Chapter: 02
When I glanced back, Dielo slightly shook his head.
“…Are you telling me to touch the dress of a young lady I’m meeting for the first time?”
“I already gave permission. More importantly…”
I turned to face him.
Then I gently pulled his hand toward me.
I saw myself reflected in his blue eyes.
“This is a matter that affects both you and Argenta’s fate. Shouldn’t you see it for yourself?”
“……”
Dielo, momentarily taken aback, fell silent at my words.
Then, eventually, he rose from his seat.
—Click.
As I turned my back to him again, the sound of my shoe hitting the floor echoed unusually loudly in the room.
“……”
His hand slowly approached and soon touched my back.
Beyond the fabric, even though it only grazed the buttons, a strange heat coursed up my back.
I couldn’t tell if it was from tension or from the fire ability that Dielo Argenta controlled.
—Tap.
His hand unfastened the button.
I could feel the air exposing the area near the nape of my neck, where his name would have been engraved.
“Look carefully. This is proof that I am a fake.”
I bit my lip. This was something I had to succeed at. Unconsciously, I clenched my fist tightly.
Croix Aloze can control water.
Even if her ability was said to be weak, incapable of even holding spilled water properly, there was no way she couldn’t move the blood in her own body.
Even if it’s difficult, I must move it!
—Fwoosh!
At that moment, a faint blue light seeped from my hand.
And I almost froze.
It’s easier than I thought…
Is Croix’s ability stronger than portrayed in the original story?
Moving the blood in my body was as simple as moving a finger.
Had something changed when I possessed this body?
“……!”
Meanwhile, Dielo’s expression changed constantly.
Of course.
The wound engraved between the shoulder blades, near the nape where the neckline starts, would be fading.
“This is…”
If this were the real proof of Pero, it couldn’t disappear like this.
I turned to him.
There was no time to worry about my slightly loose clothing.
At this moment, I had to persuade Dielo Argenta.
“Duke Aloze forcibly engraved your name on my body.”
If he can move water, there’s no way he can’t move blood too.
“This is proof that I am a fake.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
Our gazes met—his stormy blue eyes locked with mine.
“Now… have you started to consider making a deal with me?”
Could he trust me?
—Thud.
I leaned on the desk as I asked him.
The blood beneath my skin, formed in the shape of his name, moved, sending a sharp pain through me.
But, ironically, the sting kept me alert.
“Duke Aloze deceived Duke Argenta and only commanded me to become Pero. Proposing a deal like this is my spontaneous action.”
I spread my hand.
“In other words, not a single person in all of Aloze knows my thoughts—not even Duke Aloze himself.”
Dielo, who had been staring at me as if trying to read my mind, slowly opened his mouth.
“A fake Pero… I knew Argenta was being underestimated, but I didn’t expect this much.”
His blue eyes stared at me.
“Do you think Argenta will let go of someone who tried to deceive the head of the house?”
“No, he wouldn’t spare me.”
No matter how gentle Dielo Argenta was.
“That’s why I’m proposing a deal. I want to live.”
At my words, Dielo glanced down at the slightly cooled teacup.
“You’re a fake Pero, yet you say there’s a reason for me to continue this marriage?”
“Yes. Two reasons.”
I answered him confidently. Dielo raised an eyebrow slightly.
“First.”
I looked him straight in the eyes and continued.
“Right now, it’s said that Argenta is the weakest among the heads of the houses. That’s why Water Aloze and Wind Cartiel are ignoring Argenta. They’re even trying to be deceived by a fake Pero.”
I stared into his blue eyes and continued.
“If I marry you, I can pretend to be deceived. Until you find the real Pero and regain your strength, I can buy time by keeping them off guard.”
If I married him, Duke Aloze would believe that Dielo was completely fooled by the fake Pero.
“Second.”
I looked at my fingertips.
“This place protects the Infinite Sea, right? I’ve heard that defense along the borders has become difficult because Pero has been delayed.”
My gaze met his directly.
“Until the real Pero arrives, if I wield the power of Aloze, I could help defend the sea.”
In the original story, Croix Aloze was said to be poor at controlling her water ability.
But according to the author, abilities are amplified in areas with abundant sources of power.
So, what about the sea, overflowing with water? Even moving just a little could make me a significant force.
I looked down at the teacup in front of me.
If I could manipulate this water freely, it would help persuade Dielo.
Originally, Croix’s ability was so weak that she couldn’t even control spilled tea water.
But just now, I moved my blood with complete freedom.
Would it work this time?
—Splash!
The water in the teacup leapt upward, forming the exact shape of the cup it had been contained in.
…This is a weak ability?
It wasn’t difficult to manipulate a full cup of water, not just spilled water.
But there was no time to be surprised.
At this moment, I had to appear as a reliable partner.
I looked Dielo straight in the eyes.
“……”
As I moved the water, his gaze followed the teacup I shaped.
From his position, having to face an endless sea with fire, he couldn’t help but envy my water ability.
Would he take the bait?
The moment our eyes met, Dielo spoke.
“……Even if your ability is as you say, I am not a strong head of the house. Trading with me won’t stop Aloze.”
A forlorn smile.
But that was an act.
A lie.
“No, it can stop them.”
I denied his words with certainty. Even without referring to the original story, I had enough evidence.
“The world may say you’re weak, but if your power were truly lacking, most of Argenta would have defected.”
Yet the senior members of Argenta remained loyal.
This meant the power transmitted from the Argenta head was not weak.
The reason he was treated as weak was simply because he didn’t display his power skillfully.
But I knew from the original story.
He was biding his time, waiting to overturn the situation. He was the most powerful Argenta head in history.
Even without reading the entire story, I knew.
If the introduction and reviews weren’t lying.
In other words, if I twist the story from my side…
As long as I don’t erase his lily in place of the real Pero, he could blossom as the strongest head.
The problem was buying time until then.
“Even Duke Aloze already doubts Duke Argenta.”
Those who’ve done bad deeds understand well. The head might underestimate Dielo, but he couldn’t ignore the subtle sense of unease.
A weak head, rumored to be frail, yet zero defections among his retainers.
Duke Aloze, suspicious, went as far as this insane fake Pero plan.
If Dielo truly were weak, this would be the chance to decisively crush Argenta.
I leaned slightly closer to him.
His jaw, sculpted as if by a divine hand, and sharp nose came closer.
Dielo Argenta. He had always been called handsome, even as a child, for his defined features.
He was wavering. Now was the time to give him certainty.
“I truly have no intention of seducing Duke Argenta.”
Dielo’s gaze fixed on me.
“If Duke Aloze’s plan takes away your abilities and potential, I’d be welcome nowhere—neither in Aloze nor Argenta.”
A card no longer needed in Aloze. A scoundrel who stole the head’s power in Argenta.
“What did you intend if I didn’t believe the young lady’s words? That’s why you came here, right?”
Dielo’s cautious gaze studied me again.
“I thought someone like you would be wise enough to accept this proposal.”
I exhaled sharply.
Failing this deal meant death. So I had to be confident.
I straightened my back.
“As I said earlier, we will marry.”
Marriage would not change.
“And we will spend the night as Aloze desires.”
Just as Dielo’s expression stiffened, I spoke softly.
“—But.”
I held out my hand to his pure white one.
“Only hold hands.”
Pretending to spend the night with him—until the real Pero arrives.
Dielo’s eyes widened at my words.
“Until Argenta’s real Pero arrives, we will keep Aloze and Cartiel off guard and then strike with Pero’s blossomed power.”
According to the original story, the real Pero appears about two months after Croix enters as the fake Pero.
Until then, the goal is to keep them unsuspecting.
I spread my hand.
“Your Grace… surely has enough ability for that.”
This was an offer Dielo Argenta couldn’t refuse.
Many would covet him, yet no one would willingly side with him.
And the one coming to side with him was his hidden card: Croix Aloze.
“Is that the condition of your deal, young lady?”
Dielo’s blue eyes studied me. I nodded lightly.
“Yes. In return for this contract marriage, destroy Aloze and protect me, Duke Dielo Argenta.”
He touched his lips thoughtfully.
A long silence. A long contemplation.
At that moment, his pale blue eyes, once calm like the sea, seemed like a deep ocean.
Then Dielo finally spoke, a gentle smile appearing on his lips.
“Very well. From now on, call me Dielo.”
He extended his hand toward me.
“As publicly announced, I will marry young lady Croix. And at the upcoming wedding, we will share the first night…”
His blue eyes closed.
“From that day, I will gradually lose the opportunity to blossom.”
His voice was mournful.
“—Though I will pretend to lose it, of course.”
Saying this, Dielo approached me.
Startled, I stepped back unconsciously, but he came closer and placed his hand on my back.
Momentarily frozen.
“Allow me to perform even a belated courtesy, young lady.”
He smiled faintly.
“…Ah.”
My tension melted, and my shoulders slumped.
—Tap.
The button on my dress, which had been undone, was fastened again by his hand.
I shivered from the strange heat and tension engulfing my back and neck.
—Softly.
He removed his jacket and draped it over my exposed back.
Warmth enveloped me.
He smiled at me. The deal was done.
The original story had begun to twist.
