The Duke of Tisse's villa was located at the very top of a steep cliff. Chloe slowed down and slowly held her sweaty hands in the running carriage.
“Did you make a promise?”
The butler, who seemed to be the caretaker of the villa, asked her in a polite but distant tone. Chloe raised her head a little more, tightening her grip on the cane.
“I am Chloe, the eldest daughter of the Verdier family. Please tell the Duke that I have come to offer my hand in marriage to the Duke.”
“Please wait here for a moment.”
Chloe left in the living room where the sunlight poured in brightly and there was no place to hide, trying hard to shake off her tension.
Kkuruk. Kkuruk. The spacious first-floor living room of a peaceful villa, where the sound of seagulls crying could be heard from somewhere, had all the windows wide open. The curtains were fluttering. Looking at the sea reflecting the sunlight, Chloe briefly lost herself in absurd fantasies, wishing that all this was a dream.
“The Duke has ordered you to wait a moment.”
Chloe, who had been lost in thought at the butler's words, suddenly came to her senses.
“Would you like some tea and snacks while you wait?”
“It’s okay, thank you for your kindness.”
She had no appetite, and her hands were shaking, so much so that she was afraid she might drop her teacup. The butler came back and guided her only after a long time had passed, when her refusal to drink tea seemed meaningless, and her back was stiff.
“This way.”
Contrary to Chloe's expectations that she would wait in the office or study, the place the butler guided her to was the outdoor balcony at the top of the castle. As she climbed the stairs with difficulty, the sound of blue waves crashing against the cliff greeted her first. It was a beautiful scene like a painting, but that wasn't the problem.
“Did you like the marriage proposal enough to come to me in person to tell me your acceptance?”
The Duke sitting on a long chair made of twisted rattan was not in the posture of a nobleman welcoming guests. His bare skin, not wearing a shirt, was a deep red-brown color, having been thoroughly exposed to the blazing midday sun. It seemed as if he had just woken up from a day of enjoying the sun, like a cat enjoying itself.
“I didn’t think it was something light enough to convey by letter.”
He waved his hand as if mocking her polite attire, which included putting on her cleanest dress and carrying a hat and parasol.
“Have you ever caught an infectious disease?”
“...What are you talking about all of a sudden?”
“If not, come closer and talk. Even enemy generals sit together at the negotiating table.”
Chloe felt something welling up in her chest and walked closer to him. Even though there was a white canopy where he could hide from the sun, the Duke was sitting in the pouring sunlight without any shade.
“Sit down.”
Chloe questioned with a slightly furrowed gaze since there was nowhere else to sit but the long chair he was straddling.
“Come and sit next to me.”
“I'm fine.”
“Are you refusing the order?”
Thud. The ribbon on her sun hat fluttered around her neck in the strong sea breeze. Chloe swallowed dryly and sat down on the low chair as he commanded. She even had the illusion that she could feel the heat coming from the body of the man sitting next to her.
“The wound keeps getting worse.”
Chloe, who had been staring straight ahead, finally turned her head to examine the wound on his shoulder. She hadn't noticed it from afar because it was too bright, but when she looked up close, the wound was indeed red.
“Have you seen a doctor?”
"No."
As Chloe glanced up at him disapprovingly, the Duke picked up the vial of medicine he had kept beside him and handed it to her.
“While you’re here, pour me some of this.”
The Duke looked at her and smirked.
“Your Excellency, don’t you have hands?”
“...”
“You have a face that makes me want to say, ‘I want to say that.’”
It was natural to panic if her insides were discovered. Chloe quickly looked away from him and quickly took the vial. The moment she poured the medicine, something began to bubble up from the infected wound. Chloe frowned involuntarily at the sight that was so painful to look at.
“It's over.”
Chloe set the bottle down next to her with a clank and then opened her mouth after some hesitation.
“It is not good for sweat to get into an injured area.”
Sweat dripped down from his shiny torso.
“The temperature in the Tisse Estate is quite cool even in the summer, so you can’t enjoy this much sunlight.”
The Duke added as if he had seen through Chloe's mind, which seemed to be wondering why he was going through all that trouble.
“It feels good like my head is going to burst.”
Chloe wanted to get to the point quickly before her flesh burned away.
“What is the reason for the refusal?”
Is he really a mind reader? The Duke skipped all the steps and asked the main point at once. Chloe turned her body slightly toward him and puffed out her chest. From now on, she had to handle everything as the eldest daughter of the family. It would have been nice if it was a place a little more formal than this, but in reality, she was in no position to ask about anything.
“Because something went wrong with my younger sister.”
“What problem?”
The Duke looked straight at her, his eyes shining.
“If your younger sister hadn’t died suddenly, she would have to get married.”
Chloe tried to control her breathing, which was getting faster, in front of him who was casually spitting out cruel words that she could barely even think of. She already knew that he was not an easy opponent.
“Before I tell you the truth, may I ask you a question, Your Excellency?”
“Try it.”
Chloe opened her mouth without avoiding the Duke's gaze, which was staring straight at her prey.
“I wonder if the reason Your Excellency wants to marry my younger sister is because of me.”
“What does that mean?”
The Duke asked back with an inscrutable expression.
“I asked if it was because I didn’t like it that you proposed marriage to my sister.”
“I wonder how the thoughts come to mind like that.”
“I wonder if you intend to completely ruin me by interfering with my family.”
The Duke burst into laughter. Chloe didn't move an inch as she listened to the Duke's loud laughter echoing along with the sound of waves crashing against the cliff.
“You told me that. Not all the women in the world are desperate to marry me.”
The Duke raised his eyebrows and spoke without hesitation.
“Young Lady, aren’t you being too self-conscious? To think that I would marry a child of a low-class nobleman with nothing but debt just to harass a woman who is not even in good health?”
“Yes. I thought so.”
“Do you know that you are surprisingly funny?”
"No."
Chloe was serious at every moment, but at this moment, she was even more serious.
“Then do you love my sister?”
“There is no romantic around me who thinks that aristocratic marriages are based on love.”
“Then there must be only one reason why the Duke proposed to her.”
“What is it?”
“Your Excellently, there must be something that makes it imperative for you to marry into our family. It’s something you can’t easily tell others.”
Crunch. Another wave crashed against the cliff, breaking into a white foam, and the wind blew hard. The ribbon came loose and her hat flew somewhere. The Duke lowered his voice slightly as he watched Chloe's hair flutter across her cheek.
“Keep going.”
His face was completely devoid of any smile. Chloe knew that this was the adventure of a lifetime. But there was no other way. A cornered rat might not be able to kill a snake, but at least it could bite its tail.
“If for some reason Your Excellency must marry a lowly family, ignoring the kingdom’s most prestigious brides, then honestly, I don’t think it matters who it is. No...”
The last words, which she had rehearsed in her head over and over again, came out a little slower and more labored.
“Wouldn’t it be better to have someone with flaws that are so obvious that no one would pay attention to them?”
The Duke slowly lifted his lips as he looked at her. His eyes, shining with interest, stared intently, and her mouth naturally dried. Chloe unconsciously moistened her lips with her tongue, and the Duke raised his eyebrows and added.
“For example, you can’t use one leg?”
The lower part of her leg, where she should not have felt anything, felt like it was being stabbed. Chloe thought it was fortunate that the blazing sun was blinding her eyes. It would give her a reason to contemptuously contort her expression. Chloe's heart was heaving silently.
“If I couldn’t use both my legs, would I have been a more perfect bride to the Duke...!”
The moment the Duke grabbed the back of her head, her vision went dark. What was this? She realized the situation after the Duke bit her lip painfully. Chloe trembled without even closing her eyes, wondering if it would feel like this if the world ended. Her lips parted on their own, and the moment the Duke invaded her without permission, her heart pounded so hard that it felt like it was going to burst. The inside of the Duke that she felt directly was much hotter than the scorching sun. She felt like she was going to collapse from suffocation.
“Breathe.”
The Duke grabbed her head, pressed his arrogant nose against her cheek, and whispered with his blazing eyes. Only then did Chloe start to breathe heavily. But the words were not coming out properly. Her red, wet lips trembled thinly.
“...What the heck is this?”
“I was wondering if your tongue was like that because your tongue is full of thorns. But it’s the other way around?”
The Duke cupped her cheek with his large hand, and his thumb stroked the round lips that he had so passionately possessed just a moment ago. His deep, low voice tickled her ear.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to find out whether or not I can have a successor.”
Something exploded inside Chloe's chest. She pushed him away with all her might, then slapped his flawless, sculpted cheek hard. Crunch. There was a crashing sound like the sound of waves, but the Duke didn't even blink. Only one side of his white skin felt a tiny bit of heat. Chloe realized this wasn't a dream when she felt her palm burn.
“Haa... Haa...”
The Duke chuckled as he watched her, who was breathing heavily and unable to open her mouth.
“Relearn the basics of negotiation, Young Lady Chloe Verdier.”
As he rang the small bell, the butler who had been waiting somewhere quickly appeared. Chloe tried to come to her senses and wiped her mouth with tearful eyes. She didn't want to show her disheveled appearance, but her heart was still beating so hard that she felt like she would collapse at any moment.
“I heard the guest is passing away. See her off well.”
In the clear refusal to pay homage to the Duke, Chloe ran out of the castle without even paying any attention to him. If she could run, she would have. Gray, who had been waiting in front of the carriage, came running with a frown as he watched her approach, limping, limping, dragging her legs.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go back, Gray. Come on.”
The carriage on the way back was unusually bumpy. It felt like she had a fever as if her whole body was on fire. Chloe felt a sense of foreboding as if she was feeling the same way as she did three years ago when she was very sick, and she closed her eyes tightly. The despair of having left her cane behind again followed.
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