Chapter 7

Of course, rumors were just rumors. The Marquis was well aware of how messy the beautiful Countess was living. 

That was why she accepted the crazy proposal.

Moreover, Fernan had just returned from the war, and the Marquis was sure that he would not be able to control his desire.

But how did he react?

That night was the day of the victory party, and Fernan had drunk a lot of alcohol to match the mood of the party.

At midnight, he returned to his bedroom and saw the Countess lying naked on the bed and immediately grabbed the servants in charge of his room.

They were all fired for letting an outsider into the residence of the Grand Duke, and when it became known, the Countess put an end to her social life altogether.

Well, in the end, it was a good thing for the Marquis, because the job was never done and he was able to get Julia married to the Grand Duke.

However, the Marquis was terribly worried because that disproportionately solid man seemed to be putting up walls even to his wife Julia.

“I don't think I'll ever have a baby with the Marquis'sdaughter. Every time I look at her, I see her father’s image and I can't function. So what can I do?”

The Marquis frowned darkly as he thought of the words Fernan had said to him that day.

If Fernan threw Julia out and got a second wife….

The Marquis gritted his teeth and recited, as if he was dizzy just thinking about it.

"If he can't move his body, I can use drugs to force him to perform his duty like a man.”

At such a murmur from the Marquis, Julia quietly raised her downward gaze. Her face grew paler and paler.

"No matter how stone-like a man he is, if he drinks that potion, he'll turn into a beast."

"What….?”

Only then did Julia’s mouth slowly open as she realized what the medicine was.

She couldn't believe that her father had given such a horrible thing to her without a second thought.

Julia's hands began to tremble faintly. It made her extremely anxious to think that such a drug was in her room.

Noticing her uneasy feelings, the Marquis whispered quietly.

"Don't think about it and follow my words. That's how you, me, and our family will live."

The Marquis's unpleasant voice continued.

"I'll get you all the medicine you need. All you have to do is use it to coax the Grand Duke. Do you understand?"

The Marquis put his hands to Julia's shoulders and squeezed her as if to force her to respond.

Facing her father's vicious face straight on, she closed her eyes tightly and bowed her head.

The Marquis satisfied with her inaudible answer and took his hand away sufficiently.

“Yes, now that is my daughter.”

After lightly tapping Julia's shoulder, the Marquis turned around and added.

"You should return to the patronage. If you're away for too long, he might think it's strange.”

After the Marquis disappeared, Julia stood still, holding her trembling hands. The shock just wouldn’t go away.

She couldn’t believe she had to give her husband drugs to make him a beast….

Julia forced her trembling steps to return to the patronage.

When she appeared, Fernan, who had been sitting at the tea table watching the knights train, averted his gaze. Her nervousness only grew as her eyes met his. Julia let out a long sigh inwardly.

She was raised to be a dutiful daughter. The person who had the most direct influence on her life was the Marquis; he was the one who controlled her life with a single word.

But this time, for once, she couldn't follow her father's words. She didn't want to hurt Fernan.

She wanted to have a relationship with him where they cared for each other, not one where she had to force to have it.

"Shall we leave now?”

Fernan asked in a low voice. Her heart ached greatly at the sight of his insensitive appearance as always.

***

Their last day at the Imperial Palace went smoothly.

It took them half a day to reach the Grand Ducal Palace in the evening, when the sun was beginning to set.

Julia refused the steward who offered her dinner and immediately went to her room.

The maid, Melissa, who was waiting near the room, welcomed her with a bright smile.

"Grand Duchess, how was your trip? Are you tired?"

"Yes, have you been well?”

"Of course. Would you like to change your dress first?"

"Please."

After changing into her indoor dress with Melissa's help, Julia came out to the bedroom and checked the shelf. She looked for a storage box that she put at the bottom of the shelf. The box contained the medicine bottle and the letters from the Marquis.

"What?"

Julia's face turned pale for a moment as she hurriedly took out the storage box. It was because the storage box, which was locked tightly with a key, was open.

She urgently checked inside, but it was empty. There was nothing inside.

"Um, Melissa… Did you sort out the stuff in here?" 

Julia asked in a shaky voice, and Melissa, who was making her bed, tilted her head.

“No, I didn't touch that locker. What's going on? Did something go missing?”

If Melissa didn’t touch it, one of the other maids might have.

After calmly closing her locker, Julia turned to Melissa and asked.

“Melissa, could you please go get the maids who cleaned this room?”

“Oh, yes! I'll be right back.”

When Melissa left, Julia paced back and forth in the same place anxiously.

The Marquis's letters were mostly just about her well-being, so there was no particular problem if anyone read it. The medicine, however, was.

She sighed loudly and tried to calm herself down.

Soon after, Melisa came back into the room with some maids.

“Your Highness, I have brought the maids who have been cleaning your bedchamber for the past few days.”

The maids looked at Julia and bowed their heads. They looked puzzled as if they didn't know why they were called.

"Have any of you organized the locker under the shelf while cleaning my room?"

Julia said in a calm tone. She didn't want to be unnecessarily suspicious in a situation where she wasn't sure.

The servants shook their heads and quickly answered one by one.

"There's no way servants like us dare to touch your things…”

"I’ve seen the locker when I cleaned the shelf, but I didn’t organize the contents."

The faces of the servants looked uniformly innocent. After pondering for a while, Julia nodded and dismissed them.

There were jewels and gold that they could steal, so there was no way they would steal an unidentified medicine bottle, or just some letters.

So who would have done it?

"Your Highness.”

The maids who had just slipped out of Julia’s room bowed in surprise. Turning her head, Julia’s eyes widened when she saw Fernan standing at the door.

"Your Highness…”

Fernan walked past the maids and entered the room. The servants closed the door with some concern and then disappeared elsewhere.

As he approached Julia, he asked her with an expressionless face.

“What were you doing?"

“Oh, I asked the maids about something…"

A hint of bewilderment flashed across Julia's face. She had no idea why he suddenly came to visit her.

Fernan looked around the room slowly, then turned his gaze to Julia again.

"I think you were looking for something.”

"……what?" 

“Are you, by any chance, looking for this?"

Julia's mouth slowly opened. What was in Fernan’s hand was that medicine bottle she had been looking for all along.

"Why…”

Julia's eyes wavered aimlessly as she stared at the medicine bottle. Fernan stared at her and frowned coldly.

"That's what you wanted to ask them.”

He moved closer to Julia.

"Why did you have this?"

Julia's lips quivered. She had to tell him. She didn't know what kind of medicine it was and she was going to throw it away.

But the words didn't come out. They just lingered in her mouth. 

She couldn't say anything easily because everything she said now would sound like an excuse.

Most of all, the look in Fernan’s eyes was frightening.

"You always act so innocently as if you don’t know anything.”

A calm, yet cold, angry voice descended.

"I didn't realize that you had access to an aphrodisiac for your husband.”

A cold smile passed over Fernan’s lips.

It was only for a brief moment, but his mood was terribly tainted by being swept away by this woman.