Betrayal of Dignity - Chapter 16

Episode 16

Chapter 6: The Marriage Deal

The third day of the morning promised by the Duke dawned. It was the last day of the deadline to give an answer about the marriage proposal. Chloe prepared, to leave the house without hesitation. After greeting the Viscount, who had yet to get up from the bed, she left the castle leaving behind her father who was full of worries

Duke Tisse had castles throughout the kingdom as if collecting them. One of them was a villa along the seashore, three hours away by carriage from Verdier’s territory. Chloe gently rolled up the curtains in the rattling carriage and looked outside.

It was already noon when the blue waves began to be seen on the right side of the wagon running along the mountain path. Duke Tisse’s villa was located at the top of a steep cliff. Chloe gently held her sweaty hands in the running wagon that was slowing down.

“Did you make an appointment?”

The butler, who appears to be the caretaker of the villa, asked her in a polite but distant tone. Chloe

raised her head a little more, giving strength to the hand holding her cane.

“I’m Chloe, the eldest daughter of Verdier. Please tell the Duke that I have come to answer the marriage proposed by him.”

“Please wait here for a while.”

Chloe, who was left in a drawing room with nowhere to hide due to the bright sunlight, tried to shake off her tension.

Squeak squeak. All the windows were wide open in the spacious first floor drawing room of the peaceful villa where she could hear seagulls crying from somewhere. Curtains were fluttering and blowing gracefully. Looking at the sea reflecting the sunlight, Chloe thought for a moment how wonderful it would be if all of this had been a dream.

“The duke has ordered you to wait for a while.”,

Chloe, who was lost in thought at the butler’s words came to her senses.

“While you’re waiting, should I bring some tea and refreshments?”

“It’s okay, thank you for your sincerity.”

She didn’t have an appetite and was worried that her hands would tremble and drop the teacup. After a long waiting time that overshadowed her refusal to drink tea and made her back stiff, the butler reappeared and guided her to the Duke.

“This way.”

Contrary to Chloe’s expectations that he would be waiting in the office or in the study, the butler guided, her to the balcony at the top of the villa. As she struggled to climb the stairs, the sound of the blue waves hitting the cliff greeted her first. It was a picturesque landscape, but that was not the problem.

“Did you like the marriage proposal to the point where you came directly to convey your consent?”

Sitting on a long chair made of twisted rattan, the appearance of the Duke was not the attitude of a noble to welcome guests. His bare skin without a shirt was full of blazing midday sun, giving it a dark tea color. Like a cat enjoying the sun, she would believe the scene even if he was completely dressed up while drinking dirty water.

“I thought it wasn’t light enough to be delivered in a letter.”

He waved his hand as if to ridicule her polite manners by taking out her cleanest dress and carrying a hat and parasol.

“Did I catch an infectious disease?”

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”,

“If not, come closer and talk. The enemy generals also sit at the negotiating table.”

Feeling something swell in her heart, Chloe stepped close to him. Even though there was a white canopy tent where you could rest from the sun, the duke sat in a place where sunlight poured out without a single shade.

“Sit down.”

Chloe frowned a little and asked back with eyes. This is because there was no place to sit except for the long chairs where he completely laid down his back

“Come and sit next to me.”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you rejecting my order?”

Swish. The strong sea breeze blew the ribbon of her awning hat beneath her neck. After swallowing her dry saliva, Chloe managed to sit down on the low chair as he commanded. She even felt the illusion that heat was being transmitted from the heated body of the man sitting next to her.

“The wound keeps opening up.”

Chloe, who had been staring straight ahead, finally turned her head to examine the wound on his shoulder. When she was standing far away, she couldn’t see because of her eyes getting dazzled by the sunlight, but when she looked closely, the wound was really red.

“Have you seen a doctor?”

“No.”

When Chloe glanced up at him disapprovingly, the Duke picked up the medicine bottle he had placed next to him and handed it over to her.

“Since you’re here, pour this.”

The duke smiled at her.

“Doesn’t the Duke have hands?”

“It’s what your face wants to say.”

She was bound to be embarrassed if she got caught. Chloe took her eyes off him and hurriedly took the medicine bottle. As soon as she poured the medicine, something simmered from the infected wound. Chloe, frowned involuntarily at the sight that was bitter to look at.

“It’s over.”

Tuk, Chloe put the medicine bottle next to her and opened her mouth after hesitation.

“It is not good if sweat gets into the injured area.”

Beads of sweat dripped down from his shiny upper body.

“Even in summer, Tise Duchy has a pretty cool temperature, so I can’t enjoy this kind of sunlight.”

The Duke added, as if trying to see through Chloe’s mind while she was struggling with why he bought her here.

“It’s good because it feels like my head is all burned

out.”

Chloe couldn’t wait to get to the point before her skin burned out.

“What is the reason for the refusal?”

Is there really such a thing as mind-reading? The duke skipped all the procedures at once and asked the core of the problem. Chloe turned a little toward him and stretched her chest out. From now on, as the eldest daughter of the family, she had to solve everything. It would have been nice if she had been in a more formal place than here, but in fact, she’s not in a position to argue about anything.

“Because there is a problem with my younger sister.”

“What problem?”

The duke looked straight at her with his glowing eyes.

“If it wasn’t for your sister’s sudden death, she’d have to get married.”

Chloe struggled to catch her breath in front of him, who casually spit out the cruel words that came to his mind. She had already anticipated the fact that he was not an easy-going opponent anyway.

“Before I tell you the truth, can I ask you a question?”

“Ask.”

Chloe opened her mouth without avoiding the Duke’s gaze, which looked directly at his prey.

“Is it because of me that you want to marry my sister?”

“What do you mean?”

The Duke asked with a puzzled face.

“I didn’t like you, so you asked for my sister and offered to marry her.”

“I wonder how your thoughts stand out.”

“I wonder if you intend to get entangled with my family and destroy me completely.”

The duke roared into laughter. Splash. Chloe did not even budge, listening to the loud sound of the Duke’s laughter, along with the sound of sea waves hitting the cliff.

“It was like that for me, too. I’m not eager to marry just any woman in the world.”

The Duke raised his eyebrows and spoke out without hesitation.

“Isn’t the young lady too self-conscious? I can’t believe you thought I would marry a child of a low-ranking aristocrat who only had debt to harass a woman who was not even in good shape.”

“Yes. I didn’t think so.”

“Do you know that you’re surprisingly funny?”

“No.”

Chloe was serious at every moment, but she was even more serious at this moment.

“Do you love my younger sister?”

“There is no idealist around me who thinks that a noble marriage is based on love.”

“Then there is only one reason why the Duke proposed marriage.”

“What is it?”

“The Duke must have something that he wants from marrying with our family. Something that’s not easy to tell to others.”

Splash. Once again, the waves hit the cliff hard, leaving white foam behind, and the wind blew hard. The loosely tied ribbon came loose and her hat flew somewhere. Watching Chloe’s hair tickle her cheeks, the Duke spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

“Keep going.”

The laughter on his face was completely gone. Chloe knew that this was a once in a lifetime adventure. But there is no other way but this. A rat driven on a dead end may not be able to kill a snake, but it may bite at least it’s tail.

“If the Duke has to marry a humble family overcoming the prominent brides of the kingdom for some reason, I honestly think it doesn’t matter who the other person is. No…”

The last words she practiced inside several times came out a little slower and harder.

“Wouldn’t it be better to have an opponent with obvious flaws that no one would even notice?”

The duke slowly raised his lips as he looked at her. Her mouth dried up instantly at the gaze of his shining eyes with curiosity. Chloe quenched her lips with her tongue without realizing it, and the Duke added, lifting his eyebrows.

“For example, you who can’t use one leg?”

Throb, throb. She had the illusion of a throbbing pain in the lower part of her leg that should have been numb. Chloe thought it was fortunate that she was blinded by the burning sun. Because she could give a reason to her distorted expression with contempt.

“If I couldn’t use both legs, would it have been more perfect to become the Duke’s bride…!”

The moment the duke snatched the back of her head, it was dark in front of his eyes.

What is this?

It was after Duke bit her lip painfully that she became aware of her situation. Chloe trembled without closing her eyes and wondered that if the world would end, would it feel the same way as now? The moment her lips opened up on their own, the duke invaded her at will, her heart pounded hard as if it were going to explode. The inside of the duke’s mouth that was felt directly was much hotter than the burning sun. She was suffocated and was about to faint.

“Breathe.”

The Duke grabbed her head and whispered with a blazing look, pushing his arrogant nose on her cheek Only then did Chloe breathe heavily. However, the words didn’t come out correctly. Her red wet lips trembled softly.

Comments from Korean readers:

No, why can’t she be strict with her younger sister like she is so strong with the duke?

I read it because it was fun even though it was childish, but I’m getting disappointed. Oh… What… / was expecting that the female Lead is a smart character, but the more she goes, the more she can’t lead the conversation, and it feels like she’s digging her own hole. She said that not all women in the world, don’t want to marry you, so he proposed to Alice, but he’s the male lead. So, what do you mean to accept and move on? No matter how powerful the opponent is, the courtesy and law of aristocratic society are considered breathless, and was there really no change in that way? There were a lot of things that I was disappointed about in the rose garden incident and I’m not sure if I should watch more.

Chloe is so brave, I really like her. Look how she doesn’t give in to the difference between heaven and earth, status difference) even when her leg isn’t strong enough. That courage and sense of responsibility….for a woman in the Middle Age, she is like a General.

It’s going according to (his) plan…hahaha

I’m really curious about the Duke.

Oh my God, why did I hold my breath?

I’m curious at this point, since when did the duke have such a bad personality? Was he already like this when he was born? Or was he originally as soft and kind as a silk but what could have caused him to become such a nuclear waste? At this point, I think it would be more

sensible if the female Lead’s father was the enemy who killed male Lead’s parents