CH 1

0. Prologue

The Duke of Dieren is dead.

It was caused by falling down a balcony while intoxicated.

He was young enough for it to be unfair at 40 years old, but no one really regretted or grieved over his death. Neither his young wife nor any of his three children.

‘I thought he should have died earlier.’

I’m going to get punished anyway, would it have been better if I received it earlier?

That’s what I’m thinking.

…I am his wife.

Lizelotte Karin Dieren.

With black hair tinged with purple, fair skin, and violet eyes, I was once one of the most beautiful women in society.

But where is an aristocratic marriage decided by appearance?

In fact, being born into a baron family, and becoming a duchess was a fortune beyond anyone’s eyes.

Even though I was eight years younger than the duke, and even the second wife.

Besides, the duke already had three children. Of course, they are children born to the duke and his ex-wife, who do not have a single drop of blood mixed with my own.

Nevertheless, for the past ten years since my marriage, I have taken very good care of my children.

It doesn’t mean I’ve done anything great for the kids. I did, however, prevent the demonic Duke of Dieren from assaulting the children.

Although he is my husband, the duke… No, he was such an immense piece of trash that the expression villain was a waste.

Let’s put aside the fact that he is incompetent and an alcoholic.

He had no hesitation in pouring out all kinds of verbal abuse and violence toward his family, especially on his children, who are the weakest people to cherish and love.

During my marriage, I often imagined that.

‘If some miracle happens and sends me back to the past…’

But that’s just a meaningless assumption. In reality, over the years, I have been able to cancel my marriage as many times as I want through the means of divorce over the years.

I didn’t carry it out.

Yes. I wouldn’t avoid this marriage even if I went back in time. And I’ll live again as the Duchess of Dieren, just as I’ve endured until now.

It is not just that I am greedy for the position of duchess.

The land and property owned by the duchy? It’s practically all things I’ve worked on since I got married.

Something I can’t give up.

…That is the children.

Three children, who were not born from my belly, but were embraced in my heart and accepted as a family and cherished dearly.

As an adult. And as a mother, I will protect my children.

Until the children finally become adults and can walk their respective paths, as they have done so so far.

Among them, my current goal is to succeed the duchy safely to my first son.

According to imperial law, the minimum condition for inheriting a title is after reaching adulthood…

‘Three years left.’

I don’t think it’s an easy task. Because a piece of meat named Dieren is covetous enough for anyone to pay attention to it.

In addition, Dieren, which became like an empty house after the duke’s death, was clearly a prey worthy of drool.

In particular, what they were aiming for was me, who suddenly lost my husband and became alone.

This is because no matter who it is, as long as you marry me, you will have a chance to claim everything in Dieren.

Dieren’s estate, family assets, and even the ducal title.

‘So I never expected this situation…’

I unwittingly rolled my dry lips into my mouth.

“I’m not interested in the title of duke. Dieren’s wealth has no meaning to me either. That doesn’t mean that we should have a puerile relationship. Just…”

The one in front of me right now is a man with a mysterious beauty that gave me goosebumps.

“It is enough if there is a relationship where I can kiss the madam’s hands, feet, and lips.”

A dizzyingly intimate distance.

Every time the man’s low and soft voice uttered a word, his breath clearly touched my skin.

“Instead, I will protect you and your children, as I have always done. After all, if it’s not me, everyone is doomed to die in two years, so I think this is a pretty good suggestion.”

“…”

“What do you think, madam?”

The dreadful deep red, wicked eyes that did not match the tender tone, seemed to pierce my face.

Perhaps because of this, I felt a tingling pain in my chest.

Unreal beauty that makes your heart tremble just by being close, even though he had no emotions.

If you don’t come to your senses, you’ll lose your mind without even realizing it.

Let’s never forget. I am a married woman with three children to look after.

1. A Foreign Noble

It was the opening day of the social season when my trashy husband died.

The imperial ballroom.

The nobles, who came to the city for a few months, were busy creating stories to soothe their boredom. Most of them were trivial gossip about handsome nobles visiting from abroad or about the estates he owned.

My husband, the Duke of Dieren, and I entered the banquet hall without delay. The nobles flocked around us as if it were natural.

“I’ve heard the news. The duchy is having a bountiful harvest again this year, right?”

“Oh my. The Duchess is getting more beautiful with each passing year.”

“How are the three children of the duke family doing?”

The Duchy of Dieren, rich in high standing and a large fiefdom.

The ducal family’s prestige has become especially greater in recent years, drawing attention not only from nobles but also from the imperial family. My husband, the Duke of Dieren, was in a very good mood because of it.

Yes, he has been waiting for this very day for months. It was to show off his wealth and power that has increased over the past year in front of the nobles.

But the condition didn’t last very long. It was because of words from someone who didn’t understand the atmosphere.

“But was it not after the remarriage to Duchess Lizelotte that the duke became as powerful as he is now? Perhaps the rumor that the duchess is the actual manager of the duchy is really true, hohoho?”

My husband’s face contorted in an instant. It was obvious that his ego was completely hurt.

I desperately tried to rectify the situation, but I couldn’t quell the anger that had already begun to burn red.

My suddenly changed husband grabbed my wrist and dragged me to the lounge. Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one staying in the lounge since it coincided with the time when the waltz began.

“Let go of this hand…! Take it easy, darling!”

“Take it easy? How dare you. Are you giving me orders now?”

“That’s not what I meant… Ah!”

At that moment, my husband roughly threw me on the floor of the lounge. My ankles buckled along with my high heels, and I lost my balance and had no choice but to roll on the marble floor.

“Haha, this bastard or that bastard! How ridiculous you think of me, the duke!”

Bang, bang! The surrounding walls and doors made threatening noises as they were kicked by her husband’s rough kicks.

“Who ruled the territory on behalf of whom? The land of Dieren, the duchy, is all mine!”

I had no intention of denying that.

No matter what anyone says, my husband is the Duke of Dieren, and he will eventually be the hero of all glory regardless of the process.

However, even at times like this, I am not the kind of a person who can flatter him and match his mood. Especially in a situation where I felt acrid pain coming from a sprained ankle when I fell.

As I kept my mouth shut, my husband looked down at me coldly and laughed sickeningly, as if he thought he had suppressed my spirit.

“So you’d better keep that in mind as well, Wife. You’d better act like a pretty doll while I’m respecting my wife as I am now. Do you understand what I mean?”

What do you mean respect? Since when did you treat pretty dolls with respect?

I don’t want to agree on anything, but the timing wasn’t very good.

My husband seems to have been very satisfied with my disheveled appearance without being able to get up properly. As if his anger had eased, he sneered, making a pickpocketing sound of the wind.

“Then this is enough to not show my wife’s face at the ballroom. Your condition doesn’t look good, so please return to the mansion adequately.”

“Wait. Today, I have to meet the nobles and…”

“All my wife has to do is smile like a flower and wait for me, her husband, at home.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I’ll have a maid sent to you in an hour, so don’t walk around the banquet hall needlessly with those feet.”

The intention was clear.

It means that he didn’t want to see myself getting the slightest attention in this place.

As if he had no need to hear an answer from me at all, he swiftly left the lounge with nothing but a notice of that order.

The sound of my husband’s shoes faded away to the cheerful waltz playing in the banquet hall. I had to spit out a laugh because it was so ridiculous that I was thrown into the lounge.

Ha, really.

‘What a temper.’

I didn’t expect him to apologize for pushing or acting rough. Still, I was thinking of asking for some support, but I didn’t expect him to go like that.

In any case, now, as my husband said, it seemed that I had no choice but to wait in the lounge and return home with my maid. My ankle seems to be getting more and more swollen, so I should at least lean my body comfortably in the meantime.

It was when I tried to get up with that thought.

“Are you all right?”

A man’s soft voice filled the empty space in the lounge. At the same time, a long finger wrapped in a white glove burst into my sight.

I thought there was no one?

My eyes glanced reflexively up the glove. And I was soon more surprised than I was prepared for.

He was a man with ecstatically brilliant white silver hair.

How can a person be born with that color of hair?

As if diamond powder had been finely ground and sprinkled, there was a mysterious glow from the man. Even his eyelashes like long curtains drawn and hanging down were the same color. His features were as delicate as those of God’s elaborate sculptures over the years.

However, the image was a little different for the eyes.

A bewitching deep red.

“May I help you?”

However, the eerie color disappeared completely the moment the man crinkled his eyes and smiled. Was it my mistake?

Looking at the man again, he looked a little disconcerted, awkward.

“I’m sorry. I was resting because of a headache, so I missed the timing to stop your husband.”

“Ah.”

Come to think of it, you must have heard and seen it all.

Only then did I realize what I should have checked first as soon as I noticed that there was someone else in the lounge. Judging by the man’s reaction, it seemed like I got the answer without even asking.

What a disgrace this is because of my less humane husband.

“…No. Rather than that, I need to get up, so I’d appreciate it if you could lend me your arm.”

“With pleasure.”

Then, to my surprise, the man acted completely differently from what I expected.

The moment I felt his arms supporting my back and the back of my knees, my feet lifted off the ground and away at once.

“…!”

There was no time to react. When I came to my senses, I was being comfortably carried to a wide couch in the lounge while being held in the man’s arms.

“Wait a moment, madam. It looks like your ankle is very swollen.”

And that wasn’t the end of it. The man checked the condition of my ankle one more time, removed the drink from the lounge, and made an ice pack.

“May I take a look at it for a moment?”

“No, that’s fine.”

No matter how much help she got, a married woman could not show her bare skin to a single man.

I politely declined the man’s favor. Then the man smiled softly, as if he knew I would, and handed me the ice pack.

When I put it on my ankle, the pain subsided a little. It fully occurred to me.

I am receiving the consideration that I should get from my husband from a man I have never seen before.

“By the way, it’s the first time I’ve met you in the capital high society.”

When the situation calmed down moderately, I spoke to the man again.

“I am the Duchess of Dieren, Lizelotte Karin Dieren.”

It wasn’t until after I introduced myself that I could hear the name of the man who was sitting about a step away.

“My introduction is late. My name is Yuzef Overeem Alperon, Count of Alperon. Please call me ‘Sir Yuzef.’ As you said, it is my first time in the capital of the empire.”

Even if it was a foreign country, there seemed to be a lot of similar manners in the social world. Sir Yuzef showed his manners by gently kissing my fingertips in the way of the empire.

“Alperon. Seeing that I’ve never heard of such a place or name before, it seems that the extremely handsome person the noble ladies were talking about visiting from abroad must be Sir Yuzef.”

“Handsome. I am ashamed to say that… I’ve heard it a lot.”

“You are not the modest type.”

“If I am modest, it would be rather rude to the people around me. I think the Duchess is in a similar position to me.”

Now that I looked, he wasn’t just handsome, but also quite pleasant. Even I almost forgot about the discord with my husband and laughed without realizing it.

Besides, looking a little further away, Sir Yuzef had a pretty face, but he had fairly broad shoulders and was quite tall. He had a great smile as well.

“Anyhow, if it’s your first time visiting the capital, it’d be nice to start interacting with other nobles at the dance hall. Is your headache fine now?”

“Thanks to the Duchess, I feel much better.”

Compliments for the sake of formality.

The man who closed his eyes and smiled charmingly was more attractive the more I looked at him. To the point where I can’t help but compare him to my husband.

No, I feel very sorry for Sir Yuzef if I make a comparison. Unlike my husband, whose face was acceptable but always has a crooked posture because of his condescension, Sir Yuzef has a very straight back.

‘He must be in his mid-twenties?’

Then, of course, he must be married.

afterword 

HIII TBH I HAVE NO TIME FOR ANOTHER PROJECT BUT I JUST HAD TO PICK THIS UP/AT LEAST READ IT anyway i’ll fix up the synopsis on NU and add the series to my site later i just really wanted to post the first chapter real quick