Chapter 35: 35
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Translator: Skye Editor: Kassy PR: Shano
* * *
Freesia was inwardly groaning about her lord’s thin patience when Max spoke again.
“You said you were making a deal with the Duke of Floyen under the pretext of information, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Freesia swallowed in nervousness. It was because the deal with the duke was also supposed to be a top-secret from the crown prince.
‘It’s for the benefit of His Highness as well…so it would have been better if he didn’t know.’
“Ask him to meet,” Max said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Pardon? But there isn’t really anything to report…”
“Then you can make something up.”
His chilling words alerted Freesia of his true intentions.
‘It seems he’s using me as bait to lure the Duke away from the mansion.’
* * *
A week had passed since I was confined to my room.
“I think it’ll be all right for you to go out for walks now.”
I let out a smile at Allen’s words, declaring that I no longer had to be confined, but that smile was lost when my gaze shifted to the porcelain rabbit on the bedside table.
‘Father is most likely in the middle of going through with plans to have me engaged to the Crown prince.’
A sigh naturally slipped from my lips. I had been brainstorming for the past few days, but no matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn’t come up with a way to avoid the engagement.
‘If only I had a man, someone even my father would acknowledge, to be in a fake relationship with.’
But it was also true that I couldn’t think of a man among the people I knew that would qualify.
Maybe if it was someone like Frederick Elios, the son of the Prime Minister, or Mikhail, the main character of this novel.
However, someone as distinguished as Frederick wouldn’t possibly agree to be my fake lover.
‘Then, the remaining option is to cling to Mikhail like in the original novel…But whether I date Mikhail or date the Crown Prince, I’ll die either way.
As I was sighing, resenting my pitiful life, I suddenly heard a tapping sound.
Startled, I looked back in surprise at the sound that seemed to have come from the direction of the balcony. Sure enough, I saw a familiar face.
‘Father’s apprentice is here again.’
Letting out another sigh, I walked towards the window.
‘Why is this man always coming to me instead of to my father? If someone were to see, they might misunderstand…’
At that moment, I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myself–the one where I thought he was the other party involved. [1]
‘Ah, yes, that’s right. That’s it!’
I hurried over to open the window, wearing a wide smile on my face as I tightly grasped his hand.
“Welcome!”
“What the hell is this all of a sudden?” he said with a serious voice and hardened face.
Well, even if his temper was a bit nasty, this man was the solution to my problem.
I opened my mouth, my smile unwavering.
“Hey, we…”
* * *
Recalling Freesia’s words, Max stared at the ducal mansion with shining eyes.
‘Why isn’t he leaving?’
As Max clenched his jaw in a fit of nervousness, he caught the sight of a familiar figure in the distance, and the corners of his mouth rose.
‘He’s finally leaving.’
Max passed through the garden, effortlessly avoiding the eyes of the guards, and when he climbed the familiar railing, he caught sight of Juvellian.
‘Seeing as how she’s standing, her ankle must be fine now.’
A smile unconsciously arose on his face as he stared at her figure, but he quickly regained his senses.
‘What am I even smiling at like an idiot? I don’t have much time so my business…’
Only then did Max realize that he didn’t actually have any business with Juvellian. He ended up muttering to himself.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
He resented himself for doing something that he couldn’t even understand. But the urge to have her turn around and look at him incited Max to take action.
Tap tap.
Tapping on the window with his knuckles, he then saw her turn around.
Milky-white skin, silver hair that glittered in the light, slightly parted pink lips, and peculiar bluish-violet eyes.
It was the very face that had been tormenting him for the past few days.
“What a foolish look you have on your face,” he grumbled, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart. But the moment a bright smile appeared on her face, his grumbling was overturned.
‘Well, I suppose that’s pretty too.’
As he stared at her face in a daze, the window opened.
“Welcome!”
As he heard her greeting, the image of her clasping his hand with that small hand of hers made his heart skip a beat.
“What the hell is this all of a sudden?”
Afraid that she might notice he was acting strange if he showed any sign of being flustered, Max suppressed his emotions as much as possible and switched to rebuking her behavior.
Nevertheless, his heart began pounding even harder the moment he saw her smiling face.
‘Why are you still smiling even when I’m being mean to you?’
Thinking that perhaps she was scheming something, Max shot her a piercing glare.
“Hey, why don’t we date?”
But after hearing the unexpected remark that came out from her pink lips, Max had a stunned look on his face.
‘Date? What is she talking about?
Max was soon struck with a feeling similar to receiving a heavy blow to the head.
‘Don’t tell me…have you been treating me so kindly all this time because you like me?’
Normally, he hated it when someone would approach with impure intentions. Yet, strangely enough, despite believing she was doing the same thing….he didn’t hate it.
On the contrary, he felt relieved.
‘Yeah, that must be it.’
It was when he was trying to control his facial expression, suppressing the ends of his twitching lips that kept trying to curve upwards.
“Ah, I’m saying this just to prevent any possible misunderstandings, but I’m not saying that I like you. Rather, I’m proposing a contractual relationship, so could you please loosen up your expression?”
As soon as her words left her lips, Max’s face twisted unpleasantly.
* * *
Black hair and red jeweled eyes. A handsome man, whose face was perfectly proportioned, was currently sporting a frown.
‘His face alone gives off the vibe of a main character…’
As my father’s apprentice, excellent swordsmanship skills would be a given. He also has my father’s recognition, so there was no other perfect candidate than this man to play the role of my fake lover.
‘If only he would obediently cooperate with me…’
A fierce glare reflected off his crimson eyes.
“A contract relationship? What are you talking about?”
Wow, how scary. His face was expressionless just a moment ago, but it seems I must have offended him somehow.
I pondered over what might have ticked him off among the things I had just said. It wasn’t long until I found my answer.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t tell him the conditions.’
I heard that mercenaries were sensitive to the terms of their contracts. If I suggest any conditions that aren’t to his liking, he might end up turning around and leaving the mansion.
“I’ll give you as much as you want, so I’m asking you to please go out with me.”
The glare in his eyes grew even more murderous, but I continued to add another condition.
“Oh, of course, there’s a term limit, so you don’t have to worry. You only have to pretend to be my lover until I become independent and move out of this house.”
He soon relaxed his expression, letting out a deep sigh.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to become independent. Wouldn’t you just be taking a shortcut to hardship by leaving this house?”
I let out a hollow laugh at his one dimensional way of thinking.
“Do you remember when I told you last time that I saw a list of potential marriage partners on my father’s desk?”
He nodded slowly.
“The thing is, my father has already decided on who my partner will be.”
“If you really hate it, can’t you just turn them down?”
“That’s the problem. I can’t even if I want to.”
He shot me a cold glare.
“And who the hell is he that even you, a Duke’s daughter, can’t turn down?”
Somehow it made me laugh as it seemed like he was implying that someone was tormenting me and that he was demanding that I tell him the name.
‘Then again, he probably finds my behavior frustrating.’
Normally, I should be angry like him, so I found the fact that I wasn’t even getting angry now amusing.
“Why are you laughing?”
Did he think I’m laughing at him? His face clearly looked displeased.
“Oh, um, you see…a laugh just slipped out.”
As I evaded the question, his face grew even grimmer.
“So, who is it?”
I noticed it a while ago, but it seemed this man had a really persistent personality.
‘The important thing is not who my potential marriage partner is, it’s the fact that I’m being forced to do something like this in the first place.’
But because of his stubbornness, he’ll probably sulk again if I don’t tell him, so I had no choice but to let him know.
“Hey, I’ll tell you, but you can’t go around and share this with anyone else. I’ll be in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out.”
“Who do you take me for? Hurry up and tell me.”
“Maximillian Kassein Hachette,” I said after a moment of hesitation.
“At most, someone like that….What?”
“This empire’s Crown Prince.”
“Is the Crown Prince really your potential fiance?” he asked with astonished eyes.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
There was a moment of silence.
“That’s strange, there’s no way…”
His hesitant voice was filled with doubt. Then again, he’s someone who was ignorant enough to even insist on speaking informally to me.
I decided to be generous and explain the situation to such an uneducated man.
“What do you mean…Even if I may look like this, I’m still the daughter of a Duke. In terms of status, we’re right below the Imperial family. No matter how much of a mess my reputation is, it’s not a loss to the Imperial family because they’d be able to gain my father as part of their family.”
“That’s true,” he said, smirking at my explanation.
It seemed he finally understood, but I decided to continue.
“But if I’m going to be engaged to someone from the Imperial family, that means I can’t refuse once it’s been officially set.”
Long ago, the Hachette Empire was founded by the great wizard, Hachette.
A powerful monarch, as well as a good and wise ruler, he is said to have used magic to solve the problems of his people. The people viewed his descendants, the emperors, as gods, and were in awe of them.
Perhaps that’s why Max’s face was currently so stiff.
“I’m going to show my father that I’m seeing someone else before he can suggest the engagement to me. It wouldn’t be good to show the Imperial family a scandalous daughter who is with another man.”
“What if the Crown Prince doesn’t care? What would you do then?”
I felt goosebumps rise on my skin as soon as I heard the awful thought. But I responded while trying to suppress my inner feelings as much as I could.
“There’s no way that’d be true though. The Imperial family would be crazy to accept a woman with flaws…”
I saw him furrow his brows at the word ‘flaw.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’
His sudden change in expression bothered me and I ended up trailing off my words.
“You never know. You might even be to the Crown Prince’s liking.”
Me? Match the Crown Prince’s taste? The moment I tried to imagine such a thing, I shuddered and felt goosebumps appear on my skin once again.
‘Then again, remembering how he had purposely come down to torture me in the original novel, that wouldn’t be considered too unusual.’
If the Crown Prince really ended up liking me, it would be hard for me to escape from the situation. After all, psychopaths get a thrill from killing and torturing others for no reason.
At the horrific thought, I shuddered once more, but I soon calmed down and declared
“Then I’ll just have to run away.”
And immediately after my response, Max’s face hardened like ice.
T/N: [1] I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myself–the one where I thought he was the other party involved.
Quick recap if you were confused by this sentence: The scandal she’s thinking about is the one where people were assuming she had a secret lover after hearing she bought a pair of blue cuffs. Whereas Juvel thought someone had seen Max going in and out through her window so she thought the “secret lover” in the scandal was him.
E/N: Ah contract dating…another one of my favorite tropes. This novel just ticks the boxes of the tropes that I love.
P/R: I think it’s hilarious that Juvel is rejecting Max and trying to date him at the same time! XD
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Translator: Skye Editor: Kassy PR: Shano
* * *
Freesia was inwardly groaning about her lord’s thin patience when Max spoke again.
“You said you were making a deal with the Duke of Floyen under the pretext of information, right?”
“Ah, yes.”
Freesia swallowed in nervousness. It was because the deal with the duke was also supposed to be a top-secret from the crown prince.
‘It’s for the benefit of His Highness as well…so it would have been better if he didn’t know.’
“Ask him to meet,” Max said, interrupting her thoughts.
“Pardon? But there isn’t really anything to report…”
“Then you can make something up.”
His chilling words alerted Freesia of his true intentions.
‘It seems he’s using me as bait to lure the Duke away from the mansion.’
* * *
A week had passed since I was confined to my room.
“I think it’ll be all right for you to go out for walks now.”
I let out a smile at Allen’s words, declaring that I no longer had to be confined, but that smile was lost when my gaze shifted to the porcelain rabbit on the bedside table.
‘Father is most likely in the middle of going through with plans to have me engaged to the Crown prince.’
A sigh naturally slipped from my lips. I had been brainstorming for the past few days, but no matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn’t come up with a way to avoid the engagement.
‘If only I had a man, someone even my father would acknowledge, to be in a fake relationship with.’
But it was also true that I couldn’t think of a man among the people I knew that would qualify.
Maybe if it was someone like Frederick Elios, the son of the Prime Minister, or Mikhail, the main character of this novel.
However, someone as distinguished as Frederick wouldn’t possibly agree to be my fake lover.
‘Then, the remaining option is to cling to Mikhail like in the original novel…But whether I date Mikhail or date the Crown Prince, I’ll die either way.
As I was sighing, resenting my pitiful life, I suddenly heard a tapping sound.
Startled, I looked back in surprise at the sound that seemed to have come from the direction of the balcony. Sure enough, I saw a familiar face.
‘Father’s apprentice is here again.’
Letting out another sigh, I walked towards the window.
‘Why is this man always coming to me instead of to my father? If someone were to see, they might misunderstand…’
At that moment, I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myself–the one where I thought he was the other party involved. [1]
‘Ah, yes, that’s right. That’s it!’
I hurried over to open the window, wearing a wide smile on my face as I tightly grasped his hand.
“Welcome!”
“What the hell is this all of a sudden?” he said with a serious voice and hardened face.
Well, even if his temper was a bit nasty, this man was the solution to my problem.
I opened my mouth, my smile unwavering.
“Hey, we…”
* * *
Recalling Freesia’s words, Max stared at the ducal mansion with shining eyes.
‘Why isn’t he leaving?’
As Max clenched his jaw in a fit of nervousness, he caught the sight of a familiar figure in the distance, and the corners of his mouth rose.
‘He’s finally leaving.’
Max passed through the garden, effortlessly avoiding the eyes of the guards, and when he climbed the familiar railing, he caught sight of Juvellian.
‘Seeing as how she’s standing, her ankle must be fine now.’
A smile unconsciously arose on his face as he stared at her figure, but he quickly regained his senses.
‘What am I even smiling at like an idiot? I don’t have much time so my business…’
Only then did Max realize that he didn’t actually have any business with Juvellian. He ended up muttering to himself.
‘This is driving me crazy.’
He resented himself for doing something that he couldn’t even understand. But the urge to have her turn around and look at him incited Max to take action.
Tap tap.
Tapping on the window with his knuckles, he then saw her turn around.
Milky-white skin, silver hair that glittered in the light, slightly parted pink lips, and peculiar bluish-violet eyes.
It was the very face that had been tormenting him for the past few days.
“What a foolish look you have on your face,” he grumbled, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart. But the moment a bright smile appeared on her face, his grumbling was overturned.
‘Well, I suppose that’s pretty too.’
As he stared at her face in a daze, the window opened.
“Welcome!”
As he heard her greeting, the image of her clasping his hand with that small hand of hers made his heart skip a beat.
“What the hell is this all of a sudden?”
Afraid that she might notice he was acting strange if he showed any sign of being flustered, Max suppressed his emotions as much as possible and switched to rebuking her behavior.
Nevertheless, his heart began pounding even harder the moment he saw her smiling face.
‘Why are you still smiling even when I’m being mean to you?’
Thinking that perhaps she was scheming something, Max shot her a piercing glare.
“Hey, why don’t we date?”
But after hearing the unexpected remark that came out from her pink lips, Max had a stunned look on his face.
‘Date? What is she talking about?
Max was soon struck with a feeling similar to receiving a heavy blow to the head.
‘Don’t tell me…have you been treating me so kindly all this time because you like me?’
Normally, he hated it when someone would approach with impure intentions. Yet, strangely enough, despite believing she was doing the same thing….he didn’t hate it.
On the contrary, he felt relieved.
‘Yeah, that must be it.’
It was when he was trying to control his facial expression, suppressing the ends of his twitching lips that kept trying to curve upwards.
“Ah, I’m saying this just to prevent any possible misunderstandings, but I’m not saying that I like you. Rather, I’m proposing a contractual relationship, so could you please loosen up your expression?”
As soon as her words left her lips, Max’s face twisted unpleasantly.
* * *
Black hair and red jeweled eyes. A handsome man, whose face was perfectly proportioned, was currently sporting a frown.
‘His face alone gives off the vibe of a main character…’
As my father’s apprentice, excellent swordsmanship skills would be a given. He also has my father’s recognition, so there was no other perfect candidate than this man to play the role of my fake lover.
‘If only he would obediently cooperate with me…’
A fierce glare reflected off his crimson eyes.
“A contract relationship? What are you talking about?”
Wow, how scary. His face was expressionless just a moment ago, but it seems I must have offended him somehow.
I pondered over what might have ticked him off among the things I had just said. It wasn’t long until I found my answer.
‘Ah, come to think of it, I didn’t tell him the conditions.’
I heard that mercenaries were sensitive to the terms of their contracts. If I suggest any conditions that aren’t to his liking, he might end up turning around and leaving the mansion.
“I’ll give you as much as you want, so I’m asking you to please go out with me.”
The glare in his eyes grew even more murderous, but I continued to add another condition.
“Oh, of course, there’s a term limit, so you don’t have to worry. You only have to pretend to be my lover until I become independent and move out of this house.”
He soon relaxed his expression, letting out a deep sigh.
“I don’t know why you’re trying to become independent. Wouldn’t you just be taking a shortcut to hardship by leaving this house?”
I let out a hollow laugh at his one dimensional way of thinking.
“Do you remember when I told you last time that I saw a list of potential marriage partners on my father’s desk?”
He nodded slowly.
“The thing is, my father has already decided on who my partner will be.”
“If you really hate it, can’t you just turn them down?”
“That’s the problem. I can’t even if I want to.”
He shot me a cold glare.
“And who the hell is he that even you, a Duke’s daughter, can’t turn down?”
Somehow it made me laugh as it seemed like he was implying that someone was tormenting me and that he was demanding that I tell him the name.
‘Then again, he probably finds my behavior frustrating.’
Normally, I should be angry like him, so I found the fact that I wasn’t even getting angry now amusing.
“Why are you laughing?”
Did he think I’m laughing at him? His face clearly looked displeased.
“Oh, um, you see…a laugh just slipped out.”
As I evaded the question, his face grew even grimmer.
“So, who is it?”
I noticed it a while ago, but it seemed this man had a really persistent personality.
‘The important thing is not who my potential marriage partner is, it’s the fact that I’m being forced to do something like this in the first place.’
But because of his stubbornness, he’ll probably sulk again if I don’t tell him, so I had no choice but to let him know.
“Hey, I’ll tell you, but you can’t go around and share this with anyone else. I’ll be in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out.”
“Who do you take me for? Hurry up and tell me.”
“Maximillian Kassein Hachette,” I said after a moment of hesitation.
“At most, someone like that….What?”
“This empire’s Crown Prince.”
“Is the Crown Prince really your potential fiance?” he asked with astonished eyes.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
There was a moment of silence.
“That’s strange, there’s no way…”
His hesitant voice was filled with doubt. Then again, he’s someone who was ignorant enough to even insist on speaking informally to me.
I decided to be generous and explain the situation to such an uneducated man.
“What do you mean…Even if I may look like this, I’m still the daughter of a Duke. In terms of status, we’re right below the Imperial family. No matter how much of a mess my reputation is, it’s not a loss to the Imperial family because they’d be able to gain my father as part of their family.”
“That’s true,” he said, smirking at my explanation.
It seemed he finally understood, but I decided to continue.
“But if I’m going to be engaged to someone from the Imperial family, that means I can’t refuse once it’s been officially set.”
Long ago, the Hachette Empire was founded by the great wizard, Hachette.
A powerful monarch, as well as a good and wise ruler, he is said to have used magic to solve the problems of his people. The people viewed his descendants, the emperors, as gods, and were in awe of them.
Perhaps that’s why Max’s face was currently so stiff.
“I’m going to show my father that I’m seeing someone else before he can suggest the engagement to me. It wouldn’t be good to show the Imperial family a scandalous daughter who is with another man.”
“What if the Crown Prince doesn’t care? What would you do then?”
I felt goosebumps rise on my skin as soon as I heard the awful thought. But I responded while trying to suppress my inner feelings as much as I could.
“There’s no way that’d be true though. The Imperial family would be crazy to accept a woman with flaws…”
I saw him furrow his brows at the word ‘flaw.’
‘What’s wrong with him?’
His sudden change in expression bothered me and I ended up trailing off my words.
“You never know. You might even be to the Crown Prince’s liking.”
Me? Match the Crown Prince’s taste? The moment I tried to imagine such a thing, I shuddered and felt goosebumps appear on my skin once again.
‘Then again, remembering how he had purposely come down to torture me in the original novel, that wouldn’t be considered too unusual.’
If the Crown Prince really ended up liking me, it would be hard for me to escape from the situation. After all, psychopaths get a thrill from killing and torturing others for no reason.
At the horrific thought, I shuddered once more, but I soon calmed down and declared
“Then I’ll just have to run away.”
And immediately after my response, Max’s face hardened like ice.
T/N: [1] I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myself–the one where I thought he was the other party involved.
Quick recap if you were confused by this sentence: The scandal she’s thinking about is the one where people were assuming she had a secret lover after hearing she bought a pair of blue cuffs. Whereas Juvel thought someone had seen Max going in and out through her window so she thought the “secret lover” in the scandal was him.
E/N: Ah contract dating…another one of my favorite tropes. This novel just ticks the boxes of the tropes that I love.
P/R: I think it’s hilarious that Juvel is rejecting Max and trying to date him at the same time! XD
Discord Link: https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu
Join our discord for the latest updates & chat with fellow readers!
Translator: Skye Editor: Kassy PR: Shano* * *Freesia was inwardly groaning about her lord's thin patience when Max spoke again.You said you were making a deal with the Duke of Floyen under the pretext of information, right?Ah, yes.Freesia swallowed in nervousness. It was because the deal with the duke was also supposed to be a top-secret from the crown prince.It's for the benefit of His Highness as wellso it would have been better if he didn't know.'Ask him to meet, Max said, interrupting her thoughts.Pardon? But there isn't really anything to reportThen you can make something up.His chilling words alerted Freesia of his true intentions.It seems he's using me as bait to lure the Duke away from the mansion.'* * *A week had passed since I was confined to my room.I think it'll be all right for you to go out for walks now.I let out a smile at Allen's words, declaring that I no longer had to be confined, but that smile was lost when my gaze shifted to the porcelain rabbit on the bedside table.Father is most likely in the middle of going through with plans to have me engaged to the Crown prince.'A sigh naturally slipped from my lips. I had been brainstorming for the past few days, but no matter how hard I tried to think, I couldn't come up with a way to avoid the engagement.If only I had a man, someone even my father would acknowledge, to be in a fake relationship with.'But it was also true that I couldn't think of a man among the people I knew that would qualify.Maybe if it was someone like Frederick Elios, the son of the Prime Minister, or Mikhail, the main character of this novel.However, someone as distinguished as Frederick wouldn't possibly agree to be my fake lover.Then, the remaining option is to cling to Mikhail like in the original novelBut whether I date Mikhail or date the Crown Prince, I'll die either way.As I was sighing, resenting my pitiful life, I suddenly heard a tapping sound.Startled, I looked back in surprise at the sound that seemed to have come from the direction of the balcony. Sure enough, I saw a familiar face.Father's apprentice is here again.'Letting out another sigh, I walked towards the window.Why is this man always coming to me instead of to my father? If someone were to see, they might misunderstand'At that moment, I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myselfthe one where I thought he was the other party involved. 1Ah, yes, that's right. That's it!'I hurried over to open the window, wearing a wide smile on my face as I tightly grasped his hand.Welcome!What the hell is this all of a sudden? he said with a serious voice and hardened face.Well, even if his temper was a bit nasty, this man was the solution to my problem.I opened my mouth, my smile unwavering.Hey, we* * *Recalling Freesia's words, Max stared at the ducal mansion with shining eyes.Why isn't he leaving?'As Max clenched his jaw in a fit of nervousness, he caught the sight of a familiar figure in the distance, and the corners of his mouth rose.He's finally leaving.'Max passed through the garden, effortlessly avoiding the eyes of the guards, and when he climbed the familiar railing, he caught sight of Juvellian.Seeing as how she's standing, her ankle must be fine now.'A smile unconsciously arose on his face as he stared at her figure, but he quickly regained his senses.What am I even smiling at like an idiot? I don't have much time so my business'Only then did Max realize that he didn't actually have any business with Juvellian. He ended up muttering to himself.This is driving me crazy.'He resented himself for doing something that he couldn't even understand. But the urge to have her turn around and look at him incited Max to take action.Tap tap.Tapping on the window with his knuckles, he then saw her turn around.Milky-white skin, silver hair that glittered in the light, slightly parted pink lips, and peculiar bluish-violet eyes.It was the very face that had been tormenting him for the past few days.What a foolish look you have on your face, he grumbled, trying to ignore his rapidly beating heart. But the moment a bright smile appeared on her face, his grumbling was overturned.Well, I suppose that's pretty too.'As he stared at her face in a daze, the window opened.Welcome!As he heard her greeting, the image of her clasping his hand with that small hand of hers made his heart skip a beat.What the hell is this all of a sudden?Afraid that she might notice he was acting strange if he showed any sign of being flustered, Max suppressed his emotions as much as possible and switched to rebuking her behavior.Nevertheless, his heart began pounding even harder the moment he saw her smiling face.Why are you still smiling even when I'm being mean to you?'Thinking that perhaps she was scheming something, Max shot her a piercing glare.Hey, why don't we date?But after hearing the unexpected remark that came out from her pink lips, Max had a stunned look on his face.Date? What is she talking about?Max was soon struck with a feeling similar to receiving a heavy blow to the head.Don't tell mehave you been treating me so kindly all this time because you like me?'Normally, he hated it when someone would approach with impure intentions. Yet, strangely enough, despite believing she was doing the same thing.he didn't hate it.On the contrary, he felt relieved.Yeah, that must be it.'It was when he was trying to control his facial expression, suppressing the ends of his twitching lips that kept trying to curve upwards.Ah, I'm saying this just to prevent any possible misunderstandings, but I'm not saying that I like you. Rather, I'm proposing a contractual relationship, so could you please loosen up your expression?As soon as her words left her lips, Max's face twisted unpleasantly.* * *Black hair and red jeweled eyes. A handsome man, whose face was perfectly proportioned, was currently sporting a frown.His face alone gives off the vibe of a main character'As my father's apprentice, excellent swordsmanship skills would be a given. He also has my father's recognition, so there was no other perfect candidate than this man to play the role of my fake lover.If only he would obediently cooperate with me'A fierce glare reflected off his crimson eyes.A contract relationship? What are you talking about?Wow, how scary. His face was expressionless just a moment ago, but it seems I must have offended him somehow.I pondered over what might have ticked him off among the things I had just said. It wasn't long until I found my answer.Ah, come to think of it, I didn't tell him the conditions.'I heard that mercenaries were sensitive to the terms of their contracts. If I suggest any conditions that aren't to his liking, he might end up turning around and leaving the mansion.I'll give you as much as you want, so I'm asking you to please go out with me.The glare in his eyes grew even more murderous, but I continued to add another condition.Oh, of course, there's a term limit, so you don't have to worry. You only have to pretend to be my lover until I become independent and move out of this house.He soon relaxed his expression, letting out a deep sigh.I don't know why you're trying to become independent. Wouldn't you just be taking a shortcut to hardship by leaving this house?I let out a hollow laugh at his one dimensional way of thinking.Do you remember when I told you last time that I saw a list of potential marriage partners on my father's desk?He nodded slowly.The thing is, my father has already decided on who my partner will be.If you really hate it, can't you just turn them down?That's the problem. I can't even if I want to.He shot me a cold glare.And who the hell is he that even you, a Duke's daughter, can't turn down?Somehow it made me laugh as it seemed like he was implying that someone was tormenting me and that he was demanding that I tell him the name.Then again, he probably finds my behavior frustrating.'Normally, I should be angry like him, so I found the fact that I wasn't even getting angry now amusing.Why are you laughing?Did he think I'm laughing at him? His face clearly looked displeased.Oh, um, you seea laugh just slipped out.As I evaded the question, his face grew even grimmer.So, who is it?I noticed it a while ago, but it seemed this man had a really persistent personality.The important thing is not who my potential marriage partner is, it's the fact that I'm being forced to do something like this in the first place.'But because of his stubbornness, he'll probably sulk again if I don't tell him, so I had no choice but to let him know.Hey, I'll tell you, but you can't go around and share this with anyone else. I'll be in a lot of trouble if anyone finds out.Who do you take me for? Hurry up and tell me.Maximillian Kassein Hachette, I said after a moment of hesitation.At most, someone like that.What?This empire's Crown Prince.Is the Crown Prince really your potential fiance? he asked with astonished eyes.Yes, that's what I said.There was a moment of silence.That's strange, there's no wayHis hesitant voice was filled with doubt. Then again, he's someone who was ignorant enough to even insist on speaking informally to me.I decided to be generous and explain the situation to such an uneducated man.What do you meanEven if I may look like this, I'm still the daughter of a Duke. In terms of status, we're right below the Imperial family. No matter how much of a mess my reputation is, it's not a loss to the Imperial family because they'd be able to gain my father as part of their family.That's true, he said, smirking at my explanation.It seemed he finally understood, but I decided to continue.But if I'm going to be engaged to someone from the Imperial family, that means I can't refuse once it's been officially set.Long ago, the Hachette Empire was founded by the great wizard, Hachette.A powerful monarch, as well as a good and wise ruler, he is said to have used magic to solve the problems of his people. The people viewed his descendants, the emperors, as gods, and were in awe of them.Perhaps that's why Max's face was currently so stiff.I'm going to show my father that I'm seeing someone else before he can suggest the engagement to me. It wouldn't be good to show the Imperial family a scandalous daughter who is with another man.What if the Crown Prince doesn't care? What would you do then?I felt goosebumps rise on my skin as soon as I heard the awful thought. But I responded while trying to suppress my inner feelings as much as I could.There's no way that'd be true though. The Imperial family would be crazy to accept a woman with flawsI saw him furrow his brows at the word flaw.'What's wrong with him?'His sudden change in expression bothered me and I ended up trailing off my words.You never know. You might even be to the Crown Prince's liking.Me? Match the Crown Prince's taste? The moment I tried to imagine such a thing, I shuddered and felt goosebumps appear on my skin once again.Then again, remembering how he had purposely come down to torture me in the original novel, that wouldn't be considered too unusual.'If the Crown Prince really ended up liking me, it would be hard for me to escape from the situation. After all, psychopaths get a thrill from killing and torturing others for no reason.At the horrific thought, I shuddered once more, but I soon calmed down and declaredThen I'll just have to run away.And immediately after my response, Max's face hardened like ice.T/N: 1 I suddenly recalled the recent scandal that involved myselfthe one where I thought he was the other party involved. Quick recap if you were confused by this sentence: The scandal she's thinking about is the one where people were assuming she had a secret lover after hearing she bought a pair of blue cuffs. Whereas Juvel thought someone had seen Max going in and out through her window so she thought the secret lover in the scandal was him.E/N: Ah contract datinganother one of my favorite tropes. This novel just ticks the boxes of the tropes that I love.P/R: I think it's hilarious that Juvel is rejecting Max and trying to date him at the same time! XDDiscord Link: https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu Join our discord for the latest updates & chat with fellow readers!
