Chapter 09
Choose One
July 31, 2022
I naturally thought we were heading to the office, but that wasn’t the case.
The Duke of Ferdia stopped in front of his private bedroom.
Why here?
Ever since my biological mother brought me to the Ferdia household, I had lived in the annex.
It wasn’t like I was outright banned from entering the main house or treated with obvious discrimination. Still, there were a few places I could never enter.
First was the Duchess’s greenhouse.
Second was the underground area of the estate, where Gluttony—one of the Seven Deadly Sins sealed by the Ferdia family—was kept.
And third… was the Duke’s bedroom.
Back when I believed I was his illegitimate child, I was too intimidated to even think of approaching him.
And now that I knew I wasn’t even his real daughter, I had even more reason to keep my distance.
The Duke opened the bedroom door without hesitation and stepped inside.
Not knowing what to do, I hesitated—until he turned to look at me.
“Come in.”
“Yes…!”
I quickly entered and shut the door behind me.
It was my first time inside the Duke’s bedroom. The room carried a heavy, imposing atmosphere that suited him perfectly.
Though spacious, it looked somewhat empty due to the minimal furniture. Despite it still being daytime, thick curtains covered most of the windows, allowing light in through only a small opening.
It was a room that felt entirely like the Duke himself.
As I discreetly glanced around, the Duke suddenly began taking off his shirt.
Gasp.
I subtly averted my eyes. He must have gotten blood on it while interrogating his aide and was changing clothes.
His body is incredible.
It was hard to believe he was the father of two grown sons. His muscles looked like a work of art. Having reached the peak of swordsmanship, his physical aging had slowed, leaving his appearance frozen in his twenties.
No wonder so many noblewomen admired him.
But his upper body was covered in numerous scars—large and small.
They were proof of the countless hardships he had endured to secure his position as the head of the shadowy Ferdia family.
I quietly waited for him to finish changing.
With a flick, he tossed his bloodstained clothes aside and looked at me.
“Sit.”
I awkwardly sat on the sofa, and he took the seat across from me.
He immediately got to the point.
“How did you know?”
Though he didn’t specify, it was obvious what he meant.
How did I know his aide was secretly communicating with the Second Prince?
It seemed better to mix some truth into my answer rather than lie outright.
“Shortly before His Majesty’s birthday banquet, I ran into Sir Arold in the corridor.”
“…”
The Duke said nothing, but his steady gaze remained fixed on me.
It wasn’t accusatory, yet it still made my throat dry.
“At the time, Sir Arold misunderstood something.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“Yes. He thought that I liked the Second Prince—”
Crack.
Startled by the sudden noise, I glanced down to see the table beneath the Duke’s hand had been crushed.
“…?”
Was that meant as a warning to crush me the same way?
Terrified, I quickly denied it.
“Of course not! There’s no way I’d like that womanizer!”
At my firm denial, the Duke removed his hand from the table and leaned back slightly, his expression relaxing.
It was surprising to see someone so composed lose control, even for a moment.
He must have reacted because it would disrupt things if I sided with the Second Prince instead of the First.
That was the only logical explanation.
Still… wasn’t that a bit excessive?
Anyway, he seemed to believe me, so I continued.
“I didn’t bother correcting Sir Arold’s misunderstanding. Then at the banquet, the Second Prince approached me—just as you saw.”
The Duke gave a short nod.
“So I thought it would be best to warn you.”
It wasn’t a lie.
I simply omitted the part where I had deliberately fed the aide false information about liking the Second Prince.
“I see. So that’s what happened.”
Thankfully, he didn’t seem suspicious.
Still, I hadn’t expected him to accept my explanation so easily.
An awkward silence followed.
If there had at least been tea, I could’ve occupied myself, but there was nothing.
Fidgeting with my fingers, I finally asked what I had been wondering.
“What will happen to Sir Arold?”
“Well… he’ll have to pay the price for betrayal.”
There was no way betrayal of the Ferdia family would be taken lightly.
I had heard that traitors were dealt with according to the family’s methods, but I didn’t know the details.
“Will he be killed?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Death is too lenient a punishment.”
His tone and expression were unchanged, yet I felt a chill run down my spine.
The idea of something worse than death—delivered so casually—was terrifying.
The old me might have asked more questions to gain his attention.
But now, I knew it was better to stay silent.
The Duke called my name.
“Elody.”
“Yes?”
“For the time being, avoid passing through the corridors. There are too many rats hiding within the family—we’ll be conducting a thorough purge.”
“I understand.”
I smiled as I answered, though my heart pounded.
Technically, I’m one of those rats too…
Not his real daughter, yet living here under the guise of being illegitimate.
This only strengthened my resolve.
I must never get caught.
If I did, I might suffer the same fate as the aide.
With the head of the Severes family—my biological father—currently in a coma, I had no protection.
And I’d heard that before his condition, he and the Duke had been on terrible terms.
The best course was to stay quiet and prepare for independence.
As I was about to excuse myself, I lifted my head—and met the Duke’s gaze.
His golden eyes felt like they were binding me in place.
“Elody.”
“…Yes.”
“You’ve contributed greatly in exposing this traitor. I will grant you one wish.”
My eyes widened in surprise.
I hadn’t expected a reward.
I’d like to ask him never to kill me, no matter what… but…
Having lived a tough life in my previous life, I knew better than to rely on verbal promises.
Making such a request might get me killed instead.
So there was only one thing I should ask for.
“Then please lift my confinement.”
Staying in the annex wasn’t bad, but I needed to start preparing for independence.
The Duke’s expression stiffened slightly.
“Is that truly all?”
“Yes, that’s enough.”
After a pause, he agreed.
“Very well. Your confinement is lifted.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Inside, I was cheering.
Yes!
But then—
“There is one condition.”
“A condition…?”
“Choose.”
“…?”
“Yansi or Carlote.”
“…What?”
“You’ll be leaving the estate, won’t you? Take one of them as your escort.”
This was absurd.
Why insist on his sons?
I tried to refuse.
“They’re both busy—”
“Do you think they would dare refuse?”
“…No.”
I had no argument.
“They dislike me—”
“I don’t care.”
“…Then I’ll take another knight—”
“No.”
“…I can go alone—”
“No.”
Finally, he added,
“The Second Prince may approach you. Ordinary knights won’t be able to stop him.”
That made sense.
Reluctantly, I accepted.
“Then just take both.”
“No! I’ll choose!”
One was better than two.
Taking a deep breath, I made my decision.
“I will…”
