The Duke's Flower is Precarious (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 6
“I have something to say.”
It was during the dinner banquet following afternoon tea. Aidel broke the silence, speaking in a calm voice.
They had already been burning with curiosity over what she might have discussed during her private meeting with the Grand Duke. Marquis Chale, the Countess, and Rozeline all brightened their eyes instantly.
The Grand Duke, seated at the head of the table, wore a relaxed expression. He looked at her with eyes that seemed to say, “Go ahead and do as you please.”
“I am requesting an annulment of the engagement with House of Marquis Chale.”
“What did you say?”
Both Marquis Chale and the Countess simultaneously scrunched up their faces in dismay.
“Miss Aidel, what is the meaning of this? Do you think a marriage alliance between noble houses is some kind of joke?”
Marquis Chale glared at her, adopting a deliberately reprimanding tone. The Countess was also furious, but dared not raise her voice due to the Grand Duke’s presence, and settled for scolding her instead.
“What appalling manners! And to unilaterally decide on an annulment so suddenly!”
“I do not wish to marry Marquis Chale.”
Her gaze and tone were utterly unwavering. Aidel looked straight at them, clearly and firmly declaring her intent.
“You… you don’t wish to?”
Marquis Chale’s body trembled with rage, his face turning bright red. He had believed her to be meek and obedient, and this defiance ignited his fury. Had this been his own estate, he would have beaten her with his riding crop until she sobbed and begged for mercy… It infuriated him that this was not his manor.
Under the marquis’s whip-like, piercing glare, Aidel clenched her teeth tightly. The Grand Duke’s earlier words echoed in her mind, stirring up a wave of bile.
— “Do you truly know what kind of man Marquis Chale is before agreeing to marry him?”
— “What do you mean, ‘what kind of man’…?”
— “He adores horseback riding. He owns a riding ground second in size only to the imperial stables within his marquisate. He especially enjoys personally breaking in newly purchased horses. Rumor has it he collects whips of various leathers and sizes—an entire whip collection, in fact.”
— “Is that reason enough not to marry him?”
— “The marquis doesn’t only use those whips to tame horses. It’s said he uses the very same methods to ‘tame’ the wives he practically buys with money.”
— “Good heavens! Such a horrifying…!”
Marquis Chale was a sadistic pervert. It wasn’t hard to suspect that the mysterious deaths of his previous wives were also tied to his whip.
Yet Countess Fleur and Rozeline had actively pushed her toward marrying him. They had always wished for her misery—there was no way they didn’t know the truth.
Aidel felt even the sliver of lingering attachment she once held for this countess’s household vanish completely. She wanted nothing more than to leave this place right now—even if it meant taking the hand of the enigmatic Grand Duke.
“You’re still too young to understand—marriage alliances arranged by noble houses cannot be so easily broken.”
Marquis Chale desperately wanted to slap Aidel across the face, but barely restrained himself out of respect for the Grand Duke’s presence. He ground his teeth, his expression ferocious.
“…I have the right to decide my own marriage.”
“What right! You’re acting like you don’t understand even after I’ve spoken gently to you…”
“Imperial Statute 67, Section 2: Any woman aged nineteen or older possesses the legal right to register her marriage without parental consent. Imperial Statute 140, Section 1: Marriage registrations formed without mutual consent may be declared null and void.”
“Wh-what? Imperial Statutes? What are you…?”
Caught off guard by the sudden legal reference, the marquis stuttered in shock. Watching her precisely cite statute after statute, the Grand Duke chuckled aloud, clearly amused.
“She speaks the truth. Miss Aidel, having turned twenty this year, holds the legal right to determine her own marriage—and cannot be forced into one against her will.”
“This… this is absurd…”
The Grand Duke, who also served as the Empire’s Chief Justice, firmly sealed the matter. The marquis’s enraged red face paled instantly with panic.
“Are you saying you’ll act entirely on your own whim without your parents’ permission? Have you no gratitude for all we’ve done raising you?”
This time, the Countess stepped forward. She could no longer tolerate Aidel citing obscure statutes she’d apparently picked up from who-knows-where to ruin the meticulously arranged marriage.
“Do you truly believe you could survive without the Count’s household? Even the dress you’re wearing belongs to the House of Count Fleur! Do you wish to be cast out with nothing but the clothes on your back?”
“Countess, His Grace the Grand Duke is present. Kindly watch your language.”
Seeing the Countess jab a finger and spew harsh words, Gregory warned her coldly.
‘To think such talent could bloom under a mother like her.’
Gregory shook his head, watching the Countess huff in agitation. In contrast, Aidel’s calm demeanor—as if this were an everyday occurrence—painted a clear picture of how she must have been treated all along. The Grand Duke, thinking the same, frowned and asked,
“Cast out ‘with nothing’… Miss Aidel, is there anything here you wish to take with you?”
“…No. Nothing was ever truly given to me from the beginning.”
“Excellent. Then let us leave at once.”
The Grand Duke rose from his seat, and Gregory handed him his coat. Though momentarily startled by his sudden declaration, Aidel stood up as well.
“Wh-what is the meaning of this? Is Your Grace truly planning to…?”
The Countess asked in shock, as if she couldn’t believe the Grand Duke intended to leave the manor with Aidel. Rozeline, similarly unable to comprehend the situation, furrowed her brows in confusion.
“If they’re casting her out, I’ll gladly take her myself.”
“Th-that’s absurd! She was meant to become the marquis’s wife…”
The marquis, panic-stricken at the thought of Aidel being taken away, finally regained his composure and shouted. Cutting him off, the Grand Duke spoke in an icy tone,
“Marquis Chale. Should I take a personal interest in the deaths of your previous wives that occurred within your estate?”
“…!”
“I hold no particular interest in you—so long as you do not provoke my displeasure.”
Trapped like a cornered rat, Marquis Chale trembled uncontrollably. The Grand Duke’s deep blue eyes bore into him, as if already knowing everything.
“B-but no matter how exalted Your Grace may be… you have no right to take Aidel away…”
The Countess spoke in a strained, desperate voice—she couldn’t possibly let this happen. She feared the Grand Duke, yet couldn’t fathom by what right he claimed to take Aidel, whom he’d only just met today.
“I do have that right. She will become my Grand Duchess.”
“G-Grand Duchess?!”
The Countess and Rozeline stared in utter shock. Even Marquis Chale, who had been rendered speechless under the Grand Duke’s overwhelming presence, shared their astonishment.
There was one more person taken aback—Gregory, the aide. Even he gaped in disbelief at the Grand Duke’s unexpected declaration.
‘Why is my aide suddenly becoming the Grand Duchess?’
The Grand Duke’s original purpose in visiting the count’s estate had been to deliver Aidel’s acceptance letter to the Imperial University and to recruit her as an aide to the ducal household.
The astute Gregory had quickly grasped Aidel’s predicament and understood that the Grand Duke was helping her escape an unwanted marriage.
He had naturally assumed she would be taken to the ducal household as an aide—but the Grand Duke’s announcement that she would become his Grand Duchess left him utterly flustered. Still, being the capable aide he was, he quickly composed his expression.
“S-sister! Grand Duchess all of a sudden… Is this truly real?”
The sister who was supposed to become a plaything for that perverted marquis was now set to become the sole Grand Duchess of the Empire. Rozeline simply could not accept this reality. With eyes turned green with jealousy and resentment, she snapped at Aidel,
“It’s true. I’ve promised to marry His Grace the Grand Duke.”
At Aidel’s reply, Rozeline swayed unsteadily as if about to collapse. The Countess stood dazed, muttering “Impossible…” over and over. Watching their reactions, Aidel felt an unexpected sense of relief bloom in her chest.
“Let’s go.”
The Grand Duke draped his coat over her shoulders—a considerate gesture against the chilly evening air. Wrapped in his large coat, she felt as though enveloped by a sturdy shield.
Kaeron extended a hand to escort her. After a brief hesitation, her small, pale hand gently settled into his. Satisfied by the softness of her touch, a pleased smile bloomed at the corner of his lips.
“The future Grand Duchess shall come with me to the ducal household first. I will speak directly with Count Fleur regarding the engagement matter—see that you understand this.”
This was a clear rebuke of how the Countess had unilaterally arranged the engagement with the marquis in the count’s absence. Panic-stricken and speechless, the Countess could only watch helplessly as they walked out of the dining room.
“Miss Aidel!”
Just as Aidel was about to leave the manor with the Grand Duke, her maid Bien rushed toward the entrance, clutching a bag.
Though she held no lingering attachment to this count’s household, there was one person she worried about—Bien. As the daughter of a vassal family, Bien was entangled in the count’s household through vested interests. Aidel had even intended to deliberately distance herself from her before leaving…
“Please take this. I packed your favorite books and some simple clothing.”
“Bien…”
“Miss, please be happy.”
“Thank you, Bien.”
Though their exchange was brief, they understood each other perfectly just by meeting each other’s eyes.
Gregory, who had been watching them, took the bag Bien had prepared and led the way toward the ducal carriage.
“This way, please.”
As Aidel stepped out of the count’s estate, a flood of emotions welled within her. The moment she escaped that suffocating space, her tension eased—and her body nearly swayed with relief. Kaeron firmly steadied her shoulders.
“Are you all right?”
“Ahh… Thank you, Your Grace.”
Clutching the hem of his coat, Aidel felt an unfamiliar emotion slowly spreading from deep within her chest. It was a sense of stability born from another’s presence—even though she knew his kindness toward her stemmed merely from a ‘contract.’
— “You’ve passed the Imperial University entrance exam—as top student of the Faculty of Administration, no less.”
— “Goodness! Is that truly so?”
— “It may be too soon to celebrate. Even after graduating from Imperial University, noblewomen may legally pursue careers only after divorce, according to imperial statute.”
— “What? Is that truly the law? I never knew such a statute existed…”
— “It’s understandable—you wouldn’t know. It dates back to the founding of the Jupiter Empire. Yet the nobility still exists, and the statute remains in force. Even with your degree, as an unmarried noblewoman, finding employment will be nearly impossible.”
— “How can that be…!”
— “I shall provide you with the divorce certificate you need—on the condition that you become my Grand Duchess for the three years it takes you to graduate.”
— “Grand Duchess? You mean… me?”
— “Indeed. I hold your intellect in high regard. If you serve as my Grand Duchess and manage the administrative affairs of the ducal household during our contractual term, I’ll support your university studies—and upon graduation, grant you a divorce as you wish.”
So the only path for a noblewoman to gain independence and a profession was through divorce… She had aimed solely for graduation, only to find herself at a dead end. To her, the Grand Duke’s contract was an offer she simply couldn’t refuse.
Her keen senses kept warning her—during their conversation, his deep blue eyes occasionally flickered as they gazed at her. She still couldn’t decipher the meaning behind that fiery, lava-like intensity in his stare.
Yet despite knowing this, she had no choice but to take his hand. Like a storm-battered flower, exhausted and frail, she leaned into the firm embrace that shielded her from the tempest.
When yandere male lead believes she loves him — but she never did
“How dare you!”
“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?
“I will never accept that.”
“I will never let you return to him.”
“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”
“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”
“I will never let you escape me!”
This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!
At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.
Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.
The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.
Synopsis:
Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?
Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?
Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?
The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.
The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.
Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~
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Well it appears in this novel the emperor is a gullible fool.
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.