CH 7

“So you want me to act as your fiance?”

Noah leaned back on the sofa and met Raeliana’s eyes from behind the contract paper.

“That’s all I want.”

“Why?”

“Do I need a reason?”

“Depending on the circumstances.”

“And under this circumstance?”

“You need it.”

Geez, his attitude is testing my patience.

Raeliana crossed her arms and tapped her fingers against her arm.

I am actually from a different world, where I read about this world through a novel, and my fiance is trying to kill me. Oh, and by the way, that’s how I found out where the Royal Seal is. Anyhow, I would need your cooperation to get rid of the bastard.

What kind of expression would he put on if I said that?

If she could see his befuddled face instead of that arrogant one, she would risk an asylum and blurt out the truth.

But even if she brought up such a story, he would most likely curl up one side of his lips, sneer again and call the servants to drag her out of the mansion, so Raeliana decided to resist the boiling temptation.

“I received intel that my fiance was trying to kill me. But I have no proof or witness. I need a plausible reason to break the engagement to Francis Brooks as soon as possible.”

“With no proof or witness, you found out he is trying to kill you?”

Raeliana shrugged. What can I do? The truth is the truth.

“You don’t have to believe me. It is not important to you, Your Highness.”

She became insolent.

It did dawn on her for a fraction of a moment that the accursed social hierarchy could sentence her into “That insolent girl is acting out of her place. Whip her petulant self!”

Noah threw the contract down on the table.

“Is the intel from the same source that told you about the Royal Seal?”

“In a sense, yes.”

“Let’s discuss that source then.”

“I cannot tell you the source. I want to set that as a prerequisite to our contract.”

“No, you cannot do that.”

“Yes, I can.”

The two squabbled over the contract Raeliana had prepared.

Though she could not compromise on any clause, Noah challenged every single one of the listed conditions.

The tense negotiations continued in circles.

“My intel is already dead. I can’t reveal the person’s identity, but I can assure you through this contract or any other means necessary that nobody would bother you regarding that matter.”

“How can I trust that?”

“Hah…”

Raeliana made a deep-as-an-abyss sigh.

In contrast, Noah seemed to be enjoying himself.

Raeliana fumed. She wanted to slap that handsome face.

The more she was frustrated, the happier Noah seemed to be. As if he was a sadist.

“In any case, I can’t compromise on that. If we can’t reach an agreement, the deal is off. As you realize, the information I have is priceless and others would gladly pay heftily. Even the street waifs would know that many people would gladly lick my two feet in order to throw mud at you, Your Highness.”

Noah smirked.

There he goes again, sneering.

“You came to me because you don’t think they’ll believe you, no?”

“A small hole in a dam leads to a flood.”

“Some happenings remain just that. A happening.”

She felt as if she was stuck in a stupid dilemma such as ‘would you rather become a eunuch or die?’

“You… stupid, stuck-up…”

Trembling in anger, Raeliana stopped for a moment, then continued on.

“Let’s stop it with our prides… All I want is this. Whether Your Highness thinks of me as a pathetic stalker of yours, a simpleton who makes a losing deal, or a suspicious lady with conspiracy under her sleeve, I don’t care. All I want is a business relationship that can fool other people for a while. According to the contract, I will remain silent on anything related to the Royal Seal. Your Highness will not have to worry about it anymore. If you play my fiance for six months, just six months, I will disappear from your life after that.”

Noah clamped his mouth shut.

To his ambiguous poker face expression, Raeliana emphasized once more.

“Without a doubt.”

Embodying So hurry up and stamp your seal in her smile, Raeliana tapped the empty section of the contract with her fingers.

This is the last time. If you don’t accept it, this time I’m really leaving.

As she ruminated the thought, Noah’s eyes curved like a crescent moon and he spoke in a low tone.

“Alright.”

He signed the contract with a fountain pen.

It’s done? For real?

“But while we’re at this farcical act, you will have to act my fiancee when I need you to.”

“When you need it…?”

“You’ll find out, whether you like it or not.”

Raeliana felt anxiety creep up her toes.

And soon enough, she will continue to regret the contract of this day.

To the Duke’s Estate

The newspapers gossiped about the love triangle between Raeliana McMillan, Francis Brooks, and Noah Wynknight day after day.

It was a delicious story. Not only was it a love triangle with one woman in the middle, but also, the ones involved were all very attractive and beyond average. On top of that, the romance between Raeliana McMillan, the nouveau riche, and Noah Wynknight, the epitome of vieux riche, put a cherry on top.

And there was one more.

-House of Brooks Charges House of McMillan with an Astronomical Alimony…-

Talk about trouble after trouble.

As she read the newspaper article, Raeliana had a headache.

Even before the excitement from the successful contract faded, articles about how the House of Brooks was asking for compensation on the account that the failed engagement was the fault of Raeliana McMillan were floating around.

“Hah… “

The next page featured an interview with a former governess about Raeliana’s character.

According to Raeliana’s memories, the governess had moved to another house with better conditions in less than a month and that was long ago.

Whether inside or outside a novel, people really were the same.

After reading about how Raeliana McMillan was a young lady of beauty and character like a delicate lily flower, she turned to the front page again.

Although the McMillan couple had countered the challenge by summoning the opponents to court, Raeliana was burning with worry.

Who could have imagined the Brooks’ to stoop this low? If she were to hand him the money he wanted from the beginning, why did she have to go through the deal with the duke?

For a moment, Raeliana felt skeptical, but what could she do about the deal that had already been made? I need to go through with it.

She did not think the man would go down without a fight, but to dare a lawsuit against the duke’s fiancee!

He’s in way over himself.

Raeliana fidgeted with her lips, thinking up possible solutions. Suddenly, noticing a sword in her field of vision, she raised her head.

A boy silently stood there. The long red eyes with no double eyelids met her eyes.

Francis Brooks wasn’t the only one on her mind.

“…?”

The boy with a blank expression like a stone carving…

His name was Adam Taylor.

He was hired by Duke Noah Wynknight as her guard, or more like a ‘spy,’ for his fiancee…… He was Noah’s henchman.

Someone who knew nothing about Adam Taylor, who had just turned 18 years old, would say that the boy was too young to take any serious role, but anyone who has seen him wielding a blade would certainly not say that he was too young for the job.

Adam Taylor, who also had a significant role in the novel, was originally a child soldier who passed from battlefield to battlefield from a young age and a genius who was a sole survivor of the notorious Battle of the Hashlap Valley.

The duke took in those who had no place to go as his knights after the child soldier system was abolished.

That’s when Adam met the duke and now he had grown to be the duke’s loyal knight.

These days, he had solidified his position as the duke’s most trusted, following him in every official event.

The people of the House of McMillan were clamoring over the fact that Noah putting his trusted henchman Adam to guard Raeliana was proof of the duke’s love.

But the reality was that the boy was the reminder that Raeliana’s head could come off at any point if she showed any suspicious behavior.

He probably thinks of me as a spy or something.

Even Raeliana could admit that she would seem like a sketchy, scheming woman with a plot to Noah.

Well, there isn’t anything I can do about that, but…

“Sir Adam.”

There was a bigger problem…

“Would you be guarding me in the duke’s estate as well?”

There was a cold silence for a moment.

How reticent.

Whether it was his past roaming the battlefields or his original personality, but Adam was as silent and aloof as a rock on a mountain and it was difficult to even strike a light conversation.

As she patiently waited for an answer, Adam nodded once in confirmation.

This was the problem.

She was going to live at the duke’s estate for bridal lessons starting tomorrow.

Noah had told her as they were finishing the contract.

“You will have to come to my estate as soon as possible.”

“Pardon?”

“You’re the future Lady of the House of Wynknight.”

He smiled widely with that mask of a kind person.

The smile that would have melted any other woman’s heart set Raeliana’s heart racing in anxiety.

“But I’m only the Lady… to be…?”

“That’s why you need it.”

“Need what?”

“Bridal lessons.”

Noah summed it up in two words.

That handsome appearance of his that would fool even the devil should be given to some other kind person.

Raeliana was sent away without having a chance to say another word and Adam Taylor had arrived at the McMillan mansion with a letter asking her to move into the duke’s estate the next day.

Bridal lessons? Bridal lessons?

Contemplating on the unfamiliar word, Raeliana was appalled.

Whether it was an excuse to spy on her movements more thoroughly or an attempt to make the engagement seem real, the prospect of living in someone else’s home, taking lessons, and being evaluated made her feel anxious.

Raeliana comforted herself, saying that she did not need to become a perfect bride. She had zero desire to actually get married to Noah.

“Ha… “

Looking outside the window and sighing, Raeliana got up and spoke to Adam.

“I’m going for a walk in the garden.”

Raeliana waited a moment for his answer, then exited the room.

Without saying a word, the boy quietly followed behind her.

When she looked back at the sound of sword clanking from his belt, Adam looked down with his red eyes.

“Are you coming with me?”

She felt as if she should ask him for permission by saying, “May I go down to the gardens?”

As Raeliana asked and waited awhile, Adam nodded slightly. She turned around and walked quickly.

This is so uncomfortable…