~Chapter 9~
“I… can’t go.”
Enrique forced a smile.
“If I marry Princess Ines, I’ll have to leave the Empire. I’m sorry, but I can’t do that. Father is also ill right now….”
“I’ll take care of His Majesty. I am also the Emperor’s son, Enrique.”
“….”
“And right now, I’m speaking to you on behalf of his authority.”
Vincent’s gaze, fixed sharply on him, gleamed with overwhelming pressure.
It was a command. A silent order telling him to stop being stubborn and leave for that distant country.
It also meant something else—his older brother would no longer be persuaded.
“…Fine. I’ll think about it.”
Enrique smiled.
He rose from his seat, bowed slightly toward the Crown Prince, and quietly left the office.
Vincent never once looked back as he left. As if whether Enrique stayed or went held no importance at all, he simply continued sipping his tea in silence.
The moment the office door closed behind him, Enrique stopped walking.
His hand clenched into a fist.
From the moment he was summoned, he had a bad feeling. He had hoped it was just paranoia—but…
So they were truly trying to push a marriage at a time like this.
His father, the current Emperor of Greenwood, was frail and bedridden.
Crown Prince Vincent Greenwood had recently been granted imperial authority in the Emperor’s stead.
And the very first thing he did after receiving that authority… was bring up marriage.
For a long time, the Crown Prince had tried to arrange Enrique’s marriage. But it had always failed due to the Emperor’s opposition.
Of course, “the Emperor’s will” also included Enrique’s own. His refusal to leave the Empire behind.
If he left, what would become of his mother—alone in the imperial palace?
Hector, his longtime friend… the nobles who had pledged loyalty to him…
So many people who looked only to him.
Thinking of them, Enrique let out a bitter laugh.
To demand marriage now, while the Emperor was ill and unable to intervene…
“This is cheating.”
His fist tightened further.
He could see it clearly. Vincent was using this timing deliberately.
“Disgusting.”
Fury flickered in his eyes.
But one thing was certain—he had no intention of leaving like this. He would find another way.
“It came to me then. Your proposal.”
“Ah…”
“After thinking about it, it wasn’t bad. A contract relationship.”
The Second Prince continued, as if recalling the past.
“If I claim I have a woman I love, the attention of high society will shift toward me. Then my brother won’t be able to easily interfere. And you, in your own way, get revenge on the two people who betrayed you.”
“…”
“It’s not a bad idea. Especially not for something you said so casually.”
So, in summary—
Enrique did not want to proceed with the arranged marriage to Princess Ines.
And to avoid it, he was proposing a contract relationship.
‘I thought he got along well with the Crown Prince… but I guess things are more complicated here too.’
Then again, it was natural. The Crown Prince and the Second Prince could not possibly have a good relationship.
They were rivals for the throne—and born of different mothers.
Enrique didn’t go into detail, but I could roughly understand the situation.
“So?” he asked.
His emerald gaze landed on me.
“What about that contract relationship you mentioned? Why don’t we try it—with me.”
“….”
I looked at him, flustered.
It had been a casual suggestion… I never expected him to take it so seriously and turn it into a counterproposal.
But as I looked at his striking face, memories from the past few days resurfaced.
Meeting him for the first time at the tavern Masquerada, both of us wearing masks.
The unknown night we had likely spent together in a hotel room—blurred in my memory, yet undeniably intense.
Being summoned to the palace, writing a sworn statement in front of him while grumbling.
And that strange sense of ease when I had casually spilled my own story.
Perhaps… this connection was fate.
Some kind of destiny, meant to push us toward something bigger.
‘…Alright. If it’s come to this.’
Let’s make it big.
Let’s take proper revenge on those two who had played with me all this time.
“Alright. It’s not a bad offer for me.”
I smiled brightly.
“However, I have one condition.”
“What is it?”
“I’m a married woman, after all. If we’re doing a contract relationship, I think it would be better if Your Highness appears as my lover—my kept man.”
In truth, there was no real difference between “lover” and “kept man.”
It was only a matter of wording—but sometimes, wording changed everything.
“‘She took a lover’ sounds like I’m the one having an affair… but ‘she keeps a man’ sounds much more elegant, don’t you think?”
“…”
“Since my husband already took a mistress first, it’s only fair I do the same.”
I smiled faintly and extended my hand.
A silent offer. If he agreed, he would take it.
“Fine. It makes no difference.”
Enrique looked at my hand, then let out a small laugh.
“Then make me your kept man, Cecilia.”
And he took my hand.
His long, pale fingers wrapped around mine.
For a brief moment, the warmth of his grip overlapped with a memory from that distant night.
A joke of a proposal… had become reality.
After seeing Enrique off, I returned to my office.
Even as I walked in, I could feel the servants’ eyes on me.
They whispered among themselves, speculating why the Second Prince had visited the ducal estate.
Perhaps they already sensed something unusual was happening.
Well, it didn’t matter.
If anything, it would only heighten anticipation for the upcoming birthday banquet.
By then, countless rumors would circulate—about the Duke of Hamilton abandoning his estate after running off with his wife’s closest friend… and about the mysterious relationship between Duchess Hamilton and the Second Prince who had visited in his absence.
I unfolded a sheet of paper in my hand.
A contract.
[Contract]
- Enrique Greenwood and Cecilia Hamilton agree to enter a contractual “kept-man” relationship.
- Enrique will act as Cecilia’s lover in public, displaying affection and devotion, while Cecilia will support Enrique as his contractual partner.
- This contract becomes effective immediately upon signing.
- The contract may be terminated upon mutual agreement.
It was a simple document. Nothing unusual—just formalities.
I folded it neatly and placed it deep inside my private safe.
As I pulled my hand back, something snagged awkwardly inside.
“…Ah.”
A wedding ring.
Kaiden’s ring. The one I had kept wearing even after he betrayed me, foolishly clinging to it out of habit.
Come to think of it, Kaiden had stopped wearing his long ago.
“…So annoying.”
I removed it and casually tossed it into the trash bin nearby.
It bounced once—then rolled neatly inside.
Now everything was truly finished.
Preparations for revenge, closure of lingering attachments, and even the plan for the banquet.
I sat down calmly and took a sip of tea prepared for me.
The warmth spread through my body, easing my mind.
“Kaiden… and Tiana. Now all that’s left is you two.”
I smiled softly, my gaze turning cold beneath it.
It was two days before the birthday banquet.
