CH 4

He whispered as he questioned.

“Is this really something worth bringing to the table?”

Raeliana clenched her fists.

I need to care for my own life.

As Raeliana was about to speak, Francis Brooks, who had just happened to chase her out, broke the silence.

“Raeliana?”

Francis Brooks?

Raeliana turned around and bit her lips.

In the middle of the beautiful garden stretched out before her stood Francis Brooks, dumbfounded, staring at the couple.

Why did you have to show up here now?!

***

Seriously, he is of no help to my life.

Raeliana silently sentenced Francis Brooks to a life-long denouncement in her head.

Even if the man rescued a poor little kitten from the rain, she was going to rebuke him without remorse.

Whether or not the man knew of her frustration, Francis stared at Raeliana and Noah as if he could not imagine why the two would be seen together.

Raeliana’s eyes moved as did her brain.

What should I do now?

A woman, standing between two men.

The strange tension would have led unknowing spectators into thinking that there was something of a love triangle. Were it not for the fact that one man was Noah, everyone would think so.

She looked from Noah to Francis. Francis, huffing through his nose, seemed ready to take away Raeliana by her wrist, while Noah seemed to fully enjoy what was about to happen.

“Hah, Raeliana.”

Trying his best to not provoke Noah, Francis called out to her in an annoyed tone.

Raeliana took one step back.

I threw him a hint, so maybe I should wait for a next chance…? Or…

Actually, this may be the perfect opportunity since it seems like a situation where two lovers were caught in a tryst.

She could put an end to all the dirty tricks she had pulled to break up with him. As if she was cheating on her fiance.

Recalling what she read from Idiot’s Guide to Break-ups, she stood closely to Noah shamelessly.

“I can no longer hide it.”

“Raeliana…?”

“Lord Brooks, I offer you a sincere apology.”

“What?”

Francis was taken aback while Noah stared at Raeliana silently.

“I have given my heart to Duke Wynknight.”

Francis awkwardly froze on his way toward her.

Noah also looked down at her in surprise. Then, Raeliana looked up at him mouthing the words “Royal Seal.”

For a moment, Noah seemed as though he was caught unaware.

Raeliana felt like she was holding onto a ticking time bomb in her hand. Would it or would it not go off? Her hands felt clammy and her head was spinning.

Francis was so shocked that he was speechless. Then, he looked up at Noah as if to ask whether it was true.

Noah put his smiling persona back on and pulled Raeliana by her shoulders close to him, hinting wordlessly that what she said was in fact true.

Did it work? Did it?

Raeliana glanced quickly at Noah and wondered if she could now relax.

Silence as heavy as the night fell among the three. It was stifling.

When Francis, who had been rendered mute by shock, began to mumble, another voice rang out.

“My lady, where are you?”

It was Raeliana’s carriage driver.

Johndein McMillan had imposed a strict curfew on his daughter and the driver had come to find her when it was time.

She was infinitely grateful to her father who had set the harsh curfew and the carriage driver who had come to pick her up. She should give the man a pay raise.

“Here! I’m over here!”

Raeliana raised her hand and waved, then the driver came toward her. He stood primly while eyeing the surrounding nobles, gave a bow, and stood next to her.

As if she wasn’t the one who had set off the bomb, Raeliana shamelessly and cheerfully bade farewell.

His reddened face about to explode, Francis grabbed her wrist as she turned to leave.

“Wait, you can’t leave like this…!”

Again? Feeling the deja vu, Raeliana stopped with an annoyed face, and her carriage driver, who could not raise his voice against a noble, stood by anxiously.

“Raeliana!”

While chewing on his lips, he looked at her eyes in confusion.

“Is that true? What… what you just said.”

“Yes, it’s true. As I have continuously told you, please let us break up.”

“Wait, wait! Wait!!”

Francis anxiously cut her words. She made a small sigh and continued.

“It is late. Let us end here.”

He gritted his teeth.

“How dare you! Do you know what the likes of you are doing to me right now?”

His furious voice rang out across the space.

He breathed heavily, as if he felt sick. He seemed like he would lift his hand and slap her cheek at any moment.

This is it. It would be even better if he slapped me.

Raeliana calmly faced him as if she would gladly take a hit if he wanted to slap her.

Francis sensed it too and unconsciously raised his hand.

“Stop.”

Putting his hand on Francis’s wrist, Noah spoke out softly. He then nodded to the carriage driver.

“Take the lady and go home.”

“ Yes… yes, sir.”

The driver bowed hastily and led Raeliana to the carriage.

Is it going to be alright?

She peeked back while following the driver.

“My lady, if you arrive late, I’ll be in trouble.”

The driver continued to fret on their way to the carriage, but Raeliana generously listened to his words.

Or rather, she was too preoccupied with other thoughts to care.

As soon as the driver opened the carriage door and she got inside, Raeliana’s legs gave out.

“My lady? Are you alright?”

The driver was flustered and helped her to her seat.

“I’m alright. I just feel a little tipsy.”

As if the alcohol was catching up to her, Raeliana felt her head spin and leaned back into the cushions.

“Oh dear. I must be crazy.”

***

After Raeliana abruptly left, there was tension between the two men.

Trembling with rage, Francis Brooks slapped away Noah’s hand and walked away. Was this the secret behind why she had been avoiding him recently?

Of all men, she is with Noah Wynknight?

Until now, he had the upper hand of the relationship. She was just a rich girl from an insignificant family.

It was she who should have been begging him to marry her!

Francis scanned Noah with wrathful eyes. From his family, wealth, appearance and character, Noah Wynknight was the perfect male.

Even he could not deny that Noah Wynknight was a much better mate from every angle.

Noah, the snatcher of another’s woman, had a calm face not showing what he was thinking.

The man always looked that way. He seemed so calm as if he had everything in his palms, even back when he lost the right to the throne.

It was Francis Brooks who broke the silence.

“Even for you, Your Highness, this was over the line.”

“I have nothing more to say.”

“Lady Raeliana is my fiancee!”

As if to smirk, Noah’s lips curled up in a smile.

“Have you not already lost the right to call yourself her fiance?”

Francis shuddered in humiliation.

What the duke did was an insult to him, or rather, the House of Brooks.

Francis direly wanted to throw a punch at that handsome face right away, but resorted to clenching his trembling fist.

That man was Noah Volstaire Wynknight. Quarreling with him for a woman meant a political suicide.

After throwing his punch at a tree trunk, he turned his back.

“I will not just let this slide.”

Noah did not answer.

Dry wind fragrant with the smell of roses combed through his hair. The moon had hidden behind the clouds, leaving the garden with even heavier darkness.

Francis left Noah in the rose garden and walked away.

Gazing at Francis’s back, Noah suddenly looked down at his right hand that had just held Raeliana and with a smirk, he chuckled.

She wants to make a deal with me?

He found her daring eyes rather interesting.

The Royal Seal…

How much did she know? Noah tapped on his lips with his right hand, then called his servant hiding in the shadows.

“Wheaton.”

“Yes, sir.”

A dark shadow emerged from the bushes and knelt by his side.

“Look into Raeliana McMillan. And have that man followed, so that he can be taken care of if anything happens.”

“Yes, sir.”

Noah Wynknight resumed his stroll through the rose garden.

Beyond the voices of those who hide and moan in the dark, past the enchanted illusion that hid a path, a magical circle opened up a gate as he stood in a certain spot.

Noah stepped in without hesitation as the underground space stuffed with the smell of candle oil revealed itself.

Two men who had been waiting there before him turned their eyes to him.

“You are late, sir.”

“Ah, I ran into a little puppy on the way.”

Even as the men questioned him in confusion, Noah just smiled and evaded his answer.

He recalled Raeliana’s puppy-like, fluffy hair and light green eyes.

He felt strangely cheerful.

His and Her Contract

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

Raeliana woke up reciting a line from Kafka’s novel in her head. The hangover made her feel like a squirming insect in bed.

Her heavy head kept failing forward, and her eyelids were heavy as steel blocks.

I feel so dizzy.

She wished to lay on her stomach and sleep in, but the constant knocking disturbed her sleep.

“My lady.”

Venia’s calm voice came from outside the door.

“Venia, please let me sleep in this morning.”

Hearing the sleep-addled voice, Venia opened the door and entered.

“My lady, you must wake up. You have a guest.”

“What guest…”

“It’s His Highness Duke Wynknight.”

“Ugh, I’m too tired. Tell him to leave.”

“My lady.”

Venia called out again in a coaxing voice. Raeliana buried her face in the pillow, then disbelieving her own ears, she suddenly got up.

“Wait, what?”

“Duke Wynknight has come to visit.”

Raeliana gritted her teeth and stood up.

“Why?! Oh!”

I really did it last night.

Her brain struggled to work like an under-maintained machine.

Raeliana’s body apparently had less than average alcohol tolerance and the hangover refused to go away.

“Raise your arms, my lady.”

As Raeliana obediently raised her arms, Venia took off the chemise to replace it with a corset and a prim beige dress.

Her hands worked flawlessly.

Raeliana trusted herself to Venia as she took care of her hair.

Since I started this, I should see the end.

She felt a strange sense of security, thinking that even the mighty duke could not harm her in her own house.

Raeliana planned to confidently tell him about the deal and be done with. That she knew his weak spot and for him to please cooperate in getting rid of her fiance.

“Venia, can we skip the corset today? I feel sick.”

“No, you cannot.” Venia answered curtly.

Ugh, but I really don’t feel good.

Regardless of her whining, Venia did not give in.

Eventually, when Raeliana went out wearing a corset, the butler, who seemed to be filled with questions, looked at her while moving his lips.

The butler’s face was switching back and forth from blue to red as if he was overcoming his internal struggles. Then, with a tone of someone confessing to a murder, he told her, “Duke Wynknight is in the drawing room.”

Raeliana marveled at the butler’s self control.

When Raeliana arrived downstairs, the maids had gathered in front of the drawing room, gawking at Noah.

They were fervently whispering and peeking through the door. Upon seeing Raeliana hurrying down the stairs, they all called out shrilly.

“My lady!”

Ow, my head.

The hangover had rendered her defenseless against such high tones.

“Yes, I know.”

She gave them a smile of a benevolent employer and entered the drawing room.

The duke was standing in the middle of the room with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.

Noticing Raeliana enter, the duke turned around and his golden eyes scanned her quickly from the top of her head to her toes.

It felt slightly unpleasant.

Raeliana stood massaging her stomach as she felt nausea crawl up when Noah spoke out with a smile like a veteran politician.

“Lady Raeliana, I’m glad to know that you returned home safely last night.”

“It is all thanks to you, Your Highness.”

In contrast to yesterday when he flashed his golden eyes as if he was about to hunt down a man, he had returned to being a charming gentleman.

“Do you perhaps feel ill? Your face seems pale.”

“No, I feel alright. I’m just a bit surprised.”

“I have made a mistake in my desire to see my lady as soon as possible. Please forgive me.”

“Your kind words fluster me.”

Each word of the duke reflected concern and manners. It almost felt as though the man who spoke down to her with a cold expression last night was a figment of her imaginations.

The duke held Raeliana’s hand and moved to the sofa where they could converse in comfort.

Raeliana opened her mouth to suggest that perhaps they should head to her own room or her father’s studies since there were a lot of people watching.

“Your Highness…”

The duke looked into her eyes. Raeliana looked upon him with a determined face then covered her mouth.

Oof.