TMKP 10

Chapter 10

“The five million gold has already been used to pay off Mother’s debts.”

I sat on the edge of my bed in a state of resignation.

Just because I couldn’t get the dowry back didn’t mean I could sit idly by until I met Lucas.

“I want to go see him right away, but…”

As much as I could force my way into the Knights’ Division, I—having been the Crown Princess—knew very well that there was no way to enter the imperial palace without an invitation.

The same went for the proposal—I had no clear solution.

Just imagining being alone with Theodor made my skin crawl, but I couldn’t think of any other way than to go to him and ask him to call off this damned proposal.

I carefully opened the door, took a deep breath, and called out.

“Is anyone there?”

After a long moment, a maid opened the door reluctantly.

“Is something wrong?”

“Could you call me a carriage? I need to go see that person… the one who came by yesterday.”

I emptied the drawer of sedatives and swallowed them all with stale, musty-smelling water.

*The bitter winter wind of the Oranum Empire slipped through the gaps in the carriage window.

If I went to Theodor’s house unannounced, I was sure to confirm his true nature.

The golden watch and the carriage must have been stolen. The five-million-gold dowry was probably borrowed from somewhere as well.

I shook my head.

If anyone could make a fortune through business that easily, there wouldn’t be a single poor person in the empire… nor anyone suffering from debt.

“Just how much debt is left, anyway?”

Could it really be true that my father had been clinging to marrying off his daughter all this time because of my mother’s debts?

In my past life, the Earl hadn’t shown this level of violence—probably because of my marriage to Lucas.

I don’t know exactly how much dowry the imperial family gave, but it would have been an amount that didn’t undermine their authority. With that kind of money, paying off the debts of an ordinary middle-aged woman wouldn’t have been difficult.

But in this life, full of unexpected events—if things went wrong and a creditor stormed into the Earl’s residence—how would I survive?

My long sigh condensed on the carriage window, turning it foggy.

I wiped the window with my sleeve, and the massive iron gate grew closer. Before I could even wonder which estate this was, the carriage slowed to a stop.

“We’re already here?”

Startled, I looked around. All I could see was this enormous mansion. There was no way Theodor’s house was this big.

But as soon as my identity was verified, the gates opened, and the servants who greeted me politely seemed to know who I was.

The mansion I was led into was newly built—exquisitely ornate, with ornaments placed in every corner and even the flower varieties carefully chosen.

From a distance, I saw a woman with short pink hair, her features somehow familiar. Where had I seen her before? I racked my brain.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nihel, Lord Theodor’s aide.”

At that name, my mouth fell open.

Nihel! I almost didn’t recognize her.

She was a lady-in-waiting of the imperial court and the one in charge of my bedchamber. With her sharp, capable personality, she had helped me adjust to palace life.

But she had committed two unforgivable sins:

She genuinely loved Lucas. And she let me find out.

In fact, I was the one who had driven her out of the palace, consumed by the anxiety that Lucas might appoint her as a concubine.

“Lady Vivian. I heard from the maid that you had come.”

Why did it have to be you, Nihel? I swallowed the words rising in my throat and answered.

“Yes… I’ve come to see Theodor.”

“You’ve come at a good time. The representative is in his study. I’ll guide you in.”

I watched Nihel’s back, her elegant neckline exposed, and fell into thought.

Fortunately, in this life, she isn’t a palace maid.

A strange sense of relief mingled with a lingering, unpleasant feeling.

*“I’ve brought you Carlisle jasmine tea, the representative’s favorite.”

Nihel said this and smiled at both me and Theodor.

Her smile had the warmth of a cozy hearth—charming and comforting.

That beautiful smile I could never wear in a lifetime. That was what had driven me mad. But now, her gaze was fixed only on Theodor.

So it’s Theodor this time, I see. Lucas, with his gentle features, and Theodor, with his dark, intimidating aura—they’re complete opposites.

When Nihel left us alone, I quietly brought the teacup to my lips, then set it down.

“I’m surprised.”

“That I don’t live in a hut?”

The madness that had twisted the Earl’s wrist was nowhere to be seen. Dressed in a crisp blue suit, Theodor seemed unusually playful today.

“Is this really your house? It looks so pristine, as if no one has ever lived in it. Like a fake house.”

I ran the heel of my shoe over the dense, high-quality carpet. Not a speck of dust rose from it.

“We haven’t lived here long. I bought it recently—thought it would make a decent honeymoon home.”

“…You called it a merchant house, didn’t you? Business must be booming.”

“We turned a profit last year and paid off all the debts. We’re now debt-free.”

His modest tone made my jaw drop.

“Are you trying to tell me that just five years after the servants left the estate, you’ve built a profitable business?”

“Unless you’re here to collect taxes, I don’t think I need to answer that.”

Theodor smiled, fiddling with the handle of his teacup.

“And where did you find that aide of yours?”

“So many questions. I turned back from heading to the office because my fiancée was coming. If you’re here as a reporter, you can leave now.”

“…I came to ask a favor.”

“I’ll grant any favor except calling off the engagement. Just name it.”

“I want to marry a man whose heart aligns with mine. I don’t want to be bought and sold for five million gold.”

“The Crown Prince and Princess of Venice found out on their honeymoon. They married for political reasons as their families wished, but in truth, each had married their ideal partner.”

As expected, Theodor feigned kindness and answered slyly. I reached into my coat pocket and checked that the syringe of sleeping pills was still there.

I already knew that Theodor Parkhen, smiling so creepily, would turn a deaf ear to my request to break off the engagement. That’s why I’d brought the syringe.

Where could I stick the needle?

If necessary, I planned to knock him out with the sedative, then search the place for evidence of tax evasion or corruption.

I was sure there was something suspicious about his merchant house. Otherwise, how could a man who left home at nineteen be so successful by twenty-four?

“I spent a long time alone in a basement room, and it destroyed my body and mind. What made me that way wasn’t my curse—it was my father, Count Dartion.”

“Your basement days are over now. The Earl will have no choice but to listen to me.”

“Theodor, you hate my father too, don’t you? Like I do.”

“Yes. Even if not me, there’s no one in this world who would like him as a person.”

“I want to tell you a secret about my father—something he doesn’t know. What do you think? Maybe we really could become a team.”

The one thing Theodor didn’t know now was the cause of the Earl’s death.

The Earl lived a life so sordid it was unspeakable, and two years after marrying Lucas, he died of a sexually transmitted disease.

Disguising this ridiculous, trivial story as an important secret, I cleared my throat a couple of times in feigned discomfort and glanced toward the study door.

“I think there might be ears outside. Come a little closer.”

Holding my breath as if stepping into water, I moved toward his neck. My heart pounded like I was walking into the belly of a beast.

Just as his unguarded, vulnerable spot drew near, I thrust the syringe with all my strength.

“!”

In an instant, Theodor grabbed my wrist with one hand and wrapped the other around my waist.

The moment I touched his solid body, a fiery heat rushed over me.

“…Do you dislike me that much? Would marrying an ugly margrave really be worse than living under a father like yours?”

“Let go of me!”

“You don’t trust me that much?”

Theodor looked genuinely puzzled and continued.

“Why? Because I’m a commoner?”

If I told you that you killed me in a past life, would you believe me?