CH 6

Raeliana took the most expensive and elaborate carriage to head to the duke’s estate.

Taking the carriage which had been gathering dust since Johndein purchased it while dead drunk had a very nouveau-riche-significance of showing everyone that she was not a Cinderella.

The carriage passed the winding riverside and the commercial streets to the entrance of the Royal Road.

The duke’s mansion sat in the heart of the Royal Road where the renowned nobles lived near the Royal Palace. The monumental structure looked as if it were carved from a mountain.

Surprised once by the size of the mansion and another once by the well-maintained beauty of the garden, she headed toward the entrance of the building.

The carriage passed the main iron gate and stopped in front of the mansion entrance. As Raeliana got out with the help of the carriage driver, the butler who had been waiting in front of the door bowed deeply.

“Master is waiting inside.”

The butler with an unchanging expression, typical of experienced hired hands, led her to the double door across the West Hall ground floor hallway.

As he knocked on the door with the handle, she could hear the duke calling her in.

“Come in.”

At the butler’s words, Raeliana carefully went inside.

The place was tightly packed with bookshelves as if it were a study and had a second story, making it resemble a small library.

As Raeliana politely raised the hem of her dress to curtsy, “Duke Wynknight, may the goddess…”

“Let’s not with the frivolities.”

Noah broke her off, collecting the papers.

Well, more convenient for me.

Raeliana quashed her unease and straightened her back.

Raeliana briefly laid her eyes on the chess board in the back and looked back at Noah.

Noah led her to the sofa surrounding the coffee table and spoke.

“First, sit down.”

As Noah walked, Raeliana trotted behind him and perched on the edge of the sofa.

Observing her put down her purse on the side and take off her gloves, Noah opened his mouth first.

“Let’s discuss the Royal Seal first.” That arrogant tone.

“Alright.”

To Noah’s arrogant tone, which suggested he was upper class to his core, Raeliana responded rather brazenly.

“I know you have been searching desperately for the Royal Seal.”

“And?”

“I know where it is.”

“I see.”

The duke nodded mysteriously. Raeliana leaned forward.

“I am telling you this, Duke, because… I think you know better than anyone why.”

“You want to make a deal with me.”

“No. Because you, duke, fear me for knowing where the seal is more than anyone else.”

“Hmm…”

The duke brought his clasped hands near his mouth and smiled, bemused.

“And why do you think that?”

What the duke fears the most.

That is…….

“Because you have the Royal Seal.”

A silence fell.

He was the head of the vieux riche shouting for the Royal Seal’s return.

Nobody would guess that the Royal Seal was actually in his hands.

This was the biggest advantage the duke had. The Royal trump card that even nouveau riche did not know of.

It was that Noah Wynknight was not the head of the vieux riche but the henchman of the king.

The only one who knew this fact was the duke’s household, the Royal circle, and her, who came from outside the novel.

If the story had gone according to the plot, it would be the female protagonist, not Raeliana McMillan, who would find out the truth and make this connection with the duke.

If it were not for Raeliana, this man would meet the female protagonist due to the Royal Seal incident later on and develop feelings.

She had inadvertently become the No. 1 obstacle of their love, but this was better than death.

Raeliana direly waited for his expression to change.

‘How did you know?’ or ‘I’ll grant you anything if you stay silent.’

But unlike her imaginary responses of the duke, the actual duke did not give any of the responses she had hoped for.

Why?

It should be a critical weakness for him. How does he look so calm?

Raeliana’s eyes darted around nervously as she fumbled with her silk gloves.

It was moments later that the silence was broken by the duke.

“Are you being serious?”

Instead of wasting her breath answering, she casually smiled.

She wanted to keep the upper hand and look relaxed rather than being desperate, hanging onto his coat and crying, “I am serious. Do you want me to swear on my grandfather’s grave?”

No one said she couldn’t take the upper hand.

I have your weakness.

Noah crossed his legs and tilted his head.

“I played your game, but it turns out it was a dull prank.”

“Excuse me…?”

What is he saying? Hearing the unexpected words, Raeliana furrowed her brows.

“I think I may have overestimated you.”

What?

Raeliana felt as though someone had punched her in the stomach.

“I wasted my precious time.”

Noah clicked his tongue and narrowed his golden eyes, looking down at his pocket watch.

“The deal is off.”

Noah’s sharp words seemed to cut through her flesh.

“…!!”

Ugh, she almost lost her composure. She forced her fingers that almost lunged forward and pressed them back down on her lap.

Calm down. This guy is trying to bluff me. I can’t let him underestimate me.

Raeliana calmly opened her mouth.

“I know that there’s a family graveyard on 31 Vangelio Street. Your deceased brother, Robert Wynknight, is buried there.”

The duke’s eyebrow twitched fiercely upward.

“The Seal is buried there, is it not?”

As she spoke confidently, the duke clicked his tongue.

“I can bear with this no longer. Go home.”

Wait, I said this much and he’s just going to send me off?

The man’s poker face had not shifted, let alone broken, at Raeliana’s words.

Instead of biting her lips, Raeliana chose to smile brightly.

You think I would be undermined?

“What a pity. I shall go home then.”

She put on the gloves she was holding and picked up the handles of her purse from the side of the sofa.

The previous night, the man had taken off his mask and nervously reacted when she mentioned the Royal Seal. He had also played by her sudden stunt.

So, now, his actions were just to assert his dominance before the deal.

“Farewell then.”

She had to remain calm.

If she showed a hint of desperation, that golden monster would swallow her whole and season her life as he wished.

She approached the door handle.

Masterfully stitched carpet by a craftsman absorbed any noise from her sharp heels.

She purposefully refused to look back.

To be honest, Raeliana had very few choices.

Even if she had the information, it wouldn’t be easy to convince others of this truth. At best, she would be treated like a conspiracy theorist or a third rate gossip magazine.

Just like a lawyer who could undermine a witness’s testimony by tearing down people’s trust in the witness, the duke could surely rip apart Raeliana’s credibility.

If so, the duke would only need to observe the situation and move the Royal Seal elsewhere.

This was very plausible.

Raeliana did not want to go through all of those and pioneer a thorny life path.

So call my name.

Her hand in ivory silk gloves held the bronze handle.

Call me and stop me.

Raeliana held the handle and pushed it down. The time she pushed down the handle passed slower than a bloated snail.

Why is he not calling me back?

The further the handle moved, the more an ominous feeling began riding up from the tip of her spine.

Perhaps the duke was telling the truth. The duke may be acting that way because he really did not have the Royal Seal.

How could she be sure that everything will go exactly according to the novel’s plot?

According to the original plot, she would be getting ready for her wedding with Francis Brooks.

Her action could have had a butterfly effect. Or maybe she misremembered the novel or this wasn’t the world inside the novel!

Oh god.

She felt chills. Every terrible situation she could conjure up floated around her head.

The handle finally turned completely. The terribly well-maintained door began to open smoothly.

Is this it?

Is this the end? Is there nothing else I can do?

Raeliana squeezed her eyes shut.

Then she recalled the chess pieces that messily adorned the board.

That…

The chess board with only one king. Numerous pieces that did not fit the game……

That was the current status of the nobles in the Kingdom of Chamers.

Raeliana pictured the position of the pieces she had seen. Then she inserted the information she could remember.

This is my last chance.

The Operation: You Will Totally Regret It If You Let Me Go.

She could not just head home having gained nothing. Who would have thought that playing chess as a hobby when I was young would help out in this way?

She turned her head.

“Duke Wynknight, that bishop, place it to the right.”

“What are you talking about?”

With her index finger, Raeliana pointed to the chess board. Noah’s eyes followed her finger.

“House of Gale will come under you.”

Noah furrowed his brows slightly. He was quite surprised that she had read his chessboard, and seemed rather agitated.

Hm, I like that expression of his.

His poker face that refused to give in had irked her so much.

For the first time since meeting Noah, she felt pure joy.

Let’s calm down.

Forcing her lips that were curling up, Raeliana calmly continued.

“The successor of the House of Gale will be Harrelson Gale, the second son, not Valdur the eldest.”

Had Noah been gay, Harrelson Gale, the second son, would even sacrifice his own son.

“The current Count Gale is thoughtful and intelligent. You would probably already know that it is not a rumor but a truth that Valdur is part of AGI and that he has continued to financially support it. The kingdom already has its eyes on AGI. Under such circumstances, Valdur is a liability that could go off at any moment. The count may be hoping that his son would eventually quit, but in the end he will choose Harrelson Gale.”

She spoke, thinking of Valdur who was part of AGI, the radical armed group.

Noah, who had been carefully listening, crossed his arms.

“Perhaps. One cannot be sure.”

Unless the firstborn had significant physical problems, passing the title to the second child was a very risky move in the current aristocratic society.

Even more so if they were of vieux riche.

Customs and traditions were their shield and sword.

“You will see.”

But Raeliana spoke firmly without a moment of hesitation. She smiled daringly at Noah as if to challenge him.

Her light green eyes glimmered. With those words, she turned around and grabbed the door handle again.

Noah tapped his lips with a bemused expression. The eyes that stared directly into him from the first moment they met seemed to be imprinted on him.

Noah’s lips curved up.

Perhaps it was the delight of the strange encounter. The curiosity and the desire to know more about her moved Noah.

“Wait.”

The door that had been gliding open stopped at the duke’s word.

Raeliana held her lips from twitching into a smile.

After taking a moment, she confidently turned around and the duke was standing, leaning on the edge of the desk. He put his hands on the desk to support himself and his golden eyes were sparkling.

“Now let’s seal this deal.” He was smiling cheerfully.

Could she have walked into a man worse than Francis Brooks?

Raeliana struggled to brush off a flash of foreboding thoughts.