Duke Ashillean’s Contractual Marriage - Chapter 5

Chapter 5

‘There’s nothing I can do. I swore to God.’

Whether a ‘God’ really exists, her younger sister was able to defeat the tyrant with great ease and became the new King. Was that all?

She conquered other neighboring countries, established a huge empire, and even became an Emperor. It was all thanks to her younger sister’s intelligence, but she was disappointed that things went too easy and effortlessly.

Her younger sister that became the Emperor is still young. She would reign as the Emperor for several more decades at the very least, and her descendants will rule this Empire from generation to generation.

During Callena’s reign and after that, Rubiana must give what she wore upon to God first, if she want the God to continue taking care of this Empire.

… she tried to think rationally just like that.

‘But it seemed that these days, there were too many people who were getting married.’

Rubiana didn’t like that thought that she clicked her tongue with a ‘tch’. She was going to leave right away, but she thought that it would be better to cool her head first.

After all, the Head Maid would stare at her with eyes as if saying, ‘Why are you here already?’ if she went home. Rubiana turned towards the garden of Marquis Rivadur.

‘Let’s take a breather before going back.’

She was intending to clear her mind and get some air.

“You will have no choice but to marry me!”

Someone yelled and shouted behind Rubiana’s head. Of course, she wasn’t really talking to Rubiana, because the voice was coming from far away. But Rubiana felt that way.

It just happened that they were talking about ‘marriage’.

You’ll have no choice but to kill me! You’ll have no other choice than to pay me back! You’ll have no choice than to buy me food. If this were the case, she would just shrugged it off, but it was ‘marriage’. Rubiana’s body and soul reacted to those two syllables.

‘D**n it.’

She was really annoyed but she couldn’t ignore it. Her body moved on its own. She then went to the place where she heard the sound and looked over bushes, then saw two people: a man and a woman.

The woman was a great beauty. Her eyes were specially upturned just like a cat’s eyes. Though she was adored with jewelries from head to toe, Rubiana thought that it wasn’t excessive. Compared to the beautiful woman, the man’s attire was modest at its best, enough to describe it as shabby. He was just wearing a white cravat and black suit. It’s fringes weren’t even adorned by the commonly used gold and silver. She thought that his family’s situation may be difficult, and Rubiana could hardly differentiate him from a servant when standing next to the beautiful woman.

‘Wow.’

But still, Rubiana admired the man rather than the woman. It was because the man was very, very beautiful. It was to the point that she regretted looking at the woman first and thinking that she was a beauty.

Rubiana once entered a monastery and made a vow for life, but was skeptical of the existence of God, unlike someone who had pledged to dedicate the rest of her life to God. She don’t know if He exists or not, but it would be nice if he is indeed existing.

But things changed after following Callena. seeing how her younger sister was struggling, she thought that maybe God really exists. In just the few years that she watched beside Callena as she overthrew the kingdom, established the Empire and ascended as the first Emperor, Rubiana wondered if it was something that the God had blessed her with. That’s why, she was trying to fulfill her promise to God.

If there is a God in this world, there must also be angels that helped Him. If His power was enough to create such a wide world, it’s impossible that he only made a single angel. He must’ve made several angels with different looks and personalities. If the most beautiful but filthy angel came down to the world, wouldn’t he be like that man?

Shining silver hair, eyes blacker than the night sky.

The beautiful man was annoyed. His frown looked dirty, but even that looked beautiful.

‘He looked dirty, but it’s best not to approach him recklessly.’

Rubiana, who was standing in the distance, felt this way. He was so beautiful that he felt unreal, and just looking from a distance would be satisfying, right? However, her impression of the woman standing nearby seemed to be different.

“D-don’t avoid me, Louismond.”

The woman grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Please let go. I don’t remember allowing you to touch me.”

The dazzlingly beautiful lady was resolute to be rude as her first impression.

“Kyaah!”

The woman let go of the man then stumbled and fell on the floor.

‘Oh, your body might look thin, but it seems like you still have the strength of a man.’

His manners weren’t as much as his strength.

‘It was true that it was the woman who was rude at first. But he didn’t even gave her support or didn’t ask her if she was fine.’

Rather, the man frowned, shaking his hand that the woman touched. The way he looked down at the woman was as beautiful as a marble sculpture made by a master of the century with his best effort.

‘That’s indeed a man’s face.’

What my grandmother said was correct.

The man was handsome and looked good. if an ugly man acted like that, she would’ve pulled out her knife, ran out and cut off his fingernails. In other words, Rubiana was hesitant to intervene between the two of them because of the man’s face. She didn’t know that this biased behavior of hers was bad. If her parents were still alive and saw her like this, they would’ve grab her by the nape of her neck and asked her if they raised her like that.

‘Well, if you’re that good-looking, there’s nothing I can do about it.’ (T/N: I can feel you Rubiana fufu)

It reminded her of her grandmother, who would smile while petting the cat beside her.

“Where did she go? I’m sure she went this way.”

The man pretended to look at the fallen woman then looked around. His behavior was quite rough contrary to his beautiful and caring appearance.

“Louismond!”

“You shut up!”

It was clear that the man wasn’t looking for the woman who had fallen to the floor. Just when the man turned around to where Rubiana was standing – hide – Rubiana quickly hid behind the tree.

‘Why am I hiding?’

It was only after she hid herself that she asked herself an important question, but she didn’t want to show herself to let them know that she was there.

‘I think it’s kind of annoying.’

Her instincts were warning her. She thought that she would be caught up in something very tiring for some reason if she was to be caught now.

“D**n, I lost her. Ughh!”

I knew it.

‘Is he looking for me?’

Her instinct was right. An ominous cold sweat ran down her spine.

The second-to-none Duke Ashillean was looking for a handsome husband but is hiding from a handsome man.

People might laugh at what she was doing if they saw the situation, but Rubiana was being serious.

‘I’m looking for a true husband.’

Because the man over there who screamed ‘aah’ didn’t look ‘genuine’. Was being handsome all? He also have to be genuine.

[‘Don’t forget, Ruby. Being handsome is one characteristics to be qualified, but his character must be genuine. You can’t use him if he was too harsh.’]

(T/N: Texts inside [] and italicized means that it happened/said in the past.)

Yes, grandma. I won’t forget.

* * *

A few days later.

Rubiana met the man again at the Imperial Palace banquet. It wasn’t that they met face-to-face, but it was only about her looking at his face from far away from the large banquet hall.

He was surrounded by women, not discriminating between those that were single and married. They were looking at the man with a dreamy and eyes burning with desire. The man was calm and elegant, throwing away his rough appearance he had shown in the garden. With his a glance and one gesture, he was gently melting the women’s heart.

‘Being coy?’

He was so pretty and handsome that he didn’t look disgusting.

Rubiana leaned against the wall, sipping alcohol, as she watched the scene. As the banquet was about to reach its highest peak, the Duke Feltharg, Cadric, arrived late and approached her. He was holding a glass of wine in both hands. Rubiana welcomed the drink more than she welcomed his arrival.

“You are well-dressed.”

Its not that he completely ignored Cadric. He looked at her up and down then whistled – whistle – it wasn’t that loud.

The man on the other side, surrounded by women, couldn’t hear it. As if he heard the whistle, the man glanced at Rubiana.

Rubiana didn’t noticed the man’s gaze, only concentrating on her glass. No, she noticed but she didn’t care – since it wasn’t threatening. Cadric noticed too, and he gave him a warning look instead of just ignoring it.

With Rubiana in between, the eyes of the two men went back and forth quite fiercely. When Rubiana raised her head with her mouth on the new glass of wine, she turned her head away, as if avoiding the beauty from afar.

“What’s with him?” Cadric frowned.

“What?”

Rubiana followed his gaze and turned her head. Seeing the beauty that immediately stood out, she smiled.

“What, you can recognize pretty things with only one eye?”

“I lost one thanks to someone, so I became more sensitive.”

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?”

“Why? Do you want me not to see anymore?”

Cadric habitually rubbed his eyepatch with his fingertips. He was wearing a black eyepatch to cover the wounds he had received from Rubiana. Onyx and diamond stones were inlaid to the eyepatch that the Emperor gave him.

“No way.”

Rubiana raised her hands. It was a signal of surrender.

“I’m always sorry.”

That she made a husband candidate for her younger sister like that. She wasn’t sorry towards Cadric, but Callena.

“He can’t even speak (with you).”

Cadric clicked his tongue, disliking the way Rubiana smirks. Looking back, he was always stiff towards Rubiana. That was the reason why Rubiana didn’t regard him as a husband candidate for herself.

“Who is he by the way? I think this was the first time I saw him.”

“He said he was sick for two months. That’s why he didn’t show up, so it’s only natural that you don’t know him.”

“So, who is he?”

“Grandson of Count Graham.”

Tch, Cadric clicked his tongue again. He didn’t seem to like Rubiana’s interest in him.

“Graham?”

If it was Count Graham, then Rubiana also remember him.

Their family was close to the tyrant, but their family surrendered as soon as the gates were opened during the Battle of Dawn. They were originally ranked 0 in the purge list, but it was still impossible to kill them as Callena promised to spare anyone except the royal family if they surrendered.

‘You’re doing a great job surviving.’

Rubiana’s feelings were that much.

Afterwards, Count Graham would seek fine men from who-knows-where and dedicate them to the Emperor. For some unknown reason, Callena kept Count Graham by her side – as if she like this kind of flattery and gift.

‘So he has another plan.’

Rubiana wondered if he was up to something else. Rudante, Duke Dominent, wasn’t so relaxed because he was openly seeking for the position of the Emperor’s husband.

‘Ah, I should have killed him before he even said the word surrender.’

Rudante always regretted not killing Count Graham. Rubiana barely remembered Count Graham, as well as his family.

Count Graham’s whole family had wheat hair and auburn eyes.

He has a mushy body without any muscles, but his tall height was enough to hide it. No one in their family had such vivid silver hair and dark eyes. Silver hair, black eyes, and great looks – he looked more like the tyrant’s hidden son than Count Graham’s grandson from his outside appearance….

“…!”

“Now do you understand? Slow.”

“No way.”

“Louismond Fen Lux Amel von Graham.”

Having four names is a mark of royalty.

Silver hair, black eyes, up to four names – he was a member of the Ainnus Dynasty they had overthrown.

“Should I say that he was the last of them? Yes, it would be accurate to say that,” Cadric said in a cold voice, “he was the only surviving illegitimate son of the tyrant.”

(T/N: Gosh, Rubiana was smitten at first sight of ML fufu