Chapter 1
Bang!
The loud crash was followed by the sound of glass shattering. Diana sighed and put down her cleaning tools. The noise had come from Baron Lapin’s study.
She ran over and opened the door carefully. As soon as she did, a sharp, angry voice welcomed her.
“Dad, are you crazy?!”
Diana glanced at Helyana, who was yelling with a red face and bulging neck veins. But Diana quickly lowered her eyes and began cleaning the mess on the floor before the sharp gaze of the baroness could reach her again.
“You know what happens to the women who marry into the Duke of Fenril’s family! How could you send me to such a monstrous killer?!”
As Diana wiped the soaked table, her hand froze. So Helyana’s marriage had been arranged—and she was furious about it.
Helyana even clung to her mother’s arm and begged.
“Mom, please stop him. I don’t want to die!”
“Think carefully, Helyana. It’s the Duke of Fenril! Isn’t becoming a duchess better than marrying some lowly count?”
The baroness calmly tried to soothe her daughter. But Helyana scoffed and cried harder.
“What, you want me to be queen of barbarians and beasts?”
Unlike the warm and fertile southern lands where culture and art thrived, the northern lands ruled by the Duke were wild and untamed.
Worse, it was far, far away from the imperial capital. For Helyana, whose dream was to shine in high society, being sent to the north was like being exiled to a convent.
Then, suddenly, Helyana noticed Diana standing there.
“How about sending her instead of me?”
“What?”
For the first time, Baron Lapin reacted. The baroness frowned, shocked.
But Helyana clapped her hands like she had a brilliant idea.
“The Duke didn’t ask for me specifically, right?”
“Well… I suppose not…”
“Then send her! She’s your daughter too, isn’t she?”
Helyana smiled like a blooming flower, but her words were cruel. She treated Diana like an object.
Technically, Diana Lapin was the baron’s daughter. But no one in the mansion treated her like one.
Even Baron Lapin himself wasn’t sure if she was really his child.
Diana’s mother had been a wandering woman who showed up one winter. The head maid let her stay secretly. The woman had snow-white hair and a mysterious, elegant aura—like someone from another world. The baron was quickly drawn to her.
Ten months later, Diana was born.
But the baroness refused to acknowledge her. She claimed the woman might’ve already been pregnant before arriving and insisted Diana was not the baron’s child.
So Diana grew up treated as neither a proper daughter nor a servant—just an outsider with the Lapin name.
“Daaad, pleaaase?”
Helyana clung to her father sweetly.
“Hm, I suppose… they didn’t say exactly who to send.”
Baron Lapin looked over at Diana.
He clicked his tongue at her thin wrist, visible through her worn-out clothes. No man would want her like that. But when he looked closely, she did resemble her mother. Her white curls and deep blue-black eyes were rare—valuable, even.
‘This might work.’
He smirked.
“You. Marry the Duke instead of Helyana.”
“Oh, how wonderful!” Helyana clapped quickly. “Right, Diana?”
“I always worried you’d grow old and die alone. Isn’t this a great opportunity? Why do you look like that? Are you too happy to speak?”
Diana almost laughed bitterly. So now they were selling her off to a killer.
“Scared? Don’t worry. Since he protects the empire, I’m sure he’s skilled. He’ll probably make it quick and painless.”
Helyana mistook Diana’s shocked face for fear and smirked with fake kindness. Her heart was actually racing—with excitement.
Whether the Duke was a monster or not didn’t matter.
If she accepted this marriage, Diana could legally leave the Lapin estate. That alone was reason enough to say yes.
“Oh, but what if the Duke doesn’t like her?”
“Then she should die there.”
The baroness’s cold voice cut in like a blade. She had been watching Diana with disgust the entire time.
“She’s eaten our food, worn our clothes, used our water, and even her mother’s medicine cost money. If the Duke doesn’t want her, it’s better she dies there. At least we’ll get a condolence payment. A grateful girl would understand that.”
Diana turned to the baroness, stunned.
Medicine for her mother? That was a lie. Her mother died in winter, without ever seeing a doctor.
Diana wasn’t surprised by their cruelty anymore—but she didn’t expect them to stoop even lower. She was almost impressed.
They were already talking about stealing her death benefits.
She fought the nausea rising in her throat.
“What are you staring at?! Filthy little brat born from some tramp! You should be bowing down in gratitude for this chance!”
The baroness screamed. But instead of bowing, Diana lifted her chin proudly.
She could endure anything—beatings, being locked in the attic, even starving.
But she would never tolerate anyone insulting her mother.
“My mother was more noble than anyone!”
“What?!”
Diana stared straight into the baroness’s eyes.
“She was a good, pure person with nothing to be ashamed of before God! Unlike you—!”
“Silence!”
Before Diana could finish, the baroness struck her. Hard.
The fan—made of ivory, gold, and gems—was a perfect weapon. Blood filled Diana’s mouth as she groaned in pain.
But no one pitied her.
The baron clicked his tongue, but not for her.
“Dear, don’t damage the goods. The Duke won’t want damaged merchandise.”
“Hmph! I just taught her a lesson as a mother should.”
“Yes, she’ll need to learn obedience if she wants to be loved by the Duke.”
He smiled cruelly and pointed at Diana, now collapsed on the floor.
“Someone take her away! She’s not to come out until the wounds heal. No food or water until she begs for forgiveness!”
To Diana, that was actually good news. She’d get to leave the mansion—and wouldn’t have to see these horrible people until then.
For the first time in her life, she was almost grateful to Baron Lapin.
