Duke Ashillean’s Contractual Marriage

Chapter 7

Thud.

The two fell into the bushes. The woman sat on top of the man and tapped his cheek with her ringed hand.

“I don’t want to hurt this pretty face either, so just be completely mine. Remember that our family’s cooperation is essential to what Count Graham was planning, since thee were already talks of our marriage going on between my father and Count Graham.”

The woman’s other hand stroked the man’s chest and slipped through the buttonhole of his jacket. Louismond’s body jumped and squirmed like a fish out of the water. His face turned white. He looked very pitiful and anxious.

Gulp, Rubiana swallowed dry saliva without her dry saliva without realizing it. Her gulp was too loud.

‘Oops.’

“Who is it?”

The woman heard the sound and lifted her head.

I didn’t mean to disturb you. Just pretend you didn’t hear me and let me go.

“Oh, this. Excuse me.”

Rubiana had no choice but to appear with an awkward smile.

“I am just passing by so keep doing what you’ve been doing….” She regretted her mistake and tried to withdraw even if it was too late.

“P-please save me! Please save a person here!” Louismond reached out to her and asked for help.

“….”

Naturally, the eyes of the two women focused on Louismond.

‘You still looked handsome.’

An indifferent glance admiring his appearance without much thought.

“You’re reaching out to someone other than me!”

A pair of eyes burning with resentment, the woman pressed on Louismond’s chest, not hiding her excitement.

“Ugh!” Louismond collapsed.

‘That.’

Rubiana stared pitifully at that pitiful figure like a withered flower.

“G-get away. Please get away from me.”

Louismond groaned as he tried to push the woman away, but it was a meaningless struggle – because the woman was already seated in a stable position on his stomach. His wriggling couldn’t push her away.

“Stay still. I know you’re shy, so I’ll take care of it.”

The woman looked down at the coughing Louismond below her, as if he was extremely adorable, and raised her head.

“Ah, it’s… Duke Ashillean.”

She wasn’t ashamed in the slightest to show this sight to others – no, it even looked like she was welcoming it. But the surprising thing was the uninvited guest was Rubiana.

“I am Lisana from the Marquis of Odile. As you can see, I am spending time alone with the person I love.”

“It seems so.”

I know, I know, Rubiana nodded her head. Then the woman’s face brightened.

“I didn’t even notice that the Duke was coming. I sincerely apologize for disturbing the Duke’s walk.”

The woman smiled brightly. She was gracefully telling her the sentence, ‘Since you know how to go away, did you really want to disturb me?’

‘As expected of Marquis Odile’s daughter.’

Rubiana was purely admiring. Of course, apart from admiration, her head had cooled down.

‘Is the Marquis Odile still supporting the tyrant and the Ainus dynasty?’

The Marquis of Odile was a noble family with a long history in the Old Kingdom. He was on the verge of death after giving the tyrant a faithful advice, and suffered the humiliation of being pushed out from the central power and going down to a territory.

It was said that the family’s reputation was so high that even the tyrant couldn’t kill him, and instead let him moved out of the capital so they wouldn’t be seen. Naturally, everyone thought that they hated the tyrant and the old kingdom, but he was instead communicating with Count Graham for reinstatement of the Ainus Imperial Family.

‘Even after the fall of the kingdom, he didn’t bend this way until the end.’

Callena appreciated the uprightness and guaranteed the title and territories of Marquis Odile. Around that time, Marquis Odile also knelt down to Callena and bowed her head.

‘He wasn’t really submitting to the Emperor, but wasn’t it just a momentary crouching down to gain momentum for a rebellion?’

Rubiana clicked her tongue and looked down at Lisana.

“I am pleading you to not mention the affectionate and passionate scene you saw today to other people. We are still being cautious and shy.”

It meant, ‘Please, can you go quickly and tell other people that we are like this?’

After speaking, Lisana looked down and blushed. She was really cute and pretty. Her red cheeks were like peaches filled with water; Rubiana wanted to have a bite. Even if the man below her shone less, Rubiana might have told her that she was charmed by Lisana’s coy appearance.

‘Should I interfere with this?’

Rubiana who wasn’t taken by Lisana’s coy acting, thought like this, and immediately regretted for having such a constructive thought.

‘This is bothersome, so should I go back and leave this to the Duke Feltharg?’

It seemed like she can hear Cadric calling her from somewhere.

‘Why did I even hide if I was bothered by these things?’

Rubiana had no choice but to overcome laziness and move. She was apologetic when she ignored his contacts, but it wasn’t like she deliberately did it, nor it was because her loyalty to her younger sister was wavering.

It’s just –

“S-save m – ugh!”

It was because of that dazzling beauty that was panting while asking for help. Being good-looking was really great. Even if he wasn’t that handsome, I must find a handsome husband. Rubiana made up her mind once again and stepped forward.

“The Young Man underneath you seems to have different opinion from Young Lady.”

“I beg your pardon? That’s impossible!”

Lisana raised her eyes and looked at Louismond.

“Louis, the Duke is suspicious of us because you are too shy.”

“T-that’s right. S-save – heup!”

“You’re just too shy. How can you say two different things with one mouth? Do you want to humiliate me?”

Lisana pretended to cry. As a result, the hand that was pressing on Louismond loosened. Louismond seized the chance and pushed Lisana.

“Kyaaah!”

Lisana fell backwards. The back of her head almost hit the ground.

“This.”

Rubiana quickly walked up to her and wrapped her arms around her back. As Louismond pushed her away, Rubiana had no choice but to hold Lisana in a princess style hug. Rubiana then dropped Lisana down without giving her a chance to act coy.

“Th-thank y – ouch.”

Lisana thanked her according to etiquette as soon as her feet touched the ground. The she looked at Rubiana with her watery eyes. If it was to be translated, it means, ‘It’s all because of you!’

“Well.”

Even after Rubiana saved her, she didn’t receive a word of thanks. But she couldn’t say that Lisana was being rude because of the weight on her back. It was because Louismond, who came running in her direction, was clinging sadly on her back.

Louismond was one head taller than Rubiana. He looked shabby and thin from a distance, but his shoulders were unexpectedly wide and had thick body up close. So no matter how much he crouched down and hid, her body wasn’t enough to cover him.

“H-how…?”

Water formed around Lisana’s eyes.

Instead of wiping her tears away, she looked at the culprit who brought the already good situation to the situation at present. Louismond whom she promised to have a burning night to make him completely hers, and Rubiana who saved her and ruined the theme of this night. Her eyes didn’t leave Louismond’s figure glued on Rubiana’s back.

“Oh, it would be nice of you to get away from me.”

She was rather annoyed by Louismond and shook her shoulders. She was really annoyed by him, but Lisana saw it differently.

‘Are you showing off now that Louismond is now with you?’

Rubiana’s subsequent suggestion was enough to fuel Lisana’s misunderstanding.

“Let’s end these things now, Young Lady. It would be much better to pick another place and have a calm talk when the day is bright, whether it would be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I will now comfort the Graham Family’s esteemed son and let him go safely.”

That calm figure that speaks as if she is in control of this situation.

‘This can’t be.’

The main character of this night should have been Lisana herself. It should be her sticking close to Louismond. But all of that was taken away from her – to the cruel killer Duke of the North, wearing a black cloak embroidered with silver thread.

It felt bitter enough to made her cry, but she didn’t have the energy to even confront Rubiana – since she had heard of Rubiana’s notoriety, the Duke Ashillean. They said that she threw people she don’t like to the beast alive, or she became addicted to the beast’s blood and drink human blood from time to time.

“I-I will never forget today.”

Lisana threw these words and backed away.

“Please report anything that anything wrong to the Duke Feltharg.”

Not the Duke Ashillean, but the Duke Feltharg – Rubiana emphasized that part in particular. That was just to pass bothersome things to Cadric.

‘Wh-what? Duke Ashillean and Duke Feltharg – those two families – will work together to dominate him? Even Duke Feltharg was aiming for Louismond?’

Lisana understood it completely differently: It wasn’t enough that the murderer Duke of North was aiming for Louismond, but even Duke Feltharg. Perhaps, the two of them have a kinky secret and are trying to share Louismond.

Lisana understood it this way.

‘Father is right. This empire is very wrong, and the Emperor along with her Dukes are all vulgar and greedy.’

Not as much as Louismond, her face turned white. She had completely forgotten that she was trying to spend a burning night by straddling Louismond, who said no, just a little while ago.

(T/N: I applaud Miss Odile’s trains of thought. It was very wonderful lel )