Chapter 2.5

Adrian headed to the greenhouse with the guidance of his butler, Ben. In truth, he had never once thought about what the Grand Duke’s castle looked like. This place was just a location for him to sleep and rest for a short while.

For two years, he had lived with only one thought: finding Claire. And he had finally succeeded in imprisoning the woman he had found within his territory. But… he was still anxious, and it was still hell.

Even if he just heard the news that Claire had eaten a little less than usual, or that she hadn’t come out of her room all day, he couldn’t get a single thing done.

“The young lady went out yesterday to buy seedlings for this greenhouse. She worked hard to redecorate this place while Your Royal Highness was away.”

As he entered the greenhouse, he saw flowers blooming here and there. They weren’t planted by someone with a plan, but rather had pollinated themselves and sprouted up wherever they could. They must have been the seeds planted by his father, the previous Emperor, who had loved his mother so dearly. The flower his mother had loved most in her life, the peony… the red peony.

“Is there hope for me, too?”

“Pardon?”

Ben asked Adrian, who had murmured to himself, but there was no answer.

After that, Adrian stood in the greenhouse for a long time before leaving. As he opened the greenhouse door, a cold wind blew in and the peonies swayed wildly.

 

***

 

<Where are you going now?>

Having left the meeting hall, Sebastian, the Crown Prince of the Quinze-Nouais Empire, had finished five days of preparations and was ready to lead the Imperial knights to the North.

<The Grand Duke is holding my person, so shouldn’t I go and find her, Mother?>

<The Grand Duchy has been completely under the Grand Duke’s control for a long time. Are you saying you’re entering enemy territory of your own accord?>

<Mother, what are you talking about? It may be the Grand Duchy, but it’s still Quinze-Nouais territory. It is also my land to govern. So please, put your worries aside.>

He said those words, but the knights the Crown Prince led were filled with a sense of war.

It was his equal-aged uncle whom his father had tried to kill but failed. The Crown Prince simply couldn’t understand why Claire Ianster was in his hands.

But it would be a simple matter to go and bring her back. After all, wasn’t she the woman who was his fiancée from the very beginning?

 

***

 

“Cedric!”

“Huh? My lady, come down!”

I saw Cedric outside the window, so I went out to the garden to meet him.

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you, or Owen, or… Adrian for the past few days.”

“Didn’t you know? His Grace is at the Northern border right now.”

“Huh? Why?”

For a few days after the day I was soaked to the bone in the rain, I hadn’t seen Adrian’s face.

“It’s a common occurrence. Since he volunteered to come to the North, he’s the one who guards the border. The rats from the Eastern continent often invade the Northern border… The situation has been resolved, so I came back yesterday.”

“I see. What about Adrian? Is His Grace okay? Is he not hurt anywhere?”

“…My lady, if you were that worried, why did you hide so well?”

Cedric grumbled at me. Seeing Cedric like that, I suddenly remembered something I had been so curious about but hadn’t been able to ask.

“Ah! Come to think of it, how did you find me? I hid really well.”

“The typewriter!”

“The typewriter?”

“Yes, you put a false name on the account three times for the sales profits, didn’t you?”

“Gasp!”

“We also investigated the person who made and sold it, but as he said, he just sent the profits to a certain account.”

I gritted my teeth, remembering Cedric, who had followed me to find the typewriter that day.

This is why I fear the original story. I thought there was no way he would find me.

My own life is what I mess up.

It was a moment when my usual motto came true.

“The last one was Claire Ianster, but strangely, the money was withdrawn before that… Anyway, you’re amazing. I barely managed to find you. Hahaha!”

I hated how proud he was, so I kicked his shin.

Since he was wearing thin indoor shoes, it probably didn’t hurt. But he cried out in an exaggerated way and looked at me.

“Ouch! Why did you do that?”

“Just because!”

“Please don’t do that. Don’t you feel sorry for His Grace? He’s barely slept for two years. Anyway, when did you two… ahem, ahem.”

Cedric held his knee and blushed. The situation was perfect for a misunderstanding. Even while we were cleaning the greenhouse, some of the knights had called me ‘My Lady.’

‘Oh, you fool. It’s not what you think.’

It was at that moment, while Cedric and I were bickering with each other.

A cloud of dust suddenly billowed up around the Grand Duke’s castle in the dry early winter of the North.

Cedric looked like a sharp knight, glaring toward the rising dust, as if he had never acted foolishly before.

With Owen gone to the border, Cedric was, in fact, the best swordsman in this castle.

“Vice-Captain!”

“What is it?”

“The knights of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince are coming toward the Grand Duke’s castle.”

“What? You must have seen wrong. For what reason would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come to the North…?”

But Cedric soon looked at me, a face as if he had found some clue.

“Get inside. Don’t show your face. We’ll say you’re not here.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. But there was no way to avoid it.

“…No, I can’t do that. He won’t believe it anyway. Escort His Highness to the drawing room.”

I said it with composure, but I was frantically bewildered. What on earth was happening around me? Was it a good thing or a bad thing that Adrian wasn’t here? I couldn’t make any sense of it.

I was just about to change into a suitable dress and head to the drawing room where the Crown Prince would be waiting for me.

My door was thrown open without a sound.

And the Crown Prince, Sebastian, was looking at me, his face shining brightly.

“I found you.”

“Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”

I immediately bowed my head and took a step back from him. The male lead, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time, was still shining like the sun.

“Sebastian. My name is Sebastian.”

He took a step toward me, who was moving backward. But I was so overwhelmed by his presence that I could only stumble back.

If our Adrian was as cold as ice, Sebastian was the sun. I couldn’t come to my senses at his brilliant smile.

“How did you… come all the way here…”

“My fiancée left home on her own, you see.”

“Pardon?”

‘He’s not engaged to Celine yet? Why? I was so worried about Adrian that I hadn’t even thought about the Crown Prince… What went wrong?’

But my thoughts couldn’t go any further. Sebastian had grabbed my wrist.

“You’re lost in thought about something else again. But I won’t allow it anymore. Let’s go home, Claire.”

“But!”

“Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince, release your hand.”

A frosty voice… Adrian was standing at the top of the second-floor stairs. It was clear he had rushed all the way here, as his silver hair was scattered across his forehead, and his chest was heaving roughly.

And the feeling that arose within me was…

Adrian had just returned to the castle after receiving a report that the Crown Prince had entered the Northern territory, abandoning all the work at the border. But the Crown Prince was not flustered.

“…Grand Duke Aurelian Quinze-Nouais, it’s been a long time. Is this the first time we’ve met since we were ten?”

Adrian remembered meeting the Crown Prince when he was a slave, but the Crown Prince did not know that fact.

“That’s right.”

The Crown Prince stood rigidly in front of Adrian, still clutching my wrist. It was a full-blown confrontation between the male lead and the sub-male lead. The fact that the confrontation was happening because of me, not Celine, was just confusing.

“But you know, I have one question that I couldn’t solve on my way here to the North.”

Adrian, who still hadn’t caught his breath, didn’t answer the Crown Prince’s question.

“Why did Grand Duke Aurelian Quinze-Nouais take my fiancée?”

At the Crown Prince’s words, Adrian finally opened his mouth.

“She is not His Highness’s fiancée.”

I looked down at the Crown Prince’s hand, which was still gripping my wrist. Then I reached out with my free hand and grabbed his wrist. I saw Adrian’s eyebrows twitch.

‘Oh, that little obsessive.’

When I twisted my wrist and freed myself from the Crown Prince’s grip, it was the Crown Prince who was surprised. I needed to calm the situation down. And I, too, was very curious about what was happening.

“Claire?”

“Your Highness, please come to the drawing room… Both of you, calm down. Let’s sit and talk.”

We finally managed to sit down in the drawing room. The maids, servants, the head chamberlain, and the butler frantically moved around in an atmosphere that felt like a civil war was about to break out. Soon, a decent spread was laid out, and a strong liquor only found in the North was placed in front of me, the Grand Duke, and the Crown Prince.

There must have been more than ten thousand questions in the minds of the three of us. But no one dared to speak first.

After two or three glasses, the Crown Prince finally opened his mouth.

“Why did you run away, Claire?”

It was a question Adrian was also very curious about but didn’t dare to ask.

Sebastian thought Claire’s refusal to be engaged to him was because of her lost sister. The woman who was rumored to be the villainess was, it turned out, more soft-hearted than he thought. Otherwise, what woman in this Empire wouldn’t want to be the Crown Prince’s fiancée?

So Sebastian had no doubt that if he pushed hard enough, Claire would have no choice but to come to him. He was a little hurt, but he didn’t take it seriously. But as if to prove that she really didn’t want it, she disappeared like a lie. And the familiar headache returned to him.

At the Crown Prince’s demanding gaze, I swallowed the dry lump in my throat. I couldn’t tell him the truth, “Because I didn’t want to die…” Or “Because I have too many sins…”

As I remained silent, Adrian opened his mouth.

“That’s not an important issue now.”

“…Is that so? Then I will ask the Grand Duke. Why are you keeping Claire?”

“I don’t see why I have to explain that to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”

“There’s no reason? This woman is my fiancée!”

“She is not.”

I felt Adrian’s killing intent, but the Crown Prince didn’t even blink.

“Right, she was my fiancée-to-be. But I already went to the Ianster family and publicly announced our engagement. The word of the Quinze-Nouais Crown Prince. It cannot be disobeyed. Am I right, Claire?”

As the Crown Prince turned his gaze to me, Adrian quickly continued speaking, as if to block his gaze from reaching me.

“I have a question as well. Claire is not the only person with Ianster blood. Why are you so obsessed?”

“Yes, she’s not the only person with Ianster blood. But for me, she’s the only woman.”

“Pardon?”

“The only woman…”

At the Crown Prince’s words, both Adrian and I spoke at the same time, and his expression instantly changed. It looked as if he had grasped all the clues.

And at that moment, he gave a smile that was even more bizarre and sinister. I felt the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

Only the sound of Adrian tapping the table with his index finger echoed in the quiet room. He then tilted his head and looked past me, as if he was examining something.

“The only woman…”

Soon, he took his eyes off me. After that, Adrian raised his left hand, and the head chamberlain appeared with two documents.

‘Huh? Those documents?’

I knew about those documents.

“I apologize, Your Highness. This woman is not Claire Ianster.”

“What are you talking about?”

When the head chamberlain placed the documents on the table, Adrian placed all five of his fingers on the documents and pushed them toward the Crown Prince.

“This woman’s name is not Claire Ianster, but Helena Evans, the daughter of a Northern noble with no title or territory.”

“What?”

“And unfortunately, she is my fiancée.”

A cold, victorious smile appeared on Adrian’s face. It was the kind of smile only a top predator would make.

And one of those documents was the perfect identity paper I had paid a premium to the best information broker to create.

And the other document… was the one I saw the night the Genes siblings visited the castle.

 

***

 

<Grab her.>

Two maids grabbed me, as if to bind me. Then Adrian approached me, took one of my hands, and after smearing something a brilliant red on my finger, pressed it onto a document.

<What is this? You bastard, Adrian!”>

<Tsk, be quiet, Claire>

<Is this like a contract to give up my body?>

<A contract to give up your body? I like that, too.>

He gathered the documents and put them in his inner pocket, and the maids let go of my arms.

<What on earth is this?>

<You don’t need to know.>

<I would’ve done it if you’d just asked. Don’t be so unreasonable.>

<You don’t know what you’re talking about…>

I fumed and protested, but he just chuckled and left my room without a word.

 

***

 

And there it was, the vivid, crimson fingerprint. That must be my fingerprint from that night. And that document was an engagement certificate.

Yes.

It was proof that Grand Duke Aurelian Quinze-Nouais of the North and Lady Helena Evans were engaged.

It made sense now that the novel’s introduction mentioned an obsessive man, a scheming man, and a “watch out for betrayal.” The only catch was that the obsession and schemes weren’t for love.

“Adrian!”

“Adrian?”

But the Crown Prince seemed more shocked by the name I called out than by the document.

Adrian. The Crown Prince knew that name.

The day he met Claire in front of the orphanage, she had also called out that name. Something felt strange, so he had ordered an investigation into the name.

The silver-haired slave, who was so beautiful no one could forget him.

The man Claire Ianster was pathologically obsessed with.

He was Aurelian Quinze-Nouais…

A dull pain pulsed in the Crown Prince’s chest.

It was not a pain a man who could have everything should have to endure.

The Crown Prince instinctively knew that it was time for him to back down. This was the North. It was the Quinze-Nouais Empire in name, but the North had already effectively fallen into the Grand Duke’s hands. No matter how much of a lie you tried to cover the sky with, Aurelian’s word was the law here.

And thanks to Aurelian guarding the North for the past two years, the Empire was more glorious than ever.

“Alright, if the Grand Duke says so, then it must be so. Then grant me just one thing. I would like to speak with your fiancée, Lady Helena Evans, alone. You won’t say no to that, will you?”

‘I hate this. I’d rather die.’ That was the thought in Adrian’s mind. But he had no justification to refuse even this.

“…As you wish.”

Adrian moved his feet, which were glued to the floor.

After he left, Sebastian remained silent for a long time. So many words appeared and disappeared in his mind.

“Was it because of this?”

“Because of what?”

“Adrian… your slave.”

“Pardon?”

“Are you saying you rejected our engagement and ran away because of your slave?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then why?”

“I’m sorry. That was the best option at the time. But I can assure you, it wasn’t because of what the Crown Prince said at the Count’s mansion that I left. Please understand that I had my reasons.”

“What reasons?”

Despite my plea, the Crown Prince questioned me relentlessly.

“Right, if it was because of your slave, there would have been no reason to run away from everyone. Then, what was it because of?”

It was a moment where I felt the reality of the saying that I had a hundred things to say, but none could come out.

As the Crown Prince, he was always composed, but in front of a woman who had sealed her lips, he was uncharacteristically emotional.

“No, no, you don’t have to answer. This is… the emotion of resentment.”

After he finished speaking, he let out a frustrated sigh. It was a sigh that strangely evoked guilt.

“You’ve… been well, haven’t you?”

“You’re asking that a little too late. Ha.”

“…Your Highness, I also have something to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Why on earth did you not get engaged to my sister?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Nothing would change even if your sister returned… And to me, you are not an Ianster, you are Claire. The woman I want to have…”

“…Why?”

I was truly curious. In the novel, the Crown Prince feels a fated love the moment he sees Celine. And only she can make a ripple in the closed heart of the Crown Prince. That’s the set plot of the novel.

“Why?”

“Didn’t you see my sister?”

“Of course I did. But why is that woman’s story important right now?”

“Oh, it’s not. I just thought you were engaged to my sister.”

“That’s not what’s important. What’s important is that you and I have met again. Claire Ianster, leave with me.”

“…”

“Claire, all you have to do is say you want to go.”

The Crown Prince’s confident smile was directed at me. I began to understand Eve’s feelings when she was tempted by the snake to eat the forbidden fruit.

But am I weird if I thought of the moment Adrian handed me the whip, trembling?

All I have to do is take the Crown Prince’s outstretched hand.

Then I won’t have to fear when Adrian will go berserk and kill me, and I won’t have to watch Adrian suffer from his conflicted feelings toward me.

But I couldn’t do that. If I were to follow the Crown Prince, the aftermath is obvious.

“…No, I’m not going.”

‘Oh, was my answer too slow?’

The Crown Prince hesitated for a moment, then got up from his seat without asking a second time.

“I’ll be returning now.”

The Crown Prince left the castle without another word. I went to the top of the castle and watched him and his procession leave and disappear into the distance. He left the castle like a flash of lightning, just as he had arrived.

When I returned to my room, Adrian was sitting there without permission, as if he were the master of this castle.

“What did you two talk about?”

“…”

“Answer me, Claire.”

“Shouldn’t you call me Helena?”

“Heh, you’re right. You’re my fiancée. A rabbit that changed its name and walked into a lion’s den.”

“Thanks for comparing Claire Ianster to a rabbit.”

I had my back to Adrian, so I didn’t know he was approaching me. I was a little resentful of Adrian. How dare he just turn me into his fiancée as he pleased…

“So what did you talk about? Did you ask the Crown Prince to take you away? Did you say you didn’t want to be here?”

He was right behind me, whispering in my ear. One of his hands slowly slid down to my waist from behind.

‘Fly, fly, airplane… Fly… fly…’

“Tell me. Did you want to go with him? With the man who called you ‘his woman’?”

He put a little more force into the hand on my waist and pulled me closer to him. This guy, he was clearly determined to drive me crazy.

“Answer me, Claire Ianster.”

“…”

When I didn’t say anything, he spun me around to face him. His blue eyes pierced my vision.

“Why are you asking that? You said I was yours, right? Is my heart important?”

“…”

“If I want to go, can I? Will you let me go?”

Adrian laughed softly, took his hands off me, and stepped back.

“Calm down, Claire. No, Lady Helena Evans. And our engagement is next month.”

“What? Are you crazy! Are you really going to get engaged to me?”

He gave an evil laugh and shrugged his shoulders. Celine wasn’t engaged to the Crown Prince yet. I, being in the North, had no idea what was going on.

“What if you fall in love with someone? And what if you want to marry that woman, what am I supposed to do then?”

“That won’t happen.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Do you think a person like me can feel such an emotion? Haven’t you ever thought that you helped make me this way?”

“So, because I helped make you this way, you’re going to get engaged to me?”

“Because it’s the most certain way to bind you.”

‘But why are you taking revenge in such a romantic way? Love without affection… Is a fish-shaped bun without the fish still a fish-shaped bun?’

“You’re not in your right mind.”

Adrian casually ignored what I said and left my room.

 However, the look in Adrian’s eyes as he left the room was not as composed as it had been inside. Regret came flooding in the moment he stepped outside. He didn’t want to treat Claire this way. But then, how was he supposed to treat her?

He was scared. But why? If she wanted to leave, all he had to do was tie her up.

But Adrian couldn’t bear the thought of Claire being alone with the Crown Prince. He couldn’t wait any longer and headed toward the drawing room.

He carefully turned the doorknob and faintly heard their voices.

<You’ve… been well, haven’t you?>

The woman’s apologetic voice…

<You’re asking that a little too late. Ha.>

The man’s resentful voice…

<Why on earth did you not get engaged to my sister?>

<That’s not what’s important. What’s important is that you and I have met again. Claire Ianster, leave with me.>

<…>

<Claire, all you have to do is say you want to go.>

Adrian couldn’t stand there anymore. If Claire said she wanted to go, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.