SEM 18

#018

“Please have a seat, Duke. By the way, what brings you to the Imperial Palace?”

Rosella, realizing too late that something was amiss with Greddy’s presence, gracefully redirected the conversation.

“With the wedding only a week away, I came to see His Majesty. The High Priest insisted that without the Emperor’s permission, he absolutely cannot officiate the ceremony.”

Greddy waved the envelope he was holding.

“I see.”

“They sometimes seem to forget that I am the Emperor’s brother. Asking a direct royal for a seal of approval…”

“……”

“If only Your Majesty had stamped here instead of there, I could’ve avoided all this trouble.”

Greddy touched the bandage still on his forehead with a playful smile. But it seemed he was the only one amused—no one else laughed at his joke.

Dressed formally to meet the Emperor, Greddy looked stunning. His body, trained from years as a knight, was solid and strong. Under the sunlight, his black hair gleamed even more brightly.

He removed the cloak draped over his shoulders. Embroidered with the grand crest of House Crivor, the cloak was large enough to fully wrap around Eliana with plenty to spare.

“…What are you doing, Duke?”

It was Empress Rosella who first noticed that Greddy’s actions were unusual.

“I’m building a gate.”

“What did you say?”

Greddy nonchalantly responded to the Empress’s bewildered words and focused on draping the cloak around Eliana’s waist. Eliana, swaying like a doll in his grasp, tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t have started if he intended to back down.

“Oh!”

“Lift your arms.”

Moved by Greddy’s confident tone, Eliana instinctively followed his instruction.

“Wait, what is this—?”

In an instant, the crimson cloak symbolizing House Crivor transformed into a makeshift dress for Eliana. Draped magnificently over her white muslin gown, it made everyone in the drawing room gasp.

“How does it look?”

“Duke Crivor.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I told you, I’m building a gate. With this, no one will dare intrude upon House Crivor.”

Rosella was at a loss for words. The extreme gesture, especially flaunting the house crest, stunned her into silence.

“…Who would even think to intrude upon House Crivor?”

Greddy smiled at Rosella’s irritated tone.

“There are people like that. Forcing someone into marriage and then dragging them here, trying to bend them to their will.”

Rosella turned her head, unable to meet Greddy’s gaze. Her hand gripping the armrest trembled.

She hadn’t expected her own words to become a shackle around her neck. Her face turned pale.

“Isn’t it a bit much to take a women’s idle chatter so seriously?”

Claire Raymon spoke up in place of the retreating Empress. Her tightly pressed lips showed she hadn’t forgotten the slight from Greddy last time.

“I don’t see why I should care about others’ opinions when I’m protecting what’s mine, Lady Raymon.”

“What did you say?”

But with just one sentence, Greddy shattered the mask Claire was wearing.

“She’s my precious flower. I’ll make sure no one else plucks her.”

“To your eyes, even weeds must look like flowers.”

Claire couldn’t hold back and retorted viciously. Seeing the man who once looked after her now fawning over a twice-married widow made her stomach churn.

“What does it matter if others see her as a weed? If she’s a flower to me, that’s enough.”

Claire clenched her fists. Her hands, which once made a fuss over spilled tea, were now unscathed and smooth.

Greddy took Eliana’s hand. She remembered too late that her palms were soaked in sweat—but his hand had already grasped hers. The warmth between their intertwined fingers inexplicably made it easier to breathe.

Eliana swallowed dryly, comforted by the broad back shielding her from view.

“If you’ll excuse us, Your Majesty, we’d like to leave now. I’d like to greet His Majesty together with Lady Eliana.”

“You want to meet the Emperor with Lady Eliana?”

Rosella looked at him in disbelief.

The Emperor had yet to give up on Eliana. And now Greddy intended to parade her in front of him? The audacity left her speechless.

“In the presence of a beautiful woman, even His Majesty may back down a little. Besides, since the wedding invitations are ready, we thought it proper to offer greetings. After all, he is my older brother. He should be the first to see them—even if he won’t be pleased.”

Faced with Greddy’s smooth reply, Rosella had no choice but to nod. It had been her own idea to push Greddy into marrying Eliana. She had no grounds to stop them.

Her gaze landed on their clasped hands.

She didn’t like it. Even if it was a forced marriage on her command, seeing Eliana’s small hand completely engulfed in Greddy’s made her jealous.

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s generous understanding.”

Greddy bowed gracefully to the Empress. Even then, he never let go of Eliana’s hand.

Rosella couldn’t take her eyes off their backs as they left together, side by side, like a shy couple in love.

“Haa…”

“It’s too soon to relax.”

As the door closed behind them, Eliana let out a deep sigh without realizing it. The tightness in her chest finally seemed to loosen.

“Ah!”

But the thought of soon facing the Emperor made her tense again. Her stomach churned—she hadn’t even had a proper cup of tea.

“Is warming the bed really the only thing you’re good at?”

Greddy’s voice from above made her whole body go cold. A chill crept through their clasped hands.

To an outside observer, they looked like a perfect couple: hands held, shoulders touching, walking side by side. A pair so smitten they flaunted affection rather than observing palace decorum.

But the reality was different. Her relief upon seeing Greddy when she’d felt cornered now turned icy.

“……”

“I’m asking if your seductive charm, which works so well on men, is completely useless with women.”

“Your words are out of line.”

Eliana replied softly, unable to hold it in. She remembered how she’d worried about the consequences to him.

And the fear that if she offended his beloved Empress Rosella, he might cancel the contract.

“Out of line? In what way?”

His tone was so relaxed it was unnerving. Their footsteps echoed softly, trailed by long shadows.

“How much do you even know about me to speak to me so rudely?”

Eliana’s eyes sharpened. She hadn’t yet adjusted to her new environment and was plagued by nightmares every night.

“Exactly. That. If you’d shown even half this fire earlier, those women would’ve been silenced in an instant. So why did you just sit there?”

Sunlight flooded the corridor where they had stopped. Greddy’s dark silhouette, backlit by the sun, cast a shadow over Eliana.

“…What did you say?”

“You bit my lip so fiercely, yet you kept your mouth shut when they treated you like garbage.”

He ran his thumb across his lips. The wound that had nearly healed now bled again from his touch.

The vivid red stung her eyes.

The mark on Greddy’s lips now was larger and more raw than what Eliana had originally left.

“What are you doing?”

“Isn’t this a fine little souvenir from the seductress of last night?”

Greddy laughed with a shrug. Seeing him smile while bleeding made Eliana instinctively step back. But she couldn’t go far—he still had her hand.

“I really can’t understand you.”

“Don’t bother. I’m not acting in hopes that you’ll understand.”

“……”

Greddy leaned in. His bloodied lips drew closer, and Eliana instinctively turned her head.

Pfft.

His lukewarm breath brushed her ear, making her hairs stand on end.

“What, you thought I was going to kiss you?”

The obvious mockery made her shoulders tense.

Eliana bit her lip, about to turn her head again, when—

“You keep forgetting something. You and I—we’re nothing more or less than what’s written in that contract. I’d like you to keep that in mind.”

The sense of relief she had felt when he defended her in front of the Empress, and the faint hope that had stirred inside her, vanished without a trace.

So that earlier act—was it just the tantrum of a man upset that his beloved Empress didn’t acknowledge his sacrifice?

It was a contractual marriage, something she had agreed to. So why did it feel so wretched?

Eliana bit the inside of her cheek, hoping Greddy wouldn’t notice.

“……”

“You need to earn your pay. How long do I have to watch you flailing around, directionless?”

He had never been the gentlest of men. But Greddy had always used formal speech with her—until now.

Now he was baring his fangs like an enraged beast, as if he might bite her throat any moment.

“……”

“I don’t know why you’re running from your father, but shouldn’t you at least try to change?”