Chapter 1: 1

01. Must we really get married?

 

 

The tea was room-temperature now, yet nonetheless fragrant.

Holding up his teacup, Lucas Blacke savored the tea’s aroma as he glanced towards the person sitting before him. Then, he thought.

‘That teacup looks like it’s about to shatter.’

Tremble, tremble…

The teacup in those pale hands was shaking minutely.

One of her hands was on the handle of the cup, and her slender fingers were clutched over it. It seemed unfathomable that she was planning to take a sip.

He couldn’t tell if her pale fingers were as pale as they were because it was her original complexion or if it’s because she was gripping that cup too tightly.

‘…No, I guess not. It looks like her fingers will break first.’

The joints of her pale hands were reddened.

Just seeing her pale, reddened hands roused one’s pity.

‘Why is she trembling so?’

Lucas shook his head slightly as he brought his cup to his lips and sipped the cooled tea.

While wetting the man’s sensual lips, the red-tinged tea traveled down his throat.

And as he savored the lukewarm tea, Lucas regarded the woman.

‘Grace O’Ellin.’

She was the one and only daughter of Marquis Kafrene O’Ellin. As much as he could glean from his first impression of her, or as much as he’s heard about her, she was truly regal and elegant.

Her black hair, which was in a neat updo, had a lustrous sheen to it, as though it had been sprinkled with the powder from crushed black pearls.

Her smooth jawline, her clear skin and her innocuous demeanor, which would somehow express a sorrowful air to her, naturally stimulated one’s curiosity.

And the most notable feature on her already very prominent features were those purple eyes.

At first glance, her features weren’t out of the ordinary, but her eyes were what instantly changed that ordinariness to an air of mystery about her.

Although it couldn’t be said that she was a show-stopping beauty, she was a woman who had an enigmatic charm, which kept attracting the attention of whoever saw her.

With a beguiled gaze, Lucas stared at her.

At the woman who could potentially become his wife.

 

‘It would be fortunate if it could happen this year. It’s what all the members of the household think, sir.’

 

Gabriel, his butler, delivered dozens of letters sent to the household. It was as per usual, and he spoke in the same calm tone.

He wondered how much agony this predicament had been giving the ever-capable butler that his face had turned so deathly pale like that.

When he said ‘this year’, he was referring to Lucas’ wedding.

The members of the household kept saying that Lucas, who had succeeded his predecessor as the head of the duchy, should get married as soon as possible.

It was the head of the family’s duty.

And… It was a marriage that he was required to do for the sake of the family secret.

Because Lucas couldn’t win against the vigor of the family elders, at the last banquet he went to, he gave in and exchanged greetings with the person they nominated.

 

‘I am Grace O’Ellin.’

 

As soon as she faced him, her tone, her quivering voice—it strangely resounded in his ears.

It’s because of that.

He, who would die rather than enter a marriage of convenience, changed his mind.

And he thought that it might be nice if he could meet her again and talk to her.

He didn’t know whether it was because of her trembling purple eyes, or if it was because of her quivering voice, which echoed in his mind several times.

In any case, Lucas came out to meet Grace O’Ellin officially.

Jaime, Lucas’ aide, told him almost in tears that it was House O’Ellin who proposed the political marriage, that’s why this marriage was as good as sealed already.

Lucas didn’t bother to go against it. Anyway, holding this formal meeting in itself was a clear sign that they would likely be wed.

However, it had now been about half an hour since he first sat down across her and lifted his teacup.

Tremble, tremble.

Grace’s hands shook as she clutched the cup, and she never once even took a glance at him.

‘Why on earth…?’

Once again, he moistened his lips with the lukewarm tea, then he looked at Grace with narrowed eyes.

Flushed cheeks. Anxious eyes. Shallow inhales and exhales.

As he observed Grace for quite a long time, Lucas finally opened his lips and asked.

“Do you feel uncomfortable around me, Grace?”

“……!”

Startled, her head flicked up. And soon, his gaze met with those wide, purple eyes.

‘…Ah.’

Just as he expected. She’s pretty. Clear eyes, a full shape, fluttering lashes. Everything was pretty.

It was his first time looking at someone and thinking that they’re pretty, and yet the moment he saw this woman, this thought flowed in his mind very naturally.

Was it because the person before him could be called likeable?

“T-That’s not the case…”

Tremble, tremble.

But her reaction was the opposite of her words.

Beneath her eyelashes, her pretty eyes quivered helplessly, and her voice shook as she spoke.

Lucas quietly let out a sigh.

And the sound of this sigh made Grace’s face turn even paler.

Anyhow, it seemed like this meeting would end like this.

No matter what reason there was for her to react like this, how could he marry a woman who trembled that much whenever she looked at him?

For the longest time, he finally met someone he was attracted to, but it couldn’t be helped.

‘At this rate, I might really not get married until I die.’

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However, the members of his household would just say that this was absolutely impossible.

He laughed dryly.

It was a naïve notion for an aristocrat like him, but actually, he didn’t want to get married if it’s not for love.

All the more so because he thought that life was too precious for him to spend the rest of his days waging a war of nerves with someone he married yet didn’t love.

Someone else might scoff at the idea, but that didn’t matter to him.

A person’s values could vary from case to case.

That’s why at the end of it all, even as many people around him kept pushing him into marriage, Lucas just smiled politely and waited for the right time.

Love.

This word was accompanied by faith, trust, support and happiness.

What a beautiful, heavy word.

One that could not blossom without fidelity and honesty.

“……”

Lucas once again glanced towards the woman who was sitting opposite him.

Her thin shoulders and pale complexion made her seem very fragile.

But truthfully, unlike her appearance, she was known to be a unique and tenacious woman of action.

She was one of the few women of the Zeronium Kingdom to have been personally bestowed a title by His Majesty the King, and even though she was the one and only daughter of a marquis, she was directly running a preliminary school for underprivileged children.

Apart from that, she was also well-known for her extraordinary interest in botany.

Through this, she had developed a food preservation method that would be useful for the needy during periods of drought.

Some nobles pointed their fingers at Grace while saying that this was not something for her to do.

They also said that it was too much for a woman to have done such a thing.

But Lucas thought differently.

The more he found out about her, the more he became enamored by her.

Even though he hadn’t seen her in action, he also liked her strong mentality as she did things that others couldn’t do.

Just in case, it would be ideal if he could share his secrets with a person who was strong-willed.

‘But it seems like it’s not meant to be for us to be connected.’

With her lashes being a deep shade, they trembled as she looked down, away from Lucas’ gaze.

He wanted to look into those purple eyes more, but…

Feeling regretful, Lucas set down his teacup.

‘I’ll have to leave right away for the poor woman’s sake. It wouldn’t be good for this to end with spilt tea.’

As he was sitting back until now, Lucas straightened his posture and spoke.

“Unfortunately, I’ll have to…”

Was it because he spoke too suddenly?

Grace O’Ellin’s shoulders flinched heavily, bringing her hands inward. This made the teacup in her hands spill its contents onto her previously clean skirt.

“Huk! I-I’m sorr… I m-made a terrible mistake!”

Startled, Grace didn’t know what to do and instead floundered.

“……”

Lucas agonized over the dilemma.

What should a gentleman do in this situation?

Should he turn his eyes away while pretending not to have seen it, or should he take out his handkerchief from his coat pocket and wipe away the tea himself?

If not that, then should he call one of the servants who were stationed some distance away?

‘Hmm.’

He pondered for a moment, but he soon took out his handkerchief.

The tea that splashed was too much for him to feign ignorance, and he thought that it might be more prudent not to let the servants know about this incident.

As long as he could take out his handkerchief here, knowledge of Grace O’Ellin’s embarrassing slip-up would be limited to only him.

“Please use this.”

“Hiiek!”

But the moment his hand came closer to her, Grace flinched back with an even bigger motion than before.

She quickly closed her lips and looked up at him with frightened, bunny-like eyes.

Her purple irises quaked as she looked at Lucas.

‘Seems like I startled you too much.’

Lucas mulled over what he should do, his contemplation being a similar manner to how he agonized over whether or not to pull out that handkerchief.

With the intent to convey to her how he didn’t want her to feel embarrassed, that it was okay, he smiled at her.

However, something strange happened next.

“…Huhp!”

After seeing his smile, Grace inhaled sharply, then she gently closed her eyes.

And here thereafter, Grace’s small body started to fall towards the floor.

“……!”

Lucas, surprised, rushed swiftly to her side and embraced her waist before she fell.

Her body was entirely limp, and her face was completely devoid of awareness.

Grace O’Ellin fainted.

He supported her weight by pulling her slender waist closer to him. Bewilderment soon colored Lucas’ face.

She was here to meet him for marriage talks, but the moment she looked straight at him, she fainted?

“What is this…?”

Entirely stunned, Lucas stared at Grace.

Her watery eyelids were neatly closed, and her cheeks were still brightly flushed as though they were still very warm.

Between her slightly opened lips, shallow breaths came through.

Fortunately, it’s safe to assume that her condition was stable. She fainted just now, but the breaths that flowed through her red lips seemed sweet.

At that moment, those small lips moved slightly and whispered.

“…cas.”

What did she just say?

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