Chapter 11
At that moment, Cerulean slowly rose from his seat. Then, as if it were only natural, he came toward me and extended his hand with elegance and ease, like someone doing what must be done.
When I placed my hand upon his palm, he recited a vow in a calm tone.
“On my honor and my life, I swear to protect you. Lady Edel.”
It was the first time a man had ever called me “Lady.”
If he did that just to make my heart flutter, then it deserved a full ten out of ten.
With trembling eyes, I gazed at the handsome man before me.
“Don’t tell me he’s not human, but a god of beauty? If I guess his identity right, he’ll laugh and say, ‘Actually, I was just pretending to be Cerulean Luc all along, to tease you.’”
That’s how good-looking he was.
Even though this was only a contractual relationship — he didn’t love me, and I only planned to take what I needed — my heart still pounded.
“Lady Edel?”
Seeing my silence, he tilted his head slightly. My cheeks flushed red.
‘Even if it’s a lie, it’s fine.’
Even if this was just a passing play, a complete falsehood—
‘I’ll give it my all.’
I smiled sheepishly and answered.
“It feels a little embarrassing.”
Thinking that, I turned my hand on top of his palm so that I could grasp it properly. His hand was so hot that his hard palm almost burned me. I shook it firmly and added with spirit:
“I look forward to working with you, Lord Luc.”
At my words, Cerulean blinked. Wondering why, I soon realized as he corrected me in a low voice.
“Call me Cerulean. You said it just fine earlier.”
“Ah, well, earlier I was very flustered.”
My face grew hot. Cerulean, too, seemed to recall that moment.
Pfft.
Wasn’t that a faint smile tugging at his lips?
‘Wait, did he just smile?’
Though it vanished in an instant while I blinked, it was unmistakably a smile.
Anyway, thanks to Cerulean’s sudden oath, my heart finally calmed. I opened my lips slowly.
“Um, Cerulean.”
At my call, the handsome young man across from me, holding his teacup, tilted his head slightly. His lips were firmly pressed, and his aloof eyes still looked cold, yet not nearly as cold as before.
‘I must just be getting used to him.’
Either way, it seemed I had completed everything I needed to do today at House Luc. Setting down my empty cup, I opened my mouth.
“Then I’ll take my leave—”
But before I could finish, Cerulean spoke first.
“Since you seem much calmer now, may I bring it in?”
“Huh? Bring what?”
“The sword I ought to provide you.”
“But you don’t even wear a sword yourself, and you’re a real knight. So you mean it metaphorically, right?”
The enemy both Cerulean and I had to face was the same—
Duchess Vanerinne Rosa Luc.
And what weapon could I wield against her?
‘Could it be… information?’
“Cerulean, do you perhaps know of any weaknesses of Vanerinne—things only family members would know?”
“Pardon?”
Feeling like that was the right angle, I instinctively reached for my chest pocket—only to realize I had nothing there—and then asked Cerulean.
“Could you lend me a pen and a notebook? And while you’re at it, information about the Duke himself would be great too.”
“Are you saying you need information on both the Duchess and His Grace?”
“Yes. I already bragged to the Duchess that the Duke favors me. That’s the first thing she’ll want to check. And she’ll use it to string me up in the town square.”
The memory of her smiling sweetly as she told me that treason against the royal family was punishable by hanging still haunted me.
‘She’s no easy opponent.’
Though my hands trembled from the memory, a fiery determination to crush her rose up too.
Cerulean looked at my shaking fingers with no change in expression, then replied calmly.
“I’ll tie the ribbon in a butterfly knot for you.”
It took me ten seconds to process what he meant. Dumbfounded, I shot back:
“…That wasn’t supposed to be a joke, was it?”
As if it mattered whether the noose that would hang me was tied like a butterfly or a loop.
‘But this isn’t just paranoia. If I don’t meet the Duke within a week, it will actually happen!’
That was what made Vanerinne terrifying. She’d smile like an angel and then, without hesitation, push me off the cliff.
‘She must already be digging into my background.’
And yet, the one person who should have been my pillar—Cerulean—remained utterly composed.
“It was half a joke, but also half the truth. I don’t know much about His Grace either. He rarely reveals himself, even to me.”
“Not even to his own son?”
“Not even to his son.”
I propped my chin in my hand and sighed.
“Then… should I write him a letter?”
“…Excuse me?”
Cerulean’s usually impassive face twisted ever so slightly. What was that reaction supposed to mean? I pouted.
“You told me before to praise House Luc’s greatness directly to His Grace. Wouldn’t a letter like that earn me some favor?”
“His Grace is not a man swayed by emotions.”
“But you can’t know until you try.”
Cerulean spoke at length, rare for him. His blank face somehow looked tired.
“Edel, His Grace has almost no emotions. Even if the Duchess asks about you, he won’t say anything. So there’s no need to fear her words.”
“You mean he’s even stiffer than you?”
“That is a meaningless question.”
Liar. He knew exactly what I meant.
‘Cerulean hardly ever shows emotion either. I’ve never once seen him shaken.’
Apparently, though not related by blood, he and the Duke were very similar in temperament.
‘Come to think of it, the Duke rarely appears in society gossip columns either.’
I was mulling over that thought, tapping my chin, when Cerulean lightly shook a bell on the table.
“As it happens, I’ve prepared something to give you.”
“Huh?”
Just then, the butler appeared, carrying a large box, and carefully placed it on the table.
“A box?”
The kind of size a stray cat could never walk past. While I was lost in such stray thoughts, Cerulean spoke slowly.
“A gift.”
The word clashed so oddly with his emotionless face.
“Open it.”
“What is it—oh my!”
The moment I opened the box, a dazzling brilliance made me wince.
“Are you all right?”
All right?
A blazing yellow light, like the sun, stabbed at my eyes. I quickly shut the box.
“No, I’m not!”
What had just attacked my eyes from inside the box was a gem the size of my fist.
‘That’s definitely no ordinary stone. Even a cheap jewel that big would be worth a fortune—but this one shines so brilliantly I can’t even look at it straight. It’s extraordinary!’
It was a jewel one wasn’t meant to see even once in a lifetime.
While my lips parted in shock, Cerulean said calmly:
“Think of it as a down payment.”
“A… down payment?”
Who gives a down payment like this?
I let out a huge sigh, hands on my hips, and shoved the box back across the table.
“I can’t accept this. It’s too much.”
I hadn’t even done anything yet, and to receive something so enormous…
But my firm refusal was nothing against Cerulean, as unyielding as a stone wall. He replied serenely, as though it were trivial.
“There’s no need to feel burdened. Compared to the life you staked on this contract, this big, heavy rock is nothing.”
It wasn’t just a big, heavy rock, though, was it?
And his words about staking my life—those puzzled me, since I had always assumed I’d just live my life freely after divorce.
“You don’t need to exaggerate so much. And I really don’t need such a huge jewel.”
To be precise, it was just too burdensome. Not that I didn’t like treasures—had it been a jewel the size of my thumbnail, I would have accepted it gladly.
‘Greed always chokes you in the end,’
—that was something my mother used to say often.
But then, Cerulean’s next words instantly flipped my decision from “reject” to “accept.”
“This is the Yellow Sapphire, passed down through generations of the Luc Duchy. The Duchess has begged for it repeatedly, but His Grace never gave it to her.”
“Oh my goodness…”
So I’d been right—it wasn’t ordinary. This was one of the family’s greatest heirlooms.
I opened the box again, scrutinizing the jewel.
“But how did you even bring this out?”
“I simply took it from my room.”
“But didn’t you just say the Duchess asked for it and the Duke refused?”
What? I looked at him, confused whether he was joking or speaking in riddles, and he explained calmly:
“To be exact, he couldn’t give it to her. When I was first adopted into this family, His Grace gave it to me. This gem was mine from the start.”
“This? He gave you this?”
Why would the Duke give such a jewel, one the Duchess herself couldn’t have, to a mere boy?
‘Was it meant as a symbol—like saying, “You’ll be the next Duke”?’
It seemed plausible. I tilted my head, rubbing my chin, but Cerulean only shrugged. His answer was far plainer than expected.
“He said he couldn’t stand the sight of it and told me to do whatever I wanted with it. He’s probably forgotten I even have it.”
“…”
So the Duke was unexpectedly careless.
To forget about a jewel this huge—that in itself was astounding. I studied the stone curiously.
‘Couldn’t stand the sight of it?’
That phrase snagged at me.
‘Was it perhaps a gift he once gave to someone, but returned? If so, it must have been rejected.’
The Duke may have stayed single a long time, but that didn’t mean he never courted anyone.
‘Now that’s intriguing.’
As a reporter who’d long written society gossip, my instincts twitched. I filed it away in my mind to investigate later. For now, the past wasn’t the issue.
‘What matters is that this is the gem even Duchess Vanerinne never managed to wear.’
And if I were the one to flaunt it, how bitter she would feel.
I couldn’t help but smile triumphantly.
