~Chapter 4~
“If what you’re saying is true, I’ll make that promise.”
The Duke of Romanov agreed, and I cheered inside.
I tried to stay calm on the outside, of course.
“Okay then, I’ll tell you the cause.
In winter, a path through the forest—used by monsters—gets completely blocked by an ice wall.”
“An ice wall?”
“Yeah.
Monsters have to move to survive the
winter, but the ice blocks their usual route.
So they end up coming into nearby villages. It’s kind of inevitable.”
He stroked his chin slowly with his long fingers.
“So if we just get rid of that ice wall, the problem’s solved?”
“Exactly.
If we figure out where the wall forms and use magic to stop it from forming, we can prevent all of this.
That way, both people and monsters can live peacefully.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It is easy—because I can use that kind of magic.”
I said it like it was nothing, but immediately felt a twinge of doubt.
I remembered all the times I had failed miserably when trying any magic besides this one spell.
“Ah, actually, let me clarify.
I’m only good at one specific type of magic.
So… we’d probably need to hire someone else to handle that ice wall spell.”
There was a pause after that.
Then, the Duke asked with suspicion,
“Wait… you can use magic?”
“Of course.
I might not look like much, but I’m a pretty skilled mage.”
That was true.
Contrary to the common belief that I had weak magic, I actually had strong magical power.
‘No one ever paid attention to me, so no one realized it, that’s all.’
Compared to my past life, I much preferred this one—and my magical abilities were a big reason why.
‘Even if the original novel never mentioned anything about me being a powerful mage, maybe the author just didn’t bother to write it… or maybe things changed.’
Honestly, the reason didn’t matter.
The point was, if I wanted to live on my own, having magic made things a whole lot easier.
‘Especially since I’m specialized in healing magic…’
At first, I thought I could do all kinds of magic, but I later found out I was only good at healing.
Eventually, I read that most healing mages can’t really use other types of magic well.
‘I can’t even heal myself, which is a shame—but even so, it’s still a huge advantage.’
Thinking about my powers made me feel pretty satisfied.
But then the Duke interrupted my thoughts.
“But, Lady Hazel…”
“Yes?”
I thought I had convinced him, but seeing his suspicious eyes again made my throat dry.
“How do you know about the blocked path and that it can be fixed with magic?”
“Oh, well that’s because—”
…Because I read it in the novel, of course.
In the side story, Duke Romanov and Hazel Lindbergh—who were about to get married—went to his estate together.
Duke took Hazel deep into the mountains to show her the dangers of the eternal night.
A snowstorm hit, and Hazel got trapped alone in the forest.
‘That’s when she saw the ice wall.’
Duke found her and saw the ice wall too.
Later, the two of them figured out how to fix the monster problem, and that became part of the story.
‘I don’t know the exact location of the ice wall yet…’
I’d have to wait for winter and see it for myself.
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
‘I need to go there anyway.’
I was looking for a herb called Koana that only grows in the monster forest near the Romanov estate.
‘It’s the only cure for my illness right now.’
In the novel, Duke found it and gave it to Hazel.
But now, I had to find it myself.
I stopped planning in my head and focused on answering the Duke.
“I found out by studying old books.”
“So… you’ve never actually seen it, and you’re saying you learned all this from reading?”
“Yes.
I’m confident I’m right.
If you want, I can even show you the books I studied.”
I already had a stack of books prepared just in case.
Stay confident.
Be bold.
My eyes sparkled with determination.
The Duke, on the other hand, didn’t say anything—his eyes still full of doubt.
But luckily, it wasn’t like testing my idea would cost him anything.
“Fine.”
Yes! He was convinced!
But then—
“There’s a condition.”
“A condition…?”
He nodded.
“If what you say is true, we need to wait until winter to find the ice wall.”
“Right.”
“So until then, you’ll stay my fiancée.”
“Wha—what?”
I was so shocked, I stuttered.
It was spring now.
‘He wants me to stay engaged until winter?!’
“Is that really necessary?”
Wait… could this super handsome Duke…
‘Did he fall in love with me at first sight?!’
Was this turning into The Strongest Man in the Empire Is Obsessed with Me instead of a side story from Dad Is the Monster Duke?
Just as my imagination ran wild, the Duke frowned and spoke.
“You clearly haven’t thought about what kind of trouble I’ll face if people hear I broke off my engagement with you.”
His voice was calm, but there was a definite chill to it.
“…”
Right. He wasn’t in love.
‘Too bad…’
If I broke off the engagement, it wouldn’t really change my life that much.
I already had a ton of flaws in everyone’s eyes.
But for him…
He’d be back on the marriage market, and every noble lady in the Empire would be chasing after him.
‘And he clearly hates that kind of thing.’
Now I understood.
I nodded without realizing it.
‘Still… I was planning to leave the Lindbergh estate after the breakup.’
I hesitated, thinking things over.
Silence hung in the air.
“Why aren’t you answering? I’ve already tolerated your rudeness—don’t tell me you can’t even agree to this one thing?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“I’ve put up with so much—surely you can agree to this.”
Yikes, he’s scary.
I quickly shook my head.
“Okay, fine.
We’ll stay engaged until the monster issue is resolved.”
I made sure to emphasize that it would just be in name.
Winter was still far away.
But maybe that was a good thing—I’d have more time to get ready to live independently.
I could even open a small clinic using my healing magic.
‘Healing mages are always in demand, so I’ll be fine.’
If I didn’t want to run a clinic myself, I could work for some noble in the countryside, or head south where lots of healing mages lived.
Not a bad plan at all.
‘Also…’
I realized staying engaged a bit longer might actually help me with another goal.
I cleared my throat to speak again.
“There’s one more thing I want to bring up.”
What I was about to say might upset him more than the breakup talk.
I checked his expression first.
The Duke gave me a small nod, as if to say “go ahead.”
I swallowed and spoke carefully.
“There were a lot of carriage accidents five years ago, weren’t there?”
The air suddenly got heavy.
His face turned cold.
That was the year his mother died.
Also…
“That’s when my stepmother, Lady Vivian Lindbergh, passed away too.”
“What are you getting at?”
His voice was flat.
I could feel my lips trembling, but I kept my voice steady.
“Maybe you remember, but not just your mother and mine—near the end of that year, the Duchess of Reinhardt also died in a carriage accident.”
“I asked what your point is.”
He clearly hated this topic—his face twisted in anger.
