“What on earth did you do while I was away?”

“What do you mean, what did I do? It was Aidel who actually did something!”

Countess Fluor wiped her tears, looking aggrieved at Count Fluor’s thunderous shout.

“She secretly took the Imperial University exam without telling anyone… And she even decided to marry His Highness the Grand Duke on her own! How utterly brazen!”

The Countess clutched her tear-soaked handkerchief and cried out in anguish.

Count Fluor rubbed his throbbing forehead and let out a deep sigh.

Was it because he had been too focused on managing the territory and neglected family affairs? He was shocked by the letter he received from the Grand Duke on his way back to the mansion after inspecting the territory.

“Is, is this true?”

“Yes, it is. This is today’s newspaper. His Highness the Grand Duke has made an official announcement.”

The messenger sent by the Grand Duke was waiting in the alley connecting the Fluor territory to the capital. He handed over the Grand Duke’s letter and newspaper, delivering the shocking news.

“Marriage between His Highness and Aidel! What is the meaning of this sudden announcement? How can there be parents who don’t know about their child’s marriage?”

At that, the Grand Duke’s messenger pulled out another letter from his breast pocket.

“His Highness instructed me to deliver this letter as well.”

It was the second letter to be delivered if the Count showed signs of opposition to the news of Aidel’s marriage.

“What, what is this?”

Count Fluor was even more shocked than when he read the first letter containing the news of the marriage between the Grand Duke and Aidel.

“An engagement with Marquis Chalet… And is the information about Marquis Chalet written here true?”

The second letter was closer to an investigative report.

It detailed how the Countess had proceeded with the marriage arrangement between Marquis Chalet and Aidel, including the ‘sincerity’ she had intended to prepare.

Moreover… It clearly listed the contents revealing the Marquis’s strange sexual preferences and the suspicious deaths of his previous wives.

“How could there be any falsehood in the content sent by His Highness the Grand Duke? Furthermore, please accept this as well.”

The Grand Duke’s messenger pulled out a document from his pocket. Count Fluor’s eyes widened as he confirmed its contents.

“This, this is…”

“It’s in lieu of the dress expenses for Her Highness the future Grand Duchess. I heard the Countess said to leave everything behind if she wanted to leave home. This is payment for the only item she took with her when leaving the Count’s mansion.”

How could the cost of a dress possibly match the annual budget of the Fluor territory…! The transferable Imperial Bank account showed an unbelievable amount.

After a moment of bewilderment, he hurriedly returned to the Count’s mansion and began to inquire about the whole story from the Countess.

“What kind of person did you think the Marquis was when you proceeded with the marriage arrangement?”

“What, what kind of person? Of course, he’s the head of a Marquis family known to be wealthy in the Empire! Wouldn’t it be a blessing for our eldest to become his wife?”

“Did you really not know about the Marquis’s sexual preferences? Even if you didn’t know, how could you proceed with the marriage arrangement without saying a word to me and try to receive compensation for it!”

“How, how did you…”

The Countess stammered in surprise, recalling the secret contract containing the conditions for handing over Aidel. It had become useless now that the marriage with the Marquis had fallen through.

“Is that important? What’s important is that you tried to proceed with the marriage as if it were a transaction!”

“Ha! So what if it’s a transaction? That’s how marriages between noble families are. I’ve only committed the crime of trying to find a good match for our eldest daughter who has come of age.”

“That’s right, Father! Please stop. Mother did it out of love for sister… She was worried that sister might miss her chance to marry since she doesn’t participate in any social activities.”

As the Count and Countess’s voices grew louder, Roselyn intervened appropriately, defending the Countess.

“Both Mother and I… We had sister’s best interests at heart. It’s so disappointing. Sister decided to enter university and marry His Highness the Grand Duke without saying a word to us.”

Roselyn’s eyes welled up with tears as she wore a sorrowful expression. Seeing his daughter like this, the Count’s voice finally softened a little.

“Sigh… Enough. It’s already been decided this way.”

Count Fluor felt deep self-reproach for what had transpired while he wasn’t paying attention.

‘Aidel…’

Though he couldn’t express it, Aidel, his firstborn who was born without a scent, was his sore spot.

At first, he too found it strange that his daughter was born without any genetic traits. That was why he couldn’t actively defend his former wife when she was suspected of infidelity by the family.

When the woman he loved, his former wife, passed away leaving only the child behind, he raised her out of a sense of responsibility.

“Father…”

The child who longed for her parents’ affection quietly followed him, spending more time in the study. The child who read the books he read grew into a lady before he knew it.

Aidel would try to say something but end up writing in her notebook instead. One day, he was surprised to see what she had written in her notebook.

The writings on revising old laws in the Fluor territory and improving the lives of the residents through administrative procedures were admirable enough to elicit gasps.

‘Someday… I wanted to have a conversation with her…’

The gap that had widened between father and daughter for over a decade was not easy to close. Since there was no son to succeed him, the Count secretly considered passing on the title to the intelligent Aidel.

That’s why he didn’t rush to arrange her marriage, hoping she would grow while studying as much as she wanted. Although he couldn’t express it properly… Aidel was the daughter of Fluor he acknowledged.

He regretted using his busy schedule as an excuse to neglect family affairs and postpone talking with Aidel.

He also felt that she must have been desperate enough to secretly take the Imperial University exam. It must have been an escape for the child who was being pressured into marriage.

‘But of all people, to meet the Grand Duke…’

The Count’s brow furrowed deeply.

He would have allowed her to enter the Imperial University, but the suddenly decided marriage to the Grand Duke was his biggest worry.

His daughter born without a scent and the Grand Duke with noble royal blood.

Perhaps, if that passage he saw in the family’s ancient book was true…

His daughter and the Grand Duke… were a match that should never have been made.

* * *

As the midday sun began to tilt, a guest visited the Grand Duke’s residence. A slightly early afternoon tea was prepared in the reception room.

“Welcome, Count.”

“I pay my respects to Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

“I heard you returned yesterday. You must have been quite surprised to come to the capital right after your return.”

“What parent wouldn’t be surprised by their child’s suddenly arranged marriage?”

“Well. It seems you’ve been quite negligent until now.”

“…It was my oversight.”

Count Fluor slightly lowered his head and exhaled heavily through his nose. As the Grand Duke said, it was something that had happened because he hadn’t been paying attention all this time.

Even if what had already happened couldn’t be undone… he had to prevent the potential misfortune that could befall his daughter due to the marriage with the Grand Duke.

“First… I intend to return the Imperial Bank account Your Highness sent through the messenger.”

“That’s just a small token of appreciation for how ‘well’ the Fluor family has cared for the future Grand Duchess.”

Caeron rejected the document that the Count pulled out from his breast pocket, indicating it wasn’t necessary.

A small token of appreciation… It made him realize once again that the annual budget of the Fluor territory was nothing more than the cost of a dress to him.

In reality, the scale of the Grand Duke’s family fortune was already known to be enormous. It was a fact known to any noble investing in real estate development that the Grand Duke was the owner of major buildings and land in the capital.

And that wasn’t all. The Grand Duchy, which had inherited vast tracts of land since the time of Duke Roman, stretched to the edge of the sea. The scale of the trading business conducted through the ports within the territory was also growing day by day.

“Then I’ll invest in bonds under Aidel’s name instead. It’s the dowry I was going to give her when she got married.”

“Do as you wish, Count. However, there’s no need to deliver anything else to the Grand Duke’s family in the name of dowry.”

“…I understand.”

Count Fluor looked at the young Grand Duke sitting across from him. The Grand Duke, with his cold and arrogant expression, seemed to have the blood of the Yupiter Imperial family flowing more strongly than anyone else. He was a man who looked more imperial than the Emperor himself.

That’s why he was more anxious. He needed to confirm.

“If I may be so bold… may I ask why Your Highness decided to marry my daughter?”

“Reason…?”

He couldn’t bring himself to directly mention what he had heard through Roselyn. If the Grand Duke had really fallen in love with Aidel at first sight and was still infatuated… and if the reason was because of her ‘scent’…

After briefly observing the anxious face of Count Fluor, Caeron opened his mouth. Seeing the face of a father worried about his daughter, he decided to speak honestly.

“You must know from the letter you received, but she wanted to avoid an unwanted marriage. Furthermore, she took the Imperial University exam because she wanted to be completely independent from the Fluor family.”

Unwanted marriage aside, wanting to be independent from the Fluor family… Count Fluor lowered his gaze, filled with regret.

“She intended to support herself after graduating from university. Even giving up the ‘face’ of nobility. However, as the law stands, a noble woman who is not legally divorced cannot engage in social activities.”

Count Fluor’s eyes trembled slightly. Did she want to escape to the extent of giving up even the face of nobility? Thinking about how desperate she must have been made him sorrowful.

“I agreed to give her freedom in three years.”

“You mean…”

“Yes. This is a contract marriage. A contract proceeding due to mutual needs.”

Shocked, the Count widened his eyes and asked in a faintly trembling voice.

“Then it’s just a contract… a marriage proceeding without any emotions?”

“Emotions? What kind of emotions are you talking about, Count?”

“I heard… that Your Highness expressed affection for Aidel in front of others.”

“Ah… I intend to firmly establish her position as Grand Duchess publicly. As you know, the power of the Grand Duchess comes from the unwavering support of the Grand Duke.”

Speaking with a flawless expression and a cold voice, the Grand Duke didn’t look like a man in love. Even his actions towards Aidel seemed to be nothing more than treatment for a contracted partner.

Count Fluor pressed his lips together with a complex look in his eyes.

A poignant feeling for his daughter who chose a contract marriage with divorce in mind for complete independence… and at the same time, a sense of relief that the Grand Duke wasn’t in love with his daughter welled up simultaneously.

“Please… take good care of Aidel.”

For now, all he could do was silently support the path his daughter had chosen. Watching over her to do as she wished was the only atonement he could make for having neglected her.

* * *

Aidel was in the process of seeing off Count Fluor, who had visited the Grand Duke’s residence.

Her father, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time, looked much thinner than before. The bergamot scent that always emanated from him when she approached had also faded considerably.

“Aidel…”

“Yes. Please speak.”

After staring at her face for a long time with worried eyes, the Count spoke with difficulty.

“When you want to… come back to the Count’s family anytime.”

It wasn’t something to say to a daughter about to get married. Aidel realized that her father, who had a private meeting with the Grand Duke, now knew the reality of this marriage.

Before finally leaving, the hesitating Count Fluor said to her.

“…You are my daughter.”

“…!”

At that quiet statement, her nose suddenly stung and tears welled up. It was the words she had longed to hear all her life… and now she finally heard them.

The Count looked at his daughter, who didn’t know what to say with her tear-filled face, with a dejected expression and silently turned away.

Standing at the entrance, Aidel blankly watched his back as he returned to the Count’s mansion.

‘Father…’

If only he had said those words a little earlier… would she be in a different situation now?

‘No, even so…’

Aidel shook her head. She knew well that even if that were the case, she wouldn’t want a life where she only lived as someone’s wife after getting married.

Divorce was necessary to engage in social activities after graduating from university, and the conditions of the contract proposed by the Grand Duke were perfect. If there was one variable… it was only her own heart wavering towards him.

Someone quietly approached her side as she stood lost in thought for a long time.