Chapter 07
The silver eyes that had been cold and calm suddenly sharpened.
He seemed surprised that she knew about his weakness — something no one else in the empire was aware of.
But Roger Crawford, showing no emotion, spoke in his usual flat tone.
“What do you mean by that?”
“It’s simple. If Your Grace protects the Ailsden family from the fire-type monsters, I’ll help stabilize your condition.”
Roger let out a small breath — almost a scoff.
Still, he couldn’t ignore her words so easily. After all, he truly had been struggling to control his powers lately.
Instead of asking how she knew, he asked,
“How do you plan to stabilize it?”
Smart and quick to the point — it also meant he was desperate.
So Natalie decided to show him rather than explain.
“Could you give me your hand?”
Roger narrowed his silver eyes but slowly reached out.
Natalie took his hand without hesitation.
And just as she expected—
Flash!
Despite his cold appearance, his hand was burning hot, like fire.
But as Natalie tightened her grip, fingers laced with his, that intense heat began to drop quickly.
Then, between their joined hands, a burst of clear water shimmered into the air before vanishing with a faint hissing sound, like steam.
“……!”
His silver eyes widened beneath his sleek black hair. His face remained expressionless, but he was clearly shocked.
It was only temporary since their affection level was still at zero, but it worked.
Smiling, Natalie gently released his hand.
“You have to attend the Imperial Ball soon. But if you go alone, it’ll be hard for you to keep your powers under control. Still, as a navy colonel loyal to the crown, you can’t skip it either.”
“……”
“If I stay by your side as your partner, you’ll be able to stay calm — just like a moment ago.”
Now, the only person who could control Roger Crawford’s overflowing power… was Natalie — the heroine of this world.
No one else could do it.
“……Fine. I accept your offer, Lady Ailsden.”
After a brief pause, Roger agreed.
Natalie’s pink eyes curved into a lovely smile.
“Thank you. You won’t regret it.”
“It’s too early to be sure of that. If no monster appears tomorrow night, I’ll assume you had other motives for approaching me.”
How typical of the cold duke who only showed warmth to his own woman.
Natalie clicked her tongue inwardly at his ever-suspicious, distant attitude.
‘So prickly.’
Well, it didn’t matter.
Soon enough, whenever he lost control of his powers, he would have no choice but to come find her.
And Natalie planned to use that — to make deals, to gain power, to move forward.
Roger would use her as his stabilizer, and she would use him as her weapon.
‘He’ll definitely ask how I know his secret… I’d better prepare an answer for that later.’
But even so, Roger Crawford — the greatest water-ability user in history — was worth every bit of the risk.
‘The first encounter was a success.’
More than that, he would become a powerful ally to help her clear all the obstacles ahead and reach her ending.
“I’ll be waiting for you tomorrow night,” Natalie said softly, yet firmly.
Roger’s silver eyes gleamed in an unreadable way.
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Natalie returned home around her usual morning wake-up time.
Fortunately, her father and brother hadn’t come back yet from their summons to the Imperial Palace, so no one knew she had broken her confinement order.
Still, she quietly slipped in through the back door to avoid being seen by the servants.
“Natalie?”
Unfortunately, she ran straight into Sharon in the hallway.
“W–Were you outside? So early in the morning?!”
Why was the sleepyhead even awake this early?
Natalie, feeling slightly annoyed, faced her.
“I just went out for some fresh air.”
“Oh my goodness, I wondered why you weren’t in your room! It’s dangerous to go out alone when things are so unsettled lately!”
Sharon’s high, soprano voice echoed through the hall. The startled servants who’d been peacefully starting their morning hurried over one by one.
“Lady Natalie went out?”
“Oh dear, the young master told us not to let her leave her room while he’s away!”
Whenever Natalie got angry, she usually locked herself in her room and chased everyone out.
The servants had learned to stay away when her temper flared — that’s why she’d been able to sneak out earlier.
But now, everyone knew she had gone out secretly.
When her father and brother returned, she’d definitely get an earful.
Natalie glanced at the whispering servants, then turned her eyes to Sharon, who looked like she was about to cry.
“Did you go to my room?”
“Uh-huh. You looked so heartbroken last night, so I just…”
Sharon hesitated, then pulled something out of her sleeve.
It was a box of party hair dye labeled “Color: Black.”
“You’ve always wanted black hair, right? I know the wig was important, but maybe this can cheer you up a little.”
Sharon smiled brightly, flipping her own glossy black hair.
The servants finally realized that Natalie had stopped wearing her wig — the one she’d been using for years.
“Oh, how kind she is!”
“To think she woke up early, worrying about Lady Natalie like this…”
The clever ones probably realized Sharon’s gesture was pointless — Natalie didn’t need the dye anymore.
But all the praise still went to Sharon.
Everyone knew Sharon was kind, but the servants looked moved all over again — amazed that she would offer a gift even after being yelled at the night before.
To be fair, Sharon did look angelically kind right now.
‘Too bad it’s a completely useless gift,’ Natalie thought.
She gently pushed Sharon’s hand away and gave a polite, empty smile.
“Thank you, Sharon. But you should keep it.”
“Huh?”
Sharon froze mid-smile, looking confused and teary again, as if Natalie was just being mean for no reason.
“N–Natalie, did I do something wrong? I’m sorry, I just wanted to—”
Her trembling voice made the servants murmur sympathetically.
They didn’t dare speak directly, but gossip like that always spread fast.
‘Great, now Anatole will come yelling at me again,’ Natalie thought tiredly.
She had tried to come in quietly for exactly this reason — but of course Sharon had no sense of timing.
If Sharon had enough awareness to notice Natalie was upset last night, she should’ve realized that this scene was making things worse.
Natalie had no intention of arguing.
Whether Sharon was more popular or more loved didn’t matter to her anymore.
That kind of petty competition was no longer worth her time.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Natalie said softly.
“N–Natalie, please don’t be mad! Just tell me what I did, I’ll fix it, I’ll—”
“There’s nothing to fix,” Natalie said simply.
Her pink eyes softened as she added, “It’s just… unnecessary.”
Sharon blinked, stunned.
“Your hair color is beautiful,” Natalie said, letting her gaze trail over Sharon’s silky black locks.
Sharon quickly offered the dye again with both hands, but Natalie didn’t even look at it.
She pointed lightly at her own hair.
“My hair color’s quite pretty too.”
Her soft golden-blonde hair shimmered in the morning light.
Everyone had forgotten, since she’d hidden it under that black wig for years — but Natalie’s natural hair was a lovely gold, the same shade as her mother’s.
“So I don’t need it,” she said calmly.
Her tone was gentle, but her presence was graceful, confident — like someone who already had everything.
Sharon’s innocent face stiffened faintly.
“Still, I appreciate the thought,” Natalie added.
“N–Natalie…”
“I’ll be going.”
With a bright smile that didn’t reach her eyes, Natalie walked past Sharon without hesitation.
Sharon wasn’t even one of the male leads — just a side character in the game. There was no reason to waste time on her.
Natalie strode down the hallway, not once looking back at the fuss behind her.
“Lady Sharon! Are you all right?”
“Don’t worry, my lady. Lady Natalie’s just being moody again, as usual.”
“Sniff… It’s fine. I’m fine.”
Sharon looked blankly after Natalie’s fading figure, then forced a faint smile at the worried maids.
Her fragile, pitiful look made the servants fuss even more.
“Oh no! The dye burst!”
“It’s all over your hands and dress!”
“Maybe when Lady Natalie pushed it—”
One maid trailed off, and the others quickly exchanged looks — all sympathetic toward Sharon, and blaming Natalie in their hearts.
Sharon lowered her head, whispering softly,
“It’s all right. If this helps Natalie feel better, I don’t mind…”
“Oh, our sweet, angelic Lady Sharon. Let’s clean you up right away.”
Surrounded by their warmth, Sharon smiled beautifully through her tears.
“Thank you, everyone.”
She discreetly crushed the leaking dye tube in her hand and waved her other hand gently through the air — as if nothing had happened.
