Chapter 20
Yulician awkwardly reached out his uninjured hand to Maddy.
Maddy, as if used to it, took Yulician’s arm and walked with him toward Crockton.
“Crockton, this is Maddy. You probably already know, she’s the one I proposed to.”
“Hello, I’m Maddy.”
“…Nice to meet you. I’m Crockton Vinel.”
Maddy lightly bent her knees and bowed her head.
Yulician briefly wondered Where did she learn how to bow like that?
“Maddy, this is Crockton Vinel. He’s been my closest friend since childhood. You two might end up seeing each other often.”
Crockton tilted his head slightly, giving Maddy a cold, cynical look.
“We’ll see about that. If she knows her place, she’ll return to where she came from.”
Maddy responded with a bright smile on her face.
“Oh my. So much for being a true friend. You really don’t think much of true love. Is friendship deeper than love? Can you kiss His Highness? I did.”
“Maddy! What are you saying?!”
Yulician’s earlobes turned bright red as he jumped up in shock.
Crockton’s brow twitched.
A subtle but sharp power struggle began between the two.
“So, it’s Maddy, huh? I suppose it makes sense. With no proper upbringing, and learning etiquette from a maid’s whisper, that’s bound to show.”
“You’re right. If I had been born to proper parents, I might have ended up swinging a sword and calling myself a knight too.”
“…You talk like becoming a knight is something anyone can do.”
“Isn’t it just about swinging a sword like this?”
In an instant, Maddy snatched the sword hanging from Crockton’s waist and aimed it at his throat.
It all happened so fast that there was no time to stop her.
Yulician and Crockton were both stunned, while Maddy alone had a teasing smile on her lips.
“See? Simple.”
“Maddy!”
Yulician raised his voice belatedly, but Maddy didn’t lower the sword.
Its sharp tip remained pointed right at Crockton’s throat.
With his fists clenched tightly, Crockton said in a voice trembling with rage:
“So it’s true—you used to make a living stealing, huh? Your hands are fast. So now you’re trying to steal the position of grand duchess too?”
“Is it stealing to sit in a seat that has no rightful owner?”
“Stop it. Maddy, I told you not to do this! What the hell are you doing?!”
Yulician stepped in front of her, raising his voice.
“Put down the sword.”
“Hmph. You’re only yelling at me. He was the one who said something mean first.”
“Put the sword down and let’s talk.”
“Oh my. After spending the whole night together, you want us to talk alone again? You’re impossible, truly. Maddy’s back is gonna snap from all this.”
“Just! Be quiet and come with me! Crockton, wait here for a moment.”
Yulician snatched the sword from Maddy’s hand and returned it to Crockton, then led her out of the parlor.
Crockton stared silently at the sword in his hand.
He hadn’t even noticed her unsheathing it from his side. He hadn’t even felt it move.
Maddy might not be just a petty thief.
If Yulician wasn’t marrying out of love—if there was something else going on—it could be a serious problem.
If Maddy had been hired as Yulician’s bodyguard, things were even more complicated.
Though he hadn’t seen her true strength yet, judging by her speed, no one in his own knight order could match her.
She might disrupt everything His Highness had planned. That couldn’t be allowed.
“…Would’ve been better if you really had fallen in love, my friend.”
Leaving a message with a servant that he’d return later, Crockton departed before Yulician and Maddy came back.
Though a lifelong friend, Crockton was someone who could not be allowed to live long. His very existence was a threat to the throne.
He rode quickly, already forming a plan.
Yulician dragged Maddy all the way to a secluded corner of the rear garden.
He stepped under a pergola covered with twisted wisteria vines, cautiously scanning the surroundings.
Maddy, having yanked her wrist out of his grip during the walk, looked up at him with disinterested eyes.
“No one’s around. Just say it.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?! I told you he’s my friend. The one person I can actually trust! Even if you act up in front of others, can’t you behave properly in front of Crockton at least?!”
Maddy frowned.
“Some friend—showing up at your house armed to the teeth?”
“He’s a knight. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“What kind of knight skips morning drills and shows up here without a uniform but still brings a sword? Try making sense.”
Yulician’s face hardened.
Crockton Vinel had been his closest companion nearly all his life.
In a world where everyone pointed a sword at him, he was the only one Yulician could trust.
And Maddy was slandering him?
Harsh words escaped Yulician’s lips before he could stop himself.
“Not everyone lives their life deceiving others like you.”
Damn it.
That wasn’t what he meant to say. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her deliberately.
Like it or not, they were stuck together for the next three years.
But Maddy didn’t show much of a reaction. Her eyes merely widened a bit.
“Ouch. That stings.”
A mischievous grin curled her lips.
“If you paid me on time, I wouldn’t have to lie. You still haven’t paid the special bonus.”
Just seconds ago, Yulician had wanted to apologize. Now he didn’t want to take back his words.
To her, everything really did just come down to money.
He clenched his jaw and tore a gold ornament from his coat, then wordlessly handed it to her.
Maddy accepted it without hesitation and tucked it into her chest.
She looked completely unfazed.
“You’re right. I’m a liar. At least the part about me being full of lies is the truth, right?”
Yulician said nothing.
Maddy shrugged and added, “Now that I’ve got my special bonus, I’ll trust your friend. Let’s go back.”
She turned and strode off ahead of him.
Walking out of the pergola’s shadow, she marched off without a hint of regret.
“…Maddy.”
At his call, she spun around like she was dancing a waltz.
The morning sun hit her face squarely. Just like when she pretended to be in love back in the slums, Maddy smiled brightly.
She looked carefree, cheerful, radiant.
Unlike Yulician.
“What is it?”
Looking at her expression—so free of worry or fear—he suddenly recalled that other man who used to walk beside her.
His anger surged.
Another sharp, unintended comment slipped from his mouth.
“…Clean up your private life. Don’t give people reasons to talk.”
“Hm, I don’t recall anything in our contract about that. I was told to act like trash, remember?”
“Whatever. You’re going to live as the Grand Duchess for three years, aren’t you? I don’t care if you have lovers, but don’t get caught. Clean it up.”
Maddy tilted her head and pouted.
Yulician’s gaze grew more piercing as he stepped closer, lowering his voice.
“…If anyone finds out about our contract, it’s all over. Got it?”
Last night, he’d kissed her passionately in the office—but now, his gaze was ice cold.
“If anyone’s doomed, it’s you—not me. I can just disappear like before. I’m only here ruining my reputation to protect you.”
“Don’t make me laugh. It’s the money, not me. All you care about is money.”
“Haha, ouch. That hit the mark.”
Far from being hurt, Maddy laughed aloud.
Even with Yulician glaring sharply at her, she didn’t flinch—just patted him on the shoulder.
“Then how about this? If my darling fiancé gives me more money, I’ll clean it all up. I’ll do anything for a big enough payout, right?”
“…Wait. ‘All’ of it? You mean there’s more than one guy? Not just the brown-haired one?”
“Oh, him?”
“‘Oh, him?’ So you’re that close?”
“Ugh, you’re such an idiot.”
Maddy poked Yulician in the side and winked, then strode off.
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?! And how am I an idiot?!”
She jogged off toward the mansion’s rear entrance, then raised a finger to her lips in a shush gesture.
Maddy’s finger then pointed sideways.
Following it, Yulician spotted the gardeners far off in the distance.
He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fists to suppress his boiling emotions.
“You’re really just a love-crazed idiot! I give up!”
With a teasing jab, Maddy ran off—at half her usual pace—into the mansion.
Yulician took a few deep breaths before finally heading back himself.
But he learned that Crockton had already left, and Maddy had ridden off on horseback without a carriage.
“…I knew it. So she could ride a horse!”
Another lie.
What a crazy woman.
For the first time, Yulician thought he’d picked the wrong person. But it was too late to fix anything.
It hadn’t even been ten days since he met Maddy and proposed—yet it already felt like a lifetime.
Maddy barged into Nox’s house and flung open the cupboard.
When she didn’t see any alcohol, she kicked the sleeping Nox in the butt.
“Hey. Where’d you hide the booze?”
“Gah! What the hell?! You broke in?! What time is it?! Ugh. The sun just rose!”
As Nox shrieked, Maddy stomped on his back and asked again.
“I said, where’s the booze?”
“You don’t even get drunk! Why do you drink?! Ugh, you showed up again after barely three days.”
Grumbling, Nox pulled a whiskey bottle from a box in the corner.
No glass. Just handed it over.
Maddy bit off the cap and spat it out, then chugged it like water.
Nox, watching his beloved liquor disappear down her throat, slumped on the bed with a groan.
“Why are you like this, sis? I don’t get you.”
Only after finishing a huge gulp did Maddy sigh in relief and beam.
“Hey, guess what I did!”
“What?”
“A lovers’ quarrel!”
“Ugh. Ew. I don’t want to hear this. Get out.”
“No really! It was amazing! He totally thought you were my boyfriend and got all jealous! I’ve never seen anything like it—it was so weird!”
“You’re engaged! Of course he was jealous! Why are you acting surprised in someone else’s house?!”
“Oh right. Yeah. Jealousy. Huh. Why would he be jealous, though? …Guess it’s because he doesn’t have friends. You should understand.”
“Listen to her talking like she has friends. Ow!”
Maddy kicked the back of his knee and took another swig.
Only half the bottle was left now.
“…So, did you tell him I’m just your little brother?”
“Nope.”
“What?! Why not, you crazy woman?!”
“We’re not blood-related! Don’t curse at me, you bastard!”
“Ugh! He probably misunderstood! I hate you, Maddy! You’re the worst! So annoying!”
Nox stomped his feet and buried his head in the bed.
Meanwhile, Maddy cheerfully shouted, “I’ve never seen someone get jealous that close up before!”
Nox was certain now—Yulician must have mistaken him for Maddy’s lover.
