Chapter 1.1

“Duke Ceres, marry me.”

Just as the day was winding down peacefully, a surprise visitor appeared out of nowhere and threw out a sentence so shocking, it brought Edward Ceres’s thoughts to a screeching halt.

His gaze fixated on the woman in front of him.

Cecilia Graham.

There probably wasn’t a single soul in the empire’s social circles who didn’t recognize that face.

A charming beauty with honey-blonde hair that shimmered like sunlight and piercing blue eyes that looked like they’d been plucked from the autumn sky.

Thanks to her beauty alone, she had become the flower of high society. A nineteen-year-old baron’s daughter courted by half the eligible noble bachelors.

But he had yet to exchange proper introductions with her.

And now, here she was, barging in without warning, skipping over formalities, and saying—

“Is this… a joke?”

She didn’t so much as blink.

“Does it sound like I’m joking?”

“…If you aren’t, then that’s quite the bold proposal.”

“Don’t tell me this is your first time receiving one?”

Her obvious play to provoke him tugged a smirk at his lips, but only for a moment.

Edward quickly realized exactly why Cecilia Graham was proposing to him.

Hardly anyone knew that Emperor Gerard II had decided to appoint a nineteen-year-old baron’s daughter as the future empress.

Edward wouldn’t have known either, if he hadn’t caught a passing glimpse of the document in the emperor’s office.

He had no idea how she’d found out, but one thing was clear. She had no desire to marry the emperor.

Not if she was willing to propose to a man she’d barely even spoken to.

‘Not so foolish, I see.’

It had been less than half a year since the passing of the Empress, known as the “Mother of the Nation” for her benevolence and wisdom.

The nobility would be outraged. The people of the empire would be furious.

‘But if she were to refuse the emperor’s proposal…’

Then the emperor’s wrath would descend upon the House of the Baron of Graham.

However, if she were to become engaged to another man before the emperor proposed, it would change everything.

The emperor’s rage wouldn’t be directed at the Grahams, but at the unfortunate man Cecilia had chosen to marry.

And most noble houses wouldn’t stand a chance against such fury.

‘So she came to me… Her calculations are sound.’

“The emperor will be furious,” Edward replied curtly.

“Isn’t that exactly what you’ve always wanted?”

“…”

Edward fell silent, studying her intently.

Cecilia wasn’t the first, nor would she be the last, to know of his complicated history with the emperor.

But…

She was the first to openly hand him a chance to defy the throne.

Still, why her, of all people?

Edward had always found something about her unsettling.

Not because he had any personal interest in her, of course.

He lived a life too dangerous to be swayed by a woman’s beauty.

And yet… there was something about the way Cecilia Graham glided through every ballroom, beaming as if she were the happiest girl in the world, that got under his skin.

Because of that, he stopped attending any ball where he heard she’d be present.

It was impossible to attend such events and simply avoid her. Cecilia Graham was far too lively and social for that.

‘I should refuse. I must send her away immediately.’

But… his tongue betrayed his mind, forming words of its own volition.

“Are you prepared for the consequences?”

“As long as it means I won’t become empress, I’ll do anything.”

Cecilia was desperate. Completely, utterly desperate.

As Edward quietly studied her face, he found himself stunned by his own reaction.

His heart was pounding. For the first time in a very long time.

Perhaps it was because it had been so long since he’d met someone else willing to stand against the emperor.

If that was the case…

Then walking into the flames now—those flames he knew he’d have to face someday—might not be the worst idea.

Two could endure better than one, after all.

“I accept your proposal, Lady Cecilia.”

“…!”

Cecilia’s pale blue eyes widened in surprise, shimmering with disbelief.