Chapter 20

“I’m sorry. I never meant to cause you trouble. I’ll assume you’ve rejected the request.”

As she lowered her head, the sound of a chair being harshly dragged across the floor filled the silence.

“Trouble? No. If you want the truth, it’s just tiresome.”

He strode toward her, closing the distance in heavy steps, then grabbed her chin and forced it upward. Because of that, Anais had to raise her gaze and meet his eyes.

“You’re the one I bought with my own money, all on the damned emperor’s orders. Who’d have thought you’d drag in a whole nest of rats with you.”

“….”

“Did I not tell you it would be better to set your affairs in order before coming here, wife?”

His reprimand hissed inches from her face, his lips curling into an icy sneer. Unable to lower her head under his grip, Anais averted her eyes, unable to bear his scorn.

“…I apologize for displeasing you. I-I’ll take my leave now.”

The Grand Duke snapped, his voice sharp with irritation.

“Every single thing about you is displeasing.”

Still trapped by his hold on her chin, Anais flinched, her gaze fixed downward. The fingers she had clenched tightly since earlier were now deathly pale.

“….”

After a brief silence, he leaned in and murmured softly in her ear.

“Act like a Grand Duchess, Madam. You should at least fulfill the worth of what was paid for, shouldn’t you?”

A sudden flush spread over Anais’s pale face, and her violet eyes darted instinctively to meet his. Only then did he finally release her.

Anais, still reeling from the fear and humiliation he had forced on her, suddenly heard a familiar yet strangely gentle voice.

“Anais. Anais!”

At that, Anais was finally able to escape the prophetic dream, gasping for breath as she opened her eyes.

Still shaken, she instinctively shrank away as far as she could. And right in front of her, just like in her dream, was the Grand Duke, his blood-red eyes locked on her.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

“Rest your eyes.”

At Diego’s suggestion, Anais closed her eyes and, exhausted, quickly began to doze off. Without a word, he moved a bit closer, gently supporting her head on his shoulder as she slept.

He stayed perfectly still, not wanting to wake her.

But before long, Anais began to tremble, clutching her hands tightly as if terrified. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead as she writhed in distress.

It seemed like she was having a nightmare.

“Anais. Anais!”

When he shook her, Anais finally opened her eyes. The moment her gaze met his, she instinctively flinched and pulled away from him, putting as much distance between them as she could.

Diego, noticing her unusual behavior, observed her carefully and asked.

“…Are you alright?”

It took Anais a while to nod, but Diego could see right through her that she was far from okay. What he saw in her face was fear, and the person she was so terrified of was none other than Diego himself.

“….”

While he struggled to find words, Anais spoke up first.

“…I-I’m alright. I guess I must have dozed off without realizing.”

“It seemed like you were having a nightmare.”

“Oh, th-that… I guess thinking about leaving the viscount’s estate must have made me feel strange. Maybe that’s why I had a dream.”

Anais quickly erased all emotion from her face, responding as if it were nothing.

“Thank you for your concern.”

Her tone drew a line, as if to say he didn’t need to get involved any further, and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. With nothing more he could say, Diego fell silent, staring at the unbridgeable distance between them and watching her back in silence.

All the way to their destination, she never once turned her head in his direction.

︵‿୨ ₊‧꒰ა ཐི༏ཋྀ ໒꒱ ˚₊ ୧‿︵

The Grand Duchy’s townhouse in the imperial capital.

Upon stepping into the vast estate, which was far larger than the viscount’s estate, Anais retreated into the bedroom the Grand Duke had provided and didn’t come out for days. She managed everything from within those four walls, doing everything she could to avoid crossing paths with him.

“I need to get it together. How could I keep hoping when I already know how things end?”

The Grand Duke from her vivid, haunting prophetic dream had despised her utterly.

Because of this, she tightened her fraying guard. It felt as though she was finally seeing the true face of the Grand Duke, the one hidden beneath the gentle appearance under the soft moonlight.

“Don’t trust anyone. Not anymore…”

She didn’t want to be hurt again.

No matter how kind the Grand Duke seemed, he would ultimately be no different from the Orelcians. She reminded herself of that, forcing her focus back to her sole goal.

“Just focus on staying alive. That’s all that matters.”

But she knew she couldn’t keep avoiding him forever.

After steadying her chaotic thoughts, Anais finally opened her door and stepped out after several days. She asked a servant where the Grand Duke was and headed straight to him. It was time to discuss the remaining details of their contract marriage that had yet to be settled with him.