She wanted to escape this suffocating situation immediately. She thought she had been somewhat trained to endure the insults directed at her so far, but…

The look of lust in their eyes and the uncannily similar faces gave her goosebumps. It was utterly disgusting the way they tried to put a price on her chastity and trade her.

Aidel, unable to suppress the rising nausea, unknowingly picked up a napkin.

“Ugh…”

No one showed concern for her as she gagged slightly, her complexion turning pale.

“What’s with this sudden unseemly behavior? And at that, in the presence of an esteemed guest, not showing proper manners…!”

The Countess was quick to scold her, frowning. As Aidel kept her head down without a word, the Countess was about to say something more when-

“M-My lady! Just a moment…”

“What in the world happened for you to act this way? I told you not to interrupt the conversation!”

The Countess furrowed her brow at the head maid who hurriedly entered the reception room. The head maid, with an anxious face, whispered quietly in the Countess’s ear.

“Wh-what? Is what you just said true?”

The Countess was startled upon hearing the head maid’s words and abruptly stood up from her seat.

“Countess, what is the matter?”

Marquis Chalet asked, his face scrunched in displeasure at the sudden commotion. The Countess replied with a very flustered expression.

“Well… It’s just that another guest has arrived, I’m told.”

“Another guest? Was I not the only one visiting today?”

“Since it was an unexpected guest…”

“Hmph! Then can’t you just turn them away?”

“The thing is… that guest is…”

Just as the Countess was stammering to continue her words,

“Although I wasn’t able to make an appointment beforehand, I have some business at the Count’s estate.”

Two men entered the reception room ahead of her. A tall man in a lounge suit and a man who seemed to be his assistant following behind him.

The man who entered first commanded attention with his mere presence. The suit lines fell with gravitas, tailored to his solidly built physique. The cufflinks adorning his shirt made of the finest fabric were engraved with the insignia indicating he was of royal blood.

“Your Highness, the Grand Duke!”

Marquis Chalet’s mouth fell open. Roselyn, her eyes wide, covered her mouth in shock. Aidel, who was about to take a sip of water to suppress her nausea, also froze mid-action.

‘His Highness, the Grand Duke…?’

Marquis Chalet, recognizing the Grand Duke, hastily bowed in greeting. The Countess and Roselyn, not knowing what to do for a moment, bent their knees to at least offer a greeting first.

Reactions were mixed at the Grand Duke’s sudden appearance. Marquis Chalet and the Countess were tense and anxious as they scrutinized him. On the other hand, Roselyn’s face flushed red and her eyes turned hazy upon seeing the Grand Duke up close.

Regardless of the varied gazes directed at him, from the moment he entered the reception room, Caeron’s eyes were fixed on only one place.

The woman who belatedly stood up from her seat to offer a proper greeting looked precarious. Caeron’s brows twitched as he watched her stagger, looking as if she might collapse at any moment.

“If we had known Your Highness was visiting, we would have prepared a grand welcome in advance…”

“Since I’ve come unannounced, there’s no need to trouble yourself over it. More importantly… I didn’t expect Marquis Chalet to be here.”

An unexpectedly irksome person. Caeron stared at Marquis Chalet with a chilling gaze.

“Ah… well… Pardon my presumptuousness, but I am about to take Young Lady Fluor as my new wife soon.”

“Young Lady Fluor, you say…?”

At those words, the Grand Duke’s face, already stiff, froze even colder. Under his piercing gaze, Marquis Chalet trembled involuntarily. The Countess answered in place of the Marquis, who had momentarily stiffened.

“Our eldest, Aidel. She’s so shy that she hasn’t been able to engage in social activities, so this is the first time we’re introducing her.”

“A marriage with Marquis Chalet…”

Caeron murmured as if reciting. He clenched and unclenched his fist. The firm knuckles turned stark white with the force applied.

“Ahem! It is quite an honor to have such a beautiful bride.”

“For us, it is the highest honor to form such a meaningful tie with the Marquis’ family.”

As Marquis Chalet cleared his throat and managed to speak, the Countess awkwardly laughed and agreed. Caeron turned his gaze away from them to the woman standing motionlessly.

“Does Young Lady Aidel also think so?”

At his question, the woman who had been staring at the floor slowly raised her head. Her expressionless face, pale as wax, looked like a doll. At a glance, she appeared calm, but his sharp eyes didn’t miss her reddened eyes.

“Aidel, His Highness the Grand Duke is asking you a question. Why aren’t you answering quickly!”

At the Countess’ urging, Caeron frowned with one eye, looking annoyed.

“I’ll hear the answer directly from her. I’d like to talk to her, so could you give us some privacy?”

“…Pardon? You want to talk to Aidel alone…”

“Your Highness! I apologize, but she is betrothed to me…”

The Countess and Marquis Chalet spoke with troubled expressions at the clear request to leave, but,

“Do you think my words just now were a request?”

His voice, lowered considerably, seemed to convey his mood. In an instant, the air in the reception room froze. Not only Marquis Chalet and the Countess but also Roselyn trembled at the Grand Duke’s icy glare.

“Now, now, everyone, please step out for a moment.”

Gregory, the assistant who had been quietly observing the situation, stepped forward to defuse the atmosphere. The three of them were led out of the reception room, following Gregory.

The door to the reception room closed, and silence settled.

Caeron began to move his long legs in slow strides. The closer he got, the more Aidel clenched her clasped hands, feeling the tension rising from her toes.

“Are you going to keep standing like that? Sit down.”

Caeron breezed past her and sat down at the table. They were facing each other. She hesitated for a moment before carefully taking a seat.

Although there was a table between them, his overwhelming presence was too great. Aidel’s long lashes fluttered under his intense gaze.

Trying to find composure, Aidel poured tea into the empty cup in front of the Grand Duke. Caeron quietly watched her meticulous movements before speaking.

“We meet again.”

At his words, her hand holding the teapot trembled slightly. As expected, the Grand Duke remembered her.

“I was… very rude last time.”

Strictly speaking, it was the Grand Duke who was discourteous first, but slapping his hand away and running off was certainly a breach of etiquette.

“Your first impression that day was quite memorable. The way you acted so brazen.”

“…Please forgive my rudeness.”

“It’s mutual, so I don’t expect an apology. However… You seem different today than back then.”

“…!”

“I didn’t think you were the type to meekly accept an unwanted marriage.”

Aidel’s eyes began to tremble like leaves shaking in the wind.

“Do you want to escape? From the marriage with Marquis Chalet?”

At his words hitting the mark, Aidel was momentarily at a loss for words. Of course she wanted to escape. Just thinking about the vulgar and lecherous gaze Marquis Chalet directed at her earlier made her shudder again.

Now she had no choice but to endure and bear the moment of humiliation, but if she could just get accepted into university, she could find a way out. There was no need to explain that to him.

“…It’s a problem I will solve.”

“Solve, you say… I suppose you have a separate method prepared then.”

Caeron’s long, firm fingers slowly traced the smooth handle of the teacup. He lightly lifted the cup and spoke.

“For example, enrolling in the Imperial University. Is that the kind of method you have in mind?”

“…!”

Aidel’s eyes widened in surprise. Her eyes seemed to ask how he knew that. Caeron, with a faint smile on his lips, asked.

“Well, even if you do enroll in university, wouldn’t you need help to gain independence from your family?”

“…Even if that’s the case, it’s a problem I will handle myself.”

The hint of a smile disappeared from his face. He found it somehow displeasing to see the woman stubbornly drawing a line, insisting it was her own problem to the end, like a lost child.

He took a deep breath, feeling frustrated for a moment. The scent of the tea he had deliberately smelled faded, and her fragrance intensified. It was the very scent that had been stimulating him continuously since the moment he arrived at this mansion.

‘Truly, it’s irksome…’

At first, he wished to never meet the woman who stirred unnecessary emotions in him again. That was the reason he had deliberately let her go at their first encounter…

But as he followed the traces she left behind, he ended up coming all the way to the Count’s residence.

Her presence, which he faced again in such a way, still tested his patience. Not only her inexplicably alluring scent but also the kind of transaction surrounding her in the Count’s family.

The moment he heard that Marquis Chalet was marrying her, Caeron barely suppressed the urge to strangle that snake-like fellow.

This was the sixth time, wasn’t it… Marquis Chalet taking young ladies, young enough to be his daughters, as his wife. A high-ranking noble family like the Count’s would be well aware of Marquis Chalet’s secretive rumors. Yet the Countess tried to hand over her daughter, disguising it as an honor.

He keenly grasped the situation just from the conversations and atmosphere between the people. He also understood why she ended up taking the Imperial University exam. He could hand over the first place acceptance certificate to the Imperial University that she so desired, but that alone wasn’t enough.

‘I suppose… I’ll have to keep her close.’

Initially, he intended to bring her in as an assistant to the Grand Duke’s family, as Gregory had wished, but… He wanted to take her out of this place that was pushing her to the edge of a cliff and bring her more definitively into his territory.

And keeping her by his side was also a choice for himself. If there was ever anything that went against his temperament in his life that was dull to the point of languor, his choice was one of two things.

‘Either completely obliterate it or possess it entirely.’

This time, he chose the latter. If he couldn’t completely erase her existence, he decided to keep her by his side and control her instead. If he kept smelling this scent that attracted him to her, he would eventually get tired of it.

“Shall I make you a proposal?”

To do that, he needed to open the heart of the woman who was like a hidden flower bud. The seasoned negotiator, who always obtained what he wanted, fixed his gaze on the target sitting in front of him.