Chapter 18
Kyrie finished speaking in an even tone. Thankfully, her voice did not tremble. Dominique merely gazed at her calmly.
Like a statue, the woman who had stood in place for hours, waiting only for Lexion, was now shamelessly making a proposal to him. And what was laughable was that he was actually giving her words serious consideration.
It wasn’t for any other reason.
Her eyes.
Just a moment ago, her gaze had been guarded, but now it brimmed with a desperate yearning for him, so tangible it could almost be grasped.
At this very moment, Kyrie Ehrenberg wanted nothing but Dominique Roman Haswell. It was that very fact that stirred something within him.
When it comes down to it, the terms aren’t bad either.
The Mad Dog’s notoriety was already well known. Even if he were to marry her, the Duke of Ehrenberg would likely pretend not to know her.
As she said, the Emperor too would be satisfied, in that Dominique Roman Haswell, of all people, was lowering himself to take in the woman whose reputation his own son had sullied and discarded.
And once a child was born, one suspected of inheriting her mother’s madness, the Emperor would ease his vigilance, convinced Haswell’s future lay in ruin.
Besides, Dominique had thought it earlier. She wasn’t unpleasant to have around.
That sweet, supple-looking body, and that prim face, they could serve to entertain his eyes.
Dominique spoke again.
“So you’re truly proposing to become my wife?”
“If Your Grace would permit it, yes.”
He slowly looked her up and down, from the crown of her head to her bare feet. Her white feet, a little soiled from walking barefoot all this time, stepping toward him, it was a surprisingly pleasing sight.
And there in the grand ducal estate, finished in dark woods and black marble that exuded a somber elegance, the figure of the young lady standing before him felt like a perfect scene from a painted tableau. Kyrie’s silver hair scattered the light like threads of silk.
The question is, what’s her reason.
Why was Kyrie Ehrenberg approaching him like this? It wasn’t difficult to guess. She must have an equally desperate reason for needing to marry.
After all, it wasn’t as though she’d wept and wailed over being cast aside by a man, nor succumbed to lovesickness. She simply chose another path, one that led to him.
But did he truly need to know what had brought her to this point?
Not necessarily.
To be blunt, Kyrie Ehrenberg wasn’t even someone worth Dominique’s careful deliberation. She was merely a suitable candidate who happened to meet his conditions rather well.
A few of the rumors that trailed after her swiftly crossed his mind, outrageous, fearsome tales.
But to Dominique, those very rumors were valuable, so long as they continued to brand her as a Mad Dog.
The woman he met in person differed somewhat from the raving lunatic of those stories.
Even if they all turned out to be true, he was more than capable of handling her.
Moreover, Kyrie Ehrenberg didn’t seem the type to betray him.
She’ll just need to be a little more agreeable when it comes to taking advice.
It wasn’t as though she’d be reporting his every move to the Emperor, nor did she seem inclined to stab him in the back when marriage itself was a matter of survival for her.
“In that case…”
Dominique took a step closer.
“Will you bear me a child, then, a child born of a Mad Dog… a flawed offspring, Lady Ehrenberg?”
A child that, on the surface, would be deemed defective, but in truth would serve to push the Haswell family out of the Emperor’s gaze.
There was no longer any space between them. Close enough that their breaths might mingle, he could feel Kyrie’s uneven breathing. Her small lips parted, then closed again, several times.
“…Gladly.”
Finally, Kyrie raised her head, her gaze filled solely with Dominique.
“You are my only choice, Your Grace.”
As he watched her pale lashes tremble, Dominique found himself smiling darkly, almost despite himself.
𓂃˖˳·˖ ִֶָ ⋆🌷͙⋆ ִֶָ˖·˳˖𓂃 ִֶָ
Instead of giving her a definitive answer, the Grand Duke placed Kyrie in a carriage to send her back to the ducal residence.
‘Wait a little longer, Lady Ehrenberg.’
‘…..’
‘What, you thought you could stay in a man’s estate before marriage?’
With that one remark, he easily unsettled her, then effortlessly lifted her into the carriage. It was as if her having spent a night there meant nothing to him.
As she instinctively squirmed under the sensation of being caught in hot iron claws, the sound of his laughter accompanied the closing of the carriage door.
The heavy, distinctive scent of the Grand Duke’s estate still lingered faintly inside the carriage.
‘…Does this mean I have a chance?’
At the very least, his words seemed to imply that it would be permissible after the marriage.
Compared to the decrepit, lecherous suitors she’d been paraded before, this man, with those dispassionate, colorless eyes that looked as though they could pierce right through her, appeared far preferable.
As long as he keeps his promise.
With such thoughts, she felt she could endure the next few days. Even if, when she returned to reality, she would be branded a fool, a woman who lost the man she’d pursued for years to her younger sister, in front of the entire world.
Even if people whispered that she’d deserved to be shoved down the stairs by the Crown Prince.
It doesn’t matter anymore.
Kyrie brushed away the memory of the sneering laughter that echoed around her as she tumbled down the steps.
People had always mocked and scorned her. Another layer of insult and derision would hardly alter the sedimentary strata that had already formed around her heart.
That sediment was built from years of humiliation, and now it would serve as the very ground she would stand on to move forward.
And before long, even the Grand Duke would realize that she was his best option.
I can do this.
Kyrie ran her fingers over her pendant, convinced that the day would come when she could cast aside the slander and malicious gossip of this place.
It was then, just as she quietly made her way through the back gate of the ducal residence toward her room, that—
“…”
At the unexpected figure waiting in front of her door, Kyrie’s brow furrowed and she stopped in her tracks.
Veron was standing there.
“Kyrie.”
The eldest brother, the one who resembled the Duke more than anyone, called her name, something he rarely did.
At that moment, a wave of foreboding swept over Kyrie.
“You didn’t come home last night.”
“Since when did you care?”
Kyrie asked sincerely. If they had truly cared about her, the moment word reached them that she’d fallen down the stairs and been taken to the Grand Duke’s estate, they would have sent someone to fetch her.
For them to suddenly raise such a matter now, it was more ominous than anything else.
And then Veron spat something even more absurd.
“And now, sneaking in like a rat.”
“Hah.”
How many years had it been since she’d learned to come and go quietly to avoid being seen?
Disgusting.
Kyrie still remembered how, whenever Veron saw her as a child, he would avert his gaze with a look of revulsion, saying—
‘Mother died giving birth to you.’
He had always clung to that as an excuse to hate her.
Because even the mere sight of her displeased him, she had made a habit of moving about as discreetly as possible, to avoid unnecessary conflict or pointless arguments.
‘And now, for him to bring that up?’
Kyrie couldn’t help but sneer.
“Well, maybe I’ve finally learned a sense of shame, like you always said.”
“…..”
“After all, your oh-so-virtuous little sister went and had an affair with my man.”
She deliberately mentioned Elise, her words sharp and barbed, and a crack appeared on Veron’s face.
In truth, Kyrie had never once thought of Lexion as ‘her man.’ But there was nothing quite as effective as throwing out a jibe like that.
Seeing Veron’s contorted face brought her a small, bitter satisfaction.
That’s right. Even you can’t deny it.
The fact that Elise, the precious, well-behaved little sister, had become involved with the man Kyrie had courted for years was indisputable. And it wasn’t exactly a virtuous matter.
Worse still, many people already knew.
This time, it wouldn’t be only Kyrie’s name whispered in disgrace.
The thought of that lightened her heart, just a little.
“I really had no idea. Who would’ve thought that sweet little girl could pull something like that?”
Kyrie was about to flash an even brighter, mocking smile and continue, when—
“…So is that why you did it?”
“What?”
“No matter what happened, to dare pull something like that…”
She was about to demand what on earth he was talking about, when—
Thud!
A powerful force suddenly pressed down on her from behind.
