~Chapter 3~
My fiance is from the most powerful ducal house in the Empire — the Romanov family.
There’s no way someone like him really wants to marry someone like me.
Besides, from his point of view, I just asked for a breakup in the rudest way possible.
‘There’s no way a prideful guy like him would not agree to a breakup!’
But then, Duke Romanov smirked again, like he could read every anxious thought in my head.
He spoke in a lazy tone.
“I can hear your brain working from all the way over here.”
That rude comment made me frown.
He seemed amused by my reaction and went straight to the point.
“What do I get out of agreeing to this sudden breakup?”
Snap out of it.
I needed to give him a convincing answer.
“…You could marry someone more refined and better educated?”
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
He raised an eyebrow like it was ridiculous.
“I don’t want that.”
“…What?”
“Do I need to spell it out for you?”
“…”
To be honest, I already knew why Duke Romanov agreed to this engagement in the first place.
‘Because I read his whole life in the novel’s side stories.’
In one of them, Duke Romanov sarcastically said he felt like a stud horse — only useful for marrying a noble lady and producing an heir with a noble bloodline.
Sure, that’s the life expected of a high-ranking noble, but he’d become a duke at just sixteen.
It was a suffocating burden.
His twisted view on life came from a lonely childhood.
‘He deeply resented his father.
The only time they spent together was the night he passed down his power of Eternal Night.’
His father had helped the king of the former Lavit Kingdom crown himself Emperor of the new Briant Empire.
So it wasn’t surprising that family got pushed aside.
In Duke’s memories, his father wasn’t even there when his sickly mother was screaming in pain.
When Duke was ten, his father came back home barely alive.
But Duke didn’t shed a single tear.
After that, his father mostly stayed in isolation due to his injuries and eventually moved to a villa on the edge of the duchy.
They never got the chance to understand each other.
His mother had been the last princess of the Lavit Kingdom.
Since the kingdom disappeared under the glory of the new Empire, she lost her place in the world.
As the Emperor’s only sister and Lavit’s last princess, she had symbolic value.
But she did try to help Duke— doing everything she could so her young son wouldn’t be ignored just because he was a child duke.
Still, watching her son push forward alone for so long wore her down.
Her fragile body got weaker and weaker until it was too late.
Five years ago, she left for the southern region of the Empire to recover, but sadly, she died in a carriage accident on the way.
When she died, Duke Romanov took a few shaky breaths — but he didn’t cry.
‘The novel said he forgot how to cry a long time ago.’
I could picture the whole scene clearly, like I’d seen it myself.
‘He’s kind of… pitiful, in a way.’
Anyway, it was because of that childhood that he chose to propose to me.
At the time, my reputation was rock bottom — perfect prey for someone with a twisted heart.
I was known as a strange girl obsessed with magic, always locked up doing research.
Messy hair, tired eyes, and rumors even said I was ugly.
I was technically a noble daughter, but I was adopted and ignored by my family.
People whispered I could be kicked out any time.
‘He proposed to me as a form of rebellion — a twisted move.’
The silence between us was broken by his voice again — softer than before.
“By the way, you’re not at all what I expected.
I heard that you were…”
“You heard what?
“…”
He didn’t answer.
I could tell he was going to say something but held back.
I had a good guess what he was thinking.
“You’re surprised I’m not like the rumors, right? You didn’t get my portrait when we exchanged engagement documents, did you?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Even though the whole engagement was handled by paperwork, that seems like a big thing to skip.”
“A portrait wasn’t necessary.”
“Wow, you were brave.
You heard the rumors but didn’t even bother to check if I had two heads or something?”
“It didn’t matter.”
“There was even a rumor I was a bald, creepy weirdo, you know? Sorry to disappoint the gossip lovers, but I have plenty of hair.
And I’m actually pretty cheerful once you get to know me.”
The rumors were wild because I’d once used magic to change my appearance for my debut ball and failed horribly.
I ran off in embarrassment and never showed my face in society again, so hardly anyone knew what I really looked like.
I shrugged, and he let out a quiet laugh.
“Hah.”
Hmm? Was that a laugh or not?
His mouth twitched, but his face quickly turned serious again.
Hard to tell.
Anyway, how could I convince this man to break off the engagement? I felt my face darken with worry.
“I’m kind of a weirdo.”
“Yeah, I’m getting that impression.”
“I’m a noblewoman who’s terrible at etiquette.”
“Also quite obvious.”
“I’m not even Duke Lindberg’s real daughter.
Just a distant branch of the family.”
“I know.”
So pointing out that I wasn’t good enough to be his duchess wasn’t going to work.
‘Which means…’
I swallowed nervously and looked him in the eye.
His golden eyes didn’t waver one bit.
Now I understood why people said his eyes looked like they held real gold.
They had this hypnotic glow, like they could pull you in.
He looked like someone with no weaknesses.
If I wanted to deal with a guy like this, I had to treat it like a proper negotiation.
To be fair, I never expected to get everything I wanted without giving something in return.
I actually had something to offer — something that might benefit him too.
Now was the time to use it.
“If you agree to break off our engagement, I’ll give you something in return.
Something useful.”
“Something useful?”
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
“you’ve always had trouble with monsters flooding into your territory during winter, right?”
He looked surprised, as if he didn’t expect me to bring that up.
His expression turned cold and annoyed.
Monsters swarming down into towns during winter was a big headache for him.
I saw that reaction and grinned.
‘He goes back to his territory every winter just to deal with those monsters.
Spends a whole month fighting them off.’
Sure, he’s strong enough to handle them, but it was the same hassle every year.
‘The monsters get scared just from seeing him, supposedly.’
But still — accidents happened, and it was never fun.
Confident, I said brightly,
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
Saying it out loud, I felt like some shady salesman.
But whatever.
I had to convince him somehow.
“You’ll deal with monsters that even knights struggle to handle?”
He tilted his head with clear suspicion, casting a shadow across his sharp features.
There was even a tiny mole beneath his left eye.
‘…Ugh.
Why does he have to be this handsome?’
No, no! Focus! This was no time to admire his face.
I needed to keep my head on straight — I was basically in a den with a panther.
I cleared my throat and continued,
“The monsters only come down because of a reason.”
“You know the reason?”
“If I tell you why and give you the solution, will you agree to break off our engagement?”
Should I ask for a written contract?
After thinking about it, I decided that wasn’t necessary.
Someone like him would treat his word like law.
If he promised something, he’d definitely follow through.
He looked like he was considering it for a moment, then gave a short reply.
