CH 3

About Noah Volstaire Wynknight

There were many reasons as to why the Royal family’s power gradually weakened. Among those reasons were the development of science and technology, the emergence of philosophers, the corruption of the old religion, and the power of capital.

On the other hand, the power struggle between the vieux riche and the nouveau riche widened as new aristocrats who bought their titles with money increased.

Some did say that the enemy of the enemy was an ally.

The Royals tried to hold hands with the nouveau riche in order to combat the influence of the vieux riche that threatened the monarchial power, but even that was not easy.

With the majority of the Parliament being the vieux riche and some having more sway than others, held back the Royals’ plan.

In this world where the social caste formed the basis, every vote did not hold equal value. What mattered in the current Parliament was not the number of votes but which party the voter belonged to.

Although the circumstances were already in their favor, the vieux riche introduced an ingenious legislation in order to protect their own power and to suppress the rise of the nouveau riche.

The so-called Act on prevention of the Nouveau, legislation, forbade the transfer of noble titles.

The vieux riche predicted their victory but an unexpected thing happened. In order to pass the legislation, the king had to stamp the Royal Seal, but the said Seal had disappeared without a trace.

All the vieux riche staked their life and fortune on this legislation. They scampered around like Gollum after his Precious but the investigation turned futile.

With their ultimate weapon against the nouveau riche gone and the new aristocrats ever expanding their power, opinions that a new way should be sought were emerging one after another.

Then, came Noah Volstaire Wynknight like a shooting star.

Duke Noah Wynknight was the brother of the current King. If the king was of Royal blood, the duke was of the Royal Blood indeed.

He was the only son of the previous king’s second wife, the Princess of the House of Wynknight, one of the founders of the kingdom that led the main force of the military every generation.

In other words, he was the epitome of the conservative power.

Though both the current king and Noah Wynknight boasted of undeniable merit, the “unfortunate scandal” that befell Noah ultimately robbed him of the crown.

For a while, the rumors had it that the scandal had been engineered by the faction behind the current king but the truth never emerged.

After retiring from the Royal power struggle, he revitalized himself as the head of the House of Wynknight and met up to the expectations of the vieux riche.

Not only did he hound after the case of the missing Royal Seal like a hunting dog, but he also criticized the king by uncovering the Royal Family’s dirty deeds. And with the authority of the captain of the Public Guard, he combed through the homes of the nouveau riche to investigate the whereabouts of the Royal Seal.

The vieux riche set the young Duke Noah Wynknight, yet only 23 years of age, as the leader to hunt down their new rivals.

***

Raeliana bore her eyes into Noah while emptying the champagne, glass after glass.

He truly was handsome. How else would he be the male protagonist of a romance novel?

Multiple young ladies had already circled around Noah, vying for his attention. Though Noah behaved politely and courteously surrounded by the beauties, he didn’t let anyone In.

In this aristocratic world, where one or two lovers were not condemned by the social norms, Noah kept his private life unbelievably chaste.

It was to the point that some even gossiped that he had problems as a man or that he preferred men.

Seems tough.

As she sighed while looking at Noah, she was devising the ultimate plan.

In this society, status affected almost every aspect of life. This man had status and family more powerful enough to neutralize the House of Brooks and…

The man who I can offer a deal.

Raeliana planned to offer Noah a deal. He was not likely to be moved by money or beauty.

But in this hopeless trap of a situation, she had one advantage that only someone from outside the novel could hold.

That was the only trump card Raeliana had.

The issue was whether or not she could face up to him as an equal in the deal.

The man was a noble experienced to the bone. Going into the deal naively could only rob her of her card.

Without taking her eyes off him, as if to monitor the man’s every move, Raeliana continued to think.

Still, I need to try.

She had nothing to lose.

Raeliana silently calculated the perfect moment. What she was going to say could not be overheard by anyone.

After surveying him for a long time, she quietly followed Noah when he excused himself for a moment and headed to the garden.

***

“My, isn’t this Brooks? Francis Brooks!”

Francis Brooks who had been greeting a count turned his eyes to a man calling out to him with a unique accent.

The exotic man with a mole by his eye smiled widely and tapped his shoulders. Francis moaned his name out loud.

“Langston”

“Long time no see, Brooks.”

“I had thought the smuggler investigation was going to take some time…”

“Such a matter doesn’t need me to resolve itself. Send the guilty to the gallows! Simple.”

Langston wrapped his arm around Francis’s shoulders and whispered.

“Is it not?”

Swearing under his breath, Francis excused himself from the count and dragged Langston to the corner.

Langston pliantly let himself be dragged away while picking up a champagne glass from the tray a servant was carrying.

“Why’re you alone? Where did you leave your adorable fiancee?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Don’t be so cold. We’re in the same boat. Of course I would be worried.”

“Everything is progressing as planned… So…”

“Our client is worried as well. The rumors are running high that you’re on poor terms with your fiancee, eh?”

Francis Brooks’s shoulders visibly tensed.

“…”

As Langston grinned satisfyingly, his mole distorted.

He put his lips near Francis’s ear and murmured.

“I’ll tell you something on behalf of my sister, so clean out your ears and listen, you useless scum. Get your shit together or you’re done.”

He tapped Francis Brooks’s face. “Understood?”

Francis furiously slapped away Langston’s hand.

“I’ll take care of it. Now get out.”

“Well then. As a groom-to-be, take better care of your fiancee. Don’t let her change her mind at the last minute.”

Langston handed Francis the champagne glass and swaggered away.

Francis stared at Langton’s back, then looked around to find Raeliana. She had slipped away and was nowhere to be seen.

Francis grimaced and headed to the center of the hall. It was all because of that woman. She’s engaged, so all she needed to do was behave.

The shy woman had transformed, as if she had been possessed by somebody else.

I thought she would be easy.

“Tsk.”

He felt ire building up.

He called a servant and ordered to let him know if anyone had seen the young Lady Raeliana anywhere.

The servant nodded and after making rounds, returned to Francis to point him toward the garden where she had supposedly gone off to.

“What a troublesome woman.”

Francis put down the champagne glass on the servant’s tray and walked quickly to follow her trail.

***

Moonlight settled between the leaves of the Royal Garden. Kayshna, the 13th queen, was said to have held this rose garden to her heart.

Called the Ice Queen, she mobilized all the mages in the kingdom to put a permanent spell on the roses, the only thing she loved, so they would never wither regardless of the seasons.

Though centuries have passed and the garden had devolved into the tryst spot for the nobles, it still retained that eternal beauty.

On its path, Noah took quiet steps.

To not lose the man out of her sight, Raeliana tailed behind him with some distance. She felt as if she had become a stalker.

Or perhaps she really was the dictionary definition of a stalker…

She had blindly followed him out but had no idea on how to spark up the conversation. Raeliana had no connection to him and Park Eunha, who had been forever single, had no idea how to talk to men.

Raeliana chewed on her lips. Then, at that moment. “What is it that you want?”

Noah, who had been walking with his hands behind his back, turned around and asked.

Flustered, Raeliana looked around to see if he was talking to somebody else. Realizing that she was alone, she bent her knee to curtsy.

“Oh, Duke Wynknight. May the goddess smile upon you. I am Raeliana McMillan, the daughter of Baron Johndein McMillan.”

“Lady Raeliana, may peace be with you. I am Duke Noah Wynknight.”

He had a saintly smile upon his face that would set a tortured soul free and inspire sinners to kneel in repentance.

Saintly? No way. Don’t be deceived by that face.

Raeliana refuted her own thought and gulped.

Her frayed nerves were not only due to the deal. She knew the man’s “true face” from reading the novel.

Raeliana went straight to the point and told Noah, who was waiting with a gentle expression as if he would listen to anything she says.

“I want to propose a deal.”

“A deal…?”

Noah seemed rather taken aback.

Who wouldn’t be surprised by a young noble lady approaching alone to propose a deal in a garden at night.

“A deal, with me?”

Raeliana looked around to make sure nobody was around.

“It is rather difficult to say in an open space such as this,”

Raeliana’s eyes curved and gave a light smile.

“… but it has to do with the Royal Seal.”

His perfect face was washed away as if a rush of waves passed through.

The smiling mask instantly disappeared and his true face emerged.

In front of Raeliana stood a man with a face cold enough to make regular people shrink away.

Raeliana held her head high.

She had already read the novel. She knew very clearly as to what kind of a man he was.

A two-face.

An arrogant and twisted duke who wore a mask of a man who was gentle and respectful to everyone.

“Hmm.,,

As if he was interested, his voice rang.

“How intriguing.”

Noah took a step forward. Raeliana managed to subjugate her instinct to back away. Raeliana tilted her head upward, looked at Noah’s slanted lips and his golden eyes that seemed to spark with a strange vibrance.

Under the night garden filled with moonlight, he looked almost surreal.

“So, what kind of a deal do you have for me?”