CH 2

Brandon smiled slyly, pointing at the women surrounding him.

“Looks like it.”

“So, why did you come all the way here?”

“Would you spare me some time? Get rid of the women around you.”

Brandon’s sharp eyes, disguised as laughter at the bold request, turned to Callie. At Callie’s request, he jokingly said to the women around him, “You guys should step aside. There’s a lady over here who might be marrying me.”

“Marry? Brandon, are you getting married?”

“Brandon getting married? No way. So, who do we play with now?”

There was an uproar among the women that they would never let go of Brandon.

Did she have to marry a man like this? Callie lamented her situation and, without realizing it, let out a low sigh.

She was sick of it.

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“Do you want me to stand here and wait?”

“We can’t keep the lady waiting.”

Brandon, who had been sitting with a smirk on his face, finally got up from his chair. He rose from his chair and was much taller than Callie had guessed.

Besides, he wasn’t just tall.

With a couple of buttons undone, his body had such perfect proportions that one would think that if Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, had reincarnated as a man, she would look like that.

Brandon strode forward with his long legs, smiled lazily, and held out his hand. “Lady, I’ll take you over there.”

Callie quietly placed her hand on Brandon’s outstretched hand. However, despite the slight touch meant to escort, it felt strange.

All her nerves were focused on it. 

When Callie glanced at him from the corner of her eye, he looked nonchalant.

Callie didn’t like being sensitive to this playboy’s touch, so she pulled away. She held her chin up on purpose to make sure he didn’t notice that she was agitated by the warmth she had felt earlier.

Brandon, who came to the pergola a little away from where he hung out with the women, escorted Callie to sit first before settling in front of her. 

“Now, shall we begin our conversation? What should we talk about first… Since we met for the first time, should we introduce ourselves?”

Without even skipping a beat, Brandon skillfully asked.

“We can forgo the introduction. I’ve heard a lot about you from my father, sir. I’m sure you did, too.”

To be honest, she hadn’t heard anything from Matthew other than his name. Still, she knew what kind of person he was from the rumors.

She rarely went to social gatherings, but when she did, she constantly heard people talk about him. 

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There were anecdotes about the rich and handsome eldest son’s escapades, so it was impossible not to know.

“You wouldn’t have listened only to your father.”

“I’ve heard quite a few stories here and there.”

Even knowing that, you came all the way here to meet me?

Brandon smiled crookedly and took a good look at the Count’s daughter, who had come all the way here to meet him.

Even though she came from a fallen family, she was the daughter of a Count, but it didn’t seem that way from how she looked.

It was common for Irze women to emphasize their waists with a three-tiered skirt covered in tulle lace and wear a fancy sash over it.

But not Callie.

The sky-blue chiffon dress with a deep cut in the chest was almost see-through, and the mammoth line[1] exposed the waist and hips sensually. It was a very bold design with a long slit between her legs.

Even while being escorted to the chair, her immaculate legs were revealed through the hem of her skirt every time she stepped forward.

It was a dress that was openly intended to seduce men.

“Did you come all the way here because you were thinking of marrying me?”

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“The rumors circulating are understandable. You’re handsome and have good manners, so any woman who sees you falls in love with you.”

Callie omitted the rumors about him being a playboy and jerk, and only spoke of good things.

Brandon smiled crookedly and added the one thing she had left out. “Although I’m adopted, I’m the eldest son of the wealthy Cleart family.”

“I don’t think it’s different that both families have a purpose, right?”

In the kingdom of Irze, when families of different statuses married, either male or female could have the higher title.

If the son of Baron Cleart married the daughter of Count Loris, the Clearn family would also be raised to the rank of Count.

That was what Hugo was trying to get by having Brandon marry Callie, the daughter of the ruined Loris family.

This marriage was meant to give and take to accommodate each other’s needs, so Callie had nothing to lose.

Callie honestly said what she wanted without pretending otherwise. 

“Sir Brandon, let’s get married.”

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“Proposing marriage right at the first meeting? Wow, you’re quite assertive.”

“I’m not a fool to miss an opportunity.”

After Callie married Brandon, she intended to divorce him when the time was right.

That was the only way to completely break away from the Loris family. She just had to marry whoever the other person was.

“Young lady, you don’t know what kind of person I am, do you?”

“You’re so famous that I couldn’t help but know.”

“You still want to marry me?”

“That’s what my father wants.”

“Even if that’s what your father wanted, you don’t seem obedient enough to follow him unconditionally.”

Get a divorce.

There were still scars on her left shoulder blade. Her face crumpled as she recalled the pain that pierced her skin.

All she needed was to use marriage to get out of that house. 

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That’s why she wasn’t disappointed when she heard that Brandon Cleart was her potential marriage partner.

“You misunderstood. I’m a daughter who follows my parents very well.”

“The young lady’s father would be glad to have a good daughter who listens well,” Brandon wryly laughed.

“If you marry me, I won’t care how you live after that.”

“How I live?”

“Yes. Those women. I mean, I don’t care if that’s Sir Brandon’s daily life.”

She thought he would appreciate it if she said that, but why was he looking at her like that? Wasn’t it a tempting suggestion? 

After laughing, he gave her a piercing stare. 

“Hey, Lady.” His voice was full of ridicule. “It’s unexpected that a young lady from an aristocratic family came all the way here to meet me, a known profligate. Now, you’re telling me it’s okay to continue meeting women after marrying, so let’s get married?”

He smiled and continued. “I’m so happy that I don’t know what to do, milady.”

His sarcasm wounded her pride, but now wasn’t the time to hold onto that.

“This marriage is so important to me. If the daughter from a fallen family wants to marry the son of a wealthy family, shouldn’t I just feign ignorance and turn a blind eye?”

“Just for money?”

Money wasn’t her purpose, but she couldn’t really tell him the truth. She didn’t care if he thought the woman he would marry was in it for his wealth.

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“As expected, you’re the son of the wealthiest family in Irze, so money must be insignificant. As you know, my family is in decline, so there’s nothing more important than money.”

Instead of denying it, she answered according to what he believed.

“Do you like money so much that you’ll marry a man like me?”

“I want to stop living as the poor Count’s daughter. Instead, I want to get married and live in a luxurious mansion with pretty dresses and jewelry.”

Brandon chuckled. “I like your honesty, Lady Callie.”

“Anyway, Sir Brandon won’t lose anything. I promise you that.”

Brandon stared at Callie in intrigue. She wanted to marry him despite being aware of his infamy.

She’s a woman who liked money that much…

However, judging from the atmosphere and the way she spoke, it didn’t seem like that. If it were a woman like this, she’d immediately reject him even if he asked her to marry him.

Was it really because of the money?

Narrowing his eyes at her in suspicion, Brandon sarcastically said, “I should be grateful that I was adopted into a wealthy family. To marry such a beautiful count’s daughter and be able to sleep with her every night.”

“Sleep…?”

“As you know, I’m a guy rumored to love girls, so that part is very important to me.”

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Callie couldn’t back out. She clenched her fists and said, “…Of course we should sleep together.”

Brandon, who didn’t miss it, laughed out loud. “Hahaha. Don’t look so worried, Lady Callie.”

Then, he whispered slyly into Callie’s ear. “I’m very good at that aspect. Milady will be satisfied, too. To the point where you don’t want to get out of bed.”

Callie’s cheeks burned red at Brandon’s joke.

But she didn’t want to lose, so she hit back. “You’re so confident. I have pretty high expectations for that, too.”

As she spoke, she lowered her gaze and stared blatantly between his legs.

Brandon’s eyes curled at Callie’s spirit as she blushed and refused to lose. It wasn’t a fake smile but a real one.

“It’s a relief you’re as forward as I am.”

[1] I’m not sure what the author meant by this, but they wrote “매머드 라인”. “매머드” is “mammoth”, and “라인” is “line”. I tried to google if there’s a style like that for clothes, but I couldn’t find any except dresses with elephant prints on it lol