Chapter 01
Prologue
Zakahari Ivan Sonier.
All members of the imperial family in this country used the name of the founding emperor as their middle name. But the man standing before her had discarded that name, choosing instead to fully establish himself on his own.
Now known simply as Jacques Sonier, he looked at the woman before him with interest and slowly opened his mouth.
“Well then. Now that you’ve come to the ducal residence just as you wanted, it’s time you told me the reason you tormented me all day.”
At the sound of his low voice, Adele’s heart gave a thud. She couldn’t believe she had to negotiate—or perhaps even blackmail—this man.
Countless words spun in her mouth only to vanish, and even the simple act of lifting a teacup felt impossible.
But Adele didn’t hesitate.
“Please, marry me.”
Enoch, the aide standing by, staggered, but the man in question didn’t show any noticeable reaction.
“So, the esteemed second daughter of the illustrious Milliam family is proposing to me?”
The dark-haired man’s expression was icy, so cold it was hard to believe he was the same man who had been smiling at her all day. When Adele nodded, he put down the teacup in his hand, leaned back, and crossed his long legs. His movements were smooth and graceful, but carried a subtle air of dominance.
“Are you perhaps unfamiliar with the laws of the Empire?”
“Of course not.”
In the Hesenia Empire, a divorced woman could not become the legal wife of another noble family. And for an unmarried duke, there was no such thing as a secondary wife. Asking someone to take a concubine before a legal spouse was simply nonsense.
“Surely you’re not saying you wish to become my concubine.”
“That’s right. That’s all the law allows, so I have no other choice.”
“And that doesn’t bother you…”
“If you already have someone in mind, you may marry her first. I can wait, even if not forever—if you’ll promise me that.”
“Madam, if I marry, I have no intention of taking a concubine or a mistress. I’m quite the romantic, you see.”
The ill-fitting word made Enoch clear his throat awkwardly.
“I only need your name, Duke Sonier.”
“My name isn’t something I can give away so freely…”
“I’m a Milliam.”
“Of course I know. That’s the only reason you’re here at this hour.”
A Milliam, offering herself to a disgraced royal… How curious.
“Are you trying to offer me the Empire itself?”
“Nothing of the sort. I truly have nothing to offer you right now. If we marry, I’ll live on your estate. You can remain in the capital if you like.”
The duke stopped speaking and looked at Adele. His crimson eyes deepened, as if he meant to read every inch of her soul.
“But… why me, of all people?”
“As you know, the only way I can legally get divorced in the Empire… is by receiving a proposal from a royal.”
“If you had said it was for the future of the Empire, that might have been more persuasive.”
The young duke smiled at Adele, who had been rendered speechless. It was a smile sculpted by the gods—beautiful, but as cold as ice.
Adele saw rejection in his expression. Growing desperate, she tried another tactic.
“If you gain the Milliam name, you could build a kingdom.”
“I understand what you mean… but I have no interest in a kingdom built on a woman’s life.”
As he listed his rejections one by one, Adele’s confidence gradually dwindled.
“Besides, there’s nothing I need to protect at the cost of putting my woman in danger. If I ever build a kingdom, I’ll do it with my own hands.”
“Your… your woman?”
“Of course. If we marry, you become mine, don’t you?”
“But I already said I would live on the estate. I won’t interfere in your life.”
“What would you even do on such barren land? How does that benefit me?”
Everything he said was right. If things continued this way, she’d be kicked out of the residence with nothing gained.
“I have experience managing an estate for years. From what I’ve heard, your lands are basically abandoned.”
“I had planned to settle there once I married. I also have no intention of living separately from my wife. Besides, I…”
The man trailed off, slowly looking Adele up and down.
“…currently have no need for a wife.”
It was a clear rejection.
Adele realized the negotiation had failed.
He was, after all, the darling of high society—loved by all, and someone who enjoyed being at its center. She had thought that if she offered to manage his abandoned lands while he stayed in the capital, it would be beneficial to him too. But clearly, that wasn’t what he wanted.
Cornered, Adele straightened her back beneath his strangely provoking gaze.
From the start, this man had seemed tightly coiled—restrained. His smile was perfectly proper, yet his posture was always slightly off-kilter.
He behaved without a single flaw in etiquette, yet his gaze was always lowered in disdain.
And yet, unlike Ethan, his demeanor didn’t make her shrink away.
Strangely, it even felt like he was daring her to continue. Adele raised her chin sharply and mimicked his slight head tilt.
The negotiation had failed. It was time to try blackmail.
“Duke Sonier.”
He smiled at her in response, without speaking. The curiosity in his eyes was Adele’s only hope.
“You know, don’t you? That arm holding the teacup, that leg crossed so arrogantly—you have those because of me.”
Adele pushed him into a corner, reminding him of the life debt he owed her. She hadn’t wanted to go this far, but this was the only card she had left.
Fortunately, it worked. For the first time, this infuriating man fell silent. He let out a small laugh, lowered his gaze, and didn’t lift his head for a while.
‘Huh? Wait… is he trying not to laugh?’
Adele saw his ears turn red and realized he was stifling laughter. But when Jacques finally lifted his head, she knew it had only been her desperation playing tricks on her. His expression was so indifferent it was almost dull, and the tension in her clenched fists melted away.
“Very well.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll consider your proposal. Very positively, in fact.”
It wasn’t just Adele who was shocked by his sudden change in tone—Enoch stared at his master, dumbfounded.
“Is it because I saved your life? Is this your way of repaying that debt…?”
“At this point, my intentions hardly matter.”
“Still, I’m curious. Why did you change your mind?”
Jacques didn’t answer, simply shrugged. He rubbed his chin with crossed arms before speaking again.
“I have one condition.”
Of course. At the word “condition,” Adele’s heart pounded with anxiety. She had nothing to offer.
“And… what is it?”
“Getting married doesn’t mean we must love each other. Feelings can’t be forced. Besides, I value loyalty more than love.”
Adele stared blankly at the man, surprised to hear him speak of love at all.
“Okay… and?”
“If we marry, I won’t give even a glance, let alone my heart, to anyone else. So…”
“…”
“If you truly intend to propose to me, then you’d best leave whatever man is in your heart buried deep inside.”
After her marriage to Ethan, a few incidents had revealed Adele’s powers to the people of the estate.
But her trivial abilities were more like fodder for a romantic fairy tale than anything else.
Everyone knew Countess Debrian had loved her husband for a long time, so it wasn’t surprising that Jacques had heard of it.
While Adele was flustered, he stood and moved beside her as if to escort her—signaling that the conversation was over.
He said he’d consider it, but… was that really a yes?
Adele didn’t hesitate. She steadied her trembling legs, rose with a firm expression, and hooked her arm into his.
When Jacques left her at the door of his office and turned away, Enoch hurried after him inside.
“What on earth did I just witness?”
“What do you mean?”
“You, of all people—who always said you’d never marry—why did you change your mind?”
“I didn’t say I would. Just that I’d consider it.”
“You said you’d think about it positively!”
“Can’t I even think?”
But Enoch wasn’t letting it go.
“No. There’s definitely a reason… and it’s not just that. There is a reason.”
He muttered it like a soliloquy, not expecting an answer. But to his surprise, the duke opened his mouth.
“It’s just…”
Jacques trailed off again and chuckled. Enoch, curious to a fault, waited anxiously for him to finish.
“Her legs were trembling.”
“Pardon?”
“With that elegant, noblewomanly face, she threatened me coldly, but her legs were shaking from nerves.”
“And… that’s the reason?”
“The way her dress trembled… it was just… cute.”
“I beg your pardon?”
Enoch gaped, unable to close his mouth. Had “cute” acquired a new meaning while he’d been away from society?
Then he looked at the duke again in shock.
Jacques’ face had turned serious, which only confused Enoch further.
Though Jacques hadn’t given a definite answer, Enoch could tell his mind was made up.
And so, soon enough, the Hesenia Empire’s social scene would be shaken by the scandalous romance between the still-married lady of House Debrian and the ever-enigmatic butterfly of society, Duke Jacques Sonier.
