Chapter 7

Bella fell into deep thought.

What should I do? At this point… should I just beg him to kill me instead?

It felt as though all the blood in her body had rushed to her head. Her mind raced at an incredible speed.

In the end, she wanted only one thing.

Marriage to him was merely the means.

The honor of becoming a duchess? She couldn’t have cared less. The desire to make the man before her fall in love with her? She didn’t have even the slightest interest in that.

What she wanted wasn’t a new beginning with him.

It was an ending.

As long as the result was the same, the path didn’t matter.

If so… what if she abandoned the idea of marriage and tried a different approach?

Just as she was contemplating it—

“I’ve heard enough from you. Now answer my question.”

As though convinced that dragging this conversation out any longer would be a waste of time, he spoke calmly.

“If I choose you, what do I gain?”

“…Pardon?”

“Why should I choose you instead of the countless other noble ladies?”

It was a marriage he was being forced into anyway.

If he had to marry, he intended to choose the woman who would benefit him the most.

As expected of a duke, Bella thought.

Everything is a calculation.

“To add to that,” he continued lazily, “I’ve had ladies offer to bring their entire fortune as a dowry. Others promised never to interfere with my relationships, asking only for the title of Duchess in name. One even swore she’d quietly accept any illegitimate children I fathered.”

“…”

“So.”

His crimson eyes settled on her.

“Can you offer me something worth more than that?”

Bella found herself speechless.

When she failed to answer immediately, a satisfied smile finally appeared on the man’s face. Even his voice carried an air of leisurely confidence.

“Come.”

He leaned back.

“Surprise me.”

Bella showed no reaction to his provocation.

She was too busy thinking.

A price…

No matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t think of anything that would satisfy him.

Well… that’s only natural.

To the head of one of the empire’s greatest ducal houses, even an enormous dowry would amount to pocket change.

As for overlooking his affairs or illegitimate children…

Such scandals were common enough in high society that those promises meant nothing.

What could she possibly offer that would truly astonish a man like him?

Bella continued thinking.

And then—

Something came to mind.

“I have no intention of marrying.”

He had definitely said those words.

He wanted only one thing.

To remain unmarried.

Yet Bella had to become connected to him somehow.

Right now, marriage was the only possibility.

To make that happen…

She had to give him exactly what he wanted.

It sounded contradictory, but…

In reality, it was possible.

And it was something no other noble lady could offer.

Only her.

A faint smile tugged at Bella’s lips.

He, however, failed to notice.

“There isn’t one, is there?”

“…”

“I thought not. Then let’s end this—”

“There is.”

Bella lifted her head at once.

The confidence in her voice made him pause.

Curiosity flickered across his face as he waited for what she would say.

“I don’t have long to live.”

“…”

“I’m going to die soon.”

“…”

“I doubt I’ll make it past next spring.”

For the first time—

The man’s crimson eyes shook violently.

Seeing his reaction, Bella smiled faintly.

At the very least…

She had fulfilled his condition.

Surprise me.

But she wasn’t finished.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I can’t bring you a mountain of gold as my dowry.”

“…”

“But at least none of your wealth will ever have to be divided with me or passed down to me.”

She smiled.

“Because I’ll be dead.”

The duke fell silent.

A small sense of victory bloomed inside Bella as she continued.

“And I’ve heard you don’t wish to marry.”

“…Go on.”

“What I can offer you…”

She met his gaze steadily.

“…is a reason.”

“A reason?”

“Yes.”

Bella nodded calmly.

“It won’t be a divorce. It’ll be widowhood.”

She smiled gently.

“Even His Majesty couldn’t very well order you to remarry immediately after your wife dies. And even if he tried, you could simply claim you still haven’t gotten over your late wife.”

She tilted her head slightly.

“No one could force you after that. It would look heartless… politically and morally.”

She smiled as though asking, Isn’t that true?

The duke still said nothing.

This time…

The tables had turned.

“So?”

Bella leaned back leisurely, having finally stripped away his composure.

“Would you say that’s enough to surprise you?”

Her confident question made him hesitate.

His crimson eyes narrowed as though searching for the right words.

“…You say you’re going to die?”

Bella nodded immediately.

Then she smiled brightly.

“Yes.”

“I’m going to die.”

By your hand.

“Hm…”

He rubbed his jaw in thought.

Watching him sink into silence, Bella desperately tried to calm her pounding heart.

What if this doesn’t work either?

She appeared relaxed on the outside.

Inside…

She was burning with anxiety.

After all—

She had already revealed every card she possessed.

This was a gamble.

A bluff made by someone with nothing.

And fortunately…

“It is certainly… an interesting proposition.”

He was intrigued.

He’s more straightforward than I expected.

Bella looked at him with surprise.

Most high-ranking nobles possessed enormous pride.

If they disliked something, they would stubbornly reject it to the end.

If they declared themselves right, then even when they were wrong, they insisted they were correct.

Someone willing to reconsider his own stance and admit defeat so readily…

That meant he was rational.

Thoughtful.

As long as I don’t provoke him first… maybe he’ll be easier to deal with than I thought.

Bella quietly revised her first impression of him.

After seeing him swing a sword so mercilessly in her dream, she’d been convinced he was a violent man.

But…

That had only been a dream.

Though one destined to become reality someday.

Just not yet.

“Very well.”

He nodded once.

“I’ll accept that as your price.”

Bella quickly bit her lip.

Otherwise, she feared she’d burst into a grin.

She was so close.

If she celebrated now and somehow offended the duke…

Everything would fall apart.

She steeled herself.

Then—

“But are you truly satisfied with that?”

“…Pardon?”

“Are you really content with those terms?”

Bella finally understood.

He was asking whether she truly intended to risk her life just to go through with this marriage.

She smiled softly.

He doesn’t know me at all.

“Of course.”

He had no idea that her current life was a far greater hell.

Nor that he himself would become the savior who delivered her from it.

Or…

That she intended to use him to do so.

“It’s worth staking my life on.”

Bella raised her head and looked him straight in the eye.

His crimson eyes trembled again.

“Do you hate marrying that old man so much?”

After another long silence, he finally spoke.

“So much that you’d rather die?”

“Yes.”

Bella nodded without hesitation.

The truth was more complicated than that.

But there was no way she could explain it here.

Even if I told him the truth… he wouldn’t believe me.

I had a prophetic dream. You appeared in it and killed me. I had already lost all attachment to life, so I decided it must be fate and came here.

How many people would actually believe such a story?

“Most people believe nothing is more precious than their own lives.”

“I’m not most people.”

“…So you’d rather marry me than that disgusting old pervert.”

“Yes.”

She nodded once more.

Compared to that elderly viscount…

Any child on the street would say a young duke was the better choice.

Though Bella’s reasons…

Were somewhat different.

Why does he keep asking?

It’s almost as if… he wants me to change my mind.

Suppressing her growing unease, she stared at him.

It felt as though he was subtly trying to push her away.

But she couldn’t give up.

This might be her last chance.

Until now, all she had done was surrender.

Accept.

Endure.

But this time—

She would seize what she wanted.

Perhaps he sensed the resolve in her eyes.

A strange light flashed through his crimson gaze.

Then his expression gradually hardened.

After a long silence…

“…Have you never considered that choosing me might be the more dangerous option?”

He asked it abruptly.

“It seems you don’t know what kind of man I really am.”

He lifted his now-cold teacup with an easy grace.

His tone remained relaxed.

Yet beneath it…

There was a faint chill.

Bella let out a small laugh.

She knew she probably shouldn’t.

But she couldn’t help herself.

“…Why are you laughing?”

Naturally, he hadn’t missed it.

His brows furrowed.

“Because…”

She smiled.

“In my experience, the people who go around saying they’re frightening…”

“…have never actually been frightening.”

In other words—

I’m not afraid of you.

He seemed to understand exactly what she meant.

His expression twisted ever so slightly.

“Then you’ll finally meet one.”

“…”

Bella froze.

He’s saying it with that much confidence…

Could he actually mean it?

Growing unexpectedly cautious, she studied his face before speaking carefully.

“…Do you hit women?”

“What?”

“Or…”

She hesitated.

“…do you enjoy hurting people for no reason?”

She knew she wasn’t really in a position to ask such questions.

But…

Until the day she died, she wanted to live peacefully.

The thought of spending her remaining months being abused by him before meeting a miserable end…

Wasn’t exactly appealing.

That was why she’d asked.

Yet…

His expression darkened.

Almost as though he were angry.

“I’m sorry.”

Reading the mood, Bella apologized immediately.

“I mean… Your Grace keeps insisting you’re a dangerous man, so I just…”

She awkwardly tried to explain herself.

He sighed quietly.

“The reason I said you should fear me…”

He looked directly at her.

“…is because I’m cursed.”

“…A curse?”

Bella blinked.

“Did I hear that correctly?”

He nodded.

“That’s right.”

“A curse.”

The corners of his beautiful red lips slowly curled upward.

The smile was so breathtaking that Bella found herself staring blankly without realizing it.

After a moment, he spoke again.

“Surely you haven’t failed to hear the rumors…”

His smile deepened.

“…that the House of Avalan is a cursed bloodline.”

Just then—

The drawing room door suddenly flew open.

A man with a deathly pale face hurried inside.