As Rosé, who didn’t exactly know who he was, squinted at the duke, he introduced himself.
“Duke Plicche.”
Upon hearing his name, Rosé flinched for a moment.
‘Duke Plicche… He’s the closest aide to the emperor.’
He was the man her tutor used to praise when she was receiving private lessons.
He was the one who had made the biggest contribution to the current emperor’s ascension to the throne.
‘…and he’s also the one who thoroughly used and discarded the Wens Count family.’
At the center of the Wens Count family’s downfall was Duke Plicche. After using the Wens Count family to his advantage, he eventually expelled them for knowing too much.
‘Just like the saying, “the dog chasing the chicken, looks at the roof” perfectly fits the Wens Count family who are destined to be abandoned later.’
“Yes, Duke Plicche.”
Realizing the enormity of the person she was dealing with, Rosé felt a cold shiver run down her spine.
‘I’m glad I didn’t know. If I did, I might not have been able to look him in the eyes and talk like earlier.’
Ignorance is bliss. She complained about the lack of cameras in this world, but she never dreamed that it would work in her favor.
Rosé, who was about to leave after greeting Duke Plicche, stopped at the sound of his voice calling her.
“Wait a moment.”
When Rosé glanced back, Duke Plicche directed a meaningful look at her and said,
“Please send my regards to Count Wens.”
To send greetings to her husband in this situation.
Rosé immediately grasped what Duke Plicche meant by that remark.
‘He’s clearly got a grudge.’
He was showing anger towards the Wens Count family.
“Yes, I will. Duke Plicche.”
Rosé pretended not to understand the duke’s intention, smiled brightly, and turned her back on him.
After all, it seemed that his arrow was not aimed at her, but at Eric, so it didn’t particularly matter.
Rosé straightened her back and gracefully left the scene.
After what seemed like a long walk, when she thought she was far enough away to be out of sight, Rosé finally exhaled heavily.
“Haah…”
Her heart was pounding at a rapid pace. She didn’t know how scared she was when the duke was dragging her words. She was afraid they would catch her lying.
“…I thought I was going to die.”
Rosé mumbled to herself as she slumped down on the spot. Her palms were sweaty. Then, she heard the voice of the Grand Duke Arteum breaking the silence.
“Why did you step forward when you were so scared?”
“Eek!”
Thinking she was alone, Rosé was startled at the sound of his voice.
‘What a surprise…! When did he get here?’
She hadn’t even heard his footsteps.
“…How long have you been here?”
As Rosé looked at him with a look as if she had seen a ghost, Grand Duke Arteum shrugged and said,
“I was behind you from the start.”
Rosé sneakily looked behind the Grand Duke, wondering if there were more people behind him.
“Don’t worry. It’s just the two of us here.”
Rosé sighed in relief at the words of the Grand Duke Arteum. She did not want to face the cold face of Duke Plicche again.
‘Being confrontational to someone even darker than Grand Duke Arteum…’
“Let me ask again. Why did you defend me?”
The Duke asked Rose with a rather curious expression.
“You… said you didn’t kill him.”
“So, you’ve spoken of seeing what you couldn’t have seen, for me?”
Rose slowly nodded at the Duke’s words.
“You seem to have believed my words. That I did not kill Duke Bled.”
“Yes.”
Of course, at first, I thought you had killed him…
The Duke of Artem’s eyes slightly twisted at Rose’s answer.
“You wouldn’t be unaware of the rumors about me.”
“But the rumor is just that… I thought you seemed kinder than I expected.”
At Rose’s words, the Duke stared at her with a surprised expression.
Of course, the first meeting with the Duke was frightening enough to make one’s calves cramp, but the man she experienced today was no different from anyone else.
Moreover, he was the one who caught her falling off the carriage and helped her escape from her husband’s grasp.
“I’m so sorry I misunderstood you at first. I didn’t know you saved Duke Bled because…”
Rose couldn’t look at the Duke’s face. Because she had treated a perfectly innocent man like a murderer. The Duke bowed his head deeply and looked at Rose, who didn’t know what to do.
Did Rose know that there was a strange madness in the gaze of the Duke, who was silently staring at her?
She probably didn’t know. Because Rose was bowing her head. The Duke slowly approached Rose.
“It’s fine. You are no different from my savior.”
Then, he leaned over Rose, who was sitting on the floor, and whispered.
“I want to repay you for saving me.”
The Duke said, gently brushing Rose’s hair, which was tangled in a mess. Her hair, which had come loose because of Eric, was in a sorry state after experiencing quite a turbulent situation.
With her hair disheveled and her big eyes looking at him, the image of his pet dog he was raising overlapped on the sight of Rose.
‘She resembles it.’
Unconsciously, the Duke’s hand tried to stroke Rose’s hair but stopped in midair. He almost treated Rose like his pet.
No matter how much they resembled each other, it was not polite to stroke a lady’s hair as if touching a puppy, so he immediately pulled his hand back.
“A repayment? It’s alright. I didn’t do it for something like…”
As soon as she uttered the words that she didn’t need any repayment, an idea came to her mind.
‘Wait… Could this be a good opportunity?’
Rose who had been speaking stopped and licked her lips. And then she hesitantly opened her mouth towards the Duke.
“Um… Duke.”
“You seem to have a wish?”
At the Duke’s words, Rose slowly nodded and spoke.
“I…”
What was she going to say that she was hesitating so much? The Duke of Artem did not rush her and waited for her to speak comfortably.
After a long period of pondering, Rose finally seemed to have made up her mind and got to the point.
“Please help me. I need to go through a divorce process, and I don’t know anything about it.”
At Rose’s unexpected words, the Duke’s pupils shook.
“Divorce? You?”
It was hard to believe that the word ‘divorce’ came out of the mouth of the woman who had been following Eric’s back.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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