The reason I shot up from bed with a scream was simple. I’d just had an absolutely horrific nightmare. You know, the kind where you spend weeks busting your ass to solve a case, only to end up not getting a single coin of the contingency fee for the most absurd reason imaginable…
“…….”
I slowly turned my head and found Grand Duke Richard, half falling out of his chair, blinking at me with a dumbstruck look on his face. And the room—dingy and musty—was clearly not a dream, either.
“Where am….”
As I trailed off, the Grand Duke straightened his posture as if nothing had happened and dryly supplied an explanation.
“This is the Grand Ducal Residence. Other assets are confiscated, but His Highness the Crown Prince deigned to show mercy and returned the lands and residence tied to the Grand Duke title.”
“Ha… haha….”
A hollow laugh slipped out as I covered my face with both hands. I didn’t just have that nightmare, I was living it.
The fact that it wasn’t a nightmare was the real nightmare.
“Thanks to you, I’ve been released and am free, so as per our contract, I’ll liquidate the returned lands and residence of the Grand Ducal Territory and give you half.”
“…….”
I couldn’t help frowning at his proposal. On the surface, it sounded like a generous offer, but if you knew the truth, it was anything but.
Grand Duke Richard had been exiled from the Imperial Palace at birth, sent off with a wet nurse to live in a deserted castle on barren land. Later, after distinguishing himself in war, the Emperor begrudgingly granted him the title of Grand Duke, but pettily only did so by simply upgrading the name of the land and castle he was already living in to the ‘Grand Ducal Territory’ and ‘Grand Ducal Residence.’
The enormous fortune I’d expected under our contract was the wealth the Grand Duke had painstakingly earned himself through investments.
In short, what the Crown Prince so ‘generously’ returned—his lands and residence—was practically worthless. There wasn’t even enough money to keep the Grand Ducal Residence running.
‘That petty bastard Crown Prince! He might as well have thrown the Grand Duke out of the capital penniless!’
Of course, he did make that fortune by evilly obstructing the male lead, so the Crown Prince probably wanted to seize all that wealth.
‘Still, this is just too much!’
I ground my teeth. Meanwhile, Grand Duke Richard calmly held out a few documents to me.
“Here. The contract for liquidating the property. And the divorce papers. You should fill out your part.”
Unlike me, who was fuming, he spoke in a detached tone. He didn’t even look regretful about losing the vast wealth he’d worked so hard to build by blocking Lawrence’s opportunities. I looked down at the divorce papers in my hand, then declared to him.
“Sorry, but I can’t give you that divorce.”
The moment my words fell, Grand Duke Richard shot up from his seat.
“Wh-what are you saying? Don’t tell me you’re planning to break our contract?”
At his incredulous voice, I calmly shook my head.
“No, I’m saying our contract isn’t over yet.”
“What…?”
“Our contract was that I’d receive half your assets once you were acquitted. But you haven’t actually been acquitted yet, have you? So until then, there’s no divorce.”
I had no intention of making a lopsided deal where the Grand Duke walked away free while I was left broke. He let out an audible sigh.
“Fine. We’ll divorce later, as per the contract. But I can’t allow someone who’s my wife in name only to stay in the Grand Ducal Residence.”
Ah, so that’s how he wants to play it. I gave him my most pitiful face.
“Oh come on, darling, what are you saying? This is my home too.”
“D-dar… what? Don’t tell me this is what you were scheming all along with our contract…!”
The Grand Duke’s face went bright red as he glared at me. For some reason, his eyes reminded me of a former client who looked at me like I was a stalker. I let out a long sigh.
“Your Grace, we are destined to be together. You’ll just have to accept it.”
“What?”
Now he was looking at me like he was completely speechless. I pressed on, unfazed.
“After I made such a fuss and publicly proclaimed our love, how suspicious would it look if we immediately started living apart once you were out of prison?”
Just look at how the Crown Prince refused to return his assets under the pretext of ‘suspending the acquittal,’ even after they had to release him due to lack of evidence. It was obvious he had no intention of letting the Grand Duke live comfortably. If anyone found out this was a contract marriage, there was a chance the entire trial could be invalidated because a non-family member provided unqualified defense. Then goodbye forever to my contingency fee—and I might even end up in prison myself.
“So until the real culprit is caught, we have to look like a married couple.”
“…….!”
Now the Grand Duke just opened and closed his mouth, apparently at a loss for words. I lifted one eyebrow slightly and made him another offer.
“If you really hate playing house that much, you could always just fabricate some evidence and pin the crime on someone else right now.”
“Are you out of your mind?!”
The Grand Duke’s face went rigid and he shot me a furious glare. I simply shrugged.
“You’re the one who doesn’t want to pretend to be my husband.”
“Ugh….”
The Grand Duke’s reaction was exactly as I expected. From the short time I’d spent with him, I’d learned he was almost suspiciously upright—so much so that I wondered if he was really the story’s dark schemer—and that his sense of responsibility toward his subordinates was strong enough to override his own will. In other words, he wasn’t the kind of man who’d sacrifice an innocent person to save himself.
“And I’d appreciate it if you’d cooperate with finding the real culprit too, Grand Duke.”
“You’re saying you’re going to find them yourself?”
I nodded at his astonished question.
“So you can be declared not guilty. That’s what matters most to me!”
The Police Bureau had nearly executed him on absurd evidence. Leaving the investigation to them would only mean losing the money forever and never getting my contingency fee. So it made far more sense for me to find the culprit myself.
He stared at me in shock again. Then he pressed his lips together and, in a low voice, firmly emphasized:
“Let’s be clear about one thing. We’ll only pretend to be husband and wife in front of others. There’s no love. We’re nothing more than a contract. Understood?”
“What? Yeah, definitely.”
As always, the Grand Duke had a habit of delivering the most obvious statements with extreme gravity. It really wasn’t a good habit. I nodded offhandedly.
“And…”
He hesitated before opening his mouth again.
“Maybe… you could at least try to fall for someone else during the contract period.”
“Mmm… I think that might be difficult.”
Not to mention if such rumors leaked, we’d be in serious trouble. And besides, what mattered to me wasn’t my personal feelings—it was money.
“…….”
Hearing my answer, the Grand Duke let out a sigh, his expression strangely complicated.
* * *
Our first act as Grand Duke and Grand Duchess was dinner. The head maid who had supposedly served at the Grand Ducal residence for ages greeted us in the old dining hall.
“…I am Margaret Verona, the head maid here. You may call me Madam Verona. I’ve served His Highness the Grand Duke for a long time.”
I narrowed my eyes at Madam Verona, who looked stiff and uneasy, then turned sweetly to the Grand Duke.
“You seem to have a special connection with Madam Verona, Your Grace.”
“Yes.”
A curt, one-word reply.
“Yes, huh? Daaaaarling—?”
I deliberately broke up the word and let out a soft laugh. Then, making sure Madam Verona couldn’t see, I jabbed the Grand Duke’s thigh under the table. At my sneaky jab, the Grand Duke flinched, as if recalling what had happened in the bedroom.
A few hours ago.
“Alright, from now on we have to look like we’re the most madly-in-love Grand Duke and Grand Duchess in the world to everyone else.”
“So what exactly does that mean?”
At my demand, the Grand Duke looked completely clueless. I furrowed my brow.
“Just treat me like you would a real lover!”
“T-That’s what I’m asking you—what does that even look like?”
“Wait… don’t tell me… you’ve never dated anyone before?”
“…….”
He dropped his gaze sharply and clamped his lips shut. Then, on that perfectly sculpted, chiseled face of his, a faint blush spread. I stared at him, utterly dumbfounded.
‘Seriously… what have you even been doing with that ridiculously handsome face all this time….’
No wonder he’d reacted so intensely to me calling him ‘darling.’ At this point, I was going to have to teach him from scratch like a child. I patiently laid it out step by step.
“Okay. First, when you look at me, do it with eyes full of longing.”
“Like this?”
Soon the Grand Duke’s crimson eyes flared, burning intensely. I let out a sigh and continued.
“That’s the look you give right before you decapitate an enemy.”
“Didn’t you just tell me to look at you with longing?”
“That’s not a longing for love, that’s a longing for slaughter.”
I figured, well, he was the villain after all, so no wonder his eyes were downright murderous. I decided to give up on the loving gaze part and moved on to the next stage.
“Alright, let’s try something simpler. Surely you can manage to call me sweetly by name. Try saying ‘Elena’ softly.”
“Elenaha!”
“…….”
It was like he was a soldier yelling ‘Private E!LE!NA!’ with a salute. I was so stunned I couldn’t even muster a reply and just dropped my eyebrows.
“Let me demonstrate. Repeat after me.”
I gathered breath deep from my diaphragm and put on an overly honeyed voice.
“Benedict~♡.”
“S-stop!”
Apparently he couldn’t bear to hear it, because the Grand Duke’s face instantly turned bright red.
So that wrapped up that dreadful ‘couple training session’ with him, now back to the present.
“Ahem.”
Startled by my silent glare, the Grand Duke quickly cleared his throat. Then, struggling, he forced out a gentle tone.
“Madam Verona was also my nanny. Before that, she worked in the Imperial Palace.”
At those words, Madam Verona bowed her head deeply.
“Even after Your Highness no longer needed a nanny, you graciously allowed me to stay on here as head maid.”
Grand Duke Richard quietly nodded at Madam Verona as he tasted the prepared soup.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had Margaret’s cooking. It’s still the same. You’ve always been an excellent cook.”
Hearing that the food was delicious was honestly the best news I’d heard all day. I hadn’t eaten anything since morning, so I hurriedly shoveled a spoonful of soup into my mouth.
“Ugh!”
At once, all eyes turned to me.
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