Chapter 7

The Northern Grand Duke

Just as he stood by the doorway, unable to take a single step and shamelessly admiring her legs with his eyes, a knock sounded.

Knock, knock.

The sound startled Selen so badly that even he could feel it.

For a brief moment, he felt foolish for thinking she might actually have been waiting for him.

Of course she wasn’t.

And she never would.

What kind of person was he in Selen’s eyes?

From her perspective, he was nothing more than a thug who had bought her.

She probably thought he had purchased her like an object.

Then he had forced her into a marriage, and for the past three nights he had kept showing up to see her face.

How much must she hate that?

“Who am I kidding?”

Soon, Anna carefully closed the door and left.

As Varas picked up the robe he had brought for Selen, a strange thought crossed his mind.

Is that tiny towel really the only thing covering her right now?

Then another thought followed.

And just how thin is that towel?

As if possessed, he approached her.

When Selen sensed him drawing near and immediately shrank her shoulders, he felt an odd sensation.

What if I throw away this robe and turn her around?

Suddenly, an image of her already crying appeared in his mind.

Calling himself a madman, he tried to drape the robe over her shoulders.

But another voice rose inside him.

Why not? Isn’t that why you bought her? Why hesitate? Do you think she’ll hold your hand because she thinks you’re kind? Are you actually expecting something like that? What a joke.

“I’m losing my mind.”

He squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them and tossed the robe over her shoulders.

His face was deeply scowling.

Anyone who saw him would have thought he was furious.

Selen carefully slipped her arms into the robe and turned slightly.

The irritation instantly vanished from Varas’s face.

Her hair had hidden it before, but now he noticed that not only her neck but even her ears were red like a ripe tomato.

In a tiny voice, she said,

“Thank you. I thought it was Anna…”

Though she didn’t look directly at him, she was probably embarrassed.

Varas rubbed his chin, then pressed and stretched his stiff neck a few times before crossing his arms.

He slowly inhaled and then exhaled.

Finally, he spoke.

“What did you say? Your voice was too quiet.”

Her eyes trembled helplessly, and her gaze darted around.

Was she really that determined to thank him?

She repeated herself.

“Th-thank you. I thought Anna had come.”

Varas swallowed a laugh and lowered his head.

He tried to bring his ear closer to her, but even after bending down, he was still far above the top of her head.

Then he repeated himself.

“What did you say? Try saying it a little louder.”

*

Selen blamed her tiny voice.

What had happened to all the vocal training she had practiced while studying acting?

Seeing Varas tilt his head and offer her his ear, she tried to calm her pounding heart.

Gathering her courage, she grabbed his arm and stood on tiptoe.

Stretching upward as far as she could, she whispered into his ear.

Hoping he would hear clearly.

“Thank you… for treating me kindly.”

This time he seemed to have heard her.

Lowering herself from her tiptoes, Selen quietly looked up at him.

As his head slowly turned, his profile came into view.

His faded left eye.

His straight nose.

Each feature made her heart pound harder.

When her gaze finally met his other eye, shining like a jewel, she could only pray he couldn’t hear her racing heartbeat.

Varas found this little woman fascinating.

Was there anyone in the world who touched him so casually?

Was there anyone who accepted his gaze so naturally?

When their eyes met and she awkwardly withdrew her hand, he felt disappointed.

Disappointed? About what?

If I want to hold her hand, I can just grab it.

Then why won’t my damn hand move?

Watching her sit down at the table as if preparing to eat dinner, he suddenly remembered the jewelry he had brought.

He pulled a flat box from inside his coat and placed it on the table before sitting across from her.

Selen’s eyes widened.

“What is this?”

Now finally breathing a little easier, Varas replied in his usual leisurely tone.

“A gift.”

Though hesitant, Selen reached out and opened the box.

Inside was a matching set of jewelry—a necklace, earrings, and bracelet centered around a clear, brilliant diamond.

The slight parting of her lips suggested she liked it.

Now all he had to do was wait for Selen to sell the gift and run away.

Every jeweler and pawnshop in Belias had already been informed of the serial numbers.

He had even given them instructions.

Do not reveal anything.

Pay her a promissory note worth one thousand gold and then bring the jewelry to the castle.

There would naturally be a generous reward.

The moment she showed those jewels to someone in order to sell them, he would know.

After that, all he had to do was casually send Anna along again and encourage another outing.

Game over.

Selen didn’t know who Anna really was.

She would think she could easily shake her off.

And once she had enough money secured, there would be no reason not to escape.

If she ran away just once, it felt as though all these troubling emotions would disappear.

Then he could return to his original plan.

Treat her as nothing more than an object.

Without hesitation.

Just in case she somehow escaped Belias without selling the jewelry, he had deliberately chosen small diamonds that would be easy to trade.

Small, but high-quality stones with excellent clarity and cutting.

They would fetch a handsome price anywhere.

With that amount of money, she could easily buy a comfortable house and live alone.

And if she settled somewhere, he could find her.

It might take time.

But he would definitely find her.

And once he did, he could simply lock her up.

To Varas, they were merely jewels.

To Selen, they were precious treasures.

A gift.

The first gift she had ever received from this man—

No, from any man.

No matter how strange the circumstances had been, she had thought she might finally be beginning a romance with her ideal type.

The gloomy feelings she’d carried instantly vanished.

Varas wasn’t the kind of man who gave gifts.

Even if this was simply him providing necessary items for the Grand Duchess without any personal feelings attached, that was fine.

For some reason, he was genuinely trying to treat her kindly.

The many differences from the original story came flooding into her mind.

And for the first time, hope began to bloom.

Maybe she could actually get along with him.

She would treasure this jewelry set carefully.

She would wear it only on a very special day.

And someday, when she could talk comfortably with Varas, she would tell him how she had felt today.

“The first gift I ever received from you.”

After examining the jewelry for quite a while, Selen finally smiled in satisfaction and closed the box.

Watching her, Varas found himself smiling inwardly as well.

“Go ahead and try your best.”

“From the day you run away, you’ll be crying every single day.”

[Day 4]

Varas deliberately left the inner castle gates open.

So that Selen could leave whenever she wished.

He wanted to create an environment where she could carefully prepare for her escape.

While considering how best to guide the situation, he replenished the Grand Duchess’s personal funds.

He had also spoken to Anna.

News would come soon enough.

Just then, he spotted Selen leaving the castle.

Anna was with her.

Without even realizing it, Varas had been watching the gate the entire time.

He immediately rose and followed.

Watching him from the side, Zart could only swallow a bitter laugh.

Nine years old.

That had been the age when his lord first entered a battlefield.

After burying the body of the previous Grand Duke, who had been killed by enemy forces, he left.

Before the next winter had even passed, he returned carrying the head of the man responsible.

Disguised as a war orphan.

Starting as a stable boy who cleaned horse manure.

A relentless monster.

It had taken him two full years to achieve his goal.

When he returned, his enemy’s severed head dangled casually from one hand.

Neither the process nor the result of that revenge had been honorable.

Back then, when he dragged his battered body home, Zart had seen his lord’s composure broken.

For the first and last time.

At thirteen, after recovering, he returned to the battlefield once more.

The reason he chose such a brutal path before even reaching adulthood was because of his sister.

In any case, after that day, Zart never saw his lord lose control again.

Not in any sense.

Watching his master’s retreating back, Zart silently cheered for him.

He prayed that flowers would finally bloom in the late spring that had at last arrived in his lord’s life.

*

Selen spent a long time at the marketplace she had merely passed through yesterday.

Opening a small pouch, she took out a few coins.

Varas immediately noticed her clumsy fingers counting them.

As she wandered through the market, the things she bought were:

Two apples.

A grilled chicken skewer.

A poorly made leather coin purse.

Things completely useless for escaping.

The merchants, seeing Varas outside the castle again for a second day, became tense.

But when they realized the Grand Duke wasn’t paying them any attention, they simply held their breath and waited quietly for him to pass.

Selen once again sat beside the fountain where she had spent the previous day.

Apparently she had grown fond of it.

She said something to Anna and handed her the chicken skewer.

At first Anna seemed reluctant.

But eventually she accepted it and began eating.

Selen immediately broke into a bright smile.

Varas found her strange.

“Can a person really smile like that?”

When she smiled, it felt as though light itself spread around her.

Was it an illusion caused by her bright hair?

Was the sunlight reflecting off it?

Then another thought came.

What happened that made her smile like that?

He was certain.

He hadn’t taken his eyes off her for even a moment.

And yet he still couldn’t understand.

What in the world had made her smile?