The Duke's Flower is Precarious (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
The atmosphere at the dinner table where four people sat together was delicate.
It was as if they were in the eye of a storm—calm for now, yet unsure when an unpredictable gust might strike.
“Is the food not to your liking?”
Noticing that the food on her plate barely diminished and that her hand holding the cutlery had nearly stopped moving, Kaeron asked. At his question, Aidel shook her head slightly and offered a faint smile.
“No, not at all. It’s an exquisite meal.”
Seeing her forced, fleeting smile, Kaeron examined her face with concern. Pascal’s eyes widened in astonishment at Kaeron’s attentiveness, while Rozeline clenched her teeth, her hands trembling slightly.
“Your Highness is so kind to my elder sister.”
After watching the two for a moment, Rozeline exclaimed with an overly bright smile, as if deliberately exaggerating her admiration. She had long concealed the jealousy twisting her expression.
“I can’t tell you how fortunate it is that my sister is to marry Your Highness. If she had married… Marquis Chale… Oh!”
Rozeline covered her mouth with her hand, feigning panic as though she’d made a slip of the tongue.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought up such an irrelevant matter.”
“Marquis Chale?”
Pascal caught the name clearly—spoken unusually loud—and repeated it questioningly.
“Why did Marquis Chale suddenly come up?”
Rozeline’s lips quirked upward slightly, as though this was precisely the reaction she’d hoped for, but she quickly lowered the corners of her eyes and answered with feigned reluctance.
“Well… actually… How could I possibly hide anything from His Majesty? The truth is, my sister was originally engaged to Marquis Chale.”
After finishing her sentence, Rozeline subtly glanced toward the Grand Duke seated across from her. His expression unreadable, the Grand Duke watched her with folded arms, as if silently urging her to go on.
“Is that true? So the future Grand Duchess broke off her engagement with Marquis Chale before entering into one with you, Brother…?”
“I was terribly shocked as well. Until Marquis Chale came to our estate to prepare for the wedding, I never once heard a word about it from my sister… After Your Highness visited the count’s residence, she asked the Marquis to call off their engagement.”
Though her tone wasn’t openly accusatory toward her sister’s sudden announcement of breaking off the engagement, the implication alone was enough to highlight her sister’s perceived rudeness.
“How utterly shocked and wounded Marquis Chale was that day… Ah! Of course, in the end, it’s far better that my sister married Your Highness.”
She made sure to subtly convey the shock Marquis Chale must have felt. Pascal frowned slightly as he looked between the Grand Duke and the future Grand Duchess.
“Did you already know about this, Grand Duke?”
Considering Rozeline’s presence—an outsider—Pascal switched to a formal title as he asked. Kaeron tilted his head slightly and looked back at Pascal.
“Whether I knew beforehand or not isn’t important. What matters most is the choice made by the future Grand Duchess.”
“Hah! The future Grand Duchess is even more formidable than I imagined. I’ve never seen anyone dare place the Grand Duke on a scale before.”
Pascal’s icy gaze settled on Aidel, clearly resentful at the thought of her weighing Marquis Chale against Grand Duke Elyos when deciding her marriage.
For a moment, Aidel hesitated—should she honestly explain to the Emperor the contractual nature of her relationship with the Grand Duke?
But with Rozeline present, she couldn’t recklessly speak out, so she merely pressed her lips together.
As she sat there, clutching the fabric of her dress over her knees in indecision, a large hand gently covered hers.
‘…!’
Startled, she turned to look—and saw Kaeron shaking his head slightly at her, a silent signal not to say a word.
Immediately turning toward Pascal, Kaeron spoke with unwavering composure.
“It was I who asked her to break off her engagement with Marquis Chale and marry me.”
“…What did you say?”
“I fell in love. At first sight. With my Grand Duchess.”
His words were so sweet, it was hard to believe they came from the man famed throughout the empire as the stern and cold Grand Duke.
“Brother… No, Your Grace—you’re saying this?”
Pascal gaped unconsciously, stunned by a side of Kaeron he’d never seen before.
He’d assumed Kaeron must have had feelings for his fiancée to agree to the engagement, but he never dreamed he’d hear such a sentimental confession as “love at first sight” from his lips.
“So please, don’t make her uncomfortable.”
Though he addressed the Emperor, his sharp gaze was fixed on Rozeline. Under that piercing stare that seemed to see right through her, Rozeline’s pupils trembled, and she bit her lip tightly.
Rozeline’s eyes, avoiding the Grand Duke’s, landed on her elder sister Aidel’s face. At first glance, Aidel’s expression seemed calm—
yet Rozeline could read the emotions hidden within: the faint blush rising on her pale cheeks and the soft shimmer in her eyes.
‘It’s too soon to be happy, sister.’
Rozeline curled her crimson lips fiercely, her eyes blazing.
She hadn’t truly believed that merely mentioning Marquis Chale could shake the Grand Duke’s resolve. After all, hadn’t he already shielded her sister from the Marquis and taken her away?
This was merely a helpful background explanation—for the Emperor, who knew nothing.
‘Now that the prologue is over, it’s time for the main act.’
“In love at first sight? How utterly romantic!”
Having collected her expression, Rozeline sparkled with excitement as she began the performance she’d prepared.
“My sister always wished to be loved by someone… I’m so glad it turned out this way!”
Pinching her own thigh hard on purpose, Rozeline’s eyes welled with tears.
“In our family, my sister always seemed lonely… Even though it was never her fault…”
Lowering her gaze, she wore an endlessly pitiful and sorrowful expression as she murmured almost to herself.
“Oh… Just what is that ‘fragrance,’ I wonder…?”
Since she was the only one delivering lines in this scene, her soliloquy—emphasizing specific words—rang out clearly.
At the word “fragrance,” Kaeron’s previously calm expression cracked ever so slightly. His gaze sharpened as he fixed his eyes intently on Rozeline.
“…Fragrance?”
Pascal repeated, perplexed.
“Oh dear! I’ve misspoken again…”
Rozeline performed another rehearsed “mistake,” widening her eyes and covering her mouth with her hand in feigned embarrassment. As always, her eyes instinctively flicked toward Aidel.
Just as dark clouds suddenly gather in a clear sky, Aidel’s expression clouded over instantly.
Seeing Aidel’s sea-green eyes tremble like grass battered by a storm, Rozeline felt a surge of euphoria welling up from deep within her chest.
‘You can never be happy, sister. You’re nothing but an artificial flower.’
Wiping away her sly smile, Rozeline furrowed her brows even more deeply, feigning awkward distress.
“Please forget my slip. It’s a secret of our family, after all…”
“A secret? There are no secrets before the Emperor. Speak clearly—what are you referring to?”
Unable to contain his curiosity, Pascal pressed her for an answer. After fidgeting with her fingers for a long moment—waiting for the peak of everyone’s attention—Rozeline finally spoke.
“It’s just… Our House of Fleur possesses a hereditary trait.”
“A hereditary trait?”
“Actually, we are born carrying the scent of our birth flower.”
“Our bodies… emit a fragrance?”
Pascal asked, astonished. At the same moment, Kaeron’s eyes met Aidel’s. Her head slightly bowed, eyes lowered, her face revealed no emotional disturbance.
Yet beneath his hand, he could feel her skin stiffen and quiver faintly. Kaeron’s gaze deepened.
“How fascinating! So that’s why such a rich rose scent clings to you!”
Pascal said with intrigued admiration. Though no roses were present in the dining hall, the air was filled with their fragrance. He’d assumed it was Rozeline’s perfume—but it was actually her natural scent…
Pascal, rubbing his chin, suddenly looked puzzled and tilted his head as he turned toward Aidel.
“But… I don’t detect any particular fragrance from the future Grand Duchess?”
“That’s because…”
Rozeline paused dramatically, catching her breath before delivering the climax. She continued in a deeply sorrowful tone.
“My sister… was born ‘without’ a scent. She is the only one in our entire family…”
“The only one without a scent? Why is that?”
Pascal asked, bewildered. Rozeline shook her head innocently, as if she herself genuinely wished she knew the answer.
“I really wonder as well. But… since my sister and I have different mothers, perhaps the late Countess—our predecessor—might have known the reason…”
Though spoken with feigned naivety, as if merely repeating something she’d once heard, her words were more than enough to cast doubt upon Aidel’s parentage.
Though this was a familiar tale she’d heard countless times, Aidel’s body stiffened as if her breath had been stolen. Her vision swam, dizziness washing over her.
Had it only been Countess Fleur and Rozeline present, she wouldn’t have been so shaken—but in this moment, the warmth covering her hand felt as if it might vanish any second, making her eyes sting with heat.
‘He, too… might…’
Aidel was gradually consumed by the fear that even he might reject her existence. She wanted to turn her palm upward and grasp his hand firmly—but couldn’t find the courage.
Just then, his hand—lightly covering hers—slid a finger between hers and firmly interlaced their fingers.
“…Your Highness…”
Startled, Aidel looked up at Kaeron. Her soft voice was thick with unshed tears.
Seeing her reddened eyes, he tightened his grip slightly on their clasped hands. His hardened gaze shifted to Rozeline.
“Your concern for your elder sister is truly impressive.”
Rozeline, who had been secretly smiling in satisfaction, froze under the Grand Duke’s icy glare. Though his words sounded like praise, his voice was chillingly cold.
“You needn’t worry about her anymore.”
Gently pulling the hand of the woman he held, Kaeron brought her wrist to his nose. Slowly, his lips brushed against the inside of her wrist—right where her pulse raced rapidly.
Kissing a lady’s hand in greeting was a familiar and common gesture of etiquette. But kissing the inner side of her wrist—not the back of her hand—was strangely intimate.
‘Hah…!’
Rozeline gasped audibly at the sight, stunned. Unconsciously trembling under the intense emotion in the Grand Duke’s eyes, she swallowed the moan that threatened to escape her lips.
“I’m already thoroughly intoxicated by her—right now.”
Though his movements remained elegant, like those of a refined gentleman, his eyes shimmered with raw, unrestrained possessiveness.
Like a predator guarding its mate—untouchable by anyone else—his deepened blue eyes left every onlooker breathless.
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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MANGA DISCUSSION
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Chapter Comments (4)
Can’t wait for second prince to die . How dare he touch grand Duchess with his filthy hand.
I hope Kareon kills first prince . But maybe that’s not going to happen because of diplomatic relations between kingdoms. If at that moment aidel would have remained unconscious ,second prince definitely would have died .It’s unfortunate , that bastard should have died on spot.
I am blushing even though I don’t know what withdrawal symptoms is.
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Aelthia
Well it appears in this novel the emperor is a gullible fool.