WDHMTU |CHAPTER 63

Chapter 63

 

Crackle, crackle—the sound of burning wood filled the quiet room as the fire devoured the logs in the fireplace.

 

With a warm teacup in her hands, Marsha began to recount how she had ended up here. 

She spoke as evenly as she could, stripping away unnecessary details.

 

“So, after your father passed away, that relative, this Lucas fellow, inherited the family title?”

 

“Yes. That’s why I thought the count’s estate was no longer a place for me, and I decided to leave. I entrusted Lucas with Father’s case before I left.”

 

Marsha considered telling him that Lucas had tried to stop her, but decided it was an unnecessary detail. 

 

Then Claudio asked,

 

“And that man… let you go so easily?”

 

“What? Oh…”

 

Marsha faltered, unable to answer. 

 

Claudio’s brow furrowed.

 

‘I thought as much, judging from what I overheard earlier…’

 

At that moment, Marsha blurted out hurriedly,

 

“A-Anyway, I was about to leave when suddenly one of the maids kidnapped me. I did leave, yes, but not of my own will.”

 

Claudio didn’t look too surprised—Berry had already told him of her abduction. 

 

Still, something nagged at him.

 

“And why would that woman suddenly kidnap you? Was someone behind it?”

 

“Well, I can’t say for certain. I just…”

 

Marsha lowered her gaze.

 

“…I only guessed that someone out there found me so intolerable they wanted me gone.”

 

She strongly suspected Rosanna had tried to have her killed, but she didn’t want to voice that suspicion. 

 

There was no solid evidence—just fragments of conversation she had overheard from her captors.

 

‘And even then, I can’t say my memory of that time is reliable…’

 

Her body had been frail, her spirit already weakened, and then, on top of it, she had endured that horrific ordeal. 

 

Of course her mind hadn’t been sound.

 

‘Maybe… just maybe, Rosanna hadn’t truly wanted me dead after all.’

 

She clung briefly to that hope—until the memory of Rosanna shouting that she would “get rid of her” flashed vividly in her mind.

 

‘…No. The odds are still strongest that Rosanna was the one who ordered it.’

 

A bitter smile tugged at Marsha’s lips as she lifted her gaze, studying Claudio’s expression. 

 

His face was rigid, cold from the string of grim subjects.

 

“It was dangerous in many ways, but… I was lucky. My grandmother and Berry found me.”

 

Marsha said it in hopes his expression might soften, but Claudio only felt his mouth turn more bitter.

 

‘I should have checked the carriage before chasing those bastards down.’

 

If he had found Marsha then, she wouldn’t have had to endure those four wasted years of hardship. 

 

She wouldn’t have been dragged into the filth of someone like James.

 

‘I should have torn apart their connections before killing them.’

 

If he had, he could have rooted out whoever had ordered her abduction right then.

 

“Anyway, that’s my story.”

 

Marsha gave an awkward smile.

 

‘And here I was, thinking I had the right to lecture Mr. Dio, when I’ve been keeping things from him too.’

 

She admitted it to herself, though their situations were hardly the same.

 

Meanwhile, Claudio’s own thoughts remained heavy.

 

‘It seems unraveling her father’s case won’t be simple…’

 

When he first heard “murder,” he assumed there would be witnesses or at least some evidence. 

 

But to find nothing?

 

‘Not that there aren’t any suspects.’

 

Marsha had called it a robbery, but it was perfectly clear who had gained the most from the earl’s death. 

 

And that was reason enough to suspect.

 

He almost voiced this thought, then held it back.

 

‘I’ll wait until I’ve gone through the case files. No point in troubling her further right now.’

 

Just as he stifled a sigh, Marsha spoke again, her tone a little tense.

 

“Now it’s your turn, Duke.”

 

“…What?”

 

The title made him grimace.

 

“You need to tell me what it is you want me to do.”

 

“Well…”

 

His words trailed off briefly before he shrugged.

 

“Be my partner. For a year.”

 

Marsha froze, certain she had misheard. 

 

Partner? That was the word used for a woman who attended parties and social gatherings at a man’s side, as someone close. 

 

How could she possibly do that?

 

‘He must be joking.’

 

Claudio did enjoy his pranks, after all. 

 

He must just be trying to shock her. 

 

But then he added,

 

“Of course, I mean as a noblewoman—not an undocumented refugee.”

 

The shock swept across Marsha’s face in an instant.

 

“Do… do you even realize what you just asked me?”

 

“I do. I just want to get through this season quietly. Without a partner, I’ll be hounded by someone intent on making a nuisance of themselves.”

 

Someone?

 

For a brief moment, curiosity flickered in Marsha’s eyes, but now was hardly the time to ask.

 

She shook her head, confused. “But… why me? Couldn’t you just—”

 

She wanted to say, go with another young lady instead. 

 

But as soon as she imagined Claudio with another woman at his side, the words stuck in her throat.

 

‘What’s wrong with me?’

 

She gave her head a small shake and blurted something else instead.

 

“A-Anyway, I don’t think I can do it. How could I lie to so many people like that?”

 

“Lie? What lie? You are a noblewoman.”

 

Claudio’s lips curved slyly.

 

“Truth be told, I had considered placing you into another family’s register…”

 

The casual way he dropped such a dangerous idea left Marsha aghast.

 

“What—without even telling me?!”

 

“In any case, it means you can move through society under your real name.”

 

Her face went pale.

 

“No! Absolutely not!”

 

“Why? Even if someone else inherited the countship, you’re still of the Emelide family. That doesn’t change.”

 

And it was true. 

 

But if she entered society under Emelide’s name, word would surely reach Lucas and Rosanna. 

 

And with Rosanna still under suspicion… 

 

would that really be safe?

 

Almost as if reading her mind, Claudio said,

 

“Are you worried the people who kidnapped you might come after you again?”

 

“…”

 

“That will never happen.”

 

His voice was cold, his smile steely as he said it. 

 

Marsha felt an odd sense of relief, though she still couldn’t nod.

 

Because Rosanna wasn’t the only problem.

 

“Emelide’s daughter, back from the dead”—it would be irresistible gossip.

 

She’s a noblewoman in name, but what does she have to show for it?

 

And where has she been these last four years?

 

She could already hear the whispers in the ballroom, could already see Claudio dragged into the gossip with her.

 

Her lips parted, but she found herself unable to say anything.

 

Watching her strained expression, Claudio said,

 

“Well, if it’s too much, you could always spend the year posing as some other family’s daughter.”

 

To say such a thing as though it were nothing at all!

 

Marsha almost argued, but then thought—perhaps to a man like him, it really was nothing.

 

‘He is the Duke of Gloria. What could possibly be impossible for him?’

 

But she wasn’t built to shoulder something like this.

 

“Couldn’t we just drop the whole thing? I don’t even know all the proper Stravinian etiquette. What if I make a mistake—”

 

“And what if you do?”

 

Claudio folded his arms, looking genuinely baffled.

 

“Is someone going to eat you?”

 

“No, it’s just… I couldn’t live up to what you expect of me. I’m practically no different from a commoner now.”

 

“Don’t worry. Even before I knew who you were, I could tell. You are every inch a noblewoman.”

 

Marsha frowned with suspicion.

 

“…Have I ever acted spoiled around you, then?”

 

Claudio’s eyes widened. 

 

He had meant to compliment her refinement, but she had twisted it into something else entirely.

 

‘Her self-esteem is ridiculously low. The earl raised her with such care, so why is her confidence this shattered? Because of those lost four years? Or that filthy fiancé?’

 

Suppressing a sigh, Claudio shook his head.

 

“It was a compliment, not a jab. Either way, you can stop resisting—I’m not giving you a choice.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“Because we signed a contract.”

 

Marsha’s eyes went blank as she remembered the contract she had nearly forgotten.

 

“If you don’t fulfill it, that’s fraud in my book. And I can’t simply overlook fraud. So… what do you say?”

 

Claudio’s lips curved, his eyes narrowing with dangerous charm. 

 

He looked so breathtakingly beautiful, it was as though light itself had poured into the darkened room.

 

‘How can someone be this beautiful, and this cruel?’

 

Surely there was no one else like him. 

 

There couldn’t be.

 

***

 

Five days later, Claudio’s party arrived in Delia. 

 

Normally the journey would take only two days, but this time was different.

 

They had a delicate young lady among them.

 

Claudio, who usually preferred to travel at a breakneck pace, insisted they stop at every large town along the way to see to her comfort. 

 

Everyone else had no choice but to comply. 

 

Thus, five long days passed before they reached Delia.

 

“We’re nearly there.”

 

Pulling back the carriage curtain with his fingers, Claudio glanced outside.

 

“You’ve done well to endure the trip.”

 

“…”

 

“Come on, brighten up a little.”

 

He arched one eyebrow. 

 

Marsha’s hands, folded primly on her lap, tightened slightly.

 

“I’ve just been rehearsing everything I learned.”

 

“You memorized it all quickly enough. Don’t start whining now.”

 

The carriage slowed and came to a stop. 

 

When a servant opened the door, Claudio stepped out first.

 

“Welcome,” he said with a leisurely smile. “To Delia—city of fools.”

 

He extended his hand to her. 

 

Marsha drew in a steadying breath before placing her own into his.